bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Basal cell carcinoma of the nasolabial fold: an apparently ‘benign’ tumour that often needs complex surgery
Authors: Garcia L , Nagore E , Llombart B , Sanmartin O , Botella‐Estrada R , Requena C , Jorda E , Guillen C 
Published: September 2010

AbstractBackground  Location of the tumour is a well‐known prognostic factor for recurrence of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). We have observed that tumours located in the nasolabial fold may deserve a particular attention.Objective  The aim of this study is to evaluate the behaviour of BCC located on the nasolabial fold in comparison to a control group of patients with BCC in lower risk sites, and to detect characteristics which may imply a more complicated treatment or the consideration of adjuvant treatment.Methods  A series of 24 patients with BCC located on the nasolabial fold were retrospectively recruited from our database of Mohs surgery from January 1997 to December 2000. A control group of 37 patients with BCC located on the cheek or forehead were selected from the same database. The differences between both groups in clinical, surgical and histological terms were evaluated.Results  BCC on the nasolabial fold presented with shorter evolution time from first symptom, had a smaller size, had been less frequently treated before and showed mostly non‐aggressive histologic subtype, but needed more surgical stages and more complex reconstruction.Conclusion  We have observed that BCC on the nasolabial fold, despite presenting with better clinical and histological features, needed more complicated surgery. In our opinion, this location warrants a particular attention and further prospective studies should be made to corroborate our findings.
Verruca vulgaris: pulsed dye laser therapy compared with salicylic acid + pulsed dye laser therapy
Authors: Akarsu S , Ilknur T , Demirtaşoǧlu M , Özkan Ş 
Published: September 2010

AbstractBackground  In recent years, lasers have been used in verruca therapy and some successful results have been obtained in some types of verruca. In some of these laser studies, peeling processes have been used to increase penetration.Objective  This study aimed to compare the effects of pulsed dye laser (PDL) therapy with the effects of PDL therapy following salicylic acid (SA) application. The purpose of the SA application is to increase the laser penetration by decreasing the hyperkeratosis of verruca vulgaris.Methods  This controlled study included 66 lesions from 19 patients enrolled in the study. PDL was applied to 33 lesions following 30% SA application twice a day for 5 days, and the remaining 33 lesions underwent PDL therapy. PDL was administered in both groups at 4‐week intervals varying from one to five sessions. In the comparison of these two groups, the changes in verruca dimensions were recorded in width × length × height (mm3), and the results of the therapy were evaluated statistically.Results  In both PDL and SA + PDL groups, the regressions observed in the size of the lesions were statistically significant at the end of the fifth session compared with those observed at the onset of the therapy (P < 0.05). At the end of the fifth session, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.451); however, the clearance rate in the SA + PDL group was more statistically significant than that in the PDL group after the second session (P = 0.049). The complete clearance rate in the SA + PDL group was 54.6% after the second session, but 66.4% in the PDL group only after the fifth session. Complete clearance in the SA + PDL group was observed after 2.2 sessions, and in the PDL group after 3.1 sessions (P < 0.05).Conclusions  Although there was no difference between the clearance rate of the SA + PDL group and that of the PDL group after the fifth session, adding SA to PDL decreased the number of sessions to a large extent.
Evidence of a marked 25‐hydroxyvitamin D deficiency in patients with congenital ichthyosis
Authors: Ingen‐Housz‐Oro S , Boudou P , Bergot C , Ibrahim F , Souberbielle JC , Dubertret L , Blanchet‐Bardon C 
Published: September 2010

AbstractBackground  Vitamin D is essential for bone mineralization, and its deficiency may be the cause of skeletal fractures and osteomalacia. Geographical or ethnic factors may modulate the cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D. We hypothesized that major changes in keratinization may similarly alter the cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D.Objectives  To explore calciotrophic hormones, parameters of bone remodelling and bone mineral density (BMD) in nine patients with non‐bullous congenital ichthyosis.Patients and methods  Six patients were European, three were North African. Four had received acitretin over a long period of time. A complete biological investigation, including serum and urinary calcium and phosphorus, calciotrophic hormones [intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25‐(OH)D) and 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25‐(OH)2D)], bone formation and resorption markers, was performed on all patients during the winter season and repeated among four patients after summer. BMD was measured in all patients.Results  All patients had a marked 25‐(OH)D deficiency, clearly below the deficiency threshold of 25 nmol/L. Patients from North Africa had a greater deficiency than European patients, perhaps because of the difference in skin pigmentation. iPTH remained normal in European patients but was elevated among the North Africans. After sun exposure, an improvement in vitamin status was visible in only one patient. Bone formation and resorption markers remained normal. Femoral neck osteodensitometry indicated values near the osteopaenic threshold in two young North African females. No deleterious effect of retinoids on vitamin D metabolism was observed.Conclusion  Patients, and in particular pigmented patients, with congenital ichthyosis present a severe deficiency in vitamin D. Care provided to protect the skeletal future of these patients involves measuring BMD and prescribing supplementation.
Psychological distress and coping strategies in patients with psoriasis: the PSYCHAE Study
Authors: Finzi A , Colombo D , Caputo A , Andreassi L , Chimenti S , Vena G , Simoni L , Sgarbi S , Giannetti A ,   for the PSYCHAE Study Group
Published: September 2010

