bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Increased number of CD34+cells in nasal mucosa of allergic rhinitis patients: inhibition by a local corticosteroid
Authors: Sergejeva S. , Malmhäll C. , Lötvall J. , Pullerits T. 
Published: January 2005

SummaryBackground
Eosinophils develop from CD34+ haematopoietic progenitor cells. Allergen exposure in susceptible individuals is known to induce a local eosinophilic inflammation, but the effect on progenitor cells is much less understood.Objective
We aimed to evaluate how allergen exposure affects the number of tissue CD34+ cells and CD34+ eosinophils in allergic rhinitis (AR) patients and whether any such effect is influenced by local corticosteroid treatment. Also, we evaluated changes in the number of CXC receptor 4‐positive cells (CXCR4+), since the CXCR4 ligand (stromal cell‐derived factor‐1 (SDF‐1)) is a potent chemoattractant for haematopoietic progenitors.Methods
In a double‐blind, randomized study, pollen‐sensitized AR patients were treated with a nasal corticosteroid fluticasone propionate (FP, 200 μg/day) or placebo throughout the pollen season. Nasal biopsies were taken before and during the season. CD34 and CXCR4 were stained using immunohistochemistry.Results
The pollen season significantly increased the number of CD34+ cells, CD34+/CXCR4+ cells and CD34+ eosinophils in placebo‐treated patients, but not in FP‐treated patients. The mean pollen season‐induced increase in CD34+ cells, CD34+/CXCR4+ cells and CD34+ eosinophils in FP‐treated patients was lower compared with placebo‐treated patients.Conclusion
A pollen season increases the number of CD34+ cells in nasal tissue accompanied by an increase in the number of CD34+/CXCR4+ haematopoietic progenitors and also the number of CD34+ eosinophils in subjects with AR. Treatment with a local corticosteroid provides protection against this pollen‐induced increase in tissue CD34+ cells and CD34+ eosinophils possibly via inhibition of allergen‐induced CXCR4‐mediated recruitment of CD34+ haematopoietic progenitors into airways and their further differentiation into eosinophils within the tissue.
Chemokine‐receptor expression on T cells in lung compartments of challenged asthmatic patients
Authors: Kallinich T. , Schmidt S. , Hamelmann E. , Fischer A. , Qin S. , Luttmann W. , Virchow J. C. , Kroczek R. A. 
Published: January 2005

SummaryBackground
The interaction of chemokines with their receptors strongly influences the migration of leucocytes.Objective
In order to assess the contribution of these molecules to the local recruitment of T cells in bronchial asthma, we analysed the expression of 14 chemokine receptors on lung‐derived T cells.Methods
Chemokine‐receptor expression by T cells derived from the peripheral blood, the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and the bronchial mucosa was analysed by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. Expression profiles in healthy and mildly asthmatic individuals were compared, the latter prior and after segmental allergen provocation.Results
Compared with peripheral blood, alveolar T cells expressed significantly more CCR2, CCR5, CCR6, CXCR3 and CCR4. However, no differences were observed between healthy controls and unchallenged asthmatics. In patients developing significant inflammatory responses following specific allergen challenge, a marked increase in the percentage of CCR4+ and CCR7+, and reduced numbers of CXCR3‐bearing alveolar T cells were detected. Following specific allergen challenge, chemokine‐receptor expression profiles of T cells from the alveolar space and the mucosa or the submucosa were similar, excluding a particular subcompartmentalization of the chemokine/chemokine‐receptor system.Conclusion
The expression of certain chemokine receptors by lung T cells suggests a contribution to the physiological recruitment of T cells to the lungs, both in healthy controls and unchallenged mild asthmatics. However, strong allergen‐induced airway responses were associated with a specific chemokine‐receptor profile, suggesting the involvement of certain chemokine receptors in the pathogenesis of allergic bronchial inflammation.
Tissue‐selective mast cell reconstitution and differential lung gene expression in mast cell‐deficient KitW‐sh/KitW‐sh sash mice
Authors: Wolters P. J. , Clair J. Mallen‐St. , Lewis C. C. , Villalta S. A. , Baluk P. , Erle D. J. , Caughey G. H. 
Published: January 2005

