bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Transient effect of topical treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with imiquimod
Authors: Seeberger Josef , Daoud Saleh , Pammer Johannes 
Published: December 2004

AbstractBackground Treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis can be painful and protracted and cosmetic results are often unsatisfying. The immune modulator imiquimod has been reported to be suitable for the treatment of a variety of infectious skin diseases and neoplasias.Objective We investigated the efficacy of topical application of imiquimod in the treatment of old world leishmaniasis in a placebo‐controlled prospective study.Methods Twelve patients were treated with imiquimod cream using a standard protocol, i.e. topical application three times a week, and a further three served as control group.Results Lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis regressed within the first 2–4 weeks in 10 of the 12 patients, whereas in two patients no change was observed. However, after 8 weeks all lesions showed progression.Conclusion Our results thus demonstrate that topical application of imiquimod alone is ineffective in treating old world cutaneous leishmaniasis. Further studies are required to demonstrate a possible benefit of imiquimod in combination with other, preferably orally administered medicines.
Developmental instability in Brassica campestris (Cruciferae): fluctuating asymmetry of foliar and floral traits
Authors: Evans A. S. , Marshall M. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThe degree of fluctuating asymmetry of bilateral traits provides a measure of developmental instability, which can be influenced by genetic as well as environmental stress. We studied genetic variation between and within two populations of the mustard Brassica campestris for asymmetry of foliar (cotyledon width) and floral (petal length and width) traits as well as for phenological (germination and flowering) and performance (biomass and flowering) traits. The two populations differed in mean expression of most traits, including asymmetry. However, within‐population estimates of genetic variability tended to be lower for asymmetry than other traits. Asymmetry was greater in the population that had lower biomass accumulation and flower production, which supports the idea that population‐level asymmetry may be indicative of population‐level performance. However, within each population, evidence that performance was negatively correlated with asymmetry was equivocal. Within populations there was little or no concordance among estimates of asymmetry based on different structures, i.e., plants that had highly asymmetrical cotyledons did not tend to have highly asymmetrical petals. The lack of a general buffering capacity at the individual level may be explained by developmental processes (e.g., action of different genes or morphogens) as well as evolutionary processes (e.g., selection on asymmetry of different traits).
Phenotypic plasticity in morphological traits in two populations of Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Noach E. J. K. , De Jong G. , Scharloo W. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractIsofemale lines of two populations of Drosophila melanogaster, originating from France and Tanzania, were examined over a range of temperatures. Morphological traits showed distinct patterns in phenotypic plasticity; flies of the two populations differed in shape.Genotype‐by‐Environment (G*E) interactions were frequently found in the Tanzania population, but were hardly present in the France population. If G*E interaction was present over temperature, estimates of additive genetic variance and additive genetic covariance were made to compare theoretical models with our data. The conclusion is that in France Drosophila melanogaster has been selected over a wider range of temperatures, resulting in parallel reaction norms of more optimal slope. In contrast, selection must have taken place over a narrower temperature range in Tanzanian flies, and will have exerted no direct influence on the slope of the reaction norm.
Alternative mating strategies, partial sibmating and split sex ratios in haplodiploid species
Authors: Greeff J. M. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractIt is shown that when females can adjust their offspring sex ratios conditionally to the identity of their mates, i.e. sib or non‐sib, split sex ratios are expected. These split sex ratios result from variation in relatedness between females and their daughters. Haplodiploid females' relatedness to their daughters increases as their relatedness to their mates increases. Therefore, sibmated females' optimal progeny sex ratio is more female biased than that of outbred females. Inbreeding depression that can result from complementary sex determination (CSD) is also considered. The genetic load caused by CSD can be so costly to sibmated females that they switch to the production of males only. The evolutionarily stable sex ratios for a sibmating model is found to be of a weak type. These weak equilibria and split sex ratios can lead to high variation about the mean and are an incentive for further studies on sex ratio variation in conjunction with mating behaviour. The occurrence of split sex ratios in haplodiploid taxa is important because it favours the evolution of eusociality. Partial local mating and alternative mating strategies can thus eventually lead to the evolution of eusociality.
