bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The chemical enrichment history of the Magellanic Clouds field populations
Authors: Carrera Ricardo , Gallart Carme , Aparicio Antonio , Costa Edgardo , Hardy Eduardo , Méndez Rene A. , Noël Noelia E. D. , Zinn Robert 
Published: March 2009

AbstractWe report the results of our project devoted to study the chemical enrichment history of the field population in the Magellanic Clouds using Ca ii triplet spectroscopy.
A comprehensive study of the link between star-formation history and X-ray source populations in the SMC
Authors: Antoniou Vallia , Zezas Andreas , Hatzidimitriou Despina 
Published: March 2009

AbstractUsing Chandra, XMM-Newton and optical photometric catalogs we study the young X-ray binary (XRB) populations of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We find that the Be/X-ray binaries (Be-XRBs) are observed in regions with star-formation (SF) rate bursts ~30–70 Myr ago, which coincides with the age of maximum Be-star formation, while regions with strong but more recent SF (e.g., the Wing) are deficient in Be-XRBs. Using the 2dF spectrograph of the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) we have obtained optical spectra of 20 High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) in the SMC. All of these sources were proved to be Be-XRBs. Similar spectral-type distributions of Be-XRBs and Be field stars in the SMC have been found. On the other hand, the Be-XRBs in the Galaxy follow a different distribution than the isolated Be stars in the Galaxy, in agreement with previous studies.
Dust around red supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds
Authors: Clayton Geoffrey C. , Freeman W. , Bright S. , Massey P. , Gordon K. D. , Levesque E. , Plez B. , Olsen K. , Nordhaus J. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractIt is both surprising and exciting to find that young galaxies at high redshift contain large dust masses. For galaxies at z > 5, after only 1 Gyr, there has not been time for low-mass stars to have evolved to the AGB phase and produce dust. In such galaxies, Type II SNe and red supergiants (RSGs) may even dominate the dust production rate. It has long been known that RSG atmospheres produce dust, but little is known about it. We are pursuing three parallel studies to better understand RSG dust. First, we are using optical spectra and JHK photometry to characterize the optical and near-IR extinction curves of the RSGs. Second, we are using the optical spectra combined with 2MASS, IRAC and MIPS photometry to estimate the dust mass loss rates from Local Group RSGs. In addition, we will use our Monte Carlo radiative transfer models to analyze the emission from dust in the circumstellar shells. Third, the final piece of the puzzle is being provided by obtaining new IRS spectra of LMC and SMC RSGs. We plan to use the IRS to make a systematic study of the dust properties in RSG shells in the LMC and SMC so that we can probe how they may vary with a large range of galactic metallicities. The derived stellar SEDs and extinction curves will be combined with Spitzer IRAC and MIPS photometry and IRS spectra for use as inputs to our Monte Carlo codes which will be used to study the composition, size distributions and clumpiness of the dust.
Microbiomic analysis of the bifidobacterial population in the human distal gut
Authors: Turroni Francesca , Marchesi Julian R , Foroni Elena , Gueimonde Miguel , Shanahan Fergus , Margolles Abelardo , van Sinderen Douwe , Ventura Marco 
Published: March 2009

Abstract
One of the most complex microbial ecosystems is represented by the microbiota of the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Although this microbial consortium has been recognized to have a crucial effect on human health, its precise composition is still not fully established. Among the GIT bacteria, bifidobacteria represent an important commensal group whose presence is often associated with health-promoting effects. In this work, we assessed the complexity of the human intestinal bifidobacterial population by analysing the diversity of several 16S rRNA gene-based libraries. These analyses showed the presence of novel bifidobacterial phylotypes, which had not been found earlier and may thus represent novel taxa within the genus Bifidobacterium.
PyrococcusCH1, an obligate piezophilic hyperthermophile: extending the upper pressure-temperature limits for life
Authors: Zeng Xiang , Birrien Jean-Louis , Fouquet Yves , Cherkashov Georgy , Jebbar Mohamed , Querellou Joël , Oger Philippe , Cambon-Bonavita Marie-Anne , Xiao Xiang , Prieur Daniel 
Published: March 2009

