bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biochemical Investigations of Sclerotial Exudates of Sclerotium rolfsii and their Antifungal Activity
Authors: Pandey M. K. , Sarma B. K. , Singh D. P. , Singh U. P. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractExudates from sclerotia of two Sclerotium rolfsii isolates (one causing collar rot in Cicer arietinum, isolate VC971, and the other leaf spots in Rauvolfia serpentina, isolate VL016) were assayed for their antifungal activity against 26 fungi consisting of plant parasites as well as saprophytes. Spore germination of all the test fungi was affected by the exudates reaching 100% in some cases. Foliar spray with exudates of isolate VL016 significantly reduced disease incidence of balsam (Impatiens balsamina) powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe cichoracearum and pea (Pisum sativum) powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe pisi, under field conditions. Characterization of exudates from 25 isolates of S. rolfsii revealed pH ranging from 3.8 to 5.3 and colour from light yellow to deep yellow. Among the phenolic acids found in the exudates were tannic, gallic, caffeic, vanillic, ferulic, chlorogenic and cinnamic acids. Oxalic acid was also found in varied amounts. Among the phenolic acids, ferulic acid was found to be present at high concentration in exudates of most isolates (3.9–153.4 μg/ml). The antioxidant properties of phenolics, which generally inhibit fungal morphogenesis including spore germination along with the antifungal nature of some phenolics are chiefly attributed to the inhibitory effect of sclerotial exudates of S. rolfsii. Additionally, both the isolates VC971 and VL016 showed almost similar antifungal activities despite they are of different origin and thereby demonstrate the antifungal nature of sclerotial exudates.
Interaction between Rhynchosporium secalis and Pyrenophora teres in the Field and Identification of Genotypes with Double Resistance in a Doubled‐haploid Barley Population
Authors: Cherif M. , Rezgui S. , Devaux P. , Harrabi M. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractNet blotch [Pyrenophora teres (Died.) Drechsl.] and scald [Rhynchosporium secalis (Oudem.) J.J. Davis] are the two most important foliar diseases of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in Tunisia. The use of cultivars with double resistance is the most effective method in controlling both diseases. A doubled‐haploid barley population derived from Tunisian cultivars was evaluated to both net blotch and scald during two growing seasons in the field. Mass disease index (MDI), area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) and apparent infection type (r) were used to assess disease reaction. MDI of net blotch and scald reached up to 65% and 90% respectively. Least significant difference (LSD) test and comparison of the reaction of the doubled haploid (DH) lines to the overall population mean value were efficient in identifying lines with double resistance to both diseases. From the 59 DH lines screened, lines 21, 33, 37, 46 and 47 showed the best level of adult plant resistance to both diseases and may be used in a breeding program for diseases resistance. Interactions between R. secalis and P. teres were investigated at the level of the whole plant under variable epidemic conditions. Under low epidemic conditions, net blotch and scald developments were usually independent, but positively associated for tolerant lines for both diseases. Under high epidemic conditions, competition effects were obtained for susceptible and resistant genotypes. This competition seems to be an exploitation competition that is associated with decreasing resource availability as it occurs only with high levels of infestation or/and when susceptible lines are infected. This study demonstrates the variability of net blotch and scald interaction with epiphytotic conditions and group of resistance.
The Effects of Inorganic Elements on the Reduction of Phytophthora Stem Rot Disease of Soybean, the Growth Rate and Zoospore Release of Phytophthora sojae
Authors: Sugimoto T. , Watanabe K. , Yoshida S. , Aino M. , Matsuyama M. , Maekawa K. , Irie K. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractThe effects of several inorganic elements contained in B5 medium on Phytophthora stem rot disease reduction of Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Chusei‐Hikarikuro, fungal growth of Phytophthora sojae isolate and zoospore release were investigated. Application of B5 solution and macro inorganic nutrients in the B5 medium prior to inoculation significantly inhibited infection, compared with controls. Various concentrations of KNO3, (NH4)2SO4, MgSO4, CaCl2 and NaH2PO4 in the presence of macro inorganic nutrients were investigated in an effort to determine the elements most effective in suppressing the incidence of disease. A concentration of 2.47–24.7 mm KNO3 and 0.1–10.2 mm CaCl2 greatly inhibited infection. Although mycelium growth of the isolate was affected by the potassium and calcium concentration, no significant relationship was observed between inhibition of the growth rate and disease reduction at 2.47 mm KNO3 and 0.1–5.1 mm CaCl2 application. Disease suppression recorded in laboratory experiments using pathogen mycelium was due to the response of plant tissues rather than a direct inhibition of pathogen fungal growth by the application of potassium or calcium. The extent of disease reduction was related to an increased potassium and calcium uptake by plants, suggesting that the effective elements in reducing Phytophthora stem rot were potassium and calcium. The presence of 2.47–247 mm KNO3 and 5.1–10.2 mm CaCl2 decreased the release of zoospores, although 0.1–2.5 mm CaCl2 significantly induced zoospore release. These results suggest that applying a solution containing more than 2.47 mm of potassium and 5.1 mm of calcium can decrease the incidence of disease in agricultural fields by the inhibition of zoospore release.
First Report of Hop stunt viroid and Citrus exocortis viroid on Fig with Symptoms of Fig Mosaic Disease
Authors: Yakoubi S. , Elleuch A. , Besaies N. , Marrakchi M. , Fakhfakh H. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractReverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) was used for the detection of Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) and Citrus exocortis viroid (CEVd) in nucleic acid extracts of infected fig leaf tissues. RT‐PCR results were confirmed by cDNA sequencing. This is the first report of CEVd and HSVd infecting fig in Tunisia. Alignments and phylogenetic analysis classify the HSVd Tunisian isolates in the plum‐type group. CEVd Tunisian isolates are very closely related to the CEVd tomato hybrid callus isolate and to CEVd Gynura isolate from the USA.
Imaging of renal and prostate carcinoma with refractive index radiology
Authors: Yoon Cheol Yong , Sung Duck Je , Lee Ju Han , Kim Ae Ri , Oh Chil Whan , Je Jung Ho , Weon Byung Mook , Seol Seung Kwon , Pyun Aram , Hwu Yeukuang , Margaritondo Giorgio , Joo Kwan Joong , Yoon Duck Ki 
Published: January 2007

