bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Spectral signatures of viewing a needle approaching one's body when anticipating pain
Authors: Höfle Marion , Pomper Ulrich , Hauck Michael , Engel Andreas K. , Senkowski Daniel 
Published: July 2013

AbstractWhen viewing the needle of a syringe approaching your skin, anticipation of a painful prick may lead to increased arousal. How this anticipation is reflected in neural oscillatory activity and how it relates to activity within the autonomic nervous system is thus far unknown. Recently, we found that viewing needle pricks compared with Q‐tip touches increases the pupil dilation response (PDR) and perceived unpleasantness of electrical stimuli. Here, we used high‐density electroencephalography to investigate whether anticipatory oscillatory activity predicts the unpleasantness of electrical stimuli and PDR while viewing a needle approaching a hand that is perceived as one's own. We presented video clips of needle pricks and Q‐tip touches, and delivered spatiotemporally aligned painful and nonpainful intracutaneous electrical stimuli. The perceived unpleasantness of electrical stimuli and the PDR were enhanced when participants viewed needle pricks compared with Q‐tip touches. Source reconstruction using linear beamforming revealed reduced alpha‐band activity in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and fusiform gyrus before the onset of electrical stimuli when participants viewed needle pricks compared with Q‐tip touches. Moreover, alpha‐band activity in the PCC predicted PDR on a single trial level. The anticipatory reduction of alpha‐band activity in the PCC may reflect a neural mechanism that serves to protect the body from forthcoming harm by facilitating the preparation of adequate defense responses.
Anatomical differences in the human inferior colliculus relate to the perceived valence of musical consonance and dissonance
Authors: Fritz Thomas Hans , Renders Wiske , Müller Karsten , Schmude Paul , Leman Marc , Turner Robert , Villringer Arno 
Published: July 2013

AbstractHelmholtz himself speculated about a role of the cochlea in the perception of musical dissonance. Here we indirectly investigated this issue, assessing the valence judgment of musical stimuli with variable consonance/dissonance and presented diotically (exactly the same dissonant signal was presented to both ears) or dichotically (a consonant signal was presented to each ear – both consonant signals were rhythmically identical but differed by a semitone in pitch). Differences in brain organisation underlying inter‐subject differences in the percept of dichotically presented dissonance were determined with voxel‐based morphometry. Behavioral results showed that diotic dissonant stimuli were perceived as more unpleasant than dichotically presented dissonance, indicating that interactions within the cochlea modulated the valence percept during dissonance. However, the behavioral data also suggested that the dissonance percept did not depend crucially on the cochlea, but also occurred as a result of binaural integration when listening to dichotic dissonance. These results also showed substantial between‐participant variations in the valence response to dichotic dissonance. These differences were in a voxel‐based morphometry analysis related to differences in gray matter density in the inferior colliculus, which strongly substantiated a key role of the inferior colliculus in consonance/dissonance representation in humans.
Trends in organic carbon and nitrogen contents in agricultural soils in Bavaria (south Germany) between 1986 and 2007
Authors: Capriel P. 
Published: July 2013

SummaryIn the last 60 years traditional agriculture in industrialized European countries, which had initially been dependent on available natural resources, has shifted towards a massive intensification of nutrient turnover because of cheap energy and low‐cost synthetic fertilizers. At the same time farm structure has undergone profound changes, resulting in an increase in the number of specialized farms to the detriment of traditional non‐specialized ones. All these trends have had a significant impact on agricultural management. The intensification of agricultural management together with climate change could affect the quantity and quality of soil organic matter (SOM). That could imply decreasing soil fertility, reduced harvest yields, increasing nutrient losses and additional greenhouse gas emission. In order to measure the long‐term development of SOM in agricultural soils a monitoring programme was initiated in Bavaria in 1986. The measurements are based on 92 representative plots located on cropland and 21 plots located on managed permanent grassland. Between 1986 and 2007 the monitoring plots have been sampled four times. The monitoring results suggest a decrease of soil organic carbon content, total nitrogen content and C:N ratio in cropland as well as in grassland in Bavaria between 1986 and 2007. Crops and organic fertilizers are together with the initial SOM content the main causes of the observed changes in SOM quantity and quality. A climatic effect could be neither proved nor excluded. The results in Bavaria are consistent with the reported changes in organic carbon of agricultural soils in Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and England. In Bavaria we should expect declining SOM stocks, particularly soil organic carbon, in agricultural soils if the supply of organic matter remains constant or even decreases.
Projected climate impacts to South African maize and wheat production in 2055: a comparison of empirical and mechanistic modeling approaches
Authors: Estes Lyndon D. , Beukes Hein , Bradley Bethany A. , Debats Stephanie R. , Oppenheimer Michael , Ruane Alex C. , Schulze Roland , Tadross Mark 
Published: July 2013