Developmental stability in flowers of Clarkia tembloriensis (Onagraceae)
Authors: Sherry R. A. , Lord E. M. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractDevelopmental instability of floral traits is examined in four populations of Clarkia tembloriensis (Onagraceae) with different natural outcrossing rates. Developmental instability is estimated using fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and within plant variance. The results are coupled with those from a previous study of leaf traits.In the first experiment, flowers were collected from the same growth chamber‐grown plants that had been previously used to estimate leaf developmental stability in two C. tembloriensis populations. These populations differed in FA for only one floral trait, long filament length. After adjusting for organ size differences, we found floral FA values were about half those of leaves. These are the first quantitative data indicating that flowers are more developmentally stable than leaves.In a second experiment, greenhouse grown plants from two other C. tembloriensis populations (one highly outcrossing and one predominantly self‐pollinating) did not differ significantly in floral FA or in within‐plant variance of floral traits, though earlier studies of the same populations revealed significant differences in FA of leaf traits.In both experiments, FA values of different floral traits were uncorrelated.We attribute the lack of significant differences in floral stability between populations to the greater canalization of floral organs and to the magnification of measurement error that occurs when calculating FA. We also found that the shorter styles of selfers are the greatest difference in flower form between predominantly self‐pollinating and predominantly outcrossing populations of C. tembloriensis.
Sibling species and cryptic speciation in the Brachionus plicatilis species complex (Rotifera)
Authors: Gómez A. , Snell T. W. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractAn attempt is made to identify sibling species within the Brachionus plicatilis complex (Rotifera). Allozyme and morphological data for nine strains from all over the world are provided. Although the analysis of morphological data classified individuals from nine strains into two groups, cluster analysis using genetic distance data obtained from allozyme data revealed at least three groups. A male choice design is described for the first time in rotifers and was used to test for male mating preferences among sympatric strains belonging to three distinct species. The results suggest that the B. plicatilis complex is actually composed of more than three sibling species.
Environmental and genetic determinants of reproduction in the house sparrow: a transplant experiment
Authors: Krogstad S. , Sæther B.‐E. , Solberg E. J. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractA transplant experiment was carried out to examine whether genetic differentiation can explain geographical variation in the reproductive strategies of house sparrows Passer domesticus. Individuals from an inland and a coastal population in Central Norway were released on a small island, near the coastal area. No directional selection was found on any of the morphological characters from the release to the onset of breeding, but the proportion of the inland males that remained to start breeding on the island was smaller than that of the coastal males. The new environment influenced the time of egg laying which was, relative to the source populations, more delayed among the introduced inland females than among the coastal females. In 1992, chicks raised by inland females grew faster and were fed more frequently than chicks raised by coastal females. No difference was found between birds of inland and coastal origins in their breeding success and their relative number of surviving recruits. Transplanted parents from the inland fed their offspring more frequently than transplanted parents from the coastal area. This experiment shows that the plasticity of reproductive traits in combination with stochastic factors in the environment may lead to an establishment of introduced genes in small populations.
Response of Growth and Yield of Rice (Oryza sativa) to Elevated Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide in the Subhumid Zone of Sri Lanka
Authors: De Costa W. A. J. M. , Weerakoon W. M. W. , Herath H. M. L. K. , Abeywardena R. M. I. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractIncreasing atmospheric CO2 is recognized as a major aspect of global climate change that would have a significant impact on the productivity of major agricultural crops. Two field experiments were done, with the objective of quantifying the response of a short‐duration rice (Oryza sativa) variety (BG‐300) to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide, in the low elevation, subhumid zone of Sri Lanka. The experiment contained three treatments. In the elevated CO2 treatment, rice was grown at a CO2 concentration of 570 µmol/mol within open top chambers (OTC s). The ambient CO2 treatment included crops grown within OTC s, but maintained at the ambient CO2 concentration of 370 µmol/mol. The third treatment was a crop grown in the open field under ambient CO2 concentration.Grain yields of rice crops grown under elevated CO2 were 24 % and 39 % greater than the respective ambient treatments in the maha (January – March 2001) and yala (May – August, 2001) seasons. Significant increases in total biomass at harvest (23 % and 39 %, respectively, in maha and yala) were more responsible for the above yield increases than the slight increases in the harvest index (4 % and 2 %). Yields of the ambient and open field treatments did not differ significantly. Among the yield components, the number of panicles per hill was significantly higher in the elevated treatment and showed significant positive correlations with grain yield in both seasons. In addition, grain yield showed significant positive correlations with the percentage of filled grains in maha and the number of grains per panicle in yala. Significant increases in the number of tillers per hill under elevated CO2 were responsible for its greater leaf area index and the greater numbers of panicles per hill. Crops under elevated CO2 accumulated biomass faster than those grown under ambient CO2 during the vegetative and grain‐filling stages. The results of this study demonstrate that elevated CO2 causes significant yield increases in rice, even when it is grown in warm, subhumid tropical climates.
