bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluating hypotheses about dispersal in a vulnerable butterfly
Authors: Casula Paolo 
Published: December 2005

AbstractSound management of species requires reliable estimates of dispersal. Indeed, dispersal of individuals among local populations is a key factor in the biology and persistence of local populations and metapopulations. Here, the small‐scale dispersal pattern of a vulnerable species, the endemic Sardinian chalk hill blue butterfly, was studied by applying capture–recapture multistate models and a model selection based on AIC values. Model parameters were survival, capture and movement probabilities. The model selection showed that (a) survival probability of individuals varied between sexes, (b) capture probability varied between sexes and among patches, and (c) movement probability varied with direction. The probability of movement among adjacent local populations was generally low and ranged from 0.009 to 0.212. Movement probabilities were subsequently modeled using data on interpatch distance and donor patch population size or area. The ultrastructural “biology‐based” models turned out to be the most appropriate models for inference, showing that dispersal decreases with increasing interpatch distance and increasing donor patch population size or area, and suggesting that butterfly dispersal is affected by patch geometry and the presence of conspecifics. The application of multistate models, the model selection approach, and ultrastructural modeling allowed testing the validity of some general hypotheses related to dispersal in metapopulations and helped elucidate the butterfly small‐scale dispersal pattern.
Similarity of rocky intertidal assemblages along the Pacific coast of Japan: effects of spatial scales and geographic distance
Authors: Nakaoka Masahiro , Ito Norihiko , Yamamoto Tomoko , Okuda Takehiro , Noda Takashi 
Published: December 2005

AbstractFactors and processes affecting community structures operate at various spatial and temporal scales. We analyzed how similarities of rocky intertidal assemblages vary at different spatial scales using a nested, hierarchical sampling design. Intertidal assemblages consisting of algae, sessile animals, and mobile animals were censused on five rock walls at each of five shores chosen within each of six regions along the Pacific coast of Japan, encompassing 1,800 km of coastlines. Based on this sampling design, similarities in assemblages were calculated using both qualitative (presence/absence) and quantitative (percent cover and density) data, and compared at three spatial levels: (1) rock level (the finest spatial scale, encompassing several to hundreds of meters), (2) shore level (the intermediate spatial scale, encompassing several to tens of kilometers), and (3) region level (the broadest spatial scale, encompassing hundreds to thousands of kilometers). Cluster analysis showed that assemblages were categorized into distinct regional groups except for the two southern regions, but they did not separate clearly from each shore. A nested analysis of similarities revealed significant variation in similarities among regions and among shores within each region, with the former showing greater variation. Similarity was negatively correlated with geographic distance at the regional level but not at the shore or the rock levels. At the regional level, similarity decreased more rapidly with distance for mobile animals than sessile organisms. The analyses highlighted the importance of broad‐scale abiotic/biotic factors such as oceanic current conditions and biogeographic factors in determining observed patterns in similarity of rocky intertidal assemblages.
Late Pleistocene highstand and recession of a small, high-altitude pluvial lake, Jakes Valley, central Great Basin, USA
Authors: García Antonio Francisco , Stokes Martin 
Published: November 2005

AbstractModels of factors controlling late Pleistocene pluvial lake-level fluctuations in the Great Basin are evaluated by dating lake levels in Jakes Valley. “Jakes Lake” rose to a highstand at 13,870 ± 50 14C Yr B.P., receded to a stillstand at 12,440 ± 50 14C yr B.P., and receded steadily to desiccation thereafter. The Jakes Lake highstand is roughly coincident with highstands of lakes Bonneville, Lahontan and Russell. The rise to highstand and recession of Jakes Lake were most likely controlled by a storm track steered by the polar jet stream. The final stillstand of Jakes Lake helps constrain timing of northward retreat of the polar jet stream during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition.
Duration of untreated psychosis and ethnicity in the ÆSOP first-onset psychosis study
Authors: MORGAN CRAIG , FEARON PAUL , HUTCHINSON GERARD , McKENZIE KWAME , LAPPIN JULIA M. , ABDUL-AL RUDWAN , MORGAN KEVIN , DAZZAN PAOLA , BOYDELL JANE , HARRISON GLYNN , CRAIG TOM , LEFF JULIAN , JONES PETER , MURRAY ROBIN 
Published: December 2005

