bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparative study between two laser scanning cytometers and epifluorescence microscopy for the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in water
Authors: Montemayor Michel , Galofré Belén , Ribas Ferrán , Lucena Francisco 
Published: February 2007

AbstractBackground:Cryptosporidium detection in water and environmental samples has increased during the last years, largely due to an increase in the number of reported waterborne outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis and the implementation of new regulations about Cryptosporidium monitoring in water supplies. The aim of this study was to validate and compare the capacity of two laser scanning cytometers commercially available (LSC® and ChemScanRDI®), against manual microscopic enumeration of Cryptosporidium oocysts in surface water and reference material samples.Methods:Reference material and surface water samples were analysed by two laser scanning cytometers methodologies and by manual epifluorescence microscopy. Two mAbs from commercial suppliers were used to evaluate background reduction.Results:Highly significant correlations were obtain between both cytometers (R2 = 0.99) and with manual microscopy (R2 = 0.98), showing that oocysts counts made by cytometers were equivalent to those obtained with conventional methods. We observed a variability in oocysts counts when different antibodies where used with laser scanning cytometers and manual microscopy.Conclusions:This study showed the efficacy of the laser scanning technology (LSC® and ChemScanRDI®), as an automated and a more standardized alternative to manual epifluorescence microscopy examination, for Cryptosporidium detection in water samples. High quality antibodies are needed for automated enumeration as well as for manual microscope observations. © 2007 International Society for Analytical Cytology
Quantum dots as alternatives to organic fluorophores for Cryptosporidium detection using conventional flow cytometry and specific monoclonal antibodies: Lessons learned
Authors: Ferrari B. C. , Bergquist P. L. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractBackground:Significant developments in biological applications are occurring through the incorporation of Quantum Dots (QDs) as biological labels. The demonstration of QDs unique optical properties may have important implications for the study of environmental samples, where microorganisms of interest need to be isolated away from the background debris.Methods:Flow cytometric analysis was used to determine the fluorescence intensity of oocysts after mAb staining by QDs or organic fluorophore conjugates. In addition, the level of non‐specific binding to detrital particles within a control water concentrate was estimated using the optimal staining concentration determined for each mAb analyzed.Results:Under 488 nm excitation, oocysts stained with QD‐conjugates exhibited significantly lower fluorescence intensity than organic conjugates. Moreover, the level of non‐specific binding by QD‐conjugates to detrital particles present in the water concentrate was significantly higher that of the organic conjugates.Conclusions:While QDs are noted for their superior spectral characteristics, they have been shown here to be unsuitable for conventional flow cytometric detection of Cryptosporidium. Therefore, we conclude that in their current form, QD's are severely limited for fluorescent detection of pathogens in environmental applications. © 2007 International Society for Analytical Cytology
Dermal condensation formation in the chick embryo: Requirement for integrin engagement and subsequent stabilization by a possible Notch/integrin interaction
Authors: Michon Frederic , Charveron Marie , Dhouailly Danielle 
Published: February 2007