AbstractObjective  Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of psychological distress in a large sample of Italian patients with psoriasis; to establish whether disease severity and psychological distress are associated; to identify the strategies employed to cope with psoriasis; to evaluate the coping strategies employed by dermatologists; and to identify potential predictors of psychological distress.Design  Cross‐sectional.Setting  Thirty‐nine Italian dermatology centres.Subjects  One thousand five hundred and eighty (1580) patients with psoriasis.Methods  Minor psychological distress was evaluated using the General Health Questionnaire‐12 (GHQ‐12) and major psychopathological distress using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI); coping strategies were evaluated using the Brief COPE questionnaire; disease severity was evaluated using the body surface area index.Results  Patients were aged 44 ± 13 years (mean ± SD) and were mainly men (57%). Minor psychological distress was present in 46% of patients and major psychopathological distress in 11% of them. Both minor (54% vs. 40%, P < 0.0001) and major (17% vs. 7%, P < 0.0001) distress were more frequent in women than in men. The psychological status of women was worse than that of men independently from the extension of psoriasis. There was no association between the presence of distress and the treatment prescribed by dermatologists. Planning and active coping were the strategies most commonly employed by patients to cope with psoriasis, but there were between‐gender differences. Most dermatologists employed a ‘problem‐orientated’ attitude in caring for patients.Conclusions  (i) Psychological distress was relatively frequent in our patients with psoriasis; (ii) female gender was the most important predictive factor for psychological distress; (iii) there was no association between psoriasis severity and psychological distress; (iv) planning and active coping were the coping strategies most frequently employed by patients; and (v) most dermatologists employed a problem‐orientated attitude in caring for patients.
New lifestyle drugs and somatoform disorders in dermatology
Authors: Harth W , Seikowski K , Hermes B , Gieler U 
Published: September 2010

AbstractAn increasing number of healthy individuals make use of ‘lifestyle’ drugs, such as nootropics, psychopharmaca, hormones and eco‐drugs. In this respect, the fact that many people try to improve their outer appearance, solve their ‘cosmetic problems’, influence their rate of hair growth and altogether delay, halt or even reverse the natural ageing process has become a relevant matter for the practising dermatologist. Lifestyle drugs in dermatology are taken in an attempt to increase personal life quality by means of attaining a certain, psychosocially defined beauty ideal. They are not taken to manage a medically identifiable, well‐defined disease. Often, patients suffering from somatoform disorders, such as hypochondriac disorders, body dysmorphic disorders, somatization disorders or persistent somatoform pain disorders, may spontaneously ask physicians, in particular dermatologists and plastic surgeons, to prescribe them lifestyle drugs. Typically, patients repeatedly present with alleged ‘physical symptoms’ that turn out to be subjective complaints without any underlying identifiable medical disease. The use of lifestyle drugs without any proper medical indication may lead to a chronification of the emotional disorders that had ultimately been the cause of the patients’ request for such drugs. Such disorders may need to be treated promptly with psychotherapy and/or appropriate psychopharmacotherapy, and the choice of the treatment requires an accurate differential diagnostic approach.
Developmental trajectories of reading development and impairment from ages 3 to 8 years in Chinese children
Authors: Lei Lin , Pan Jinger , Liu Hongyun , McBride‐Chang Catherine , Li Hong , Zhang Yuping , Chen Lang , Tardif Twila , Liang Weilan , Zhang Zhixiang , Shu Hua 
Published: September 2010