Background. There is a common assumption that Black patients with a psychotic mental illness experience longer treatment delays during a first episode. We sought to investigate this issue in a large cohort of patients with a first episode of psychosis.Method. All patients with a first episode of psychosis presenting to secondary mental health services within tightly defined catchment areas in south-east London and Nottingham over a 2-year period were included in the study. Data relating to duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were collected from patients, relatives and case-notes.Results. There was no evidence that African-Caribbean or Black African patients experienced longer periods of untreated psychosis than White British patients prior to first contact with services. There was evidence that Black African patients experienced shorter periods of untreated psychosis than White British patients.Conclusions. Contrary to what is commonly assumed, our study suggests that Black patients with a psychotic mental illness do not experience longer treatment delays prior to first contact with services than White British patients. This suggests that strategies to reduce treatment delays targeted specifically at Black patients will be of limited value.
Chemical and physical characterization by EELS of strontium hexanoate reverse micelles and strontium carbonate nanophase produced during tribological experiments
Authors: Mansot J. L. , Golabkan V. , Romana L. , Césaire T. 
Published: December 2005

SummaryElectron energy‐loss spectroscopy (EELS) in the analytical electron microscope has been used to characterize nanometre‐scale phases of overbased strontium 3,5‐dimethylhexanoate reverse micelles and the tribological film obtained during a friction test when the phases are used as lubricant additives. Accurate chemical, molecular and structural information on these materials are deduced by interpreting the EELS near‐edge structure. This approach allows confirmation of the composite structure of the micelles, which contain a mineral core and amorphous strontium carbonate surrounded by an organic shell. It also allows identification of the chemical composition and physical structure of the tribological film as an assembly of pure strontium carbonate microcrystals, i.e. strontianite, distributed in an amorphous intergranular phase.
Subcellular localization of boron in cultured melanoma cells by electron energy‐loss spectroscopy of freeze‐dried cryosections
Authors: Michel J. , Sauerwein W. , Wittig A. , Balossier G. , Zierold K. 
Published: December 2005

SummaryBoron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is based on the ability of the non‐radioactive isotope 10B to capture thermal neutrons and to disintegrate instantaneously. This reaction opens a way to selectively destroy tumour cells after specific uptake of 10B. In this paper, a method based on electron energy‐loss spectroscopy is presented for detecting and quantifying boron in freeze‐dried cryosections of human melanoma cells. A practical detection limit of around 6 mmol kg−1 in 0.1‐µm2 areas is estimated using specimens prepared from standard boron solutions. Preliminary results of boron mapping in the spectrum‐imaging acquisition mode reveal boron penetration and probably spot‐like accumulation within melanoma cells when exposed to culture medium containing sodium borocaptate.
Electron energy‐loss spectroscopy study of thin film hafnium aluminates for novel gate dielectrics
Authors: Stemmer S. , Chen Z. Q. , Zhu W. J. , Ma T. P. 
Published: December 2005

SummaryWe have used conventional high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron energy‐loss spectroscopy (EELS) in scanning transmission electron microscopy to investigate the microstructure and electronic structure of hafnia‐based thin films doped with small amounts (6.8 at.%) of Al grown on (001) Si. The as‐deposited film is amorphous with a very thin (∼0.5 nm) interfacial SiOx layer. The film partially crystallizes after annealing at 700 °C and the interfacial SiO2‐like layer increases in thickness by oxygen diffusion through the Hf‐aluminate layer and oxidation of the silicon substrate. Oxygen K‐edge EELS fine‐structures are analysed for both films and interpreted in the context of the films’ microstructure. We also discuss valence electron energy‐loss spectra of these ultrathin films.
Study of changes in L32 EELS ionization edges upon formation of Ni‐based intermetallic compounds
Authors: Potapov P. L. , Kulkova S. E. , Schryvers D. 
Published: December 2005

