bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Subsequent publication of abstracts presented at the International Association of Paediatric Dentistry meetings
Authors: DAHLLÖF GÖRAN , WONDIMU BINIYAM , MANIERE MARIE‐CÉCILE 
Published: January 2008

Background.  Presentation of scientific information at international meetings is important for the dissemination of new scientific research. It is often assumed that the information contained in an abstract will subsequently be published in a scientific journal in full‐length form.Objective.  The aim of this investigation was to study the publication rate of abstracts presented to the International Association of Paediatric Dentistry (IAPD) congresses in London 1999 and Paris 2001, and factors that predict subsequent publication were also investigated.Materials and methods.  Abstracts presented at the IAPD congresses were reviewed. A Medline/PubMed search, encompassing 1999–2006, was performed.Results.  At the two IAPD congresses, a total of 771 abstracts were presented, 231 (30%) as oral presentations, 327 (42%) as poster discussion presentations, and 212 (28%) as poster presentations. During the period studied, 204 (27%) of the 771 abstracts were expanded into articles published in Medline/PubMed indexed journals. The publication ratio for orally presented abstracts was 40%, poster discussion presentation 21%, and for poster presentations 19% (P < 0.0001). The mean time from the congress to publication was 20 months.Conclusion.  The results of this study show that 40% of orally presented abstracts at IAPD congresses were followed by a subsequent scientific publication in a peer‐reviewed journal.
Phase‐locked mutants of Mycoplasma agalactiae: defining the molecular switch of high‐frequency Vpma antigenic variation
Authors: Chopra‐Dewasthaly Rohini , Citti Christine , Glew Michelle D. , Zimmermann Martina , Rosengarten Renate , Jechlinger Wolfgang 
Published: January 2008

Summary Mycoplasma agalactiae, an important pathogen of small ruminants, exhibits antigenic diversity by switching the expression of multiple surface lipoproteins called Vpmas (Variable proteins of M. agalactiae). Although phase variation has been shown to play important roles in many host–pathogen interactions, the biological significance and the mechanism of Vpma oscillations remain largely unclear. Here, we demonstrate that all six Vpma proteins are expressed in the type strain PG2 and all undergo phase variation at an unusually high frequency. Furthermore, targeted gene disruption of the xer1 gene encoding a putative site‐specific recombinase adjacent to the vpma locus was accomplished via homologous recombination using a replicon‐based vector. Inactivation of xer1 abolished further Vpma switching and the ‘phase‐locked’ mutants (PLMs) continued to steadily express only a single Vpma product. Complementation of the wild‐type xer1 gene in PLMs restored Vpma phase variation thereby proving that Xer1 is essential for vpma inversions. The study is not only instrumental in enhancing our ability to understand the role of Vpmas in M. agalactiae infections but also provides useful molecular approaches to study potential disease factors in other ‘difficult‐to‐manipulate’ mycoplasmas.
A decrease of plasma macrophage migration inhibitory factor concentration is associated with lower numbers of circulating lymphocytes in experimental Plasmodium falciparum malaria
Authors: DE MAST Q. , SWEEP F. C. G. J. , McCALL M. , GEURTS‐MOESPOT A. , HERMSEN C. , CALANDRA T. , NETEA M. G. , SAUERWEIN R. W. , VAN DER VEN A. J. M. 
Published: January 2008

SUMMARY Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of malarial anaemia. However, field studies have reported contradictory results on circulating MIF concentrations in patients with clinically overt Plasmodium falciparum malaria. We determined plasma MIF levels over time in 10 healthy volunteers during experimental P. falciparum infection. Under fully controlled conditions, MIF levels decreased significantly during early blood‐stage infection and reached a nadir at day 8 post‐infection. A decrease in the number of circulating lymphocytes, which are an important source of MIF production, paralleled the decrease in MIF levels. Monocyte/macrophage counts remained unchanged. At MIF nadir, the anti‐inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)‐10, which is an inhibitor of T‐cell MIF production, was detectable in only 2 of 10 volunteers. Plasma concentrations of the pro‐inflammatory cytokines IL‐8 and IL‐1β were only marginally elevated. We conclude that circulating MIF levels decrease early in blood‐stage malaria as a result of the decline in circulating lymphocytes.
Mechanisms of leucocyte recruitment to the inflamed large intestine: redundancy in integrin and addressin usage
Authors: BELL L. V. , ELSE K. J. 
Published: January 2008