AbstractDuring embryonic development, feathers appear first as primordia consisting of an epidermal placode associated with a dermal condensation. When 7‐day chick embryo dorsal skin fragments showing three rows of feather primordia are cultured, they undergo a complete reorganization, which involves the down‐regulation of morphogenetic genes and dispersal of dermal fibroblasts, leading to the disappearance of primordia. This loss of organisation is followed by de novo differentiation events. We have used this model to study potential factors involved in the formation of dermal condensations. Activation of Integrins by extracellular Manganese or intracellular Calcium prevents the initial disappearance of the dermal condensations. New primordia formation occurs even after inhibition of the Notch pathway albeit with some fusion between primordia. In conclusion, dermal fibroblast migration requires β1‐Integrin whereas the stability of dermal condensations could depend on Notch/Integrin interaction. Developmental Dynamics 236:755–768, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Developmental expression of FOG‐1/CPEB protein and its control in the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite germ line
Authors: Lamont Liana B. , Kimble Judith 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe specification of a germ cell as sperm or oocyte and determination of cell number remain unsolved questions in developmental biology. This paper examines Caenorhabditis elegans FOG‐1, a CPEB‐related RNA‐binding protein that controls the sperm fate. We find that abundant FOG‐1 protein is observed transiently in germ cells just prior to their expression of an early sperm‐differentiation marker. As the germline tissue elongates, abundant FOG‐1 appears more and more distally as sperm become specified, but disappears when the germ line switches to oogenesis. This dynamic pattern is controlled by both globally acting and germline‐specific sex‐determining regulators. Importantly, the extent of FOG‐1 expression corresponds roughly to sperm number in wild‐type and mutants, altering sperm number. By contrast, three other key regulators of the sperm/oocyte decision do not similarly correspond to sperm number. We suggest that FOG‐1 is precisely modulated in both time and space to specify sperm fate and control sperm number. Developmental Dynamics 236:871–879, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Genistein prevents thyroid hormone‐dependent tail regression of Rana catesbeiana tadpoles by targetting protein kinase C and thyroid hormone receptor α
Authors: Ji L. , Domanski D. , Skirrow R.C. , Helbing C.C. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThyroid hormone (TH)‐regulated gene expression is mainly mediated by TH binding to nuclear thyroid hormone receptors (TRs). Despite extensive studies in mammalian cell lines that show that phosphorylation signaling pathways are important in TH action, little is known about their roles on TH signaling in vivo during development. Anuran metamorphosis is a postembryonic process that is absolutely dependent upon TH and tadpole tail resorption can be precociously induced by exogenous administration of 3,5,3′‐triiodothyronine (T3). We demonstrate that genistein (a major isoflavone in soy products and tyrosine kinase inhibitor) and the PKC inhibitor (H7) prevent T3‐induced regression of the Rana catesbeiana tadpole tail. T3‐induced protein kinase C tyrosine phosphorylation and kinase activity are inhibited by genistein while T3‐induced up‐regulation of TRβ mRNA, but not TRα mRNA, is significantly attenuated, most likely through inhibition of T3‐dependent phosphorylation of the TRα protein. This phosphorylation may be modulated through PKC. These data demonstrate that T3 signaling in the context of normal cells in vivo includes phosphorylation as an important factor in establishing T3‐dependent tail regression during development. Developmental Dynamics 236:777–790, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The missing dimension in EU environmental technology policy
Authors: Murphy Joseph , Gouldson Andrew 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe European Union (EU) White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment assigns a central role to the development of environmental technology. The motives for such a position are both environmental and economic. To promote innovation and the development and diffusion of new environmental technologies, various EU policy statements have proposed the integration of aspects of technology and environmental policies. It is suggested here that although policy integration may be a necessary prerequisite for the enlargement of the environmental technology sector, as long as environmental and technology policies fail to address the intangible issues of internal corporate culture, both the scale and the composition of the response to policy are likely to be limited.
Reviewing the interim review
Authors: Turner Sharon , O'Shea John 
Published: February 2007

AbstractIn late 1994, with 18 months experience of implementing “Towards Sustainability”, the European Commission sought to review its progress in making the transition to sustainable development. Progress, however, has been both slow and uncertain. Sharon Turner and John O'Shea examine the approach taken in the Commission's Interim Review and suggest that there has been an unwillingness to openly and critically address the causes and degree of lack of progress at Community level.
Free trade and the environment in Central Europe
Authors: Bochniarz Zbigniew , Toft David 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe state of the environment and the need for sustainable development strategies in Central Europe are discussed, with particular attention paid to the part that trade liberalization can play in this process. The Central European countries need more than an environmental policy similar to that in the West; new tools backed by solid institutional reforms are essential to building towards sustainable development. This policy should be characterized by at least two aspects:

It should be based on a wider coalition of internal and external actors and
It must reflect the historical processes taking place in the region, particularly democratization, restructuring, privatization and internationalization.
Trade liberalization, however, has not come without consequences. Although Western countries reap the benefits of liberalized access to Central Europe, the Central Europe countries do not enjoy full entry to Western markets yet.
Environmental information in policy design and enforcement: Water protection policy in Wallonia, Belgium
Authors: Gallez Caroline , Paras Sylvie 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe formulation and implementation of legal or economic instruments in environmental policy is characterized by an enormous need for information. Although governments are able to collect data relating to the quality of ecological resources or the extent of environmental degradation, a significant amount of data must also be provided by the firms whose activities have an impact on the environment. However, the amount of data that is supplied spontaneously by companies is often limited. In Belgium, as in many other European countries, firms are nonetheless legally obliged to reveal some aspects of their environmental situation when they request licenses or are subject to environmental taxes. The information provided is likely to be valuable in the formulation of environmental policy as long as the data are readily available and reliable. The role of information provision is analysed in relation to the water protection policies of the Walloon Region, Belgium.
Challenges for environmental policy: Learning from front‐runners
Authors: Holm Jesper , Stauning Inger 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThrough case study analysis of best practice in environmental management, the prerequisites for innovation in the research, development and diffusion of clean technology and in the application of environmental management systems is highlighted. The implications of the case studies are drawn out, not only for the strategies of the companies themselves, but also for the networks of trading partners, competitors, economic development agencies and regulators that surround them. It is suggested that front‐runners in environmental management are often involved in co‐forming future standards. On the basis of the case study findings, recommendations for policy at a number of levels are put forward.
Enforcement of European union environmental legislation
Authors: Syngellakis Anna 
Published: February 2007

AbstractEnforcement of European Union (EU) environmental legislation is pursued by the Commission and to some extent by citizens and environmental groups within an underdeveloped legal and institutional framework. However, Europeans actively support the protection of the environment, as recent protest events have demonstrated. The EU should redress its environmental deficit and provide its citizens with an effective environmental order in a participatory democratic system. This is a challenge the EU should meet in the interests of people, the environment and further European integration.
Participation in the EU eco‐management and audit scheme: An analysis of small‐and medium‐sized enterprises in Italy
Authors: Biondi Vittorio , Frey Marco 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe EU Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) reflects the increasing emphasis that is being given to voluntary environmental regulation. Although this approach is generally welcomed as a complement to command and control regulation, concerns remain about the level of voluntary participation. The findings are presented of a pilot study in Italy which sought to examine the prospects for EMAS in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises in the chemical industry.
Northern Ireland's green economy: An examination of environmentally based employment opportunities
Authors: Eastwood David , Eaton Martin , Monds Fabian , Stark Tom 
Published: February 2007

AbstractEnvironmentally based economic development and employment opportunities in Northern Ireland are identified and predicted over the medium term to the year 2000. The results show that in 1993 about 1.9% of the total Northern Ireland workforce (11 500 workers) was employed within a ‘green production sector’. Using an innovative economic modelling technique it is suggested that there are significant employment generation opportunities available and a total of up to 15 000 new jobs could be created in Northern Ireland's green economy by the turn of the century. Moreover, and on the basis of these findings, four recommendations are offered which could help maximize the employment potentials afforded by environmental activity.
European union air protection legislation: And is the Czech Republic ready?
Authors: Cole Janet 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe possible expansion of the European Union (EU) is still high on the political agenda, with many of the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe seeking to gain membership. One such country is the Czech Republic. Full membership for the Czech Republic would require an alignment of domestic policies with those of the EU. This paper focuses on the policy area of the environment, paying particular attention to air protection. The way in which the Czech Republic is preparing to meet existing EU air protection requirements is explored in the light of possible membership. As all five EU Environmental Action Programmes have advocated the use of incentive‐based legislation in the future, the readiness, willingness and capability of the Czech Republic to accept legislation based on the use of economic instruments is investigated.
Strengthening EU environmental policy implementation by fine tuning
Authors: Van Muijen Marie‐Louise 
Published: February 2007