SummaryEELS L32 ionization edges in several Ni‐based intermetallic compounds have been studied and interpreted in terms of the distribution of electrons in the valence d‐bands. It is demonstrated that the integral EELS cross‐sections change only slightly upon the formation of intermetallic compounds and therefore the charge transfer between atoms is negligible. On the other hand, the changes in the fine energy‐loss near‐edge structure (ELNES) of the Ni L3 edge can be readily detected indicating an important redistribution of d‐electrons at the Ni site with alloying. These features are well reproduced by ab‐initio calculations with a FLAPW method in its WIEN97 implementation. In contrast to the drastic effect of chemical environment, structural transformations in the investigated intermetallics result in smaller ELNES changes, which can be detected by only exceptional instruments with a higher energy resolution.
EELS investigation of FeCo/SiO2 nanocomposites
Authors: Falqui A. , Serin V. , Calmels L. , Snoeck E. , Corrias A. , Ennas G. 
Published: December 2005

SummaryThe factors that determine the local magnetic properties of FeCo/SiO2 nanocomposite powders and films have been analysed by electron energy‐loss spectroscopy (EELS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Attention has been given to the chemical composition, the local electronic structure and the atomic arrangement. The results show that the nanoparticles from sol‐gel prepared powders are generally Fe‐rich, whereas they are Co‐rich in sol‐gel prepared films. In addition, a subnanometre oxide layer at the surface of the FeCo nanoparticles has been clearly observed in the powder sample. It is found that the magnetic moment should be partly governed by alloying effects. Numerical values of the near‐surface magnetic moment have been obtained using the ab‐initio layer‐KKR method. These values should be helpful in understanding the layer‐by‐layer changes of the white line ratio close to the surface of the nanoparticles.
N‐K ELNES study of anisotropy effects in hexagonal AlN
Authors: Radtke G. , Epicier T. , Bayle‐Guillemaud P. , Le Bossé J. C. 
Published: December 2005

SummaryAnisotropic effects in hexagonal aluminium nitride have been studied by electron energy‐loss spectroscopy (EELS) in the N‐K energy loss near edge structure (ELNES). Experimental data acquired with different collection angles and with a nearly parallel incident electron beam aligned along the c‐axis have been compared to simulations based on ab initio calculations. The extraction of intrinsic parallel I‖ (with momentum transfer q ‖ c axis) and perpendicular I⊥ (with momentum transfer q ⊥ c axis) components has been performed directly from the experimental spectra. This has been done according to their description as linear combinations of I‖ and I⊥, with adequate weights deduced from a geometrical model of anisotropic behaviour.
Endothelin‐1 stimulates the translocation and upregulation of both glucose transporter and hexokinase in astrocytes: relationship with gap junctional communication
Authors: Sánchez‐Alvarez Rosa , Tabernero Arantxa , Medina José M. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractWe have previously shown that endothelin‐1 increases glucose uptake in astrocytes. In the present work we investigate the mechanism through which endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) increases glucose uptake. Our results show that ET‐1 activates a short‐term and a long‐term mechanism. Thus, ET‐1 induced a rapid change in the localization of both GLUT‐1 and type I hexokinase. These changes are probably aimed at rapidly increasing the entry and phosphorylation of glucose. In addition, ET‐1 upregulated GLUT‐1 and type I hexokinase and induced the expression of isoforms not normally expressed in astrocytes, such as GLUT‐3 and type II hexokinase. These changes provide astrocytes with the machinery required to sustain a high rate of glucose uptake for a longer period of time. Our previous work had suggested that the effect of ET‐1 on glucose uptake was associated with the inhibition of gap junctions. In this work, we compare the effect of ET‐1 with that of carbenoxolone, a classical inhibitor of gap junction communication. Carbenoxolone increased glucose uptake to the same extent as ET‐1 following the same mechanisms. Thus, carbenoxolone induced a rapid change in the localization of both GLUT‐1 and type I hexokinase, upregulated GLUT‐1 and type I hexokinase and induced the expression of GLUT‐3 and type II hexokinase. When the inhibition of gap junction was prevented by tolbutamide, neither ET‐1 nor carbenoxolone were able to increase the levels of GLUT‐1, GLUT‐3, type I hexokinase or type II hexokinase, indicating that these events are closely related to gap junctions.
Systems Biology Toolbox for MATLAB: a computational platform for research in systems biology
Authors: Schmidt Henning , Jirstrand Mats 
Published: November 2005

