bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reactive astrocytes express the potassium channel Kir4.1 in active multiple sclerosis lesions
Authors: Satoh Jun‐ichi , Tabunoki Hiroko , Ishida Tsuyoshi , Saito Yuko , Konno Hidehiko , Arima Kunimasa 
Published: April 2013

AbstractObjectivesKir4.1, an inwardly rectifying potassium channel expressed on perivascular and perisynaptic end‐feet of astrocytes, plays a pivotal role in the spatial buffering of the potassium in the brain. A recent study showed that autoantibodies directed to Kir4.1 are detectable in the serum derived from approximately half of the patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and clinically isolated syndrome, although their pathogenic roles should be elucidated.MethodsWe studied Kir4.1 expression in MS and control brains by immunohistochemistry.ResultsWe found that reactive astrocytes expressed an intense immunoreactivity for Kir4.1 in active demyelinating lesions of MS, active lesion edges of neuromyelitis optica, ischemic lesion edges of cerebral infarction and neurodegenerative lesions of Alzheimer's disease. Reactive astrocytes accumulated in active MS lesions coexpressed Kir4.1 and AQP4. A subset of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease brains also expressed Kir4.1. In contrast, infiltrating macrophages, activated microglia and surviving oligodendrocytes in active MS lesions did not express Kir4.1. Furthermore, cultured human astrocytes expressed Kir4.1, and the expression levels were not altered by exposure to tumor necrosis factor‐α or interleukin‐1β, but were elevated by transforming growth factor‐β1.ConclusionsThese results show that reactive astrocytes abundantly express Kir4.1, and Kir4.1 immunoreactivity is not lost in active demyelinating lesions of MS.
Clinical and microbiological characteristics of community‐acquired pneumonia in human immunodeficiency virus‐infected patients: a retrospective analysis of 79 HIV/AIDS patients
Authors: Bao Zhiyao , Rong Xiajun , Cheng Qijian , Zhou Min , Gong Qiming , Shi Guochao , Wan Huanying 
Published: April 2013

AbstractIntroductionHIV infections are prevalent; however, the clinical characteristics of these patients are atypical.ObjectivesIn the present study, we analysed 79 patients who were newly diagnosed with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) at Ruijin Hospital between January 1998 and August 2011 to improve awareness of the physicians' diagnoses and to elucidate the risk factors for community‐acquired pneumonia (CAP) and the progression to severe pneumonia or respiratory failure in AIDS patients.MethodsThe patients were divided into a CAP group (A) and a non‐CAP group (B). Furthermore, group A was divided into a severe pneumonia group (A1) and a non‐severe pneumonia group (A2).Results and ConclusionThe serum albumin (25.60 ± 5.31 vs 34.00 ± 6.90; P < 0.05) and CD4 cell count (28.5 ± 30.5 vs 229.50 ± 229.45; P < 0.05) of group A were much lower than those of group B. The serum albumin and CD4 cell count negatively correlated with the incidence of CAP. The CD4 cell count (24.15 ± 25.1 vs 47.85 ± 132.5; P < 0.05) and partial pressure of oxygen (7.86 ± 1.43 vs 9.41 ± 2.15; P < 0.05) of group A1 were significantly lower than those of group A2. Low serum albumin levels and high blood urea nitrogen levels were the risk factors of hypoxaemia in group A. Early screening and diagnosis of AIDS, as well as nutritional support, would prevent AIDS patients from developing CAP or progressing to severe pneumonia or respiratory failure.
Visitor Comments as Dialogue
Authors: Coffee Kevin 
Published: April 2013

AbstractMuseum use is a process of ideological negotiation, and thus museum users are active agents, not empty vessels waiting to be filled with curatorial narrative. Ensuing dialogues argue over trivia as well as important ethical issues. Discussants take up topics that range over specific public programs, the object maker's motivations and intentions, the choice of a subject, the phrasing of a caption, or the selection of objects on display. These discussions are held in hushed conversations in crowded galleries, in casual conversations within museum hallways, or with animated gestures on the front steps. In the course of this dialogic social practice, each participant's cultural repertoire is enhanced and grows. Every dialogic event is part of a socio‐cultural continuum that will engender other events, with other participants. The comments made by visitors in a visitor comment book are therefore instances of the specificities and the universality of that discussion.
