bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Concentration and quantification of Tilapia tilapinevirus from water using a simple iron flocculation coupled with probe-based RT-qPCR
Authors: Taengphu Suwimon , Kayansamruaj Pattanapon , Kawato Yasuhiko , Delamare-Deboutteville Jerome , Mohan Chadag Vishnumurthy , Dong Ha Thanh , Senapin Saengchan 
Published: April 2022

Background
Tilapia tilapinevirus, also known as tilapia lake virus (TiLV), is a significant virus that is responsible for the die-off of farmed tilapia across the globe. The detection and quantification of the virus using environmental RNA (eRNA) from pond water samples represents a potentially non-invasive and routine strategy for monitoring pathogens and early disease forecasting in aquaculture systems.

Methods
Here, we report a simple iron flocculation method for concentrating viruses in water, together with a newly-developed hydrolysis probe quantitative RT-qPCR method for the detection and quantification of TiLV.

Results
The RT-qPCR method designed to target a conserved region of the TiLV genome segment 9 has a detection limit of 10 viral copies per µL of template. The method had a 100% analytical specificity and sensitivity for TiLV. The optimized iron flocculation method was able to recover 16.11 ± 3.3% of the virus from water samples spiked with viral cultures. Tilapia and water samples were collected for use in the detection and quantification of TiLV disease during outbreaks in an open-caged river farming system and two earthen fish farms. TiLV was detected from both clinically sick and asymptomatic fish. Most importantly, the virus was successfully detected from water samples collected from different locations in the affected farms (i.e., river water samples from affected cages (8.50 × 103 to 2.79 × 105 copies/L) and fish-rearing water samples, sewage, and reservoir (4.29 × 103 to 3.53 × 104 copies/L)). By contrast, TiLV was not detected in fish or water samples collected from two farms that had previously experienced TiLV outbreaks and from one farm that had never experienced a TiLV outbreak. In summary, this study suggests that the eRNA detection system using iron flocculation, coupled with probe based-RT-qPCR, is feasible for use in the concentration and quantification of TiLV from water. This approach may be useful for the non-invasive monitoring of TiLV in tilapia aquaculture systems and may support evidence-based decisions on biosecurity interventions needed.
NOS‐II is involved in early differentiation of murine cortical, retinal and ES cell‐derived neurons—an immunocytochemical and functional approach
Authors: Arnhold S. , Faßbender A. , Klinz F.‐J. , Kruttwig K. , Löhnig B. , Andressen C. , Addicks K. 
Published: July 2002

AbstractNitric oxide (NO), a cell‐derived highly diffusible and unstable gas is regarded to be involved in inter‐ and intracellular communication in the nervous system. Based on findings about the expression of the inducible NO synthase (NOS) isoform during development of early mouse olfactory as well as vestibulocochlear receptor neurons, we intended to prove a general role of this isoform for neuronal differentiation. Using immunohistochemical techniques, an exclusive expression of the inducible NOS‐II isoform in early post‐mitotic neurons of the developing mouse cortex and retina can be detected. In a pharmacological approach using cultures of the mouse cortex as well as embryonic stem cell‐derived neural precursor cells, we investigated the functional role of NO on initial neuronal differentiation. Effects of NOS inhibitors and NO donors on the morphological differentiation were correlated with developmentally regulated calcium current densities, focusing on the effects of the specific NOS‐II inhibitor GW 274150. Furthermore, involvement of the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC)/cGMP signaling cascade was pharmacologically investigated. Our data indicate that while a specific block of NOS‐II provokes a clear inhibition of neurite outgrowth formation as well as a decrease of calcium current densities, the inverse is true for exogenous NO donation. In line with lacking immunoreactivity for the sGC and cGMP there are only minor effects of compounds manipulating the sGC/cGMP pathway, suggesting the downstream sGC/cGMP pathway not to be essential in these early differentiation steps.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Screening Inventory-Retrospect (CAPSI-R): a questionnaire for adults concerning child and adolescent mental disorders
Authors: Ramklint M. , von Knorring A-L. , von Knorring L. , Ekselius L. 
Published: July 2002

