bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Use of an anti‐CD16 antibody for in vivo depletion of natural killer cells in rhesus macaques
Authors: Choi Elisa I. , Wang Rijian , Peterson Lauren , Letvin Norman L. , Reimann Keith A. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryNon‐human primates serve as key animal models for a variety of viral infections. To evaluate the contribution of natural killer (NK) cells to the immune‐mediated control of these viruses in macaque monkeys, we have described a method for depleting NK cells in vivo by administration of anti‐human CD16 mouse monoclonal antibody. Using a fluorometric NK‐cell cytotoxicity assay, we show that most NK‐cell cytotoxicity in rhesus monkey peripheral blood mononuclear cells resides in the CD16+ and/or CD159A+ subset of lymphocytes. The anti‐human CD16 antibody, 3G8, binds to subsets of rhesus monkey lymphocytes and monocytes but not to neutrophils. Intravenous administration of 10–50 mg/kg of 3G8 to normal rhesus monkeys resulted in anti‐CD16 antibody persistence in the plasma for 1–3 weeks. This treatment also depleted 80–90% of CD3– CD159A+ lymphocytes, putative NK cells, from blood for at least 1 week and was associated with the loss of NK‐cell cytotoxicity when evaluated by in vitro assays. Using this method, transient depletion of NK cells from two rhesus monkeys chronically infected with simian immunodeficiency virus failed to cause changes in virus replication. These studies describe a non‐human primate model for in vivo NK‐cell depletion and suggest a limited role for cytotoxic CD16+ NK cells in controlling AIDS virus replication during chronic infection.
Effect of SIVmac infection on plasmacytoid and CD1c+ myeloid dendritic cells in cynomolgus macaques
Authors: Malleret Benoît , Karlsson Ingrid , Manéglier Benjamin , Brochard Patricia , Delache Benoît , Andrieu Thibault , Muller‐Trutwin Michaela , Beaumont Tim , McCune Joseph M. , Banchereau Jacques , Le Grand Roger , Vaslin Bruno 
Published: May 2008

SummaryDendritic cells (DCs) are known to be essential for the induction and regulation of immune responses. Non‐human primates are essential in biomedical research and contribute to our understanding of the involvement of DCs in human infectious diseases. However, no direct single‐platform method for quantifying DC precursors has yet been optimized in macaques to give accurate absolute blood counts of these rare‐event cell populations in the blood. We adapted a rapid whole‐blood assay for the absolute quantification of DCs in cynomolgous macaques by four‐colour flow cytometry, using a single‐platform assay compatible with human blood. Cynomolgus macaque plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) and CD1c+ myeloid DCs (CD1c+ mDCs) were quantified in the blood of 34 healthy macaques and the results obtained were compared with those for blood samples from 11 healthy humans. In addition, circulating absolute numbers of pDCs were quantified in cynomolgus macaques chronically infected with SIVmac. During infection, pDC counts decreased whereas circulating CD1c+ mDC counts increased. Information regarding absolute pDC and mDC counts in non‐human primates may improve our understanding of the role of these cells in SIV/HIV infection and in other infectious diseases.
Population genetic structure of Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae): strong subdivision in China inferred from microsatellite markers and mtDNA gene sequences
Authors: MENG XIANG‐FENG , SHI MIN , CHEN XUE‐XIN 
Published: May 2008

Abstract Chilo suppressalis (Walker) displays significant geographical differences in ecological preference that may be congruent with patterns of molecular variation. To test this, we collected and analysed 381 individuals of this species from cultivated rice at 18 localities in China during the rice‐growing season of 2005–2006. We used four microsatellite DNA markers and four mitochondrial DNA gene fragments. We found that this species is highly differentiated, coupled with an estimated population expansion date of at least 60 000 bp. Phylogenetic analyses, Bayesian clustering, and phylogeographical analyses of statistical parsimony haplotype network consistently divided the populations into three clades: a central China (CC) clade, a northern plus northeastern China (NN) clade and a southwestern China (SW) clade. Analysis of molecular variance indicated a high level of geographical differentiation at different hierarchical levels [FST for microsatellite markers, COI, COII, 16S and ND1 is 0.06004 (P < 0.0001), 0.27607 (P < 0.0001), 0.22949 (P < 0.0001), 0.19485 (P < 0.0001) and 0.29285 (P < 0.0001), respectively]. Isolation by distance appeared among the samples from within China (r = 0.404, P = 0.0002); Nem values estimated using a coalescent‐based method were small (< 2 migrants per generation), suggesting that the observed levels of differentiation are a result of migration–drift equilibrium. Our results imply that the genetic differentiation of this borer, which is approximately in accordance with its observed number of generations per year in different Chinese geographical regions, is probably attributed to climatic and/or geological events (e.g. the last glacial maximum) and subsequently strengthened by the domestication of rice.