Aim:  Having better edge enhancement and penetrating power, refractive index radiology is suitable for the imaging of weakly absorbing objects such as tissue specimens. In this study the potential of refractive index radiology was evaluated for the imaging of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and prostate cancer (PCA).Methods:  Specimens were cut in 3 mm and 4 µm thickness for X‐ray radiology and hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, respectively. Radiographic images of RCC and PCA were obtained using the synchrotron hard X‐rays from the 7B2 beam‐line of the Pohang Light Source (PLS). The imaging technique applied was phase‐contrast radiology based on the refraction enhancement mechanism. The resulting radiographic images were analyzed in correlation with those of optical microscopy.Results:  Using unmonochromatized hard X‐rays, it was possible to obtain images with clear edge enhancement and relatively large field of view (6 cm × 6 cm). Even with overlapping signals from thick samples (more than 700‐fold thicker than microscopic images), radiographic images clearly showed histological information of organelles in normal kidney such as glomeruli, tubules, and collecting ducts. Histological information of RCC including tumor subtypes and minute changes such as cystic degeneration could be identified without difficulty. The radiographic images of the prostate were comparable with those of low magnification optical microscopy, providing good visualization of normal microstructures such as adenoma, smooth muscle, and normal glands, or differentiation of tiny tumors from surrounding normal tissues.Conclusions:  These results suggest the potential of refractive index radiology to provide a new way of imaging biological tissues with low absorption contrast such as RCC and PCA.
Clinical efficacy of alternative antiandrogen therapy in Japanese men with relapsed prostate cancer after first‐line hormonal therapy
Authors: Okihara Koji , Ukimura Osamu , Kanemitsu Noriyuki , Mizutani Yoichi , Kawauchi Akihiro , Miki Tsuneharu ,   Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Prostate Cancer Research Group
Published: January 2007