SummaryBackground
Mast cell‐deficient KitW/KitW‐v mice are an important resource for studying mast cell functions in vivo. However, because they are compound heterozygotes in a mixed genetic background and are infertile, they cannot be crossed easily with other mice.Objective
To overcome this limitation, we explored the use of KitW‐sh/KitW‐sh mice for studying mast cell biology in vivo.Results
These mice are in a C57BL/6 background, are fertile and can be bred directly with other genetically modified mice. Ten‐week‐old KitW‐sh/KitW‐sh are profoundly mast cell‐deficient. No mast cells are detected in any major organ, including the lung. Gene microarrays detect differential expression of just seven of 16 463 genes in lungs of KitW‐sh/KitW‐sh mice compared with wild‐type mice, indicating that resting mast cells regulate expression of a small set of genes in the normal lung. Injecting 107 bone marrow‐derived mast cells (BMMC) into tail veins of KitW‐sh/KitW‐sh mice reconstitutes mast cell populations in lung, stomach, liver, inguinal lymph nodes, and spleen, but not in the tongue, trachea or skin. Injection of BMMC into ear dermis or peritoneum reconstitutes mast cells locally in these tissues. When splenectomized KitW‐sh/KitW‐sh mice are intravenously injected with BMMC, mast cells circulate longer and are found more often in the liver and inguinal lymph nodes, indicating that the spleen acts as a reservoir for mast cells following injection and limits migration to some tissues.Conclusion
In summary, these findings show that mast cell‐deficient KitW‐sh/KitW‐sh mice possess unique attributes that favour their use for studying mast cell functions in vivo.
Allergic diseases and asthma in relation to serum immunoglobulins and salivary immunoglobulin A in pre‐school children: a follow‐up community‐based study
Authors: Lúðvíksson B. R. , Arason G. J. , Thorarensen O. , Árdal B. , Valdimarsson H. 
Published: January 2005

SummaryBackground
We have previously reported an association between low IgA and allergic manifestations in early childhood (0–2 years) and have now followed our cohort for an additional 2 years.Objective
To evaluate in a longitudinal community‐based cohort study the association between maturation of Ig production and allergic manifestations in the first 4 years of life.Methods
A cohort of 161 randomly selected children was followed from birth to the age of 42–48 months and evaluated at 18–23 months (EV1; n=179) and again at the age of 42–48 months (EV2; n=161). Diagnoses were made with the help of a clinical questionnaire, physical examination and skin prick tests (SPTs) to 10 common allergens. Serum immunoglobulins were measured at EV1 and EV2, and salivary IgA (sal‐IgA) at EV2.Results
Serum IgA, IgE, IgG1, IgG2 and IgG4 increased from 2 to 4 years of age (P<0.001) and their levels showed close correlations (P0.01 for most comparisons). Children with one or more positive SPTs had lower serum IgA (P=0.004) and IgG4 (P=0.05) at EV2 than those who did not respond, and children who developed allergic rhinitis between EV1 and EV2 had low sal‐IgA (P=0.006) and IgG3 (P<0.05) at EV2. Atopic eczema was associated with low sal‐IgA at EV2, and children who developed eczema between EV1 and EV2 had significantly lower sal‐IgA than those who recovered after EV1 (P=0.02).Conclusion
Allergic manifestations in predisposed children may be influenced by the rate of maturation of immunological components that counteract sensitization or inhibit effector mechanisms of allergy.
Allergen skin weal/radioallergosorbent test relationship in childhood populations that differ in histamine skin reactivity: a multi‐national survey
Authors: Ronchetti R. , Villa M. P. , Rennerova Z. , Haluszka J. , Dawi E. B. , Felice G. D. , Al‐Bousafy A. , Zakrzewski J. , Barletta B. , Barreto M. 
Published: January 2005