AbstractA novel hydrothermal site was discovered in March 2007, on the mid-Atlantic ridge during the cruise ‘Serpentine’. At a depth of 4100 m, the site ‘Ashadze’ is the deepest vent field known so far. Smoker samples were collected with the ROV ‘Victor 6000’ and processed in the laboratory for the enrichment of anaerobic heterotrophic microorganisms under high-temperature and high-hydrostatic pressure conditions. Strain CH1 was successfully isolated and assigned to the genus Pyrococcus, within the Euryarchaeota lineage within the Archaea domain. This organism grows within a temperature range of 80 to 108 °C and a pressure range of 20 to 120 MPa, with optima for 98 °C and 52 MPa respectively. Pyrococcus CH1 represents the first obligate piezophilic hyperthermophilic microorganism known so far. Comparisons of growth yields obtained under high-temperature/high-pressure conditions for relative organisms isolated from various depths, showed clear relationships between depth at origin and responses to hydrostatic pressure.
Two pathways for cysteine biosynthesis in Leishmania major
Authors: Williams Roderick A. M. , Westrop Gareth D. , Coombs Graham H. 
Published: March 2009

Genome mining and biochemical analyses have shown that Leishmania major possesses two pathways for cysteine synthesis – the de novo biosynthesis pathway comprising SAT (serine acetyltransferase) and CS (cysteine synthase) and the RTS (reverse trans-sulfuration) pathway comprising CBS (cystathionine β-synthase) and CGL (cystathionine γ-lyase). The LmjCS (L. major CS) is similar to the type A CSs of bacteria and catalyses the synthesis of cysteine using O-acetylserine and sulfide with Kms of 17.5 and 0.13 mM respectively. LmjCS can use sulfide provided by the action of MST (mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase) on 3-MP (3-mercaptopyruvate). LmjCS forms a bi-enzyme complex with Leishmania SAT (and Arabidopsis SAT), with residues Lys222, His226 and Lys227 of LmjCS being involved in the complex formation. LmjCBS (L. major CBS) catalyses the synthesis of cystathionine from homocysteine, but, unlike mammalian CBS, also has high cysteine synthase activity (but with the Km for sulfide being 10.7 mM). In contrast, LmjCS does not have CBS activity. CS was up-regulated when promastigotes were grown in medium with limited availability of sulfur amino acids. Exogenous methionine stimulated growth under these conditions and also the levels of intracellular cysteine, glutathione and trypanothione, whereas cysteine had no effect on growth or the intracellular cysteine levels, correlating with the low rate of transport of cysteine into the cell. These results suggest that cysteine is generated endogenously by promastigotes of Leishmania. The absence of CS from mammals and the clear differences between CBS of mammals and Leishmania suggest that each of the parasite enzymes could be a viable drug target.
THERE ARE COALITIONS EVERYWHERE
Authors: Nedergaard Peter 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT
Do members of the committees under the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) find that there are coalitions of specific member states in these committees? If so, then what kind of side payments hold these coalitions together? For the first time in scholarly literature, and based on an empirical investigation, the findings in this paper document that two opposing coalitions – with the United Kingdom and France as the respective leaders – exist in OMC committees where mutual learning is the raison d’être. In the existing theory on this subject in the EU, it is claimed that consensus decision-making leads to a weakening of coalition-building. All three committees analysed in this paper build on consensus decision-making, which is achieved after intensive meetings between all the members. However, it is contended that the ‘argumentative contest’ working method of the OMC committees leads to more – not less – coalition-building. On the basis of a test, it is also shown that these committees are primarily held together by side payments in the form of ‘promises relating to policy among the like-minded’; however, ‘payments allied to subsequent decisions’ add to the cement of the coalition-building processes stemming from the OMC working method.
Thus I Have Seen
Authors: Rotman Andy 
Published: March 2009