Background:  Early prediction of reading disabilities in Chinese is important for early remediation efforts. In this 6‐year longitudinal study, we investigated the early cognitive predictors of reading skill in a statistically representative sample of Chinese children from Beijing.Method:  Two hundred sixty‐one (261) native Chinese children were administered seven language‐related skills over three years between the ages of 3 and 6 years. Performances on these skills were then examined in relation to subsequent word reading accuracy and fluency. Individual differences in developmental profiles across tasks were then estimated using growth mixture modeling.Results:  Four developmental trajectories were classified – the typical (control), catch‐up (with low initial cognitive performances but adequate subsequent reading), literacy‐related‐cognitive‐delay (with difficulties in morphological awareness, phonological awareness, and speeded naming and subsequent word recognition), and language‐delay (relatively low across all tasks) groups.Conclusion:  Findings suggest that the combination of phonological awareness, rapid naming and morphological awareness are essential in the early prediction of later reading difficulties in Chinese children.
Prenatal maternal stress programs infant stress regulation
Authors: Davis Elysia Poggi , Glynn Laura M. , Waffarn Feizal , Sandman Curt A. 
Published: September 2010

Objective:  Prenatal exposure to inappropriate levels of glucocorticoids (GCs) and maternal stress are putative mechanisms for the fetal programming of later health outcomes. The current investigation examined the influence of prenatal maternal cortisol and maternal psychosocial stress on infant physiological and behavioral responses to stress.Methods:  The study sample comprised 116 women and their full term infants. Maternal plasma cortisol and report of stress, anxiety and depression were assessed at 15, 19, 25, 31 and 36 + weeks’ gestational age. Infant cortisol and behavioral responses to the painful stress of a heel‐stick blood draw were evaluated at 24 hours after birth. The association between prenatal maternal measures and infant cortisol and behavioral stress responses was examined using hierarchical linear growth curve modeling.Results:  A larger infant cortisol response to the heel‐stick procedure was associated with exposure to elevated concentrations of maternal cortisol during the late second and third trimesters. Additionally, a slower rate of behavioral recovery from the painful stress of a heel‐stick blood draw was predicted by elevated levels of maternal cortisol early in pregnancy as well as prenatal maternal psychosocial stress throughout gestation. These associations could not be explained by mode of delivery, prenatal medical history, socioeconomic status or child race, sex or birth order.Conclusions:  These data suggest that exposure to maternal cortisol and psychosocial stress exerts programming influences on the developing fetus with consequences for infant stress regulation.
Effects of 2,3‐butanedione monoxime (BDM) on calcium channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes
Authors: Allen T. J. A. , Mikala G. , Wu X.‐P. , Dolphin A. C. 
Published: September 2010

We examine the actions of a chemical phosphatase, 2,3‐butanedione monoxime (BDM), on endogenous and expressed Ca2+ channel currents in Xenopus oocytes. In previous studies on L‐type Ca2+ channel currents in cardiomyocytes and dorsal root ganglia, the inhibitory effects of BDM were attenuated by activation of protein kinase A.
Ba2+ currents (IBa) through a human wild‐type L‐type Ca2+ channel complex (i.e. hα1C, α2‐δa and hβ1b) are inhibited by BDM with an IC50 of 16 mM, with 10 mM producing a 36.1 ± 2.2 % inhibition. IBa through endogenous oocyte N‐type Ca2+ channels, upregulated by exogenous α2‐δa and hβ1b subunits, are inhibited to a similar degree by BDM.
To examine whether the action of BDM is dependent on PKA‐dependent phosphorylation, a clone of hα1C deficient in all five serine PKA consensus sites (hα1C‐SA5) was co‐expressed with α2‐δa and the human cardiac hβ3 subunit, which naturally lacks PKA consensus sites. This complex exhibited a sensitivity to BDM that was similar to the wild‐type complex, with 10 mM BDM producing 31.6 ± 1.5 % inhibition.
As limited proteolysis upregulates Ca2+ channels in cardiomyocytes and renders them less sensitive to BDM, experiments were performed with a carboxyl terminus deletion mutant, hα1C‐Δ1633. IBa through this subunit showed a sensitivity to BDM that was similar to the wild‐type complex, with 10 mM BDM producing 31.3 ± 1.4 % inhibition. However, co‐expression with α2‐δa and hβ3 subunits reduced potency, and is reflected by an increased IC50 of 22.7 mM.
The actions of BDM were examined on a rat brain rbA‐1 Ca2+ channel clone, α1A, co‐expressed with α2‐δb and β1b subunit homologues from rat brain. BDM inhibited the current through this channel complex to a similar degree to that seen for cardiac wild‐type channels, with 10 mM BDM causing a 33.1 ± 3.5 % inhibition.
The effects of BDM were compared at two holding potentials, ‐80 and ‐30 mV, using the hα1C‐Δ1633, α2‐δa and hβ3 subunit combination. At ‐30 mV BDM is more potent with 10 mM BDM reducing IBa by 39.8 ± 2.7 %, compared with 20.8 ± 2.2 % at ‐80 mV.
The data suggest that BDM may not exert its inhibitory action by means of a chemical phosphatase effect, but by channel block. The similar potency observed between α1C, α1A and endogenous (N‐type) channels may help point towards a possible site of action; differences with the carboxyl deletion mutant may help further to define a locus of interaction.
The human Na+–glucose cotransporter is a molecular water pump
Authors: Meinild A.‐K. , Klaerke D. A. , Loo D. D. F. , Wright E. M. , Zeuthen T. 
Published: September 2010

