bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Improvements in an oral aspirin challenge protocol for the diagnosis of aspirin hypersensitivity
Authors: Cormican L. J. , Farooque S. , Altmann D. R. , Lee T. H. 
Published: June 2005

SummaryOral aspirin challenge (OAC) is used to confirm aspirin hypersensitivity (AHs) but there is no consensus on a standardized protocol. As a prior clinical history of adverse reactions to aspirin is poorly predictive of a positive result from formal aspirin challenge, many patients have an OAC performed.We retrospectively identified and prospectively validated how a 1‐day OAC protocol could be modified, and patient selection improved, to deliver a safe and more efficient service.In a retrospective audit of 45 OACs using a 2 h dose interval, all reactions occurred within 90 min of the threshold dose. Forty OACs were then performed using a 90‐min dose interval. This reduced the mean duration of a positive and negative OAC from 6 to 5 h and from 8 to 6 h, respectively.Histories of multiple manifestations of AHs were found in 91.6% (11) of those with asthma, 87.5% (7) with angiooedema, 70.6% (12) with rhinosinusitis, 63.6% (7) with chronic non‐vasculitic urticaria and all with anaphylaxis, who developed a positive OAC. None of those with anaphylaxis, 8.3% (1) with asthma and 12.5% (1) with angiooedema, with a positive OAC, had a history of a single manifestation of AHs.The efficiency of an OAC service can safely be improved by reduction of the dose interval from 2 to 1 ½ h, and more targeted patient selection, as the likelihood of a positive OAC increases among patients with a history of asthma, angiooedoema or anaphylaxis with multiple manifestations of AHs.
Efficacy of a management plan based on severity assessment in longitudinal and case‐controlled studies of 747 children with nut allergy: proposal for good practice
Authors: Ewan P. W. , Clark A. T. 
Published: June 2005

SummaryBackground
There are few data on the long‐term management of children with peanut/nut allergy. Advice is variable and often inadequate; further reactions are common. There is no consensus on the criteria for prescription of rescue medication, particularly adrenaline.Method
A longitudinal prospective and case–control study in a tertiary allergy clinic. Patients/parents/school staff of 747 children with confirmed peanut or tree nut allergy received detailed verbal and written advice on nut avoidance, training in recognition and (self‐) treatment of reactions and a written treatment plan. The severity of nut allergy was graded (mild–severe) and emergency medication was allocated according to our criteria: all received oral antihistamines, injected adrenaline (EpiPen) was given to those with reactions with airway narrowing, milder reactions to low‐dose exposure or concomitant asthma. At annual follow‐up over 25 906 patient‐months (median: 39 months) retraining was given and details of further reactions (frequency, severity and treatment) were obtained. Criteria for allocation of EpiPen were evaluated.Results
The worst reaction pre‐enrolment was mild in 64% and moderate/severe in 36% (airway narrowing). Of 615 subjects followed up, 21% had a further reaction (eightfold reduction in frequency), mostly mild. There was a 60‐fold reduction in the frequency of severe reactions. Of those with a moderate–severe initial reaction, 99.5% had no or a less severe follow‐up reaction. No child with a mild or severe index reaction had a severe follow‐up reaction. Only 1/615 (0.2%) had a severe follow‐up reaction and only 2/615 (0.3%) used adrenaline, both successfully and had it available according to our criteria. Of mild–moderate reactions, 77% required oral antihistamines alone and 15% no treatment. Children who had follow‐up reactions had more frequent and severe reactions pre‐enrolment.Conclusion
The management plan greatly reduced the frequency and severity of further reactions and was successful for all children. Our criteria for selective prescription of EpiPen in the context of this management plan were appropriate. This is the first study to provide evidence on which to inform practice.
Remodelling of airway smooth muscle in asthma: what sort do you have?
Authors: James A. 
