bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Arabidopsis mutants in the C–S lyase of glucosinolate biosynthesis establish a critical role for indole‐3‐acetaldoxime in auxin homeostasis
Authors: Mikkelsen Michael Dalgaard , Naur Peter , Halkier Barbara Ann 
Published: February 2004

SummaryWe report characterization of SUPERROOT1 (SUR1) as the C–S lyase in glucosinolate biosynthesis. This is evidenced by selective metabolite profiling of sur1, which is completely devoid of aliphatic and indole glucosinolates. Furthermore, following in vivo feeding with radiolabeled p‐hydroxyphenylacetaldoxime to the sur1 mutant, the corresponding C–S lyase substrate accumulated. C–S lyase activity of recombinant SUR1 heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli was demonstrated using the C–S lyase substrate djenkolic acid. The abolishment of glucosinolates in sur1 indicates that the SUR1 function is not redundant and thus SUR1 constitutes a single gene family. This suggests that the ‘high‐auxin’ phenotype of sur1 is caused by accumulation of endogenous C–S lyase substrates as well as aldoximes, including indole‐3‐acetaldoxime (IAOx) that is channeled into the main auxin indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA). Thereby, the cause of the ‘high‐auxin’ phenotype of sur1 mutant resembles that of two other ‘high‐auxin’ mutants, superroot2 (sur2) and yucca1. Our findings provide important insight to the critical role IAOx plays in auxin homeostasis as a key branching point between primary and secondary metabolism, and define a framework for further dissection of auxin biosynthesis.
Directed Credit? The Loan Market in High‐Growth Japan
Authors: Miwa Yoshiro , Ramseyer J. Mark 
Published: February 2004

Observers routinely claim that the Japanese government of the high‐growth 1960s and 1970s rationed and ultimately directed credit. It barred domestic competitors to banks, insulated the domestic capital market from international competitive pressure, and capped loan interest rates. In the resulting credit shortage, it promoted industrial policy by rationing credit. As much as the government purported to ration and to direct credit, it apparently accomplished nothing of the sort. It did not block domestic rivals to banks successfully, did not insulate the market from international forces, and did not set maximum interest rates that bound. Using evidence on loans to all 1,000‐odd firms listed on Section 1 of the Tokyo Stock Exchange from 1968 to 1982, we find that observed interest rates reflected borrower risk and mortgageable assets and that banks did not use low‐interest deposits to circumvent any interest caps. Instead, the loan market seems to have cleared at the nominal rates. We follow our empirical inquiry with a case study of the industry to which the government tried hardest to direct credit: ocean shipping. We find no evidence of credit rationing. Despite the government programs to allocate capital, nonconformist firms funded their projects readily outside authorized avenues. Indeed, they funded them so readily that the nonconformists grew with spectacular speed and earned their investors enormous returns.
Construction of a recombinant adenovirus carrying endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene and its expression and control in esophageal smooth muscle cells
Authors: Ning Shou Bin , Zhang Zhong Bing , Xie Wei Fen , Xin Shuan Li 
Published: February 2004

OBJECTIVE:  Nitric oxide (NO) is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter, and its deficiency plays an important role in the pathogenesis of motility disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. The present study was designed to generate a recombinant adenovirus containing the tetracycline (Tet)‐regulated endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene and to detect the controllable expression of the gene in esophageal smooth muscle cells (ESMC).METHODS:  The construction of the recombinant adenovirus was completed in three steps: (1) a Tet‐responsible expression cassette was made by cloning the full‐length cDNA encoding eNOS into a pTRE‐Shuttle Vector, which can be regulated by tetracycline or its analogs, such as doxycycline (Dox); (2) the expression cassette was transferred to Adeno‐X viral DNA to form a recombinant adenoviral plasmid (pAd‐eNOS) by means of an in vitro ligation reaction; and (3) the Ad‐eNOS was packaged into infectious adenoviral particles (Adeno‐X–TRE‐eNOS) by transfecting human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells. Cultured ESMC were coinfected by Adeno‐X–TRE‐eNOS and regulation virus (Adeno‐X Tet‐off virus), and the Dox‐regulated eNOS expression was detected by RT‐PCR and western blot.RESULTS:  The recombinant adenovirus (Adeno‐X–TRE‐eNOS) was generated successfully by an in vitro ligation reaction. The expression of the eNOS gene in the coinfected ESMC was confirmed by RT‐PCR and western blot. Furthermore, the transcription could be precisely regulated in a dose‐dependent manner in a series of concentrations of Dox, and it was completely turned off when the concentration reached 0.01 µg/mL.CONCLUSIONS:  A Tet‐ (or Dox‐) regulated recombinant adenovirus carrying eNOS was successfully generated and controllable expression of eNOS in ESMC was achieved, which provides some material for conducting further gene therapy studies with eNOS.
Changes in endothelin‐1 gene expression in the gastric mucosa of rats under cold‐restraint‐stress
Authors: Duan Yi Min , Li Zhao Shen , Zhan Xian Bao , Xu Guo Ming , Tu Zhen Xing , Fang Gong Yan 
Published: February 2004