Inferring the evolutionary history ofDrosophila americanaandDrosophila novamexicanausing a multilocus approach and the influence of chromosomal rearrangements in single gene analyses
Authors: MORALES‐HOJAS RAMIRO , VIEIRA CRISTINA P , VIEIRA JORGE 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThe evolutionary history of closely related organisms can prove sometimes difficult to infer. Hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting are the main concerns; however, genome rearrangements can also influence the outcome of analyses based on nuclear sequences. In the present study, DNA sequences from 12 nuclear genes, for which the approximate chromosomal locations are known, have been used to estimate the evolutionary history of two forms ofDrosophila americana(Drosophila americana americanaandDrosophila americana texana) andDrosophila novamexicana(virilisgroup of species). The phylogenetic analysis of the combined data set resulted in a phylogeny showing reciprocal monophyly forD. novamexicanaandD. americana. Single gene analyses, however, resulted in incongruent phylogenies influenced by chromosomal rearrangements. Genetic differentiation estimates indicated a significant differentiation between the two species for all genes. WithinD. americana, however, there is no evidence for differentiation between the chromosomal forms except at genes located near theX/4fusion andXcinversion breakpoint. Thus, the specific status ofD. americanaandD. novamexicanais confirmed, but there is no overall evidence for genetic differentiation betweenD. a. americanaandD. a. texana, not supporting a subspecific status. Based on levels of allele and nucleotide diversity found in the strains used, it is proposed thatD. americanahas had a stable, large population during the recent past whileD. novamexicanahas speciated from a peripheral southwestern population having had an ancestral small effective population size. The influence of chromosomal rearrangements in single gene analyses is also examined.
Cannabis and psychiatric disorders: it is not only addiction
Authors: Leweke F. Markus , Koethe Dagmar 
Published: May 2008

ABSTRACTSince the discovery of the endocannabinoid system, a growing body of psychiatric research has emerged focusing on the role of this system in major psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), major depression and anxiety disorder. Continuing in the line of earlier epidemiological studies, recent replication studies indicate that frequent cannabis use doubles the risk for psychotic symptoms and SCZ. Further points of clinical research interest are alterations of endocannabinoids and their relation to symptoms as well as postmortem analyses of cannabinoid CB1 receptor densities in SCZ. A possible neurobiological mechanism for the deleterious influence of cannabis use in SCZ has been suggested, involving the disruption of endogenous cannabinoid signaling and functioning. Even though the number of studies is still limited for affective and anxiety disorders, previous results suggest these diseases to be exciting objectives of cannabinoid‐associated research. Therefore, it became apparent that cannabis use is not only frequent in patients suffering from BD, but that it also induces manic symptoms in this group. In addition, prior antipsychotic treatment decreased the numerical density of CB1 immunoreactive glial cells in bipolar patients. Although the data on the influence of cannabis use on the development of major depression is controversial, cannabinoid compounds could display a new class of medication, as suggested by the antidepressive effects of the fatty acid amino hydrolase inhibitor URB597 in animal models. With numerous open questions and controversial results, further research is required to specify and extend the findings in this area, which provides a promising target for novel pharmacotherapeutic interventions.