The Natural History Museum: Taking on a Learning Agenda
Authors: Steiner Mary Ann , Crowley Kevin 
Published: April 2013

AbstractCarnegie Museum of Natural History and the University of Pittsburgh are engaged in a research and practice partnership to bring new learning sciences findings and theories into contact with the design and deployment of innovative natural history learning experiences. In this article, we describe four strands of work: 1) connecting people to nature; 2) engaging people of all ages in complex and current scientific debates of regional consequence; 3) partnerships to build a strong regional learning ecology for nature and science; and 4) iterative professional development to support staff as they work with new definitions of learning and engagement in the museum.
Testing creative destruction in an opening economy
Authors: Aghion Philippe , Fedderke Johannes , Howitt Peter , Viegi Nicola 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThis paper analyses the relationship between trade liberalization and economic growth using a Schumpeterian framework of technological innovation and applies it to sector‐level South African data. The framework examines direct and indirect effects of trade liberalization on productivity growth. Indirect impacts operate through a differential impact of trade liberalization on firms conditional on their distance from the international technological frontier. Results confirm positive direct impacts of trade liberalization. Results confirm also that the greatest positive impact of trade liberalization will be on sectors that are close to the international technological frontier and that experienced a low level of product market competition before liberalization.
Constitutionalism in 3D: Mapping and Legitimating Our Lawmaking Underworld
Authors: Corkin Joseph 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThis article proposes a method for conceptualising the way lawmaking has ebbed away from our national parliamentary‐governmental complexes: horizontally, towards unelected officials, in a process of bureaucratisation; vertically, towards the EU, in a process of Europeanisation; and laterally, towards private actors that are left to regulate themselves, in a process of privatisation. The combined effect has been to diffuse lawmaking across many very diverse actors that interact in dense constellations across a 3D governance space described by these axes. The descriptive innovation of analysing these processes together points also to a common normative challenge; that of finding new ways to legitimate the outer reaches of this governance space, furthest removed from our traditional constitutional structures and the reasonably neat (electoral) lines of accountability they offer back to us. A tentative solution is proposed in creatively rethinking administrative and constitutional law while remaining faithful to the philosophical core of classical constitutionalism.
Article 260(2) TFEU: An Effective Judicial Procedure for the Enforcement of Judgements?
Authors: Jack Brian 
Published: April 2013

AbstractArticle 260(2) TFEU (ex 228(2) EC) enables the European Court of Justice to enforce compliance with its judgements. This article analyses its use in doing so and questions whether it could be applied more effectively. It commences by highlighting the principally economic and environmental context of the case‐law, and by examining the initiatives taken to tackle delays in bringing these cases before the Court. The article then critically evaluates the effectiveness of the financial sanctions available to the Court. In doing so, it aims to fill a gap in present research by looking beyond the procedural measures through which the Court and the Commission operate to examine the practical impact of Article 260(2) itself.
Political Reluctance and Judicial Activism in the Area of Free Movement of Persons: The Court as the Motor of EU–Turkey Relations?
Authors: Wiesbrock Anja 
Published: April 2013

AbstractProgress in the EU–Turkey accession negotiations has been slow in recent years, with the free movement of persons constituting one of the most controversial issues. The political reluctance and public opposition towards opening up free movement rights to Turkish nationals have led to a deadlock in this area since the early 1980s. In the face of a reluctant legislator, the Court has taken an activist stance. In a number of recent cases, it has interpreted the rights of Turkish migrants extensively, allowing for a transformation of status from family member/student to worker and applying the standstill clauses to conditions of admission. This article explores the role of the Court in pushing forward the free movement agenda. It discusses the implications of the Court's rulings for the free movement of persons between the EU and Turkey, and for the division of tasks between the Court and the legislator.
