bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Subdiaphragmatic Vagotomy Prevents Drinking-Induced Reduction in Plasma Corticosterone in Water-Restricted Rats
Authors: Arnhold Michelle M. , Yoder J. Marina , Engeland William C.
Published: December 2008

Dehydrated rats exhibit a rapid inhibition of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis after rehydration. Drinking activates vagal afferents that project to neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). We hypothesized that when dehydrated rats drink, vagal afferents stimulate NTS neurons initiating inhibition of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity. Experiments assessed NTS activity by measuring Fos expression. Rats were water restricted for 1 or 6 d, limiting access to water to 30 min/d in the morning. Drinking after single or repeated restriction increased Fos, demonstrating increased NTS activity. We next examined the contribution of the vagus by comparing hormonal responses after total subdiaphragmatic vagotomy or sham surgery. Water restriction for 6 d increased plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP), ACTH, and adrenal and plasma corticosterone in both groups. In sham rats, drinking reduced plasma AVP, ACTH, adrenal and plasma corticosterone by 7.5 min. In total subdiaphragmatic vagotomy rats, whereas drinking reduced plasma AVP, ACTH, and adrenal corticosterone, drinking did not reduce plasma corticosterone. To identify the source of vagal activity, hormonal responses to restriction-induced drinking were measured after common hepatic branch vagotomy (HBV). Although pituitary hormonal responses were not affected by HBV, the adrenal and plasma corticosterone responses to water restriction were reduced; in addition, drinking in HBV rats decreased adrenal corticosterone without changing plasma corticosterone. These data indicate that an intact vagus is necessary to reduce plasma corticosterone when water-restricted rats drink and that the common hepatic vagal branch contributes to the response. These findings implicate the vagus in augmenting rapid removal of circulating corticosterone during relief from stress.
A Screening Study of Thyroid Cancer and Other Thyroid Diseases among Individuals Exposed in Utero to Iodine-131 from Chernobyl Fallout
Authors: Hatch M. , Brenner A. , Bogdanova T. , Derevyanko A. , Kuptsova N. , Likhtarev I. , Bouville A. , Tereshchenko V. , Kovgan L. , Shpak V. , Ostroumova E. , Greenebaum E. , Zablotska L. , Ron E. , Tronko M.
Published: December 2008

Background: Like stable iodine, radioiodines concentrate in the thyroid gland, increasing thyroid cancer risk in exposed children. Data on exposure to the embryonic/fetal thyroid are rare, raising questions about use of iodine 131 (I-131) in pregnant women. We present here estimated risks of thyroid disease from exposure in utero to I-131 fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional thyroid screening study (palpation, ultrasound, thyroid hormones, and, if indicated, fine needle aspiration) from 2003 to 2006. Participants were 2582 mother-child pairs from Ukraine in which the mother had been pregnant at the time of the accident on April 26, 1986, or 2 months after the time during which I-131 fallout was still present (1494 from contaminated areas, 1088 in the comparison group). Individual cumulative in utero thyroid dose estimates were derived from estimated I-131 activity in the mother’s thyroid (mean 72 mGy; range 0–3230 mGy).

Results: There were seven cases of thyroid carcinoma and one case of Hurthle cell neoplasm identified as a result of the screening. Whereas the estimated excess odds ratio per gray for thyroid carcinoma was elevated (excess odds ratio per gray 11.66), it was not statistically significant (P = 0.12). No radiation risks were identified for other thyroid diseases.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that in utero exposure to radioiodines may have increased the risk of thyroid carcinoma approximately 20 yr after the Chernobyl accident, supporting a conservative approach to medical uses of I-131 during pregnancy.
The impact of portfolios on health professionals' practice: a literature review
Authors: Kostrzewski Andrzej Jerzy , Dhillon Soraya , Goodsman Danë , Taylor Kevin M G
Published: December 2008

Objectives

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the use of a portfolio and discuss the evidence for the impact of a portfolio on professional practice, in particular pharmacy practice.

Method

A literature review was performed using databases from health care and education, namely AMED, BEI, CINAHL, Embase, ERIC, IPA, MedLine, PHARM-LINE, Psycinfo, TIMELIT and ZETOCs, as well as a manual search of relevant journals and documents between 1991 and 2007. The search terms included portfolio, progress files and assessment, and these were linked with pharmacy. Articles were included in the review if they had a focus on the portfolio as a contribution to professional practice.

Key findings

Portfolios have been used in the education field for over decade. A total of 26 out of 1901 papers were identified which examined portfolios in a post-registration setting. The majority of these publications were from medicine (12), with education (six), pharmacy (five) and nursing (three) making up a small proportion. Portfolios were seen as (a) a tool for use in feedback, (b) a useful trigger for reflection and (c) a link between academic learning and practice. A similar set of findings were seen in the educational context. In addition, a portfolio (a) requires motivation to record and (b) can change behaviour towards colleagues.

