bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Alcohol screening and brief counseling in a primary care hypertensive population: a quality improvement intervention
Authors: Rose Heather Liszka , Miller Peter M. , Nemeth Lynne S. , Jenkins Ruth G. , Nietert Paul J. , Wessell Andrea M. , Ornstein Steven 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTAims  To determine the effect of an intervention to improve alcohol screening and brief counseling for hypertensive patients in primary care.Design  Two‐year randomized, controlled trial.Setting/participants  Twenty‐one primary care practices across the United States with a common electronic medical record.Intervention  To promote alcohol screening and brief counseling. Intervention practices received site visits from study personnel and were invited to annual network meetings to review the progress of the project and share improvement strategies.Measurements  Main outcome measures included rates of documented alcohol screening in hypertensive patients and brief counseling administered in those diagnosed with high‐risk drinking, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. Secondary outcomes included change in blood pressure among patients with these diagnoses.Findings  Hypertensive patients in intervention practices were significantly more likely to have been screened after 2 years than hypertensive patients in control practices [64.5% versus 23.5%; adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 8.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7–38.2; P < 0.0087]. Patients in intervention practices diagnosed with high‐risk drinking, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence were more likely than those in control practices to have had alcohol counseling documented (50.5% versus 29.6%; adjusted OR = 5.5, 95% CI 1.3–23.3). Systolic (adjusted mean decline = 4.2 mmHg, P = 0.036) and diastolic (adjusted mean decline = 3.3 mmHg, P = 0.006) blood pressure decreased significantly among hypertensive patients receiving alcohol counseling.Conclusions  Primary care practices receiving an alcohol‐focused intervention over 2 years improved rates of alcohol screening for their hypertensive population. Implementation of alcohol counseling for high‐risk drinking, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence also improved and led to changes in patient blood pressures.
Reactivity profile of anti‐factor VIII antibodies with designed synthetic peptides mimicking epitopes of the C2 and a1 domains
Authors: Chaves D. G. , Velloso‐Rodrigues C. , Moreau V. , Nguyen C. , Villard S. , Belisário A. R. , Granier C. , Santoro M. M. 
Published: April 2008

SummaryAntibodies (Abs) that block factor VIII (FVIII) activity occur in hemophilia A patients treated with FVIII replacement therapy and severely impair treatment. In this work, we designed and synthesized ten peptides whose sequences are found in putative epitopes at the surface of a1 and C2 domains of the FVIII molecule. These peptides were screened for their ability to inhibit the binding of anti‐FVIII Abs from plasmas of hemophilia A patients to FVIII. All peptides were efficient in inhibiting anti‐FVIII Abs in plasma from patients with inhibitors, with however different efficiencies. It was found that each tested patient’s plasma had a different profile of reactivity with peptides, consistent with an individual anti‐FVIII Ab specificity. The profile of recognized peptides was also changing during the treatment of the patients. Three peptides were used in an affinity chromatography assay to attempt to remove anti‐FVIII Abs from patients’ plasma. Anti‐FVIII IgGs were significantly captured by the peptide‐Sepharose affinity matrixes as assessed by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. However, due to the low level of Abs in the plasma samples, other methods (Chromogenic and Bethesda assays) were not sensitive enough to properly detect the reduction of inhibitors.
Characterization of six novel mutations in CYBA: the gene causing autosomal recessive chronic granulomatous disease*
Authors: Teimourian Shahram , Zomorodian Elham , Badalzadeh Mohsen , Pouya AliReza , Kannengiesser Caroline , Mansouri Davood , Cheraghi Taher , Parvaneh Nima 
Published: April 2008

SummaryOne of the rarest forms of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is caused by mutations in CYBA, which encodes the p22‐phox subunit of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase, leading to defective intracellular killing. This study investigated eight patients (six males and two females) from seven consanguineous, unrelated families with clinical CGD, positive family history and p22‐phox deficiency. Mutation analysis of CYBA showed six different novel mutations: deletion of exons 3, 4 and 5; a missense mutation in exon 6 (c.373G>A); a splice site mutation in intron 5 (c.369+1G>A); a frameshift in exon 6 (c.385delGAGC); a frameshift in exon 3 (c.174delG); and a frameshift in exon 4 (c.223delC).
Detection of different clonal EBV strains in Hodgkin lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues from the same patient
Authors: Rey J. , Xerri L. , Bouabdallah R. , Keuppens M. , Brousset P. , Meggetto F. 
Published: April 2008

