bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Case-control study of sudden infant death syndrome in Lithuania, 1997–2000
Authors: Bubnaitienė Vilija , Kalėdienė Ramunė , Kėvalas Rimantas 
Published: November 2005

Abstract

Background
To identify risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome relevant in Lithuania.

Methods
A nationwide case-control study surveying parents of 35 infants who died from sudden infant death syndrome during the period of 1997–2000 and parents of 145 control infants matched with SIDS infants for date of birth and for region of birth was carried out.

Results
Deaths incidence was greater in the warm period (60%) vs. cold period (40%). Prone and side sleeping positions both carried no increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome compared with supine because of a rare prone sleeping (4.1% of controls vs. 0% of dead infants) and more prevalent side than supine sleeping (84.8% of controls vs. 94.3% of dead infants) in the controls as well as the cases. Bed sharing for the whole night as a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome has not been confirmed, either, as bed sharing was common only for the controls (13.8% of controls vs. 0% of dead infants). Routine sleeping environment factors such as heavy wrapping (≥4 togs) of an infant (odds ratio 8.49; 95% confidence interval 2.38 to 30.32), sleeping in a bassinet (4.22; 1.16 to 15.38) and maternal factors such as maternal education ≤12 years (4.48; 1.34 to 14.94), unplanned pregnancy (5.22; 1.49 to 18.18) and ≥2 previous live births (3.90; 1.00 to 15.10) were significantly associated with sudden infant death syndrome on multivariate analysis.

Conclusion
The results of this first population-based case-control study have shed some light on the epidemiology of the syndrome in Lithuania. Although the mortality of sudden infant death syndrome in Lithuania is not high, it might be lowered moreover by public informing about sudden infant death syndrome and related risk factors. Special attention must be paid to mothers with low education on potentially modifiable risk factors such as routine heavy wrapping of an infant during sleep, routine sleeping in a bassinet and unplanned pregnancy.
The visual analog rating scale of health-related quality of life: an examination of end-digit preferences
Authors: Shmueli Amir 
Published: November 2005

Abstract

Background
The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) has been extensively used in the valuation of health-related quality of life (HRQL). The objective of this paper is to examine the measurement error (rounding) explanation for the higher prevalence of VAS scores ending with a zero, and to provide an alternative interpretation.

Methods
The analysis is based on more than 4,500 reported VAS valuations of own HRQL, included in two Israeli health surveys (1993 and 2000). Bivariate and logistic regression analyses are used.

Results
The results show that reporting VAS scores ending with a 0 (...-20, ..0,10,20.....) decreases and scores ending with a 5 (...-15,-5,5,15,25,...) and with any other integer (...-12, -11,...1,2,...,92,..99) increases as VAS scores depart from 50, particularly when increasing up to 100. This pattern remains after controlling for personal characteristics determining the level of VAS.

Discussion
Rounding true HRQL to the nearest 10's or 5's cannot explain the specific pattern found. It is suggested that this pattern corresponds to a S-shaped value function, where individuals tend to evaluate their HRQL as "gains" or "losses" relative to a reference point evaluated at 50. This particular reference score originates from being a traditional "passing threshold" and the scale's midpoint. Several implications of this interpretation to the measurement of HRQL are discussed.
Increase of mitochondrial DNA content and transcripts in early bovine embryogenesis associated with upregulation of mtTFA and NRF1 transcription factors
Authors: May-Panloup Pascale , Vignon Xavier , Chrétien Marie-Françoise , Heyman Yvan , Tamassia Manoel , Malthièry Yves , Reynier Pascal 
Published: November 2005

Abstract

Background
Recent work has shown that mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial functions are critical determinants of embryonic development. However, the expression of the factors controlling mitochondrial biogenesis in early embryogenesis has received little attention so far.

Methods
We used real-time quantitative PCR to quantify mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in bovine oocytes and in various stages of in vitro produced embryos. To investigate the molecular mechanisms responsible for the replication and the transcriptional activation of mtDNA, we quantified the mRNA corresponding to the mtDNA-encoded cytochrome oxidase 1 (COX1), and two nuclear-encoded factors, i.e. the Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1 (NRF1), and the nuclear-encoded Mitochondrial Transcription Factor A (mtTFA).