Effect of Water Stress at Various Growth Stages on Some Quality Characteristics of Winter Wheat
Authors: Ozturk A. , Aydin F. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractA field experiment was carried out in Erzurum (Turkey) on winter wheat to analyse the effect of water stress at different growth stages – fully irrigated (FI), rainfed (R), early water stress (EWS), late water stress (LWS) and continuous water stress (CWS), on some quality characteristics – in the 1995–96 and 1996–97 cropping seasons. Water stress had a substantial effect on most of the quality characteristics. As averages of cropping seasons, CWS, EWS, R and LWS treatments decreased grain yields by 65.5, 40.6, 30.5 and 24.0 %, respectively, compared with the FI treatment. CWS increased grain protein content by 18.1 %, sedimentation volume by 16.5 %, wet gluten content by 21.9 % and decreased 1000‐kernel weight by 7.5 g compared with FI treatment. LWS caused an increase of 8.3 % in grain protein content, 8.7 % in sedimentation volume, 10.8 % in wet gluten content and a reduction of 3.8 g in 1000‐kernel weight compared with FI. EWS and R increased sedimentation volume and wet gluten content, but decreased 1000‐kernel weight compared with FI. The effect of LWS on grain quality was more significant than that of EWS. The results suggest that soil moisture conditions increase grain yield and kernel weight of winter wheat but decrease its quality.
Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Spring Wheat Genotypes under Field and Lysimeter Conditions
Authors: Noulas Ch. , Stamp P. , Soldati A. , Liedgens M. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractLysimeters and neighbouring fields were used from 1998 to 2000 to assess parameters of N use efficiency of three Swiss spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes. An old (Albis), a new (Toronit) and an experimental genotype (L94491) were compared with no and ample (250 kg N ha−1) N fertilizer supply. N fertilization increased biomass, grain yield and grain N concentration of all genotypes in all years and in both testing systems (field, lysimeters) but only a few genotype × N interactions were observed. Generally, Toronit was superior in producing biomass and grain yield and L94491 in accumulating N in the grain resulting in identical N biomass yields. Albis showed the lowest and Toronit the highest fertilizer recovery, irrespective of the method of calculation (15N or difference method). The medium yielding L94491 recovered similar amounts of fertilizer N as Toronit, mainly due to the high N concentration in the biomass. The ranking of the genotypes for the investigated traits was similar in both testing systems and results comparable with those reported in the literature, indicating that the lysimeter facility is suitable for investigations of agronomic traits on soil–plant relationships, where a constant recording of the soil properties is required.
Using pedigree information to monitor genetic variability of endangered populations: the Xalda sheep breed of Asturias as an example
Authors: Goyache F. , Gutiérrez J. P. , Fernández I. , Gomez E. , Alvarez I. , Díez J. , Royo L. J. 
Published: December 2004

SummaryThe aim of this work is to highlight the need of monitoring small populations to conserve their genetic variability by using a set of parameters to characterize both the structure of populations and management practices. As a representative example we analyse the pedigree information of the endangered Xalda sheep breed of Asturias. The herdbook of Xalda sheep included a total of 805 animals and 62 herds. The number of founders was 329. Nowadays, there are 562 live animals and 26 active herds. The breed is in risk of losing genetic diversity because of the abusive use of certain individuals as parents. The effective number of founder animals is 81.1. The effective number of founder herds is 9.9. The average value of inbreeding in the whole Xalda population was 1.5%. The average relatedness (AR) coefficient reached 1.8% in the whole pedigree. The genetic representation of the lines of founders is unbalanced. Inbreeding trends and effective size do not provide realistic information concerning the risk of loss of diversity as a result of the shallowness of the genealogical information. We suggest the monitoring of the breed using AR to unbalance the genetic contributions of specific individuals, equalizing the genetic representation of the founders and lines in the population. In addition, AR can suggest the introduction of new, under‐represented animals in herds showing high average AR values relative to the population. Our results can be useful to improve the development of conservation initiatives involving open herdbooks to avoid the risk of loss of genetic diversity caused by incorrect management practices.
Characterization of ovine PrP gene promoter activity in N2a neuroblastoma and ovine foetal brain cell lines
Authors: O'Neill G. T. , Donnelly K. , Marshall E. , Cairns D. , Goldmann W. , Hunter N. 
Published: December 2004

SummaryIn this study, we have analysed the DNA sequence and promoter activity of a 522 base pair non‐coding region of the sheep PrP gene representative of exon I and 440 bases upstream of the exon I start site. DNA sequence analyses of the PrP promoter region from Cheviot sheep identified a C/G dimorphism that created a SP1 transcription factor binding site. Additionally, a new T/C dimorphism was identified within Motif 1, one of four highly conserved sequence motifs common to all PrP promoter gene sequences. In vitro gene promoter activity was analysed by chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter gene transfection assays in murine N2a cells and sA80BR, a permanently transformed cell line derived from a foetal Cheviot sheep brain. The minimal PrP gene sequences required for CAT reporter gene expression in N2a and sheep sA80BR cells were found to be 75 bases and 131 bases proximal to the exon I start site, respectively. No significant differences in PrP gene promoter activity was observed following the sequential deletion of the four conserved motifs though an initial loss of promoter activity was observed following the deletion of the first 99 bases of the promoter sequence.