Conclusions

There is still confusion about the meaning of a professional portfolio in health care professions. It is suggested that portfolios should be classified according to a modified system from the teaching profession. The evidence that portfolios can contribute to practice is limited. This review suggests the need for more studies into the impact of portfolios on professional practice, in particular in a pharmacy context.
The Economic Effects of Energy Price Shocks
Authors: Kilian Lutz
Published: December 2008

Large fluctuations in energy prices have been a distinguishing characteristic of the U.S. economy since the 1970s. Turmoil in the Middle East, rising energy prices in the United States, and evidence of global warming recently have reignited interest in the link between energy prices and economic performance. This paper addresses a number of the key issues in this debate: What are energy price shocks and where do they come from? How responsive is energy demand to changes in energy prices? How do consumer's expenditure patterns evolve in response to energy price shocks? How do energy price shocks affect U.S. real output, inflation, and stock prices? Why do energy price increases seem to cause recessions but energy price decreases do not seem to cause expansions? Why has there been a surge in the price of oil in recent years? Why has this new energy price shock not caused a recession so far? Have the effects of energy price shocks waned since the 1980s and, if so, why? As the paper demonstrates, it is critical to account for the endogeneity of energy prices and to differentiate between the effects of demand and supply shocks in energy markets when answering these questions.
Towards Greater Cross-Border Trade in Gas
Authors: Walker Angus
Published: December 2008

There is unprecedented pressure on the gas supply chain as the gas market goes global. Energy policy and foreign policy are combining in new ways and with such speed they are placing shocks into a system already struggling to find its feet. Reactions from governments in the form of “fear for the future” is further shaking stakeholder confidence. Market volatility threatens to further misalign key supply chain interfaces and increase the probability of supply failure. Global energy infrastructure is largely unprotected from terrorism and supply interruption. Market sentiment is becoming increasingly unsettled, adding risk premiums, distorting prices and eroding relationships that are central to market stability.
A Study of the Correlation of Large-Scale Structure Dynamics and Far-Field Radiated Noise in an Excited Mach 0.9 Jet
Authors: Kastner Jeff , Kim Jin-Hwa , Samimy Mo
Published: December 2008

The main goal of the present work is to excite various instabilities of an axisymmetric Mach 0.9 jet with a ReD of 0.76 × 106, track the ensuing large-scale structures/instability waves, and investigate relations between the dynamics of these structures and the far-field sound. The jet was excited over a large range of Strouhal numbers and several azimuthal modes by eight localized arc filament plasma actuators, equally spaced around the circumference of the nozzle, near the nozzle exit. The flow field and far-field noise were investigated using particle image velocimetry and a three-dimensional array of 12 microphones at 30° polar angle to the downstream jet axis. The microphone array results show that the high amplitude noise radiated to 30° polar angle is originated just downstream of the end of the potential core, in agreement with our previous results and the results in the literature. The streamwise noise source distribution was only sensitive to azimuthal modes around the jet preferred mode. Otherwise, the general trend was that forcing the jet at low Strouhal numbers moves the distribution upstream compared to the baseline jet, and at high Strouhal numbers results in a source distribution similar to the baseline jet. ***Conditionally-averaged PIV data were used to relate the flow dynamics and noise sources. The growth, saturation, and decay of the conditionally-averaged velocity fluctuations along the jet centerline correlate well with the far-field noise and the noise source distribution estimated using the microphone array. For m = 0 mode excitation around the jet column Strouhal number, the conditionally-averaged streamwise velocity fluctuations correlate well with the noise source distribution. While for m = 1, the correlation is best with the conditionally-averaged cross-stream fluctuations.
LES Prediction of Wall-Pressure Fluctuations and Noise of a Low-Speed Airfoil
Authors: Wang Meng , Moreau Stephane , Iaccarino Gianluca , Roger Michel
Published: December 2008

This paper discusses the prediction of wall-pressure fluctuations and noise of a low-speed flow past a thin cambered airfoil using large-eddy simulation (LES). The results are compared with experimental measurements made in an open-jet anechoic wind-tunnel at Ecole Centrale de Lyon. To account for the effect of the jet on airfoil loading, a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes calculation is first conducted in the full wind-tunnel configuration, and the mean velocities from this calculation are used to define the boundary conditions for the LES in a smaller domain within the potential core of the jet. The LES flow field is characterized by an attached laminar boundary layer on the pressure side of the airfoil and a transitional and turbulent boundary layer on the suction side, in agreement with experimental observations. An analysis of the unsteady surface pressure field shows reasonable agreement with the experiment in terms of frequency spectra and spanwise coherence in the trailing-edge region. In the nose region, characterized by unsteady separation and transition to turbulence, the wall-pressure fluctuations are highly sensitive to small perturbations and thus diffcult to predict or measure with certainty. The LES, in combination with the Ffowcs Williams and Hall solution to the Lighthill equation, also predicts well the radiated trailing-edge noise. A finite-chord correction is derived and applied to the noise prediction, which is shown to improve the overall agreement with the experimental sound spectrum.
Amiodarone-Induced Thyrotoxicosis in a Patient with Autonomously Functioning Nodular Goiter
Authors: Liang Yi-Lin , Huang Shih-Ming , Peng Shu-Ling , Hsiao Shu-Hwa , Hung Hao-Chang , Ou Horng-Yih , Wu Ta-Jen
Published: December 2008

OBJECTIVE

To report on adverse reactions associated with amiodarone and propylthiouracil.

