bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sominone enhances neurite outgrowth and spatial memory mediated by the neurotrophic factor receptor, RET
Authors: Tohda Chihiro , Joyashiki Eri 
Published: July 2009

Background and purpose:  Orally administered withanoside IV (a compound isolated from the roots of Withania somnifera) improved memory deficits in mice with a model of Alzheimer's disease induced by the amyloid peptide Aβ(25‐35). Sominone, an aglycone of withanoside IV, was identified as an active metabolite after oral administration of withanoside IV. We aimed to identify receptors or associated molecules of sominone, and to investigate the effects of sominone on memory in normal mice.Experimental approach:  Phosphorylation levels of 71 molecules were compared between control and sominone‐stimulated cortical cultured cells to search for target molecules of sominone. Object location memory and neurite density in the brain were evaluated in sominone‐injected mice.Key results:  Phosphorylation of RET (a receptor for the glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor, GDNF) was increased in neurons by sominone, without affecting the synthesis and secretion of GDNF. Knockdown of RET prevented sominone‐induced outgrowths of axons and dendrites. After a single i.p. injection of sominone into normal mice, they could better memorize scenery information than control mice. Sixty minutes after sominone injection, RET phosphorylation was increased, particularly in the hippocampus of mice. After the memory tests, the densities of axons and dendrites were increased in the hippocampus by sominone administration.Conclusions and implications:  Sominone could reinforce the morphological plasticity of neurons by activation of the RET pathway and thus enhance memory. Sominone, a compound with low molecular weight, may be a GDNF‐independent stimulator of the RET pathway and/or a novel modulator of RET signalling.
Deficiency in calcineurin activity in liver transplantation candidates with alcoholic cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Blanchet Benoit , Hurtova Monika , Roudot‐Thoraval Françoise , Costentin Charlotte E. , Barrault Camille , Jouault Hèlène , Medkour Fathia , Laurent Alexis , Duvoux Christophe , Hulin Anne 
Published: July 2009