SUMMARY The caecal‐dwelling nematode Trichuris muris provides a natural model of human whipworm infection. Resistance to T. muris is dependent on a host Th2 response, and CD4+Th2 cells migrate to the gut‐associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) to elicit parasite expulsion. Thus, CD4+T cells infiltrate the caecal lamina propria during infection, along with other leucocyte subsets that are not critical for parasite expulsion, such as eosinophils. Trafficking of leucocytes to the GALT has been shown to be dependent on the α4β7/MAdCAM‐1 integrin–addressin interaction. However, where inflammation is present, such as during T. muris infection, redundant mechanisms of leucocyte recruitment may also occur in addition to traditional gut‐homing interactions. We utilized an anti‐integrin/addressin antibody treatment regime to investigate this redundancy in resistant, T. muris‐infected C57BL/6 mice. Where only the α4β7/MAdCAM‐1 interaction was blocked, mice remained resistant to T. muris infection, making a Th2 response and both CD4+T cells and eosinophils infiltrated the site of infection. However, in the absence of available α4β7 and α4β1, mice became chronically infected with T. muris and mounted a more Th1‐biased immune response. Interestingly, CD4+T cells, but not eosinophils, were able to infiltrate the caecum, showing different levels of redundancy between leucocyte subsets during infection.
ARL2, ARG1 and PIN3 define a gravity signal transduction pathway in root statocytes
Authors: Harrison Benjamin R. , Masson Patrick H. 
Published: January 2008

SummaryALTERED RESPONSE TO GRAVITY1 (ARG1) and its paralog ARG1‐LIKE2 (ARL2) are J‐domain proteins that are required for normal root and hypocotyl gravitropism. In this paper, we show that both ARL2 and ARG1 function in a gravity signal transduction pathway with PIN3, an auxin efflux facilitator that is expressed in the statocytes. In gravi‐stimulated roots, PIN3 relocalizes to the lower side of statocytes, a process that is thought to, in part, drive the asymmetrical redistribution of auxin toward the lower flank of the root. We show that ARL2 and ARG1 are required for PIN3 relocalization and asymmetrical distribution of auxin upon gravi‐stimulation. ARL2 is expressed specifically in the root statocytes, where it localizes to the plasma membrane. Upon ectopic expression, ARL2 is also found at the cell plate of dividing cells during cytokinesis, an area of intense membrane dynamics. Mutations in ARL2 and ARG1 also result in auxin‐related expansion of the root cap columella, consistent with a role for ARL2 and ARG1 in regulating auxin flux through the root tip. Together these data suggest that ARL2 and ARG1 functionally link gravity sensation in the statocytes to auxin redistribution through the root cap.
Sponge and coral zooxanthellae in heat and light: preliminary results of photochemical efficiency monitored with pulse amplitude modulated fluorometry
Authors: Schönberg Christine H. L. , Suwa Ryota , Hidaka Michio , Loh William Kok Weng 
Published: January 2008

AbstractPhotochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) was compared between a common symbiotic bioeroding sponge, Cliona cf. orientalis, and a common reef‐builder, Acropora palifera using pulse amplitude modulated fluorescence (PAM). The study was conducted on Sesoko Island, Okinawa, where reefs were severely damaged during previous bleaching episodes. Sponge and coral dinoflagellate symbionts were treated with heat and light in a tank experiment, both in hospite (=still within their host) and isolated from their hosts. We found significant differences for photochemical efficiency of holobionts (=host and symbiont together) compared to the isolate symbionts and over time. All symbionts suffered in isolation and displayed stronger reactions to the treatments, and there was evidence for increasing damage despite returning to control conditions. However, because of large variability of the bi‐symbiont coral samples and restrictions of the experimental design, our main results remained inconclusive, with no significant differences between sponge and coral samples and between the different stress treatments. Judging the results based on the uniform trends in the subsets of data, the G‐clade sponge symbionts appeared to be more stress tolerant than the C‐ and D‐clade coral symbionts, with no treatment effects in hospite and less damage in isolation compared to the coral symbionts, but this is an unconfirmed assumption. Isolated sponge symbionts were very resistant against heat stress, but may have suffered from light stress. In hospite, the latter risk can be countered by the sponge’s 3‐dimensional morphology, the endolithic life style that affords shading, and by behavioural adaptation, i.e. the ability to move symbionts away from the source of stress. Overall, C. cf. orientalis symbionts displayed a more stable photochemical efficiency during and after stress than those of A. palifera. Results of this study suggest that with climate change C. cf. orientalis might have a better survival potential than A. palifera, but further investigations are necessary.
Large‐scale phenotyping of transgenic tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum) to identify essential leaf functions
Authors: Lein Wolfgang , Usadel Bjoern , Stitt Mark , Reindl Andreas , Ehrhardt Thomas , Sonnewald Uwe , Börnke Frederik 
Published: January 2008