OBJECTIVE:  To investigate in rats the role of endothelin (ET)‐1 gene expression in the development and progression of acute gastric mucosal lesions (AGML) induced by stress, and the effect of BQ‐123 (a special ETA receptor antagonist) on the AGML.METHODS:  A rat model of gastric ulcer induced by cold‐restraint‐stress (CRS) was used. ET‐1 concentrations in the plasma and gastric mucosa were determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA), gastric mucosa blood flow (GMBF) was measured with a laser Doppler flow meter, the ulcer index (UI) was used to estimate the degree of gastric mucosa damage and the expression levels of ET‐1 mRNA in the gastric mucosa were measured using dot blot and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). Different doses of BQ‐123 were administered via the left femoral vein prior to the stress in order to observe the effects of BQ‐123 on the ET‐1 concentrations in the plasma and gastric mucosa, the GMBF and the UI.RESULTS:  Compared with the normal controls, the ET‐1 concentrations in the plasma and gastric mucosa of the stressed rats were increased significantly (P < 0.05), the GMBF was decreased markedly (P < 0.01), and the UI increased dramatically (P < 0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between the gastric mucosal ET‐1 concentration and the UI (r = 0.98, P < 0.01), and a significant negative correlation between the gastric mucosal ET‐1 concentration and GMBF (r = −0.89, P < 0.01) and also between the UI and GMBF (r = −0.98, P < 0.01). The expression level of ET‐1 mRNA in the gastric mucosa of the stressed rats increased significantly compared with that of the normal controls (P < 0.01), and there was a positive correlation between the expression of ET‐1 mRNA and the ET‐1 concentration in the gastric mucosa (r = 0.93, P < 0.01). Compared with the untreated animals, the GMBF was increased (P < 0.01) and the UI decreased significantly (P < 0.01) in the BQ‐123‐treated rats, and the dose of BQ‐123 correlated with the degree of change in the GMBF and UI; however, the ET‐1 concentrations of either the plasma or the gastric mucosa did not change markedly in the BQ‐123‐treated animals (P > 0.05).CONCLUSION:  The present study showed that the level of expression of ET‐1 mRNA and the synthesis of ET‐1 in the gastric mucosa both increased significantly, which suggests that the increased concentration of endogenous ET‐1 may be involved in the development and progression of stress ulcer (acute gastric mucosa lesion). The mechanism of action may be associated with a reduction of GMBF induced by ETAR‐mediated vasoconstriction. BQ‐123 can dose‐dependently attenuate significantly the degree of damage to the gastric mucosa induced by stress, and may have therapeutic benefits for stress ulcer.
Changes in somatostatin receptor expression of the pancreas and effectiveness of octreotide in rats with acute necrotizng pancreatitis
Authors: Wu Jian Xin , Yuan Yao Zong , Xu Jia Yu , Xia Zong Qin , Qin Lan Feng , Zheng Zheng Lin , Li Ding Guo , Lu Han Ming 
Published: February 2004