SummaryThe ubiquitous herpesvirus Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is linked to the development of several malignancies, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (UCNT) and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Despite the well‐known oncogenic properties of the EBV latent membrane protein 1 (LMP‐1), the different oncogenic pathways involved in the pathogenesis of each disease remain unclear. This study reported, for the first time, the case of a patient with sequential development of UCNT and HL. Polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the LMP‐1 gene sequence and demonstrate that the two tumours contained different clonal viral genomes, suggesting a central and specific role of EBV infection.
Ghrelin in small‐for‐gestational age (SGA) newborn babies: a cross‐sectional study
Authors: Méndez‐Ramírez Francisco , Barbosa‐Sabanero Gloria , Romero‐Gutiérrez Gustavo , Malacara Juan Manuel 
Published: April 2008

SummaryBackground  Small‐for‐gestational newborn babies may have long‐term metabolic consequences. Among the main hormones possibly involved in foetal growth regulation are the IGFs, IGFBPs and the recently described ghrelin.Objective  To examine the levels of desacyl‐ghrelin, IGF‐1, IGFBP‐1 and IGFBP‐3 in children Small‐for‐gestational age (SGA) and children adequate‐for‐gestational age (AGA).Design  This was a cross‐sectional and comparative study.Subjects  We included 40 children SGA and 40 children AGA.Measurements  Blood sample was taken a week after birth and measuring hormonal levels were done by ELISA.Results  SGA babies had lower IGF‐1, IGFBP‐3 and leptin levels, but higher ghrelin and IGFBP‐1 levels. Birth weight was associated independently with ghrelin and IGFBP‐1 (negatively) and IGFBP‐3 (positively). Ghrelin circulating levels were associated negative and independently with IGFBP‐3 and triglycerides in the mother.Conclusions  We interpreted these findings to indicate that diminished body weight in newborns induce different adaptive signals, some of them mediated by IGF‐1/IGFBP‐3, ghrelin or by IGFBP‐1. This regulation is congruent with the proposed role of ghrelin to adaptation to under‐nutrition favouring lipid accumulation. CONCyTEG grant number 05‐16‐K117‐028.
Marine biogeochemical response to a rapid warming in the main stream of the Kuroshio in the western North Pacific
Authors: AOYAMA MICHIO , GOTO HIROHITO , KAMIYA HITOMI , KANEKO IKUO , KAWAE SATOSHI , KODAMA HIROKI , KONISHI YASUSHI , KUSUMOTO KENN‐ICHI , MIURA HISATO , MORIYAMA EIICHI , MURAKAMI KIYOSHI , NAKANO TOSHIYA , NOZAKI FUTOSHI , SASANO DAISUKE , SHIMIZU TAKAO , SUZUKI HIROKI , TAKATSUKI YASUSHI , TORIYAMA AKITO 
Published: April 2008

AbstractImpact of climate change on marine biogeochemical parameters and ecosystem is one of the important issues of our environment. Direct evidence of marine pelagic ecosystem changes is found with warming of sea water and sea‐level rise in the main stream of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea and the western North Pacific during these three decades based on the analysis of long‐term comprehensive hydrographic observations. In terms of annual mean, the warming rate of surface air temperature and sea surface temperature ranged from 0.15 to 0.21°C per decade in and around the main stream of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea, which exceed the global mean warming rate of 0.128 ± 0.026°C per decade during the period from 1956 to 2005 reported in IPCC 2007. One of the features in this rapid warming region is an increase of number of Pterosagitta draco, a cosmopolitan warm‐water zooplankton. Biogeochemical parameters, such as wet weight of zooplankton, plant pigment and nutrients concentration in the upper 200 m have been decreasing while dissolved oxygen content and seawater temperature have been increasing in the upper 200 m in the main stream of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea. These observed linear trends of the biogeochemical parameters would be foresights for temperate oceans in the future.
Patterns of molecular diversity in wild stocks of the redclaw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) from northern Australia and Papua New Guinea: impacts of Plio‐Pleistocene landscape evolution
Authors: BAKER NATALIE , DE BRUYN MARK , MATHER PETER B. 
Published: April 2008

