bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular end‐systolic elastance in the elderly
Authors: de Santis Domenico , Abete Pasquale , Testa Gianluca , Cacciatore Francesco , Galizia Gianluigi , Leosco Dario , Viati Luisa , Villano Vincenzo Del , Morte David Della , Mazzella Francesca , Ferrara Nicola , Rengo Franco 
Published: March 2005

AbstractBackgroundThe aging heart is characterized by structural changes, which are implicated in the development of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. However, important changes in systolic function may also occur. Left ventricular end‐systolic elastance (Ees) is a major determinant of cardiac systolic function and ventricular—arterial interaction.AimTo evaluate left‐ventricular Ees in elderly subjects compared with adult control subjects.MethodsWe studied dilated (DA, n=14) and hypertensive (HA, n=21) cardiomyopathy patients, and both adult control (A, n=25; age 55.6±6.6 years) and elderly (E, n=25; age 76.3±7.1 years) subjects without clinical–instrumental evidence of cardiovascular disease. M‐mode, two‐dimensional, and pulsed Doppler echocardiogram were performed. Doppler‐derived indices of diastolic function were assessed and Ees was calculated by a modified single‐beat method.ResultsEes was reduced in dilated cardiomyopathy (1.32±0.10 mm Hg/ml) and increased in hypertensive cardiomyopathy (3.12±0.33 mm Hg/ml) patients compared to age‐matched control subjects (1.96±0.26 mm Hg/ml; p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively). More importantly, Ees was higher in the elderly (2.52±0.70 mm Hg/ml) than in the adult control group (p<0.05) and was linearly correlated with age (r2=0.639; p<0.0001).ConclusionAge‐related increase in Ees, together with diastolic dysfunction, may lead to aging heart decompensation.
Assessing the impact of fisheries on demersal fish assemblages of the Mauritanian continental shelf, 1987–1999, using dominance curves
Authors: Jouffre Didier , Inejih Cheikh A. 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
The assemblages of demersal fish and associated species of the Mauritanian continental shelf are characterized on the basis of annual trawl surveys conducted during the period 1987–1999. Species composition is dominated by exploited species (Dentex spp., Pagellus bellottii, and Octopus vulgaris). Dominance curves (Abundance Biomass Comparison plots) were used to evaluate the impact of fisheries, which have increased in magnitude over several decades. The diagnosis of a “stressed” assemblage seems to converge with the results of a similar study conducted off Senegal, but here there was no trend in impact during the period of study. The sensitivity of the present results to the various ways of considering the available taxonomic information is also analysed.
Indirect economic indicators in bio-economic fishery models: agricultural price indicators and fish stocks in Lake Victoria
Authors: Simonit Silvio , Perrings Charles 
Published: March 2005

AbstractWe consider the potential for using prices as leading indicators of changes in stocks and yields in the freshwater capture fishery in Lake Victoria. Fertilizer run-off from agricultural land is a major cause of nutrient loading, along with soil erosion, atmospheric deposition, and point pollution from industrial and domestic affluent. The interactions between fertilizer applications, water quality, fish stocks, and yields are modelled in order to predict the effect of changes in the price of fertilizers on the fishery. The fishery model includes a measure of Chl a concentration (a proxy for phytoplankton density). The consequences of changes in Chl a concentration for fish stocks are modelled using Ecopath. We show that fertilizer prices are effective leading indicators of changes in fish biomass and yield.
Post-anthesis nitrogen accumulation and distribution among grains in spring wheat spikes
Authors: ANDERSSON A. , JOHANSSON E. , OSCARSON P. 
Published: March 2005

