bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
THE CYANOBACTERIAL GENUS BRASILONEMA, GEN. NOV., A MOLECULAR AND PHENOTYPIC EVALUATION1
Authors: Fiore Marli Fátima , Sant’Anna Celia Leite , Azevedo Maria Teresa de Paiva , Komárek Jiři , Kaštovský Jan , Sulek Josef , Lorenzi And Adriana Sturion 
Published: July 2007

Twelve populations of filamentous, heterocytous scytonematoid cyanobacteria from subaerophytic (mainly epiphytic) habitats in subtropical and tropical Brazil (São Paulo) were studied. The populations form a uniform cluster, which differs from the traditional scytonematoid genera genetically and by several indistinct, but typical morphological characters (fasciculation of filaments, rare false branching). Two strains were isolated in monospecific cultures. Molecular analyses were performed on these strains from natural populations taken from bromeliad leaves and iron water pipes. Because the results from 16S rRNA gene sequencing indicated the separate position of this cyanobacterium at the generic level, a new genus, Brasilonema, is proposed with the type species Brasilonema bromeliae. The new genus is described using combined molecular and cytomorphological criteria, in accordance with the nomenclatorial recommendations of both the Bacteriological Code and the Botanical Code of Nomenclature (cf. Oren 2004). The ultrastructure of the type species was studied, and vacuole‐like structures in the cells were explained. The genus Brasilonema is commonly distributed, particularly in subaerophytic habitats from southeastern Brazil. The type species (B. bromeliae) has a rather curious ecology, living epiphytically (in phytothelmes) inside the vase‐shaped leaf rosettes of bromeliads.
Method of Atrioventricular Programming in Atrial Flutter in Patients with Biventricular Pacemaker
Authors: NAQVI TASNEEM Z. , BARNETT WILLIAM 
Published: July 2007

Background: Atrial flutter is a common cause of exacerbation of congestive heart failure (CHF). Typically, during atrial tachycardia, pacemakers, both dual and biventricular, are programmed to ignore atrial tracking. Virtually all current pacemakers and defibrillators use a programmable mode switch algorithm to switch between atrial tracking modes (DDD, DDDR) to nontracking modes (DDIR, DDI, VVI) during episodes of atrial tachycardia.
Methods: In this report, we describe a novel method of atrioventricular (AV) pacemaker programming in four patients with atrial flutter and CHF who remained symptomatic postbiventricular pacemaker implantation. All patients had chronic atrial flutter upon interrogation; adjustment of AV delay and postventricular atrial refractory period (PVARP) was performed to enable sensing of every second to fourth atrial flutter beat by the atrial lead. Mode switch was turned “OFF” in all points, and lower and upper rate limits were set to 50 and 100 bpm. Once sequential early and late diastolic filling was seen on mitral inflow pulsed‐wave (PW) Doppler, further adjustment of AV delay and PVARP was performed until the highest and broadest atrial velocity occurred on mitral inflow PW Doppler.
Results: All patients developed improvement in aortic ejection duration and peak ejection velocity during AV optimization. Repeat ECG in these patients at 8 months, 7 days, 2 days, and 2 months postoptimization showed no change in P and QRS relationship. All patients developed improvement in CHF symptoms postbiv pacemaker optimization.
Conclusion: In symptomatic patients with CHF and stable atrial flutter who have a biventricular pacemaker, atrial mechanical contribution to cardiac output can be achieved by adjusting PVARP and AV delay during echo‐guided pacemaker programming.
Close Relationship Between the Bronchi and Pulmonary Veins: Implications for the Prevention of Atriobronchial Fistula After Atrial Fibrillation Ablation
Authors: WU MEI‐HAN , WONGCHAROEN WANWARANG , TSAO HSUAN‐MING , TAI CHING‐TAI , CHANG SHIH‐LIN , LIN YENN‐JIANG , SHEU MING‐HUEI , CHANG CHENG‐YEN , CHEN SHIH‐ANN 
Published: July 2007