The human Na+‐glucose cotransporter (hSGLT1) was expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. The transport activity, given by the Na+ current, was monitored as a clamp current and the concomitant flux of water followed optically as the change in oocyte volume.
When glucose was added to the bathing solution there was an abrupt increase in clamp current and an immediate swelling of the oocyte. The transmembrane transport of two Na+ ions and one sugar molecule was coupled, within the protein itself, to the influx of 210 water molecules.
This stoichiometry was constant and independent of the external parameters: Na+ concentrations, sugar concentrations, transmembrane voltages, temperature and osmotic gradients.
The cotransport of water occurred in the presence of adverse osmotic gradients. In accordance with the Gibbs equation, energy was transferred within the protein from the downhill fluxes of Na+ and sugar to the uphill transport of water, indicative of secondary active transport of water.
Unstirred layer effects were ruled out on the basis of experiments on oocytes treated with gramicidin or other ionophores. Na+ currents maintained by ionophores did not lead to any initial water movements.
The finding of a molecular water pump allows for new models of cellular water transport which include coupling between ion and water fluxes at the protein level; the hSGLT1 could account for almost half the daily reuptake of water from the small intestine.
Activation of pulmonary C fibres by adenosine in anaesthetized rats: role of adenosine A1receptors
Authors: Hong Ju‐Lun , Ho Ching‐Yin , Kwong Kevin , Lee Lu‐Yuan 
Published: September 2010

Intravenous administration of adenosine (Ado) to patients can cause dyspnoea, chest discomfort and bronchoconstriction. To assess the role of vagal pulmonary C fibres in evoking these adverse reactions, the effect of Ado on single pulmonary C fibres was studied in anaesthetized and artificially ventilated rats.Right‐atrial injection of Ado (320 μg kg−1) activated 68 % (73/107) of pulmonary C fibres; the total number of action potentials during a period of 15 s increased from a baseline of 0.2 ± 0.1 impulses to a peak of 16.4 ± 2.6 impulses (P< 0.01,n= 107) after Ado. Inosine, the metabolite of Ado, did not activate any of eleven C fibres tested in six rats. Furthermore, C fibres were activated only by right‐atrial and not by left‐ventricular injection of the same dose of Ado.Unlike the immediate and transient stimulation of C fibres by capsaicin, the C fibre stimulation by Ado had a latency of 6.5 ± 0.3 s (range, 3‐18 s) and lasted longer.The stimulation of C fibres by Ado was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with aminophylline, a non‐selective Ado receptor antagonist, was completely prevented by 1,3‐dipropyl‐8‐cyclopentylxanthine, an Ado A1receptor antagonist, but was unaffected by 3,7‐dimethy‐1‐propargylxanthine, an A2receptor antagonist. None of these Ado receptor antagonists prevented capsaicin‐induced C fibre stimulation.In conclusion, Ado stimulates pulmonary C fibre terminals through an activation of A1receptors. The stimulation of pulmonary C fibres may play an important role in Ado‐induced adverse respiratory effects.
Serotonin reduces synaptic excitation in the superficial medial entorhinal cortex of the rat via a presynaptic mechanism
Authors: Schmitz Dietmar , Gloveli Tengis , Empson Ruth M. , Draguhn Andreas , Heinemann Uwe 
Published: September 2010