Published: June 2005

SummaryBackground
Shortening of smooth muscle around airways is the basis of symptoms and abnormal lung function in asthma. The airway wall is increased in thickness in small and large airways asthma, in relation to the clinical severity of asthma and the airway smooth muscle layer is the main contributor to this thickening. The relative contributions of more airway smooth muscle cells, bigger cells or more extracellular matrix to the increased thickness of the smooth muscle layer in asthma is not clear and has been examined in only a small number of cases, Studies of the natural history of asthma suggest that the clinical severity of asthma is relatively constant over time, deficits in lung function compared with nonasthmatic subjects occur early in the course of the disease and the decline in lung function with age is increased in asthma.Hypothesis
The observations from studies of the quantitative pathology and the natural history of asthma might be combined in the hypothesis that the severity of asthma is determined early (in its natural history) and is related mainly to increased volume density of airways smooth muscle cells (hyperplasia) and that later deposition of extracellular matrix from larger, hypertrophic smooth muscle cells results in fixed and increasing deficits in lung function.Speculation
The relative contribution of more smooth muscle cells, bigger cells and extracellular matrix will be determined by unbiased stereological measurements in many cases of asthma of varying severity. The outcomes of such studies will be methods of monitoring and of treatment that will be tailored to the sort of smooth muscle modelling that is present in individual cases.
Spatial scale and benthic community organisation in the littoral zones of large oligotrophic lakes: potential for cross‐scale interactions
Authors: STOFFELS R. J. , CLARKE K. R. , CLOSS G. P. 
Published: June 2005

Summary1. We studied the spatial organisation of littoral, benthic invertebrate communities in two large oligotrophic lakes with very extensive heterogeneous littoral zones, and report that littoral communities show significant variation in their structure at multiple spatial scales.2. At coarser scales, littoral zone topography, riparian inputs and exposure may be important drivers of community spatial structure. At finer scales, the composition of substrates, particularly macrophytes and inorganic sediments, may be drivers of community spatial structure.3. The effects of substrates on community spatial patterns were non‐additive across scales; community‐habitat correspondence became very noisy when we attempted to extrapolate results throughout the littoral. We present some evidence to suggest that this non‐additivity is because of the interaction among structuring processes that operate at different scales.
Diversity of mitochondrial DNA of the endangered white‐clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius italicus) in the Po River catchment
Authors: ZACCARA SERENA , STEFANI FABRIZIO , CROSA GIUSEPPE 
Published: June 2005

Summary1. The strong contraction of the European populations of white‐clawed crayfish has stimulated research of its population genetics. As part of a conservation project to introduce and improve Italian populations ofAustropotamobius italicus, the genetic diversity of 16 populations from 10 tributaries of the Po River drainage was evaluated by sequencing a 494 bp length of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI mtDNA).2. The evolutionary tree topologies and the parsimony network of 26 haplotypes separated into two clusters, on the basis of high average genetic distance (6.51 ± 0.42%). This finding indicated the presence of distinct evolutionary lineages, other than different allopatric sources.3. An ancestral haplotype (Nav) was identified and 13 haplotypes, found mainly as singletons, were independently connected toNavby short branches with one mutation site. Unimodal mismatch distribution and the goodness‐of‐fit of the observed data reflected a model of sudden population expansion, after the last glacial bottleneck event.4. A general moderate level of genetic variability (h = 0.22–0.7 andπ = 0.045–0.27%) was highlighted withinA. italicuspopulations inhabiting Alpine and Apennine tributaries of the Po River. Analysis of molecular variance (amova) revealed significant genetic structuring across all hierarchical levels, indicating that a major proportion of genetic variance is structured among localities within drainages. Multiple adjacent localities, strictly connected by the Po River, shared the two most frequent haplotypes (NavandLaz), while remote populations, far from the Po River inflow, move towards a mtDNA fixation.5. The results of this study indicate that distinct populations should be treated as separate entities for management. The key implication of the data is thatad hocmeasures for successful programmes of recovery and management strategies forA. italicusconservation, such as the phylogeographic study of haplotype distribution at a local scale and the genetic variability of populations used as stock breeders, should be considered.
