bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Diet quality, physical activity, body weight and health-related quality of life among grade 5 students in Canada
Authors: Wu Xiu Yun , Ohinmaa Arto , Veugelers Paul J 
Published: October 2011

AbstractObjectiveTo assess how diet quality, physical activity and body weight are related to health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among children in the Canadian province of Alberta.DesignIn 2008, we surveyed 3421 grade 5 students and their parents from 148 randomly selected schools. Students completed the Harvard Food Frequency Questionnaire, questions on physical activities, and had their height and weight measured. The HRQOL of the students was assessed using the EQ-5D-Y. Parents completed questions on socio-economic background and children's lifestyle. We applied multilevel regression methods to examine the importance of children's diet quality, physical activity and weight status for the EQ-5D-Y Visual Analogue Scale and for the EQ-5D-Y dimensions.SettingThe province of Alberta, Canada.SubjectsGrade 5 students.ResultsStudents with better diet quality, higher physical activity levels and normal body weights were statistically significantly more likely to report better HRQOL than students who ate less healthily, were less active or were overweight or obese.ConclusionsThe importance of diet quality, physical activity and body weight status for HRQOL may help justify broader implementation of school health programmes that promote healthy eating and active living, as these programmes will help reduce the burden of childhood obesity and improve quality of life.
Biophysical Mechanisms Supporting Conscious Perception: Prospects for an Artificial Astrocyte
Authors: Pereira Alfredo 
Published: October 2011

AbstractIn perceptual processes, signals carrying information about a stimulus are transmitted through multiple processing lines to populations of receptive neurons and thalamocortical circuits, leading to the formation of a spatial ensemble of local field potentials. This paper addresses the problem of how the brain integrates patterns embodied in local fields to (re)construct the stimulus in a conscious episode. Four examples of human perception are given to illustrate the requirements of the integrative process. Considering the strategic position of astrocytes, mediating somatic signals carried by blood flow and information carried by the neuronal network, as well as their intrinsic information processing capabilities, these cells are in an adequate condition to integrate spatially distributed information. The amplitude-modulated calcium waveform in astrocytes is a multiscale phenomenon, simultaneously operating on temporal scales of milliseconds and seconds, as well as in micro and macro spatial scales. Oscillatory synchrony, constructive wave interference and communication by means of ionic antennas are proposed to constitute a neuro-astroglial self-organizing mechanism of perceptual integration and feeling of the integrated information content. A pilot experiment of a single artificial astrocyte is suggested, both as a test for the hypothesis of astroglial information integration and a multimedia technological application of the model.
Evidence for short-range helical order in the 30-nm chromatin fibers of erythrocyte nuclei
Authors: Scheffer Margot P. , Eltsov Mikhail , Frangakis Achilleas S. 
Published: October 2011

Chromatin folding in eukaryotes fits the genome into the limited volume of the cell nucleus. Formation of higher-order chromatin structures attenuates DNA accessibility, thus contributing to the control of essential genome functions such as transcription, DNA replication, and repair. The 30-nm fiber is thought to be the first hierarchical level of chromatin folding, but the nucleosome arrangement in the compact 30-nm fiber was previously unknown. We used cryoelectron tomography of vitreous sections to determine the structure of the compact, native 30-nm fiber of avian erythrocyte nuclei. The predominant geometry of the 30-nm fiber revealed by subtomogram averaging is a left-handed two-start helix with approximately 6.5 nucleosomes per 11 nm, in which the nucleosomes are juxtaposed face-to-face but are shifted off their superhelical axes with an axial translation of approximately 3.4 nm and an azimuthal rotation of approximately 54°. The nucleosomes produce a checkerboard pattern when observed in the direction perpendicular to the fiber axis but are not interdigitated. The nucleosome packing within the fibers shows larger center-to-center internucleosomal distances than previously anticipated, thus excluding the possibility of core-to-core interactions, explaining how transcription and regulation factors can access nucleosomes.
Carbonates in the Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001 formed at 18 ± 4 °C in a near-surface aqueous environment
Authors: Halevy Itay , Fischer Woodward W. , Eiler John M. 
Published: October 2011