Results
Unlike findings reported in mouse embryos, the mtDNA content was not constant during early bovine embryogenesis. We found a sharp, 60% decrease in mtDNA content between the 2-cell and the 4/8-cell stages. COX1 mRNA was constant until the morula stage after which it increased dramatically. mtTFA mRNA was undetectable in oocytes and remained so until the 8/16-cell stage; it began to appear only at the morula stage, suggesting de novo synthesis. In contrast, NRF1 mRNA was detectable in oocytes and the quantity remained constant until the morula stage.

Conclusion
Our results revealed a reduction of mtDNA content in early bovine embryos suggesting an active process of mitochondrial DNA degradation. In addition, de novo mtTFA expression associated with mitochondrial biogenesis activation and high levels of NRF1 mRNA from the oocyte stage onwards argue for the essential function of these factors during the first steps of bovine embryogenesis.
EEG correlates of verbal and nonverbal working memory
Authors: Hwang Grace , Jacobs Joshua , Geller Aaron , Danker Jared , Sekuler Robert , Kahana Michael J 
Published: November 2005

Abstract

Background
Distinct cognitive processes support verbal and nonverbal working memory, with verbal memory depending specifically on the subvocal rehearsal of items.

Methods
We recorded scalp EEG while subjects performed a Sternberg task. In each trial, subjects judged whether a probe item was one of the three items in a study list. Lists were composed of stimuli from one of five pools whose items either were verbally rehearsable (letters, words, pictures of common objects) or resistant to verbal rehearsal (sinusoidal grating patterns, single dot locations).

Results
We found oscillatory correlates unique to verbal stimuli in the θ (4–8 Hz), α (9–12 Hz), β (14–28 Hz), and γ (30–50 Hz) frequency bands. Verbal stimuli generally elicited greater power than did nonverbal stimuli. Enhanced verbal power was found bilaterally in the θ band, over frontal and occipital areas in the α and β bands, and centrally in the γ band. When we looked specifically for cases where oscillatory power in the time interval between item presentations was greater than oscillatory power during item presentation, we found enhanced β activity in the frontal and occipital regions.

Conclusion
These results implicate stimulus-induced oscillatory activity in verbal working memory and β activity in the process of subvocal rehearsal.
Glutaric acid moderately compromises energy metabolism in rat brain
Authors: da C. Ferreira Gustavo , Viegas Carolina M. , Schuck Patrícia F. , Latini Alexandra , Dutra‐Filho Carlos S. , Wyse Angela T.S. , Wannmacher Clóvis M.D. , Vargas Carmen R. , Wajner Moacir 
Published: November 2005