SummaryTwo of the major challenges in functional genomics are to identify genes that play a key role in biological processes, and to elucidate the biological role of the large numbers of genes whose function is poorly characterized or still completely unknown. In this study, a combination of large‐scale expressed sequence tag sequencing, high‐throughput gene silencing and visual phenotyping was used to identify genes in which partial inhibition of expression leads to marked phenotypic changes, mostly on leaves. Three normalized tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cDNA libraries were prepared directly in a binary vector using different tissues of tobacco as an RNA source, randomly sequenced and clustered. The Agrobacterium–tobacco leaf disc transformation system was used to generate sets of antisense or co‐suppression transgenic tobacco plants for over 20 000 randomly chosen clones, each representing an independent cluster. After transfer to the glasshouse, transgenic plants were scored visually after 10–14 days for changes in growth, leaf form and chlorosis or necrosis. Putative hits were validated by repeating the transformation. This procedure is more stringent than the analysis of knockout mutants, because it requires that even a partial decrease in expression generates a phenotype. This procedure identified 88 validated gene/phenotype relations. These included several previously characterized gene/phenotype relationships, demonstrating the validity of the approach. For about one‐third, a function could be inferred, but a loss‐of‐function phenotype had not been described previously. Strikingly, almost one‐half of the validated genes were poorly annotated, or had no known function. For 77 of these tobacco sequences, a single or small number of potential orthologues were identified in Arabidopsis. The genes for which orthologues were identified in Arabidopsis included about one‐half of the genes whose function was completely unknown. Comparison with published gene/phenotype relations for Arabidopsis knockout mutants revealed surprisingly little overlap with the present study. Our results indicate that partial gene silencing identifies novel gene/phenotype relationships, which are distinct from those uncovered by knockout screens. They also show that it is possible to perform these analyses in a crop species in which full genome sequence information is lacking, and subsequently to transfer the information to a reference species in which functional studies can be performed more effectively.
Plant peptides and peptidomics
Authors: Farrokhi Naser , Whitelegge Julian P. , Brusslan Judy A. 
Published: January 2008

SummaryExtracellular plant peptides perform a large variety of functions, including signalling and defence. Intracellular peptides often have physiological functions or may merely be the products of general proteolysis. Plant peptides have been identified and, in part, functionally characterized through biochemical and genetic studies, which are lengthy and in some cases impractical. Peptidomics is a branch of proteomics that has been developed over the last 5 years, and has been used mainly to study neuropeptides in animals and the degradome of proteases. Peptidomics is a fast, efficient methodology that can detect minute and transient amounts of peptides and identify their post‐translational modifications. This review describes known plant peptides and introduces the use of peptidomics for the detection of novel plant peptides.
Fruit‐specific suppression of the ethylene receptor LeETR4 results in early‐ripening tomato fruit
Authors: Kevany Brian M. , Taylor Mark G. , Klee Harry J. 
Published: January 2008

SummaryTomato is an economically important crop and a significant dietary source of important phytochemicals, such as carotenoids and flavonoids. Although it has been known for many years that the plant hormone ethylene is essential for the ripening of climacteric fruits, its role in fruit growth and maturation is much less well understood. In this study, data are presented which indicate that fruit‐specific suppression of the ethylene receptor LeETR4 causes early ripening, whereas fruit size, yield and flavour‐related chemical composition are largely unchanged. Early fruit ripening is a highly desirable and valuable trait, and the approach demonstrated here should be applicable to any fruit species requiring ethylene to ripen. These results demonstrate that ethylene receptors probably act as biological clocks regulating the onset of tomato fruit ripening.
Mass spectral comparison of the neuropeptide complement of the stomatogastric ganglion and brain in the adult and embryonic lobster, Homarus americanus
Authors: Cape Stephanie S. , Rehm Kristina J. , Ma Mingming , Marder Eve , Li Lingjun 
Published: January 2008

