bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Acute effects of N‐acetylcysteine on skeletal muscle microcirculation following closed soft tissue trauma in rats
Authors: Schaser Klaus‐D. , Bail Herman J. , Schewior Lioba , Stover John F. , Melcher Ingo , Haas Norbert P. , Mittlmeier Thomas 
Published: July 2004

AbstractTrauma‐induced microcirculatory dysfunction, formation of free radicals and decreased endothelial release of nitric oxide (NO) contribute to evolving tissue damage following skeletal muscle injury. Administration of N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) known to scavenge free radicals and generate NO is considered a valuable therapeutic approach. Thus, the objective of this study was to quantitatively analyze the acute effects of NAC on skeletal muscle microcirculation and leukocyte–endothelial cell interaction following severe standardized closed soft tissue injury (CSTI). Severe CSTI was induced in the hindlimbs of 14 male anesthetized Sprague–Dawley rats using the controlled impact injury technique. Rats were randomly assigned (n = 7) to high‐dose intravenous infusion of NAC (400 mg/kg body weight) or isovolemic normal saline (NS). Non‐injured, sham‐operated animals (n = 1) were subjected to the same surgical procedures but did not receive any additional fluid. Creatin kinase (CK) activity was assessed at baseline, 1 h before and 2 h following posttraumatic NAC or NS infusion. Microcirculation of the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle was analyzed using intravital microscopy and Laser‐Doppler flowmetry (LDF). Edema index (EI) was calculated by measuring the EDL wet‐to‐dry weight ratio (EI = injured/contralateral limb). EDL‐muscles were analyzed for desmin immunoreactivity and granulocyte infiltration. Microvascular deteriorations observed following NS‐infusion were effectively reversed by NAC: Functional capillary density was restored to levels found in sham‐operated animals and leukocyte adherence was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced compared to the NS group. NAC significantly (p < 0.05) increased erythrocyte flux determined by Laser‐Doppler flowmetry. Posttraumatic serum CK levels and EI were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by NAC. During the posttraumatic acute phase, single infusion of NAC markedly reduced posttraumatic microvascular dysfunction, attenuated both leukocyte adherence and tissue infiltration. NAC also decreased CSTI‐induced edema formation and myonecrosis as reflected by attenuated serum CK levels and attenuated loss of desmin immunoreactivity. NAC may serve as an effective therapeutic strategy by supporting microvascular blood supply and tissue viability in the early posttraumatic period. Additional studies aimed at long‐term analysis and investigation of injury severity—or dosage dependency are needed. © 2004 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Information flow between the stock and option markets: Where do informed traders trade?
Authors: Chen Carl R. , Lung Peter P. , Tay Nicholas S.P. 
Published: July 2004

AbstractThis paper investigates the flow of information between the equity and options markets. We argue that informed traders, in deciding where to place their trades, are not entirely indifferent to option moneyness, degree of information asymmetry, and option liquidity. Unlike some previous studies that find information to flow unilaterally from equity to options markets, we control for the above factors and discover feedback relations between trades in out‐of‐the‐money (OTM) options and the underlying equities. The finding is consistent with the pooling equilibrium hypothesis, which asserts that informed traders trade in both the equity and options markets. Some informed traders are probably attracted to the out‐of‐the money options because of their higher liquidity, lower premiums, and higher delta‐to‐premium ratios, hence, lending support to the liquidity and leverage hypothesis.
Mate choice in the predaceous mite Phytoseiulus persimilis: evidence of self‐referent phenotype matching?
Authors: Enigl Monika , Schausberger Peter 
Published: July 2004

AbstractClose inbreeding may have negative fitness effects. Consequently, organisms have evolved various mechanisms, which enable them to avoid close inbreeding. In no‐choice and choice experiments we assessed whether the predaceous mite Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias‐Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) avoids close inbreeding by kin recognition. No‐choice experiments demonstrated that virgin females more readily accept unrelated males than they accept related ones, which suggests a female preference for unrelated mates. Because each female had been reared in isolation prior to experiments, females most likely imprinted on themselves, and later used self‐referent phenotype matching to assess potential mating partners. In contrast, neither female nor male choice experiments indicated a preference. Analyses of female and male behavior revealed that in choice experiments, female preference for unrelated males was probably confounded by male competition and/or altered by the different ecological context posed by choice experiments.
Wing morph development and reproduction of the ectoparasitoid Melittobia digitata: nutritional and hormonal effects
Authors: Cônsoli Fernando L. , Vinson S. Bradleigh 
Published: July 2004