SummaryThis study examines the properties of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Screening Inventory-Retrospect, CAPSI-R, a self-report 146-item questionnaire for adults concerning earlier child psychiatric symptoms, comprising both DSM-IV categories and functional impairment. The instrument was mailed to 359 former child psychiatric patients born between 1951 and 1977 (164 of whom responded) and to a matched control group (193 of whom responded). There was good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha ranged between 0.62–0.93, and between 0.76–0.93 after elimination of one item). The lifetime prevalence of a mental disorder was 87.8% in the former patients' without considering impairment and 76.8% when impairment was considered. The corresponding figures for the control group were 49.7% and 10.4%, respectively. When the former patients' CAPSI-R diagnoses (with incorporation of the impairment criterion) were validated against the DSM-IV diagnoses based on information in their medical records, generally, an acceptable sensitivity and specificity were obtained. The overall kappa between CAPSI-R diagnoses and those from medical records was 0.79. The CAPSI-R shows promise for further evaluation and may be useful in recognising child and adolescent mental disorders in adults.
Unusual Thermal Stability of Soybean Peroxidase
Authors: McEldoon James P. , Dordick Jonathan S. 
Published: July 2002

AbstractSoybean peroxidase (SBP) has an extremely high melting temperature of 90.5 °C at pH 8.0 in the presence of 1 mM CaCl2. The enzyme is substantially more thermostable than the peroxidases from horseradish (HRP) and Coprinus cinereus (CIP). SBP denaturation does not precisely fit the two‐state denaturation model due to the formation of the apoenzyme upon initial melting. A pseudo‐two‐state denaturation can be assumed, however, and this gives rise to apparent kinetics for irreversible inactivation. The apparent kinetics indicate that irreversible deactivation is comprised primarily of enthalpic contributions, with ΔH‡deact = 22.4 kcal/mol and TΔS‡deact = 0.2 kcal/mol at 95 °C. Heme transfer studies from the peroxidases to apomyoglobin indicate that SBP holds onto its heme much more tightly than does HRP, and this is consistent with a thermodynamically more stable enzyme.
Optimization Considerations for the Purification of α1‐Antitrypsin Using Silica‐Based Ion‐Exchange Adsorbents in Packed and Expanded Beds
Authors: Finette G. M. S. , Baharin B. , Mao Q. M. , Hearn M. T. W. 
Published: July 2002

AbstractThe influences of the fluid superficial velocity, sample concentration, loading volume, and wash cycle on the recovery and corresponding purification factors for α1‐antitrypsin [syn. α1‐proteinase inhibitor (α1‐PI) ] from crude mixtures of human plasma proteins were investigated using packed and expanded beds of DEAE‐Spherodex LS. As part of this study, the effect of fluid superficial velocity on the bed dispersion number (Dv) and dispersion coefficient (D) for this adsorbent in expanded beds was determined with feedstocks containing human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant of the contaminating proteins in human plasma protein preparations used for the isolation of α1‐PI. When multicomponent protein feedstocks prepared from human plasma were examined with DEAE‐Spherodex LS, reduced chromatographic productivity was observed for α1‐PI as the extent of column utilization and the superficial velocity were increased, yet the opposite trend was evident for HSA. In particular, higher adsorption capacities and recoveries were obtained for α1‐PI at lower fluid superficial velocities with both packed and expanded bed conditions. These findings indicate that for process scale purifications of α1‐PI from multicomponent feedstocks with expanded beds containing this silica‐based ion‐exchange adsorbent, the optimal range of superficial velocities to achieve the highest bed productivity will not be synonymous with maximally fluidized modes of operation. Rather, the results confirm that the adsorbent has an optimum operational performance when fluidization procedures corresponding to plug flow expansion are employed for the capture of α1‐PI. These findings also indicate that advantage can be taken of displacement effects between closely related protein species with packed and expanded bed systems containing the DEAE‐Spherodex LS type of ion‐exchange porous silicas.
Intrathecal administration of liposomal neostigmine prolongs analgesia in mice
Authors: Grant G. J. , Piskoun B. , Bansinath M. 
Published: July 2002

Background: There is substantial evidence that cholinomimetic drugs increase pain threshold. However, the profound side effects of these agents have limited their clinical use either as analgesics or as analgesic adjuncts. A delivery system that would assure a slow and sustained drug release may be of value in ameliorating the problem of untoward effects.Methods: The acetylcholinesterase inhibitor neostigmine was encapsulated into multilamellar lipid vesicles composed of phosphocholine and cholesterol. Three doses of plain or liposomal neostigmine were administered by the intrathecal route to mice (n=8–10/group), and analgesic duration was quantified by tail flick test. The doses were chosen based on preliminary experiments, which showed the maximum tolerated intrathecal doses of plain and liposomal neostigmine formulation were 0.625 μg and 80 μg, respectively. Two other doses for each formulation were then derived by 1:1 serial dilutions. Results were compared using survival analysis.Results: The median antinociceptive duration for plain neostigmine was 0.33, 0.99 and 1.0 h for the 0.115, 0.312 and 0.625 μg doses, respectively. For the liposomal formulation, the median antinociceptive duration was 1.0, 1.5 and 6.0 h for the 20, 40 and 80 μg doses, respectively.Conclusions: Liposomal neostigmine provides prolonged spinal antinociception, and permits the safe administration of a relatively large dose, because drug is gradually released from the liposomal depot. This technology holds promise for the development of a clinically useful neostigmine formulation to provide spinal analgesia.
The relation between silty soil structures and their mercury porosimetry curve counterparts: fractals and percolation
Authors: Bartoli F. , Bird N. R. A. , Gomendy V. , Vivier H. , Niquet S. 
Published: July 2002