CASE SUMMARY

A 64-year-old female with atrial fibrillation and nodular goiter progressed to overt thyrotoxicosis after receiving therapy with amiodarone 200 mg/day for less than 12 weeks. Thyroid scan revealed a hyperfunctioning nodule in the left lobe, while immunologic studies were negative for both thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin antibodies. The thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor antibody level was transiently elevated. Propylthiouracil 100 mg 3 times/day was started after the withdrawal of amiodarone, but the patient developed severe generalized skin rash, fever, and leukocytosis after 4 weeks. Thyroidectomy was performed, and histopathology was compatible with type 1 amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis (AIT) associated with toxic nodular goiter. An objective causality assessment revealed that thyrotoxicosis was probably related to use of amiodarone.

DISCUSSION

Amiodarone is an antiarrhythmic agent that may cause thyroid dysfunction. Differentiating between the 2 types of AIT is important for implementation of the correct therapeutic strategy. The transient elevation of TSH receptor antibodies in AIT complicated the diagnosis. As a rare subtype, type 1 AIT by nodular goiter may be associated with early AIT. Initiating thyroid function monitoring within 3 months of amiodarone therapy should be considered.

CONCLUSIONS

Type 1 AIT caused by nodular goiter is rarely reported. Amiodarone should be avoided in such patients and subtotal thyroidectomy to remove the toxic nodule may be the treatment of choice.
Successful Use of Topiramate in a Patient with Severe Postherpetic Neuralgia
Authors: Fowler Jill A , Shen Jason Y , Bettinger Tawny L
Published: December 2008

OBJECTIVE

To describe the case of a patient with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) who had a marked response to topiramate despite failure of several previous therapies.

CASE SUMMARY

A 79-year-old white male with multiple medical comorbidities developed severe trigeminal territory PHN requiring treatment with opiates to maintain adequate pain relief. Topiramate was initiated after the patient failed treatment with 4 other antiepileptic medications due to various adverse events. After 3 months of topiramate therapy, with dosages up to 50 mg twice daily, PHN pain had decreased to the point that the patient was able to discontinue the use of opiates entirely. At time of writing, he continued to be maintained on topiramate 50 mg twice daily with good pain relief and no reported adverse effects.

DISCUSSION

Topiramate exhibits a number of actions that may contribute to the relief of neuropathic pain, including modulation of voltage-gated sodium and calcium channels, potentiation of γ-aminobutyric acid inhibition, and blockade of a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA)/kainite glutamate receptors. Current evidence-based recommendations consider topiramate to be a third-line agent for the treatment of neuropathic pain based on studies of its use in painful diabetic neuropathy and chronic lumbar radicular pain. A comprehensive search of MEDLINE (1950–August 2008) using the terms postherpetic neuralgia, neuralgia, and topiramate revealed only one previously published case report evaluating the use of topiramate specifically for treatment of PHN.

CONCLUSIONS

While it is impossible to determine whether pain relief in this case was due to treatment with topiramate as opposed to spontaneous resolution of pain over time, this additional case report suggests that topiramate may be a useful treatment option for patients with PHN who have not responded to or are intolerant of other interventions. Further studies are needed to determine whether topiramate should receive a stronger recommendation for the treatment of PHN.
Origin of the Voltage Dependence of G-Protein Regulation of P/Q-type Ca2+Channels
Authors: Zhang Yun , Chen Yu-hang , Bangaru Saroja D. , He Linling , Abele Kathryn , Tanabe Shihori , Kozasa Tohru , Yang Jian
Published: December 2008

G-protein (Gβγ)-mediated voltage-dependent inhibition of N- and P/Q-type Ca2+channels contributes to presynaptic inhibition and short-term synaptic plasticity. The voltage dependence derives from the dissociation of Gβγ from the inhibited channels, but the underlying molecular and biophysical mechanisms remain largely unclear. In this study we investigated the role in this process of Ca2+channel β subunit (Cavβ) and a rigid α-helical structure between the α-interacting domain (AID), the primary Cavβ docking site on the channel α1subunit, and the pore-lining IS6 segment. Gβγ inhibition of P/Q-type channels was reconstituted in giant inside-out membrane patches fromXenopusoocytes. Large populations of channels devoid of Cavβ were produced by washing out a mutant Cavβ with a reduced affinity for the AID. These β-less channels were still inhibited by Gβγ, but without any voltage dependence, indicating that Cavβ is indispensable for voltage-dependent Gβγ inhibition. A truncated Cavβ containing only the AID-binding guanylate kinase (GK) domain could fully confer voltage dependence to Gβγ inhibition. Gβγ did not alter inactivation properties, and channels recovered from Gβγ inhibition exhibited the same activation property as un-inhibited channels, indicating that Gβγ does not dislodge Cavβ from the inhibited channel. Furthermore, voltage-dependent Gβγ inhibition was abolished when the rigid α-helix between the AID and IS6 was disrupted by insertion of multiple glycines, which also eliminated Cavβ regulation of channel gating, revealing a pivotal role of this rigid α-helix in both processes. These results suggest that depolarization-triggered movement of IS6, coupled to the subsequent conformational change of the Gβγ-binding pocket through a rigid α-helix induced partly by the Cavβ GK domain, causes the dissociation of Gβγ and is fundamental to voltage-dependent Gβγ inhibition.
The Yellow Fluorescent Protein (YFP-H) Mouse Reveals Neuroprotection as a Novel Mechanism Underlying Chondroitinase ABC-Mediated Repair after Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Carter Lucy M. , Starkey Michelle L. , Akrimi Sonia F. , Davies Meirion , McMahon Stephen B. , Bradbury Elizabeth J.
Published: December 2008

Chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) represents a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of spinal cord injury due to its potent effects on restoring function to spinal-injured adult mammals. However, there is limited mechanistic insight as to the underlying effects of ChABC treatment, where the effects are mediated, and which signaling pathways are involved in ChABC-mediated repair. Here we use a transgenic (YFP-H) mouse to demonstrate that cortical layer V projection neurons undergo severe atrophy 4 weeks after thoracic dorsal column injury and that ChABC is neuroprotective for these neurons after ICV infusion. ChABC also prevented cell atrophy after localized delivery to the spinal cord, suggesting a possible retrograde neuroprotective effect mediated at the injury site. Furthermore, neuroprotection of corticospinal cell somata coincided with increased axonal sprouting in the spinal cord. In addition, Western blot analysis of a number of kinases important in survival and growth signaling revealed a significant increase in phosphorylated ERK1 at the spinal injury site afterin vivoChABC treatment, indicating that activated ERK may play a role in downstream repair processes after ChABC treatment. Total forms of PKC and AKT were also elevated, indicating that modification of the glial scar by ChABC promotes long-lasting signaling changes at the lesion site. Thus, using the YFP-H mouse as a novel tool to study degenerative changes and repair after spinal cord injury we demonstrate, for the first time, that ChABC treatment regulates multiple signaling cascades at the injury site and exerts protective effects on axotomized corticospinal projection neurons.
Visual Activation and Audiovisual Interactions in the Auditory Cortex during Speech Perception: Intracranial Recordings in Humans
Authors: Besle Julien , Fischer Catherine , Bidet-Caulet Aurélie , Lecaignard Francoise , Bertrand Olivier , Giard Marie-Hélène
Published: December 2008

Hemodynamic studies have shown that the auditory cortex can be activated by visual lip movements and is a site of interactions between auditory and visual speech processing. However, they provide no information about the chronology and mechanisms of these cross-modal processes. We recorded intracranial event-related potentials to auditory, visual, and bimodal speech syllables from depth electrodes implanted in the temporal lobe of 10 epileptic patients (altogether 932 contacts). We found that lip movements activate secondary auditory areas, very shortly (≈10 ms) after the activation of the visual motion area MT/V5. After this putatively feedforward visual activation of the auditory cortex, audiovisual interactions took place in the secondary auditory cortex, from 30 ms after sound onset and before any activity in the polymodal areas. Audiovisual interactions in the auditory cortex, as estimated in a linear model, consisted both of a total suppression of the visual response to lipreading and a decrease of the auditory responses to the speech sound in the bimodal condition compared with unimodal conditions. These findings demonstrate that audiovisual speech integration does not respect the classical hierarchy from sensory-specific to associative cortical areas, but rather engages multiple cross-modal mechanisms at the first stages of nonprimary auditory cortex activation.
Postsynaptic Action Potentials Are Required for Nitric-Oxide-Dependent Long-Term Potentiation in CA1 Neurons of Adult GluR1 Knock-Out and Wild-Type Mice
Authors: Phillips Keith G. , Hardingham Neil R. , Fox Kevin
Published: December 2008

Neocortical long-term potentiation (LTP) consists of both presynaptic and postsynaptic components that rely on nitric oxide (NO) and the GluR1 subunit of the AMPA receptor, respectively. In this study, we found that hippocampal LTP, induced by theta-burst stimulation in mature (>8-week-old) GluR1 knock-out mice was almost entirely NO dependent and involved both the α splice variant of NO synthase-1 and the NO synthase-3 isoforms of NO synthase. Theta-burst induced LTP was also partly NO-dependent in wild-type mice and made up ∼50% of the potentiation 2 h after tetanus. Theta-burst stimulation reliably produced postsynaptic spikes, including a high probability of complex spikes. Inhibition of postsynaptic somatic spikes with intracellular QX314 or local TTX application prevented LTP in the GluR1 knock-out mice and also blocked the NO component of LTP in wild types. We conclude that theta-burst stimulation is particularly well suited to producing the postsynaptic somatic spikes required for NO-dependent LTP.
Sex Differences in μ-Opioid Receptor Expression in the Rat Midbrain Periaqueductal Gray Are Essential for Eliciting Sex Differences in Morphine Analgesia
Authors: Loyd Dayna R. , Wang Xioaya , Murphy Anne Z.
Published: December 2008