Background:  To confirm the effectiveness of alternative antiandrogen therapy (AAT) in Japanese patients with prostate cancer relapse after first‐line hormonal therapy.Methods:  A total of 80 patients who had successive serum prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) progression after first‐line hormonal therapy (luteinizing hormone‐releasing hormone agonist alone: 21 cases; combined antiandrogen blockade therapy: 59 cases) were enrolled. We evaluated the positive ratio of antiandrogen withdrawal syndrome (AWS), the PSA responses with second‐ and third‐line AAT, and cause‐specific survival in terms of the effectiveness of AAT.Results:  The overall positive AWS ratio after first‐line therapy was 33%, while that after second‐line therapy was 7%. There was no correlation between the first‐line PSA response and the positive AWS. Of the 10 positive and the 20 negative AWS cases, secondary antiandrogen administration was effective in 50% and 60% of cases, respectively. The positive PSA responders at second‐ and third‐line therapy were 51% and 13%, respectively. For second‐line therapy, the effective rates from steroidal to non‐steroidal, from non‐steroidal to non‐steroidal antiandrogen, and from non‐steroidal to steroidal were 83%, 43%, and 14%, respectively. The cause‐specific survival of the second‐line responders was significantly better than that of the non‐responders.Conclusion:  There was a substantial number of patients who found second‐line AAT to be modestly effective. Flutamide was effective as an alternative antiandrogen for the patients' relapse treatment with bicalutamide in Japanese men.
Childhood body mass index and perioperative complications
Authors: NAFIU OLUBUKOLA O. , REYNOLDS PAUL I. , BAMGBADE OLUMUYIWA A. , TREMPER KEVIN K. , WELCH KATHY , KASA‐VUBU JOSEPHINE Z. 
Published: January 2007

SummaryBackground:  Our aim was to describe the incidence of quality assurance events between overweight/obese and normal weight children.Methods:  This is a retrospective review of the quality assurance database of the Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan for the period January 2000 to December 2004. Using directly measured height and weight, we computed the body mass index (BMI) in 6094 children. Overweight and obesity were defined using age and gender‐specific cut off according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2000) growth charts. Frequency of quality assurance events were compared between normal weight, overweight, and obese children.Results:  There were 3359 males (55.1%) and 2735 females (44.9%). The mean age for the entire population was 11.9 ± 5.2 while the mean BMI was 21.6 ± 6.7 kg·m−2. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity was 31.6%. Obesity was more prevalent in boys than girls (P = 0.016). Preoperative diagnoses of hypertension, type II diabetes, and bronchial asthma were more common in overweight and obese than normal weight children (P = 0.0001 for hypertension, P = 0.001 for diabetes and P = 0.014 for bronchial asthma). Difficult airway, upper airway obstruction in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and PACU stay longer than 3 h and need for two or more antiemetics were more common in overweight and obese than normal weight children (P = 0.001). There was no significant difference in the incidence of unplanned hospital admission following an outpatient surgical procedure between normal weight and overweight/obese children.Discussion:  Studies on perioperative aspects of childhood overweight and obesity are rare. Our report shows a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in this cohort of pediatric surgical patients. Certain perioperative morbidities are more common in overweight and obese than in normal weight children. There is a need for prospective studies of the impact of childhood overweight and obesity on anesthesia and surgical outcome.
Dexmedetomidine as a total intravenous anesthetic in infants
Authors: SHUKRY MOHANAD , KENNEDY KI 
Published: January 2007

SummaryIn this case report, we describe the use of dexmedetomidine as the sole anesthetic for four infants requiring general anesthesia for direct laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy with spontaneous ventilation. Surgical conditions were adequate and the hemodynamic and respiratory profiles of this technique are described.
Cardiac rhythm and left ventricular function of infants at 1 MAC sevoflurane and halothane
Authors: SAUDAN SONJA , BEGHETTI MAURICE , SPAHR‐SCHOPFER ISABELLE , MAMIE CHANTAL , HABRE WALID 
Published: January 2007

