bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing parents preferences for the avoidance of undesirable anesthesia side effects in their children undergoing surgical procedures
Authors: WAGNER DEBORAH S. , YAP JOSE MARTIN , BRADLEY KATHRYN M. , VOEPEL‐LEWIS TERRI
Published: May 2007

Background:  Willingness to pay (WTP) surveys have proven to be useful tools in determining patient preferences though relatively few pediatric studies have utilized them. Studies in the adult surgical population have used such methods to assess patients’ perspectives regarding the avoidance of anesthesia side effects or outcomes. The purpose of this survey was to assess parental preferences, using a relative WTP model, for the avoidance of anesthesia side effects in their children undergoing surgery.

Methods:  The survey was distributed to 150 parents of children who were undergoing surgery. Parents were asked to rank order (1 = most unwanted to 7 = least troublesome) six stated potential anesthesia side effects and to allocate a fixed dollar percentage of a $100 toward prevention of each. A total of 142 surveys were returned (95% response rate).

Results:  Parents ranked vomiting as the least desirable side effect for their child (rank order = 1.9) and pain as second (rank order = 2.14). However, parents allocated $33.48 to prevent pain compared with $28.89 for vomiting as a relative dollar amount.

Conclusions:  This study suggests that targeting management toward the prevention of these adverse outcomes may improve parental satisfaction with anesthesia care of their children.
Sequential clot strength analyses following diclofenac in pediatric adenotonsillectomy
Authors: HEANEY MAIREAD , LOONEY YVONNE , MCKINSTRY CALEB , O’HARE BRENDAN
Published: May 2007

Background:  Tonsillectomy is a common pediatric surgical procedure resulting in significant postoperative pain. There is ongoing controversy as to the most satisfactory analgesic regimen. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are an alternative to opioids in this setting. NSAID use in tonsillectomy has been shown to be opioid sparing in the recovery period and to have similar analgesic effects to opioids in pediatric patients. Because of their nonspecific action on the enzyme cyclo‐oxygenase there is potential for increased bleeding which has led many practitioners to avoid NSAIDs completely in this patient population potentially resulting in suboptimal pain control.

Our aim in this study was to assess the effect of preoperatively administered diclofenac on the blood clot strength in children undergoing (adeno‐) tonsillectomy.

Methods:  Twenty patients undergoing (adeno‐) tonsillectomy were recruited into this prospective observational study. All patients received 2 mg·kg−1 of diclofenac rectally immediately preoperatively. Blood was taken for thromboelastograph analysis pre‐diclofenac and 1 and 4 h post‐diclofenac administration.

Results:  There was a statistically significant increase in maximal clot strength (MA) at 1 and 4 h after diclofenac. Similarly there was a statistically significant reduction in time to initial fibrin formation (R time) post‐diclofenac. There was no primary or secondary hemorrhage.

Conclusions:  Diclofenac when given preoperatively does not adversely affect clot strength in the immediate postoperative period when the risk of primary hemorrhage is greatest.
Anesthesia for Fucosidosis
Authors: ABDALLAH CLAUDE , HANNALLAH RAAFAT , MCGILL WILLIS
Published: May 2007

Fucosidosis is an extremely rare, autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease, characterized by a deficiency of the lysosomal hydrolase alpha fucosidase. We report a case of a 6‐year‐old child, diagnosed with fucosidosis type 2, who presented for dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia. Anesthesia was uneventful. Features of fucosidosis are discussed
Altered ‘active’ antireflux mechanism in primary vesico‐ureteric reflux: a morphological and manometric study
Authors: Arena Salvatore , Fazzari Carmine , Arena Francesco , Scuderi Maria G. , Romeo Carmelo , Nicòtina Piero A. , Di Benedetto Vincenzo
Published: May 2007

OBJECTIVE

To immunolocate c‐kit‐positive interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs, known to be responsible for pacemaker activity in human ureters, coordinating ureteric motility) in the intramural ureter of patients with different grades of vesico‐ureteric reflux (VUR), to assess the ureteric histology and correlate these findings with manometric patterns.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The VU junction (VUJ) represents the boundary between the low‐pressure of the upper and high pressure of the lower urinary tract, protecting the upper tract from VUR using active and passive antireflux mechanisms. The contraction of the longitudinal muscle coat of the VUJ possibly functions as an ‘active’ antireflux system, but previous manometric findings on refluxing ureteric units (RUs) have shown altered patterns. In all, 32 RU ends were stained using both picro‐Mallory and Sirius Red techniques; in a parallel immunohistochemical procedure, using mast cell tryptase and CD117 antibodies (to identify ICCs), they were compared with eight control ureteric ends. Ureteric manometry of the VUJ was also done during ureteric reimplantation.

RESULTS

The histochemical and immunohistochemical results in the RUs showed a replacement of the altered smooth muscle fascicles by collagenous stroma and significant loss of ICCs in RU ends, both correlated with the grade of VUR. Ureteric manometry showed significant impairment of basal and maximum pressure in RUs, correlated, respectively, with histological lesions and loss of ICCs.