Knowledge of nitrogen accumulation to the grains is of great importance for identifying breeding and growing strategies to improve cereal yield and quality. The aim of this study was to investigate post-anthesis N translocation in the spike and into different spikelets of two cultivars of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown to maturity in solution culture. Sport (short grain filling time, low yield and high grain protein concentration) and WL (normal grain filling time, high yield and low protein concentration) were the cultivars used. Plants received stepwise declining rates of N on a daily basis, until 109 days after planting (DAP). Anthesis for cv. Sport was 92 DAP and for cv. WL 78 DAP. On seven occasions (from anthesis in cv. WL until maturity), 15N was given to selected groups of plants for 4 days. Then these plants were sampled and separated into plant parts. Spikelets and grains were separated according to spikelet position. Plant parts were weighed and analysed for N and 15N.The N concentration in the grains was uniform for the spikelets in cv. WL but differed in cv. Sport. Final N concentration in a spikelet position was obtained at 126 DAP in cv. Sport and 112 DAP in cv. WL and was constant to the end of experiment at 154 DAP in cv. Sport and 147 DAP in cv. WL. A positive correlation between % atom excess 15N to spikelet position numbered from the base of the spike was exhibited in the lowermost part of the spike just after anthesis. Later, during grain filling, a negative correlation between % atom excess 15N to spikelet position was exhibited (−0·991 P=0·000). A positive correlation between % atom excess 15N to grain weight in the top of the spike was exhibited. Accumulation of 15N proceeded 14 days longer in the lowermost fertile spikelets than in the uppermost spikelets. It was concluded that the duration of N accumulation in the spikelets was dependent on spikelet position and uppermost spikelets had a shorter N accumulation period and contained lighter grains than lowermost spikelets.
Decomposable form equations without the finiteness property
Authors: Chen Zhihua , Ru Min 
Published: March 2005

Let

K
K

be a finitely generated (but not necessarily algebraic) extension field of

Q

{\mathbb {Q}}

. Let

F
(

X

)
=
F
(

X

1

,
…
,

X

m

)

F({\mathbf {X}})=F(X_{1}, \dots , X_{m})

be a form (homogeneous polynomial) in

m
≥
2

m \ge 2

variables with coefficients in

K
K

, and suppose that

F
F

is decomposable (i.e., that it factorizes into linear factors over some finite extension of

K
K

). We say that

F
F

has the finiteness property over

K
K

if for every

b
∈

K

∗

b \in K^{*}

(here

K

∗

K^{*}

denotes the set of non-zero elements in

K
K

) and for every subring

R
R

of

K
K

which is finitely generated over

Z

{\mathbb {Z}}

, the equation

F
(

x

)
=
b

in

x

=
(

x

1

,
…
,

x

m

)
∈

R

m

\begin{equation*} F({\mathbf {x}})=b ~~~\text {in} ~~~~{\mathbf {x}}=(x_{1}, \dots , x_{m})\in R^{m}\end{equation*}

has only finitely many solutions. This paper proves the following result: Let

F
F

be a decomposable form in

m
≥
2

m \ge 2

variables with coefficients in

K
K

, which factorizes into linear factors over

K
K

. Let

L

{\mathcal {L}}

denote a maximal set of pairwise linearly independent linear factors of

F
F

. If

F
F

has the finiteness property over

K
K

, then

#

L

>
2
(
m
−
1
)

\#{\mathcal {L}} > 2(m-1)

.
Two Hundred Years of Political Theatre in Vienna
Authors: Yates W.E. 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThe intellectual and political climate of Vienna has long seemed hostile to political theatre, which was indeed forbidden for most of the nineteenth century. But Grillparzer's evocation of a public that perceived even the 1848 revolution as theatre exemplifies the centrality of theatre in cultural life, which has meant that even when politics was not its overt subject it has functioned as a showcase for political issues. Examples central to Viennese theatre tradition are cited to support the argument that historically this has indeed been one of the most important functions of theatre in Vienna, so qualifying in relation to the Burgtheater the kind of criticism developed in Eugen Klingenberg's recent polemical history. That in the Metternich period theatre reviews were the chief organ of public debate is exemplified by the reception of Nestroy and treatment of the emancipation of women. Later, implicitly political themes recur, as for instance in Hofmannsthal and Schnitzler. More recently, the controversy surrounding Claus Peymann's direction of the Burgtheater follows a long‐standing pattern whereby political issues, in this case centring on the identity of Austria, have been fought out at one remove in the theatrical culture of the city.
Plant strategies and trait trade‐offs influence trends in competitive ability along gradients of soil fertility and disturbance
Authors: FYNN R.W.S. , MORRIS C.D. , KIRKMAN K.P. 
Published: March 2005