AbstractGlutaric acidemia type I is an inherited metabolic disorder biochemically characterized by tissue accumulation of predominantly glutaric acid (GA). Affected patients present frontotemporal hypotrophy, as well as caudate and putamen injury following acute encephalopathic crises. Considering that the underlying mechanisms of basal ganglia damage in this disorder are poorly known, in the present study we tested the effects of glutaric acid (0.2–5 mM) on critical enzyme activities of energy metabolism, namely the respiratory chain complexes I–IV, succinate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase in midbrain of developing rats. Glutaric acid significantly inhibited creatine kinase activity (up to 26%) even at the lowest dose used in the assays (0.2 mM). We also observed that CK inhibition was prevented by pre‐incubation of the homogenates with reduced glutathione, suggesting that the inhibitory effect of GA was possibly mediated by oxidation of essential thiol groups of the enzyme. In addition, the activities of the respiratory chain complex I–III and of succinate dehydrogenase were also significantly inhibited by 20 and 30%, respectively, at the highest glutaric acid concentration tested (5 mM). In contrast, complexes II–III and IV activities of the electron transport chain were not affected by the acid. The effect of glutaric acid on the rate of oxygen consumption in intact mitochondria from the rat cerebrum was also investigated. Glutaric acid (1 mM) significantly lowered the respiratory control ratio (state III/state IV) up to 40% in the presence of the respiratory substrates glutamate/malate or succinate. Moreover, state IV respiration linked to NAD and FAD substrates was significantly increased in GA‐treated mitochondria while state III was significantly diminished. The results indicate that the major metabolite accumulating in glutaric acidemia type I moderately compromises brain energy metabolism in vitro.
Selected neurotrophins, neuropeptides, and cytokines: developmental trajectory and concentrations in neonatal blood of children with autism or Down syndrome
Authors: Nelson Phillip G. , Kuddo Thea , Song Eun Young , Dambrosia James M. , Kohler Shawn , Satyanarayana Gowri , VanDunk Cassandra , Grether Judith K. , Nelson Karin B. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractUsing a double‐antibody immunoaffinity assay (Luminex) and ELISA technology, we measured concentrations of certain neurotrophins, neuropeptides, and cytokines in pooled samples (one to three subjects per sample) eluted from archived neonatal blood of children with later‐diagnosed autism, Down syndrome, very preterm birth, or term control infants. We also measured analytes in blood from healthy adult controls. Case or control status for infant subjects was ascertained by retrospective review of service agency medical records. We observed inhibitory substances in eluates from archived bloodspots, especially marked for measurement of BDNF. Concentrations in control subjects differed by age: BDNF rose markedly with age, while NT‐3 and NT‐4/5 concentrations were lower in adults than in newborn infants. IL‐8 concentrations were higher in newborn infants, preterm and term, than in adults. Considered by diagnostic group, total protein was higher in Down syndrome than in either autism or control subjects. In infants with Down syndrome, concentrations of IL‐8 levels were higher than in controls, whether or not corrected for total protein; NT‐3 and CGRP were lower and VIP higher. In samples from autistic subjects, NT‐3 levels were significantly lower than controls and an increase in VIP approached statistical significance. Concentrations of NT‐4/5 and CGRP were correlated in infants with autism but not in Down syndrome or controls. Some of these results differ from earlier findings using a single‐antibody recycling immunoaffinity chromatography (RIC) system. We discuss interrelationships of VIP, NT‐3 and IL‐8 and their potential relevance to features of the neuropathology of autism or Down syndrome.
Accurate anchoring alignment of divergent sequences
Authors: Huang Weichun , Umbach David M. , Li Leping 
Published: November 2005

Abstract
Motivation: Obtaining high quality alignments of divergent homologous sequences for cross-species sequence comparison remains a challenge.
Results: We propose a novel pairwise sequence alignment algorithm, ACANA (ACcurate ANchoring Alignment), for aligning biological sequences at both local and global levels. Like many fast heuristic methods, ACANA uses an anchoring strategy. However, unlike others, ACANA uses a Smith–Waterman-like dynamic programming algorithm to recursively identify near-optimal regions as anchors for a global alignment. Performance evaluations using a simulated benchmark dataset and real promoter sequences suggest that ACANA is accurate and consistent, especially for divergent sequences. Specifically, we use a simulated benchmark dataset to show that ACANA has the highest sensitivity to align constrained functional sites compared to BLASTZ, CHAOS and DIALIGN for local alignment and compared to AVID, ClustalW, DIALIGN and LAGAN for global alignment. Applied to 6007 pairs of human-mouse orthologous promoter sequences, ACANA identified the largest number of conserved regions (defined as over 70% identity over 100 bp) compared to AVID, ClustalW, DIALIGN and LAGAN. In addition, the average length of conserved region identified by ACANA was the longest. Thus, we suggest that ACANA is a useful tool for identifying functional elements in cross-species sequence analysis, such as predicting transcription factor binding sites in non-coding DNA.
Availability: ACANA software and test sequence data are publicly available at
Supplementary information: Supplementary materials are available at Bioinformatics online.
Contact: li3@niehs.nih.gov
“Unworthy Behavior”: The Case of SS Officer Max Täubner
Authors: Büchler Yehoshua R. 
Published: November 2005

Abstract
The only known case in which an SS officer was punished for killing Jews is discussed below. Max Täubner and his men carried out thousands of killings without orders and in a particularly savage way. Their rogue actions, however, might have gone unimpeded had the perpetrators not boasted and sent photographs to friends and relatives. The potential for publicity and embarrassment, as well as other considerations, formed the crux of the legal case: the unauthorized murder of thousands of Jews otherwise would have constituted to Täubner's superiors little more than instances of excessive zeal.
The Conversion of Looted Jewish Assets to Run the German War Machine
Authors: MacQueen Michael 
Published: November 2005