Introduction: Atrio‐bronchial fistula (ABF) can be a rare but potentially lethal complication following the catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF). Understanding the extent of the contact between the bronchial tree and pulmonary veins (PVs) is critical to avoid this complication. We investigated the anatomic relationship between the four PVs and bronchial tree using multi‐detector computed tomography (MDCT) images. Methods and Results: Seventy patients with drug refractory AF were included. They underwent 16‐slice MDCT before the ablation. The spatial relationship between the bronchus and PVs was demonstrated by the multi‐planar images. The bronchus was in direct contact with four PVs in the vast majority of patients. The mean distances between the bronchus and the ostia of right superior, left superior, right inferior, and left inferior PV were 7.1 ± 5.5, 3.5 ± 4.8, 12.3 ± 5.6, and 17.9 ± 6.8 mm, respectively. Patients were categorized into two groups: Group I: proximal contact (<5 mm from the PV ostium) and Group II: distal contact (>5 mm from the PV ostium). For the right superior pulmonary vein (RSPV), the Group I patients were associated with thinner connective tissue between them (P = 0.001), a larger RSPV (17.2 ± 2.2 vs 15.5 ± 2.1 mm, P < 0.001), and right inferior pulmonary vein (RIPV) diameter (15.9 ± 1.9 vs 14.6 ± 1.6 mm, P < 0.01). For the left superior pulmonary vein (LSPV), the Group I patients were associated with an older age (P = 0.02). Conclusion: Isolation of the superior PVs may carry the potential risk of bronchial damage. The clinical or anatomic characteristics associated with the proximal contact between the bronchi and superior PVs can provide useful information to prevent this complication.
Silicon impedes stalk penetration by the borer Eldana saccharina in sugarcane
Authors: Kvedaras O. L. , Keeping M. G. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractMany plants grown in soils amended with silicon (Si) display increased levels of resistance to attack by insect herbivores. This study aimed to determine if Si treatment impeded Eldana saccharina Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) stalk penetration and subsequent damage, as well as borer mass gain, on the node and internode of a susceptible (N11) and a resistant (N33) sugarcane cultivar. Sugarcane [Saccharum spp. (Poaceae)] cultivars were grown in a pot trial in Si‐deficient river sand, with (Si+) and without (Si–) calcium silicate. Sugarcane was infested with 2‐week‐old E. saccharina larvae and harvested at four times, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after infestation. Silicon‐treated plants showed significant increases in Si content compared to controls, and the external rind was significantly harder for Si+ cane than Si– cane. Silicon treatment significantly decreased borer penetration, stalk damage, and larval mass gain. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that Si contributes to sugarcane stalk borer resistance by impeding larval penetration. Silicon appears to contribute to the suppression of E. saccharina directly through reduced larval growth and feeding damage to the crop, and indirectly by delaying stalk penetration, resulting most likely in increased exposure time of young larvae to natural enemies, adverse climatic factors, or control measures that target young larvae (e.g., insecticides).
Griffithsin, a potent HIV entry inhibitor, is an excellent candidate for anti‐HIV microbicide
Authors: Emau P. , Tian B. , O’keefe B.R. , Mori T. , McMahon J.B. , Palmer K.E. , Jiang Y. , Bekele G. , Tsai C.C. 
Published: August 2007

Abstract Background The predominant mode of HIV‐1 transmission is by heterosexual contact. The cervical/vaginal mucosa is the main port of HIV entry in women. A safe and effective topical microbicide against HIV is urgently needed to prevent sexual transmission. Hence, we evaluated griffithsin (GRFT), a 12.7 kDa carbohydrate‐binding protein, both native and recombinant GRFT, potently inhibited both CXCR4‐and CCR5‐tropic HIV infection and transmission in vitro.Methods The antiviral efficacy of native and recombinant GRFT against CXCR4‐and CCR5‐tropic HIV and SHIV strains and SIVmac251 was evaluated by in vitro assays. We also evaluated the time course of antiviral activity and stability of GRFT in cervical/vaginal lavage as a function of pH 4–8.Results Griffithsin blocked CXCR4‐and CCR5‐tropic viruses at less than 1 nm concentrations and exhibited a high potency. GRFT was stable in cervical/vaginal lavage fluid and maintained a similar potency of anti‐HIV activity. GRFT is not only a highly potent HIV entry inhibitor, but also prevents cell fusion and cell‐to‐cell transmission of HIV.Conclusions The in vitro efficacy of GRFT revealed low cytotoxicity, high potency, rapid onset of antiviral activity and long‐term stability in cervical/vaginal lavage. GRFT is an excellent candidate for anti‐HIV microbicide development.
Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of Gag/Pol/Env vaccines derived from temporal isolates of SIVmne against cognate virus challenge
Authors: Polacino Patricia , Cleveland Brad , Zhu Yongde , Kimata Jason T. , Overbaugh Julie , Anderson David , Hu Shiu‐Lok 
Published: August 2007

