bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evolutionary advantages of mast seeding in Fagus crenata
Authors: KON HIROKAZU , NODA TAKASHI , TERAZAWA KAZUHIKO , KOYAMA HIROMASA , YASAKA MICHIYASU 
Published: November 2005

Summary

Two non‐mutually exclusive hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolutionary advantages of mast seeding (the intermittent production of large crops of flowers or seeds by a population of perennial plants). Mast seeding could have evolved as a result of increased pollination efficiency in mast‐flowering years and/or as an anti‐predator adaptation that increases the survival of seeds by alternately starving seed predators in non‐mast years and satiating them in mast years.
We investigated annual seed crops to test the relative contributions of pollination efficiency and pre‐dispersal predator satiation to mast seeding in Fagus crenata, a tall tree species dominating cool‐temperate forests in Japan. Thirteen‐year (1990–2002) time series data were collected for five beech forests in south‐western Hokkaido.
The negative relationship observed between the pollination failure rate and the total seed crop in the current year supports the pollination efficiency hypothesis. The predator satiation hypothesis was also supported by the fact that the predation rate showed a good fit to the ratio of successive total seed crops, suggesting that a numerical response (starving the predator in low seed years) operated in F. crenata.
Key‐factor analysis revealed that pre‐dispersal seed predation had a larger effect on seed production per flower than did pollination efficiency.
We used a simulation model to examine how the magnitude of fluctuation in the total seed crop would influence the pollination failure rate, the predation rate and the viable seed rate. The mean levels of fluctuation of total seed crops of F. crenata were just large enough to provide maximum benefits from predator satiation at some sites.
Mast seeding in F. crenata thus appears to be determined by selective pressures from its seed predators.
Reconciling plant strategy theories of Grime and Tilman
Authors: CRAINE JOSEPH M. 
Published: November 2005

Summary

The theories of Grime and Tilman are ambitious attempts to unify disparate theories regarding the construction of plants, their interaction with the environment and the assembly of communities. After over two decades of parallel research, their ideas have not been reconciled, hindering progress in understanding the functioning of ecosystems.
Grime's theories do not adequately incorporate the importance of non‐heterogeneous supplies of nutrients and how these supplies are partitioned over long time scales, are inconsistent regarding the importance of disturbance in nutrient‐limited habitats and need to reconsider the carbon economy of shade‐tolerant plants.
Failure to account for differences between aquatic and terrestrial systems in how resource supplies are partitioned led Tilman to develop a shifting set of theories that have become reduced in mechanistic detail over time. The most recent highlighted the reduction of nutrient concentrations in soil solution, although it can no longer be derived from any viable mechanistic model. The slow diffusion of nutrients in soils means that the reduction of average soil solution nutrient concentrations cannot explain competitive exclusion.
Although neither theory, nor a union of the two, adequately characterizes the dynamics of terrestrial plant assemblages, the complementarity in their assumptions serve as an important foundation for future theory and research.
Reconciling the approaches of Grime and Tilman leads to six scenarios for competition for nutrients and light, with the outcome of each depending on the ability of plants to pre‐empt supplies. Under uniform supplies, pulses or patches, light competition requires leaf area dominance, while nutrient competition requires root length dominance. There are still important basic questions regarding the nature of nutrient supplies that will need to be answered, but recent research brings us closer to a unified set of theories on resource competition.
Limited concentration of RecA delays DNA double‐strand break repair in Deinococcus radiodurans R1
Authors: Jolivet Edmond , Lecointe François , Coste Geneviève , Satoh Katsuya , Narumi Issay , Bailone Adriana , Sommer Suzanne 
Published: November 2005