AbstractOne of the assumed strengths of the European Union (EU) is its legislative character. Although this has aided the development of environmental policy in the past, the EU has broadened its mix of instruments fundamentally since the Fifth Environmental Action Programme to include market‐based instruments, horizontal supporting instruments and financial support mechanisms alongside more traditional legislative instruments. The central thesis of this paper is that the use and effectiveness of these newly introduced instruments are primarily determined by and contingent on national factors. This means that the relationship between the characteristics of the instruments and the specific institutional context of the EU Member States influences the implementation of environmental aims. It is argued that the EU should anticipate this by facilitating the use of several instruments in changing combinations depending on, firstly, the nature of the environmental policy problem to be solved and, secondly, the policy styles of the Member States involved in that particular issue. The EU policy‐making process should therefore not only opt for specifying the ends to be achieved and laid down in directives but, through negotiation with the implementing agencies, also specify the best ways of reaching those ends. In that way the discrepancy between the formal compliance and the actual implementation of EU directives could be overcome.
Learning the hard way: The EC and the eco‐label
Authors: Mitchell Duncan 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe Fifth Environmental Action Programme places great emphasis on the wider adoption of market mechanisms and the application of shared responsibility in environmental policy. The Eco‐label scheme appears to embody these principles and as a consequence has received considerable political support. However, the Eco‐label is now in disarray. Its evolution is traced and it is suggested that despite high levels of commitment to the Eco‐label, policymakers have been unable to address the seemingly intractable issues associated with its practical introduction.
Managing the environment in tourism regions: The case of the Canary Islands
Authors: Leon Carmelo , Gonzalez Matias 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe relationships between environmental and economic systems in the Canary Islands have been conditioned by a development process based on the expansion of tourism. This paper focuses on the principal environmental problems resulting from the development process and how the local authorities are dealing with these problems. Environmental policy has been concentrated on managing land and water resources through direct regulation. Regulatory policy measures have not produced the expected results because their application has been uneven and incomplete. An attempt to introduce a systematic approach to environmental policy is the Environmental Action Plan 1995–2000. Although this plan has important advantages over the previous approach, it may fail because of the absence of a reliable system of quality indicators tpat would allow the objectives to be defined more precisely. A necessary condition for a sustainable development process would involve a substantial reduction in the dependency on exploiting natural resources to generate economic growth.
Drainage basin characteristics, their selection, derivation and analysis for a flood study of the British isles
Authors: Newson Malcolm D. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractA large data bank of morphometric, cover and climatic data for over a thousand drainage basins of all sizes in the British Isles was set up by the N.E.R.C. Flood Study. The paper describes the selection of these ‘independent’ variables, their degree of correlation, their portrayal of regional variability in the British Isles and their success as predictors of flood variables. The internal adjustment of drainage basins is confirmed, as is the basic physical division of Britain.
Injectable nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite paste for bone substitution: In vivo analysis of biocompatibility and vascularization
Authors: Laschke Matthias W. , Witt Kristina , Pohlemann Tim , Menger Michael D. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite paste Ostim® represents a fully degradable synthetic bone substitute for the filling of bone defects. Herein, we investigated in vivo the inflammatory and angiogenic host tissue response to this biomaterial after implantation. For this purpose, Ostim was implanted into the dorsal skinfold chambers of Syrian golden hamsters. The hydroxyapatite ceramic Cerabone® and isogeneic transplanted cancellous bone served as controls. Angiogenesis, microhemodynamics, microvascular permeability, and leukocyte–endothelial cell interaction of the host tissue were analyzed over 2 weeks using intravital fluorescence microscopy. Ostim exhibited good biocompatibility comparable to that of Cerabone and cancellous bone, as indicated by a lack of venular leukocyte activation after implantation. Cancellous bone induced a more pronounced angiogenic response and an increased microvessel density when compared with the synthetic bone substitutes. In contrast to Cerabone, however, Ostim showed a guided neovascularization directed toward areas of degradation. Histology confirmed the ingrowth of proliferating vascularized tissue into the hydroxyapatite paste at sites of degradation, while the hydroxyapatite ceramic was not pierced by new microvessels. Thus, Ostim represents an injectable synthetic bone substitute, which may optimize the conditions for the formation of new bone at sites of bone defects by supporting a guided vascularization during biodegradation. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 2007
Quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical simulations of the Tl(III) ion in water
Authors: Vchirawongkwin Viwat , Hofer Thomas S. , Randolf Bernhard R. , Rode Bernd M. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractClassical molecular dynamics (MD) and combined quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) MD simulations have been performed to investigate the structural and dynamical properties of the Tl(III) ion in water. A six‐coordinate hydration structure with a maximum probability of the TlO distance at 2.21 Å was observed, which is in good agreement with X‐ray data. The librational and vibrational spectra of water molecules in the first hydration shell are blue‐shifted compared with those of pure liquid water, and the TlO stretching force constant was evaluated as 148 Nm−1. Both structural and dynamical properties show a distortion of the first solvation shell structure. The second shell ligands' mean residence time was determined as 12.8 ps. The Tl(III) ion can be classified as “structure forming” ion; the calculated hydration energy of −986 ± 9 kcal mol agrees well with the experimental value of −986 kcal mol. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2007