Genetic (co)variances and breeding value estimation of Gompertz growth curve parameters in Finnish Yorkshire boars, gilts and barrows
Authors: Koivula M. , Sevón‐Aimonen M.‐L. , Strandén I. , Matilainen K. , Serenius T. , Stalder K.J. , Mäntysaari E.A. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryThis paper’s objectives were to estimate the genetic (co)variance components of the Gompertz growth curve parameters and to evaluate the relationship of estimated breeding values (EBV) based on average daily gain (ADG) and Gompertz growth curves. Finnish Yorkshire central test station performance data was obtained from the Faba Breeding (Vantaa, Finland). The final data set included 121 488 weight records from 10 111 pigs. Heritability estimates for the Gompertz growth parameters mature weight (α), logarithm of mature weight to birth weight ratio (β) and maturation rate (κ) were 0.44, 0.55 and 0.31, respectively. Genotypic and phenotypic correlations between the growth curve parameters were high and mainly negative. The only positive relationship was found between α and β. Pearson and Spearman rank correlation coefficients between EBV for ADG and daily gain calculated from Gompertz growth curves were 0.79. The Spearman rank correlation between the sire EBV for ADG and Gompertz growth curve parameter‐based ADG for all sires with at least 15 progeny was 0.86. Growth curves differ significantly between individuals and this information could be utilized for selection purposes when improving growth rate in pigs.
A male linkage map constructed for QTL mapping in Spanish Churra sheep
Authors: Gutiérrez‐Gil B. , Arranz J.J. , El‐Zarei M.F. , Álvarez L. , Pedrosa S. , San Primitivo F. , Bayón Y. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryA male ovine linkage map has been constructed on the basis of 11 half‐sib families of a commercial population of Spanish Churra sheep as part of a genome scan for quantitative trait loci mapping. A total of 1421 daughters and their sires were genotyped for 182 microsatellite markers evenly distributed along the ovine autosomes. A total of 259 192 genotypes were obtained, generating an average of 669 informative meioses per marker. An autosomal genome length of 3262 cM was estimated for the Churra population with a mean marker interval of 17.86 cM. Our map represents an approximate 90% coverage of the autosomal ovine genome and constitutes a useful tool for the genetic dissection of complex traits in this breed. General agreement was found between the Churra map and other published maps for sheep, despite certain length discrepancies.
Mixed Infection of Two Begomoviruses in Malvastrum coromandelianum in Fujian, China
Authors: Yang C. , Jia S. , Liu Z. , Cui G. , Xie L. , Wu Z. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractVirus isolates were obtained from three Malvastrum coromandelianum plants showing vein thickening symptoms in Fujian Province, China. A fragment of approximately 500 bp was amplified from all the samples by PCR using the special degenerate primer pair PA/PB for begomoviruses. Sequence differences among the partial DNA‐A fragments revealed that all three samples contained two virus isolates. Isolate I and isolate II share the highest nucleotide sequence identity (98–99%), respectively, with Malvastrum leaf curl Guangdong virus (MLCuGdV) and Ageratum yellow vein virus (AYVV). The complete nucleotide sequences of Fs1 and Fs2 isolates representing each virus were determined to be 2741 and 2756 nucleotides, respectively. Alignment and phylogenetic analysis showed that the complete DNA‐A sequences of Fs1 and Fs2 were most closely to those of MLCuGdV (AM503104) and AYVV (AB100305), with 90.4% and 93.3% nucleotide sequence identity, respectively. Fs1 and Fs2 are considered therefore to be isolates of MLCuGdV and AYVV, respectively. This is the first report of AYVV in M. coromandelianum.