SummaryTo evaluate the importance of RecA in DNA double‐strand break (DSB) repair, we examined the effect of low and high RecA concentrations such as 2500 and 100 000 molecules per cell expressed from the inducible Pspac promoter in Deinococcus radiodurans in absence or in presence of IPTG respectively. We showed that at low concentration, RecA has a negligible effect on cell survival after γ‐irradiation when bacteria were immediately plated on TGY agar whereas it significantly decreased the survival to γ‐irradiation of ΔddrA cells while overexpression of RecA can partially compensate the loss of DdrA protein. In contrast, when cells expressing limited concentration of RecA were allowed to recover in TGY2X liquid medium, they showed a delay in mending DSB, failed to reinitiate DNA replication and were committed to die during incubation. A deletion of irrE resulted in sensitivity to γ‐irradiation and mitomycin C treatment. Interestingly, constitutive high expression of RecA compensates partially the ΔirrE sensitization to mitomycin C. The cells with low RecA content also failed to cleave LexA after DNA damage. However, neither a deletion of the lexA gene nor the expression of a non‐cleavable LexA(Ind–) mutant protein had an effect on survival or kinetics of DNA DSB repair compared with their lexA+ counterparts in recA+ as well as in bacteria expressing limiting concentration of RecA, suggesting an absence of relationship between the absence of LexA cleavage and the loss of viability or the delay in the kinetics of DSB repair. Thus, LexA protein seems to play no major role in the recovery processes after γ‐irradiation in D. radiodurans.
tRNAGlu wobble uridine methylation by Trm9 identifies Elongator's key role for zymocin‐induced cell death in yeast
Authors: Jablonowski Daniel , Zink Sabrina , Mehlgarten Constance , Daum Gabriele , Schaffrath Raffael 
Published: November 2005

SummaryZymocin‐induced cell death in Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires the toxin‐target (TOT) effector Elongator, a protein complex with functions in transcription, exocytosis and tRNA modification. In line with the latter, trm9Δ cells lacking a tRNA methylase specific for wobble uridine (U34) residues survive zymocin and in excess, the Trm9 substrate tRNAGlu copies zymocin protection of Elongator mutants. Phenotypes typical of a tot3/elp3Δ Elongator mutant are absent from trm9Δ cells but copied in a tot3Δtrm9Δ double mutant suggesting that Elongator acts upstream of Trm9. Consistent with Elongator‐dependent tRNA modification being more important to mRNA decoding than Trm9, SUP4 and SOE1TRNA suppressors are highly sensitive to loss of Elongator and tRNA U34 hypomodification. As Trm9 overexpression counteracts the effect of high‐copy tRNAGlu, zymocin suppression by high‐copy tRNAGlu may reflect tRNA hypomethylation of trm9Δ cells. Thus, Trm9 methylation may enable recognition of tRNA by zymocin, a notion supported by a dramatic reduction of tRNAGlu levels in zymocin‐treated cells and by cytotoxic zymocin residues conserved between bacterial nucleases and a tRNA modifying GTPase. In sum, Trm9 is a bona fideTOT pathway component whose methylation may be hijacked by zymocin to target tRNA function and eventually, mRNA translation.
Proteomic and functional analysis of the suite of Ysp proteins exported by the Ysa type III secretion system of Yersinia enterocolitica Biovar 1B
Authors: Matsumoto Hiroyuki , Young Glenn M. 
Published: November 2005

SummaryFull virulence of Yersinia enterocolitica Biovar 1B requires two distinct and distantly related contact‐dependent type III secretion (T3S) systems. The plasmid‐encoded Ysc T3S system is essential for systemic stages of infection and the Yop effector proteins it translocates have been extensively studied. The chromosome‐encoded Ysa T3S system contributes to gastrointestinal stages of infection, but the suite of Ysp effectors proteins it translocates into host cells remains obscure. Using a proteomics‐based approach, the Ysa T3S system was analysed revealing a complex set of 15 secreted Ysp proteins. Seven of these proteins were previously described (YspA, YspB, YspC, YspD, YopE, YopN and YopP). Eight of these Ysps (YspK, YspI, YspE, YspF, YspP, YspY, YspN and YspL) had not previously been characterized. Several of the new Ysps are homologous to other virulence factors, including YspP with similarity to the Yersinia protein tyrosine phosphatase YopH and YspK with similarity to the Shigella serine/threonine kinase OspG. Biochemical analysis of purified hexa‐histidine tagged YspK and YspP established that these proteins have kinase and phosphatase activity respectively. Infection of eukaryotic cells with Y. enterocolitica strains expressing a Ysp‐CyaA chimeric protein resulted in Ysa T3S system‐dependent increases in cytosolic levels of cAMP for six Ysps (YspK, YspI, YspE, YspF, YspP and YspL), but not two others (YspY and YspN). YspN, however, was required for translocation of effector proteins into eukaryotic cells by the Ysa T3S system. Competition assays in BALB/c mice revealed that mutants defective for the production of an individual Ysp are affected for colonization of gastrointestinal tissues. Collectively, the results of this study support the hypothesis that the Ysa T3S system targets a complex suite of effector proteins into host cells to affect the outcome of an infection. Identification of the suite of effectors delivered by the Ysa T3S system reveals that host cell signalling pathways are the probable targets of several Ysp effectors.
The post‐operative analgesic efficacy and tolerability of lumiracoxib compared with placebo and naproxen after total knee or hip arthroplasty
Authors: Chan V. W. S. , Clark A. J. , Davis J. C. , Wolf R. S. , Kellstein D. , Jayawardene S. 
Published: November 2005