OBJECTIVE:  To investigate changes in the expression of the somatostatin receptor (SSTR) of the pancreas and of pancreatic blood flow, and its relationship to the metabolism of eicosanoids in order to elucidate the effectiveness of octreotide, an analog of somatostatin, in acute necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP).METHODS:  A model of ANP was induced in rats with injection of sodium taurocholate via the pancreaticobiliary duct. The SSTR was detected using a radioligand binding assay (RBA) with 125I‐somatostatin‐14, and the SSTR2 mRNA of the pancreas was analyzed using in situ hybridization. Pancreatic blood flow and the metabolites of eicosanoids were also determined.RESULTS:  The SSTR of the pancreas was 109.70 ± 58.32 fmol/mg protein in normal rats. A significant decrease in the SSTR, together with the signals of SSTR2 mRNA, was shown at 3, 6 and 12 h after onset of ANP. Pancreatic blood flow was reduced and thromboxin‐2 was increased significantly in the course of ANP. In the ANP group treated with octreotide, both the decrease in pancreatic blood flow and the abnormal metabolism of eicosanoids were corrected, and the pathological damage was relieved.CONCLUSION:  SSTR expression of the pancreas is significantly reduced in ANP. Correction of the abnormal metabolism of eicosanoids and improvement in pancreatic microcirculation may be the major mechanism of somatostatin analogs in the treatment of ANP and inhibition of pancreatic enzymes via their receptors plays a minor role.
Audit of consultant physicians’ reply letters for referrals to clinics in a tertiary teaching hospital
Authors: Scott I. A. , Mitchell C. A. , Logan E. 
Published: February 2004

Abstract Background: Doctors referring patients to consultant physicians seek reply letters which both educate and assist in ongoing patient management. Highly desirable attributes in specialist letters include clearly stated and justified: (i) diagnostic formulations, (ii) management regimens, (iii) use of clinical investigations, (iv) prog‐nostic statements, (v) contingency plans and (vi) follow‐up arrangements.Aim:  To explicitly evaluate the quality of reply letters for new patients referred to clinics at a tertiary teaching hospital.Methods:  Letters were sampled from outpatient clinics of 10 different medical specialties at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Reply letters for new patient referrals between 1 August 2000 and 31 October 2000 were retrieved, from which data were abstracted to calculate the proportion of letters satisfying prespecified quality attributes.Results:  Of 297 new patient referrals, reply letters were retrieved for 204 (69%). Of these, 147 (72%) referrals were accompanied by a referral letter, mostly (113/147; 77%) from general practitioners. For 120 referrals involving diagnostic issues, 69 (56%) letters stated a diagnostic formulation. Of 114 letters recommending further clinical investigations, 61 (53%) described a rationale for such testing. In 125 cases where therapy was a key issue, 83 (66%) letters recommended changes to current treatment for which reasons were specified in 46 (55%) cases, and contingency plans provided in 13 (16%). Prognosis was mentioned in only 18 (9%) cases. Follow‐up arrangements were detailed in 123 (60%) letters. Assessments of patient understanding and likely adherence to therapy were stated in less than 15% of ­letters.Conclusions: Opportunities exist for improving quality of consultant physicians’ reply letters in terms of greater use of problem lists, contingency plans, prognostic statements and patient‐centred assessments, as well as more frequent enunciation of consultants’ reasoning behind requests for further tests and changes to current management. Use of structured letter templates may facilitate more consistent inclusion of key information to referring doctors. (Intern Med J 2004; 34: 31−37)
Renal impairment and anaemia in a population‐based study of older people
Authors: Cumming R. G. , Mitchell P. , Craig J. C. , Knight J. F. 
Published: February 2004

Abstract Background: Established renal failure is a known cause of anaemia. However, the association between more modest levels of renal impairment and anaemia is unclear.Aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between mild renal impairment and anaemia in the general population.Methods: A population‐based, cross‐sectional study was conducted in the general community in an urban area of the Blue Mountains, just west of Sydney, Australia. The study included 3222 people aged ≥49 years (mean age 65 years). Serum creatinine and haemoglobin were measured using standard laboratory techniques. Creatinine clearance was estimated from serum creatinine, body weight, sex and age.Results:  Two hundred and seventy subjects (8.4%) had serum creatinine levels ≥125 µmol/L and estimated ­creatinine clearances were <0.84 mL/s (50 mL/min) in 894 subjects (27.7%) and <0.50 mL/s (30 mL/min) in 120 subjects (3.7%). There was a strong association between reduced renal function and anaemia. Compared to those with serum creatinine <125 µmol/L, the age‐adjusted relative risk (RR) of anaemia in women (haemoglobin <12.0 g/dL) with serum creatinine ≥125 µmol/L was 5.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.9−10.7) and the RR of anaemia in men (haemoglobin < 13.0 g/dL) was 3.1 (95% CI 1.6−6.0). Estimated ­creatinine clearance <50 mL/min was associated with a three‐fold increased risk of anaemia in women and a five‐fold increased risk in men.Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that even modestly impaired renal function is associated with anaemia in older men and women. The possibility of renal impairment should be considered in the diagnosis and management of anaemia in people aged>50 years. (Intern Med J 2004; 34: 20−23)
Low prevalence of autoimmune diabetes markers in a mixed ethnic population of Singaporean diabetics
Authors: Todd A. L. , Ng W. Y. , Lui K. F. , Thai A. C. 
Published: February 2004

