bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Preserved granulocyte formation and function, as well as bone marrow innervation, in subjects with complete spinal cord injury
Authors: Iversen Per Ole , Nicolaysen Anne , Hjeltnes Nils , Njå Arild , Benestad Haakon B. 
Published: October 2004

SummaryPatients with a spinal cord injury are at risk of infections and is partly attributed to immobilization. Their lymphocyte‐mediated immunity is impaired and the growth of blood progenitor cells is reduced. An adequate immune response depends on granulocytes being mobilized rapidly and activated properly, at the inflammatory site. Possibly this requires a coordinated interaction between the autonomous nervous system and cells within the haematopoietic bone marrow. Granulocyte function in the spinal cord injured has not been evaluated. Although there is evidence that the bone marrow in rodents is innervated, it is uncertain whether human bone marrow is similarly affected. Microscopy and immunolabelling followed by flow cytometry, showed that blood and bone marrow counts of leucocyte subsets were similar in paraplegic, tetraplegic and control subjects (P > 0·05). Neutrophilic migration and oxygen consumption, as well as eosinophil activation, assayed as release of eosinophilic cationic protein or CD69 expression, were not altered after spinal cord injury (P > 0·05). Cryostat sections of human bone marrow biopsies stained positive with glyoxylic acid, indicating the presence of catecholamine‐containing nerves in both the patients and the controls. We conclude that terminal differentiation and formation of granulocytes, as well as their functional capacity, do not depend appreciably on supraspinal nervous regulation.
A global relationship between the heterotrophic and autotrophic components of soil respiration?
Authors: Bond‐Lamberty Ben , Wang Chuankuan , Gower Stith T. 
Published: October 2004

AbstractSoil surface CO2 flux (RS) is overwhelmingly the product of respiration by roots (autotrophic respiration, RA) and soil organisms (heterotrophic respiration, RH). Many studies have attempted to partition RS into these two components, with highly variable results. This study analyzes published data encompassing 54 forest sites and shows that RA and RH are each strongly (R2>0.8) correlated to annual RS across a wide range of forest ecosystems. Monte Carlo simulation showed that these correlations were significantly stronger than any correlation introduced as an artefact of measurement method. Biome type, measurement method, mean annual temperature, soil drainage, and leaf habit were not significant. For sites with available data, there was a significant (R2=0.56) correlation between total detritus input and RH, while RA was unrelated to net primary production. We discuss why RA and RH might be related to each other on large scales, as both ultimately depend on forest carbon balance and photosynthate supply. Limited data suggest that these or similar relationships have broad applicability in other ecosystem types. Site‐specific measurements are always more desirable than the application of inferred broad relationships, but belowground measurements are difficult and expensive, while measuring RS is straightforward and commonly done. Thus the relationships presented here provide a useful method that can help constrain estimates of terrestrial carbon budgets.
Recent climate warming forces contrasting growth responses of white spruce at treeline in Alaska through temperature thresholds
Authors: Wilmking Martin , Juday Glenn P. , Barber Valerie A. , Zald Harold S. J. 
Published: October 2004

AbstractNorthern and high‐latitude alpine treelines are generally thought to be limited by available warmth. Most studies of tree‐growth–climate interaction at treeline as well as climate reconstructions using dendrochronology report positive growth response of treeline trees to warmer temperatures. However, population‐wide responses of treeline trees to climate remain largely unexamined. We systematically sampled 1558 white spruce at 13 treeline sites in the Brooks Range and Alaska Range. Our findings of both positive and negative growth responses to climate warming at treeline challenge the widespread assumption that arctic treeline trees grow better with warming climate. High mean temperatures in July decreased the growth of 40% of white spruce at treeline areas in Alaska, whereas warm springs enhance growth of additional 36% of trees and 24% show no significant correlation with climate. Even though these opposing growth responses are present in all sampled sites, their relative proportion varies between sites and there is no overall clear relationship between growth response and landscape position within a site. Growth increases and decreases appear in our sample above specific temperature index values (temperature thresholds), which occurred more frequently in the late 20th century. Contrary to previous findings, temperature explained more variability in radial growth after 1950. Without accounting for these opposite responses and temperature thresholds, climate reconstructions based on ring width will miscalibrate past climate, and biogeochemical and dynamic vegetation models will overestimate carbon uptake and treeline advance under future warming scenarios.
Habitat loss, resource specialization, and extinction on coral reefs
Authors: Munday Philip L. 
Published: October 2004