CONCLUSION

Deficiency of the longitudinal muscle coat probably leads to dysfunction and insufficiency of the ostial valve mechanism, with subsequent impairment of the active valve mechanism. Histological, histochemical and immunohistochemical changes support the alterations of ureteric peristalsis in RUs.
Repeated botulinum‐A toxin injections in the treatment of myelodysplastic children and patients with spinal cord injuries with neurogenic bladder dysfunction
Authors: Akbar Michael , Abel Rainer , Seyler Thorsten M. , Gerner Hans J. , Möhring Klaus
Published: May 2007

Authors from Germany describe the use of botulinum toxin in the treatment of myelodysplastic children and found it to be safe and effective. They found that repeat treatments are as effective as the first one, with no evidence of tachyphylaxis, antibody formation or detrusor fibrosis.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the effects of repeated detrusor injections of botulinum‐A toxin (BTX) for possible changes in bladder function, muscular structure of the detrusor, increase in BTX tolerance (tachyphylaxis) and side‐effects, as BTX is a new treatment alternative for patients with a neurogenic bladder condition that is difficult to treat and refractory to anticholinergic medication.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between 2000 and 2005, 19 patients with myelodysplasia (MDP) and 25 spinal cord‐injured (SCI) patients were treated with repeated suburothelial BTX injections (Dysport®, Ipsen‐Pharma, Ettlingen, Germany) or injections into the intramural detrusor. The follow‐up was ≥ 3 years (range 3–5, median 4.5).

RESULTS

Detrusor compliance, bladder capacity, and detrusor pressure at maximum filling improved significantly (P < 0.001) compared to baseline after each BTX injection. There was prolonged efficacy of each BTX administration and all repeated injections in the paediatric and adult patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction over a median follow‐up of 4.5 years. There was no evidence for drug tolerance or changes in the morphological appearance of the bladder. Safety was good: no complications were associated with the injection procedure itself. Early in the treatment programme, three patients who received a dose of 1000 units Dysport showed systemic side‐effects and generalized muscle weakness. These resolved without intervention and did not recur after reducing the adult dose to 750 units (paediatric dose 20 units/kg, not >400 units), which seems to be the optimum for good efficacy with an adequate safety margin.

CONCLUSION

BTX injection is a safe and effective treatment for neurogenic detrusor hyperreflexia. Repeat treatments are as effective as the first: there was no indication of a lack of efficacy due to tachyphylaxis, antibody formation, or fibrosis of the detrusor muscle in this sample.
Low nuclear ErbB3 predicts biochemical recurrence in patients with prostate cancer
Authors: Koumakpayi Ismaël H. , Diallo Jean‐Simon , Le Page Cécile , Lessard Laurent , Filali‐Mouhim Abdelali , Bégin Louis R. , Mes‐Masson Anne‐Marie , Saad Fred
Published: May 2007

OBJECTIVE

To further evaluate the association between the cytoplasmic or nuclear localization of ErbB3 with biochemical recurrence (BCR) in patients with prostate cancer and positive surgical margins, as there is a greater risk of BCR for such patients after radical prostatectomy (RP).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We recently noted that ErbB3, which is normally associated with the plasma membrane, can translocate to the nucleus, an event which appears to be associated with disease progression. We evaluated ErbB3 expression and localization using immunohistochemistry on tissue samples from 55 patients with positive surgical margins after RP; 30 of these 55 (55%) had BCR after 3 years of follow‐up. The relationship between ErbB3 nuclear localization and BCR (prostate‐specific antigen, PSA, >0.3 ng/mL) after RP was analysed by Kaplan‐Meier survival analysis and Cox regression models.

RESULTS

The BCR‐free survival probability at 3 years was 0.65 and 0.35 for positive and negative nuclear ErbB3, respectively (Kaplan‐Meier, P = 0.029). Patients negative for nuclear ErbB3 had a 2.47‐fold increase in BCR frequency in a univariate Cox model (P = 0.008) and it remained an independent prognostic marker when combined with clinical prognostic variables in a multivariate model (P = 0.023).

CONCLUSION

Low nuclear localization of ErbB3 is a predictor of BCR in patients with prostate cancer and positive surgical margins after RP.
Elective management of transitional cell carcinoma of the distal ureter: can kidney‐sparing surgery be advised?
Authors: Giannarini Gianluca , Schumacher Martin C. , Thalmann George N. , Bitton Alain , Fleischmann Achim , Studer Urs E.
Published: May 2007

OBJECTIVE

To determine the long‐term oncological outcome of patients with primary transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the distal ureter electively treated with either kidney‐sparing surgery (KSS) or radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) in a retrospective, non‐randomized, single‐centre study.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Of 43 consecutive patients with a primary solitary distal ureter TCC, 19 had KSS, consisting of distal ureter resection with bladder cuff excision and ureter reimplantation, and 24 had RNU with bladder cuff excision.