Abstract
Prior to World War II, the German government established mechanisms to seize the assets of German Jewry, a practice that its agencies later adapted to the occupied territories of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The importance of industrial diamonds to wartime production led the Germans to focus on bartering or selling confiscated valuables to procure these stones. This article pays particular attention to the mechanisms used to convert stolen property into forms useful for the Reich, with emphasis on the handling of intact pieces of jewelry. Also discussed are purchases made by German agents in Switzerland involving industrial diamonds.
“The Worst Enemies of a Better Germany”: Postwar Antisemitism among Catholic Clergy and U.S. Occupation Forces
Authors: Brown-Fleming Suzanne 
Published: November 2005

Abstract
Between 1946 and 1959, Vatican liaison to Germany Aloisius Cardinal Muench received tens of thousands of letters from German and American Roman Catholics. Of these, approximately one hundred letters—written by lay Catholics, priests, and prelates in the United States or by Catholics in the U.S. Army and military government—commented directly on the Holocaust, its survivors, and Jewish refugees in Germany or already in the United States. In addition, Cardinal Muench kept a diary throughout his stay. In it, he recorded several dozen private conversations with American military officers and with ecclesiastical officials regarding Jews specifically. Muench's diary entries offer an unusually clear window on antisemitic attitudes—his own and others'—in the American occupation zone of Germany and back home in the United States.
The Holocaust in Northern Mazovia (Poland) in the Light of the Archive of the Ciechanów Gestapo
Authors: Grabowski Jan 
Published: November 2005

Abstract
The files of the Plock-Ciechanów Gestapo are one of the few archival collections documenting the fate of the Jews in the small ghettos north of Warsaw. The archive reveals how the secret police controlled the Jewish population during the final months before “evacuation” to the camps in 1942. The archive also shows that the Jews refused to acquiesce in the Nazi policy of extermination. After the ghettos were liquidated, survivors either fled to the forests or sought refuge among the overwhelmingly Polish rural population.
Physicochemical properties and pollen spectrum of imported and local samples of blossom honey from the Pakistani market
Authors: Nasiruddin Khan M. , Qaiser M. , Raza Syed Mubashir , Rehman Mutiur 
Published: November 2005

SummaryFifteen samples of different geographical origin including Pakistan were analysed for density, ash, water content, electrical conductivity, total acidity, pH, total solid, hydroxylmethylfurfural (HMF), minerals and trace metals. The physicochemical parameters were found to be within acceptable ranges (specific gravity 1.40–1.46, ash 0.03–0.21%, moisture 15.6–19.2, total solid 78.7–81.4%, free acidity 23.55–58.52 meq kg−1, conductivity 0.27–0.37 mS cm−1, pH 3.29–4.05, viscosity 33.4–136.4 poise). However, the analysis of HMF showed that imported samples were either exposed to a high temperature during processing or were overage. Greater attention is required, therefore, in the analysis of HMF and in deciding the shelf life, particularly for the imported samples before marketing. Pollen analysis revealed that all the analysed samples were of a multifloral type. All the data were statistically tested using principal component analysis (PCA) with the aim of characterizing the honeys and identifying the most significant parameters in the analysed samples.
Longevity of experimentally buried seed inVaccinium: relationship to climate, reproductive factors and natural seed banks
Authors: HILL NICHOLAS M. , VANDER KLOET SAM P. 
Published: November 2005