Stable isotopes identify dispersal patterns of stonefly populations living along stream corridors
Authors: MACNEALE KATE H. , PECKARSKY BARBARA L. , LIKENS GENE E. 
Published: June 2005

Summary1. Populations in different locations can exchange individuals depending on the distribution and connectivity of suitable habitat, and the dispersal capabilities and behaviour of the organisms. We used an isotopic tracer,15N, to label stoneflies (Leuctra ferruginea) to determine the extent of adult flight along stream corridors and between streams where their larvae live.2. In four mass, mark‐capture experiments we added15NH4Cl continuously for several weeks to label specific regions of streams within the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH, U.S.A. We collected adult stoneflies along the labelled streams (up to 1.5 km of stream length), on transects through the forest away from labelled sections (up to 500 m), and along an 800‐m reach of adjacent tributary that flows into a labelled stream.3. Of 966 individual adult stoneflies collected and analysed for15N, 20% were labelled. Most labelled stoneflies were captured along stream corridors and had flown upstream a mean distance of 211 m; the net movement of the population (upstream + downstream) estimated from the midpoint of the labelled sections was 126 m upstream. The furthest male and female travelled approximately 730 m and approximately 663 m upstream, respectively. We also captured labelled mature females along an unlabelled tributary and along a forest transect 500 m from the labelled stream, thus demonstrating cross‐watershed dispersal.4. We conclude that the adjacent forest was not a barrier to dispersal between catchments, and adult dispersal linked stonefly populations among streams across a landscape within one generation. Our data on the extent of adult dispersal provide a basis for a conceptual model identifying the boundaries of these populations, whose larvae are restricted to stream channels, and whose females must return to streams to oviposit.
A novel approach to assess the impact of landuse activity on chemical and biological parameters in river catchments
Authors: JOHNSON M. J. , GILLER P. S. , O'HALLORAN J. , O'GORMAN K. , GALLAGHER M. B. 
Published: June 2005

Summary1. Natural variation in environmental parameters, as well as practical constraints in study design and sampling methodology, often pose difficulties in treating impact assessments in river catchments as controlled field experiments. It is frequently impossible to develop robust relationships between reference and test stations prior to the onset of an impact and the range of statistical tools which can be adopted in data analysis to detect a change or disturbance is limited.2. In an attempt to overcome these problems we introduce a novel disturbance index to assess the impact of landuse activities on river systems. The index identifies differences in hydrochemical parameters and macroinvertebrate community metrics between reference and test stations (at a set level of significance). This approach allows for objective assessment of the occurrence and direction of change as well as the duration of an impact. The disturbance index can be applied at different scales – for a single stream, a catchment or a region.3. In this paper we describe the derivation of the index and illustrate its utility through worked examples. We use the index to assess impact of clearfelling on hydrochemical parameters such as hydrogen ion concentration, total hardness, suspended solids, conductivity and nitrate concentration as well as on macroinvertebrate parameters including abundance, richness, reciprocal of Simpson's diversity index, evenness, Ephemeroptera/Plecoptera/Trichoptera (EPT) richness and percentage of EPT taxa.4. The sensitivity of the disturbance index changes with scale of application however, and the clearfelling (CF) index has proven sensitive to the detection of even quite small changes, although in these cases ecological significance should be considered. We show that the CF index, particularly when derived from a regional scale, is a conservative index but is very robust to variation in the number of samples used in its derivation. The application of the index corresponded very well with the application of more standard statistical approaches. We believe that the index can thus be applied to other impact studies with similar project design.