RESULTS

The median (range) age at surgery was 69 (31–86) years for the KSS group and 73 (59–87) years for the RNU group, patients in the latter having worse hydronephrotic kidneys. The median (range) follow‐up was 58 (3–260) months. A recurrent bladder tumour was diagnosed after a median of 15 months in five of the 19 patients treated by KSS and after a median of 5.5 months in eight of the 24 treated by RNU. Five of the 19 patients treated by KSS and six of the 24 treated by RNU died from metastatic disease despite chemotherapy. Recurrence‐free, cancer‐specific and overall survival were comparable in the two groups. In two patients (11%) treated by KSS an ipsilateral upper urinary tract TCC recurred after 42 and 105 months, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Treatment by distal ureteric resection is feasible in patients with primary TCC of the distal ureter. The long‐term oncological outcome seems to be comparable with that of patients treated by RNU. Furthermore, kidney preservation is advantageous if adjuvant or salvage chemotherapy is required.
Body size and host range co‐determine the altitudinal distribution of Neotropical tephritid flies
Authors: Kubota Umberto , Loyola Rafael D. , Almeida Adriana M. , Carvalho Débora A. , Lewinsohn Thomas M.
Published: May 2007

Aim We addressed the following questions: (1) Does tephritid body size tend to increase in species found at higher elevations, as predicted by Bergmann's rule? (2) Do tephritids conform to Rapoport's rule, so that species found at higher elevations tend to have broader altitudinal ranges? (3) More generally, how do body size and host range jointly affect the patterns of altitudinal distribution among Neotropical tephritid flies?

Location The Mantiqueira mountain range, south‐eastern Brazil, at sites ranging fromc. 700 to 2500 m a.s.l.

Methods At each site we collected flower heads of all Asteraceae species to rear out endophagous immatures (from January to June in 1998 and 1999). We used structural equation models (SEM) to evaluate jointly the relationships between body size, host range and altitudinal distribution (range and mid‐point).

Results Neotropical tephritid body size showed a negative relationship with altitudinal distribution. SE modelling showed no significant direct effect of body size on altitudinal range; however, it had significant indirect negative effects through host range and altitudinal mid‐point. The SE model was a good predictor of observed correlations and accounted for 84% of the variation in tephritid altitudinal range.

Main conclusions The altitudinal range of flower‐head‐feeding tephritids is related to host range and is indirectly affected by body size via host range and altitudinal mid‐point. As predicted by Rapoport's rule, tephritids that occur at higher elevations also present wider altitudinal ranges. Bergmann's rule does not apply to Neotropical tephritids along a tropical elevational gradient, but rather its converse was found. Body size may determine host range by imposing a restriction upon large individuals using small flower heads. Host species turnover along the altitudinal gradient may be the main factor explaining the strong relationship between host range and insect elevational distribution.
Plant species richness in continental southern Siberia: effects of pH and climate in the context of the species pool hypothesis
Authors: Chytrý Milan , Danihelka Jiří , Ermakov Nikolai , Hájek Michal , Hájková Petra , Kočí Martin , Kubešová Svatava , Lustyk Pavel , Otýpková Zdenka , Popov Denis , Roleěek Jan , Řezníčková Marcela , Šmarda Petr , Valachovič Milan
Published: May 2007

Aim  Many high‐latitude floras contain more calcicole than calcifuge vascular plant species. The species pool hypothesis explains this pattern through an historical abundance of high‐pH soils in the Pleistocene and an associated opportunity for the evolutionary accumulation of calcicoles. To obtain insights into the history of calcicole/calcifuge patterns, we studied species richness–pH–climate relationships across a climatic gradient, which included cool and dry landscapes resembling the Pleistocene environments of northern Eurasia.

Location  Western Sayan Mountains, southern Siberia.

Methods  Vegetation and environmental variables were sampled at steppe, forest and tundra sites varying in climate and soil pH, which ranged from 3.7 to 8.6. Species richness was related to pH and other variables using linear models and regression trees.

Results  Species richness is higher in areas with warmer winters and at medium altitudes that are warmer than the mountains and wetter than the lowlands. In treeless vegetation, the species richness–pH relationship is unimodal. In tundra vegetation, which occurs on low‐pH soils, richness increases with pH, but it decreases in steppes, which have high‐pH soils. In forests, where soils are more acidic than in the open landscape, the species richness–pH relationship is monotonic positive. Most species occur on soils with a pH of 6–7.

Main conclusions  Soil pH in continental southern Siberia is strongly negatively correlated with precipitation, and species richness is determined by the opposite effects of these two variables. Species richness increases with pH until the soil is very dry. In dry soils, pH is high but species richness decreases due to drought stress. Thus, the species richness–pH relationship is unimodal in treeless vegetation. Trees do not grow on the driest soils, which results in a positive species richness–pH relationship in forests. If modern species richness resulted mainly from the species pool effects, it would suggest that historically common habitats had moderate precipitation and slightly acidic to neutral soils.
Nutritional models
Authors: McKevith B. ,   IGD’s Industry Nutrition Strategy Group
Published: May 2007

Summary  A number of nutritional models have recently been developed in the UK. The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD)’s Industry Nutrition Strategy Group reviewed these models. A number of criteria were used to develop a template, making it easier to compare and contrast the models and to better understand the intended aims of the models and how they work. This work also highlighted a number of issues that need to be considered when a model is developed.
Are definitions of adiposity appropriate for identification of cardiovascular disease risk in South Asian populations?
Authors: Lovegrove J. A.
Published: May 2007