Abstract
Summary: We present a Systems Biology Toolbox for the widely used general purpose mathematical software MATLAB. The toolbox offers systems biologists an open and extensible environment, in which to explore ideas, prototype and share new algorithms, and build applications for the analysis and simulation of biological and biochemical systems. Additionally it is well suited for educational purposes. The toolbox supports the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) by providing an interface for import and export of SBML models. In this way the toolbox connects nicely to other SBML-enabled modelling packages. Models are represented in an internal model format and can be described either by entering ordinary differential equations or, more intuitively, by entering biochemical reaction equations. The toolbox contains a large number of analysis methods, such as deterministic and stochastic simulation, parameter estimation, network identification, parameter sensitivity analysis and bifurcation analysis.
Availability: The Systems Biology Toolbox for MATLAB is open source and freely available from . The website also contains a tutorial, extensive documentation and examples.
Contact: henning@fcc.chalmers.se
Engineering covalent oligomers of the mechanosensitive channel of large conductance from Escherichia coli with native conductance and gating characteristics
Authors: Folgering Joost H.A. , Wolters Justina C. , Poolman Bert 
Published: December 2005

AbstractTo obtain a gene construct for making single substitutions per channel and to determine the quaternary structure of the mechanosensitive channel MscL from Escherichia coli, covalent oligomers (monomer to hexamer) were engineered by gene fusion; up to six copies of the mscL gene were fused in tandem. All the multimeric tandem constructs yielded functional channels with wild‐type conductance and dwell times. Importantly, only the covalent pentamer opened at the same relative pressure (compared to the pressure required to open MscS) as the wild‐type MscL channel. The in vivo data strongly suggest that pentameric MscL represents the functional state of the channel.
A pilot clinical trial comparing an acid‐buffering formulation (ACIDFORM gel) with metronidazole gel for the treatment of symptomatic bacterial vaginosis
Authors: Simoes Jose A. , Bahamondes Luis G. , Camargo Rodrigo P. S. , Alves Valeria M. N. , Zaneveld Lourens J. D. , Waller Donald P. , Schwartz Jill , Callahan Marianne M. , Mauck Christine K. 
Published: December 2005

AimTo compare the effectiveness of an acid‐buffering formulation gel (ACIDFORM) with metronidazole gel in the treatment of symptomatic bacterial vaginosis (BV).MethodsAfter a confirmed diagnosis of BV according to the criteria established by Nugent and Amsel, 30 nonpregnant women were enrolled in a randomized, double‐blind clinical study. The women were randomly assigned to receive either 5 g ACIDFORM gel (n = 13) or 10% metronidazole gel (n = 17) intravaginally once daily for five consecutive days. Participants were evaluated in two follow‐up visits (7–12 days and 28–35 days after treatment). Therapeutic success was defined as the presence of less than three of Amsel's criteria. If three or more criteria were present at first or second follow‐up visit, the woman was excluded from the study and treated orally with metronidazole. Nugent scores were recorded at each visit but these were not used to define cure.ResultsAt the first follow‐up visit, 15 (88%) of the women in the metronidazole group were cured compared with only three (23%) in the ACIDFORM group (P < 0.001). The remaining 12 women (10 of the ACIDFORM group and two of the metronidazole group) were considered as failure and were treated orally with metronidazole. At the second follow‐up visit, two of the ACIDFORM‐treated women and six of the metronidazole‐treated women presented recurrent BV. Four women in the ACIDFORM group and one in the metronidazole group reported occasional burning and itching during product use.ConclusionACIDFORM gel was significantly less effective than high‐dose metronidazole gel for the treatment of symptomatic BV.
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia in adults: a review of medical, surgical and psychological issues
Authors: Ogilvie Cara Megan , Crouch Naomi S. , Rumsby Gill , Creighton Sarah M. , Liao Lih‐Mei , Con Way Gerard S. 
Published: December 2005