AbstractManipulation studies of the temporal availability of nutrients during parasitoid larval development (high‐quality host vs. host deprivation) demonstrated that parasitoid access to nutrition affected the wing morph development of Melittobia digitata Dahms (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), but not the parasitoid's ovarian development. Around 70% of programmed short wing morph larvae (SWM) that had been host‐deprived at 120 h after host parasitization shifted their development and emerged as long wing morphs (LWM). A reversion in morph development of programmed LWM was also found when the larvae were offered new hosts after up to 120 h of development, and both programmed SWM or LWM larvae that differentiated as SWMs had a similar egg load. Although precocene treatment of programmed SWM induced 30% of LWM development, morph development of programmed LWM remained unaltered if treated with methoprene, a juvenile hormone analogue (JHA), indicating that the morph development of M. digitata does not appear to be under juvenile hormone control. However, both precocene and JHA affected the ovarian development of the emerging female. We hypothesize that specific nutrients from the host hemolymph, or changes in the host internal composition at the parasitoid larval sensitive stage (120–123 h) induce changes in pathways that control parasitoid metabolism and nutrient allocation decisions during the cell growth and development of imaginal discs.
Female Earnings and Divorce Rates: Some Australian Evidence
Authors: Phillips Bruce , Griffiths William 
Published: July 2004

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to examine whether female earnings have influenced divorce rates in Australia, using state‐level data for the past four decades. Following a recent study by Ressler and Waters (2000), which concludes from comparable US data that female earnings and divorce rates may be jointly endogenous, initial testing is performed to identify whether female earnings can be treated as exogenous. A Hausman specification error test finds no evidence of a simultaneous relationship in the Australian data, in contrast to the findings of Ressler and Waters. The test result supports the hypothesis that other underlying factors affect female earnings, of which higher divorce rates are merely another symptom. A divorce rate equation is estimated. In accordance with much of the literature, the rise in female earnings over the past four decades is found to have increased Australian divorce rates.
Minimum Wages and Employment: Comment
Authors: Watson Ian 
Published: July 2004

AbstractDoes increasing the minimum wage lead to employment losses? For many years most economists thought that the answer to this was a straightforward ‘yes’. However, research during the 1990s began to overturn this conventional wisdom and showed that increases in the minimum wage did not automatically lead to employment losses. A recent Australian study, by Leigh (2003), examined the impact of statutory minimum wages in Western Australia and reached conclusions which supported the conventional view. However, close scrutiny of Leigh's article shows that it is fundamentally flawed. Despite Leigh's efforts, it remains the case that we simply do not know a great deal about the employment impact of Australia's system of minimum wages.
Minimum Wages and Employment: Reply
Authors: Leigh Andrew 
Published: July 2004

AbstractThe results of my study (Leigh 2003, 2004) on the effect of minimum wages on employment have been brought into question by Watson (2004), which raises some potential methodological concerns. Careful reanalysis of the Western Australian minimum wage experiment demonstrates that this critique is not well founded. Further checks show that the results are robust to a number of alternative specifications, in addition to those presented in the original article.
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays Using Recombinant Envelope Protein Expressed in COS-1 and
Drosophila
S2 Cells for Detection of West Nile Virus Immunoglobulin M in Serum or Cerebrospinal Fluid
Authors: Muerhoff A. Scott , Dawson George J. , Dille Bruce , Gutierrez Robin , Leary Thomas P. , Gupta Malini C. , Kyrk Charles R. , Kapoor Hema , Clark Patricia , Schochetman Gerald , Desai Suresh M. 
Published: July 2004