Summary  South Asian populations living in the UK have a high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes which impacts greatly on the morbidity and mortality of this ethnic group. The identification of ‘at risk’ individuals is essential to initiate preventative treatment. However, this is considerably hindered by the lack of appropriate cut‐off values for anthropometric measures. CVD risk is significantly higher at a lower body mass index (BMI) in many Asian groups compared with Caucasians and adiposity (particularly central deposition) is higher at similar BMI levels. The definition of adiposity in Asians needs to be firmly established and appropriate lower BMI and waist circumference cut‐offs implemented in ethnic subpopulations to facilitate appropriate treatment strategies.
Are people who regularly eat breakfast cereals slimmer than those who don’t? A systematic review of the evidence
Authors: De La Hunty A. , Ashwell M.
Published: May 2007

Summary  There is growing evidence that people who eat breakfast regularly tend to be slimmer than those who skip breakfast. However, this is not a consistent finding and it is not true for all types of breakfast. Also the relationship with breakfast can disappear in studies when adjusted for breakfast cereal consumption, suggesting it is breakfast cereal that is driving the association. This systematic review, therefore, looked specifically at the relationship between breakfast cereal consumption and weight.

A systematic search of the literature identified nine references looking at the relationship between the consumption of breakfast cereals and BMI as an outcome measure.

Five of the nine included studies were in adults. These studies consistently showed that people who eat breakfast cereals regularly tend to have a lower BMI and are less likely to be overweight than those who do not eat breakfast cereals regularly. Although not all of the results were statistically significant, they all point in the same direction. There was no evidence that regular breakfast cereal consumers have lower daily energy intakes than infrequent consumers.

Four of the nine included studies were in children. As for adults, the evidence from the included studies is consistent that children who eat breakfast cereals regularly tend to have a lower BMI and are less likely to be overweight than those who eat breakfast cereals infrequently. There was no evidence that children who consume breakfast cereals regularly have lower energy intakes than infrequent cereal consumers.

This systematic review considered whether the relationship between breakfast cereal consumption and weight is likely to be mediated either through lower energy intakes or higher energy expenditures. We found no clear evidence for this or for any other proposed mechanism. The relationship could arise out of confounding by lifestyle factors.

There is consistent evidence of an association between breakfast cereal consumption and a healthy weight, but limited evidence for any proposed mechanism that would point to it being a causal relationship.
How to Distinguish b from d
Authors: Emmerson Poter
Published: May 2007

My daughter, who is nearly 10 years old, still confuses b and d when she writes. Her teachers have not made an issue of this difficulty until now but as she will be changing schools quite soon they feel it is time she learned to overcome it.

They have been trying to help her to discriminate the two which they call ‘bat and ball’ letters but have not succeeded so far. Is there any other method that would be likely to help? I gather that although most children have ceased to confuse b and d by the age of 10 several still do and that they usually grow out of it within a year or two. Meanwhile her father has an accumulating collection of birthday cards and letters addressed to ‘Dear baddy’ (or ‘babby’).
What are the Categories in Sein und Zeit? Brandom on Heidegger on Zuhandenheit
Authors: Christensen Carleton B.
Published: May 2007

In his essay, ‘Heidegger's Categories in Sein und Zeit’, Robert Brandom argues that Heidegger, particularly in the notion of Zuhandenheit, anticipates his own normatively pragmatist conception of intentionality. He attempts to demonstrate this by marshalling short passages from right across the relevant sections of Sein und Zeit in such a way that they do seem to say what Brandom claims. But does one reach the same conclusion when one examines, more or less in sentence‐by‐sentence fashion, the large slab of text in which Heidegger introduces the notion of Zuhandenheit? I believe not. First, however, let us look at how Brandom reads Heidegger, in particular, how he interprets the notion of Zuhandenheit, which, in contrast both to Macquarrie and Robinson and to Brandom, I shall translate as ready‐to‐handedness.1
Symbols in Wittgenstein's Tractatus
Authors: Johnston Colin
Published: May 2007

This paper is concerned with the status of a symbol in Wittgenstein's Tractatus. It is claimed in the first section that a Tractarian symbol, whilst essentially a syntactic entity to be distinguished from the mark or sound that is its sign, bears its semantic significance only inessentially. In the second and third sections I pursue this point of exegesis through the Tractarian discussions of nonsense and the context principle respectively. The final section of the paper places the forgoing work in a secondary context, addressing in particular a debate regarding the realism of the Tractatus.
The Illegal Way In and The Moral Way Out
Authors: Øverland Gerhard
Published: May 2007

At the heart of the current debate about immigration we find a conflict of convictions. Many people seem to believe that a country has a right to decide who to let in and who to keep out, but quite often they appear equally committed to the view that it is morally wrong to expel someone from within the borders of their country if that would seriously jeopardise the person in question. While the first conviction leads to stricter border controls in an attempt to prevent would‐be immigrants from entering the country illegally, the latter conviction ensures that aliens with a legitimate claim on protection will not be removed forcibly. It is not strange, therefore, that the task of pinning down a morally sound immigration policy is such an elusive enterprise.