AbstractNeuropeptides in the stomatogastric ganglion (STG) and the brain of adult and late embryonic Homarus americanus were compared using a multi‐faceted mass spectral strategy. Overall, 29 neuropeptides from 10 families were identified in the brain and/or the STG of the lobster. Many of these neuropeptides are reported for the first time in the embryonic lobster. Neuropeptide extraction followed by liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry enabled confident identification of 24 previously characterized peptides in the adult brain and 13 peptides in the embryonic brain. Two novel peptides (QDLDHVFLRFa and GPPSLRLRFa) were de novo sequenced. In addition, a comparison of adult to embryonic brains revealed the presence of an incompletely processed form of Cancer borealis tachykinin‐related peptide 1a (CabTRP 1a, APSGFLGMRG) only in the embryonic brain. A comparison of adult to embryonic STGs revealed that QDLDHVFLRFa was present in the embryonic STG but absent in the adult STG, and CabTRP 1a exhibited the opposite trend. Relative quantification of neuropeptides in the STG revealed that three orcokinin family peptides (NFDEIDRSGFGF, NFDEIDRSGFGFV, and NFDEIDRSGFGFN), a B‐type allatostatin (STNWSSLRSAWa), and an orcomyotropin‐related peptide (FDAFTTGFGHS) exhibited higher signal intensities in the adult relative to the embryonic STG. RFamide (Arg‐Phe‐amide) family peptide (DTSTPALRLRFa), [Val1]SIFamide (VYRKPPFNGSIFa), and orcokinin‐related peptide (VYGPRDIANLY) were more intense in the embryonic STG spectra than in the adult STG spectra. Collectively, this study expands our current knowledge of the H. americanus neuropeptidome and highlights some intriguing expression differences that occur during development.
Vascular endothelial growth factor protects spinal cord motoneurons against glutamate‐induced excitotoxicity via phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase
Authors: Tolosa Laia , Mir Margalida , Asensio Víctor J. , Olmos Gabriel , Lladó Jerònia 
Published: January 2008

AbstractAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the selective death of motoneurons. Recently, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been identified as a neurotrophic factor and has been implicated in the mechanisms of pathogenesis of ALS and other neurological diseases. The potential neuroprotective effects of VEGF in a rat spinal cord organotypic culture were studied in a model of chronic glutamate excitotoxicity in which glutamate transporters are inhibited by threohydroxyaspartate (THA). Particularly, we focused on the effects of VEGF in the survival and vulnerability to excitotoxicity of spinal cord motoneurons. VEGF receptor‐2 was present on spinal cord neurons, including motoneurons. Chronic (3 weeks) treatment with THA induced a significant loss of motoneurons that was inhibited by co‐exposure to VEGF (50 ng/mL). VEGF activated the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase/Akt (PI3‐K/Akt) signal transduction pathway in the spinal cord cultures, and the effect on motoneuron survival was fully reversed by the specific PI3‐K inhibitor, LY294002. VEGF also prevented the down‐regulation of Bcl‐2 and survivin, two proteins implicated in anti‐apoptotic and/or anti‐excitotoxic effects, after THA exposure. Together, these findings indicate that VEGF has neuroprotective effects in rat spinal cord against chronic glutamate excitotoxicity by activating the PI3‐K/Akt signal transduction pathway and also reinforce the hypothesis of the potential therapeutic effects of VEGF in the prevention of motoneuron degeneration in human ALS.
Characterization of extracellular minerals produced during dissimilatory Fe(III) and U(VI) reduction at 100 °C by Pyrobaculum islandicum
Authors: KASHEFI K. , MOSKOWITZ B. M. , LOVLEY D. R. 
Published: January 2008