Despite evidence for liquid water at the surface of Mars during the Noachian epoch, the temperature of early aqueous environments has been impossible to establish, raising questions of whether the surface of Mars was ever warmer than today. We address this problem by determining the precipitation temperature of secondary carbonate minerals preserved in the oldest known sample of Mars’ crust—the approximately 4.1 billion-year-old meteorite Allan Hills 84001 (ALH84001). The formation environment of these carbonates, which are constrained to be slightly younger than the crystallization age of the rock (i.e., 3.9 to 4.0 billion years), has been poorly understood, hindering insight into the hydrologic and carbon cycles of earliest Mars. Using “clumped” isotope thermometry we find that the carbonates in ALH84001 precipitated at a temperature of approximately 18 °C, with water and carbon dioxide derived from the ancient Martian atmosphere. Furthermore, covarying carbonate carbon and oxygen isotope ratios are constrained to have formed at constant, low temperatures, pointing to deposition from a gradually evaporating, subsurface water body—likely a shallow aquifer (meters to tens of meters below the surface). Despite the mild temperatures, the apparently ephemeral nature of water in this environment leaves open the question of its habitability.
A review of the life cycles and life-history adaptations of pelagic tunicates to environmental conditions
Authors: Deibel Don , Lowen Ben 
Published: October 2011

AbstractDeibel, D., and Lowen, B. 2012. A review of the life cycles and life-history adaptations of pelagic tunicates to environmental conditions. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 358–369. Phylogeny, life cycles, and life-history adaptations of pelagic tunicates to temperature and food concentration are reviewed. Using literature data on lifetime egg production and generation time of appendicularians, salps, and doliolids, rmax, the maximum rate of lifetime reproductive fitness, is calculated as a common metric of adaptation to environmental conditions. The rmax values are high for all three groups, ranging from ∼0.1 to 1.9 d−1, so population doubling times range from ∼8 h to 1 week. These high values of rmax are attributable primarily to short generation times, ranging from 2 to 50 d. Clearly, pelagic tunicates are adapted to event-scale (i.e. days to weeks) rather than seasonal-scale changes in environmental conditions. Although they are not closely related phylogenetically, all three groups have a unique life-history adaptation promoting high lifetime fitness. Appendicularians have late oocyte selection, salps are viviparous, and doliolids possess a polymorphic asexual phase. There has been little research on hermaphroditic appendicularians, on large oceanic salps, and on doliolids generally. Research is needed on factors regulating generation time, on the heritability of life-history traits, and on age- and size-specific rates of mortality.
Lidocaine Blocks the Hyperpolarization-activated Mixed Cation Current, I h, in Rat Thalamocortical Neurons
Authors: Putrenko Igor , Schwarz Stephan K. W. 
Published: October 2011

Background
The mechanisms that underlie the supraspinal central nervous system effects of systemic lidocaine are poorly understood and not solely explained by Na(+) channel blockade. Among other potential targets is the hyperpolarization-activated cation current, I(h), which is blocked by lidocaine in peripheral neurons. I(h) is highly expressed in the thalamus, a brain area previously implicated in lidocaine's systemic effects. The authors tested the hypothesis that lidocaine blocks I(h) in rat thalamocortical neurons.

Methods
The authors conducted whole cell voltage- and current-clamp recordings in ventrobasal thalamocortical neurons in rat brain slices in vitro. Drugs were bath-applied. Data were analyzed with Student t tests and ANOVA as appropriate; α = 0.05.

Results
Lidocaine voltage-independently blocked I(h), with high efficacy and a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of 72 μM. Lidocaine did not affect I(h) activation kinetics but delayed deactivation. The I(h) inhibition was accompanied by an increase in input resistance and membrane hyperpolarization (maximum, 8 mV). Lidocaine increased the latency of rebound low-threshold Ca(2+) spike bursts and reduced the number of action potentials in bursts. At depolarized potentials associated with the relay firing mode (>-60 mV), lidocaine at 600 μM concurrently inhibited a K(+) conductance, resulting in depolarization (7-10 mV) and an increase in excitability mediated by Na(+)-independent, high-threshold spikes.