Abstract
This book examines the ways that seeing is an integral part of Indian Buddhism, and how the practices of seeing described in Indian Buddhist narratives function as a kind of skeleton key for opening up Buddhist conceptualizations about the world and how it should be navigated. Much of what constitutes religious practice in these narratives is not reading, praying, or meditating, but visually engaging with certain kinds of objects. In trying to make sense of this connection between the religious and the visual, the book first focuses on the practices of śraddhā and prasāda—terms often, though problematically, translated as “faith.” The book analyzes how these mental states relate to practices of “seeing” (darśana) and “giving” (dāna), and what this configuration of seeing, believing, and giving can tell us about the power of images, the gift economy at the heart of Buddhist ethics, and the function of narratives in Buddhist India. The book also discusses strategies that these narratives provide for seeing the Buddha after he has passed into final nirvāṇa. By investigating the various ways of seeing and objects of sight that allow this to occur, the book considers various rationales for pilgrimage and the veneration of images, and what these may be able to tell us about early practices at Buddhist monuments and shrines.
Can hormones contained in mothers’ milk account for the beneficial effect of breast‐feeding on obesity in children?
Authors: Savino Francesco , Fissore Maria F. , Liguori Stefania A. , Oggero Roberto 
Published: March 2009

SummaryNutrition and growth during infancy are an emerging issue because of their potential link to metabolic health disorders in later life. Moreover, prolonged breast‐feeding appears to be associated with a lower risk of obesity than formula feeding. Human milk is a source of various hormones and growth factors, namely adipokines (leptin and adiponectin), ghrelin, resistin and obestatin, which are involved in food intake regulation and energy balance. These compounds are either not found in commercial milk formulas or their presence is still controversial. Diet‐related differences during infancy in serum levels of factors involved in energy metabolism might explain anthropometric differences and also differences in dietary habits between breast‐fed (BF) and formula‐fed (FF) infants later in life, and may thus have long‐term health consequences. In this context, the recent finding of higher leptin levels and lower ghrelin levels in BF than in FF infants suggests that differences in hormonal values together with different protein intake could account for the differences in growth between BF and FF infants both during infancy and later in life. In this review, we examine the data related to hormones contained in mothers’ milk and their potential protective effect on subsequent obesity and metabolic‐related disorders.
Molecular composition and biological activity of commercial birch pollen allergen extracts
Authors: Focke M. , Marth K. , Valenta R. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground  Commercial extracts used for diagnosis and treatment of allergy are currently prepared from natural allergen sources. The aim of this study was to analyse birch pollen allergen extracts produced for in vivo diagnosis of birch pollen allergy regarding their contents of individual birch pollen allergens (Bet v 1, Bet v 2 and Bet v 4).Methods  Protein contents were measured and the allergen composition was analysed by immunoblotting using antibody probes specific for Bet v 1, Bet v 2 and Bet v 4 in birch pollen extracts from five manufacturers of allergen extracts. The contents of the major birch pollen allergen, Bet v 1, were quantified with a specific two‐site binding enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay with nanogram sensitivity for Bet v 1. The biological activities of the allergen extracts were evaluated by skin prick testing in birch pollen allergic patients and compared with their sensitization profiles.Results  A more than 10‐fold variation regarding total protein contents (23·1–314 μg mL−1) and also regarding the amounts of the major birch pollen allergen, Bet v 1 (1·62–19·6 μg mL−1) was found. The highly cross‐reactive Bet v 4 allergen was absent in three of the five tested extracts. Furthermore, varying skin test results were obtained in birch pollen allergic patients with the allergen extracts.Conclusions  Commercial birch pollen extracts exhibit a considerable variability regarding allergen contents and hence deliver varying in vivo test results. These problems might be overcome with recombinant allergen‐based preparations.
Population genetics of south European Atlantic salmon under global change
Authors: VALIENTE AMERICA GARCIA , BEALL EDWARD , GARCIA‐VAZQUEZ EVA 
Published: March 2009