Lipoprotein subclass profiles in individuals with varying degrees of glucose tolerance: a population‐based study of 9399 Finnish men
Authors: Wang J. , Stančáková A. , Soininen P. , Kangas A. J. , Paananen J. , Kuusisto J. , Ala‐Korpela M. , Laakso M. 
Published: April 2013

Abstract.  Wang J, Stančáková A, Soininen P, Kangas AJ, Paananen J, Kuusisto J, Ala‐Korpela M, Laakso M (University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu; University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio; and Clinical Research Center, University of Oulu, Oulu; Finland). Lipoprotein subclass profiles in individuals with varying degrees of glucose tolerance: a population‐based study of 9399 Finnish men. J Intern Med 2012; doi: 10.1111/j.1365‐2796.2012.02562.x.Objectives.  We investigated serum concentrations of lipoprotein subclass particles and their lipid components determined by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in a population‐based study.Design and methods.  A total of 9399 Finnish men were included in the study: 3034 men with normal fasting glucose and normal glucose tolerance; 4345 with isolated impaired fasting glucose (IFG); 312 with isolated impaired glucose tolerance (IGT); 1058 with both IFG and IGT; and 650 with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (New DM). Lipoprotein subclasses included chylomicrons (CM) and largest VLDL particles, other VLDL particles (five subclasses), intermediate‐density lipoprotein (IDL), LDL (three subclasses) and HDL (four subclasses). The phospholipid, triglyceride (TG), cholesterol, free cholesterol and cholesterol ester levels of the lipoprotein particles were measured.Results.  Abnormal glucose tolerance (especially IGT and New DM) was significantly associated with increased concentrations of VLDL subclass particles and their components (with the exception of very small VLDL particles). After further adjustment for total TGs and HDL cholesterol, increased lipid concentrations in the CM/largest VLDL particles and in most of the other VLDL particles remained significant in individuals with isolated IGT, IFG+IGT and New DM. There was a consistent trend towards a decrease in large and an increase in small HDL particle concentrations in individuals with hyperglycaemia even after adjustment for serum total TGs and HDL cholesterol.Conclusions.  Abnormal glucose tolerance modifies the concentrations of lipoprotein subclass particles and their lipid components in the circulation and is also related to compositional changes in these particles.
Hospitalization for physical illness and risk of subsequent suicide: a population study
Authors: Qin P. , Webb R. , Kapur N. , Sørensen H. T. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractObjectiveTo examine suicide risk in relation to physical illness across a broad range of illnesses, including hospitalization history, specific organ or system illness and comorbidity.DesignA nested case–control study.SettingData were retrieved from five Danish national registers.SubjectsOn the basis of the entire population of Denmark, this study included 27 262 suicide cases, and 468 007 live controls matched for sex and date of birth.Main outcome measuresRisk of suicide was assessed using conditional logistic regression.ResultsIn the study population, 63.5% of suicide cases and 44.5% of comparison controls had a history of hospitalization for physical illness. A physical illness significantly increased the risk of subsequent suicide (incidence rate ratios 2.13, 95% CI 2.07–2.18) with a substantially greater effect in women than in men (P < 0.01). The elevated risk increased progressively with frequency and recency of hospitalization and was significant for diseases occurring in all organs or systems of the body. Comorbidity involving several organs or systems increased the risk substantially. The associated estimates were to some extent reduced but remained highly significant after adjustment for psychiatric history and socio‐economic status. Taking into account both prevalence and adjusted effect size, physical illness accounted for 24.4%, 21.0% and 32.3% of population attributable risk for suicide in total, male and female populations, respectively.ConclusionsPhysical illness constitutes a significant risk factor for suicide independent of psychiatric and socio‐economic factors. Clinicians treating physically ill patients should be aware of the risk, especially amongst those with multiple or recent hospitalizations, or multiple comorbidities.