Pathogenic Variability of Isolates of Pseudocercospora griseola, the Cause of Common Bean Angular Leaf Spot, and its Implications for Resistance Breeding
Authors: E Silva Kaesel Jackson Damasceno , De Souza Elaine Aparecida , Sartorato Aloisio , De Souza Freire Cassius nonato 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThe pathogenic variability was evaluated of 48 Pseudocercospora griseola isolates collected in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Isolates were inoculated to a set of 12 international differential cultivars in a greenhouse. Ten pathotypes (55‐15, 63‐7, 63‐15, 63‐23, 63‐25, 63‐27, 63‐31, 63‐47, 63‐55 and 63‐63) were identified, showing the great pathogenic variability of this fungus in Minas Gerais State. Pathotypes 55‐15, 63‐15, 63‐25 and 63‐27 had not previously been reported in the State. Of the 48 isolates, all except pathotype 55‐1547 induced a compatible reaction with all cultivars from the Andean group. Isolates were highly pathogenic in both Andean and Mesoamerican cultivars, thus being classified as Mesoamerican pathotypes. Pathotype 63‐63 was the most widespread, and overcame the resistance genes present in all differential cultivars.
Trade Unions, Union Learning Representatives and Employer‐Provided Training in Britain
Authors: Hoque Kim , Bacon Nicolas 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThis article provides an empirical assessment of the relationship between trade union recognition, union density, union learning representatives (ULRs) and employer‐provided training in British workplaces using linked employer–employee data from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. The results suggest that the relationship between union recognition and training is, at best, weak. We find no consistent relationship between union density and training or between the presence of ULRs and training. We do, however, find some evidence of greater equality in the distribution of training in ULR workplaces than in other workplaces.
The Challenges of Pursuing Cluster Policy in the Congested State
Authors: BURFITT ALEX , MACNEILL STEWART 
Published: May 2008

AbstractIn recent years cluster policy has become a central component of regional economic development strategy across many European economies. However, concerns are now emerging over the content and quality of some of these initiatives. Given the prevalence of the approach, these apprehensions are non‐trivial and have significant implications with regard to the value and contribution of regional economic development. Here we examine the extent to which weaknesses in the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of the cluster approach may have acted in combination with pressures generated by the ‘congested state’ to produce a number of difficulties. The essay explores the nature, challenges and weaknesses of cluster policy in the context of the demands created by multi‐level and multi‐actor governance frameworks. We conclude that, irrespective of whether cluster policy is the appropriate choice as an economic development tool in any particular regional or economic circumstance, its selection always necessitates prior consideration of the institutional capacity needed to meet the governance challenges that it creates.Resumé La ‘politique des clusters’ est récemment devenue une composante essentielle de la stratégie de développement économique régional dans de nombreux pays d’Europe. Toutefois, des questions se posent actuellement quant à la teneur et à la qualité de certaines de ces initiatives. L’approche étant souvent adoptée, ces appréhensions, dignes d’intérêt, ont d’importantes répercussions sur la valeur et la contribution du développement économique régional. Cette étude examine dans quelle mesure les faiblesses des bases théoriques et méthodologiques de l’approche des ‘clusters’, combinées aux pressions imposées par un « Etat congestionné », peuvent avoir généré plusieurs difficultés. Sont explorés la nature, les défis et les faiblesses de la politique des clusters dans le cadre des exigences suscitées par un environnement de gouvernance à plusieurs niveaux impliquant plusieurs acteurs. En conclusion, que la politique des clusters soit ou non l’option à choisir en tant qu’outil d’expansion économique dans une situation régionale ou économique donnée, son choix exige toujours une étude préalable de la capacité institutionnelle nécessaire pour résoudre les problèmes de gouvernance qu’il crée.