Background:  Lumiracoxib is a novel selective cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) inhibitor in development for the treatment of chronic and acute pain.Methods:  This randomized, double‐blind multicentre study enrolled 180 patients (aged 18–80 years) with moderate‐to‐severe pain (≥2 on a 4‐point categorical scale) within 48 h of unilateral total knee or total hip arthroplasty. Patients were randomized to receive lumiracoxib 400 mg once daily (n = 60), placebo (n = 60) or naproxen 500 mg twice daily (n = 60). The study consisted of a 12‐h single‐dose phase followed by a multiple‐dose phase (up to 96 h or until discontinuation). The primary efficacy measure was the summed (time‐weighted) pain intensity difference over 0–8 h after the first dose (SPID‐8).Results:  Lumiracoxib and naproxen were comparable and both treatments were superior to placebo for the primary efficacy measure, SPID‐8. Both treatments were generally similar and also superior to placebo for the secondary efficacy measures during both the single‐ and multiple‐dose phases for up to 96 h. Both active treatments were well tolerated.Conclusion:  Lumiracoxib is an effective alternative to traditional non‐selective non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for the treatment of post‐operative pain.
Peri‐operative ketamine for acute post‐operative pain: a quantitative and qualitative systematic review (Cochrane review)
Authors: Bell R. F. , Dahl J. B. , Moore R. A. , Kalso E. 
Published: November 2005

Background:  Post‐operative pain management is usually limited by adverse effects such as nausea and vomiting. Adjuvant treatment with an inexpensive opioid‐sparing drug such as ketamine may be of value in giving better analgesia with fewer adverse effects. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of ketamine administered peri‐operatively in the treatment of acute post‐operative pain in adults.Methods:  Studies were identified from MEDLINE (1966–2004), EMBASE (1980–2004), the Cochrane Library (2004) and by hand searching reference lists from review articles and trials. The manufacturer of ketamine (Pfizer AS, Lysaker, Norway) provided search results from their in‐house database, PARDLARS. Randomized and controlled trials (RCTs) of adult patients undergoing surgery, being treated with peri‐operative ketamine, placebo or an active control were considered for inclusion.Results:  Eighteen trials were excluded. Thirty‐seven trials were included. Twenty‐seven out of 37 trials found that peri‐operative ketamine reduced rescue analgesic requirements or pain intensity, or both. Quantitative analysis showed that treatment with ketamine reduced 24‐h patient‐controlled analgesia (PCA) morphine consumption and post‐operative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Adverse effects were mild or absent.Conclusion:  In the first 24 h after surgery, ketamine reduces morphine requirements. Ketamine also reduces PONV. Adverse effects are mild or absent. These data should be interpreted with caution as the retrieved studies were heterogenous and the result of the meta‐analysis can not be translated into any specific administration regimen with ketamine.
Hemodynamic effects of spontaneous breathing in the post‐operative period
Authors: Neumann P. , Schubert A. , Heuer J. , Hinz J. , Quintel M. , Klockgether‐Radke A. 
Published: November 2005