AbstractCoral reefs worldwide are being degraded because of global warming (coral bleaching) and coastal development (sedimentation and eutrophication). Predicting the risk of species extinctions from this type of habitat degradation is one of the most challenging and urgent tasks facing ecologists. Habitat specialists are thought to be more prone to extinction than generalists; however, specialists may be more susceptible to extinction because (1) they are specialistsper se, (2) they are less abundant than generalists, or (3) both. Here, I show that declines in coral abundance lead to corresponding declines in the abundance of coral‐dwelling fishes, but with proportionally greater losses to specialists than generalists. In addition, specialists have smaller initial population sizes than generalists. Consequently, specialists face a dual risk of extinction because their already small populations decline more rapidly than those of generalists. Corresponding with this increased extinction risk, I describe the local extinction of one specialist species and the near‐global extinction of another species. I conclude that habitat specialists will be the first species lost from coral reefs because their small populations suffer the most from human‐induced disturbances.
Soil CO2 efflux of two silver birch clones exposed to elevated CO2 and O3 levels during three growing seasons
Authors: Kasurinen Anne , Kokko‐Gonzales Paula , Riikonen Johanna , Vapaavuori Elina , Holopainen Toini 
Published: October 2004

AbstractIn the present open‐top chamber experiment, two silver birch clones (Betula pendula Roth, clone 4 and clone 80) were exposed to elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone (O3), singly and in combination, and soil CO2 efflux was measured 14 times during three consecutive growing seasons (1999–2001). In the beginning of the experiment, all experimental trees were 7 years old and during the experiment the trees were growing in sandy field soil and fertilized regularly. In general, elevated O3 caused soil CO2 efflux stimulation during most measurement days and this stimulation enhanced towards the end of the experiment. The overall soil respiration response to CO2 was dependent on the genotype, as the soil CO2 efflux below clone 80 trees was enhanced and below clone 4 trees was decreased under elevated CO2 treatments. Like the O3 impact, this clonal difference in soil respiration response to CO2 increased as the experiment progressed. Although the O3 impact did not differ significantly between clones, a significant time × clone × CO2× O3 interaction revealed that the O3‐induced stimulation of soil respiration was counteracted by elevated CO2 in clone 4 on most measurement days, whereas in clone 80, the effect of elevated CO2 and O3 in combination was almost constantly additive during the 3‐year experiment. Altogether, the root or above‐ground biomass results were only partly parallel with the observed soil CO2 efflux responses. In conclusion, our data show that O3 impacts may appear first in the below‐ground processes and that relatively long‐term O3 exposure had a cumulative effect on soil CO2 efflux. Although the soil respiration response to elevated CO2 depended on the tree genotype as a result of which the O3 stress response might vary considerably within a single tree species under elevated CO2, the present experiment nonetheless indicates that O3 stress is a significant factor affecting the carbon cycling in northern forest ecosystems.
Cultivation, nitrogen fertilization, and set‐aside effects on methane uptake in a drained marsh soil in Northeast China
Authors: Ding Weixin , Cai Zucong , Tsuruta Haruo 
Published: October 2004