AbstractBackground: Tacrolimus and cyclosporin inhibits the activity of calcineurin, a serine/threonine phosphatase that is involved in many physiological and pathological pathways. However, the baseline calcineurin phosphatase activity (CPA) measured before the transplant is unknown. In this study, we determine baseline CPA in liver transplant (LT) candidates and explore some factors that might modify it.Patients and methods: Thirty‐two consecutive LT candidates (25 men, seven women, average age 53.4 years) were included. Seven millilitres of whole blood was collected from each patient. CPA was determined in lymphocytes quantifying a dephosphorylated peptide phosphorylated previously (D‐L‐D‐V‐P‐I‐P‐G‐R‐F‐D‐R‐R‐V‐S‐V‐A‐A‐E) by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The relationship between CPA and the quantitative variables was tested according to Pearson's correlation. A two‐way analysis of variance was performed to test the independent role of categorical parameters in CPA.Results: The median CPA was significantly lower in LT candidates than in healthy volunteers [179.2 (146.9–226.3) vs 247.8 (220.9–292.5) pmol/min/106 peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC), respectively, P=0.0002]. CPA was also significantly lower in alcoholic cirrhosis (152.2 vs 211.1 pmol/min/106 PBMC, P=0.04) and in the presence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (152.0 vs 213.5 pmol/min/106 PBMC, P=0.0074) compared with other liver diseases. A two‐way analysis of variance showed that these parameters were independently associated with lower CPA (P=0.05 for alcohol and P=0.0056 for HCC respectively).Conclusion: This pilot study showed a lower CPA in patients with AC and HCC. This phenomenon may contribute towards lowering the risk of acute rejection in these patients after LT and, on the other hand, may increase the risk of de novo cancers.
Ritual and (im)moral voices: Locating the Testament of Judas in Sakapultek communicative ecology
Authors: SHOAPS ROBIN ANN 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACTIn this article, I examine el Testamento de Judas (the Testament of Judas), an annual letter “from” Judas Iscariot to the townspeople of Sacapulas, Guatemala. Drawing on a conceptual framework that synthesizes Bakhtinian concepts of voice and speech genres, I argue that the characteristics of the Testament of Judas serve to create idealized “voices” that reflect stances toward its content and audience. Furthermore, I demonstrate that the Testament can only be understood against the backdrop of Sakapultek Maya communicative ecology, including ritual wedding counsels, which constitute the Testament's moral instructional complement, and the quotidian genre of “gossip–scolding.”[voice, genre, moral discourse, ritual, Maya, Judas, Guatemala]
Four kinds of authenticity? Regarding Nicaraguan pottery in Scandinavian museums, 2006–08
Authors: FIELD LES W. 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACTSince the late 1970s, ceramics producers in the Nicaraguan village of San Juan de Oriente have repeatedly transformed both the design of and the technology for making their products. Different types of Scandinavian museums exhibited the most recent form of San Juanense pottery in 2006–08, which provided me with an opportunity to reflect on the history and character of the pottery in light of my own involvement with its producers since the early 1980s. This article unpacks those reflections in terms of the discourse of authenticity that anthropologists have elaborated over the past three decades. [multiple forms of authenticity, ceramics production, artisan communities, San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua, role of anthropology, systems of value]
Blood and desire: The secret of heteronormativity in adoption narratives of culture
Authors: DOROW SARA , SWIFFEN AMY 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACTIn this article, we use narratives of cultural identity among U.S. parents of children adopted from China to conceptually explore the ideas that underwrite socially intelligible kinship. Although these narratives address the cultural heritage of the child, we find that they also perform a kind of social labor. The ways adoptive parents respond to the “culture question” (their children's birth heritage) also speak to family identity in relation to a foundational imaginary of heteronormative kinship, namely, the equivalence of biological and social family origins. We assert that the “secret” of socially intelligible kinship is revealed in the shifting meanings of blood and social desire in ideas of kinship, which has important implications for new kinship studies as well as for adoption scholarship. [kinship, heteronormativity, adoption, culture, race, desire]
Physiologic Effects of the TASER After Exercise
Authors: Vilke Gary M. , Sloane Christian M. , Suffecool Amanda , Kolkhorst Fred W. , Neuman Tom S. , Castillo Edward M. , Chan Theodore C. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractObjectives: Incidents of sudden death following TASER exposure are poorly studied, and substantive links between TASER exposure and sudden death are minimal. The authors studied the effects of a single TASER exposure on markers of physiologic stress in humans.Methods: This prospective, controlled study evaluated the effects of a TASER exposure on healthy police volunteers after vigorous exercise, compared to a subsequent, identical exercise session that was not followed by TASER exposure. Subjects exercised to 85% of predicted heart rate (HR) on an ergometer and then were given a standard 5‐second TASER activation. Measures before and for 60 minutes after the TASER activation included minute ventilation, tidal volume, respiratory rate, end‐tidal pCO2, oxygen saturation, HR, blood pressure (systolic BP/diastolic BP), 12‐lead electrocardiogram, and arterialized blood for pH, pO2, pCO2, and lactate. Each subject repeated the exercise and data collection session on a subsequent data, without TASER activation. Data were analyzed using paired Student’s t‐tests with differences and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Statistical significance was adjusted for multiple comparisons.Results: A total of 25 officers (21 men and 4 women) completed both portions of the study. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, the TASER group was significantly higher for systolic BP at baseline (difference of 14.1, 95% CI = 8.7 to 19.5, p < 0.001) and HR at 5, 30, and 60 minutes with the largest difference at 30 minutes (difference of 7.0, 95% CI = 2.5 to 11.5, p = 0.004). There were no other significant differences between the two groups in any other measure at any time.Conclusions: A 5‐second exposure of a TASER following vigorous exercise to healthy law enforcement personnel does not result in clinically significant changes in ventilatory or blood parameters of physiologic stress.
Birth‐cohort and dual diagnosis effects on age‐at‐onset in Brazilian patients with bipolar I disorder
Authors: Da Silva Magalhães P. V. , Gomes F. A. , Kunz M. , Kapczinski F. 
Published: July 2009