In this paper I take it for granted that no electorate would be prepared to accept the kind of policy they ought to, and that we in consequence will continue to let in as few immigrants as is currently the case. Given this constraint I argue against two common assumptions concerning a viable immigration policy. First, granted that certain conditions are satisfied, professional smugglers should not face legal sanctions for bringing asylum seekers to a potential host country. Second, countries that limit immigration should not treat people seeking family reunion preferentially or on a par with other immigrants, but rather act so as to maximise the number of refugees allowed to enter.
Jung and White and the God of terrible double aspect
Authors: Lammers Ann C.
Published: May 2007

Abstract: This paper discusses theoretical, historical and personal issues in the ill‐fated friendship and intellectual collaboration between C.G. Jung and the Dominican scholar Victor White, O.P., based on primary documents in their correspondence, 1945 to 1960.

The collaboration of Jung and White began with high expectations but fell into painful disagreements about the nature of God, the problem of evil, and shadow aspects of the Self. They made a rapid commitment to their working alliance based on personal and professional hopes, but paying scant attention to their divergent underlying assumptions. White hoped to build theoretical and practical connections between Jungian psychology and Catholic theology for the sake of modern Catholics. Jung needed learned theological support as he explored the psychological meanings of Christian symbols, including the central symbol of Christ. At the grandest level, they both hoped to transform the Christian West, after the moral disaster of World War II.

Their collaboration was risky for both men, especially for White in his career as a Dominican, and it led to considerable suffering. The Self is prominent in the relationship, symbolically present in the text of the correspondence and consciously forming their major topic of debate. From the start, the Self is an archetypal field, drawing the friends into their visionary task at the risk of unconscious inflation. Later the Self is revealed with its shadow as a burden, a puzzle, and a basis for estrangement. Finally, with the intervention of feminine wisdom, mortal suffering is transformed by an attitude of conscious sacrifice.
The Jung‐White dialogue and why it couldn't work and won't go away
Authors: Dourley John P.
Published: May 2007

Abstract:  White's Thomism and its Aristotelian foundation were at the heart of his differences with Jung over the fifteen years of their dialogue. The paper examines the precedents and consequences of the imposition of Thomism on the Catholic Church in 1879 in order to clarify the presuppositions White carried into his dialogue with Jung. It then selects two of Jung's major letters to White to show how their dialogue influenced Jung's later substantial work, especially his Answer to Job. The dialogue with White contributed to foundational elements in the older Jung's development of his myth which simply outstripped White's theological imagination and continues to challenge the worlds of contemporary monotheistic orthodoxy in all their variants.
Of texts and contexts: reflections upon the publication ofThe Jung‐White Letters
Authors: Stein Murray
Published: May 2007

Abstract: In addition to his many other personae, Jung was a writer and an author, which means a creator, whose written works underlie and authorize a field of thought and clinical work, i.e., analytical psychology. Not widely recognized is that many of his authored texts were stimulated by important and intense personal relationships. Freud and Victor White loom large, the first standing behind major early analytical texts likeWandlungen und Symbole der LibidoandPsychological Types, the second behind later texts on culture, religion, and Christian theology. The publication ofThe Jung‐White Lettersreveals the significance of his relationship with Victor White for the authoring ofAnswer to Job.
Jung and Kabbalah: imaginal and noetic aspects
Authors: Joseph Steven M.
Published: May 2007

Abstract:  Jung made use of kabbalistic images and motifs in various parts of his opus, including in his alchemical studies, in Aion, and extensively in Mysterium Coniunctionis. He also recorded an important dream after his heart attack which made use of kabbalistic symbolism in Memories, Dreams, Reflections. In this paper I explore Jung's ideas in relation to Kabbalah, first, by differentiating between Jung's imaginal approach to kabbalistic symbolism and the noetic intention of the Kabbalah itself in its use of imaginal material. Second, I present a number of typical examples of how Jung understands (and sometimes misunderstands) kabbalistic material that he cites. Third, I briefly survey the development of the Kabbalah as an imaginal noetic system, and present a core self‐understanding of kabbalists—as engaged in inner ‘self‐work’ which intends to ‘sweeten the harsh judgments of existence in their very roots’. Finally, I differentiate Jung's understanding of the psychical living symbol from the kabbalistic understanding of the mystical symbol. In this fourth section of the paper, I conclude by presenting a basic Hasidic/kabbalistic teaching on the nature and function of verbal contemplative prayer —as an illustration of the difference between the two understandings of symbolism. The four sections of the paper are framed by a ‘Prelude’ and a ‘Coda’.
N1 and the mismatch negativity are spatiotemporally distinct ERP components: Disruption of immediate memory by auditory distraction can be related to N1
Authors: Campbell Tom , Winkler István , Kujala Teija
Published: May 2007

Event‐related potentials (ERPs) were recorded for ignored tones presented during the retention interval of a delayed serial recall task. The mismatch negativity (MMN) and N1 ERP components were measured to discern spatiotemporal and functional properties of their generation. A nine‐token sequence with nine different tone pitches was more disruptive than an oddball (two‐token) sequence, yet this oddball sequence was no more disruptive than a single repeating tone (one‐token). Tones of the nine‐token sequence elicited augmented N1 amplitudes compared to identical tones delivered in the one‐token sequence, yet deviants elicited an additional component (MMN) with distinct temporal properties and topography. These results suggested that MMN and N1 are separate, functionally distinct components. Implications are discussed for the N1 hypothesis and the changing‐state hypothesis of the disruption of serial recall performance by auditory distraction.
Mood effects on autonomic activity in mood regulation
Authors: Silvestrini Nicolas , Gendolla Guido H. E.
Published: May 2007