AbstractTo evaluate the effect of cultivation, nitrogen fertilizer, and set aside on CH4 uptake after drained marshland was converted into agricultural fields, CH4 fluxes and CH4 concentrations in soil gas were in situ measured in a drained marsh soil, a set‐aside cultivated soil, and cultivated soils in Sanjiang Plain of Northeast China in August 2001. Over the measuring period, the highest CH4 uptake rate was 120.7±6.2 μg CH4 m−2 h−1 in the drained marsh soil and the lowest was 29.5±4.9 μg CH4 m−2 h−1 in the set‐aside cultivated soil, showing that there was no significant recovery of CH4 uptake ability 5 years after cultivation activity was stopped. CH4 uptake rates were significantly less in the cultivated soils than in the drained marsh soil by 30.1–74.6%, which resulted mainly from cultivation and partly from nitrogen addition. A significantly negative correlation between CH4 flux and bulk density in the cultivated soils tilled by machine suggests that cultivation reduced CH4 uptake through compaction, because of the enhanced diffusion resistance for CH4 and O2. Nitrogen fertilization slowly reduced but persistently affected CH4 uptake even after long‐term application of nitrogen.
Human‐induced changes in US biogenic volatile organic compound emissions: evidence from long‐term forest inventory data
Authors: Purves Drew W. , Caspersen John P. , Moorcroft Paul R. , Hurtt George C. , Pacala Stephen W. 
Published: October 2004

AbstractVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by woody vegetation influence global climate forcing and the formation of tropospheric ozone. We use data from over 250 000 re‐surveyed forest plots in the eastern US to estimate emission rates for the two most important biogenic VOCs (isoprene and monoterpenes) in the 1980s and 1990s, and then compare these estimates to give a decadal change in emission rate. Over much of the region, particularly the southeast, we estimate that there were large changes in biogenic VOC emissions: half of the grid cells (1°× 1°) had decadal changes in emission rate outside the range −2.3% to +16.8% for isoprene, and outside the range 0.2–17.1% for monoterpenes. For an average grid cell the estimated decadal change in heatwave biogenic VOC emissions (usually an increase) was three times greater than the decadal change in heatwave anthropogenic VOC emissions (usually a decrease, caused by legislation). Leaf‐area increases in forests, caused by anthropogenic disturbance, were the most important process increasing biogenic VOC emissions. However, in the southeast, which had the largest estimated changes, there were substantial effects of ecological succession (which decreased monoterpene emissions and had location‐specific effects on isoprene emissions), harvesting (which decreased monoterpene emissions and increased isoprene emissions) and plantation management (which increased isoprene emissions, and decreased monoterpene emissions in some states but increased monoterpene emissions in others). In any given region, changes in a very few tree species caused most of the changes in emissions: the rapid changes in the southeast were caused almost entirely by increases in sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) and a few pine species. Therefore, in these regions, a more detailed ecological understanding of just a few species could greatly improve our understanding of the relationship between natural ecological processes, forest management, and biogenic VOC emissions.
Primary adrenal insufficiency in childhood and adolescence: Advances in diagnosis and management
Authors: Simm PJ , McDonnell CM , Zacharin MR 
Published: October 2004

Objectives:  Primary adrenal insufficiency occurring in childhood and adolescence is due to abnormalities of gland development, gland responsiveness, and steroid biosynthesis or target organ response. Causes include autoimmune Addison's disease, tuberculosis, HIV, adrenoleukodystrophy, adrenal hypoplasia congenita and syndromes including triple A and IMAGe. We aimed to define the causes of adrenal insufficiency for a cohort of children in Melbourne.Methods:  We reviewed the frequency and variety of presentation of primary adrenal insufficiency to the Royal Children's Hospital over the past 10 years through an audit of patient records, collating demographic information, presentation and investigations.Results:  Sixteen cases (13 male, 3 female) of primary adrenal insufficiency were diagnosed at this hospital between January 1993 and July 2003. Median age at presentation was 7.7 years (range: birth to 14.8 years). Symptoms at presentation included weakness, increased pigmentation, abdominal pain, nausea, developmental delay or a reduction in school performance. Four patients presented with adrenal crisis. Median adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) at diagnosis was 246 pmol/L (range 30−969 pmol/L). Autoantibodies were positive in five patients. Five patients had elevation of very long chain fatty acids. Five patients were diagnosed with autoimmune adrenal insufficiency, five with adrenal hypoplasia congenita, five with adrenoleukodystrophy and one with IMAGe syndrome.Conclusions:  A high index of suspicion results in earlier detection and possible prevention of adrenal crisis with a reduction in associated morbidities. Definitive diagnosis is now possible for almost all cases of primary adrenal insufficiency using technologies for screening autoimmunity, adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) and genetic screening.
Increased rates of ENT surgery among young children: Have clinical guidelines made a difference?
Authors: Rob MI , Westbrook JI , Taylor R , Rushworth RL 
Published: October 2004