Opioid-based narcotics are the most widely prescribed therapeutic agent for the alleviation of persistent pain; however, it is becoming increasingly clear that morphine is significantly less potent in women compared with men. Morphine primarily binds to μ-opioid receptors (MORs), and the periaqueductal gray (PAG) contains a dense population of MOR-expressing neurons. Via its descending projections to the rostral ventromedial medulla and the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, the PAG is considered an essential neural substrate for opioid-based analgesia. We hypothesized that MOR expression in the PAG was sexually dimorphic, and that these sex differences contribute to the observed sex differences in morphine potency. Using immunohistochemistry, we report that males had a significantly higher expression of MOR in the ventrolateral PAG compared with cycling females, whereas the lowest level of expression was observed in proestrus females. CFA-induced inflammatory pain produced thermal hyperalgesia in both males and females that was significantly reversed in males with a microinjection of morphine into the ventrolateral PAG; this effect was significantly greater than that observed in proestrus and estrus females. Selective lesions of MOR-expressing neurons in the ventrolateral PAG resulted in a significant reduction in the effects of systemic morphine in males only, and this reduction was positively correlated with the level of MOR expression in the ventrolateral PAG. Together, these results provide a mechanism for sex differences in morphine potency.
Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Protects Cultured Cortical Neurons from Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Cell Death via Regulation of NR1 Expression
Authors: Yeh Shiu-Hwa , Hung Jan-Jong , Gean Po-Wu , Chang Wen-Chang
Published: December 2008

Inflammation is involved in some neurodegenerative disorders. NMDA glutamate receptors play an important role in neuronal development. Here, we show that NR1 expression in the cerebral cortex and primary neurons of rats was upregulated after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. This increase in NR1 expression was considered to be strongly associated with hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) activation because the treatment of primary neurons with either echinomycin or small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting HIF-1α could block NR1 expression. HIF-1α could be induced by an increase in the translational efficiency of the cells. After this, it was transported into the nucleus where it bound to theNR1promoter and regulated the induction of NR1 transcriptional activity by LPS. LPS injection into the prefrontal cortex caused neuronal death, and this condition was aggravated by intracerebroventricular injection of echinomycin. Furthermore, knockdown of HIF-1α and NR1 by the appropriate siRNAs reduced the neurite outgrowth and viability of the primary neurons. These results suggest that NR1 expression is regulated by HIF-1α and plays a protective role in neurons during LPS challenge.
Prolonged Perceptual Learning of Positional Acuity in Adult Amblyopia: Perceptual Template Retuning Dynamics
Authors: Li Roger W , Klein Stanley A , Levi Dennis M
Published: December 2008

Amblyopia is a developmental abnormality that results in physiological alterations in the visual cortex and impairs form vision. It is often successfully treated by patching the sound eye in infants and young children, but is generally considered to be untreatable in adults. However, a number of recent studies suggest that repetitive practice of a visual task using the amblyopic eye results in improved performance in both children and adults with amblyopia. These perceptual learning studies have used relatively brief periods of practice; however, clinical studies have shown that the time-constant for successful patching is long. The time-constant for perceptual learning in amblyopia is still unknown. Here we show that the time-constant for perceptual learning depends on the degree of amblyopia. Severe amblyopia requires >50 h (≈35,000 trials) to reach plateau, yielding as much as a five-fold improvement in performance at a rate of ≈1.5%/h. There is significant transfer of learning from the amblyopic to the dominant eye, suggesting that the learning reflects alterations in higher decision stages of processing. Using a reverse correlation technique, we document, for the first time, a dynamic retuning of the amblyopic perceptual decision template and a substantial reduction in internal spatial distortion. These results show that the mature amblyopic brain is surprisingly malleable, and point to more intensive treatment methods for amblyopia.
Explaining Function with Anatomy: Language Lateralization and Corpus Callosum Size
Authors: Josse Goulven , Seghier Mohamed L. , Kherif Ferath , Price Cathy J.
Published: December 2008

The anatomy of the corpus callosum (CC) has been advocated as a potential marker for functional lateralization because its size is supposedly proportional to the number of fibers connecting the hemispheres. Previous morphometric studies of this relationship have compared CC size in groups of subjects who are more or less likely to show differences in their lateralization (e.g., left vs right handers). The findings, however, have been inconsistent, and to our knowledge, no previous study has directly compared CC size with lateralization assessed by functional imaging data. We therefore combined anatomical measurements of CC size with left versus right hemisphere language activation in 74 normal subjects. After controlling for perceptual and motor output effects, as well as for global white-matter volume, handedness, gender and age, we found that subjects who had a larger CC showed more left lateralization for language in posterior temporal and inferior frontal regions. Examination of these effects revealed that, as CC size increased, stronger lateralization resulted from more left hemisphere activation in both regions as well as reduced right hemisphere activation in the posterior temporal region. Our observations provide the first clear evidence in normal subjects that the midsagittal surface area of the CC contributes to the degree to which language is functionally lateralized. We discuss the complex interhemispheric processes that might underlie this effect.
Specificity of Reflex Adaptation for Task-Relevant Variability
Authors: Franklin David W. , Wolpert Daniel M.
Published: December 2008

The motor system responds to perturbations with reflexes, such as the vestibulo-ocular reflex or stretch reflex, whose gains adapt in response to novel and fixed changes in the environment, such as magnifying spectacles or standing on a tilting platform. Here we demonstrate a reflex response to shifts in the hand's visual location during reaching, which occurs before the onset of voluntary reaction time, and investigate how its magnitude depends on statistical properties of the environment. We examine the change in reflex response to two different distributions of visuomotor discrepancies, both of which have zero mean and equal variance across trials. Critically one distribution is task relevant and the other task irrelevant. The task-relevant discrepancies are maintained to the end of the movement, whereas the task-irrelevant discrepancies are transient such that no discrepancy exists at the end of the movement. The reflex magnitude was assessed using identical probe trials under both distributions. We find opposite directions of adaptation of the reflex response under these two distributions, with increased reflex magnitudes for task-relevant variability and decreased reflex magnitudes for task-irrelevant variability. This demonstrates modulation of reflex magnitudes in the absence of a fixed change in the environment, and shows that reflexes are sensitive to the statistics of tasks with modulation depending on whether the variability is task relevant or task irrelevant.
Conceptualizing Resistance and Revolution in Vietnam: Paul Mus' Understanding of Colonialism in Crisis
Authors: Bayly Susan
Published: December 2008