ABSTRACT

Humans infected with West Nile virus (WNV) develop immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies soon after infection. The microtiter-based assays for WNV IgM antibody detection used by most state public health and reference laboratories utilize WNV antigen isolated from infected Vero cells or recombinant envelope protein produced in COS-1 cells. Recombinant antigen produced in COS-1 cells was used to develop a WNV IgM capture enzyme immunoassay (EIA). A supplementary EIA using WNV envelope protein expressed in
Drosophila melanogaster
S2 cells was also developed. Both assays detected WNV IgM in the sera of experimentally infected rhesus monkeys within approximately 10 days postinfection. Human sera previously tested for WNV IgM at a state public health laboratory (SPHL) were evaluated using both EIAs. Among the sera from 20 individuals with laboratory-confirmed WNV infection (i.e., IgM-positive cerebrospinal fluid [CSF]) that were categorized as equivocal for WNV IgM at the SPHL, 19 were IgM positive and one was negative by the new EIAs. Of the 19 IgM-positive patients, 15 were diagnosed with meningitis or encephalitis; the IgM-negative patient was not diagnosed with neurological disease. There was 100% agreement between the EIAs for the detection of WNV IgM. CSF samples from 21 individuals tested equivocal for WNV IgM at the SPHL; all 21 were positive in both bead assays, and 16 of these patients were diagnosed with neurological disease. These findings demonstrate that the new EIAs accurately identify WNV infection in individuals with confirmed WNV encephalitis and that they exhibit enhanced sensitivity over that of the microtiter assay format.
Characterization of Immunodominant Linear B-Cell Epitopes on the Carboxy Terminus of the Rinderpest Virus Nucleocapsid Protein
Authors: Choi Kang-Seuk , Nah Jin-Ju , Ko Young-Joon , Kang Shien-Young , Yoon Kyoung-Jin , Joo Yi-Seok 
Published: July 2004

ABSTRACT

The nucleocapsid (N) protein of rinderpest virus (RPV) is one of the most abundant and immunogenic viral proteins expressed during natural or experimental infection. To identify immunogenic epitopes on the N protein, different forms of RPV N protein, including the full-length protein (N
1-525
), an amino-terminal construct (N
1-179
), and a carboxy-terminal construct (N
414-496
), were expressed in
Escherichia coli
as glutathione
S
-transferase (GST) fusion proteins. The antigenicity of each recombinant protein was evaluated by Western immunoblotting. All recombinants were recognized by hyperimmune RPV bovine antisera, indicating that immunoreactive epitopes may be present at both ends of the N protein. However, GST-N
414-496
was much more antigenic than GST-N
1-179
when tested with sera from vaccinated cattle, suggesting that an immunodominant or highly immunogenic epitope(s) may be located at the carboxy terminus of the N protein. Epitope mapping with overlapping peptides representing different regions of the carboxy terminus (amino acids 415 to 524) revealed three nonoverlapping antigenic sites in regions containing the residues
440
VPQVRKETRASSR
452
(site 1),
479
PEADTDPL
486
(site 2), and
520
DKDLL
524
(site 3). Among these, antigenic site 2 showed the strongest reactivity with hyperimmune anti-RPV bovine sera in a peptide enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay but did not react with hyperimmune caprine sera raised against peste-des-petits-ruminants virus, which is antigenically closely related to RPV. Identification of an immunodominant linear antigenic site at the carboxy terminus of the N protein may provide an antigen basis for designing diagnostics specific for RPV.
Bifidobacterial Species Differentially Affect Expression of Cell Surface Markers and Cytokines of Dendritic Cells Harvested from Cord Blood
Authors: Young Sarah L. , Simon Mary A. , Baird Margaret A. , Tannock Gerald W. , Bibiloni Rodrigo , Spencely Kate , Lane Juliette M. , Fitzharris Penny , Crane Julian , Town Ian , Addo-Yobo Emmanuel , Murray Clare S. , Woodcock Ashley 
Published: July 2004