AbstractCrop model‐specific biases are a key uncertainty affecting our understanding of climate change impacts to agriculture. There is increasing research focus on intermodel variation, but comparisons between mechanistic (MMs) and empirical models (EMs) are rare despite both being used widely in this field. We combined MMs and EMs to project future (2055) changes in the potential distribution (suitability) and productivity of maize and spring wheat in South Africa under 18 downscaled climate scenarios (9 models run under 2 emissions scenarios). EMs projected larger yield losses or smaller gains than MMs. The EMs’ median‐projected maize and wheat yield changes were −3.6% and 6.2%, respectively, compared to 6.5% and 15.2% for the MM. The EM projected a 10% reduction in the potential maize growing area, where the MM projected a 9% gain. Both models showed increases in the potential spring wheat production region (EM = 48%, MM = 20%), but these results were more equivocal because both models (particularly the EM) substantially overestimated the extent of current suitability. The substantial water‐use efficiency gains simulated by the MMs under elevated CO2 accounted for much of the EM−MM difference, but EMs may have more accurately represented crop temperature sensitivities. Our results align with earlier studies showing that EMs may show larger climate change losses than MMs. Crop forecasting efforts should expand to include EM−MM comparisons to provide a fuller picture of crop–climate response uncertainties.
The integrated management for renal replacement therapy in Portugal
Authors: Coelho Anabela P. , Sá Helena O. , Diniz José A. , Dussault Gilles 
Published: July 2013

AbstractPortugal was the first European country to introduce an integrated management of end‐stage renal disease (IM ESRD). This new program integrates various dialysis services and products, which are reimbursed at a fixed rate/patient/week called “comprehensive price payment.” This initiative restructured the delivery of dialysis services, the monitoring of outcomes, and the funding of renal replacement therapy. This article described the implementation of a new model of comprehensive provision of hemodialysis (HD) services and aimed to assess its impact on dialysis care. Quality assessments and reports of patient satisfaction, produced by the Ministry of Health since 2008, as well as national registries and reports, provided the data for this review. Indicators of HD services in all continental facilities show positive results that have successively improved along the period of 2009–2011, in spite of an average annual growth of 3% of the population under HD treatment. Mortality rates for HD patients were 12.7%, 12%, and 11%, respectively in 2009, 2010, and 2011; annual hospitalization rates were 4.9%, 3.8%, and 4.4% for the same years; key performance indicators showed averages above the reference values such as hemoglobin, serum phosphorus, eKt/V, water quality, number of days of hospitalization per patient per year, and number of weekly dialysis sessions. The financing analysis of IM ESRD demonstrates a sustained control of global costs, without compromising quality. The IM ERSD program is an innovative and quality‐driven approach that benefits both dialysis patients and providers, contributing toward the rationalization of service provision and the efficient use of resources.
Effects on the Quality of the Nursing Care Process Through an Educational Program and the Use of Electronic Nursing Documentation
Authors: Bruylands Michelle , Paans Wolter , Hediger Hannele , Müller‐Staub Maria 
Published: July 2013

PurposeTo evaluate the effect of the educational program “Guided Clinical Reasoning” (GCR) and the introduction of an intelligent electronic nursing documentation system (e‐doc) on the quality of the nursing process.MethodsEvaluation was conducted at three measurement points and rated with the instrument “Quality of Nursing Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes” (Q‐DIO).FindingsGCR showed the best Q‐DIO‐scores. No long‐term effect was found after GCR cessation. The e‐doc delivered the lowest scores, while showing adequate support in using nursing diagnoses.ConclusionsE‐docs can support conducting the nursing process, but for meaningful e‐doc use, clinical reasoning is essential.ImplicationsHigh‐quality nursing documentation requires recognition of factors obstructing or supporting nurses in the use of e‐docs while conducting the nursing process.
Parental effects on the larval performance of a tapeworm in its copepod first host
Authors: Benesh D. P. 
Published: July 2013