Background:  During mechanical ventilatory support, spontaneous breathing has been linked to improved hemodynamics. These findings may be explained by a decrease in intrathoracic pressure which may improve venous return to the heart. Such a mechanism should result in a dose–response relation between the amount of spontaneous breathing and an increase in the global end‐diastolic volume (GEDV) and cardiac output (Q̇t).Methods:  To test this hypothesis, 15 patients were studied after major elective surgery during weaning from mechanical ventilation using bilevel positive airway pressure (BIPAP). BIPAP allows unrestricted spontaneous breathing during every phase of the respiratory cycle. Thus, ventilatory support was modified by changing the mechanical respiratory rate only, whereas inspiratory airway pressure and PEEP were kept constant. GEDV and Q̇t were measured by transpulmonary thermodilution.Results:  GEDV (P = 0.055), stroke volume (P = 0.027) and subsequently also Q̇t (P < 0.001) increased when spontaneous breathing increased. In contrast, no difference was observed for central venous pressure (P = 0.19).Conclusion:  The beneficial hemodynamic effects of spontaneous breathing during mechanical ventilatory support can partially be explained by improved venous return to the heart which increases stroke volume and Q̇t.
Leaf rust and stripe rust resistance genes Lr54 and Yr37 transferred to wheat from Aegilops kotschyi
Authors: Marais G. F. , McCallum B. , Snyman J. E. , Pretorius Z. A. , Marais A. S. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractThe tendency of unpaired meiotic chromosomes to undergo centric misdivision was exploited to translocate leaf rust and stripe rust resistance genes from an Aegilops kotschyi addition chromosome to a group 2 chromosome of wheat. Monosomic and telosomic analyses showed that the translocation occurred to wheat chromosome arm 2DL. The introgressed region did not pair with the corresponding wheat 2DL telosome during meiosis suggesting that a whole arm may have been transferred. Female transmission of the resistance was about 55% whereas male transmission was strongly preferential (96%). The symbols Lr54 and Yr37 are proposed to designate the new resistance genes.
Genetic diversity of some surviving on‐farm Italian common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) landraces
Authors: Lioi L. , Piergiovanni A. R. , Pignone D. , Puglisi S. , Santantonio M. , Sonnante Gabriella 
Published: November 2005

AbstractThis study was undertaken to estimate the level of variation among and within 33 local populations belonging to seven Italian common bean landraces, by analysing the polymorphism of seed storage proteins, simple sequence repeat (SSR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) molecular markers. The nutritional seed quality of the landraces studied was also investigated. Results showed that the landraces retain a considerable level of heterogeneity. Use of both biochemical and molecular approaches provided a picture of the genetic diversity of each landrace. Cluster analyses based on Nei's genetic distances and Jaccard's similarity index as defined by SSR and AFLP markers, respectively, showed that all populations clustered into two groups corresponding to the Andean and the Mesoamerican gene pools. Knowledge of the genetic structure of a landrace is fundamental in elaborating strategies, which involve the local farmers, allowing us to improve and, at the same time, safeguard the genetic integrity of landrace genetic resources.
On improving crossing success in chickpea
Authors: Anbessa Y. , Warkentin T. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractArtificial hybridization in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a tedious operation with known low rate of success. A study conducted at the University of Saskatchewan showed that crossing success was influenced by parental identity in this crop. Percent pod set to the total flowers pollinated in chickpea crosses was significantly increased when the smaller‐seeded parent was used as the female. Also, success rate increased with the size of the leaf subtending female parent's flowers at the time of crossing.
Development of molecular markers for crown rot resistance in wheat: mapping of QTLs for seedling resistance in a ‘2‐49’ × ‘Janz’ population
Authors: Collard B. C. Y. , Grams R. A. , Bovill W. D. , Percy C. D. , Jolley R. , Lehmensiek A. , Wildermuth G. , Sutherland M. W. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractCrown rot, caused by Fusarium pseudograminearum, is an important disease of wheat in Australia and elsewhere. In order to identify molecular markers associated with partial seedling resistance to this disease, bulked segregant analysis and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping approaches were undertaken using a population of 145 doubled haploid lines constructed from ‘2‐49’ (partially resistant) × ‘Janz’ (susceptible) parents. Phenotypic data indicated that the trait is quantitatively inherited. The largest QTLs were located on chromosomes 1D and 1A, and explained 21% and 9% of the phenotypic variance, respectively. Using the best markers associated with five QTLs identified by composite interval mapping, the combined effect of the QTLs explained 40.6% of the phenotypic variance. All resistance alleles were inherited from ‘2‐49’ with the exception of a QTL on 2B, which was inherited from ‘Janz’. A minor QTL on 4B was loosely linked (19.8 cM) to the Rht1 locus in repulsion. None of the QTLs identified in this study were located in the same region as resistance QTLs identified in other populations segregating for Fusarium head blight, caused by Fusarium graminearum.
Ecological perspectives on the sequenced genome collection
Authors: Hughes Martiny Jennifer B. , Field Dawn 
Published: November 2005

