bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rent‐sharing and Collective Bargaining Coverage: Evidence from Linked Employer–Employee Data
Authors: Guertzgen Nicole 
Published: April 2009

AbstractUsing a linked employer–employee dataset, this paper analyses the relationship between firm profitability and wages. Particular emphasis is given to the question of whether the sensitivity of wages to firm‐specific rents varies with collective bargaining coverage. To address this issue, we distinguish sector‐ and firm‐specific wage agreements and wage determination without any bargaining coverage. Our findings indicate that individual wages are positively related to firm‐specific quasi‐rents in the non‐union sector and under firm‐specific contracts. Industry‐wide wage contracts, however, are associated with a significantly lower responsiveness of wages to firm‐level profitability.
Effect of climate therapy at Gran Canaria on vitamin D production, blood glucose and lipids in patients with psoriasis
Authors: Osmancevic A , Nilsen LT , Landin‐Wilhelmsen K , Søyland E , Abusdal Torjesen P , Hagve TA , Nenseter MS , Krogstad AL 
Published: April 2009

AbstractBackground  Climate therapy (heliotherapy) of psoriasis is an effective and natural treatment. Ultraviolet radiation (UVB) from the sun improves psoriasis and induces vitamin D3 synthesis.Objective  The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of climate therapy on vitamin D3 synthesis, blood glucose, lipids and vitamin B12 in psoriasis patients.Methods  Twenty Caucasian patients (6 women and 14 men; mean age, 47.2 years; range, 24–65) with moderate to severe psoriasis [mean Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score 9.8; range, 3.8–18.8] received climate therapy at the Gran Canarias for 3 weeks. Blood samples were drawn before and after 15 days of sun exposure. In addition, the patients’ individual skin UV doses based on UV measurements were estimated.Results  Sun exposure for 15 days lead to a 72.8% (± 18.0 SD) reduction in the PASI score in psoriasis patients. Although no direct correlation was observed between PASI score improvement and UVB dose, the sun exposure improved the vitamin D, lipid and carbohydrate status of the patients. The serum concentrations of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] increased from 57.2 ± 14.9 nmol/L before therapy to 104.5 ± 15.8 nmol/L (P < 0.0001) after 15 days of sun exposure; the serum levels of 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D] increased from 146.5 ± 42.0 to 182.7 ± 59.1 pmol/L (P = 0.01); the ratio of low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased from 2.4 to 1.9 (P < 0.001); and the haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels decreased from 5.6 ± 1.7% to 5.1 ± 0.3% (P < 0.0001).Conclusion  Climate therapy with sun exposure had a positive effect on psoriasis, vitamin D production, lipid and carbohydrate status.
First evaluation of polymerase chain reaction assays used for diagnosis of Mycoplasma genitalium in Russia
Authors: Shipitsyna E , Zolotoverkhaya E , Dohn B , Benkovich A , Savicheva A , Sokolovsky E , Jensen JS , Domeika M , Unemo M 
Published: April 2009

AbstractBackground  Diagnosis of Mycoplasma genitalium is entirely based on nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). In Russia, several M. genitalium polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays have been developed; however, any evaluation of their performance has never been performed.Objective  To assess the performance of five PCRs developed and currently used in Russia for diagnosis of M. genitalium.Materials and methods  Vaginal swabs and first voided urine samples (FVUs) from 281 females and urethral swabs and FVUs from 125 males were analysed using three conventional PCRs and two real‐time PCRs developed by three Russian companies. As reference tests, a real‐time PCR targeting the MgPa adhesin gene was used; positive results were confirmed by two conventional PCRs targeting the 16S rRNA gene and MgPa gene, respectively. For evaluation of detection limits and analytical specificities, a blinded control panel consisting of dilutions of six strains of M. genitalium and 14 other Mycoplasma species was tested.Results  The prevalence of M. genitalium was 2.5% among females and 9.6% among males. The highest sensitivity (71.4–100% in different specimens) was exhibited by one real‐time PCRs. Conventional PCRs from two manufacturers failed to detect M. genitalium in any of the seven positive female FVUs. All tests had a 100% clinical specificity; however, one cross‐reacted with Mycoplasma pneumoniae.Conclusions  Only one of the five Russian PCRs displayed reasonable sensitivity for all specimen types, but the specificities of all assays were high. Accordingly, improvements regarding sensitivity of all the tests are needed. However, larger studies, including other populations, evaluating these assays are crucial.
Revisiting MSUD in Portuguese Gypsies: Evidence for a Founder Mutation and for a Mutational Hotspot within the BCKDHA Gene
Authors: Quental Sofia , Gusmão Alfredo , Rodríguez‐Pombo Pilar , Ugarte Magdalena , Vilarinho Laura , Amorim António , Prata Maria J. 
Published: April 2009