AbstractParents can influence the phenotype of their offspring through various mechanisms, besides the direct effect of heredity. Such parental effects are little explored in parasitic organisms, perhaps because in many parasites, per capita investment into offspring is low. I investigated whether parental identity, beyond direct genetic effects, could explain variation in the performance of the tapewormSchistocephalus solidusin its first intermediate host, a copepod. I first determined that two breeding worms could be separated from one another after ~48 h ofin vitroincubation and that the isolated worms continued producing outcrossed eggs, that is, rates self‐fertilization did not increase after separation. Thus, from a breeding pair, two sets of genetically comparable eggs can be collected that have unambiguous parental identities. In an infection experiment, I found that the development of larval worms tended to vary between the two parental worms within breeding pairs, but infection success and growth rate in copepods did not. Accounting for this parental effect decreased the estimated heritability for development by nearly half. These results suggest that larval performance is not simply a function of a worm's genotype; who mothered or fathered an offspring can also affect offspring fitness, contradicting the perhaps naïve idea that parasites simply produce large quantities of uniformly low‐quality offspring.
Prevalence gradients of Friedreich's Ataxia and R1b haplotype in Europe co‐localize, suggesting a common Palaeolithic origin in the Franco‐Cantabrian ice age refuge
Authors: Vankan Pierre 
Published: July 2013

AbstractCombining data from epidemiological studies in Friedreich's Ataxia (FRDA) and patient organization membership lists, shows that FRDA prevalence exhibits large regional differences in Europe with a prevalence gradient from west to east. Highest levels are observed in northern Spain, south of France and Ireland, lowest levels in Scandinavia and Russia. The observed distribution of FRDA in Europe co‐localizes with the gradient of the chromosomal R1b marker as detected within west Europe. This gradient is either derived from Palaeolithic migrations out of the Franco‐Cantabrian Ice age refuge or from Neolithic migrations entering west Europe with the advance of agriculture. FRDA prevalence may have been increased in this population anytime after its separation from the closely related R1a carrying group. East European populations with a high frequency of the R1a marker show 10 fold lower prevalence of FRDA, indicating that the FRDA mutation was present in the common ancestor and was increased in the R1b carrying group. The FRDA carrying population went through a Palaeolithic population bottleneck supporting the view that the observed FRDA distribution and potentially the R1b distribution are derived from Palaeolithic migrations out of the Franco‐Cantabrian ice age refuge.
Diabetes in Friedreich Ataxia
Authors: Cnop Miriam , Mulder Hindrik , Igoillo‐Esteve Mariana 
Published: July 2013

AbstractDiabetes is a common metabolic disorder in patients with Friedreich ataxia. In this Supplement article, we review the clinical data on diabetes in Friedreich ataxia, and the experimental data from rodent and in vitro models of the disease. Increased body adiposity and insulin resistance are frequently present in Friedreich ataxia, but pancreatic β cell dysfunction and death are a conditio sine qua non for the loss of glucose tolerance and development of diabetes. The loss of frataxin function in mitochondria accounts for these pathogenic processes in Friedreich ataxia. Mitochondria are essential for the sensing of nutrients by the β cell and for the generation of signals that trigger and amplify insulin secretion, known as stimulus‐secretion coupling. Moreover, in the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis, pro‐apoptotic signals converge on mitochondria, resulting in mitochondrial Bax translocation, membrane permeabilization, cytochrome c release and caspase cleavage. How and at which level frataxin deficiency impacts on these processes in β cells is only partially understood. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms mediating β cell demise in Friedreich ataxia will pave the way for new therapeutic approaches.
Nikolaus Friedreich and degenerative atrophy of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord
Authors: Koeppen Arnulf H. 
Published: July 2013