Carceral Chicago: Making the Ex‐offender Employability Crisis
Authors: PECK JAMIE , THEODORE NIK 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThis article explores the urban labor market consequences of large‐scale incarceration, a policy with massively detrimental implications for communities of color. Case study evidence from Chicago suggests that the prison system has come to assume the role of a significant (urban) labor market institution, the regulatory outcomes of which are revealed in the social production of systemic unemployability across a criminalized class of African–American males, the hypertrophied economic and social decline of those ‘receiving communities’ to which thousands of ex‐convicts return, and the remorseless rise of recidivism rates. Notwithstanding the significant social costs, the churning of the prison population through the lower reaches of the labor market is associated with the further degradation of contingent and informal‐economy jobs, the hardening of patterns of radical segregation, and the long‐term erosion of employment prospects within the growing ex‐offender population, for whom social stigma, institutional marginalization and economic disenfranchisement assume the status of an extended form of incarceration.Résumé La politique publique d’incarcération massive, aux implications largement préjudiciables aux communautés de couleur, affecte également le marché du travail des villes. Une étude de cas sur Chicago indique que le système pénitentiaire a fini par devenir une institution importante du marché du travail (urbain) dont les réglementations se traduisent à la fois par la production sociale d’une inemployabilité systémique pour une classe criminalisée de males afro‐américains, par le déclin économique et social hypertrophié des ‘communautés d’accueil’ vers lesquelles retournent des milliers d’ex‐prisonniers, et par l’accroissement impitoyable des taux de récidive. Malgré de forts coûts sociaux, le brassage de la population carcérale dans les niveaux inférieurs du marché du travail se combine à la dégradation accrue des postes occasionnels et offerts par l’économie parallèle, mais aussi au durcissement des types de ségrégation radicale et à une érosion durable des perspectives d’emploi au sein de la population grandissante des ex‐délinquants pour lesquels stigmatisation sociale, marginalisation institutionnelle et non‐reconnaissance économique revêtent une forme d’incarcération prolongée.
Summer predation rates on ungulate prey by a large keystone predator: how many ungulates does a large predator kill?
Authors: Laundré J. W. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractEstimates of predation rates by large predators can provide valuable information on their potential impact on their ungulate prey populations. This is especially the case for pumas Puma concolor and its main prey, mule deer Odocoileus hemionus. However, only limited information on predation rates of pumas exist where mule deer are the only ungulate prey available. I used VHF telemetry data collected over 24‐h monitoring sessions and once daily over consecutive days to derive two independent estimates of puma predation rates on mule deer where they were the only large prey available. For the 24‐h data, I had 48 time blocks on female pumas with kittens, 43 blocks on females without kittens and 30 blocks on males. For the daily consecutive data, the average number of consecutive days followed was 51.5±4.2 days. There were data on five female pumas with kittens, five pregnant females and nine females without kittens. Predation rates over an average month of 30 days from the 24‐h monitoring sessions were 2.0 mule deer per puma month for males (15.1 days per kill), 2.1 mule deer per puma month (14.3 days per kill) for females without kittens and 2.5 mule deer per puma month (12.0 days per kill) for pregnant females and females with kittens. For the consecutive daily data, females without kittens had an estimated predation rate of 2.1±0.14 mule deer per puma month (14.9±0.90 days per kill). Pregnant and females with kittens had predation rates of 2.7±0.18 and 2.6±0.21 mule deer per puma month, respectively (11.4±0.72 and 12.0±1.1 days per kill, respectively). Predation rates estimated in this study compared with those estimated by energetic demand for pumas in the study area but were lower than other field derived estimates. These data help increase our understanding of predation impacts of large predators on their prey.
Variable but predictable prey availability affects predator breeding success: natural versus experimental evidence
Authors: Millon A. , Arroyo B. E. , Bretagnolle V. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractFood supply is a major source of variation in breeding success for predators, and to what extent individuals are able to cope with temporal variability in food availability remains an outstanding question in life‐history studies. We confronted the natural variation in clutch size and breeding success with results from a food supplementation experiment during egg formation, conducted over several contrasted years of natural food supply in an avian specialist predator, the Montagu's harrier Circus pygargus. This raptor mainly preys on common vole Microtus arvalis a cyclic microtine under temperate latitudes. Vole abundance together with timing of breeding accounted for most of the variance in clutch size and number of fledglings. Results from empirical and experimental data were overall in agreement. Fed pairs consistently increased clutch size compared with controls in all experimental years, whereas no effect of food supplementation on egg volume was detected. Supplemented pairs, however, did not fledge significantly more chicks than controls. The costs entailed by the increase in clutch size appear nevertheless to be limited compared with previous studies. Food supply seemed therefore to display sufficient predictability throughout a breeding season to afford individuals the opportunity to adjust their breeding effort to an optimal number of offspring, in agreement with Lack's anticipation hypothesis.