Consequent Effects (consequent + effects)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Microreview: Type IV secretion in the obligatory intracellular bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum

CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 9 2010
Yasuko Rikihisa
Summary Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an obligatory intracellular bacterium that infects neutrophils, the primary host defence cells. Consequent effects of infection on host cells result in a potentially fatal systemic disease called human granulocytic anaplasmosis. Despite ongoing reductive genome evolution and deletion of most genes for intermediary metabolism and amino acid biosynthesis, Anaplasma has also experienced expansion of genes encoding several components of the type IV secretion (T4S) apparatus. Two A. phagocytophilum T4S effector molecules are currently known; Anaplasma translocated substrate 1 (Ats-1) and ankyrin repeat domain-containing protein A (AnkA) have C-terminal positively charged amino acid residues that are recognized by the T4S coupling protein, VirD4. AnkA and Ats-1 contain eukaryotic protein motifs and are uniquely evolved in the family Anaplasmataceae; Ats-1 contains a mitochondria-targeting signal. They are abundantly produced and secreted into the host cytoplasm, are not toxic to host cells, and manipulate host cell processes to aid in the infection process. At the cellular level, the two effectors have distinct subcellular localization and signalling in host cells. Thus in this obligatory intracellular pathogen, the T4S system has evolved as a host-subversive survival factor. [source]


Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning at local and regional spatial scales

ECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 4 2002
Emily M. Bond
Local niche complementarity among species (the partitioning of species based upon niche differentiation) is predicted to affect local ecosystem functioning positively. However, recent theory predicts that greater local diversity may hinder local ecosystem functioning when diversity is enhanced through source,sink dynamics. We suggest community assembly as a way to incorporate both the local and regional processes that determine biodiversity and its consequent effects on ecosystem functioning. From this, we propose a hump-shaped relationship between diversity and ecosystem functioning at local scales, but a linear increase of functioning with diversity at regional scales due to regional complementarity. [source]


The influence of synthetic sheep urine on ammonia oxidizing bacterial communities in grassland soil

FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
Shahid Mahmood
Abstract In grazed, grassland soils, sheep urine generates heterogeneity in ammonia concentrations, with potential impact on ammonia oxidizer community structure and soil N cycling. The influence of different levels of synthetic sheep urine on ammonia oxidizers was studied in grassland soil microcosms. ,Total' and active ammonia oxidizers were distinguished by comparing denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles following PCR and RT-PCR amplification of 16S rRNA gene fragments, targeting DNA and RNA, respectively. The RNA-based approach indicated earlier, more reproducible and finer scale qualitative shifts in ammonia oxidizing communities than DNA-based analysis, but led to amplification of a small number of nonammonia oxidizer sequences. Qualitative changes in RNA-derived DGGE profiles were related to changes in nitrate accumulation. Sequence analysis of excised DGGE bands revealed that ammonia oxidizing communities in synthetic sheep urine-treated soils consisted mainly of Nitrosospira clusters 2, 3 and 4. Nitrosospira cluster 2 increased in relative abundance in microcosms treated with all levels of synthetic sheep urine. Low levels additionally led to increased relative abundance of Nitrosospira cluster 4 and medium and high levels increased relative abundance of cluster 3. Synthetic sheep urine is therefore likely to influence the spatial distribution and composition of ammonia oxidizer communities, with consequent effects on nitrate accumulation. [source]


Geographical Imaginations of ,New Asia-Singapore'

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2004
T.C. Chang
Abstract ,Geographical imaginations' constitute an important aspect in geographic research, enriching our understanding of places and societies as well as the contested meanings people have towards spaces. The marketing and development of tourist destinations offers a fertile ground for the exercise of geographical imagination. This paper explores how tourism marketing distils the essence of a place, and ,imagines' an identity that is attractive to tourists and residents alike. Such spatial identities, however, are seldom hegemonic and are often highly contested. Using the case of the ,New Asia-Singapore' (NAS) campaign launched by the Singapore Tourism Board, we explore the geographical imaginations involved in tourism marketing, and its consequent effects on people and place. Specifically we discuss the role and rationale of tourism planners in formulating the NAS campaign; the actions of tourism entrepreneurs in creating NAS commodities; and the reactions from tourists and local residents towards the NAS images. We argue that the nexus of policy intent, entrepreneurial actions and popular opinions yields invaluable insights into the highly contested processes of tourism development and identity formation. [source]


The fall of the English gentleman: the national character in decline, c.1918,1970