Out of Cuba: overwater dispersal and speciation among lizards in theAnolis carolinensissubgroup
Authors: GLOR RICHARD E. , LOSOS JONATHAN B. , LARSON ALLAN 
Published: June 2005

AbstractOverwater dispersal and subsequent allopatric speciation contribute importantly to the species diversity of West IndianAnolislizards and many other island radiations. Here we use molecular phylogenetic analyses to assess the contribution of overwater dispersal to diversification of theAnolis carolinensissubgroup, a clade comprising nine canopy‐dwelling species distributed across the northern Caribbean. Although this clade includes some of the most successful dispersers and colonists in the anole radiation, the taxonomic status and origin of many endemic populations have been ambiguous. New mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences from four species occurring on small islands or island banks (Anolis brunneus,Anolis longiceps,Anolis maynardi,Anolis smaragdinus) and one species from the continental United States (A. carolinensis) are presented and analysed with homologous sequences sampled from related species on Cuba (Anolis allisoniandAnolis porcatus). Our analyses confirm that all five non‐Cuban species included in our study represent distinct, independently evolving lineages that warrant continued species recognition. Moreover, our results support Ernest Williams's hypothesis that all of these species originated by overseas colonization from Cuban source populations. However, contrary to Williams's hypothesis of Pleistocene dispersal, most colonization events leading to speciation apparently occurred earlier, in the late Miocene–Pliocene. These patterns suggest that overwater dispersal among geologically distinct islands and island banks is relatively infrequent in anoles and has contributed to allopatric speciation. Finally, our results suggest that large Greater Antillean islands serve as centres of origin for regional species diversity.
Phylogeography, genetic structure, and diversity in the dhole (Cuon alpinus)
Authors: IYENGAR A. , BABU V. N. , HEDGES S. , VENKATARAMAN A. B. , MACLEAN N. , MORIN P. A. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractThe Asiatic wild dog or dhole was once very widely distributed across Asia but now has a very fragmented range. In this first genetic study of this little‐known species, we obtained information on genetic diversity, phylogeography, and social structure using both mitochondrial control region sequencing and microsatellite genotyping of noninvasive faecal samples from wild populations, as well as from museum and captive samples. A pattern largely consistent with isolation by distance across the Asian mainland was observed, with no clear subspecies distinctions. However, two major phylogeographical groupings were found across the mainland, one extending from South, Central, and North India (south of the Ganges) into Myanmar, and the other extending from India north of the Ganges into northeastern India, Myanmar, Thailand and the Malaysian Peninsula. We propose a scenario involving glaciation events that could explain this pattern. The origin of the dhole populations in Sumatra and Java is enigmatic and requires further study. Very low levels of genetic diversity were observed among wild dholes from Baluran National Park in Java, Indonesia, but in contrast, high levels were observed in Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary in South India.
Molecular ecology of parasites: elucidating ecological and microevolutionary processes
Authors: CRISCIONE CHARLES D. , POULIN ROBERT , BLOUIN MICHAEL S. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractWe review studies that have used molecular markers to address ecological and microevolutionary processes in parasites. Our goal is to highlight areas of research that may be of particular interest in relation to the parasitic lifestyle, and to draw attention to areas that require additional study. Topics include species identification, phylogeography, host specificity and speciation, population genetic structure, modes of reproduction and transmission patterns, and searching for loci under selection.