The French scholar-polemicist Paul Mus has been widely but misleadingly portrayed as a colonial thinker whose knowledge of Buddhist and Sanskritic cosmologies was deployed to produce representations of Vietnamese and other Asians as slaves of agentless cultural models based on principles of divine mandate or heavenly will. But, focusing on the distinctive ways in which the themes of political action, historicity, and psychically dynamic selfhood pervaded Mus' writings on Vietnamese anticolonialism, this essay situates his work in a context far removed from the stereotype of the conventional Orientalist.
Characterization of Chromosome Ends in the Filamentous FungusNeurospora crassa
Authors: Wu Cheng , Kim Yun-Sik , Smith Kristina M , Li Weixi , Hood Heather M , Staben Chuck , Selker Eric U , Sachs Matthew S , Farman Mark L
Published: December 2008

Telomeres and subtelomere regions have vital roles in cellular homeostasis and can facilitate niche adaptation. However, information on telomere/subtelomere structure is still limited to a small number of organisms. Prior to initiation of this project, the Neurospora crassa genome assembly contained only 3 of the 14 telomeres. The missing telomeres were identified through bioinformatic mining of raw sequence data from the genome project and from clones in new cosmid and plasmid libraries. Their chromosomal locations were assigned on the basis of paired-end read information and/or by RFLP mapping. One telomere is attached to the ribosomal repeat array. The remaining chromosome ends have atypical structures in that they lack distinct subtelomere domains or other sequence features that are associated with telomeres in other organisms. Many of the chromosome ends terminate in highly AT-rich sequences that appear to be products of repeat-induced point mutation, although most are not currently repeated sequences. Several chromosome termini in the standard Oak Ridge wild-type strain were compared to their counterparts in an exotic wild type, Mauriceville. This revealed that the sequences immediately adjacent to the telomeres are usually genome specific. Finally, despite the absence of many features typically found in the telomere regions of other organisms, the Neurospora chromosome termini still retain the dynamic nature that is characteristic of chromosome ends.
Nonadditive Expression of Homoeologous Genes Is Established Upon Polyploidization in Hexaploid Wheat
Authors: Pumphrey Michael , Bai Jianfa , Laudencia-Chingcuanco Debbie , Anderson Olin , Gill Bikram S
Published: December 2008

Effects of polyploidy in allohexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) have primarily been ascribed to increases in coding sequence variation and potential to acquire new gene functions through mutation of redundant loci. However, regulatory variation that arises through new promoter and transcription factor combinations or epigenetic events may also contribute to the effects of polyploidization. In this study, gene expression was characterized in a synthetic T. aestivum line and the T. turgidum and Aegilops tauschii parents to establish a timeline for such regulatory changes and estimate the frequency of nonadditive expression of homoeologous transcripts in newly formed T. aestivum. Large-scale analysis of nonadditive gene expression was assayed by microarray expression experiments, where synthetic T. aestivum gene expression was compared to additive model values (mid-parent) calculated from parental T. turgidum and Ae. tauschii expression levels. Approximately 16% of genes were estimated to display nonadditive expression in synthetic T. aestivum. A certain fraction of the genes (2.9%) showed overdominance or underdominance. cDNA–single strand conformation polymorphism analysis was applied to measure expression of homoeologous transcripts and further verify microarray data. The results demonstrate that allopolyploidization, per se, results in rapid initiation of differential expression of homoeologous loci and nonadditive gene expression in T. aestivum.
Effects of silymarin supplementation in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with peg-interferon + ribavirin. A placebo-controlled double blind study
Authors: Pár Alajos , Rőth Erzsébet , Miseta Attila , Hegedüs Géza , Pár Gabriella , Hunyady Béla , Vincze Áron
Published: December 2008