SummaryWe present evidence of trade‐offs in competitive ability among five perennial C4grass species at different levels of soil fertility and disturbance in a garden experiment in KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa.Our goals were to examine plant strategy theory, using grass species that differed widely in various traits and in their response to environmental influences. More specifically, we wished to examine whether the importance of competition was less in low fertility or regularly disturbed environments (stressed environments) than in more fertile or undisturbed conditions, and whether species made trade‐offs in competitive ability along such stress gradients.The trend in the competitive ability of two species in mixture along a soil fertility gradient tended to be inversely related if one had narrow and the other broad leaves or they differed in height, providing strong evidence for trait trade‐offs. Thus, a tall broad‐leaved species,Panicum maximum, was the most competitive species in fertile subplots, whereas a tall narrow‐leaved species,Hyparrhenia hirta, was the most competitive species in infertile subplots, but no difference in competitive ability across a fertility gradient was observed when both species in a mixture had similar traits.Regular cutting altered competitive interactions amongst species resulting in a short species,Themeda triandra, having a greater competitive effect on neighbours and a better response to neighbours in cut than in the less stressed uncut treatments, suggesting a trade‐off for competitive ability in regularly disturbed habitats. However, cutting only improved the performance ofT. triandraagainstP. maximumin infertile subplots.We demonstrated that for some, but not all, mixtures of species, competitive hierarchies may reverse along gradients of soil fertility and disturbance. Moreover, soil fertility and disturbance may interact in their effect on competitive interactions. Thus, soil fertility and disturbance form the major axes of an ecological framework for understanding plant competitive interactions.
Correlation between severity of thyroid dysfunction and renal function
Authors: Den Hollander Jan G. , Wulkan Remi W. , Mantel Mart J. , Berghout Arie 
Published: March 2005

SummaryObjective  Renal function is profoundly influenced by thyroid status; however, this has not been studied in detail in human subjects. The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between renal function and thyroid status before and after treatment for hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, respectively.Design and patients  In 37 consecutive hypothyroid and 14 hyperthyroid patients renal function as measured by plasma creatinine and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) [based on the modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) formula] was determined before treatment and after regaining euthyroidism.Results  Renal function improved significantly during treatment of hypothyroidism and decreased during treatment of hyperthyroidism. There was a strong correlation between the change in thyroid status determined as the ratio log10(fT4 post‐treatment/fT4 pretreatment) and the change in renal function as a result of therapy expressed as serum creatinine (r2 = 0·81, P < 0·0001) and estimated GFR (0·69, P < 0·0001).Conclusion  The kidney is an important target of thyroid hormone action.
Growth hormone response to arginine test distinguishes multiple system atrophy from Parkinson's disease and idiopathic late‐onset cerebellar ataxia
Authors: Pellecchia Maria Teresa , Pivonello Rosario , Salvatore Elena , Faggiano Antongiulio , Barone Paolo , De Michele Giuseppe , Lombardi Gaetano , Colao Annamaria , Filla Alessandro 
Published: March 2005

SummaryObjective Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is difficult to distinguish from idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and idiopathic late‐onset cerebellar ataxia (ILOCA). This study aimed to evaluate GH response to three different GH stimulation tests in order to establish a reliable test to differentiate these degenerative disorders.Design Twelve patients with MSA, 10 with PD, eight with ILOCA and 30 healthy controls entered the study. They were submitted to clonidine, arginine, and GH‐releasing‐hormone (GHRH) + arginine tests in a random manner on three different nonconsecutive days. The peak serum GH response was used as a primary variable for analysis of stimulation tests. By ROC analysis, the optimum cut‐off level was considered as the cut‐off with the maximal sum of sensitivity and specificity.Results After clonidine administration, GH peak was significantly lower in patients with MSA than in those with ILOCA (P < 0·05) and in the controls (P < 0·001). At the optimum cut‐off level of 5 mU/l, the clonidine test distinguished patients with MSA from those with PD with a sensitivity and specificity of 78%. Moreover, this test distinguished patients with MSA from those with ILOCA with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 75% at a cut‐off level of 5 mU/l, and with a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 100% at the cut‐off level of 7·6 mU/l. After arginine administration, the GH peak was significantly lower in patients with MSA than in those with ILOCA (P = 0·001) and in controls (P < 0·001). At the optimum cut‐off level of 5 mU/l, the arginine test distinguished patients with MSA from those with PD with a sensitivity and a specificity of 100%. At a GH peak cut‐off value of 3·6 mU/l the arginine test distinguished patients with MSA from those with ILOCA with a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. After GHRH + arginine administration, a significant GH increase was found in all groups of patients and controls.Conclusions The GH response to arginine administration is impaired in MSA. Therefore, the arginine test showed the highest diagnostic accuracy to distinguish MSA from both PD and ILOCA, and could be used in the clinical practice of these neurodegenerative diseases.
Circulating levels of angiogenic cytokines can predict tumour progression and prognosis in neuroendocrine carcinomas
Authors: Pavel Marianne E. , Hassler Gerda , Baum Ulrich , Hahn Eckhart G. , Lohmann Tobias , Schuppan Detlef 
Published: March 2005