SummaryMaple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of branched‐chain amino acid metabolism. In the context of the wide mutational spectrum known for this disease, a few common mutations have been described in populations where founder effects played a major role in modeling diversities. In Portugal, for instance, a high proportion of patients are of Gypsy origin and all share the same mutation (c.117delC‐α; p.R40GfsX23), causing the neonatal severe form of MSUD. In this study, we used four microsatellite markers closely flanking the BCKDHA gene (E1α protein) to demonstrate that c.117delC‐α is a founder mutation responsible for the high incidence of the disorder among Portuguese Gypsies. These results are of medical relevance since carrier tests and prenatal diagnosis can be offered to families at risk, particularly because the carrier frequency of c.117delC‐α was estimated at 1.4% among the healthy Portuguese Gypsies from the South of the country. Finally we present evidence that the genomic region of the BCKDHA gene where c.117delC‐α is located is likely a mutational hotspot, since recurrence of c.117delC‐α was observed in two distinct population groups.
Feeding the vertebrate retina from the Cambrian to the Tertiary
Authors: Yu C. Q. , Schwab I. R. , Dubielzig R. R. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe retina of the vertebrate eye is metabolically active and requires nutritive support. During the last 540 million years it has evolved into forms as complicated and nutritionally demanding as those found in avian or primate eyes. Diffusion from the choroid is generally able to supply the metabolic needs of thin retinae. However, when the thickness exceeds the limits of diffusion, structures are needed to supplement the vascular supply from the choroid. These supplemental nutritive devices include the choroidal gland, the falciform process and preretinal vascular plexus of fish, the conus papillaris of lizards, the pecten oculi of birds, the intraretinal vessels of mammals and a few novel systems that remain difficult to classify. These vascular systems are among the most variable features of the vertebrate eye. Here, we review classical and recent findings regarding such retinal nutrition systems, propose a three category classification for them based on histologic origins and speculate on the evolutionary forces which drove their development.
Leaves in the lowest and highest winds: temperature, force and shape
Authors: Vogel Steven 
Published: April 2009

SummaryClimatic extremes can be as significant as averages in setting the conditions for successful organismal function and in determining the distribution of different forms. For lightweight, flexible structures such as leaves, even extremes lasting a few seconds can matter. The present review considers two extreme situations that may pose existential risks. Broad leaves heat rapidly when ambient air flows drop below c. 0.5 m s−1. Devices implicated in minimizing heating include: reduction in size, lobing, and adjustments of orientation to improve convective cooling; low near‐infrared absorptivity; and thickening for short‐term heat storage. Different features become relevant when storm gusts threaten to tear leaves and uproot trees with leaf‐level winds of 20 m s−1 or more. Both individual leaves and clusters may curl into low‐drag, stable cones and cylinders, facilitated by particular blade shapes, petioles that twist readily, and sufficient low‐speed instability to initiate reconfiguration. While such factors may have implications in many areas, remarkably little relevant experimental work has addressed them.