Cadmium exposure is accompanied by increased prevalence and future growth of atherosclerotic plaques in 64‐year‐old women
Authors: Fagerberg Björn , Bergström Göran , Borén Jan , Barregard Lars 
Published: April 2013

AbstractObjectivesThere is currently widespread exposure to the toxic metal cadmium through the diet as well as through smoking, and it has been suggested that cadmium exposure may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Here we examined whether cadmium exposure is associated with prevalence and growth of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries.Design and subjectsThe analyses were performed in a screening‐based cohort of 64‐year‐old Caucasian women with stratified, random selection to groups with normal glucose tolerance, impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes (n = 599). We measured cadmium concentrations in blood and urine at baseline. In addition, we performed ultrasound examination to determine the prevalence and area of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries and assessed smoking history and other cardiovascular risk factors at baseline and at a follow‐up examination after a mean of 5.4 years.ResultsAt baseline, blood cadmium levels were associated with increased risk of plaque and a large plaque area after adjustment for confounders. In women who had never smoked, blood cadmium levels correlated positively with plaque area at baseline. The occurrence of large plaques and the change in plaque area at follow‐up were associated with blood and creatinine‐corrected urinary cadmium concentrations at baseline after adjustment for confounders. Blood and urine cadmium levels added information to established cardiovascular risk factors in predicting progress of atherosclerosis.ConclusionsWe have shown that cadmium levels in blood and urine are independent factors associated with the development of atherosclerotic plaques at baseline as well as prospectively. This novel observation emphasizes the need to consider cadmium as a pro‐atherogenic pollutant.
Proteinuria modifies the effect of systolic blood pressure on total and cardiovascular disease mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Vepsäläinen T. , Laakso M. , Kantola I. , Lehto S. , Juutilainen A. , Rönnemaa T. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractObjectivesHypertension and proteinuria are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. Blood pressure (BP) targets have been progressively lowered in these patients to prevent or delay the progression of nephropathy. However, no long‐term population‐based studies have been reported on the interaction between BP and proteinuria with respect to total and CVD mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes.DesignWe prospectively followed 881 middle‐aged type 2 diabetic patients, free of CVD events at baseline, for up to 18 years. Participants were categorized into four groups according to baseline systolic BP (<130, 130–139, 140–159 and ≥160 mmHg) and further stratified by proteinuria (≤150 or >150 mg L−1). Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the joint association between systolic BP and proteinuria and the risk of mortality.ResultsDuring follow‐up, 607 patients died including 395 because of CVD. After adjustment for confounding factors, total and CVD mortality were significantly higher in patients with proteinuria and systolic BP <130 mmHg compared with those with systolic BP between 130 and 160 mmHg. The prognosis was similar in patients with systolic BP <130 mmHg or ≥160 mmHg. Among patients without proteinuria, systolic BP <130 mmHg was associated with a nonsignificant reduction in mortality.ConclusionsType 2 diabetic patients with proteinuria and with systolic BP <130 mmHg may have an increased risk of CVD mortality. The presence of proteinuria should be taken into account when defining the target systolic BP level for the prevention of fatal CVD events in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Cutaneous manifestations in patients with POEMS syndrome
Authors: Miest Rachel Y. N. , Comfere Nneka I. , Dispenzieri Angela , Lohse Christine M. , el‐Azhary Rokea A. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractBackground  Polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, and skin changes syndrome is a rare multisystem paraneoplastic condition associated with plasma cell dyscrasia.Methods  From our institution’s dysproteinemia database, 107 patients met criteria for polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, and skin changes syndrome between January 1, 2000, and October 1, 2009. Medical records were reviewed for documented syndrome features at diagnosis. We assessed prevalence of skin findings and associations between dermatologic and other characteristic disease findings.Results  Of the 107 patients, 96 (90%) had a recognized cutaneous manifestation. Hyperpigmentation and hemangioma were most common (47%), followed by hypertrichosis (38%). Vascular skin changes – acrocyanosis (34%), Raynaud phenomenon (20%), hyperemia/erythema (20%), flushing (16%), or rubor (11%) – occurred in 62%; white nails, sclerodermoid changes, and clubbing occurred in 30%, 26%, and 6%, respectively. Mean number of skin findings per patient was 2.9 (median, 3.0; range, 0–7). Presence of cutaneous manifestation was associated with abnormal pulmonary function tests (P < 0.001); immunoglobulin G gammopathy was associated with hyperpigmentation and hypertrichosis. No other significant associations were seen.Conclusions  The high prevalence of skin findings (90%) shows the value of dermatologic evaluation in diagnosis of polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, and skin changes syndrome. Our data indicate new associations between skin findings and other disease characteristics.