SummaryBackground:  The implementation of sevoflurane in pediatric anesthesia practice led to a decrease in the incidence of cardiac arrest previously reported with halothane. Nevertheless, the effects of sevoflurane on cardiac rhythm and function have not been systematically investigated in infants. Thus, we compared cardiac rhythm and left ventricular function at 1 MAC sevoflurane and halothane anesthesia and investigated the potential benefit effect of atropine.Methods:  Twenty infants ASA physical status I or II were randomly assigned to have anesthesia induced with either sevoflurane (up to 5%) or halothane (up to 1.5%). After insertion of an i.v. line, anesthesia was maintained at 1 MAC sevoflurane (group S) or 1 MAC halothane (group H) with infants breathing spontaneously in 100% oxygen. Cardiac output and contractility were measured by transthoracic echocardiography. Three sets of hemodynamic parameters were averaged prior to and after administration of 20 μg·kg−1 of i.v. atropine.Results:  Infants breathing spontaneously 1 MAC halothane or 1 MAC sevoflurane were found to have comparable hemodynamic parameters. After atropine administration, heart rate and cardiac index (CI) increased significantly in both groups (19.6 ± 7.6% in group H and 21.3 ± 13.1% in group S, 18.6 ± 8.8% in group H and 17.7 ± 12% in group S respectively). Moreover, atropine induced an increase in left ventricular shortening fraction with no difference between groups. In contrast, only infants in group S presented a significant increase in ejection fraction.Conclusions:  Indices of left ventricular function were comparable between groups with no clinically significant change following atropine administration. The present study confirms the favorable hemodynamic profile of sevoflurane in infants breathing spontaneously at 1 MAC concentration.
Should ileal pouch–anal anastomosis include mucosectomy?
Authors: Chambers W. M. , McC. Mortensen N. J. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractObjective  Debate exists as to the benefits of performing mucosectomy as part of pouch surgery for ulcerative colitis (UC) and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Whilst mucosectomy results in a more complete removal of diseased mucosa, this benefit may be at the price of poorer function. We examined these issues.Method  Using Medline, Embase, Ovid and Cochrane database searches papers were identified relating to the outcome following pouch surgery with and without mucosectomy. Potential reasons for functional problems were investigated, as were rates of ‘cuffitis’, dysplasia, polyposis and cancer in the ileal pouch and anal canal.Results  The available evidence suggests that performing a mucosectomy leads to a worse functional outcome. Meta‐analysis suggested that nighttime seepage of stool and resting and squeeze pressure were worse after mucosectomy. The most likely reason for functional impairment following pouch surgery was the degree of anal manipulation. Mucosectomy does seem to confer benefit in terms of disease control but this benefit does not reach statistical significance.Conclusion  Stapled anastomosis avoiding mucosectomy is the approach of choice for ileal pouch anal anastomosis because this leads to superior functional outcome. Performing mucosectomy results in some clinical benefits in terms of lower rates of inflammation and dysplasia in the retained mucosa in UC patients and lower rates of cuff polyposis in FAP patients. However, on the basis of available evidence mucosectomy is only indicated in those cases where the patient is at a high risk of disease in the retained rectal cuff.
Young adults with severe congenital hypothyroidism: Cognitive event related potentials (ERPs) and the significance of an early start of thyroxine treatment
Authors: OERBECK BEATE , REINVANG IVAR , SUNDET KJETIL , HEYERDAHL SONJA 
Published: January 2007

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) has devastating effects upon brain development if left untreated. Despite early start of thyroxine treatment, patients still show subtle cognitive deficits compared to controls. We aimed to study auditory event related potentials (ERPs) in young CH adults (N = 12) to verify previous reports of normal attention functions measured by P3 in CH children. We also include ERP components (P1, N1, P2) allowing assessment of a wider range of auditory processing functions. No significant change in P3 latency or amplitude was found in the CH group, but a more subtle change in amplitude topography. A later start of thyroxine treatment was related to increased P3 latency and reduced amplitude. Group differences were found in early ERP components tapping sensory processing, sensory gating and selective attention. The results suggest persisting abnormalities in auditory processing and selective attention that may have influenced cognitive development.
Modelling Concurrency of Events in On-Line Auctions via Spatiotemporal Semiparametric Models
Authors: Jank Wolfgang , Shmueli Galit 
Published: January 2007