SummaryObjective The growth behaviour of well‐differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas of the gastro‐entero‐pancreatic system varies greatly and parameters predicting their prognosis are lacking. The aim of our study was to investigate whether tumour growth could be correlated with the release of proangiogenic factors into the circulation.Patients and methods Circulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin‐8 (IL‐8), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and angiogenin were measured in 38 patients with advanced neuroendocrine carcinomas and compared to healthy age‐matched controls. In 20 patients, angiogenic cytokine levels were measured at consecutive time points and correlated to tumour progression as assessed by abdominal CT scan, MRI and chromogranin A levels.Results VEGF levels were elevated in patients compared to controls (P < 0·002) and clearly associated with tumour progression (P < 0·005). Angiogenin levels were significantly higher in patients than in controls (P < 0·003), while high IL‐8 levels were predictive of shorter survival. Angiogenin and bFGF levels were correlated neither with tumour growth nor with patient survival.Conclusions VEGF and IL‐8 are associated with tumour progression and might qualify as markers of prognosis and therapy control in patients with neuroendocrine carcinomas. Our results support the notion that specific anti‐angiogenic therapies should be evaluated in neuroendocrine carcinoma patients.
Final adult height and body mass index after cure of paediatric Cushing's disease
Authors: Davies J. H. , Storr H. L. , Davies K. , Monson J. P. , Besser G. M. , Afshar F. , Plowman P. N. , Grossman A. B. , Savage M. O. 
Published: March 2005

SummaryObjective  Linear growth data after cure of paediatric Cushing's disease (CD) have been reported infrequently. We evaluated final adult height (FH) and body mass index (BMI) in a cohort of paediatric patients treated successfully for CD.Patients and Methods  Fourteen patients (10 male, age range 6·4–16·6 years) fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for CD. All had had transsphenoidal surgery (TSS), combined with pituitary irradiation (RT) (45 Gy in 25 fractions) in six. All were cured (post‐TSS cortisol < 50 nmol/l or mean cortisol post‐RT < 150 nmol/l). Subjects analysed had bone ages at diagnosis of < 15 ‘years’ (male) and < 13 ‘years’ (female).Results  At diagnosis, height SDS was [mean (range)]−2·5 (−4·2 to −0·8) and body mass index (BMI) SDS +2·7 (0·8–5·1). Following cure, 13 patients had GH deficiency (peak GH < 20 mU/l) and were treated with hGH (+ GnRH analogue in four). Height SDS at FH (n = 10) or latest assessment (n = 4) was −1·3 (−3·9–0·2) and increased compared to diagnosis (P < 0·01). The difference between final or latest height SDS and target height SDS was −1·2 (−3·3–0·5), that is less (P < 0·01) than the difference between the height SDS at diagnosis and target height SDS of −2·4 (−3·9 to −0·5). At final height or latest assessment, BMI SDS was +1·7 (0·4–6·2), being decreased compared to diagnosis (P < 0·05) but greater than the normal population (P < 0·01).Conclusion  Catch‐up growth was demonstrated in paediatric patients cured from CD, with the majority achieving FH within target height range. Early diagnosis and treatment of GH deficiency is recommended to achieve optimal long‐term growth. Excess adiposity remains a potential long‐term complication.
Post‐dispersal predation ofTaraxacum officinale(dandelion) seed
Authors: HONEK ALOIS , MARTINKOVA ZDENKA , SASKA PAVEL 
Published: March 2005