Blind to morphology: genetics identifies several widespread ecologically common species and few endemics among Indo‐Pacific cauliflower corals (Pocillopora, Scleractinia)
Authors: Pinzón Jorge H. , Sampayo Eugenia , Cox Evelyn , Chauka Leonard J. , Chen Chaolun Allen , Voolstra Christian R. , LaJeunesse Todd C. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractAimUsing high‐resolution genetic markers on samples gathered from across their wide distributional range, we endeavoured to delimit species diversity in reef‐building Pocillopora corals. They are common, ecologically important, and widespread throughout the Indo‐Pacific, but their phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental conditions and their nearly featureless microskeletal structures confound taxonomic assignments and limit an understanding of their ecology and evolution.LocationIndo‐Pacific, Red Sea, Arabian/Persian Gulf.MethodsSequence analysis of nuclear ribosomal (internal transcribed spacer 2, ITS2) and mitochondrial (open reading frame) loci were combined with population genetic data (seven microsatellite loci) for Pocillopora samples collected throughout the Indo‐Pacific, Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, in order to assess the evolutionary divergence, reproductive isolation, frequency of hybridization and geographical distributions of the genus.ResultsBetween five and eight genetically distinct lineages comparable to species were identified with minimal or no hybridization between them. Colony morphology was generally incongruent with genetics across the full range of sampling, and the total number of species is apparently consistent with lower estimates from competing morphologically based hypotheses (about seven or eight taxa). The most commonly occurring genetic lineages were widely distributed and exhibited high dispersal and gene flow, factors that have probably minimized allopatric speciation. Uniquely among scleractinian genera, this genus contains a monophyletic group of broadcast spawners that evolved recently from an ancestral brooder.Main conclusionsThe delineation of species diversity guided by genetics fundamentally advances our understanding of Pocillopora geographical distributions, ecology and evolution. Because traditional diagnostic features of colony and branch morphology are proving to be of limited utility, the identification of Pocillopora species for future ecological and experimental work should rely on genetic characters that will improve research and aid in conservation strategies for these and other reef‐building corals, including the detection of real and mistaken endemic populations.
Glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐anchored high‐density lipoprotein‐binding protein 1 and the intravascular processing of triglyceride‐rich lipoproteins
Authors: Adeyo O. , Goulbourne C. N. , Bensadoun A. , Beigneux A. P. , Fong L. G. , Young S. G. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractLipoprotein lipase (LPL) is produced by parenchymal cells, mainly adipocytes and myocytes, but is involved in hydrolysing triglycerides in plasma lipoproteins at the capillary lumen. For decades, the mechanism by which LPL reaches its site of action in capillaries was unclear, but this mystery was recently solved. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐anchored high‐density lipoprotein‐binding protein 1 (GPIHBP1), a glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐anchored protein of capillary endothelial cells, ‘picks up’ LPL from the interstitial spaces and shuttles it across endothelial cells to the capillary lumen. When GPIHBP1 is absent, LPL is mislocalized to the interstitial spaces, leading to severe hypertriglyceridaemia. Some cases of hypertriglyceridaemia in humans are caused by GPIHBP1 mutations that interfere with the ability of GPIHBP1 to bind to LPL, and some are caused by LPL mutations that impair the ability of LPL to bind to GPIHBP1. Here, we review recent progress in understanding the role of GPIHBP1 in health and disease and discuss some of the remaining unresolved issues regarding the processing of triglyceride‐rich lipoproteins.