AbstractOur complete genome collection is one of our most valuable biological resources. A key challenge for the future is the interpretation of these genomes from an ecological perspective. In this review, we discuss current work at this increasingly important interface. In particular, we review ongoing work aimed at developing high quality data sets that combine ecological, environmental, evolutionary and genomic information. Such data will help to identify biases in the sequence collection and facilitate future discoveries about the nature of ecological adaptation at the genome level. These efforts will be greatly enhanced by the contributions of ecologists.
Perianal and intrarectal anaesthesia for transrectal biopsy of the prostate: a prospective randomized study comparing lidocaine‐prilocaine cream and placebo
Authors: Raber Marco , Scattoni Vincenzo , Roscigno Marco , Rigatti Patrizio , Montorsi Francesco 
Published: November 2005

OBJECTIVESTo assess the effectiveness of perianal and intrarectal lidocaine‐prilocaine cream for prostate biopsy.PATIENTS AND METHODSIn a prospective, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study, 200 consecutive patients were randomized to receive 5 mL lidocaine‐prilocaine cream or 5 mL placebo peri‐anally and transrectally before transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS)‐guided prostate needle biopsy (mean number of cores, 12). The men were asked to grade the pain when the TRUS probe was inserted and during the biopsy procedure using a 10‐point linear visual analogue pain scale.RESULTSAt probe insertion, men in the anaesthetic group reported a significantly lower mean pain level than men in the placebo group (0.3 vs 1.6, P < 0.001). Men who had anaesthetic also reported less pain during biopsy punctures (1.8 vs 3.2, P < 0.001). Stratifying results by age, younger men (<67 years) benefited more from anaesthesia during probe insertion (0.9 vs 1.7; P = 0.04) and biopsy (1.8 vs 4.0, P < 0.001) than older men (1.0 vs 1.1, P = 0.7 and 1.9 vs 2.4, P = 0.3, respectively). There were only minor complications, and these were not significantly different between the groups.CONCLUSIONTopical anaesthesia with prilocaine‐lidocaine cream significantly reduced pain at transrectal probe insertion and during the biopsy procedure.
Effect of glycine on recovery of bladder smooth muscle contractility after acute urinary retention in rats
Authors: Hong Sung K. , Son Hwancheol , Kim Soo W. , Oh Seung‐June , Choi Hwang 
Published: November 2005

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of glycine on the recovery of bladder smooth muscle contractility after acute urinary retention.MATERIALS AND METHODSBladder overdistension was induced in Sprague‐Dawley rats by an infusion of saline (twice the threshold volume), maintained for 2 h. From 15 min before emptying of the bladder until 2 h after, saline or glycine solution was infused i.v. At 30 min, 2 h and 1 week after bladder emptying, samples of bladder tissue were taken for muscle strip study, malondialdehyde (MDA) assay, ATP assay, Western blotting for apoptosis‐related molecules (Bcl‐2, Bax, Caspase‐3), and histological analysis including terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated nick‐end labelling staining. The results were compared among normal control, saline‐treated and glycine‐treated rats.RESULTSIn the glycine‐treated group, muscle strip contractile responses induced by electrical‐field stimulation and carbachol were both significantly greater at 1 week after bladder emptying than in the saline‐treated group. The results of the ATP assay appeared to correspond with those of the muscle strip study. The saline‐treated group had significantly higher MDA levels at 30 min after bladder emptying than the glycine‐treated group. At 2 h after bladder emptying, there was significantly more apoptosis and greater leukocyte infiltration in the saline‐treated group than in the glycine‐treated group. While pro‐apoptotic Bax and caspase‐3 were down‐regulated, Bcl‐2 was up‐regulated in the glycine‐treated group.CONCLUSIONGlycine infusions might improve the contractile responses of bladder smooth muscle after acute urinary retention by reducing oxidative damage and apoptosis.