Phylogeography of Balkan wall lizard (Podarcis taurica) and its relatives inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences
Authors: POULAKAKIS N. , LYMBERAKIS P. , VALAKOS E. , PAFILIS P. , ZOUROS E. , MYLONAS M. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractWall lizards of the genus Podarcis (Sauria, Lacertidae) comprise 17 currently recognized species in southern Europe, where they are the predominant reptile group. The taxonomy of Podarcis is complex and unstable. Based on DNA sequence data the species of Podarcis falls into four main groups that have substantial geographical conherence (western island group, southwestern group, Italian group and Balkan group). The Balkan species are divided in two subgroups: the subgroup of Podarcis taurica (P. taurica, P. milensis, P. gaigeae and perhaps P. melisellensis), and the subgroup of Podarcis erhardii (P. erhardii and P. peloponnesiaca). We addressed the question of phylogenetic relations among the species of the P. taurica subgroup encountered in Greece, as they can be inferred from partial mtDNA (cyt b and 16S) sequences. Our data support the monophyly of P. taurica subgroup and suggest that P. gaigeae, P. milensis and P. melisellensis form a clade, which thereinafter connects to P. taurica. Within the previous clade, P. gaigeae is more closely related to P. milensis than to P. melisellensis. However, the specimens of P. taurica were subdivided in two different groups. The first one includes the specimens from northeastern Greece, and the other group includes the specimens from the rest of continental Greece and Ionian islands. Because the molecular clock of the cyt b and 16 rRNA genes was not rejected in our model test, it is possible to estimate times of speciation events. Based on the splitting of the island of Crete from Peloponnisos [c. 5 million years ago (Ma)], the evolutionary rate for the cyt b is 1.55% per million years (Myr) and for the 16S rRNA is 0.46% per Myr. These results suggest that the evolutionary history of P. taurica in Greece is more complex than a single evolutionary invasion. The data analysed, stress the need for a reconsideration of the evolutionary history of Greek Podarcis species and help overcome difficulties that classical taxonomy has encountered at both the species level.
Conservation genomics: disequilibrium mapping of domestic cattle chromosomal segments in North American bison populations
Authors: HALBERT NATALIE D. , WARD TODD J. , SCHNABEL ROBERT D. , TAYLOR JEREMY F. , DERR JAMES N. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractIntrogressive hybridization is one of the major threats to species conservation, and is often induced by human influence on the natural habitat of wildlife species. The ability to accurately identify introgression is critical to understanding its importance in evolution and effective conservation management of species. Hybridization between North American bison (Bison bison) and domestic cattle (Bos taurus) as a result of human activities has been recorded for over 100 years, and domestic cattle mitochondrial DNA was previously detected in bison populations. In this study, linked microsatellite markers were used to identify domestic cattle chromosomal segments in 14 genomic regions from 14 bison populations. Cattle nuclear introgression was identified in five populations, with an average frequency per population ranging from 0.56% to 1.80%. This study represents the first use of linked molecular markers to examine introgression between mammalian species and the first demonstration of domestic cattle nuclear introgression in bison. To date, six public bison populations have been identified with no evidence of mitochondrial or nuclear domestic cattle introgression, providing information critical to the future management of bison genetic resources. The ability to identify even low levels of introgression resulting from historic hybridization events suggests that the use of linked molecular markers to identify introgression is a significant development in the study of introgressive hybridization across a broad range of taxa.
Comparison of quantitative and molecular variation in agroforestry populations of the shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn) in Mali
Authors: SANOU H. , LOVETT P. N. , BOUVET J.‐M. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractIn this study we investigated the within‐ and between‐population genetic variation using microsatellite markers and quantitative traits of the shea tree, Vitellaria paradoxa, an important agroforestry tree species of the Sudano–Sahelian region in Africa. Eleven populations were sampled across Mali and in northern Côte d’Ivoire. Leaf size and form and growth traits were measured in a progeny test at the nursery stage. Eight microsatellites were used to assess neutral genetic variation. Low levels of heterozygosity were recorded (1.6–3.0 alleles/locus; HE = 0.25–0.42) and the fixation index (FIS = −0.227–0.186) was not significantly different from zero suggesting that Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium is encountered in all populations sampled. Quantitative traits exhibited a strong genetic variation between populations and between families within populations. The degree of population differentiation of the quantitative traits (QST = 0.055–0.283, QSTmean = 0.189) strongly exceeds that in eight microsatellite loci (FST = −0.011–0.142, FSTmean = 0.047). Global and pairwise FST values were very low and not significantly different from zero suggesting agroforestry practices are amplifying gene flow (Nm = 5.07). The population means for quantitative traits and the rainfall variable were not correlated, showing variation was not linked with this climatic cline. It is suggested that this marked differentiation for quantitative traits, independent of environmental clines and despite a high gene flow, is a result of local adaptation and human selection of shea trees. This process has induced high linkage disequilibrium between underlying loci of polygenic characters.