HISTORICAL RESEARCH, Issue 187 2002
Marcus Collins
The figure of the gentleman and his allied qualities of amateurism, sportsmanship and self-control dominated public discussions of Englishness in the half century after the Great War. From 1918 to the mid nineteen-fifties, gentlemanliness enjoyed strong, although by no means unanimous, support among commentators on national character. Subsequently, however, the reputation of the gentleman suffered irreparable damage at the hands of a post-war generation seeking scapegoats for the country's perceived economic, geopolitical and moral decline. This article seeks to explain when and why gentlemanliness lost its reputation as the exemplar of Englishness, and the consequent effects on national culture and identity. [source]


Reducing the burden of caring for Alzheimer's disease through the amelioration of ,delusions of theft' by drug therapy

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2002
Kazue Shigenobu
Abstract Background Delusions of theft (delusions involving the theft of possessions) are one of the most frequent neuropsychiatric manifestations of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Objective The current study investigated the presence and extent of such delusions before and after drug treatment in a group of AD patients, and the consequent effects on the burden of care on caregivers. Method The study was an open-label cohort design. The delusions studied consisted only of those involving theft of possessions. Sixteen AD patients served as subjects in order to assess the efficacy of Risperidone administration, in the reduction or elimination of these delusions. The caregiver burden was evaluated using the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI) before the administration of Risperidone and 12 weeks after administration, for cases where delusions of theft were eliminated or reduced. Results The burden of care on caregivers was significantly reduced (p,<,0.001) through the elimination or reduction of delusions of theft. Conclusion Delusions of theft are considered to be a major factor in increasing the burden of care, and the treatment of these, through appropriate drug therapy, is therefore of great importance in the continuation of satisfactory care in the home. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


THE CONTRIBUTION OF THIRD-PARTY INDICES IN ASSESSING GLOBAL OPERATIONAL RISKS;,

JOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2010
KUNTAL BHATTACHARYYA
In the face of global uncertainties and a growing reliance on third-party indices to obtain a snapshot of a country's operational risks, we explore the related questions: How accurately do third-party indices capture a country's operational risk, and how does the operational risk of the country, in turn, affect the volume of its import and export supply chains? We examine these questions by empirically investigating 81 member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) using archival data collected from UN agencies, independent think tanks, the WTO, and the Economist Intelligence Unit. We use seven third-party indices to gauge a country's internal environment and map those indices to corresponding country-specific operational risks to further understand the consequent effects of those operational risks on trading volume. Results provide strong evidence for the use of certain third-party indices in assessing operational risk. In addition, operational risks are found to negatively affect the volume of import and export supply chains, albeit in varying degrees. [source]


Effects of fire intensity on plant species composition of sandstone communities in the Sydney region

AUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2002
DAVID A. MORRISON
Abstract Fire intensity measures the heat output of a fire, and variation in fire intensity has been shown to have many effects on the demography of plant species, although the consequent effects on the floristic composition of communities have rarely been quantified. The effects of variation in fire intensity on the floristic composition of dry sclerophyll vegetation with different fire histories near Sydney was estimated. In particular, differences in species abundance of woodland and shrubland communities subjected to four fire-intensity classes: unburnt, low intensity (<500 kW m -1), medium intensity (500-2500 kW m -1) and high intensity (>2500 kW m -1) were examined. The samples had a standardized previous fire frequency and season, thus minimizing the effects of other aspects of the fire regime. There was a clear effect of fire intensity on the relative abundances of the vascular plant species, with increasing intensity of the fire producing vegetation that was increasingly different from the unburnt vegetation. This pattern was repeated in both the woodland and shrubland vegetation types, suggesting that it was not an artefact of the experimental conditions. However, the effects of fire intensity on floristic composition were no greater than were the differences between these two similar vegetation types, with variation in fire intensity accounting for only approximately 10% of the floristic variation. Nevertheless, the effects of fire intensity on the abundance of individual species were consistent across taxonomic groups, with the monocotyledon and Fabaceae species being more abundant at higher than lower intensities, the Proteaceae and Rutaceae more abundant at intermediate intensities, and the Epacridaceae more abundant at lower rather than higher intensities. The number of fire-tolerant species increased with increasing fire intensity, and those fire-tolerant species present were most abundant in the areas burnt with medium intensity. The number of fire-sensitive species did not respond to fire intensity, and those species present were most abundant in the areas burnt with low intensity. This suggests that either fire-sensitive species respond poorly to higher fire intensities or fire-tolerant species respond poorly to lower fire intensities, perhaps because of differences in seed germination, seedling survival or competition among adults. [source]