Summary1. Analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA (microsatellites) in 379 individuals, collected from 15 localities in northern Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG), demonstrated that wild redclaw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) populations consist of two highly divergent Australian lineages and two PNG lineages.2. The disjunction between the two Australian lineages occurs over a distance of approximately 200 km in the south‐western corner of the Gulf of Carpenteria. These data conflict with an earlier study that detected no significant differentiation in 23 variable allozyme loci in redclaw sampled from northern Australia, but concur broadly with the previous recognition of two morphologically distinct species (C. quadricarinatus and C. bicarinatus) across northern Australia, and a third species in PNG (C. albertsii).3. The inferred timing and patterns of divergence evident in the molecular data presented here closely align with a similar pattern reported in a co‐distributed freshwater decapod crustacean, and broadly reflect patterns in some vertebrate taxa with similar distributions across northern Australia and PNG.4. These congruent patterns most probably reflect periodic Plio‐Pleistocene land and freshwater connections between Australia and New Guinea.
Exploring the dynamics of blog communities: the case of MetaFilter
Authors: Silva Leiser , Goel Lakshmi , Mousavidin Elham 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThis paper explores the social processes and mechanisms that give form to a prominent type of online community: community blogs. We conducted an interpretive study that examines a particular community blog, MetaFilter, by drawing on the concepts of communities of practice as a theoretical lens. Theoretically, we contribute to the body of knowledge of online communities by identifying the structures of an emergent type of community that is brought together by blog technology. Our findings suggest that cohesion in a community blog is brought about by the following practices: (a) explicit ground rules regarding membership, (b) presence of moderators, (c) availability of profile information, (d) ‘net etiquette’, (e) tacit warrants for discerning pertinent posts, and (f) the deployment of specific techniques of discipline.
Use of a toasted durum whole meal in the production of a traditional Italian pasta: chemical, mechanical, sensory and image analyses
Authors: Baiano Antonietta , Fares Clara , Peri Giorgio , Romaniello Roberto , Taurino Antonella M. , Siciliano Pietro , Gambacorta Giuseppe , Lamacchia Carmela , Pati Sandra , Notte Ennio La 
Published: April 2008

SummaryThe characterisation of traditional Italian pasta obtained by mixing amounts of toasted whole meal with re‐milled semolina and other ingredients was obtained by means of physico‐chemical, rheological, mechanical, sensory and image analyses. The toasted meal showed higher ash, fibre and protein contents than re‐milled semolina. The replacement of percentages of re‐milled semolina with the toasted meal and soft flour increased tenacity and decreased extensibility and strength, making the dough less suitable for pasta‐making. The P/L values were indices of high starch damage. The replacement of part of re‐milled semolina and water with toasted whole wheat meal, soft flour and eggs increased the optimal cooking time and the amount of water absorbed during cooking but made the other cooking parameters worse. The image analysis provided evidence of the changes induced by the use of toasted wholemeal, soft flour and eggs in the microscopic structure of pasta protein and starch.
‘Hungry Eyes’: visual processing of food images in adults with Prader‐Willi syndrome
Authors: Key A. P. F. , Dykens E. M. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractBackground  Prader‐Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder associated with intellectual disabilities, compulsivity, hyperphagia and increased risks of life‐threatening obesity. Food preferences in people with PWS are well documented, but research has yet to focus on other properties of food in PWS, including composition and suitability for consumption. It is also unclear how food perceptions differ across the two major genetic subtypes of PWS.Methods  This study examined neural responses to food stimuli in 17 adults with PWS, nine with paternal deletions and eight with maternal uniparental disomy (UPD), and in nine age‐matched typical controls. Visual event‐related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in response to food images varying in food composition and suitability for consumption during a passive viewing paradigm.Results  Group differences were observed for the N1 and P3 responses reflecting perceptual categorisation and motivational relevance respectively. The deletion group categorised food stimuli in terms of composition while the UPD group performed more similar to the controls, and focused on the suitability of food for consumption. Individual differences in N1 amplitude correlated with body mass index and scores on the Hyperphagia Questionnaire.Conclusion  Differences are seen in how people with PWS because of deletion or UPD perceive visual food stimuli even within the first milliseconds of stimuli exposure. Implications are discussed for in vivo food behaviours and for future ERP or neuroimaging studies on hunger, satiety and food perception in PWS.
A potential habitat network for the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx in Scotland
Authors: HETHERINGTON DAVID A. , MILLER DAVID R. , MACLEOD COLIN D. , GORMAN MARTYN L. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACT

The severe and early destruction and fragmentation of woodland habitats due to human activities is thought to have been a leading factor in the extirpation from Britain of several large, forest‐dependent mammal species, such as the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx. However, during the 20th century, Scotland in particular has experienced rapid, large‐scale reafforestation. In order to assess if this reafforestation has been sufficient to permit the potential restoration of extirpated forest mammal species with large spatial requirements, a Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis of potential habitat of one species, the Eurasian lynx, was performed for the Scottish mainland.
A rule‐based analysis, incorporating data and expert opinion from Switzerland, an environmentally similar area where lynx now occur, was used to identify patches of suitable lynx habitat in Scotland. A connectivity analysis was used to investigate whether and how these patches are connected to form larger interconnected networks of potential lynx habitat that would allow lynx to sufficiently interact with one another to form a single interbreeding population.
Scotland has over 20 000 km2 of suitable lynx habitat split into two main networks of interconnected patches: the Highlands (c. 15 000 km2) and the Southern Uplands (c. 5000 km2). A further 800 km2 of potential habitat, contiguous with the Southern Uplands lynx habitat network, lies across the border in England. Although connectivity between the Highlands and Southern Uplands networks is currently weak, the implementation of measures to mitigate the barrier effects of busy roads in central Scotland could facilitate the movement of lynx between the two areas.
Based on the availability of prey resources, Scotland could support around 400 adult and subadult lynx in the Highlands and around 50 in the Southern Uplands. A Scottish population of this size would be the fourth largest lynx population in Europe considering current population estimates.
Rarity and decline in palaeoendemic Martino's vole Dinaromys bogdanovi
Authors: KRYŠTUFEK BORIS , BUŽAN ELENA V. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACT

Martino's vole Dinaromys bogdanovi is the only living member of the Tertiary genus Dinaromys, and probably also the only surviving member of the Pliomys lineage. The range of the genus Dinaromys has historically been small and its rate of evolution has been low.
Martino's vole shows all three attributes of rarity in accordance with Rabinowitz's ‘seven forms of rarity’ model: (i) its range is estimated at 43 545 km2 but the area of occupancy is <5200 km2; (ii) its habitat requirements are narrow and the species is strictly tied to exposed, karstified bedrock; and (iii) current populations are invariably small and frequently isolated.
The Pleistocene range of Martino's vole exceeded the recent one, at least in the north‐western part of the Balkans, and its shrinkage continued into the Holocene.
Martino's vole may be in competition with the European snow vole Chionomys nivalis, which has a very similar morphology and presumably identical habitat requirements, but is shifted towards an r‐selected life‐history strategy. Long‐term sympatry of these voles has probably resulted in competitive exclusion of the relatively K‐selected Martino's vole by the relatively r‐selected European snow vole.
Martino's vole consists of two deeply divergent (about one million years ago) phylogeographical lineages, which may represent distinct cryptic species. Rarity is particularly pronounced in the north‐western lineage to the west of the Neretva River, where rocky habitats are largely occupied by the European snow vole.
In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals, Martino's vole is classified as ‘near threatened’. However, the north‐western lineage, which is phylogeographically most divergent and has the greatest genetic diversity, is classed as a ‘vulnerable’ evolutionary significant unit on the basis of its small area of occupancy (<2000 km2). Long‐term population monitoring is an essential step in evaluating the conservation needs of Martino's vole.
Post‐glacial history of the dominant alpine sedge Carex curvula in the European Alpine System inferred from nuclear and chloroplast markers
Authors: PUŞCAŞ M. , CHOLER P. , TRIBSCH A. , GIELLY L. , RIOUX D. , GAUDEUL M. , TABERLET P. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe alpine sedge Carex curvula ssp. curvula is a clonal, dominant graminoid found in the European Alps, the Carpathians, the Pyrenees and in some of the Balkan Mountains. It is a late‐successional species of acidophilous alpine meadows that occurs on sites that were covered by ice during the last glacial maximum (LGM). By applying the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) sequencing, we attempted to identify the recolonization routes followed by the species after the last ice retreat. We relied on the genetic diversity of 37 populations covering the entire distributional range of the species. As a wind‐pollinated species, C. curvula is characterized by a low level of population genetic differentiation. Nuclear and chloroplast data both support the hypothesis of a long‐term separation of Eastern (Balkans and Carpathians) and Western (Alps and Pyrenees) lineages. In the Alps, a continuum of genetic depauperation from the east to the west may be related to a recolonization wave originating in the eastern‐most parts of the chain, where the main glacial refugium was likely located. The Pyrenean populations are nested within the western Alps group and show a low level of genetic diversity, probably due to recent long‐distance colonization. In contrast to the Alps, we found no phylogeographical structure in the Carpathians. The combination of reduced ice extension during the Würm period and the presence of large areas of siliceous substrate at suitable elevation suggest that in contrast to populations in the Alps, the species in the Carpathians underwent a local vertical migration rather than extinction and recolonization over long distance.
Contrasting patterns of variation in MHC loci in the Alpine newt
Authors: BABIK W. , PABIJAN M. , RADWAN J. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractMajor histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are essential in pathogen recognition and triggering an adaptive immune response. Although they are the most polymorphic genes in vertebrates, very little information on MHC variation and patterns of evolution are available for amphibians, a group known to be declining rapidly worldwide. As infectious diseases are invoked in the declines, information on MHC variation should contribute to devising appropriate conservation strategies. In this study, we examined MHC variation in 149 Alpine newts (Mesotriton alpestris) from three allopatric population groups in Poland at the northeastern margin of the distribution of this species. The genetic distinctiveness of the population groups has previously been shown by studies of skin graft rejection, allozymes and microsatellites. Two putative expressed MHC II loci with contrasting levels of variation and clear evidence of gene conversion/recombination between them were detected. The Meal‐DAB locus is highly polymorphic (37 alleles), and shows evidence of historical positive selection for amino acid replacements and substantial geographical differentiation in allelic richness. On the contrary, the Meal‐DBB locus exhibits low polymorphism (three alleles differing by up to two synonymous substitutions) and a uniform distribution of three alleles among geographical regions. The uniform frequencies of the presumptively neutral Meal‐DBB alleles may be explained by linkage to Meal‐DAB. We found differences in allelic richness in Meal‐DAB between regions, consistent with the hypothesis that genetic drift prevails with increasing distance from glacial refugia. Pseudogene loci appear to have evolved neutrally. The level of DAB variation correlated with variation in microsatellite loci, implying that selection and drift interplayed to produce the pattern of MHC variation observed in marginal populations of the Alpine newt.
Antigen selection for future anti‐Trichuris vaccines: a comparison of cytokine and antibody responses to larval and adult antigen in a primary infection
Authors: DIXON H. , JOHNSTON C. E. , ELSE K. J. 
Published: April 2008

SUMMARY Trichuriasis, caused by the whipworm Trichuris trichiura, is endemic in tropical and subtropical areas, affecting approximately 1 billion people. Child anthelminthic treatment programmes are being implemented but repeated treatments are costly, may prevent the development of acquired immunity and can lead to the development of drug resistant parasites. Thus, the development of a vaccine which would lead to the acquisition of immunity at an earlier age and reduce community faecal egg output would be beneficial. Development of subunit vaccines requires the identification of protective antigens and their formulation in a suitable adjuvant. Trichuris muris is an antigenically similar laboratory model for T. trichiura. Subcutaneous vaccination with adult excretory–secretory products (ES) protects susceptible mouse strains from T. muris. Larval stages may contain novel and more relevant antigens which when incorporated in a vaccine induce worm expulsion earlier in infection than the adult worm products. This study finds negligible difference in the cellular and humoral immune response to T. muris adult and third stage larva(e) (L3) ES during a primary T. muris infection, but identifies high molecular weight proteins in both adult and L3 ES as potential vaccine candidates.