Mivel az oxidatív stressz patogenetikai szerepet játszik krónikus C-hepatitisben, és az antivirális terápiára való tartós virológiai válasz korlátozott HCV1 genotípus fertőzésben, kettős vakvizsgálatban tanulmányoztuk a pegilált interferon + ribavirin kezelésben részesült betegekben az antioxidáns flavonoid silymarin szupportációjának hatását.
Betegek és módszerek:
32 naiv krónikus C-hepatitises beteget pegilált interferon + ribavirin kezelés előtt random két csoportba osztottunk. A) csoport: 16 beteg placebót, B) csoport: 16 beteg naponta per os 2 × 166 mg silymarint kapott 3 hónapig, a betegek 6–12 hónapig mindkét csoportban pegilált interferon + ribavirin terápiában részesültek. Meghatároztuk a szérumban az alanin-aminotranszferáz és a HCV-RNS, a plazma- vagy vörösvértest-hemolizátum malondialdehid-, a szuperoxid-dizmutáz, a kataláz, a glutation-peroxidáz, a mieloperoxidáz és a redukált glutation szintjeit a 0., 1., 3., 6. és 12. hónap után. A tartós virológiai válasz értékelésére a HCV-RNS vizsgálatát az antivirális kezelés befejezését követően 6 hónappal megismételtük.
Eredmények:
A silymarincsoportban a malondialdehidszint gyorsabb csökkenése, a szuperoxid-dizmutáz jelentősebb csökkenése és a mieloperoxidáz jelentősebb növekedése volt észlelhető a 12. hónap után, az alanin-aminotranszferáz normalizálódása 6/16 (vs. kontroll 9/16) esetben, a tartós virológiai válasz 3/16 (vs. 7/16) esetben fordult elő.
Megbeszélés:
Bár az antivirális terápia silymarinnal történt kiegészítése javította az oxidatív stresszt, nem volt igazolható kedvező hatása sem az alanin-aminotranszferáz, sem a tartós virológiai válasz alakulására. Ezek az ellentmondásos leletek feltehetőleg a randomizációval kapcsolatosak, mivel a silymarincsoportban több volt a terápiás válasz negatív prediktora: a betegek idősebbek voltak, magasabb fibrosispontszámmal és súlyosabb oxidatív stresszel. A silibinin HCV-replikációt gátló hatásáról újabban közölt
in vitro
kísérletek és klinikai megfigyelések alapján, több mint háromszoros nagyságú silymarindózissal további kontrollált vizsgálatokat javaslunk krónikus C-hepatitisben az antivirális terápia flavonoidszupportáció-értékének megítélésére.
A Modified Crestal Ridge Expansion Technique for Immediate Placement of Implants: A Report of Three Cases
Authors: Santagata Mario , Guariniello Luigi , D'Andrea Alfredo , Tartaro Gianpaolo
Published: December 2008

Atrophic edentulous jaws can pose a significant challenge to successful oral rehabilitation with endosseous dental implants. Although ridge augmentation can help to restore ridge volume, grafting procedures can significantly increase patient morbidity, costs, and treatment time, depending on the case, before dental implants can be placed. This article reports on an alternative technique used in 3 patients to expand ridge volume and place dental implants in a single procedure. A partial-thickness flap was elevated to expose the alveolar crest, and conventional implant osteotomies were partially prepared. Along the crest of the ridge, a furrow with terminal vertical releases 1 to 3 mm deep were created, and a bone chisel was used to deepen the furrow. Osteotomes were used to complete preparation of the implant receptor sites, and the implants were placed. Bony plates were stabilized through the use of resorbable sutures. Furrows more than 2 mm deep between the plates were augmented with a xenograft. Collegen membranes were placed over the sites, and soft tissue was sutured. Healing was unremarkable, and all implants were successfully restored. For these patients, the ridge expansion technique resulted in substantial bone reconstruction with little or no grafting. Long-term, prospective studies on this procedure are required before definitive conclusions can be drawn.
A New Twist on Surgical Guides
Authors: Bavar Trevor
Published: December 2008

Surgical guides have evolved to the point that they can be created with the aid of computer-assisted tomography (CT) technology. Surgical guides also are used in construction of the prosthesis prior to implant surgery. With existing guide techniques, the prosthesis is screw retained, or cone-shaped temporary abutments may be used to overcome the lack of parallelism of the implants. With the New Twist technique, we are able to create the surgical guide in such a way that optimum bone may be used and the rotational position of the implant may be established for the surgeon and for the laboratory. Custom abutments are inserted at the time of surgery, as is an esthetic, functionally provisional cemented prosthesis. Castings for the finished ceramo-metal bridge are fabricated before surgery is performed. The final prosthesis then is easily constructed by the restorative dentist during just 3 simple patient visits.
Cleft Lip and/or Palate with Monogenic Autosomal Recessive Transmission in Pyrenees Shepherd Dogs
Authors: Kemp Cordula , Thiele Holger , Dankof Anja , Schmidt Gül , Lauster Carola , Fernahl Gabriele , Lauster Roland
Published: December 2008

Objective:

To document the genetic background of Pyrenees shepherd dogs as it relates to the incidence of cleft lip and/or cleft palate, to describe the phenotype, and to determine possible candidate genes.

Design:

Pedigree analysis was performed and blood samples were taken from five affected pups, their siblings, and parents. Seven candidate genes were selected and linkage analysis was performed. Further methods used included sequencing and histology.

Results:

In 37 litters consisting of 163 pups, we found 47 affected pups in a total population of 2104. The male:female ratio was 1:0.96. Affected pups showed isolated cleft lip and/or cleft palate; no attendant disorders have been reported. Despite a high degree of relationship, two affected pups displayed a cleft palate (– H S H –) and a cleft lip with or without cleft palate (L A —) cleft formation. Histology of affected pups showed that the medial edge epithelium remained intact and did not undergo an epithelial-mesenchymal transformation. There was no evidence for linkage between the trait and TGFb3 or Msx1. Subsequent sequencing excluded the coding sequence of Fst as well.