SummaryThe importance of predation in determining the fate of post‐dispersal dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) seed was investigated. Flowering, seed dispersal, seedling establishment, seed predation and seed predator abundance were recorded in 2002 and 2003, at two sites. Number of flowers were counted in 1‐m2plots, wind‐borne seeds were collected in water traps, invertebrate seed predation was estimated from the rate of removal of dandelion seeds exposed on the ground and invertebrate activity density was determined by using pitfall traps. The censuses were made at 2‐ to 3‐day intervals.Seed dispersal occurred 10 days after flowering. Although some seeds were blown away, 3.7–24.2 × 103seeds m−2fell to the ground. Four weeks after the peak in seed dispersal 0.7–3.1% of these seeds germinated. Three weeks later only 11–13% of the dispersed seed remained on the ground and most of these were damaged, the remainder presumably having been removed by predators.Predation of exposed seeds was low before seed dispersal but increased after its onset, in parallel with increases in the number of seeds present on the ground and in the activity density of adults of a seed‐consuming carabid,Amara montivaga.In cafeteria experiments in which the seeds of 28 perennial and annual herbs were providedA. montivagaconsumed the most dandelion seeds, followed by nine otherAmaraspecies. In no‐choice experiments, under field conditions,A. montivagaconsumed six seeds day−1.Post‐dispersal predation, mainly due to aggregation of a single ground beetle species, was more important than that which occurred prior to dispersal. Although predators destroyedc. 97% of the seeds, the effect on dandelion population biology is likely to be small.Post‐dispersal seed predation may nevertheless be important in other species, as aggregates of large invertebrate predators can consume large quantities of seed.
A kinase for light and time
Authors: Loros Jennifer 
Published: March 2005

SummaryThe eukaryotic filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa has proven to be a dependable model system for the analysis of light‐regulated gene expression and circadian rhythmicity. The molecular basis of the core circadian clock is a transcription/translation‐based feedback loop in which a heterodimer of the white‐collar 1 (WC‐1) and white‐collar 2 (WC‐2) proteins act as a transcription factor to promote expression of the negative elements in the clock, frq mRNA and FRQ protein. Additionally, WC‐1 is a flavoprotein that acts as the primary responder to environmental light and, in conjunction with WC‐2, is the major photoreceptor for the clock as well as other light‐regulated processes. Protein kinase C acts as a light‐dependent regulator of the WC‐1 protein.
Translation elongation factor EF‐Tu is a target for Stp, a serine‐threonine phosphatase involved in virulence of Listeria monocytogenes
Authors: Archambaud Cristel , Gouin Edith , Pizarro‐Cerda Javier , Cossart Pascale , Dussurget Olivier 
Published: March 2005

Summary Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen that causes listeriosis, a severe food‐borne infection. This bacterium, in order to survive and grow in the multiple conditions encountered in the host and the environment, has evolved a large number of regulatory elements, in particular many signal transduction systems based on reversible phosphorylation. The genome sequence has revealed genes for 16 putative two‐component systems, four putative tyrosine phosphatases, three putative serine‐threonine kinases and two putative serine‐threonine phosphatases. We found that one of the latter genes, stp, encodes a functional Mn2+‐dependent serine‐threonine phosphatase similar to PPM eukaryotic phosphatases (Mg2+‐or Mn2+‐dependent protein phosphatase) and is required for growth of L. monocytogenes in a murine model of infection. We identified as the first target for Stp, the elongation factor EF‐Tu. Post‐translational phosphorylation of EF‐Tu had been shown to prevent its binding to amino‐acylated transfer RNA as well as to kirromycin, an antibiotic known to inhibit EF‐Tu function. Accordingly, an stp deletion mutant is less sensitive to kirromycin. These results suggest an important role for Stp in regulating EF‐Tu and controlling bacterial survival in the infected host.