The superficial layers II and III of the entorhinal cortex, which form the main cortical input to the hippocampus, receive a large serotonergic projection from the raphe nuclei and express 5‐HT receptors at high density. Here, we studied the effects of serotonin on the intrinsic properties and excitatory synaptic transmission of the superficial medial entorhinal cortex.
Intracellular and patch clamp recordings revealed that serotonin hyperpolarized only one‐third of the cells, approximately, through a potassium conductance via a GTP‐dependent process.
Serotonin depressed mixed as well as isolated α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazole‐ propionic acid receptor (AMPAR)‐ and N‐methyl‐D‐aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR)‐mediated excitatory postsynaptic potentials/currents (EPSPs/EPSCsapproximately 40 % reduction with 1 μM serotonin).
The effect of serotonin on EPSPs/EPSCs was similar in whole‐cell versus intracellular recordings; it did not require intracellular GTP and was not visible in glutamate applications to excised patches. Miniature EPSCs recorded in the presence of tetrodotoxin and bicuculline were reduced in frequency, but not altered in amplitude.
The effects of serotonin on intrinsic properties and EPSPs were partially mimicked by 5‐HT1A receptor agonists (±)‐8‐hydroxy‐2‐(di‐n‐propylamino)tetralin hydrobromide (8‐OH‐DPAT) and 5‐carboxamido‐tryptamine maleate (5‐CT), and reduced by 5‐HT1A receptor antagonists S‐(‐)‐5‐fluoro‐8‐hydroxy‐DPAT hydrochloride (S‐UH‐301), 1‐(2‐methoxyphenyl)‐4‐[4‐(2‐phthalimido)butyl]piperazine hydrobromide (NAN‐190) and spiperone.
We conclude that serotonin potently suppresses excitatory synaptic transmission via 5‐HT1A receptors in layers II and III of the medial entorhinal cortex by a presynaptic mechanism.
The effects of extracellular and intracellular pH on intracellular Ca2+ regulation in guinea‐pig detrusor smooth muscle
Authors: Wu C. , Fry C. H. 
Published: September 2010

Intracellular pH (pHi) and intracellular [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]i) were measured during changes to superfusate PCO2 and/or [NaHCO3]. Changes to superfusate PCO2 produced sustained changes to pHi and [Ca2+]i, while changes to [NaHCO3] altered only extracellular pH (pHo).
Carbachol or caffeine induced a transient rise of [Ca2+]i due to Ca2+ release from an intracellular store. This Ca2+ transient was reduced by extracellular acidosis, but increased by intracellular acidosis. Alkalosis in either compartment produced opposite effects to acidosis. Changes to the Ca2+ transient mirrored those to phasic tension previously reported in this preparation.
A raised superfusate [K+] also induced a Ca2+ transient, due to transmembrane influx of Ca2+. This transient was depressed by extracellular acidosis, but unaffected by changes to pHi. The L‐type Ca2+ current was similarly affected by changes to pHo, but not by alteration of pHi.
The results suggest that extracellular acidosis depresses the Ca2+ transient by reducing transmembrane influx through the L‐type Ca2+ channel. The increase in the carbachol‐ and caffeine‐induced Ca2+ transients by intracellular acidosis is due to enhancement of Ca2+ uptake into intracellular stores as a result of a raised resting [Ca2+]i.
Intrasarcomere [Ca2+] gradients and their spatio‐temporal relation to Ca2+sparks in rat cardiomyocytes
Authors: Tanaka Hikaru , Sekine Toshiyuki , Kawanishi Toru , Nakamura Ryu , Shigenobu Koki 
Published: September 2010

Line‐scan analyses of spontaneous Ca2+sparks, non‐propagating local rises in Ca2+concentration, and the early phase of Ca2+transients in cardiomyocytes were performed with a rapid‐scanning laser confocal microscope (Nikon RCM8000) and fluo‐3.On electrical stimulation, points at which rise in Ca2+began earliest were observed at regular spacings of 1.82 ± 0.26 μm (mean ± s.d.) along the longitudinal axis of the cell. The points were heavily stained with di‐2‐ANEPEQ, which stains the T‐tubules, indicating that they were at the Z‐line.The points where spontaneous Ca2+sparks originated coincided with the points which showed faster Ca2+elevation, i.e. the Z‐line.In some cases where a Ca2+spark had occurred within about 30 ms before the evoked Ca2+transient, fast elevation of Ca2+was not observed at the corresponding Z‐line, indicating the presence of a refractory period in Ca2+release from the SR.The present results provide visual evidence for Ca2+release from the junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum in cardiomyocytes. The presence of a refractory period in Ca2+release after Ca2+sparks provided new evidence that the normal Ca2+transient may be the summation of Ca2+sparks.