AbstractNikolaus Friedreich (1825–1882) presented clinical findings in six patients with a severe hereditary disorder of the nervous system and secured full autopsies in four of them. He was fascinated by the spinal cord lesions in the siblings of two unrelated families, and in the first three of his five long articles stressed the destruction of the dorsal columns. He recognized the relatively minor symmetrical lesions of the anterolateral fasciculi but did not separate dorsal spinocerebellar tracts (Flechsig's bundles) and corticospinal tracts. Although he studied the dorsal spinal roots in great detail and established their principal abnormality, namely, axonal thinning without axonal loss, he reported dorsal root ganglia as entirely normal. He made an insightful description of atrophic neurons in the gracile nuclei (clavae) but overlooked the invariable atrophy of the dentate nuclei. He followed the families over a period of 14 years, but acknowledged the hereditary nature of the disease only very late. He proposed a developmental defect for the medulla oblongata, retaining his interpretation that the spinal lesion was inflammatory. This review honors Friedreich for his insight into a ‘new’ disease in the late 19th century and updates his neuropathological findings. It is remarkable that Friedreich also described the abnormal hearts in the disease that now bears his name since hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is now recognized as the main cause of death in Friedreich's ataxia.
Frataxin: a protein in search for a function
Authors: Pastore Annalisa , Puccio Helene 
Published: July 2013

AbstractReduced levels of the protein frataxin cause the neurodegenerative disease Friedreich's ataxia. Pathology is associated with disruption of iron–sulfur cluster biosynthesis, mitochondrial iron overload, and oxidative stress. Frataxin is a highly conserved iron‐binding protein present in most organisms. Despite the intense interest generated since the determination of its pathology, identification of the cellular function of frataxin has so far remained elusive. In this review, we revisit the most significant milestones that have led us to our current understanding of frataxin and its functions. The picture that emerges is that frataxin is a crucial element of one of the most essential cellular machines specialized in iron‐sulfur cluster biogenesis. Future developments, therefore, can be expected from further advancements in our comprehension of this machine.
Mitochondrial pathophysiology in Friedreich's ataxia
Authors: González‐Cabo Pilar , Palau Francesc 
Published: July 2013

AbstractNeurological examination indicates that Friedreich's ataxia corresponds to a mixed sensory and cerebellar ataxia, which affects the proprioceptive pathways. Neuropathology and pathophysiology of Friedreich's ataxia involves the peripheral sensory nerves, dorsal root ganglia, posterior columns, the spinocerebellar, and corticospinal tracts of the spinal cord, gracile and cuneate nuclei, dorsal nuclei of Clarke, and the dentate nucleus. Involvement of the myocardium and pancreatic islets of Langerhans indicates that it is also a systemic disease. The pathophysiology of the disease is the consequence of frataxin deficiency in the mitochondria and cells. Some of the biological consequences are currently recognized such as the effects on iron–sulfur cluster biogenesis or the oxidative status, but others deserve to be studied in depth. Among physiological aspects of mitochondria that have been associated with neurodegeneration and may be interesting to investigate in Friedreich's ataxia we can include mitochondrial dynamics and movement, communication with other organelles especially the endoplasmic reticulum, calcium homeostasis, apoptosis, and mitochondrial biogenesis and quality control. Changes in the mitochondrial physiology and transport in peripheral and central axons and mitochondrial metabolic functions such as bioenergetics and energy delivery in the synapses are also relevant functions to be considered. Thus, to understand the general pathophysiology of the disease and fundamental pathogenic mechanisms such as dying‐back axonopathy, and determine molecular, cellular and tissue therapeutic targets, we need to discover the effect of frataxin depletion on mitochondrial properties and on specific cell susceptibility in the nervous system and other affected organs.
Clinical features of Friedreich's ataxia: classical and atypical phenotypes
Authors: Parkinson Michael H. , Boesch Sylvia , Nachbauer Wolfgang , Mariotti Caterina , Giunti Paola 
Published: July 2013