SummaryBackground
Histamine skin reactivity (HSR, the dimension of the skin weal elicited by histamine 10 mg/mL) is a variable that differs in children from different European countries and increases over time in the same place (Italy).Objective
In this epidemiologic study, we investigated to what extent differences in HSR influence the relationship between positive allergen skin prick tests (ASPTs) and serum‐specific IgE concentrations.Methods
Between October 2001 and February 2002, 591 unselected 9–10‐year‐old schoolchildren drawn from five small towns in central Poland (Starachowice), central Italy (Ronciglione, Guardea) and Libya (Al‐Azyzia, near the Mediterranean sea and Samno, 900 km south of the coast) were analysed for histamine, common ASPT and for serum total and specific IgE.Results
HSR differed markedly in children from the three countries (Libya>Italy>Poland) whereas serum total IgE concentrations remained the same. The prevalence of children with measurable serum specific IgE (0.35 kU) or with a positive ASPT for five common allergens was high in Italy, lower in Poland and far lower in Libya. A 3‐mm ASPT weal corresponded to a serum‐specific IgE concentration that was two to threefold higher in children with low HSR compared with children with high HSR (P=0.008).Conclusion
These findings suggest that HSR – a variable that differs in schoolchildren populations from the three countries studied – independently influences the results of ASPT and its influence should be considered when ASPT are assessed in international studies. The HSR differences found in the populations reported here probably reflect a complex, dynamic, environmental interaction that should be monitored in the different parts of the world.
Fel d 1‐derived T cell peptide therapy induces recruitment of CD4+CD25+; CD4+ interferon‐γ+ T helper type 1 cells to sites of allergen‐induced late‐phase skin reactions in cat‐allergic subjects
Authors: Alexander C. , Ying S. , B. Kay A. , Larché M. 
Published: January 2005

SummaryBackground
Specific immunotherapy with whole allergen extracts is associated with local accumulation of IFN‐γ+ and CD25+ cells indicating recruitment of activated T‐helper type 1 (Th1) and/or T regulatory cells. We have studied allergen‐induced, late‐phase skin biopsies before and after T cell peptide therapy for evidence of alterations in the pattern of local recruitment of Th1, T‐helper type 2 (Th2) and T regulatory cells.Objective
To evaluate the effect of T cell peptide therapy on the allergen‐induced cutaneous late‐phase reaction.Methods
Increasing doses of synthetic Fel d 1‐derived peptides were administered (by intradermal injection) to eight cat‐allergic asthmatics at 14‐day intervals. Twenty‐four‐hour skin biopsies were taken from whole cat allergen‐ and diluent‐injected sites, before and after treatment and studied by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization.Results
Fel‐d 1 peptides decreased airway hyper‐responsiveness (P=0.02) and inhibited the late‐phase cutaneous reaction (LPCR) to whole cat allergen (P=0.03). This was associated with significant increases (post‐ vs. pre‐treatment) in the number of cutaneous CD4+/IFN‐γ+ (P=0.03) and CD4+/CD25+ cells (P=0.04), but not in CD4+/IL‐10+ or CD4+/CTLA‐4+ cells.Conclusions
Treatment with allergen‐derived T cell peptides results in allergen‐dependent recruitment to the skin of Th1, rather than T regulatory cells, to cutaneous late‐phase reaction sites.
Prenatal paracetamol exposure and risk of asthma and elevated immunoglobulin E in childhood
Authors: Shaheen S. O. , Newson R. B. , Henderson A. J. , Headley J. E. , Stratton F. D. , Jones R. W. , Strachan D. P. ,   the ALSPAC Study Team
Published: January 2005

SummaryBackground
We recently found that paracetamol (acetaminophen) use in late pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of early wheezing in the offspring.Objective
To see whether use of paracetamol in late pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of asthma, wheezing and other atopic outcomes in the child at school age.Methods
In the population‐based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we measured associations of paracetamol and aspirin use in late pregnancy (20–32 weeks) with asthma, hayfever, eczema (n=8511) and wheezing (8381) in the offspring at 69–81 months, and with atopy (positive skin prick test to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, cat or grass, n=6527) and blood total IgE (n=5148) at 7 years. We used logistic and linear regression to analyse binary outcomes and log‐transformed IgE, respectively, controlling for potential confounders.Results
Use of paracetamol, but not aspirin, in late pregnancy was positively associated with asthma (odds ratios (ORs), comparing children whose mothers took paracetamol ‘sometimes’ and ‘most days/daily’ with those whose mothers never took it, 1.22 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–1.41) and 1.62 (95% CI: 0.86–3.04), respectively; P trend=0.0037), wheezing (ORs 1.20 (95% CI: 1.02–1.40) and 1.86 (95% CI: 0.98–3.55), respectively; P trend=0.011), and total IgE (geometric mean ratios 1.14 (95% CI: 1.03–1.26) and 1.52 (95% CI: 0.98–2.38), respectively; P trend=0.0034), but not hayfever, eczema or skin test positivity. The proportion of asthma attributable to paracetamol use in late pregnancy, assuming a causal relation, was 7%.Conclusion: Paracetamol exposure in late gestation may cause asthma, wheezing and elevated IgE in children of school age.
Living with a stoma: a review of the literature
Authors: Brown Hannah , Randle Jacqueline 
Published: January 2005

