bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association between both lipid and protein oxidation and the risk of fatal or non-fatal coronary heart disease in a human population
Authors: Woodward Mark , Croft Kevin D. , Mori Trevor A. , Headlam Henrietta , Wang Xiao Suo , Suarna Cacang , Raftery Mark J. , MacMahon Stephen W. , Stocker Roland 
Published: June 2008

The role of oxidative damage in the aetiology of coronary disease remains controversial, as clinical trials investigating the effect of antioxidants have not generally been positive. In the present study, 227 coronary cases, identified from a cohort study, were matched, by age and gender, with 420 controls in a nested case-control design. Stored plasma samples were analysed for F2-isoprostanes by stable isotope dilution MS, and specifically oxidized forms of apoA-I (apolipoprotein A-I) by HPLC of HDL (high-density lipoprotein). Median values of F2-isoprostanes were higher in plasma samples that contained oxidized apoA-I compared with samples with undetectable oxidized apoA-I (1542 compared with 1165 pmol/l). F2-Isoprostanes were significantly correlated with variants of non-oxidized apoA-II (r=−0.15) and were associated with HDL-cholesterol (P&lt;0.0001). F2-Isoprostanes in cases (median, 1146 pmol/l) were not different from controls (1250 pmol/l); the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for a 1 S.D. increase in F2-isoprostanes was 1.08 (0.91–1.29). Similarly, there was no independent association between the presence of oxidized apoA-I, detected in approx. 20% of the samples, and coronary risk. In conclusion, we found no evidence of associations between markers of lipid (F2-isoprostanes) and protein (oxidized apoA-I) oxidation and the risk of fatal or non-fatal coronary heart disease in a general population. This may be due to a true lack of association or insufficient power.
Crown Rot of Zucchini Squash Caused by Fusarium solani f. sp. cucurbitae in Almería Province, Spain
Authors: Gómez J. , Guerra-Sanz J. M. , Sánchez-Guerrero M. C. , Serrano Y. , Melero-Vara J. M. 
Published: June 2008

Cucumber, melon, watermelon, and zucchini are intensively cropped in the southern part of Spain where approximately 20,000 ha of the crops are grown in greenhouses. In the spring of 2007, zucchini plants (Cucurbita pepo) at the fruit-bearing stage in three commercial plastichouses in Almería exhibited necrosis on the basal stem, wilt, and death. The incidence of dead plants was 20 to 30%. Fusarium solani was consistently isolated from the basal stems of symptomatic plants on potato dextrose agar (PDA). Cultures of six single-hyphal transfers were identified on the basis of molecular sequences and morphological characteristics (2). Sequences of ribosomal DNA from ITS1 region, 5.8S rDNA, and ITS2 were identical for all six isolates of F. solani. The rDNA sequence of isolate Fscl-3 of F. solani was deposited as GenBank Accession No. AM940070. The pathogenicity of these six isolates of F. solani was tested in two experiments conducted in one plastichouse in Almería. Pregerminated seeds of zucchini cv. Consul were sown in 1-liter containers filled with vermiculite on 21 May and 22 June, 2007 (experiments 1 and 2, respectively). Plants at the one- to two-true-leaf stage or younger were inoculated with a soil drench of 2.0 to 8.4 × 105 propagules per ml). One colonized PDA petri plate of each isolate was blended and homogenized in 500 ml of distilled water. Inoculum (50 ml per plant) was poured around the stem of zucchini plants growing in vermiculite. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with three replicates with each plot comprising four plants (one plant per container). In both experiments, 12 uninoculated plants of the same cultivar served as controls. Plants were maintained for 1 month following inoculation in a greenhouse with mean temperatures ranging between 20.7 and 24.6°C and 23.3 to 29.8°C for experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Wilting first occurred 9 days after inoculation, and 14 days later, all plants inoculated with the F. solani isolates died. Inoculated plants exhibited lesions on the stem base without rot of secondary roots. At the end of the experiment, the uninoculated plants remained asymptomatic. Results of experiment 2, with higher temperatures, were similar. The pathogen was consistently recovered from symptomatic plants in both experiments, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Although F. solani f. sp. cucurbitae race 1 was reported in field squash (C. maxima) in the province of Valencia of east-central Spain (1), to our knowledge, this is the first report of F. solani as the causal agent of crown rot of zucchini plants in plastichouses in the Almería Province of Spain, one of the world's largest concentrations of greenhouses. References: (1) J. García-Jiménez et al. Plant Dis. 81:1216, 1997. (2) C. M. Messiaen and R. Cassini. Taxonomy of Fusarium. Page 427 in: Fusarium: Diseases, Biology, and Taxonomy. P. E. Nelson et al., eds. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 1981.
Quantitative 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Metabolite Profiling as a Functional Genomics Platform to Investigate Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Opium Poppy
Authors: Hagel Jillian M. , Weljie Aalim M. , Vogel Hans J. , Facchini Peter J. 
Published: June 2008