Contents

Summary
13

I.
Introduction
13

II.
Very low but steady wind
14

III.
Very low and fluctuating wind
17

IV.
Very high winds
20

V.
Leaf form as adaptation
23

Acknowledgements
24

References
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Increases in cytoplasmic dopamine compromise the normal resistance of the nucleus accumbens to methamphetamine neurotoxicity
Authors: Thomas David M. , Francescutti‐Verbeem Dina M. , Kuhn Donald M. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractMethamphetamine (METH) is a neurotoxic drug of abuse that damages the dopamine (DA) neuronal system in a highly delimited manner. The brain structure most affected by METH is the caudate–putamen (CPu) where long‐term DA depletion and microglial activation are most evident. Even damage within the CPu is remarkably heterogenous with lateral and ventral aspects showing the greatest deficits. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is largely spared of the damage that accompanies binge METH intoxication. Increases in cytoplasmic DA produced by reserpine,l‐DOPA or clorgyline prior to METH uncover damage in the NAc as evidenced by microglial activation and depletion of DA, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and the DA transporter. These effects do not occur in the NAc after treatment with METH alone. In contrast to the CPu where DA, TH, and DA transporter levels remain depleted chronically, DA nerve ending alterations in the NAc show a partial recovery over time. None of the treatments that enhance METH toxicity in the NAc and CPu lead to losses of TH protein or DA cell bodies in the substantia nigra or the ventral tegmentum. These data show that increases in cytoplasmic DA dramatically broaden the neurotoxic profile of METH to include brain structures not normally targeted for damage by METH alone. The resistance of the NAc to METH‐induced neurotoxicity and its ability to recover reveal a fundamentally different neuroplasticity by comparison to the CPu. Recruitment of the NAc as a target of METH neurotoxicity by alterations in DA homeostasis is significant in light of the important roles played by this brain structure.
Sulfasalazine inhibits the growth of primary brain tumors independent of nuclear factor‐κB
Authors: Chung W. Joon , Sontheimer Harald 
Published: April 2009

AbstractNuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) is a pleiotropic transcription factor that generally enhances cellular resistance to apoptotic cell death. It has been shown to be constitutively active in some cancers and is being pursued as potential anticancer target. Sulfasalazine which is used clinically to treat Crohn’s disease has emerged as a potential inhibitor of NF‐κB and has shown promising results in two pre‐clinical studies to target primary brain tumors, gliomas. Once digested, sulfasalazine is cleaved into sulfapyridine and 5‐aminosalicylic acid (5‐ASA; mesalamine) by colonic bacteria, and the latter, too, is reported to suppress NF‐κB activity. We now show that glioma cells obtained from patient biopsies or glioma cell lines do not show significant constitutive NF‐κB activation, unless exposed to inflammatory cytokines. This does not change when gliomas are implanted into the cerebrum of severe combined immundeficient mice. Nevertheless, sulfasalazine but not its cleaved form 5‐ASA caused a dose‐dependent inhibition of glioma growth. This effect was entirely attributable to the inhibition of cystine uptake via the system xc− cystine–glutamate transporter. It could be mimicked by S‐4‐carboxy‐phenylglycine (S‐4‐CPG) a more specific system xc− inhibitor, and lentiviral expression of a constitutively active form of IκB kinase b was unable to overcome the growth retarding effects of sulfasalazine or S‐4‐CPG. Both drugs inhibited cystine uptake causing a chronic depletion of intracellular GSH and consequently compromised cellular redox defense which stymied tumor growth. This data suggests that system xc− is a promising therapeutic target in gliomas and possibly other cancers and that it can be pharmacologically inhibited by Sulfasalazine, an FDA‐approved drug.
Involvement of P2Y receptors in pyridoxal‐5′‐phosphate‐induced cardiac preconditioning
Authors: Millart Hervé , Alouane Loubna , Oszust Floriane , Chevallier Stephane , Robinet Arnaud 
Published: April 2009