The influence of selection on reaction to stress in mice. IX. Effect of dietary protein level on activity of lysosomal enzymes in liver and kidney
Authors: Jóźwik A. , Śliwa‐Jóźwik A. , Bagnicka E. , Kołątaj A. 
Published: December 2004

SummaryThe studies were carried out on 48 8‐week‐old Swiss male mice. The animals were divided into those selected for body weight gain (experimental) and an unselected (control) group. Twelve selected and unselected mice received a high protein diet (40%) during 14 days while the remaining 12 selected and 12 controls received a low protein feed (10%). In the lysosomal fraction of the liver and kidney, the activities of alanyl aminopeptidase, leucyl‐aminopeptidase, cathepsin D, L, acid phosphatase, lysosomal esterase, lysosomal lipase, beta‐galactosidase, beta‐glucosidase, beta‐glucuronidase, N‐acetyl‐beta‐glucosaminidase were measured. The results obtained suggest that the different dietary protein levels (10 and 40%) and selection changed the activity of lysosomal enzymes studied in the liver and kidney of experimental mice.
Ingested particles reduce susceptibility of insect larvae to Bacillus thuringiensis
Authors: Ben‐Dov E. , Saxena D. , Wang Q. , Manasherob R. , Boussiba S. , Zaritsky A. 
Published: December 2004

Abstract:Susceptibility to Bacillus thuringiensis of mosquito and lepidopteran larvae is affected by feeding behaviour and nutritional value of the available food. Reduced mortality is attributed to feeding inhibition and dilution of the pathogen in the presence of nutritional and inert particles, which limit the amount of ingested toxin. These reasons are, however, not sufficient to explain the data presented here. Values of LC50 (the concentration that kills 50% of exposed population) of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Berliner) against Aedes aegypti (L.) larvae and of B. thuringiensis subsp. kenyae (Berliner) against Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) larvae were about 20–217 and 2.3–44‐fold higher, respectively, in the presence of nutritional or biologically inert (non‐nutritional) particles than without. The number of B. thuringiensis spores in carcasses of B. thuringiensis ‐killed A. aegypti and S. littoralis larvae were between 1.9 and 5.6‐fold and between 8.5 and 12‐fold higher, respectively, in the presence of particles than without. In all cases, non‐nutritional particles better protected the exposed larvae than nutritious particles. We propose that another basic mechanism exists, that ingested particles protect midgut epithelial cells by covering their surface and thus preventing availability of the toxin to the gut receptors. Understanding the defence mechanisms of insects against B. thuringiensis toxicity may lead to improved pest management methods.
Effects of aqueous extract of neem seed kernel and azadirachtin on the fecundity, fertility and post‐embryonic development of the melonfly, Bactrocera cucurbitae and the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae)
Authors: Singh Shivendra 
Published: December 2004

Abstract:Aqueous extract of neem seed kernel (NSKE) was tested for its effect on the fecundity and post‐embryonic development of Bactrocera cucurbitae and Bactrocera dorsalis, when fed as water source. Comparisons were made with pure azadirachtin to ascertain its role as a compound responsible for these effects. Three oviposition dates (10, 15 and 20) after adult emergence were chosen. In the 10 day experiment no egg laying was recorded at a concentration of 0.25% NSKE for both the species. By the 20th day, mean number of eggs laid were 93 for B. cucurbitae and 100 for B. dorsalis at the same concentration as compared with 241 and 243 eggs in respective controls. This pattern of recovery was observed for the first time using neem extracts on B. cucurbitae and B. dorsalis. Effect on fertility were evident as the per cent egg‐hatch in the 10‐day experiment ranged from 56 to 72 and 61 to 75% for B. cucurbitae and B. dorsalis respectively, compared with 99 and 99% in controls. The overall egg hatch ranged between 56 and 85% for both the species, covering the reproductive age of the flies. There was no significant effect on pupation. Per cent pupation of the hatched larvae was >90%, while the adult emergence calculated from the number of larvae that pupated was >62%, for both the species, however, when calculated from the initial number of eggs laid the post‐embryonic effects were evident. The effects on fecundity, fertility and adult emergence were confirmed with pure azadirachtin. As with NSKE, pupation was not much affected, however, significant effects on adult emergence and behaviour were recorded. The post‐embryonic effects of neem seed kernel extracts on the two species of fruit flies was confirmed for the first time. Being safe, cheap and renewable, neem extract can be effectively used as an excellent alternative to synthetic insecticides.