AbstractOpium poppy (Papaver somniferum) produces a diverse array of bioactive benzylisoquinoline alkaloids and has emerged as a versatile model system to study plant alkaloid metabolism. The plant is widely cultivated as the only commercial source of the narcotic analgesics morphine and codeine. Variations in plant secondary metabolism as a result of genetic diversity are often associated with perturbations in other metabolic pathways. As part of a functional genomics platform, we used 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolite profiling for the analysis of primary and secondary metabolism in opium poppy. Aqueous and chloroform extracts of six different opium poppy cultivars were subjected to chemometric analysis. Principle component analysis of the 1H NMR spectra for latex extracts clearly distinguished two varieties, including a low-alkaloid variety and a high-thebaine, low-morphine cultivar. Distinction was also made between pharmaceutical-grade opium poppy cultivars and a condiment variety. Such phenotypic differences were not observed in root extracts. Loading plots confirmed that morphinan alkaloids contributed predominantly to the variance in latex extracts. Quantification of 34 root and 21 latex metabolites, performed using Chenomx NMR Suite version 4.6, showed major differences in the accumulation of specific alkaloids in the latex of the low-alkaloid and high-thebaine, low-morphine varieties. Relatively few differences were found in the levels of other metabolites, indicating that the variation was specific for alkaloid metabolism. Exceptions in the low-alkaloid cultivar included an increased accumulation of the alkaloid precursor tyramine and reduced levels of sucrose, some amino acids, and malate. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of 42 genes involved in primary and secondary metabolism showed differential gene expression mainly associated with alkaloid biosynthesis. Reduced alkaloid levels in the condiment variety were associated with the reduced abundance of transcripts encoding several alkaloid biosynthetic enzymes.
Histone Modifications and Expression of Light-Regulated Genes in Arabidopsis Are Cooperatively Influenced by Changing Light Conditions
Authors: Guo Lan , Zhou Junli , Elling Axel A. , Charron Jean-Benoit F. , Deng Xing Wang 
Published: June 2008

AbstractHere, we analyzed the effects of light regulation on four selected histone modifications (H3K4me3, H3K9ac, H3K9me2, and H3K27me3) and the relationship of these histone modifications with the expression of representative light-regulated genes. We observed that the histone modifications examined and gene transcription were cooperatively regulated in response to changing light environments. Using H3K9ac as an example, our analysis indicated that histone modification patterns are set up very early and are relatively stable during Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedling development. Distinct photoreceptor systems are responsible for mediating the effects of different light qualities on histone modifications. Moreover, we found that light regulation of gene-specific histone modifications involved the known photomorphogenesis-related proteolytic system defined by the pleiotropic CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC/DE-ETOLIATED proteins and histone modification enzymes (such as HD1). Furthermore, our data suggest that light-regulated changes in histone modifications might be an intricate part of light-controlled gene transcription. Thus, it is possible that variations in histone modifications are an important physiological component of plant responses to changing light environments.
OPUS‐Rota: A fast and accurate method for side‐chain modeling
Authors: Lu Mingyang , Dousis Athanasios D. , Ma Jianpeng 
Published: June 2008

AbstractIn this paper, we introduce a fast and accurate side‐chain modeling method, named OPUS‐Rota. In a benchmark comparison with the methods SCWRL, NCN, LGA, SPRUCE, Rosetta, and SCAP, OPUS‐Rota is shown to be much faster than all the methods except SCWRL, which is comparably fast. In terms of overallχ1andχ1+2accuracies, however, OPUS‐Rota is 5.4 and 8.8 percentage points better, respectively, than SCWRL. Compared with NCN, which has the best accuracy in the literature, OPUS‐Rota is 1.6 percentage points better for overallχ1+2but 0.3 percentage points weaker for overallχ1. Hence, our algorithm is much more accurate than SCWRL with similar execution speed, and it has accuracy comparable to or better than the most accurate methods in the literature, but with a runtime that is one or two orders of magnitude shorter. In addition, OPUS‐Rota consistently outperforms SCWRL on the Wallner and Elofsson homology‐modeling benchmark set when the sequence identity is greater than 40%. We hope that OPUS‐Rota will contribute to high‐accuracy structure refinement, and the computer program is freely available for academic users.
Effects of surface‐to‐volume ratio of proteins on hydrophilic residues: Decrease in occurrence and increase in buried fraction
Authors: Shirota Matsuyuki , Ishida Takashi , Kinoshita Kengo 
Published: June 2008