Abstract Background  We used the SIVmne model to examine the relative immunogenicity and protective efficacy of vaccines derived from temporal isolates of lentivirus infection. SIVmne170 is a molecular clone isolated from a pig‐tailed macaque 170 weeks after inoculation with SIVmneCL8.Methods  We immunized pig‐tailed macaques with Gag/Pol/Env vaccines derived from CL8 or 170 and examined their protective efficacy against CL8, 170, or chimeras 8/170 and 170/8, containing the 5′ or 3′ half of the respective parental genomes.Results  As expected, CL8 vaccines protected animals against the CL8, but not the 170 virus. Surprisingly, 170 vaccines not only failed to protect against the 170 virus, but also the less pathogenic CL8. Chimeric virus challenges revealed that the envelope antigen of CL8 represents an important target for protective immunity.Conclusions  These results underscore the potential importance of targeting transmitted viruses through judicious choice of immunogens from early isolates for vaccine development.
The melanocytorrhagic hypothesis of vitiligo tested on pigmented, stressed, reconstructed epidermis
Authors: Cario‐André M. , Pain C. , Gauthier Y. , Taïeb A. 
Published: July 2007

SummaryCommon generalized vitiligo is an acquired depigmenting disorder characterized by a chronic and progressive loss of melanocytes from the epidermis and hair follicles. We previously proposed a new theory that vitiligo involves the chronic detachment and transepidermal loss of melanocytes caused by autoimmune, neural and impaired redox mechanisms associated with mechanical trauma. In this study, we reconstructed epidermis on dead de‐epidermized dermis with normal and/or non‐segmental non‐lesional vitiligo (NSV) cells and tested catecholamines or sera or hydrogen peroxide. Under unstressed conditions, the number of melanocytes located in the basal layer was significantly lower in reconstructs made with melanocytes from non‐lesional NSV skin and normal keratinocytes compared with controls made with autologous normal melanocytes. The number of non‐lesional NSV melanocytes was even lower in reconstructs made with keratinocytes from non‐lesional NSV skin. Epinephrine and H2O2 could trigger the transepidermal loss of normal and vitiligo melanocytes. Some sera induced melanocyte detachment but without any clear correlation with disease activity in the donors. In conclusion, our results are the first step to obtaining a reproducible melanocytorrhagic model in vitro with some of the stressors investigated. They support the hypothesis that NSV melanocytes have an intrinsic defect, which limits their adhesion in a reconstructed epidermis, with an enhancer effect of the vitiligo keratinocyte milieu.
The Romance of the Campagna
Authors: Rope H. E. G. 
Published: August 2007

Few if any regions in the world can rival in romance the classical Campagna. Not the least of the evils of the Pagan Renaissance was the disastrous attempt to separate what the Church had joined together—poetry and faith, romance and philosophy. The Christian Renaissance acted far otherwise. There is no real break between Dante and Tasso, Giotto and the Della Robbias, or Donatello ; the same Catholic sap nourished these varying tendrils of the same vine.A true romantic work is also classical, and the classics have far more of the romantic than is commonly admitted, and the most classical of landscapes may well challenge a primacy of romance.We may admit at the outset, with Digby, that much of Italian scenery is in itself greatly inferior to northernWe take into account the disparaging words that even Ruskin himself once used of the Roman Campagna.
A Resurrection of Relics
Authors: Barnes A. S. , McNabb Vincent 
Published: August 2007

A Resurrection of Relics is the title of a “Modern Churchman’s defence in a recent charge of heresy” urged against the Rev. H. D. A. Major, principal of a Church of England Theological College at Oxford, and Editor of The Modern Churchman. Presented by a brother clergyman to his bishop on a charge of heresy on account of a statement publicly made “that the form which the doctrine of the resurrection assumes in his mind is the survival of death by a personality which has shed its physical integument for ever,” Mr. Major has brought out a pamphlet in which he reiterates this statement and endeavours to defend his position.He has been brought to hold what he does, he tells us, not merely “because of the intrinsic improbability” of the doctrine from which he dissents, “nor because of the scientific difficulties to which it was open.” He has been led to reject the doctrine “because it has become clear that Jesus Christ did not teach it.” With the Apostles it is otherwise, and “it may well be that the teaching of St. Paul is different.” But, if so, so much the worse for St. Paul. Like the Salvation Army lass when confronted with St. Paul’s teaching on women’s speaking in church, he has his answer ready. “Ah ! but that, you see, is just where I don’t agree with Paul.” There is only a single passage of Our Lord’s teaching to appeal to, so he tells us, for “the resurrection teaching of the Fourth Gospel is not easy to interpret” and may therefore, apparently, be left unexamined. The one passage which is decisive, in Mr. Major’s view, is the answer of Our Lord to the Sadducees, “I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
A “Catholic History”
Authors: Calthrop M. M. C. 
Published: August 2007