ABSTRACTThe gut microbiota may be important in the postnatal development of the immune system and hence may influence the prevalence of atopic diseases. Bifidobacteria are the most numerous bacteria in the guts of infants, and the presence or absence of certain species could be important in determining the geographic incidence of atopic diseases. We compared the fecal populations of bifidobacteria from children aged 25 to 35 days in Ghana (which has a low prevalence of atopy), New Zealand, and the United Kingdom (high-prevalence countries). Natal origin influenced the detection of bifidobacterial species in that fecal samples from Ghana almost all containedBifidobacterium infantiswhereas those of the other children did not. Choosing species on the basis of our bacteriological results, we tested bifidobacterial preparations for their effects on cell surface markers and cytokine production by dendritic cells harvested from cord blood. Species-specific effects on the expression of the dendritic-cell activation marker CD83 and the production of interleukin-10 (IL-10) were observed. Whereas CD83 expression was increased and IL-10 production was induced byBifidobacterium bifidum,Bifidobacterium longum, andBifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum,B. infantisfailed to produce these effects. We concluded thatB. infantisdoes not trigger the activation of dendritic cells to the degree necessary to initiate an immune response but thatB. bifidum,B. longum, andB. pseudocatenulatuminduce a Th2-driven immune response. A hypothesis is presented to link our observations to the prevalence of atopic diseases in different countries.
Cholera Toxin B-Subunit Gene Enhances Mucosal Immunoglobulin A, Th1-Type, and CD8+Cytotoxic Responses When Coadministered Intradermally with a DNA Vaccine
Authors: Sanchez Alba E. , Aquino Guillermo , Ostoa-Saloma Pedro , Laclette Juan P. , Rocha-Zavaleta Leticia 
Published: July 2004

ABSTRACTA plasmid vector encoding the cholera toxin B subunit (pCtB) was evaluated as an intradermal genetic adjuvant for a model DNA vaccine expressing the human papillomavirus type 16 L1 capsid gene (p16L1) in mice. p16L1 was coadministered with plasmid pCtB or commercial polypeptide CtB as a positive control. Coadministration of pCtB induced a significant increment of specific anti-L1 immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies in cervical secretions (P< 0.05) and fecal extracts (P< 0.005). Additionally, coadministration of pCtB enhanced the production of interleukin-2 and gamma interferon by spleen cells but did not affect the production of interleukin-4, suggesting a Th1-type helper response. Furthermore, improved CD8+T-cell-mediated cytotoxic activity was observed in mice vaccinated with the DNA vaccine with pCtB as an adjuvant. This adjuvant effect was comparable to that induced by the CtB polypeptide. These results indicate that intradermal coadministration of pCtB is an adequate means to enhance the mucosa-, Th1-, and CD8+-mediated cytotoxic responses induced by a DNA vaccine.
Eucaryotic Expression of the Nucleocapsid Protein Gene of Porcine Circovirus Type 2 and Use of the Protein in an Indirect Immunofluorescence Assay for Serological Diagnosis of Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome in Pigs
Authors: Racine Sébastien , Kheyar Ali , Gagnon Carl A. , Charbonneau Benoît , Dea Serge 
Published: July 2004

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to develop a sensitive, rapid, and inexpensive immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using a recombinant porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) nucleocapsid protein for the serological detection of PCV2-specific antibodies in pig sera. The viral nucleocapsid protein encoded by the PCV2 ORF2 gene has recently been identified as the most immunoreactive viral protein that carries type-specific antigenic determinants. The ORF2 sequence of the IAF-2897 strain of PCV2 has been cloned into a pCEP5 eucaryotic expression vector under the control of the cytomegalovirus promoter, downstream of a polyhistidine sequence tag. The recombinant plasmid was used in transfection experiments with human epithelial kidney 293 cells that were further tested, and positive expression of the viral nucleocapsid protein was confirmed by IFA and Western blotting. Strong, specific fluorescence was observed in the nuclei of transfected cells. Test specificity to PCV2 was verified with several related infectious agents. Sensitivity was compared to that of standard IFA using PCV2-infected cells by evaluating the reactivities of 44 field serum samples from pigs on farms with a porcine population suffering from postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome. The recombinant nucleocapsid-based test was able to detect 15 more positive-testing pigs than the PCV2-based IFA. Therefore, the relative sensitivity of the latter test was estimated at only 57.1% compared to that of the recombinant nucleocapsid-based test. The recombinant fusion protein has been purified by affinity chromatography and is being used to develop further sensitive serological tests.
Use of Bispecific Antibodies in Molecular Velcro Assays Whose Specificity Approaches the Theoretical Limit of Immunodetection for
Bordetella pertussis
Authors: Tang X. L. , Peppler M. S. , Irvin R. T. , Suresh M. R. 
Published: July 2004