Aims and objectives.  This systematic review looks at the psychological and social impact of stoma surgery on peoples’ lives.Background.  The formation of a stoma can have a negative effect on a person's quality of life and affect lifestyle in a number of ways.Methods.  The review examines nursing literature from 1990 to date and focuses on how stoma patients’ lives are affected by the presence of a stoma. It informs nursing practice so nurses are better able to help individuals improve, maintain or recover their health following ostomy surgery.Results.  The findings of the review indicate that stoma surgery can impact on individuals’ lives in many different ways.Relevance to clinical practice.  Knowledge of the problems stoma patients can experience can help nurses plan care in an individualized way. Recommendations for nursing practice and future research are made.
Experimental evidence for the effects of additional water, nutrients and physical disturbance on invasive plants in low fertility Hawkesbury Sandstone soils, Sydney, Australia
Authors: LEISHMAN MICHELLE R. , THOMSON VIVIEN P. 
Published: January 2005

Summary

The environmental conditions of a site are thought to influence its invasibility by exotic plants. We tested the effects of physical disturbance, water and nutrient addition on growth and survival of a total of 28 plant species from urban bushland remnants on low fertility Hawkesbury Sandstone soils in Sydney, Australia. Species were classified as native (to Australia, including the local community) or exotic (from outside Australia) and as non‐invasive or invasive.
In a glasshouse experiment the treatments were control (natural soil), added water, added nutrients and added water and nutrients. We found significant differences in response of the plant types to additional nutrients but not to water. Under additional nutrients, exotic invasive species had better survival than all other plant types. There were strong biomass responses to added nutrients for all plant types except native non‐invasives. In contrast, the survival and growth of all plant types were similar under control and additional water treatments.
In a field experiment the factors were site (high and low nutrient soils) and physical disturbance but survival differed between plant types only in relation to site. Exotic species had much better survival than native species at the high nutrient site only. Exotic invasive species had the strongest biomass responses to the high nutrient site while native and exotic non‐invasive species showed relatively smaller growth responses.
Differences between invasive and non‐invasive plants were not consistent between exotic and native species. Exotic invasives had greater survival than exotic non‐invasives under high nutrient conditions in both experiments, and only exotic invasives showed consistently strong biomass responses to nutrient addition. For native species, there were no differences between invasives and non‐invasives in survival in high nutrient conditions in the glasshouse or field; however, only invasive species showed a positive growth response to high nutrient conditions.
This study provides clear evidence that the success of exotic invasive species in this low fertility vegetation community is facilitated by the addition of nutrients. It would appear that on relatively infertile (particularly phosphorus‐limited) sites, invasive species cannot take advantage of additional resources provided by physical disturbance or water addition due to overwhelming nutrient‐limitation. We suggest that a combination of the environmental conditions (nutrient‐enrichment) and invading species having traits that allow high survival and faster growth in response to nutrients, may allow successful invasion in Hawkesbury Sandstone communities.
Linking physiological traits to impacts on community structure and function: the role of root hemiparasitic Orobanchaceae (ex‐Scrophulariaceae)
Authors: PHOENIX G. K. , PRESS M. C. 
Published: January 2005