SummaryOur knowledge of the experience of adults with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) as they pass through life is only now emerging. In this review we gather medical, surgical and psychological literature pertaining to adults with CAH and consider this alongside practical experience gained from a dedicated adult CAH clinic. There is increasing awareness for the need for multidisciplinary teams who have knowledge of CAH particularly with respect to gynaecological surgery and clinical psychology for women and testicular function in men.Routine management of CAH comprises adjustment of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid treatment according to individual needs balancing biochemical markers, compliance and long term risks. Bone density is one such long term concern and is not greatly reduced in most individuals with CAH. More recently, attention has turned to cardiovascular risk factors and catecholamine deficiency in adults with CAH.Women with CAH require access to an experienced gynaecologist, specialised pregnancy care and psychosexual support. The very low fertility rates for women with CAH previously reported appear to be improving with time. Men with CAH are often lost to follow up and therefore miss out on surveillance for hypogonadism either through the effect of adrenal rests of from suppression of gonadotrophins resulting in a high prevalence of oligospermia.
Selecting discriminant function models for predicting the expected richness of aquatic macroinvertebrates
Authors: SICKLE JOHN VAN , HUFF DAVID D. , HAWKINS CHARLES P. 
Published: November 2005

Summary1. The predictive modelling approach to bioassessment estimates the macroinvertebrate assemblage expected at a stream site if it were in a minimally disturbed reference condition. The difference between expected and observed assemblages then measures the departure of the site from reference condition.2. Most predictive models employ site classification, followed by discriminant function (DF) modelling, to predict the expected assemblage from a suite of environmental variables. Stepwise DF analysis is normally used to choose a single subset of DF predictor variables with a high accuracy for classifying sites. An alternative is to screen all possible combinations of predictor variables, in order to identify several ‘best’ subsets that yield good overall performance of the predictive model.3. We applied best‐subsets DF analysis to assemblage and environmental data from 199 reference sites in Oregon, U.S.A. Two sets of 66 best DF models containing between one and 14 predictor variables (that is, having model orders from one to 14) were developed, for five‐group and 11‐group site classifications.4. Resubstitution classification accuracy of the DF models increased consistently with model order, but cross‐validated classification accuracy did not improve beyond seventh or eighth‐order models, suggesting that the larger models were overfitted.5. Overall predictive model performance at model training sites, measured by the root‐mean‐squared error of the observed/expected species richness ratio, also improved steadily with DF model order. But high‐order DF models usually performed poorly at an independent set of validation sites, another sign of model overfitting.6. Models selected by stepwise DF analysis showed evidence of overfitting and were outperformed by several of the best‐subsets models.7. The group separation strength of a DF model, as measured by Wilks’Λ, was more strongly correlated with overall predictive model performance at training sites than was DF classification accuracy.8. Our results suggest improved strategies for developing reliable, parsimonious predictive models. We emphasise the value of independent validation data for obtaining a realistic picture of model performance. We also recommend assessing not just one or two, but several, candidate models based on their overall performance as well as the performance of their DF component.9. We provide links to our free software for stepwise and best‐subsets DF analysis.