University students (N=43) watched film clips to manipulate negative, neutral, or positive mood states and then performed a mood regulation task with the goal of experiencing positive affect. Autonomic reactivity was assessed during habituation, mood inductions, and mood regulation. According to the mood‐behavior model (G.H.E. Gendolla, 2000) and studies on self‐regulation, we predicted stronger cardiovascular and electrodermal reactivity in a negative mood than in both positive and neutral moods in the context of mood regulation but not during the mood inductions. Results were as expected. Furthermore, the Zygomaticus Major muscle reacted more strongly in the positive than in the neutral and negative mood conditions during the mood inductions. The findings are interpreted as demonstrating mood effects on resource mobilization during an effortful mood regulation performance.
Anterior N2 predicts subsequent viewing time and interest rating for novel drawings
Authors: Nittono Hiroshi , Shibuya Yoshie , Hori Tadao
Published: May 2007

Event‐related brain potentials (ERPs) in response to novel pictures and subsequent visual exploration were examined. Eighteen undergraduates viewed 120 novel drawings as long as they wished. ERPs were calculated separately for drawings that were viewed longer or shorter than the median viewing time of each participant. The drawings viewed longer elicited a larger anterior negativity (N2) peaking at 245 ms than the shorter viewed drawings. This effect disappeared and the overall amplitude of the N2 decreased when the same set of drawings was presented again in a subsequent interest‐rating session. Drawings rated as more interesting elicited a larger N2 than did drawings rated as less interesting. This study demonstrates a type of anterior N2 that is sensitive to stimulus unfamiliarity or difficulty in encoding, which reflects a conflict between stimulus input and existing knowledge and prompts further recognition processes and visual exploration.
Auditory temporal grouping in newborn infants
Authors: Stefanics Gábor , Háden Gábor , Huotilainen Minna , Balázs László , Sziller István , Beke Anna , Fellman Vineta , Winkler István
Published: May 2007

Adults normally perceive auditory scenes in terms of sound patterns emitted by concurrently active sources. Thus pattern formation is an important process of auditory object perception. The aim of the present study was to determine whether neonates group sounds by repeating pitch patterns. Standard (“S”; p=80%) and deviant tones (“D”, p=20%) differing only in pitch were delivered either in a randomized order (random condition) or in a repeating SSSSD pattern (grouped condition). Both event‐related brain potentials and gamma‐band activity differed between the S and D tones in the random condition but not in the grouped condition. These results suggest that in the grouped condition, the S and D tones were processed as part of the same higher order regularity by the neonate auditory system. Also, for the first time, we observed oscillatory gamma‐band activity in neonates, which was sensitive to infrequent pitch changes.
Does emotion modulate the blink reflex in human conditioning? Startle potentiation during pleasant and unpleasant cues in the picture–picture paradigm
Authors: Mallan Kimberley M. , Lipp Ottmar V.
Published: May 2007

Emotional processes modulate the size of the eyeblink startle reflex in a picture‐viewing paradigm, but it is unclear whether emotional processes are responsible for blink modulation in human conditioning. Experiment 1 involved an aversive differential conditioning phase followed by an extinction phase in which acoustic startle probes were presented during CS+, CS−, and intertrial intervals. Valence ratings and affective priming showed the CS+ was unpleasant postacquisition. Blink startle magnitude was larger during CS+ than during CS−. Experiment 2 used the same design in two groups trained with pleasant or unpleasant pictorial USs. Ratings and affective priming indicated that the CS+ had become pleasant or unpleasant in the respective group. Regardless of CS valence, blink startle was larger during CS+ than CS− in both groups. Thus, startle was not modulated by CS valence.
Multiple effects of 2ME2 and D609 on the cortical expression of HIF‐1α and apoptotic genes in a middle cerebral artery occlusion‐induced focal ischemia rat model
Authors: Chen Chunhua , Hu Qin , Yan Junhao , Lei Jiliang , Qin Lihua , Shi Xianzhong , Luan Liju , Yang Lei , Wang Ke , Han Jingyan , Nanda Anil , Zhou Changman
Published: May 2007