Objective:  Substance use disorders and birth‐cohort have been associated with an earlier onset in bipolar disorder (BD). This study aimed at evaluating the inter‐relations of these factors in age‐at‐onset in bipolar illness.Method:  Two‐hundred and thirty patients with bipolar I disorder were cross‐sectionally evaluated. Patients were categorized into four age groups for analysis. Lifetime comorbidity and age‐at‐onset were derived from the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV.Results:  There was a strong linear association between age group and age‐at‐onset. Lifetime alcohol and drug use disorders were also associated with age‐at‐onset. Illicit drug and alcohol use disorders and age group remained significant in the multivariate model. No interactions appeared.Conclusion:  Both age group and dual diagnoses had strong and independent impacts on age‐at‐onset in out‐patients with BD. Substance abuse may be partly accountable for earlier symptom onset, but other features of BD in younger generations are still in need to be accounted for.
TMPRSS2:ERG fusion transcripts in urine from prostate cancer patients correlate with a less favorable prognosis
Authors: ROSTAD KARI , HELLWINKEL OLAF J. C. , HAUKAAS SVEIN A. , HALVORSEN OLE J. , ØYAN ANNE M. , HAESE ALEXANDER , BUDÄUS LARS , ALBRECHT HEIKO , AKSLEN LARS A. , SCHLOMM THORSTEN , KALLAND KARL‐HENNING 
Published: July 2009

Rostad K, Hellwinkel OJC, Haukaas SA, Halvorsen OJ, Øyan AM, Haese A, Budäus L, Albrecht H, Akslen LA, Schlomm T, Kalland K‐H. TMPRSS2:ERG fusion transcripts in urine from prostate cancer patients correlate with a less favorable prognosis. APMIS 2009; 117: 575–82.The transcription factor ERG is highly upregulated in the majority of prostate cancers due to chromosomal fusion of the androgen responsive promoter of TMPRSS2 to the ERG reading frame. Our aim was to identify this gene fusion in urine samples from prostate cancer patients prior to radical treatment and to compare fusion status with clinicopathological variables. Urine fractions from 55 patients (with and without prior prostatic massage) were analyzed for the presence of TMPRSS2:ERG isoforms using real‐time qPCR. Sixty‐nine percent of urine samples following prostatic massage were positive for TMPRSS2:ERG isoforms a or b, five out of which were positive for both, vs 24% of samples obtained without prior massage. Isoform a seems to be most prevalent and some patients may be positive for more than one fusion variant, reflecting the multifocality of prostate cancer. Prostatic massage prior to sampling, analysis of pelleted urine material and detection of cDNA provided the highest sensitivity. Positive statistical correlations were identified between TMPRSS2:ERG fusion and high s‐PSA, pathological stage and Gleason score. Our findings contribute to the increasing elucidation of the role of TMPRSS2:ERG in the development of prostate cancer.
Longitudinal study of TP53 mutations in eight patients with potentially malignant oral mucosal disorders
Authors: Ögmundsdóttir H. M. , Hilmarsdóttir H. , Björnsson J. , Holbrook W. P. 
Published: July 2009

Objectives:  In a previous cross‐sectional study, the authors found a higher rate of TP53 mutation in oral lichen planus (OLP) than in hyperkeratosis. By analysing for TP53 mutations in serial samples from patients on long‐term follow‐up of their oral lesions, it was hoped to determine if these mutations were related to disease progression.Methods:  Eight patients presenting with lesions diagnosed clinically as oral leukoplakia or lichen planus were followed from 2 to 12 years. Two to five samples of archival biopsy tissue were analysed from each patient by constant denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis for hotspots A, B, C, D and exon 6.Results:  Four patients were diagnosed clinically as OLP: two of these were confirmed histopathologically, one was diagnosed as non‐specific hyperkeratosis and one as cancer. Four patients had leukoplakia only, with a histopathological diagnosis of hyperkeratosis. Seven patients had TP53 mutations, three of them on repeated occasions. All five patients who developed squamous‐cell carcinoma had mutations. Two of them had mutated pre‐malignant lesions, and one of these previously had a non‐mutated cancer. Three patients had two different primary cancers, only one of them mutated. One patient developed a mutated cancer 5 years after the last mutation‐free biopsy. Of the cancer‐free patients, a lesion regarded clinically as cancer‐suspicious in one case was mutated, in another patient two OLP lesions were mutated, the third had five biopsies taken during 8 years, all non‐mutated.Conclusions:  TP53 mutations may occur early or late in the development of oral squamous‐cell carcinoma.
Evaluation of myofibroblasts in oral epithelial dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Etemad‐Moghadam S. , Khalili M. , Tirgary F. , Alaeddini M. 
Published: July 2009