ABSTRACTIn order to gain insight into the significance of biotic metal reduction and mineral formation in hyperthermophilic environments, metal mineralization as a result of the dissimilatory reduction of poorly crystalline Fe(III) oxide, and U(VI) reduction at 100 °C by Pyrobaculum islandicum was investigated. When P. islandicum was grown in a medium with poorly crystalline Fe(III) oxide as an electron acceptor and hydrogen as an electron donor, the Fe(III) oxide was reduced to an extracellular, ultrafine‐grained magnetite with characteristics similar to that found in some hot environments and that was previously thought to be of abiotic origin. Furthermore, cell suspensions of P. islandicum rapidly reduced the soluble and oxidized form of uranium, U(VI), to extracellular precipitates of the highly insoluble U(IV) mineral, uraninite (UO2). The reduction of U(VI) was dependent on the presence of hydrogen as the electron donor. These findings suggest that microbes may play a key role in metal deposition in hyperthermophilic environments and provide a plausible explanation for such phenomena as magnetite accumulation and formation of uranium deposits at ca. 100 °C.
Disrupted intracellular calcium regulates BACE1 gene expression via nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 (NFAT 1) signaling
Authors: Cho Hyun Jin , Jin Seok Min , Youn Hong Deuk , Huh Kyoon , Mook‐Jung Inhee 
Published: January 2008

SummaryBeta‐site APP‐cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) expression is elevated in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and in aged‐animal models. Because both AD and aging are associated with disrupted calcium homeostasis, we investigated the role of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) – a transcription factor regulated by the calcium‐ and calmodulin‐dependent phosphatase calcineurin – in BACE1 expression. BACE1 expression was stimulated by a calcium ionophore in primary cortical cultures, and by SH‐SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, which was both blocked by pretreatment with either cyclosporin A, an inhibitor of calcineurin, or ethyleneglycotetraacetic acid, a calcium chelator. Gel shift assays revealed direct binding of NFAT1 to specific DNA sequences within the BACE1 gene promoter region. Treatment with amyloid beta (Aβ), one of the major factors in AD pathogenesis, stimulated activation and nuclear translocation of NFAT1 following up‐regulation of BACE1 expression. In addition, primary cortical cultures from Tg2576 mouse brains generated more Aβ by ionophore stimulation, which was reversed by cyclosporin A treatment. Furthermore, NFAT1 activation was observed in Tg2576 mouse brains. These results suggest that calcium ionophore‐ or Aβ‐induced increases in intracellular calcium concentration stimulate BACE1 expression, resulting in accelerated Aβ generation, and that this process is mediated through the calcineurin‐NFAT1 signaling pathway. This process may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of AD and aging.
The prevalence of mixed episodes during the course of illness in bipolar disorder
Authors: Kessing L. V. 
Published: January 2008

Objective:  To investigate the prevalence of mixed episodes during the course of illness in bipolar disorder.Method:  A total of 1620 patients with an ICD‐10 diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder at the first psychiatric contact were identified in a period from 1994 to 2003 in Denmark and the prevalence of mixed, depressive and hypomanic/manic episodes were calculated at each episode.Results:  The prevalence of mixed episodes increased from the first episode to the tenth episode, however, only for women (6.7% of the first episodes leading to psychiatric care compared with 18.2% of the tenth episodes). For men, the prevalence of mixed episodes was constantly low. At all episodes, the presence of a current mixed episode increased the risk substantially of getting a future mixed episode.Conclusion:  Clinicians should pay more attention to mixed episodes, especially among women, as they may represent an increasing treatment challenge as the illness progress.
Insulin resistance and lipid levels in adolescents with familial risk for psychosis
Authors: Koponen H. , Mäki P. , Halonen H. , Miettunen J. , Laitinen J. , Tammelin T. , Moilanen I. , Taanila A. , Ruokonen A. , Korkeila J. , Veijola J. 
Published: January 2008

Objective:  Type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemias co‐occur frequently with schizophrenia. It is not known how common they are in adolescents with a familial risk for psychosis.Method:  The Northern Finland 1986 Birth Cohort consists of 9432 children born alive in the two Northernmost provinces in Finland. At the age of 15/16 they participated in clinical examination including measurements of glucose, lipids and IR, and a questionnaire including items about their diet and physical activity. The Finnish Hospital Discharge Register was used to find out non‐organic psychoses in parents during 1972–2000. This familial risk was found out in 54 boys and 68 girls. Their results were compared with other cohort members.Results:  No differences were observed in the cardiometabolic risk factors between the study groups.Conclusion:  Our results suggest that familial risk for psychosis is not directly associated with disturbances of glucose and lipid metabolism among adolescents.