AbstractThe size of a protein is an important factor for understanding the sequence–structure relationship, and it affects both the amino acid composition and the residue burial of proteins. However, it is usually measured as the number of amino acids, although these effects would result from the reduction of surface regions relative to the volume of core regions in larger proteins. In addition, although these two effects are dependent on each other, they have been studied separately. In this study, we investigated them by considering the surface‐to‐volume ratio (SVR), and observed the correlation between them. We found that the reduction of several hydrophilic residues is more strongly correlated with SVR than with protein size (the number of amino acids) and that SVR directly affects the amino acid composition. The difference as a descriptor between SVR and size is also supported by the observation that the secondary structural elements correlate completely differently with SVR and with size. Furthermore, for the four most hydrophilic residues, glutamine, arginine, glutamic acid, and lysine, balances between the decrease in composition and the increase in core burial were observed. We found that the burial of glutamine and arginine became accelerated at SVR = 0.3 Å−1 (approximately 132 residues) as the protein size increased, but that lysine has an upper limit of 0.9% for its occurrence in the core. The uniqueness of lysine was also elucidated by comparison with the burial environments of the four hydrophilic residues.
Atomic structure of the cross‐β spine of islet amyloid polypeptide (amylin)
Authors: Wiltzius Jed J.W. , Sievers Stuart A. , Sawaya Michael R. , Cascio Duilio , Popov Dmitriy , Riekel Christian , Eisenberg David 
Published: June 2008

AbstractHuman islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP or amylin) is a 37‐residue hormone found as fibrillar deposits in pancreatic extracts of nearly all type II diabetics. Although the cellular toxicity of IAPP has been established, the structure of the fibrillar form found in these deposits is unknown. Here we have crystallized two segments from IAPP, which themselves form amyloid‐like fibrils. The atomic structures of these two segments, NNFGAIL and SSTNVG, were determined, and form the basis of a model for the most commonly observed, full‐length IAPP polymorph.
Significance of sentinel node biopsy in the management of squamous cell carcinoma arising from recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa
Authors: ROKUNOHE Akiko , NAKANO Hajime , AIZU Takayuki , KANEKO Takahide , NAKAJIMA Koji , IKENAGA Satsuki , MATSUZAKI Yasushi , MURAI Takaya , TAMAI Katsuto , SAWAMURA Daisuke 
Published: June 2008

ABSTRACTThe most life‐threatening complication developing in patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). To improve patient prognosis, early detection of regional lymph node metastasis is required. Herein, we report a patient diagnosed with non‐Hallopeau–Siemens RDEB who developed SCC on the left foot with inguinal lymph node swelling. Use of the sentinel node biopsy (SNB) technique favorably minimized defective damage to the inguinal region in this case. Genetic analysis identified one novel COL7A1 mutation, a maternal c.238G > C (p.A80P) and one previously reported mutation, a paternal c.3631C > T (p.Q1211X). A published work review demonstrated that no COL7A1 mutations specific for SCC development in RDEB have previously been identified. It remains unclear if SNB in combination with gene diagnosis is beneficial for the management of SCC in RDEB patients, however, because of the limited number of case reports. To address this issue, COL7A1 mutational analysis should be performed in as many cases of RDEB as possible.
Immunoglobulin A pemphigus associated with immunoglobulin A gammopathy and lung cancer
Authors: PETROPOULOU Haritini , POLITIS George , PANAGAKIS Pantelis , HATZIOLOU Eftihia , ARONI Kiriaki , KONTOCHRISTOPOULOS George 
Published: June 2008