Despite 2‐methoxyestradiol (2ME2) and tricyclodecan‐9‐yl‐xanthogenate (D609) having multiple effects on cancer cells, mechanistically, both of them down‐regulate hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). We hypothesize HIF‐1α plays an essential role in cerebral ischemia as a pro‐apoptosis regulator; 2ME2 and D609 decrease the levels of HIF‐1α and VEGF, that might contribute to protecting brain from ischemia injury. A total of 102 male Sprague–Dawley rats were split into five groups: sham, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), MCAO + dimethyl sulfoxide, MCAO + 2ME2, and MCAO + D609. 2ME2 and D609 were injected intraperitoneally 1 h after reperfusion. Rats were killed at 24 h and 7 days. At 24 h, 2ME2 and D609 reduce the levels of HIF‐1α and VEGF (enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay), depress the expression of HIF‐1α, VEGF, BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) and cleaved caspase 3 (western blot and immunohistochemistry) in the brain infarct area. Double fluorescence labeling shows HIF‐1α positive immunoreactive materials are co‐localized with BNIP3 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin‐dUTP nick end labeling inside the nuclei of neurons. At 7 days, 2ME2 and D609 reduce the infarct volume (2,3,7‐triphenyltetrazolium chloride) and blood–brain barrier extravasation, decrease the mortality and improve the neurological deficits. In conclusion, 2ME2 and D609 are powerful agents to protect brain from cerebral ischemic injury by inhibiting HIF‐1α expression, attenuating the superfluous expression of VEGF to avoid blood–brain barrier disruption and suppressing neuronal apoptosis via BNIP3 pathway.
Proteomic analysis of striatal proteins in the rat model of l‐DOPA‐induced dyskinesia
Authors: Valastro Barbara , Dekundy Andrzej , Krogh Morten , Lundblad Martin , James Peter , Danysz Wojciech , Quack Guenter , Cenci Maria Angela
Published: May 2007

l‐DOPA‐induced dyskinesia (LID) is among the motor complications that arise in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients after a prolonged treatment with l‐DOPA. To this day, transcriptome analysis has been performed in a rat model of LID [Neurobiol. Dis., 17 (2004), 219] but information regarding the proteome is still lacking. In the present study, we investigated the changes occurring at the protein level in striatal samples obtained from the unilaterally 6‐hydroxydopamine‐lesion rat model of PD treated with saline, l‐DOPA or bromocriptine using two‐dimensional difference gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry (MS). Rats treated with l‐DOPA were allocated to two groups based on the presence or absence of LID. Among the 2000 spots compared for statistical difference, 67 spots were significantly changed in abundance and identified using matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight MS, atmospheric pressure matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization and HPLC coupled tandem MS (LC/MS/MS). Out of these 67 proteins, LID significantly changed the expression level of five proteins: αβ‐crystalin, gamma‐enolase, guanidoacetate methyltransferase, vinculin, and proteasome α‐2 subunit. Complementary techniques such as western immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry were performed to investigate the validity of the data obtained using the proteomic approach. In conclusion, this study provides new insights into the protein changes occurring in LID.
Ectodomain shedding of neuroglycan C, a brain‐specific chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, by TIMP‐2‐ and TIMP‐3‐sensitive proteolysis
Authors: Shuo Takuya , Aono Sachiko , Nakanishi Keiko , Tokita Yoshihito , Kuroda Yoshiyuki , Ida Michiru , Matsui Fumiko , Maruyama Hiroyo , Kaji Toshiyuki , Oohira Atsuhiko
Published: May 2007

Neuroglycan C (NGC) is a transmembrane‐type of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan with an epidermal growth factor (EGF)‐like module that is exclusively expressed in the CNS. Because ectodomain shedding is a common processing step for many transmembrane proteins, we examined whether NGC was subjected to proteolytic cleavage. Western blotting demonstrated the occurrence of a soluble form of NGC with a 75 kDa core glycoprotein in the soluble fraction of the young rat cerebrum. In contrast, full‐length NGC with a 120 kDa core glycoprotein and its cytoplasmic fragment with a molecular size of 35 kDa could be detected in the membrane fraction. The soluble form of NGC was also detectable in culture media of fetal rat neurons, and the full‐length form existed in cell layers. The amount of the soluble form in culture media was decreased by adding a physiological protease inhibitor such as a tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)‐2 or TIMP‐3, but not by adding TIMP‐1. Both EGF‐like and neurite outgrowth‐promoting activity of the NGC ectodomain may be regulated by this proteolytic processing.
Partial agonist actions of aripiprazole and the candidate antipsychotics S33592, bifeprunox,N‐desmethylclozapine and preclamol at dopamine D2Lreceptors are modified by co‐transfection of D3receptors: potential role of heterodimer formation
Authors: Novi Francesca , Millan Mark J. , Corsini Giovanni U. , Maggio Roberto
Published: May 2007

Aripiprazole and the candidate antipsychotics, S33592, bifeprunox,N‐desmethylclozapine (NDMC) and preclamol, are partial agonists at D2receptors. Herein, we examined their actions at D2Land D3receptors expressed separately or together in COS‐7 cells. In D2Lreceptor‐expressing cells co‐transfected with (D3receptor‐insensitive) chimeric adenylate cyclase‐V/VI, drugs reduced forskolin‐stimulated cAMP production by ∼20% versus quinpirole (48%). Further, quinpirole‐induced inhibition was blunted by aripiprazole and S33592, confirming partial agonist properties. In cells co‐transfected with equal amounts of D2LandD3receptors (1 : 1), efficacies of aripiprazole and S33592 were attenuated. Further, in cells co‐transfected with D2Land anexcessof D3receptors (1 : 3), aripiprazole and S33592 were completelyinactive, and theyabolishedthe actions of quinpirole. Likewise, bifeprunox, NDMC and preclamol lost agonist properties in cells co‐transfected with D2LandD3receptors. Accordingly, at split D2trunk/D3tailand D3trunk/D2tailchimeras, agonist actions of quinpirole were blocked by aripiprazole and S33592 that, like bifeprunox, NDMC and preclamol, wereinactivealone. Conversely, when a 12 amino acid sequence in the third intracellular loop of D3receptors was replaced by the homologous sequence of D2Lreceptors, aripiprazole, S33592, bifeprunox, NDMC and preclamol inhibited cAMP formation by ∼20% versus quinpirole (42%). Moreover, at D2Lreceptor‐expressing cells co‐transfected with modified D3i3(D2)receptors, drugs behaved as partial agonists. To summarize, low efficacy agonist actions of aripiprazole, S33592, bifeprunox, NDMC and preclamol at D2Lreceptors are abrogated upon co‐expression of D3receptors, probably due to physical association and weakened coupling efficacy. These findings have implications for the functional profiles of antipsychotics.
Preprodynorphin mediates locomotion and D2 dopamine and μ‐opioid receptor changes induced by chronic ‘binge’ cocaine administration
Authors: Bailey A. , Yoo J. H. , Racz I. , Zimmer A. , Kitchen I.
Published: May 2007