Conclusion:

Pedigree analysis showed that cleft palate is not genetically distinct from cleft lip with or without cleft palate but is inherited in this breed as a monogenic autosomal recessive trait. Linkage analysis and sequencing excluded TGFb3, Msx1, and Fst as candidate genes. Histology of affected pups showed that the medial edge epithelium is still intact.
Abnormalities of Maxillary Anterior Teeth in Chinese Children with Cleft Lip and Palate
Authors: Lai Moon Cheung , King Nigel M. , Wong Hai Ming
Published: December 2008

Objective:

To retrospectively study the anterior maxilla of southern Chinese children with complete cleft lip and palate (CLP) for the prevalence of different kinds of dental anomalies, position and rotation of the teeth, and the asymmetry of dental development.

Patients:

195 southern Chinese children with CLP aged between 3 and 17 years.

Methods and Materials:

Dental records and study casts were studied as were the radiographs from which the dental development was determined.

Results:

The tooth prevalence of cleft side permanent lateral incisor was 19.2% in unilateral CLP (UCLP) children and 20.5% in bilateral CLP (BCLP) children. The cleft side central incisors were rotated in 78.1% and 95.9% of the teeth in UCLP and BCLP children, respectively. Of the permanent canines, 43.4% were positioned mesially on the cleft side in UCLP children, while for BCLP children 69.7% of the teeth were in a normal position. In addition, the mesially positioned canines were often associated with an absence of the permanent lateral incisor while the distally positioned canines were always associated with the presence of supernumeraries in the cleft region. The permanent teeth on the cleft side showed significantly delayed development compared with their antimeres on the noncleft side; however, the delayed permanent lateral incisors did complete their formation normally.

Conclusion:

This group of Chinese children with CLP demonstrated statistically significant higher prevalences of hypodontia, microdontia, and delayed dental development on the cleft side than the noncleft side.
A Preoperative Appliance for a Newborn with Cleft Palate
Authors: Karayazgan Banu , Gunay Yumushan , Gurbuzer Bahadir , Erkan Mustafa , Atay Arzu
Published: December 2008

Cleft palate is a commonly observed congenital maxillofacial defect. One of the most important problems with clefts is the interference with feeding. An affected infant cannot produce negative pressure in the oral cavity and therefore cannot move the bolus backward to the pharynx. To obtain better nutritional intake prior to surgical correction, a palatal lift obturator is recommended. In this clinical report, a modified technique of obturator fabrication is presented. The new method uses a piece of tulle, a flexible and durable material that is frequently used in theater attire. With the help of this material, the bulb part is connected to the plate as a labile piece, and this connection acts like a natural velopharyngeal extension. Additionally, because of the softer property of the silicone elastomer, the posterior pharyngeal wall is less irritated.
Association Analysis between the IRF6 G820A Polymorphism and Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip and/or Cleft Palate in a Chinese Population
Authors: Tang Wei , Du Xinya , Feng Fan , Long Jie , Lin Yunfeng , Li Peng , Liu Lei , Tian Weidong
Published: December 2008

Objective:

To investigate whether an association occurred between the IRF6 G820A polymorphism and nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL±P) or cleft palate only (CPO) in Chinese patients.

Design and Setting:

Case-controlled study at the West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, China.

Subjects:

A total of 91 patients with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) and 96 unrelated, healthy individuals with no family history of CL/P were genotyped.

Methods:

The IRF6 G820A polymorphism was genotyped by restriction digestion of polymerase chain reaction products with BseLI. Chi-square statistics were used to make case-controlled comparisons.

Results:

The frequency of the A allele was significantly increased and the frequency of the G allele was reduced in CPO patients in comparison with control subjects. The 820GG genotype had a significantly lower frequency in patients with CPO than in controls, with an odds ratio of 0.25 (95% confidence interval, −0.061 to 0.57). No difference in the distribution of genotypes was noted between CL±P patients and the total group of CL/P patients compared with controls.

Conclusions:

The present findings indicate that the 820A allele is more frequent in the Chinese CPO population and may confer an increased risk for CPO in these individuals. The G820A variant may be in linkage disequilibrium with other disorder-causing mutations. CL±P or CPO results should be analyzed separately and stratified in future studies.
Unblocking the Nose by Unplugging the Ear: The Use of Foam Ear Defenders as a Splint following Secondary Cleft Rhinoplasty
Authors: Treharne Linda J. , van der Meulen Jacques J. N. M.
Published: December 2008

Objective:

The functional and aesthetic result from secondary cleft rhinoplasty is commonly impaired by a bulge in the lateral nasal vestibule, which can relapse in the postoperative period despite careful intraoperative correction. We aim to improve our results by using a foam ear defender as a postoperative splint to prevent relapse.

Design:

Case series of 10 patients with photographs of a typical clinical case.

Interventions:

The postoperative nasal pack was exchanged with a foam ear defender on day 5. The splint was worn continuously for 3 to 4 weeks, then nightly for 3 months. The splint was changed daily by the patient.

Main Outcome Measures:

The results were assessed clinically by the senior author.

Results:

The patients had little or no recurrence of the lateral vestibular bulge following nasal splintage.

Conclusions:

Foam ear defenders are a simple, cheap, and comfortable method to provide splintage to the nasal vestibule following secondary cleft rhinoplasty.