SummaryMercury porosimetry data can be interpreted in terms of soil structure using ideas drawn from (i) network modelling and percolation theory and (ii) fractal geometry. We linked mercury intrusion to soil structure quantified by image analysis within a relevant common pore radius scale. We compared (i) three independent methods for computing fractal dimensions of the matrix and of the solid–pore interface, namely fitted square boxes method and pore chord distribution on scanning electron microscope images of soil thin sections, and mercury porosimetry, and (ii) two independent methods for characterizing pore connectivity (image analysis) and percolation process (pressure threshold from mercury porosimetry). The results from analyses of the pore size distribution by mercury porosimetry differed from those from the image analysis. Mercury intrusion is controlled by both the connectivity of the pore space network and locally by pore throats leading to larger pore bodies. By contrast, image analysis is unaffected by pore connectivity and measures pore bodies. On the other hand, the chord length method might not adequately capture the scaling properties of the solid–pore interface, whereas the mercury porosimetry data were also difficult to interpret in terms of fractal geometry because of the effects of pore connectivity. However, fractal dimension values of both the solid phase and the solid–pore interface increased as a function of clay content, whereas both percolation probability values and throat radius values at the mercury percolation threshold decreased. The results show the merit of applying both fractals and percolation theory for determining structural parameters relevant to mercury and water transport in soil.
Islands and introduced herbivores: conservation action as ecosystem experimentation
Authors: Donlan C. Josh , Tershy Bernie R. , Croll Donald A. 
Published: July 2002

SummaryOvergrazing by exotic herbivores has a widespread impact on plant communities. We used the removal of exotic European rabbits, goats and donkeys from the San Benito Islands, Mexico, as an experimental manipulation to examine the importance of top‐down and bottom‐up processes in the impact and recovery of an island plant community.Using a paired approach, we removed herbivores from one island, while they remained temporarily on an adjacent, similar island. We combined this large‐scale manipulation with smaller‐scale mechanistic experiments: herbivore food‐preference trials and herbivore exclosures on the control island.El Niño‐related precipitation dominated vegetation dynamics early in the study. Differences in plant community structure due to selective herbivory between the experimental and control islands were detectable in the second year. Results from food‐preference trials accurately predicted changes in the perennial plant community. When herbivores were removed from the experimental island, the abundance of their preferred plants increased while unpalatable species decreased. On the control island (herbivores present), we observed the opposite trend. However, we saw no recovery of vegetation inside the exclosures on the control island, constructed after the El Niño rains, probably due to the absence of rainfall.While the relationship between herbivore food preference and changes in plant cover is strong evidence of a top‐down effect by exotic species, the influence of El Niño precipitation highlights the importance of bottom‐up factors, such as water availability, in the recovery of arid plant communities from long‐term disturbance.
Density‐dependent effects on tree survival in an old‐growth Douglas fir forest
Authors: He Fangliang , Duncan Richard P. 
Published: July 2002

Summary1 We mapped the locations of live and dead trees in a large forest plot dominated by pioneer Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) with an understorey of the invading late‐successional species western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and western red cedar (Thuja plicata) on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, to test for intra‐ and interspecific density‐dependent effects on tree survival.2 We analysed both the spatial patterning of trees in the plot and the relationships between neighbourhood density and tree survival. We also examined the effects of additional variables (principally elevation) as covariates in our neighbourhood analyses.3 Both the spatial and initial neighbourhood analyses suggested strong intra‐ and interspecific density‐dependent effects on tree survival. Douglas fir survival was significantly higher in less dense patches of conspecifics and non‐random tree death led to regularly spaced survivors, as expected from intraspecific competition. The significantly lower survival of western hemlock in denser patches of Douglas fir and the resulting negative spatial association between surviving trees of these two species were consistent with interspecific competition.4 However, having controlled for the influence of elevation on tree survival (probably mediated by variation in soil moisture) in neighbourhood analyses, although the survival of the pioneer Douglas fir trees was still subject to strong density‐dependent effects, variation in its density in the overstorey no longer appeared to influence the survival of the invading late‐successional species. There was, however, evidence for asymmetric interspecific density dependence between the two late‐successional species since western hemlock mortality tended to be higher in denser patches of western red cedar.5 Our results emphasize the importance of considering confounding factors in studies that seek evidence for density dependence.
The Northern Bolivian Altiplano: a region highly endemic for human fascioliasis
Authors: Mas‐Coma S. , Anglés R. , Esteban J. G. , Bargues M. D. , Buchon P. , Franken M. , Strauss W. 
Published: July 2002