Summary

The hemiparasitic Orobanchaceae (ex‐Scrophulariaceae) are characterized by a distinctive suite of ecophysiological traits. These traits have important impacts on host plants and non‐host plants, and influence interactions with other trophic levels. Ultimately, they can affect community structure and functioning. Here, we review these physiological traits and discuss their ecological consequences.
The root hemiparasitic Orobanchaceae form a convenient subset of the parasitic angiosperms for study because: they are the most numerous and most widely distributed group of parasitic angiosperms; their physiological characteristics have been well studied; they are important in both agricultural and (semi)natural communities; and they are tractable as experimental organisms.
Key traits include: high transpiration rates; competition with the host for nutrients and haustorial metabolism of host‐derived solutes; uptake of host‐derived secondary metabolites; dual autotrophic and heterotrophic carbon nutrition; distinct carbohydrate biochemistry; high nutrient concentrations in green leaf tissue and leaf litter; and small (often hairless and non‐mycorrhizal) roots.
Impacts on the host are detrimental, which can alter competitive balances between hosts and non‐hosts and thus result in community change. Further impacts may result from effects on the abiotic environment, including soil water status, nutrient cycling and leaf/canopy temperatures.
However, for non‐host species and for organisms that interact with these (e.g. herbivores and pollinators) or for those that benefit from changes in the abiotic environment, the parasites may have an overall positive effect, suggesting that at the community level, hemiparasites may also be considered as mutualists.
It is clear that through their distinctive suite of physiological traits hemiparasitic Orobanchaceae, have considerable impacts on community structure and function, can have both competitive and positive interactions with other plants, and can impact on other trophic levels. Many community level effects of parasitic plants can be considered analogous to those of other parasites, predators or herbivores.
Abiotic constraints at the upper boundaries of two Rumex species on a freshwater flooding gradient
Authors: LENSSEN J. P. M. , DE KROON H. 
Published: January 2005

Summary

Competition is widely thought to be responsible for constraining species limits at the favourable ends of freshwater flooding gradients. However, field studies testing this idea rarely consider the role of competition beyond a species’ field distribution limits.
To test whether species distributions are, instead, constrained by physiological limits, and only narrowed by biotic interactions, we measured the effect of competition on survival and fecundity of Rumex crispus and Rumex palustris within and above their distribution range along an elevation gradient in a river floodplain.
Flooding reduced the fitness of both species at the lowest elevations. A decline in fitness was also noticed at the two highest elevations in control as well as in removal plots, although standing crop measurements indicated that conditions here were the most favourable.
Both leaf herbivore damage and likeliness of drought increased with elevation. Because herbivore damage only reinforced prevailing abiotic influences, drought appeared to be the strongest constraint at higher positions.
Competition merely narrowed both species’ physiological ranges by displacing them downwards from their optimum and maximum elevation. The displacement was strongest for the weak competitor Rumex palustris.
Our study provides experimental field evidence for earlier suggestions that both ends of a species niche can be defined in hydrological terms. It thus indicates that spatial variability in water availability may segregate species niches and thereby promote species richness in plant communities.
Plant zonation in low‐latitude salt marshes: disentangling the roles of flooding, salinity and competition
Authors: PENNINGS STEVEN C. , GRANT MARY‐BESTOR , BERTNESS MARK D. 
Published: January 2005

Summary

We investigated the factors producing zonation patterns of the dominant plants in south‐eastern USA salt marshes where Juncus roemerianus dominates the high marsh, and Spartina alterniflora the middle and low marsh.
Juncus did not occur naturally in the Spartina zone and performed poorly when transplanted there, irrespective of whether neighbours were present or removed, indicating that its lower limit was set by physical stress.
In contrast, although Spartina occurred naturally at low densities in the Juncus zone, it performed well if transplanted there only if neighbours were removed, indicating that its upper limit was set by competition.
Parallel laboratory and field manipulations of flooding, salinity and competition indicated that the lower limit of Juncus was mediated by both flooding and salinity, but not by competition.
The general mechanisms producing zonation patterns of vegetation in coastal salt marshes may be universal, as suggested by previous studies, but the importance of particular factors is likely to vary geographically. In particular, salinity stress probably plays a much more important role in mediating plant zonation patterns at lower latitudes.
Our results suggest that the nature of ecological interactions is likely to vary geographically because of variation in the physical environment, and this variation must be taken into account in order to successfully generalize the results of field studies across geographical scales.
Why the need to reduce medical errors is not obvious
Authors: Buetow Stephen 
Published: January 2005

AbstractAccording to Leape & Berwick (2000) the need to reduce medical errors is ‘obvious and the mandate is clear’. My article questions this assertion. I go beyond the unknown incidence of medical errors in a general medical population to suggest that the meaning of medical errors is itself equivocal. I contest the assumption that the ‘wrongness’ of medical errors is always problematic, arguing instead for a distinction between desirable errors and undesirable errors. This distinction takes into account the consequences of errors, and why they may occur. Reasons include the inappropriateness of two cultural contexts – evidence‐based medicine and continuous quality improvement – within which patient safety standards can be constructed and hence, medical errors can be defined.