Evidence suggests that the κ‐opioid receptor (KOP‐r) system plays an important role in cocaine addiction. Indeed, cocaine induces endogenous KOP activity, which is a mechanism that opposes alterations in behaviour and brain function resulting from repeated cocaine use. In this study, we have examined the influence of deletion of preprodynorphin (ppDYN) on cocaine‐induced behavioural effects and on hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis activity. Furthermore, we have measured μ‐opioid receptor (MOP‐r) agonist‐stimulated [35S]GTPγS, dopamine D1, D2 receptor and dopamine transporter (DAT) binding. Male wild‐type (WT) and ppDYN knockout (KO) mice were injected with saline or cocaine (45 mg/kg/day) in a ‘binge’ administration paradigm for 14 days. Chronic cocaine produced an enhancement of locomotor sensitisation in KO. No genotype effect was found on stereotypy behaviour. Cocaine‐enhanced MOP‐r activation in WT but not in KO. There was an overall decrease in D2 receptor binding in cocaine‐treated KO but not in WT mice. No changes were observed in D1 and DAT binding. Cocaine increased plasma corticosterone levels in WT but not in KO. The data confirms that the endogenous KOP system inhibits dopamine neurotransmission and that ppDYN may mediate the enhancement of MOP‐r activity and the activation of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis after chronic cocaine treatment.
Empirical mode decomposition to assess cardiovascular autonomic control in rats
Authors: De Souza Neto Edmundo Pereira , Abry Patrice , Loiseau Patrick , Cejka Jean Christophe , Custaud Marc Antoine , Frutoso Jean , Gharib Claude , Flandrin Patrick
Published: May 2007

Heart beat rate and blood pressure, together with baroreflex sensitivity, have become important tools in assessing cardiac autonomic system control and in studying sympathovagal balance. These analyses are usually performed thanks to spectral indices computed from standard spectral analysis techniques. However, standard spectral analysis and its corresponding rigid band‐pass filter formulation suffer from two major drawbacks. It can be significantly distorted by non‐stationarity issues and it proves unable to adjust to natural intra‐ and inter‐individual variability. Empirical mode decomposition (EMD), a tool recently introduced in the literature, provides us with a signal‐adaptive decomposition that proves useful for the analysis of non‐stationary data and shows a strong capability to precisely adjust to the spectral content of the analyzed data. It is based on the concept that any complicated set of data can be decomposed into a finite number of components, called intrinsic mode functions, associated with different spectral contributions. The aims of this study were twofold. First, we studied the changes in the sympathovagal balance induced by various pharmacological blockades (phentolamine, atropine and atenolol) of the autonomic nervous system in normotensive rats. Secondly, we assessed the use of EMD for the analysis of the cardiac sympathovagal balance after pharmacological injections. For this, we developed a new (EMD‐based) low frequency vs. high frequency spectral decomposition of heart beat variability and systolic blood pressure, we define the corresponding EMD spectral indices and study their relevance to detect and analyze changes accurately in the sympathovagal balance without having recourse to any a priori fixed high‐pass/low‐pass filters.
Central fatigue of the first dorsal interosseous muscle during low‐force and high‐force sustained submaximal contractions
Authors: Eichelberger Tamara D. , Bilodeau Martin
Published: May 2007

The aim of this study was to compare the extent of central fatigue in the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle of healthy adults in low, moderate and high‐force submaximal contractions. Nine healthy adults completed four experimental sessions where index finger abduction force was recorded during voluntary contractions and in response to brief trains (five pulses at 100 Hz) of electrical stimulation. The ability to maximally activate FDI under volition, or voluntary activation, and its change with sustained activity (central fatigue) was assessed using the twitch interpolation technique. The fatigue tasks consisted of continuous isometric index finger abduction contractions held until exhaustion at four target force levels: 30%, 45%, 60% and 75% of the maximal voluntary contraction. The main finding was the presence of central fatigue for the 30% task, but not for the three other fatigue tasks. The extent of central fatigue was also associated with changes in a measure reflecting the status of peripheral structures/mechanisms. It appears that central fatigue contributed to task failure for the lowest force fatigue task (30%), but not for the other (higher) contraction intensities.