Conclusions
Lidocaine concentration-dependently inhibited I(h) in thalamocortical neurons in vitro, with high efficacy and a potency similar to Na(+) channel blockade. This effect would reduce the neurons' ability to produce intrinsic burst firing and δ rhythms and thereby contribute to the alterations in oscillatory cerebral activity produced by systemic lidocaine in vivo.
Human Alzheimer and Inflammation Biomarkers after Anesthesia and Surgery
Authors: Tang Junxia X. , Baranov Dimitry , Hammond Mary , Shaw Leslie M. , Eckenhoff Maryellen F. , Eckenhoff Roderic G. 
Published: October 2011

Background
The prevalence of postoperative cognitive disturbance, coupled with growing in vitro, cell, and animal evidence suggesting anesthetic effects on neurodegeneration, calls for additional study of the interaction between surgical care and Alzheimer neuropathology. The authors studied human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers during surgery.

Methods
Eleven patients undergoing idiopathic nasal CSF leak correction were admitted to this Institutional Review Board-approved study. Lumbar subarachnoid catheters were placed before the procedure. Anesthesia was total intravenous propofol or remifentanil or inhalational sevoflurane, depending on provider choice. CSF samples were taken after catheter placement (base), at procedure end (0 h), and then at 6, 24, and 48 h. CSF was analyzed using xMAP Luminex immunoassay (Luminex, Austin, TX).

Results
Of the 11 patients (age range, 53 ± 6 yr), 8 were women; 4 received intravenous anesthesia, 6 sevoflurane, and 1 mixed. Procedures lasted 6.4 ± 2 h. Mean CSF amyloid-β(1-42) remained unchanged, but total-tau and phosphorylated-tau181P increased progressively until at least 48 h. Total-tau, phosphorylated-tau, or amyloid-β(1-42) concentrations were not different between anesthetic groups. CSF interleukin-10, S100Beta, and tumor necrosis factor α were increased similarly in both anesthetic groups at 24 h, but interleukin-6 was increased more in the inhalational group.

Conclusion
These data indicate a robust neuroinflammatory response, including not only the usual markers (interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-10), but also S100Beta and tau, markers of injury. The total-tau/amyloid-β(1-42) ratio increased in a pattern consistent with Alzheimer disease, largely because of an increase in total-tau rather than a decline in amyloid-β(1-42). The differences in CSF interleukin-6 concentrations suggest that anesthetic management may make a difference in neuroinflammatory response.
Cysteinyl Leukotrienes Impair Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction in Endotoxemic Mice
Authors: Petersen Bodil , Austen K. Frank , Bloch Kenneth D. , Hotta Yukako , Ichinose Fumito , Kanaoka Yoshihide , Zapol Warren M. 
Published: October 2011

Background
Sepsis impairs hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) in patients and animal models, contributing to systemic hypoxemia. Concentrations of cysteinyl leukotrienes are increased in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with sepsis, but the contribution of cysteinyl leukotrienes to the impairment of HPV is unknown.

Methods
Wild-type mice, mice deficient in leukotriene C(4) synthase, the enzyme responsible for cysteinyl leukotriene synthesis, and mice deficient in cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 were studied 18 h after challenge with either saline or endotoxin. HPV was measured by the increase in left pulmonary vascular resistance induced by left mainstem bronchus occlusion. Concentrations of cysteinyl leukotrienes were determined in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.

Results
In the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of all three strains, cysteinyl leukotrienes were not detectable after saline challenge; whereas endotoxin challenge increased cysteinyl leukotriene concentrations in wild-type mice and mice deficient in cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1, but not in mice deficient in leukotriene C(4) synthase. HPV did not differ among the three mouse strains after saline challenge (120 ± 26, 114 ± 16, and 115 ± 24%, respectively; mean ± SD). Endotoxin challenge markedly impaired HPV in wild-type mice (41 ± 20%) but only marginally in mice deficient in leukotriene C(4) synthase (96 ± 16%, P < 0.05 vs. wild-type mice), thereby preserving systemic oxygenation. Although endotoxin modestly decreased HPV in mice deficient in cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (80 ± 29%, P < 0.05 vs. saline challenge), the magnitude of impairment was markedly less than in endotoxin-challenged wild-type mice.