Background:  Carcinogenesis is accompanied by a number of changes in the adjacent stroma including the appearance of myofibroblasts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the presence of myofibroblasts in normal mucosa, oral epithelial dysplasia, and different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma.Methods:  The study sample consisted of three groups, including 40 oral squamous cell carcinomas, 15 dysplasias, and 15 sections of normal oral epithelium. Vimentin, desmin, and alpha‐smooth muscle actin were used to identify myofibroblasts.Results:  The percentage and intensity of alpha‐smooth muscle actin were examined, and positive immunostaining was observed in the myofibroblasts of all squamous cell carcinomas; however these cells did not stain in the dysplasias or normal epithelium specimens. The presence of myofibroblasts was significantly higher in oral squamous cell carcinomas compared to both, dysplasias and normal mucosa cases (P < 0.001). A significant difference was not observed between the different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma (P = 0.2).Conclusions:  These findings show the presence of myofibroblasts in the stroma of oral squamous cell carcinoma but not dysplasia and normal mucosa, suggesting further investigation to clarify the role of myofibroblasts in the carcinogenesis of this tumor.
Laminin‐511 and fibronectin degradation with Candida yeast
Authors: Pärnänen Pirjo , Meurman Jukka H. , Virtanen Ismo 
Published: July 2009

Background:  The invasion mechanism of Candida yeast is still partly unknown. In this study, we tested the ability of different commensal Candida yeast to degrade two basement membrane and extracellular matrix proteins: laminin‐511 (Lm‐511) and plasma fibronectin.Methods:  Human Lm‐511 was produced by an immortal keratinocyte cell line, labelled with 35S‐methionine and immunoprecipitated from the growth medium with monoclonal antibodies. Human plasma fibronectin was purified from plasma samples of blood donors. Sonicated yeast cells and concentrated yeast cell growth media were incubated with Lm‐511 in different pH values and the degradation was detected by fluorography. Fibronectin degradation by yeast was visualized by sodium dodecyl‐sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.Results:  The reduced 220 kDa fibronectin monomers were found to be degraded at pH 7.8 by 10× concentrated growth media of most strains tested and at pH 3.0 the degradation was more pronounced. Sonicated cell fractions of C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis caused degradation of plasma fibronectin at pH 7.8. Instead, none of the tested Candida cell fractions degraded Lm‐511 under these conditions.Conclusions:  It seems that cleavage of different laminin isoforms by Candida yeast is a laminin‐specific process. The ability to cleave human plasma fibronectin is species‐ and pH‐dependent but not hyphal‐dependent and also this degradation may affect epithelial integrity.
The prognostic significance of histological features in oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Larsen S. R. , Johansen J. , Sørensen J. A. , Krogdahl A. 
Published: July 2009

Background:  Different factors predict nodal metastasis, recurrence and survival in oral cancer. The aim was to assess the prognostic value of histological features related to the primary tumour.Methods:  A total of 144 patients surgically treated at Odense University Hospital for oral cancer between 1999 and 2004 were included in the study. Postoperative radiation therapy was given in case of close and involved margins or high TNM stages (UICC 1997). Median follow‐up time was 38 months. All surgical resections were reviewed and 22 histological characteristics were assessed.Results:  The predominant sites were floor of mouth (FOM, 39%) and lateral tongue (35%). Fifty‐nine per cent had UICC97 stage I–II disease. Five‐year cause‐specific survival was observed in 65%. Nodal involvement at diagnosis was observed in 36% which was significantly related to grade, neural and vascular invasion; surgical margins and increasing tumour depth. A cut‐off value of 2 mm (4 mm for FOM) separated patients without and with nodal metastasis at the time of diagnosis. However, on multivariate analysis, neck disease was only associated with tumour depth and grade. Cox analysis of local recurrence in the oral cavity over time showed that tumour diameter and surgical margins were significant predictors while cause‐specific survival was related to diameter, depth of invasion, surgical margins and extracapsular spread (ECS).Conclusions:  Tumour depth and grade were strong prognostic factors for nodal metastasis, independently of other histological features. Tumour diameter and margins independently predict local recurrences in the oral cavity as well as cause‐specific survival. Nodal involvement and ECS were associated with adverse prognosis.
Intrinsic, solar and sunbed‐induced skin aging measured in vivo by multiphoton laser tomography and biophysical methods
Authors: Koehler Martin Johannes , Preller Anja , Kindler Nadja , Elsner Peter , König Karsten , Bückle Rainer , Kaatz Martin 
Published: July 2009