AbstractPopulations at the edge of species distributions are especially vulnerable to climate change. Genetic changes as well as modification of their population structure are expected as reactions to global warming. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) inhabiting south France has been chosen as a model for studying the effect of global warming in marginal populations during the last 15 years. Increased gene flow between neighboring populations and dichotomy of maturation age between sexes have been identified as two main population changes significantly associated with high values of the North Atlantic Oscillation index, a global climate indicator. Although occurrence of isolated populations in each river (or even tributary) is a paradigm for this species, at least in northern areas, increased gene flow between rivers is forecasted as long as climate warming increases, favoring metapopulations at regional level.
Establishment and early persistence of tree seedlings in an annually burned savanna
Authors: Gignoux Jacques , Lahoreau Gaëlle , Julliard Romain , Barot Sébastien 
Published: March 2009

SummaryIn severely disturbed habitats, the onset of resprouting as a persistence strategy might be problematic for tree species which do not accumulate sufficient reserves before the first disturbance event. This is due to the trade‐off between the growth of reserves required to recover after disturbance and that of photosynthetic tissues.In humid savannas, fire prevents trees from invading the whole landscape and nearby gallery forests have a completely different floristic composition. We test if the variations of survival during the first years of a young tree's life can explain the exclusion of forest species and the dominance pattern within savanna species.Every six months for four years, we censused all seedlings and resprouts in 1 ha area of an annually burned savanna, to estimate their seasonal survival rates. We used capture–recapture statistical models to control for the probability of missing seedlings in the tall grass.There were two main distinct patterns of survival among seedlings: ‘fire‐responding’ species showed a 20–80% decrease in survival during the dry season, interpreted as mainly due to fire; ‘drought‐responding’ species showed 20–80% variations in survival positively correlated to early‐growing‐season rainfall.Yearly averaged survival probabilities of seedlings ranged between 0.10 and 0.63, reaching 0.850–0.996 for > 3‐year‐old resprouts of savanna species. Forest species showed no increase in survival with age.A 4‐year‐survival‐probability analysis showed that forest species were excluded from the savanna at the seedling stage. No parameter of the early survival curve related to the abundance of savanna species at the adult stage.Synthesis. Savanna tree species follow two mutually exclusive main patterns of early survival probably related to fire and early‐wet‐season drought. The exclusion of forest species is consistent with a build up of reserves that is too slow due to the growth‐resistance trade‐off. We conclude from these findings that the use of resprouting as a persistence strategy is heavily constrained by disturbance frequency and imposes strong trade‐offs on plant growth strategy.
Specificity and reliability of prognostic indexes in intensive care evaluation: the spontaneous cerebral haemorrhage case
Authors: Barbieri Alberto , Pinna Cristina , Basso Gian Paolo , Molinari Rosella , Giuliani Enrico , Fruggeri Luca , Nolli Massimo 
Published: March 2009

AbstractObjective  To determine the reliability of a generic index such as Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPSII), compared with a specific one Intra Cerebral Haemorrhage score (ICH score), as an intensive care unit (ICU) outcome predictor when evaluating a general facility that frequently treats a specific type of patients – those with spontaneous cerebral haemorrhage.Methods  The study cohort consisted of a random sample of patients (81) admitted to Modena's Policlinico Teaching Hospital's ICU with spontaneous ICH over a 24‐month period.Main outcome measure  SAPSII, ICH score, overall mortality.Results  The mean ICH score for the 32 surviving patients was 3.41 ± 1.012 while for the 49 deceased patients was of 4.24 ± 0.855 (P = 0.000). The mean SAPSII value for the 32 surviving patients was 49.09 ± 16.58 while for the 49 deceased patients was 49.51 ± 15.93. SAPSII, ICH scores were analysed for mortality, by receiver operating characteristic curves: the area under the curve was significant for ICH, not‐significant for SAPSII.Conclusions  Regional quality controls use generic prognostic indexes (SAPSII) in relation to mortality and outcome to assess ICUs, which is appropriate when dealing with a general facility when there is not a predominant type of patient, but it may bias the evaluation if the population with specific pathologies (ICH), not included in the general index, is statistically considerable, leading to an incorrect criticality assessment, an inappropriate strategic plan and the subsequent inefficient resource allocation.
‘Mind and Body’: a lifestyle programme for people on antipsychotic medication
Authors: Jones Amanda , Benson Anthony , Griffith Sarah , Berk Michael , Dodd Seetal 
Published: March 2009