Objectives:  To examine the association between introduction of paediatric ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery guidelines and population procedure rates. To determine changes in children's risk of undergoing ENT surgery.Methods:  Trend analysis of incidence of myringotomy, tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy among New South Wales (NSW) children aged 0−14 between 1981 and mid 1999. Poisson regression models were used to estimate annual rates of change pre and postguidelines introduction and age/gender specific rates, and lifetable methods to determine risk of undergoing an ENT procedure by age 15.Results:  ENT surgery rates increased by 21% over the study period. Children's risk of surgery increased from 17.9% in 1981 to 20.2% in 1998/99. Guideline introduction was associated with moderate short‐term decreases in rates. For tonsillectomy, rates decreased between 1981 and 1983, but then rose continually until the introduction of myringotomy guidelines in 1993, when they fell, only to recommence rising until the end of the study period. For myringotomy, rates rose annually from 1981 to 1992/93 and fell in the 3 years following guideline introduction, after which they rose again. Increases were almost exclusively restricted to children aged 0−4 and correspond with increased use of formal childcare. The prevalence of myringotomy by the age of 5 years rose from 5.6% of children born in 1988/89 to 6.4% of those born in 1994/95, and the prevalence of tonsillectomy from 2.4% to 2.7%.Conclusions:  The risk of young Australian children undergoing ENT surgery increased significantly over the last two decades despite the introduction of guidelines and no evidence of an increase in otitis media, one condition prompting surgery. Surgery increased most among the very young. We hypothesize this is related to increasing use of childcare.
Two Views of Accounting Measurement
Authors: Staubus George J. 
Published: October 2004

The two views to be addressed here are the Chambers/Sydney view that accepts only one measurement method—current net realizable price—and the Staubus/mainstream view that accepts several measurement methods in the same financial report. These two views became well‐established in the literature of accounting in the 1960s and their proponents have clung tenaciously to their oft‐criticized positions for some forty years. However commendable their original expositions may have been, their continuing existence does no credit to the small coterie of accountants now interested in theory.This article is aimed at ‘narrowing the areas of difference’ between adherents to the two views by isolating fundamental bases for them and exposing the reasoning supporting their structures. In a nutshell, they differ in their objectives and they can be expected to survive unless their adherents agree on the objectives of financial reporting.
Molecular Detection and Genotyping of Male-Specific Coliphages by Reverse Transcription-PCR and Reverse Line Blot Hybridization
Authors: Vinjé Jan , Oudejans Sjon J. G. , Stewart Jill R. , Sobsey Mark D. , Long Sharon C. 
Published: October 2004