SummaryThe worldwide importance of human infection by Fasciola hepatica has been recognized in recent years. The endemic region between Lake Titicaca and the valley of La Paz, Bolivia, at 3800–4100 m altitude, presents the highest prevalences and intensities recorded. Large geographical studies involving Lymnaea truncatula snails (malacological, physico‐chemical, and botanic studies of 59, 28 and 30 water bodies, respectively, inhabited by lymnaeids; environmental mean temperature studies covering a 40‐year period), livestock (5491 cattle) and human coprological surveys (2723 subjects, 2521 of whom were school children) were conducted during 1991–97 to establish the boundaries and distributional characteristics of this endemic Northern Altiplano region. The endemic area covers part of the Los Andes, Ingavi, Omasuyos and Murillo provinces of the La Paz Department. The human endemic zone is stable, isolated and apparently fixed in its present outline, the boundaries being marked by geographical, climatic and soil‐water chemical characteristics. The parasite distribution is irregular in the endemic area, the transmission foci being patchily distributed and linked to the presence of appropriate water bodies. Prevalences in school children are related to snail population distribution and extent. Altiplanic lymnaeids mainly inhabit permanent water bodies, which enables parasite transmission during the whole year. A confluence of several factors mitigates the negative effects of the high altitude.
Erythrokeratolysis hiemalis (keratolytic winter erythema): a case report from Denmark
Authors: Danielsen AG , Weismann K , Thomsen HK 
Published: July 2002

AbstractErythrokeratolysis hiemalis is described as a rare autosomal dominant genodermatosis as first reported from the Oudtshoorn district of Cape Provence in South Africa, among European immigrant families. Sporadic cases have since been identified in other countries, often with a familial link to the Oudtshoorn cluster. We describe the first case observed in Denmark, presumably the result of a spontaneous mutation.
Calculation of electronic structure and photoabsorption spectra of monosilane molecules SiH4, SiF4, and SiCl4
Authors: Ishikawa Hideaki , Fujima Kazumi , Adachi Hirohiko , Miyauchi Eizo , Fujii Toshio 
Published: July 2002

The electronic structure, ionization potentials, and photoabsorption spectra of monosilane molecules SiH4, SiF4, and SiCl4 were calculated using the discrete variational (DV) Xα method. Valence molecular orbitals (MOs) of SiH4 consist (from the lowest) of two occupied bonding MOs between Si and H, a1 and t2. Inner valence MOs of SiF4 and SiCl4 consist of the bonding MOs between Si and halogen, a1 and t2, and outer valence MOs consist of bonding MOs a1 and t2, and the MOs e, t2, and t1 localized on halogen. The lowest unoccupied MOs of SiH4 include two antibonding states t2 and a1, and two localized states, e and t2. The lowest unoccupied MOs of SiF4 and SiCl4 are antibonding states a1 and t2 between Si and halogen. Calculated ionization potentials agree well with measured photoelectron spectra.
Calculation of the photoabsorption spectrum for Si 2p core excitation for SiH4, SiF4, and SiCl4 shows that peak positions and intensities agree well with measured photoabsorption spectra in both gas and solid phases. The absorption bands of SiH4, measured near the edge and at about 125 eV, consist of transitions from core to antibonding states consistent with experiments. The four main absorption bands of SiF4 and SiCl4 measured between 105 and 140 eV are assigned to transitions from the core Si 2p level to antibonding MOs a1, t2, e, and t2. Calculated photoabsorption spectrum for valence excitation of SiH4 agrees well with measurements. The first and second absorption bands measured at about 138 and 128 nm correspond to the transition from bonding to antibonding states between Si and H. This is consistent with the facts that monosilane is photolyzed in Xe 147 nm ultraviolet light in a vacuum and that fluorescence has not been observed from 130 to 150 nm, because these are interpreted in terms of photodissociation by transition from bonding to antibonding states. Photoabsorption spectra for valence excitation of SiF4 and SiCl4 are also calculated. We found that the first absorption band consists of two transitions from localized states on halogen to antibonding states between Si and halogen (t2→a1 and t1→t2 ).