Background: Skin aging is accelerated by extrinsic factors, particularly actinic damage. Over the last decades, both clinical and pathological differences between intrinsic and actinic aging have been characterized. In this work, we aimed at quantifying skin aging by non‐invasive in vivo methods.Methods: Young healthy volunteers using indoor tanning facilities and aged people were compared with appropriate controls by measurements of skin elasticity with the Cutometer and the Reviscometer and by semi‐quantitative evaluation of the dermal matrix composition by the multiphoton laser tomograph DermaInspect.Results: We found differences between the sun‐protected volar forearm and the dorsal side as well as between young and old test persons with all three methods. No significant differences were found between the skin of indoor‐tanned test persons and control. Also, gender had no influence on the severity of skin aging.Conclusion: The most consistent results were obtained with the DermaInspect. The considerable inter‐individual variation due to the cross‐sectional design of the study may have disguised the factual skin damage caused by tanning beds.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Antiphospholipid Antibodies Induce a Pro‐Inflammatory Response in First Trimester Trophoblast Via the TLR4/MyD88 Pathway
Authors: Mulla Melissa J. , Brosens Jan J. , Chamley Larry W. , Giles Ian , Pericleous Charis , Rahman Anisur , Joyce Shawna K. , Panda Britta , Paidas Michael J. , Abrahams Vikki M. 
Published: July 2009

Problem  Women with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are at risk for recurrent miscarriage, pre‐eclampsia, and pre‐term labor. aPL target the placenta directly by binding to beta2‐glycoprotein I (β2GPI) expressed on the surface of trophoblast cells. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of aPL on trophoblast function and the mechanisms involved.Method of study  First trimester trophoblast cells were treated with anti‐β2GPI monoclonal antibodies and patient‐derived aPL, after which cell survival and function was evaluated.Results  We report that anti‐β2GPI antibodies trigger an inflammatory response in trophoblast, characterized by increased secretion of interleukin (IL)‐8, MCP‐1, GRO‐α, and IL‐1β, and that this occurs in a TLR‐4/MyD88‐dependent manner. At high concentrations, these antibodies also induce caspase‐mediated cell death. This was attenuated upon disabling of the MyD88 pathway, suggesting that anti‐β2GPI‐induced inflammatory mediators compromise trophoblast survival by acting in an autocrine/paracrine manner. Enhanced IL‐8, GRO‐α, and IL‐1β secretion also occurred when trophoblast cells were incubated with antibodies from patients with antiphospholipid syndrome. Heparin, which acts as a pro‐survival factor in human trophoblast, attenuated the anti‐β2GPI antibody‐mediated cell death, and also the pro‐inflammatory response, but only at high concentrations.Conclusion  These findings demonstrate that aPL triggers a placental inflammatory response via the TLR‐4/MyD88 pathway, which in turn compromises trophoblast survival. Thus, the TLR‐4/MyD88 pathway may provide a new therapeutic target to improve pregnancy outcome in antiphospholipid syndrome patients.
SHORT COMMUNICATION: Comparison of Serum Markers for Thrombophilia and Autoimmune Disease in Reproductive Age Women with and without False Positive Rapid Plasma Reagin Tests
Authors: Swica Yael , Westhoff Carolyn 
Published: July 2009

Problem  The rapid plasma reagin test (RPR) is performed frequently in clinical practice, particularly among reproductive age women. The phenomenon of the biologic false positive RPR is well‐recognized, but its clinical significance is poorly characterized. Our objective was to assess the relationship between the false positive RPR and several established clinical and biological markers for thrombophilia and/or autoimmune disease.Method of study  We conducted a clinic‐based, case–control study of 41 healthy, reproductive age women with history of a biologic false positive RPR and 30 control women with a negative RPR to assess the relationship between the false positive RPR and several established clinical and biological markers for thrombophilia and/or autoimmune disease. We used t‐tests and constructed frequency tables for case–control comparisons.Results  Cases were significantly more likely than controls to have lupus anticoagulant present in serum, have a positive ANA, and a positive ANA with a titer of 1:320 or greater. Cases were also more likely to be positive for anticardiolipin antibodies and have a prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time, but the CIs for those point estimates included the null value. Eight participants tested positive for both lupus anticoagulant and ANA. All eight were in the case group.Conclusion  These results suggest that the RPR test might be used to identify a subset of women who warrant further testing for autoimmune and/or thromboembolic disease.