ABSTRACT

A bispecific monoclonal antibody (bsMAb) that detects
Bordetella pertussis
, the causative agent of whooping cough, and horseradish peroxidase (HRPO) has been developed by use of the quadroma technology. A quadroma, P123, was produced by fusing two well-characterized hybridomas against the bacterium and the enzyme and was subcloned to obtain a stable bsMAb-secreting cell line. The quadroma was theoretically expected to produce up to 10 different molecular species of immunoglobulins, so secreted bispecific antibody was complexed with excess HRPO and the HRPO-bsMAb complex was purified in one step by benzhydroxamic acid-agarose affinity cochromatography. An ultrasensitive homosandwich molecular “velcro” enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of
B. pertussis
whole bacteria with HRPO-bsMAb was established in both microplate and nasopharyngeal swab formats. This assay demonstrates a high sensitivity that approaches the theoretical limit of detection of one bacterium. This new nanoprobe can be used to develop a new generation of assays that are simple, inexpensive alternatives to quantitative PCR and that can be used by clinical laboratories. This strategy of homosandwich assays with solid-phase monospecific antibodies and solution-phase bsMAb with specificity for the same repeating surface determinants can be applied to generate ultrasensitive immunodiagnostic assays for viruses and bacteria.
Association between Familial Deficiency of Mannose-Binding Lectin and Mutations in the Corresponding Gene and Promoter Region
Authors: Salimans M. M. M. , Bax W. A. , Stegeman F. , van Deuren M. , Bartelink A. K. M. , van Dijk H. 
Published: July 2004

ABSTRACTIn a recent report, our group presented clinical research data supporting the role of mannose-binding lectin (MBL) deficiency in susceptibility to meningococcal disease (W. A. Bax, O. J. J. Cluysenaer, A. K. M. Bartelink, P. C. Aerts, R. A. B. Ezekowitz, and H. van Dijk, Lancet354:1094-1095, 1999). This association was reported earlier by Hibberd et al. (M. L. Hibberd, M. Sumiya, J. A. Summerfield, R. Booy, M. Levin, and the Meningococcal Research Group, Lancet353:1049-1053, 1999) but was not based on family data. Our study included three members of one family who had acquired meningococcal meningitis in early adulthood. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether the genotypes of the MBL gene in this family, analyzed by PCR, correlate with MBL concentrations. We found that genotype variants in the MBL gene and promoter region match the low functional MBL levels (<0.25 μg of equivalents/ml) in the sera of the three patients in this family and that a significant correlation between genotype MBL deficiency and meningococcal disease existed.
Evaluation of the Binax NOW, BD Directigen, and BD Directigen EZ Assays for Detection of Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Authors: Ohm-Smith Marilyn J. , Nassos Patricia S. , Haller Barbara L. 
Published: July 2004

ABSTRACT

The Binax NOW assay (Binax, Inc., Portland, Maine) and the BD Directigen EZ assay (Becton Dickinson and Company, Sparks, Md.), two new rapid immunoassays for detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), as well as the BD Directigen RSV assay (DRSV) (Becton Dickinson and Company) and direct immunofluorescence staining (DFA) were compared with culture for detection of RSV in fresh specimens from both children and adults during the 2002-2003 respiratory virus season. The majority (95%) of specimens were nasal or nasopharyngeal washes or aspirates. A total of 47 (26%) were culture positive for RSV. The overall sensitivities of DFA (
n
= 149), NOW (
n
= 118), EZ (
n
= 88), and DRSV (
n
= 180) compared with culture (
n
= 180) were 93, 89, 59, and 77%, respectively. The specificities of DFA, NOW, EZ, and DRSV were 97, 100, 98, and 96%, respectively. However, when results were separated into those from children and those from adults, DFA was the only rapid test adequate for detection of RSV (sensitivity of 100% compared to 0, 0, and 25% for NOW, EZ, and DRSV, respectively) in adults. For children the sensitivities of DFA, NOW, EZ, and DRSV were 93, 94, 72, and 81%. The NOW assay was the most sensitive and specific and the easiest to perform of the kit tests for detecting RSV in children. None of these three rapid kit tests was sensitive for detecting RSV in specimens from adults. DFA remains the rapid method of choice for detecting RSV in the adult population.