Abstract Background:  Circulating antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADab) and tyrosine phosphatase‐like molecule IA‐2 (IA‐2ab) are major indicators for auto­immune destruction of pancreatic islet cells. They identify a majority of Caucasians with type 1 diabetes and approximately 50% of Asians, providing evidence of an idiopathic aetiology in the latter. The present study investigated these autoantibodies in a mixed ethnic group.Methods:  Hospital clinic patients with clinically defined type 1 (n = 93) and type 2 (n = 300) diabetes and representing Singapore's major ethnic groups − Chinese, Indians and Malays − were studied. GADab and IA‐2ab frequencies, and association of autoimmunity status with clinical and biochemical profiles were analysed.Results:  Radio‐immunoprecipitation assays detected either or both antibodies (seropositivity) in 41.9% of subjects with type 1 diabetes. GADab was detected in 36.6% and IA‐2ab in 23.7% of type 1 diabetics. Prevalence of IA‐2ab showed a reduction in frequency with disease duration (P = 0.026). In clinical type 2 diabetics, seropositivity was 10.0% with higher frequency in Malays (17.5%) than Chinese (9.7%) and Indians (4.5%). Multivariate analysis revealed that low fasting C‐peptide was associated with seropositivity (odds ratio (OR) = 0.15; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.04−0.58). A significant relationship (OR = 13.5; 95% CI = 5.0−36.7) between insulin requirement and duration (>5 years) was also revealed. In patients with type 2 diabetes there was a trend of gradual progression to insulin dependency. However, there was considerable variation in body mass index between ethnic subgroups of type 2 diabetics, particularly for Chinese (mean (SD) = 26.0 (4.7)) and Malays (mean (SD) = 29.2 (5.9); P < 0.001).Conclusions:  Presence of both antibodies in our mixed ethnic group of type 1 diabetes patients was much lower than in Caucasians. Significant numbers of patients were seronegative for antibodies. Influences due to ethnicity and adiposity would require further investigations. (Intern Med J 2004; 34: 24−30)
Ross River virus disease in Australia: epidemiology, socioecology and public health response
Authors: Tong S. 
Published: February 2004

Abstract Societal and ecosystem change have a potentially profound impact of on human health and well‐being. Alteration in the pattern of infectious diseases could be one of the most significant results of this process. Arboviral infections are a global public health issue with significant morbidity and mortality burden in the human population. Ross River virus (RRV) infection is the most common arboviral disease in Australia and some Pacific island nations. The present paper aims to illustrate the epidemiological and socioecological implications of RRV infection in Australia and to make recommen­dations for public health response to this disease. (Intern Med J 2004; 34: 58−60)
Diagnostic screening of mitochondrial DNA mutations in Australian adults 1990–2001
Authors: Marotta R. , Chin J. , Quigley A. , Katsabanis S. , Kapsa R. , Byrne E. , Collins S. 
Published: February 2004