ABSTRACTImmunoglobulin (Ig)A pemphigus is a rare disease marked by a vesiculopustular eruption characterized by intercellular IgA deposition in the epidermis. It has clinical and histopathological heterogeneity and encompasses two subgroups: subcorneal pustular dermatosis type and intraepidermal neutrophilic IgA dermatosis type. IgA pemphigus has been rarely associated with monoclonal IgA paraprotein, myeloma and B‐cell lymphoma in the past. We report the first case, to our knowledge, of a 47‐year‐old male patient with a subcorneal pustular dermatosis type of IgA pemphigus associated with IgA gammopathy and lung cancer.
Lymphocutaneous type of nocardiosis caused by Nocardia brasiliensis: A case report and review of primary cutaneous nocardiosis caused by N. brasiliensis reported in Japan
Authors: FUKUDA Hidetsugu , SAOTOME Atsuko , USAMI Nao , URUSHIBATA Osamu , MUKAI Hideki 
Published: June 2008

ABSTRACTNocardiosis is a mixed suppurative and granulomatous inflammatory disease caused by infection with Nocardia organisms, a group of aerobic actinomycetes. We recently encountered a 25‐year‐old woman with posttraumatic nocardiosis of the lower extremities. The clinical symptoms noted during her first visit included erythematous swelling of the right knee accompanied by white maceration of the center of the knee and erosions, shallow ulcers and satellite pustules. In addition, multiple erythematous areas (up to the size of the tip of the thumb) were linearly distributed on the right thigh. These lesions were painful, and right inguinal lymphadenopathy was also noted. No lesion was found in internal organs such as the lungs. Histopathologically, signs of nonspecific granulomatous inflammation were observed, as well as several filamentous branching bacilli positive on Grocott stain. The organisms isolated from culture of pus were acid‐fast, Gram‐positive long rods. The isolated strain was finally identified as Nocardia brasiliensis. The patient was therefore diagnosed with lymphocutaneous type of primary cutaneous nocardiosis caused by N. brasiliensis. Drip infusion of flomoxef sodium was initially performed to treat her condition. Because of exacerbation of erythematous swelling of the right knee and an increase in number of pustules, treatment was switched to oral minocycline hydrochloride therapy. The disease healed 9 weeks after the start of oral minocycline hydrochloride therapy. Our patient was free of systemic immunosuppression and was neither under 10 nor over 65 years of age. She may therefore be considered a rare case of lymphocutaneous type of nocardiosis. We present this case and discuss reported cases of primary cutaneous nocardiosis due to N. brasiliensis in Japan.
Effects of sample attrition in a longitudinal study of the association between alcohol intake and all‐cause mortality
Authors: Thygesen Lau C. , Johansen Christoffer , Keiding Niels , Giovannucci Edward , Grønbæk Morten 
Published: June 2008

ABSTRACTBackground and aims  Longitudinal studies show higher mortality among abstainers and heavy drinkers than among light and moderate alcohol consumers. The influence on this association of missing information on alcohol intake due to attrition (dropout) has not been examined previously. The aims of this study were to characterize participants who dropped out and to evaluate whether the missing information influenced the association between alcohol intake and all‐cause mortality.Design and participants  Data on the 18 974 participants in the Copenhagen City Heart Study, with four measures of alcohol intake and other life‐style factors during 28 years of follow‐up, were linked with nation‐wide registers on socio‐economic covariates, mortality and disease incidence. Logistic regression was used to describe life‐style and socio‐economic determinants of attrition, and Poisson regression was used to evaluate how attrition affected the association between alcohol intake and mortality. The statistical methods used for dealing with missing values were complete case analysis, carry last observation forward, simple imputations, multiple imputation and weighting.Findings  Abstinence and high alcohol intake, current smoking, physical inactivity and high body mass index increased the odds of dropping out, whereas being married, more years of education, skilled occupation, high income and large residential area decreased the odds. Attrition was associated with increased mortality and incidence rates of heart disease, lung and upper digestive tract cancers and alcoholic liver diseases. Increased mortality among abstainers and heavy drinkers was observed with all methods used for handling missing data on alcohol intake.Conclusions  Attrition was non‐random, and the observed association between alcohol intake and all‐cause mortality did not differ by statistical method for handling missing data.
Comparison of cardiac output measurement using the CardioQPTM oesophageal Doppler with cardiac output measurement using thermodilution technique in children during heart catheterisation*
Authors:   Working Group on Non‐invasive Haemodynamic Monitoring in Paediatrics:, Knirsch W. , Kretschmar O. , Tomaske M. , Stutz K. , Nagdyman N. , Balmer C. , Schmitz A. , Berger F. , Bauersfeld U. , Weiss M. 
Published: June 2008