SummaryThe fleshy fruited species ofVacciniumare known for their spatial dispersal ability but have generally been found to have poor representation in soil seed banks.A buried seed experiment was conducted with 28 species ofVaccinium, in which seed lots were exhumed at intervals for up to 17 years. Mean species seed longevity was 8.65 years. For five species that persisted in soil for 15–17 years, regression indicates survival times of more than 20 years.Climatic factors (particularly annual temperature range in the centre of the species’ distribution range) alone accounted for 42% of the variation in seed longevity and reproductive variables for 55%.Models of fruit dispersal speed (rapid/tardy) demonstrated the link between spatial and temporal (seed longevity) dispersal and between spatial dispersal and habitat affinity (open/closed) of a species. The majority (87%) of species belonged to two of the four possible syndromes (rapid fruit dispersal/long‐term seed persistence or tardy dispersal/short‐term persistence); 84% of the former were open habitat species.Seed bank density is a function of seed potential longevity, seed rain and soil conditions. Regions that support species having greatest potential longevity have the smallest seed banks. Annual temperature range was positively correlated with potential longevity but negatively correlated with actual seed bank densities.Lack of recruitment via seed inVacciniumspecies in arctic regions may limit genetic variability in these clonal plants and impede population responses to climate changes.
Self‐organization in raised bog patterning: the origin of microtope zonation and mesotope diversity
Authors: COUWENBERG JOHN , JOOSTEN HANS 
Published: November 2005

Summary

Raised bogs of the boreal and temperate zone typically show surface patterning on two distinct organizational levels. A conspicuous pattern of alternating dry strings and wet flarks aligned perpendicular to the slope occurs in combination with other microtopes, resulting in a mesotope pattern.
Patterning on both these levels can be explained by a simple, spatially explicit model that assumes predominantly lateral water flow through an acrotelm that is draped over a dome‐shaped catotelm. The model distinguishes two types of surface elements: hummocks with low transmissivity growing under dry conditions and hollows with high transmissivity growing under wet conditions.
Hummocks dam up water and stimulate the development of hollows upslope, whereas hollows effectively drain upslope areas, stimulating the development of hummocks. If the dome is steep and the recharge high enough, this leads to the development of a string–flark microtope.
Four distinct types of microtopes are distinguished: (i) areas entirely covered by hummocks, (ii) randomly arranged hummocks and hollows, (iii) string–flark striping patterns and (iv) areas entirely covered by hollows.
Different combinations of sharply delineated microtopes occur with different parameter settings, allowing for the classification of four types of raised bog mesotopes. In addition to such qualitative differences, the extent and composition of the microtopes vary with parameter settings, reflecting the variety observed in natural systems.
Our simple simulation model shows how small‐scale, local processes can create a variety of large and complex landscape patterns. These patterns can be used to describe raised bogs in terms of biological entities of a higher organizational order (ecosystem biodiversity), typically recognizable in often species‐poor peatland ecosystems.
Seed mass, seedling size and neotropical tree seedling establishment
Authors: BARALOTO CHRISTOPHER , FORGET PIERRE‐MICHEL , GOLDBERG DEBORAH E. 
Published: November 2005

Summary

We examined among‐ and within‐species effects of seed mass for seedling establishment from seed to 5 years of age in a field experiment at Paracou, French Guiana.
Six seeds of each of eight species were weighed and planted into each of 120 plots (1 m2) throughout closed‐canopy forest along 12 100‐m transects in 1998.
We described the microhabitat of each planting site using principal components derived from measurements of light availability, soil moisture, carbon and nitrogen content, and soil phosphorus availability. Although both survival and relative growth rate (RGR) increased with increasing light availability, no other microhabitat variable significantly affected seedling performance. Nor did the magnitude of microhabitat effects on survival or RGR differ among species.
Larger‐seeded species were more likely to survive from germination to 1 year as well as from 1 to 5 years of age. RGR for seedling height during the first year post‐germination was not related to seed mass, but smaller‐seeded species did grow slightly faster thereafter. Path analyses revealed that correlations between seed mass and performance were explained in part because larger seeds produced larger initial seedlings, which tended to survive better but grow more slowly.
We also analysed within‐species effects of seed mass for the larger‐seeded Eperua grandiflora and Vouacapoua americana (both Caesalpiniaceae). Larger seeds produced larger seedlings in both species, but larger seeds survived better only for Eperua. Larger seedlings grew more slowly in both species, but did not offset the early (Eperua) and later (Vouacapoua) positive direct effects of seed mass on RGR that may represent contrasting strategies for reserve deployment.
Our results demonstrate that seed size influences performance within and among species in part because of indirect effects of initial seedling size. However, we suggest that traits tightly correlated with seed mass at the species level, such as specific leaf area, leaf longevity and photosynthetic capacity, may also contribute to interspecific performance differences.