Abstract Background: Many diverse pathogenic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations have been described since 1988. The Melbourne Neuromuscular Research Institute (MNRI) has undertaken diagnostic detection of selected mtDNA mutations since 1990. MtDNA mutations screened have included point mutations associated with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON; G3460A, G11778A and T14484C), mitochondrial encephalopathy lactic acidosis and stroke‐like episodes (MELAS; A3243G), myoclonus epilepsy and ragged red fibres (MERRF; A8344G) and Leigh's syndrome/neuropathy ataxia retinitis pigmentosa (LS/NARP; T8993C/G). Samples have also been screened for deletions/ rearrangements associated with Kearns–Sayre syndrome (KSS) and chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO). Aims: To present an audit of the MNRI mtDNA diagnostic service between 1990 and 2001, encompassing 1725 referred patients. Methods: The detection techniques carried out included polymerase chain reaction amplification of mtDNA combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis for mtDNA point mutation detection, supplemented with selected sequence analysis and Southern blots for the detection of deletions/ rearrangements. Tissues tested included blood, hair and skeletal muscle. Results: Of the 1184 patients screened for MELAS A3243G, 6.17% were positive for the mutation, whereas for MERRF A8344G, 2.21% carried the mutation and for LS/NARP T8993C/G, 0.32% carried the mutation. The outcomes for the LHON mutations were G11778A, 6.60%, T14484C, 5.76% and G3460A, 0.29%. Of the patients referred for KSS and CPEO, 17.72% had deletions/rearrangements. Conclusions: Overall, the detection rate of mtDNA point mutations was low. The protean clinical features of mitochondrial disorders and the frequency of partial phenotypes lead to requests for tests in many patients with a relatively low likelihood of mtDNA mutations. An improved algorithm could involve mutation screening appropriate to the phenotype using sequencing of selected mtDNA regions in patients with a high likelihood of mtDNA disease. Features increasing the likelihood of mtDNA mutations include the following: (i) a typical phenotype, (ii) a maternal inheritance pattern and (iii) histochemical evidence of mitochondrial abnormality in the muscle biopsy. Efficient laboratory diagnosis of mtDNA disease involves good communication between the physician and laboratory scientists, coupled with screening of the appropriate tissue. (Intern Med J 2004; 34: 10–19)
Richard Cork: Advocate of New Art
Authors: Walker John A. 
Published: February 2004

Books reviewed in this article:Richard Cork, Everything Seemed Possible: Art in the 1970sRichard Cork, New Spirit, New Sculpture, New Money: Art in the 1980sRichard Cork, Breaking Down The Barriers: Art in the 1990sRichard Cork, Annus Mirabilis? Art in the Year 2000
Metaphor and the Reshaping of Our Cognitive Fabric
Authors: Birner Betty J. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractMary Gerhart and Allan Russell view our world of meanings as a fabric of concepts and relations. Metaphor bends this fabric, superimposing one concept on another. While Gerhart and Russell are right to view metaphor as a cognitive rather than a purely linguistic phenomenon, their model misses the danger inherent in a cognitive restructuring that leaves some features of a concept highlighted and others backgrounded. When the bending of the conceptual fabric becomes permanent, the essential metaphorical insight is lost, leaving a skewed understanding of reality. We have a tendency to retain the metaphorically altered cognitive topography while forgetting its nonliteral genesis. Thus, the metaphoric process is one from which proceeds not only insight but also, necessarily, misconception.
Paul Tillich and Pitirim A. Sorokin on Love
Authors: Clifford Mary Montgomery 
Published: February 2004

AbstractAn analysis of Paul Tillich's three‐volume Systematic Theology and Pitirim A. Sorokin's The Ways and Power of Love: Types, Factors, and Techniques of Moral Transformation reveals how a metaphysical dialogue on God and love contributes to scientific and theological scholarship on altruism. This article focuses on similarities and differences in Tillich and Sorokin. Similarities include a belief in the importance of the ontological/love connection and the conclusion that a special state, ecstasy, is integral to the experience of genuine love. Differences serve to complement rather than negate. For example, Tillich's recognition that ecstatic connections with the divine within finitude are fragmentary balances Sorokin's view that these ecstatic peaks are reached only by the few. The similarities give resonance and point to the overall creation, while the differences often serve as counterpoint to balance the ideas of the scientist and the theologian.
Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology
Authors: Winkelman Michael 
Published: February 2004

AbstractNeurotheological approaches provide an important bridge between scientific and religious perspectives. These approaches have, however, generally neglected the implications of a primordial form of spiritual healing—shamanism. Cross‐cultural studies establish the universality of shamanic practices in hunter‐gatherer societies around the world and across time. These universal principles of shamanism reflect underlying neurological processes and provide a basis for an evolutionary theology. The shamanic paradigm involves basic brain processes, neurognostic structures, and innate brain modules. This approach reveals that universals of shamanism such as animism, totemism, soul flight, animal spirits, and death‐and‐rebirth experiences reflect fundamental brain operations and structures of consciousness. The shamanic paradigm can contribute to a reconciliation of scientific and religious perspectives by providing a universalistic biopsychosocial framework that explicates the biological underpinnings of spiritual experiences and practices and provides a basis for neurotheology and evolutionary theology approaches.