ABSTRACT
In recent years, there has been increased interest in the use of male-specific or F+ coliphages as indicators of microbial inputs to source waters. Sero- or genotyping of these coliphages can also be used for microbial source tracking (MST). Among the male-specific coliphages, the F+ RNA (FRNA) viruses are well studied, while little is known about the F+ DNA (FDNA) viruses. We have developed a reverse line blot hybridization (RLB) assay which allows for the simultaneous detection and genotyping of both FRNA as well as FDNA coliphages. These assays included a novel generic duplex reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay for FRNA viruses as well as a generic PCR for FDNA viruses. The RT-PCR assays were validated by using 190 field and prototype strains. Subsequent DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of RT-PCR products revealed the classification of six different FRNA clusters, including the well-established subgroups I through IV, and three different FDNA clusters, including one (CH) not previously described. Within the leviviruses, a potentially new subgroup (called JS) including strains having more than 40% nucleotide sequence diversity with the known levivirus subgroups (MS2 and GA) was identified. We designed subgroup-specific oligonucleotides that were able to genotype all nine (six FRNA, three FDNA) different clusters. Application of the method to a panel of 351 enriched phage samples from animal feces and wastewater, including known prototype strains (MS2, GA, Qβ, M11, FI, and SP for FRNA and M13, f1, and fd for FDNA), resulted in successful genotyping of 348 (99%) of the samples. In summary, we developed a novel method for standardized genotyping of F+ coliphages as a useful tool for large-scale MST studies.
Cloning and Expression of a Phloretin Hydrolase Gene from
Eubacterium ramulus
and Characterization of the Recombinant Enzyme
Authors: Schoefer Lilian , Braune Annett , Blaut Michael 
Published: October 2004

ABSTRACT

Phloretin hydrolase catalyzes the hydrolytic C-C cleavage of phloretin to phloroglucinol and 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid during flavonoid degradation in
Eubacterium ramulus
. The gene encoding the enzyme was cloned by screening a gene library for hydrolase activity. The insert of a clone conferring phloretin hydrolase activity was sequenced. Sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame of 822 bp (
phy
), a putative promoter region, and a terminating stem-loop structure. The deduced amino acid sequence of
phy
showed similarities to a putative protein of the 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol biosynthetic operon from
Pseudomonas fluorescens
. The phloretin hydrolase was heterologously expressed in
Escherichia coli
and purified. The molecular mass of the native enzyme was approximately 55 kDa as determined by gel filtration. The results of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the deduced amino acid sequence of
phy
indicated molecular masses of 30 and 30.8 kDa, respectively, suggesting that the enzyme is a homodimer. The recombinant phloretin hydrolase catalyzed the hydrolysis of phloretin to equimolar amounts of phloroglucinol and 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid. The optimal temperature and pH of the catalyzed reaction mixture were 37°C and 7.0, respectively. The

K
m

for phloretin was 13 ± 3 μM and the
k
cat
was 10 ± 2 s
−1
. The enzyme did not transform phloretin-2′-glucoside (phloridzin), neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, 1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propandione, or
trans
-1,3-diphenyl-2,3-epoxy-propan-1-one. The catalytic activity of the phloretin hydrolase was reduced by
N
-bromosuccinimide,
o
-phenanthroline,
N
-ethylmaleimide, and CuCl
2
to 3, 20, 35, and 85%, respectively. Phloroglucinol and 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid reduced the activity to 54 and 70%, respectively.
Relatives’ knowledge of decision making in intensive care: Table 1
Authors: Booth M G , Doherty P , Fairgrieve R , Kinsella J 
Published: October 2004

Background/Aim:The law on consent has changed in Scotland with the introduction of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. This Act introduces the concept of proxy consent in Scotland. Many patients in intensive care are unable to participate in the decision making process because of their illness and its treatment. It is normal practice to provide relatives with information on the patient’s condition, treatment, and prognosis as a substitute for discussion directly with the patient. The relatives of intensive care patients appeared to believe that they already had the right to consent on behalf of an incapacitated adult. The authors’ aim was to assess the level of knowledge among relatives of intensive care patients of both the old and new law using a structured questionnaire.Methods:The next of kin of 100 consecutive patients completed a structured questionnaire. Each participant had the questions read to them and their answers recorded. Patients were not involved in the study.Results:Few (10%) were aware of the changes. Most (88%) thought that they previously could give consent on behalf of an incapacitated adult. Only 13% have ever discussed the preferences for life sustaining treatment with the patient but 84% felt that they could accurately represent the patient’s wishes.Conclusions:There appeared to be a lack of public awareness of the impending changes. The effectiveness of the Act at improving the care of the mentally incapacitated adult will depend largely on how successful it is at encouraging communication and decision making in advance of incapacity occurring.