Conclusion
Cysteinyl leukotrienes importantly contribute to endotoxin-induced impairment of HPV in part via a cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1-dependent mechanism.
A Single Subanesthetic Dose of Ketamine Relieves Depression-like Behaviors Induced by Neuropathic Pain in Rats
Authors: Wang Jing , Goffer Yossef , Xu Duo , Tukey David S. , Shamir D. B. , Eberle Sarah E. , Zou Anthony H. , Blanck Thomas J. J. , Ziff Edward B. 
Published: October 2011

Background
Chronic pain is associated with depression. In rodents, pain is often assessed by sensory hypersensitivity, which does not sufficiently measure affective responses. Low-dose ketamine has been used to treat both pain and depression, but it is not clear whether ketamine can relieve depression associated with chronic pain and whether this antidepressant effect depends on its antinociceptive properties.

Methods
The authors examined whether the spared nerve injury model of neuropathic pain induces depressive behavior in rats, using sucrose preference test and forced swim test, and tested whether a subanesthetic dose of ketamine treats spared nerve injury-induced depression.

Results
Spared nerve injury-treated rats, compared with control rats, showed decreased sucrose preference (0.719 ± 0.068 (mean ± SEM) vs. 0.946 ± 0.010) and enhanced immobility in the forced swim test (107.3 ± 14.6s vs. 56.2 ± 12.5s). Further, sham-operated rats demonstrated depressive behaviors in the acute postoperative period (0.790 ± 0.062 on postoperative day 2). A single subanesthetic dose of ketamine (10 mg/kg) did not alter spared nerve injury-induced hypersensitivity; however, it treated spared nerve injury-associated depression-like behaviors (0.896 ± 0.020 for ketamine vs. 0.663 ± 0.080 for control rats 1 day after administration; 0.858 ± 0.017 for ketamine vs. 0.683 ± 0.077 for control rats 5 days after administration).

Conclusions
Chronic neuropathic pain leads to depression-like behaviors. The postoperative period also confers vulnerability to depression, possibly due to acute pain. Sucrose preference test and forced swim test may be used to compliment sensory tests for assessment of pain in animal studies. Low-dose ketamine can treat depression-like behaviors induced by chronic neuropathic pain.
Role of the O-linked β-N -acetylglucosamine in the Cardioprotection Induced by Isoflurane
Authors: Hirose Kayo , Tsutsumi Yasuo M. , Tsutsumi Rie , Shono Masayuki , Katayama Erika , Kinoshita Michiko , Tanaka Katsuya , Oshita Shuzo 
Published: October 2011

Background
Cardiac protection by volatile anesthetic-induced preconditioning and ischemic preconditioning have similar signaling pathways. Recently, it was reported that augmentation of protein modified with O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) contributes to cardiac protection. This study investigated the role of O-GlcNAc in cardiac protection induced by anesthetic-induced preconditioning.

Methods
O-GlcNAc-modified proteins were visualized by immunoblotting. Tolerance against ischemia or reperfusion was tested in vivo (n = 8) and in vitro (n = 6). The opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) upon oxidative stress was examined in myocytes treated with calcein AM (n = 5). Coimmunoprecipitation and enzymatic labeling were performed to detect the mitochondrial protein responsible for the mPTP opening.

Results
Isoflurane treatment and the consequent augmentation of O-GlcNAc concentrations reduced the infarct size (26 ± 5% [mean ± SD], P &lt; 0.001) compared with the control. The protective effect of O-GlcNAc was eliminated in the group pretreated with the O-GlcNAc transferase inhibitor alloxan (39 ± 5%, P &lt; 0.001). Myocyte survival also showed the same result in vitro. Formation of the mPTP was abrogated in the isoflurane-treated cells (86 ± 4%, P &lt; 0.001) compared with the control and alloxan-plus-isoflurane-treated cells (57 ± 7%, P &lt; 0.001). Coimmunoprecipitation and enzymatic labeling studies revealed that the O-GlcNAc-modified, voltage-dependent anion channel restained the mPTP opening.

Conclusions
Isoflurane induced O-GlcNAc modification of mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel. This modification inhibited the opening of the mPTP and conferred resistance to ischemia-reperfusion stress.
Identical de novo Mutation in the Type 1 Ryanodine Receptor Gene Associated with Fatal, Stress-induced Malignant Hyperthermia in Two Unrelated Families
Authors: Groom Linda , Muldoon Sheila M. , Tang Zhen Zhi , Brandom Barbara W. , Bayarsaikhan Munkhuu , Bina Saiid , Lee Hee-Suk , Qiu Xing , Sambuughin Nyamkhishig , Dirksen Robert T. 
Published: October 2011

Background
Mutations in the type 1 ryanodine receptor gene (RYR1) result in malignant hyperthermia, a pharmacogenetic disorder typically triggered by administration of anesthetics. However, cases of sudden death during exertion, heat challenge, and febrile illness in the absence of triggering drugs have been reported. The underlying causes of such drug-free fatal "awake" episodes are unknown.