AbstractRationale  Psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and their treatments have consequences in terms of lifestyle, diet and weight.Aims and objectives  ‘Mind and Body’ is a 10‐week programme of weekly sessions aimed to improve the health status of people treated with second generation antipsychotic medications.Methods  The programme focuses on a range of lifestyle strategies including diet and exercise and was conducted at a Community Health Centre by professionally qualified staff. Between 2002 and 2006, 50 participants enrolled in, and 30 completed the programme. Measures of body weight, health status (Short Form‐36) and blood markets (plasma glucose, haemoglobin A1c and lipid profile) were collected at commencement and completion of the programme.Results  A modest improvement was demonstrated in mean values for the majority of measures collected.Conclusions  A lifestyle program for people treated with antipsychotic medications is achievable and may be worthwhile although gains may be modest.
A before and after study of the impact of Specialist Workers for Older People
Authors: Fletcher K. , Mant J. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground  Case management of vulnerable older people by Community Matrons has been introduced into the UK. A locally designed case management approach, The Specialist Workers for Older People (SWOP) Service, was implemented by a Central England Primary Care Trust. Here we report an evaluation of this service.Methods  Before and after study of 418 people (207 before; 211 after) aged ≥75 at high risk of emergency hospital admission. SWOPs carry out assessments of social and medical needs, produce individual care plans, coordinate care and refer to appropriate agencies. Univariable analysis was used to determine the association of SWOPs on changes in hospital admission rates and primary care workload.Results  There was a non‐significant reduction in hospital admissions from 0.91 to 0.67 per patient. There was a significant increase in routine GP surgery visits, from an average 1.3 to 2.6 per patient. The number of emergency home visits decreased from an average 2.8 to 1.1 per patient (P < 0.001).Conclusions  Case management might reduce hospital admissions and is potentially a cost‐effective service. However, not all case management schemes are successful. With the introduction of Community Matrons, it is important to understand what elements of the SWOP service contributed to its success.
Legal concerns trigger prostate‐specific antigen testing
Authors: Steurer Johan , Held Ulrike , Schmidt Mathias , Gigerenzer Gerd , Tag Brigitte , Bachmann Lucas M. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground  In the United States, lawsuits against physicians have had an impact on their behaviour, resulting in overdiagnosis and other forms of ‘defensive medicine’. Does a similar situation exist in Switzerland? Using prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) screening as an example, we surveyed Swiss physicians and assessed the extent to which liability fears influenced their recommendation for testing.Methods  At a continuing medical education conference we distributed a pilot‐tested questionnaire to 552 participants. Two hundred and fifty of them (45%) completed the questionnaire.Results  Of the participants, 158 (68%) were general practitioners and 73 (32%) specialists in internal medicine. Seventy‐five per cent of both groups recommend regular PSA screening to men older than age 50. Yet only 56% of the general physicians and 53% of the internists believe that PSA measurement is an effective screening method. A substantial proportion of the physicians – 41% of general practitioners and 43% of internists – reported that they sometimes or often recommend this test for legal reasons.Conclusions  Defensive medicine is not a phenomenon particular to the USA, but is also observable in Switzerland. This result is surprising, given that in Switzerland and other European countries, a physician who does not recommend a test or treatment whose effectiveness is controversial need not fear litigation.