AbstractOne hundred and fifty years since Nikolaus Friedreich's first description of the degenerative ataxic syndrome which bears his name, his description remains at the core of the classical clinical phenotype of gait and limb ataxia, poor balance and coordination, leg weakness, sensory loss, areflexia, impaired walking, dysarthria, dysphagia, eye movement abnormalities, scoliosis, foot deformities, cardiomyopathy and diabetes. Onset is typically around puberty with slow progression and shortened life‐span often related to cardiac complications. Inheritance is autosomal recessive with the vast majority of cases showing an unstable intronic GAA expansion in both alleles of the frataxin gene on chromosome 9q13. A small number of cases are caused by a compound heterozygous expansion with a point mutation or deletion. Understanding of the underlying molecular biology has enabled identification of atypical phenotypes with late onset, or atypical features such as retained reflexes. Late‐onset cases tend to have slower progression and are associated with smaller GAA expansions. Early‐onset cases tend to have more rapid progression and a higher frequency of non‐neurological features such as diabetes, cardiomyopathy, scoliosis and pes cavus. Compound heterozygotes, including those with large deletions, often have atypical features. In this paper, we review the classical and atypical clinical phenotypes of Friedreich's ataxia.
Nephroprotective effects of Isaria felina in rats with adenine-induced chronic renal failure
Authors: Yang Xihua , Zhang Shengwan , Ren Liansheng , Zhang Hong , Bai Xihua 
Published: July 2013

Abstract

Objective
Chronic renal failure (CRF) is a progressive, life-threatening condition with limited treatment options. Cordyceps sinensis is a fungus that has nephroprotective effects, and Isaria felina (IF) is a fungus isolated from C. sinensis fruiting bodies. We evaluated IF efficacy using an adenine-induced CRF animal model.

Methods
Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into normal control (n = 8) and adenine groups (n = 32; 100 mg/kg for 30 days). The adenine group was subdivided into a model control group (n = 7), a positive control group (200 mg/kg Jinshuibao capsule (JSB; n = 8), and two IF groups (200 mg/kg, n = 8; 100 mg/kg, n = 8). After treatment for 30 days, animals were narcotized and abdominal aortic blood was analysed. Kidney functions were evaluated.

Key findings
Higher serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and uric acid levels, and lower creatinine clearance was observed in the model control group compared with JSB and IF groups (P &lt; 0.05). Red blood cell count, haemoglobin and haematocrit levels in the 200 mg/kg IF group were higher than in the model control group (P &lt; 0.05). Transforming growth factor-β1 mRNA expression in the model control group was higher than the normal control and 200 mg/kg IF groups (P &lt; 0.05). Epidermal growth factor mRNA in the model control group was lower than in the normal control and both IF-treated groups (P &lt; 0.05). Structural renal damage was observed in all adenine-treated rats, but was less severe in the JSB and IF groups.

Conclusion
IF may reverse the damaged kidney functions-induced with adenine in rats.
In vivo organization of the FtsZ‐ring by ZapA and ZapB revealed by quantitative super‐resolution microscopy
Authors: Buss Jackson , Coltharp Carla , Huang Tao , Pohlmeyer Chris , Wang Shih‐Chin , Hatem Christine , Xiao Jie 
Published: July 2013

SummaryIn most bacterial cells, cell division is dependent on the polymerization of the FtsZ protein to form a ring‐like structure (Z‐ring) at the midcell. Despite its essential role, the molecular architecture of the Z‐ring remains elusive. In this work we examine the roles of two FtsZ‐associated proteins, ZapA and ZapB, in the assembly dynamics and structure of the Z‐ring in Escherichia coli cells. In cells deleted of zapA or zapB, we observed abnormal septa and highly dynamic FtsZ structures. While details of these FtsZ structures are difficult to discern under conventional fluorescence microscopy, single‐molecule‐based super‐resolution imaging method Photoactivated Localization Microscopy (PALM) reveals that these FtsZ structures arise from disordered arrangements of FtsZ clusters. Quantitative analysis finds these clusters are larger and comprise more molecules than a single FtsZ protofilament, and likely represent a distinct polymeric species that is inherent to the assembly pathway of the Z‐ring. Furthermore, we find these clusters are not due to the loss of ZapB–MatP interaction in ΔzapA and ΔzapB cells. Our results suggest that the main function of ZapA and ZapB in vivo may not be to promote the association of individual protofilaments but to align FtsZ clusters that consist of multiple FtsZ protofilaments.