Methods
De novo R3983C variant in RYR1 was identified in two unrelated children who experienced fatal, nonanesthetic awake episodes associated with febrile illness and heat stress. One of the children also had a second novel, maternally inherited D4505H variant located on a separate haplotype. Effects of all possible heterotypic expression conditions on RYR1 sensitivity to caffeine-induced Ca release were determined in expressing RYR1-null myotubes.

Results
Compared with wild-type RYR1 alone (EC50 = 2.85 ± 0.49 mM), average (± SEM) caffeine sensitivity of Ca release was modestly increased after coexpression with either R3983C (EC50 = 2.00 ± 0.39 mM) or D4505H (EC50 = 1.64 ± 0.24 mM). Remarkably, coexpression of wild-type RYR1 with the double mutant in cis (R3983C-D4505H) produced a significantly stronger sensitization of caffeine-induced Ca release (EC50 = 0.64 ± 0.17 mM) compared with that observed after coexpression of the two variants on separate subunits (EC50 = 1.53 ± 0.18 mM).

Conclusions
The R3983C mutation potentiates D4505H-mediated sensitization of caffeine-induced RYR1 Ca release when the mutations are in cis (on the same subunit) but not when present on separate subunits. Nevertheless, coexpression of the two variants on separate subunits still resulted in a ∼2-fold increase in caffeine sensitivity, consistent with the observed awake episodes and heat sensitivity.
First-line Therapy with Coagulation Factor Concentrates Combined with Point-of-Care Coagulation Testing Is Associated with Decreased Allogeneic Blood Transfusion in Cardiovascular Surgery
Authors: Görlinger Klaus , Dirkmann Daniel , Hanke Alexander A. , Kamler Markus , Kottenberg Eva , Thielmann Matthias , Jakob Heinz , Peters Jürgen 
Published: October 2011

Introduction
Blood transfusion is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. We developed and implemented an algorithm for coagulation management in cardiovascular surgery based on first-line administration of coagulation factor concentrates combined with point-of-care thromboelastometry/impedance aggregometry.

Methods
In a retrospective cohort study including 3,865 patients, we analyzed the incidence of intraoperative allogeneic blood transfusions (primary endpoints) before and after algorithm implementation.

Results
Following algorithm implementation, the incidence of any allogeneic blood transfusion (52.5 vs. 42.2%; P < 0.0001), packed red blood cells (49.7 vs. 40.4%; P < 0.0001), and fresh frozen plasma (19.4 vs. 1.1%; P < 0.0001) decreased, whereas platelet transfusion increased (10.1 vs. 13.0%; P = 0.0041). Yearly transfusion of packed red blood cells (3,276 vs. 2,959 units; P < 0.0001) and fresh frozen plasma (1986 vs. 102 units; P < 0.0001) decreased, as did the median number of packed red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma per patient. The incidence of fibrinogen concentrate (3.73 vs. 10.01%; P < 0.0001) and prothrombin complex concentrate administration (4.42 vs. 8.9%; P < 0.0001) increased, as did their amount administered per year (179 vs. 702 g; P = 0.0008 and 162 × 10³ U vs. 388 × 10³ U; P = 0.0184, respectively). Despite a switch from aprotinin to tranexamic acid, an increase in use of dual antiplatelet therapy (2.7 vs. 13.7%; P < 0.0001), patients' age, proportion of females, emergency cases, and more complex surgery, the incidence of massive transfusion [(≥10 units packed red blood cells), (2.5 vs. 1.26%; P = 0.0057)] and unplanned reexploration (4.19 vs. 2.24%; P = 0.0007) decreased. Composite thrombotic/thromboembolic events (3.19 vs. 1.77%; P = 0.0115) decreased, but in-hospital mortality did not change (5.24 vs. 5.22%; P = 0.98).

Conclusions
First-line administration of coagulation factor concentrates combined with point-of-care testing was associated with decreased incidence of blood transfusion and thrombotic/thromboembolic events.