We like the method the author of A Catholic History of Great Britain has proposed to herself of emphasizing, that is to say, “leading ideas” rather than “unimportant facts,” it is the only method for treating history on so compressed a scale. But we confess to some disappointment at the result. Perhaps we expected too much. The test of a general survey consists of its presentment of Constitutional and Social development and of Foreign Relations. Here the one strikes us, more particularly in the earlier part, as wanting in clearness of outline—it is crammed with small detail—and the other as lacking the essential elements of connection and continuity.The Saxon ceorl, for example, described as a farmer, an agriculturist (p. 20), serves as a key to Anglo-Saxon society if his position as occupying the lowest rank of free landowner, midway between the noble class on the one hand and the slave class on the other, is clearly brought out. To trace the effect of growing feudalization on the status of the ceorlish man in the age immediately preceding the Conquest, and his subsequent identification with the unfree villein of Post-Conquest days following the introduction of the fully organized Feudal System into England by the Conqueror, is to grasp the successive stages through which Englishmen passed from an order where the middle-class man, in the person of the ceorl, was free, but had below him a slave class to a society where he himself had become debased and had lost his independence, but the community at large rested no longer on a substructure of slavery. The Saxon theow had gained where the Saxon ceorl had lost, and progress was justified of her children in the dying institution of slavery.
Where All Roads Lead
Authors: Chesterton G. K. 
Published: August 2007

I was being escorted the other day over the Roman foundations of an ancient British city, by a professor who said something that seems to me a satire on a good many other professors. I think it very probable that this professor saw the joke, though he maintained an iron gravity; but I do not know whether he saw that it was a joke against a great deal of historical science and comparative religion. I drew his attention to a bas-relief or moulding representing the head of the sun with the usual halo of rays, but with the difference that the face in the disc, instead of being boyish like Apollo, was bearded like Neptune or Jupiter. Yes, he said, with a certain delicate exactitude, that is supposed to represent the local sun-god Sul. The best authorities identify Sul with Minerva; but this has been held to show that the identification is not complete.That is what we call a powerful understatement. And it struck me that it was singularly like a large number of parallels I have come across in what is called comparative religion, on which I would add a postscript to these notes. Many professors identifying things remind me of this identification of Minerva with the Bearded Woman of Mr. Barnum. It is indeed an example of the modern world being madder than any satires on it; for long ago Mr. Belloc invented an imaginary don, who said that a bust of Ariadne had been proved by modern research to represent Silenus.
Enteral Exsorption of Acetaminophen after Intravenous Injection in Rats: Influence of Activated Charcoal on This Clearance Path
Authors: Eyer Florian , Jung Nicole , Neuberger Heidi , Schulz Roswitha , Steiner Kurt , Ladstetter Bernhard , Poethko Thorsten , Henke Julia , Zilker Thomas 
Published: July 2007

Abstract:  The fate of acetaminophen after intravenous injection in whole bowel‐irrigated rats (n = 40) and the influence of activated charcoal on the kinetics were investigated. After randomization to four groups (n = 10, each group), plasma concentration and the quantities of acetaminophen and metabolites excreted into bile, urine and intestine were determined using an in vivo model with or without orally administered activated charcoal and with or without bile duct cannulation. The cumulative amount of acetaminiphen and metabolites exsorbed into the small intestine within 3.5 hr after intravenous injection was about 20% of dose in the animals with bile duct cannulation and about 7% of dose in the animals without. Correspondingly, about 13% of dose was detected in the externalized bile. Activated charcoal did not influence the amount exsorbed into the small intestine. Terminal half‐life in plasma ranged from 35 to 51 min. within the four treatment groups without statistically significant difference (P = 0.152). Correspondingly, the area under the curve did not vary much and ranged between 2.6 and 3.3 g/min./l (P = 0.392). Deposition of acetaminophen and metabolites in liver and kidney after 3.5 hr was marginal and ranged between 0.02% and 0.6% of the dose within all groups. The excretion of acetaminophen and metabolites into urine varied strikingly between 31% and 56% of the dose within all groups and correlated with diuresis. The lack of effect of activated charcoal on the elimination of acetaminophen and metabolites may be due to the small amount of the drug being exsorbed into the intestine or the reduced adsorbent capacity of activated charcoal to acetaminophen and metabolites, which also could be influenced by inadequate luminal stirring.
Protective Effect of Quercetin on the Homocysteine‐Injured Human Umbilical Vein Vascular Endothelial Cell Line (ECV304)
Authors: Lin Rong , Liu Juntian , Gan Weijie , Ding Cunjing 
Published: July 2007