SummaryWe introduce a semiparametric approach for modelling the effect of concurrent events on an outcome of interest. Concurrency manifests itself as temporal and spatial dependences. By temporal dependence we mean the effect of an event in the past. Modelling this effect is challenging since events arrive at irregularly spaced time intervals. For the spatial part we use an abstract notion of ‘feature space’ to conceptualize distances among a set of item features. We motivate our model in the context of on-line auctions by modelling the effect of concurrent auctions on an auction's price. Our concurrency model consists of three components: a transaction-related component that accounts for auction design and bidding competition, a spatial component that takes into account similarity between item features and a temporal component that accounts for recently closed auctions. To construct each of these we borrow ideas from spatial and mixed model methodology. The power of this model is illustrated on a large and diverse set of laptop auctions on eBay.com. We show that our model results in superior predictive performance compared with a set of competitor models. The model also allows for new insight into the factors that drive price in on-line auctions and their relationship to bidding competition, auction design, product variety and temporal learning effects.
Using a Mixture Model for Multiple Imputation in the Presence of Outliers: The ‘Healthy for Life’ Project
Authors: Elliott Michael R. , Stettler Nicolas 
Published: January 2007

SummaryWe consider the problem of obtaining population-based inference in the presence of missing data and outliers in the context of estimating the prevalence of obesity and body mass index measures from the ‘Healthy for life’ study. Identifying multiple outliers in a multivariate setting is problematic because of problems such as masking, in which groups of outliers inflate the covariance matrix in a fashion that prevents their identification when included, and swamping, in which outliers skew covariances in a fashion that makes non-outlying observations appear to be outliers. We develop a latent class model that assumes that each observation belongs to one of K unobserved latent classes, with each latent class having a distinct covariance matrix. We consider the latent class covariance matrix with the largest determinant to form an ‘outlier class’. By separating the covariance matrix for the outliers from the covariance matrices for the remainder of the data, we avoid the problems of masking and swamping. As did Ghosh-Dastidar and Schafer, we use a multiple-imputation approach, which allows us simultaneously to conduct inference after removing cases that appear to be outliers and to promulgate uncertainty in the outlier status through the model inference. We extend the work of Ghosh-Dastidar and Schafer by embedding the outlier class in a larger mixture model, consider penalized likelihood and posterior predictive distributions to assess model choice and model fit, and develop the model in a fashion to account for the complex sample design. We also consider the repeated sampling properties of the multiple imputation removal of outliers.
Systematic review of effects of low–moderate prenatal alcohol exposure on pregnancy outcome
Authors: Henderson J , Gray R , Brocklehurst P 
Published: January 2007

Objective  The aim of this study was to review systematically the available evidence on studies in humans on the effects of low–moderate levels of prenatal alcohol consumption (up to 10.4 UK units or 83 g/week) compared with consumption of no alcohol on pregnancy outcome.Design  Systematic review.Population  Pregnant women or women who are trying to become pregnant.Methods  The search strategy included Medline, Embase, Cinahl and PsychInfo for the years 1970–2005. Titles and abstracts were read by two researchers and inclusion/exclusion being decided according to prespecified criteria. All the included articles were then obtained and read in full by the two researchers to decide on inclusion. The articles were assessed for quality using the Newcastle–Ottawa Quality Assessment Scales.Main outcome measures  Outcomes considered were miscarriage, stillbirth, intrauterine growth restriction, prematurity, birthweight, small for gestational age at birth and birth defects including fetal alcohol syndrome.Results  The search resulted in 3630 titles and abstracts, which were narrowed down to 46 relevant articles. At low–moderate levels of consumption, there were no consistently significant effects of alcohol on any of the outcomes considered. Many of the reported studies had methodological weaknesses.Conclusions  This systematic review found no convincing evidence of adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure at low–moderate levels of exposure. However, weaknesses in the evidence preclude the conclusion that drinking at these levels during pregnancy is safe.