SummaryThe minimally invasive CardioQPTM oesophageal Doppler probe estimates cardiac output by measuring blood flow velocity in the descending aorta. Individual variables to enter are patient’s age, weight and height. We measured cardiac output simultaneously with CardioQP and pulmonary artery catheter thermodilution techniques during heart catheterisation in 40 paediatric patients with congenital heart defects. Median [range] age was 8.2 years [0.5–16.7 years], cardiac output values measured by thermodilution and CardioQP were 3.6 l.min−1 [1.2–7.1 l.min−1] and 3.0 l.min−1 [0.7–6.7 l.min−1], respectively. These values showed only moderate correlation (r = 0.809; p < 0.0001). Bias and precision were 0.66 l.min−1 and 1.79 l.min−1 (95% limits of agreement: −1.13 to +2.45 l.min−1). Based on our preliminary experience, cardiac output values measured by CardioQP in children do not reliably represent cardiac output values compared with the thermodilution technique. We suggest measurement of individual aortic diameter to improve performance of the CardioQP.
Thyroid storm in a polytrauma patient
Authors: Wilkinson J. N. 
Published: June 2008

SummaryWe report the case of a 38 year‐old woman who presented initially as the driver in a road traffic accident with a Glasgow Coma Score of 14, agitated, tachycardic, tachypnoeic and hypertensive. The combination of an abdominal CT scan and clinical findings led to the decision to perform an emergency laparotomy. Her persisting symptoms and laboratory results revealed her to be manifesting acute thyroid storm; TSH of < 0.10 IU.l−1, free T4 of 59.8 pmol.l−1 and free T3 of 20.20 pmol.l−1.
Clinical and molecular characterisation of a prospectively collected cohort of children and adolescents with polycythemia vera
Authors: Cario Holger , Schwarz Klaus , Herter Jan M. , Komrska Vladimir , McMullin Mary F. , Minkov Milen , Niemeyer Charlotte , Pospisilova Dagmar , Reinhard Harald , Debatin Klaus‐Michael , Pahl Heike L. 
Published: June 2008

SummaryThe clinical, haematological, molecular and treatment data of eight paediatric patients with polycythemia vera (PV) were collected prospectively. One patient developed PV after treatment for large‐cell anaplastic lymphoma. Budd‐Chiari syndrome was diagnosed in two patients, necessitating orthotopic liver transplantation in one and transjugular portosystemic shunting in the other. The remaining patients presented with non‐specific symptoms. Endogenous erythroid colonies were detected in all cases examined. The JAK2V617F mutation was found in six patients; two patients displayed JAK2 exon 12 mutations, including one novel mutation (JAK2H538‐K539delinsI). CD177 (PRV‐1) mRNA expression was increased in three of five patients tested.
Serum hepcidin levels are innately low in HFE‐related haemochromatosis but differ between C282Y‐homozygotes with elevated and normal ferritin levels
Authors: Van Dijk Boukje A. C. , Laarakkers Coby M. M. , Klaver Siem M. , Jacobs Esther M. G. , Van Tits Lambertus J. H. , Janssen Mirian C. H. , Swinkels Dorine W. 
Published: June 2008

Summary HFE C282Y‐homozygosity has been associated with low hepcidin expression, leading to increased ferritin levels. However, serum hepcidin protein levels have not been documented in humans. In the current study, we compared serum hepcidin levels of newly diagnosed HFE C282Y‐homozygotes with (N = 15) and without (N = 7) elevated serum ferritin levels to levels of 40 controls (20 heterozygotes and 20 wild types). In addition, hepcidin levels of four C282Y homozygotes were investigated during the course of all phlebotomy treatment phases. Serum hepcidin levels were lower in HFE C282Y‐homozygotes (median; 25th–75th percentile: 1·88; 0·78–2·77 nmol/l) compared to controls (2·74; 1·45–5·39). Hepcidin/ferritin ratios were also lower in homozygotes. Homozygotes with an elevated serum ferritin had a higher serum hepcidin but a lower hepcidin/ferritin ratio than those with normal ferritin (2·28; 1·62–3·23 nmol/l hepcidin vs. 0·80; 0·60–1·29 and 3·63; 2·72–7·59 pmol hepcidin/μg ferritin vs. 13·2; 5·15–14·2). Serum hepcidin decreased during the depletion phase of phlebotomy and remained low during maintenance. This study showed that serum hepcidin is innately low in HFE‐related haemochromatosis. Elevated ferritin levels were associated with increased hepcidin levels while erythropoiesis lead to lower hepcidin levels. During depletion, therefore, hepcidin levels are decreased, which may exacerbate intestinal iron absorption.