Abstract:  Homocysteine is responsible for the occurrence of many cardiovascular diseases for instance by injuring the vascular endothelial cells. Quercetin has many beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, but it is unknown whether it provides protection against homocysteine‐injured vascular endothelial cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effect and mechanism of quercetin on the homocysteine‐injured human umbilical vein vascular endothelial cell line (ECV304) (i.e. morphology, viability and nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) expression of ECV304 injured with 1.0 mM homocysteine) by determination of lipid peroxidant and endothelium‐derived factors in the cultural medium of homocysteine‐injured ECV304. Quercetin at 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 µM attenuated the morphological changes and increased viability of homocysteine‐injured ECV304 in a dose‐dependent manner (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01 versus the homocysteine‐injured group). At the same time, quercetin at 12.5, 25 and 50 µM decreased malondialdehyde level, endothelin release and NF‐κB expression, and increased superoxide dismutase activity, nitric oxide and 6‐keto‐prostaglandin F1α releases in homocysteine‐injured ECV304 (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01 versus the homocysteine‐injured group). These results suggest that quercetin has a protective effect on homocysteine‐injured vascular endothelial cells by antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory mechanisms.
Effects of Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester on the Histopathological Changes in the Lungs of Cigarette Smoke‐Exposed Rabbits
Authors: Sezer Murat , Sahin Onder , Solak Okan , Fidan Fatma , Kara Ziya , Unlu Mehmet 
Published: July 2007

Abstract:  We aimed at evaluating the effects of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) on the histopathological changes in the lungs of rabbits exposed to cigarette smoke exposure. Four groups with six rabbits each were as follows: cigarette smoke group, CAPE group, cigarette smoke + CAPE group and control group. The cigarette smoke group was exposed to cigarette smoke 1 hr daily for 1 month. The CAPE group was administered intraperitoneal CAPE. The CAPE + cigarette smoke group was both exposed to cigarette smoke and was administered intraperitoneal CAPE. The control group was exposed to clean air. After 1 month, the rabbits were killed and the lung tissues were examined histopathologically. Peribronchial and intraparenchymal inflammation, intraparenchymal vascular congestion and thrombosis, intraparenchymal haemorrhage, respiratory epithelial proliferation, number of macrophages in the bronchiolar and alveolar lumen, alveolar destruction, emphysematous changes and bronchoalveolar haemorrhage scores were significantly higher in the cigarette smoke group than in the control group. Administration of CAPE to cigarette smoke‐exposed rabbits significantly prevented all these changes. CAPE seems to have significant preventive effects on the severe histopathological changes in the lungs associated with cigarette smoke exposure. However, in some instances, it may not alter the progression to fibrosis.
Teaching ethics in Europe
Authors: Claudot Frédérique , Alla François , Ducrocq Xavier , Coudane Henry 
Published: July 2007

Aim:To carry out an appropriate overview and inventory of the teaching of ethics within the European Union Schools of Medicine.Methods:A questionnaire was sent by email to 45 randomly selected medical schools from each of 23 countries in the European Union in February 2006.Results:25 schools of medicine from 18 European countries were included (response rate = 56%). In 21 of 25 medical schools, there was at least one ethics module. In 11 of 25 medical schools, the teaching of ethics was transversal. Only one of the responding schools did not teach ethics. The mean time invested in ethics teaching was 44 h during the overall curriculum.Conclusions:Ethics now has an established place within the medical curriculum throughout the European Union. However, there is a notable disparity in programme characteristics among schools of medicine.