AbstractUsing an isolated non‐working rat heart model, this study investigated the mechanisms of pharmacological pre‐conditioning (PC) induced by P2Y receptor stimulation with pyridoxal‐5′‐phosphate (PLP). After 6‐hydroxydopamine pretreatment and a 15‐min stabilization period, isolated rat hearts were perfused for 25 min then subjected to 40 min of global ischemia and 30 min of reperfusion (I/R); exposed for 15 min to 0.05 μm PLP bracketed for 25 min with broad‐spectrum P2 antagonists (suramin or PPADS) or with more specific P2Y antagonists (AMPαS or MRS2578), 1 μm each, followed by a 5‐min PLP‐free perfusion before I/R; treated during 25 min with either glybenclamide (GLY, 1 μm), 5‐hydroxydecanoic acid (5‐HD, 100 μm), U73122 (0.5 μm), H89 (1 μm), or KN93 (1 μm), with an infusion starting 5 min before PLP. The main endpoints were the rate–pressure product (RPP), creatine kinase (CK) release and area necrosis. Recovery of RPP, measured 5 min after reperfusion, was rapidly improved by PLP, blocked by the P2 antagonists, and decreased with the different inhibitors. Fifteen minutes after the end of ischemia, CK release reached maximal values in all groups. PLP provided significant protection, whereas the P2 antagonists, 5‐HD, a mitochondrial selective KATP antagonist and GLY a non‐selective KATP channel blocker, suppressed the protective effect on myocardial injury. The suppression of the cardioprotective effects of PLP by AMPαS, the PKA inhibitor (H89), and phospholipase C blocker (U73122) is in agreement with the P2Y11 receptor as a receptor for PLP‐induced PC. The suppression of the cardioprotective effects of PLP by MRS2578 and U73122 is in agreement with the P2Y6 receptor as a receptor for PLP‐induced PC. Pre‐ischemic exposure to nanomolar concentrations of PLP is protective against I/R. P2Y11 and P2Y6 represents the most likely candidate receptors for PLP‐induced cardiac PC.
Heart rate variability during sleep and sleep apnoea in a population based study of 387 women
Authors: Kesek Milos , Franklin Karl A. , Sahlin Carin , Lindberg Eva 
Published: April 2009

SummaryIncreased sympathetic activity during sleep has been suggested as a link between obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a measure of autonomic effect on the heart. Different parameters have been associated with sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. We have studied HRV in different sleep stages and related the HRV‐pattern to sleep apnoea in a population‐based sample of 387 women. We investigated the HRV‐parameters standard deviation of all R‐R intervals (SDNN), root of the averaged square of successive differences (RMSSD), low frequency component (LF), high frequency component (HF), ratio of low frequency component to high frequency component LF/HF and VSAI [variation in sympathetic activity between rapid eye movement (REM) and slow wave sleep, defined as LFREM−LFSWS]. The HRV‐parameters were compared with the results of a full‐night polysomnography. Hourly incidence of obstructive episodes was used for classifying the subjects into four apnoea‐hypopnoea index (AHI)‐groups (<5, ≥5 and <15, 15–30 and >30 events). Individual sleep stages were analysed by pooling all recordings. Women with high AHI had higher heart rate and LF/HF ratio. In subjects with AHI >30, LF/HF ratio however dropped to same level as with AHI <5. Subjects with high AHI had low VSAI. Levels of SDNN, LF and LF/HF ratio during REM and light sleep were similar to wakefulness. In slow wave sleep the parameters decreased. In conclusion, moderately increased prevalence of obstructive apnoeas was associated with signs of higher sympathetic activity. High AHI was however associated with a HRV‐pattern suggestive of depressed sympathetic drive and lowered ability to increase it during REM.
Targeted disruption of Smad3 confers resistance to the development of dimethylnitrosamine‐induced hepatic fibrosis in mice
Authors: Latella Giovanni , Vetuschi Antonella , Sferra Roberta , Catitti Valentina , D'Angelo Angela , Zanninelli Giuliana , Flanders Kathleen C. , Gaudio Eugenio 
Published: April 2009

AbstractBackground: Hepatic fibrosis is characterized by a progressive accumulation of fibrillar extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins including collagen, which occurs in most types of chronic liver diseases. Transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β)/Smad3 signalling plays a central role in tissue fibrogenesis, acting as a potent stimulus of ECM accumulation.Aim: To evaluate the potential protective role of Smad3 deficiency in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis induced by dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) in Smad3 null mice.Methods: Chronic hepatitis‐associated fibrosis was induced in 13 Smad3 null and 13 wild‐type (WT) mice by intraperitoneal DMN administration (10 μg/g body weight/day) for three consecutive days per week for 6 weeks. The liver was excised for macroscopic examination and histological, morphometric and immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses. For IHC, α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA), collagen types I–III, TGF‐β1, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), Smad3, Smad7 and CD3 antibodies were used.Results: At macroscopic examination, the liver of DMN‐treated Smad3 WT appeared harder with a dark brown colouring and necrotic areas compared with that from null mice. Histological and morphometric evaluation revealed a significantly higher degree of hepatic fibrosis and accumulation of connective tissue in the Smad3 WT compared with null mice. IHC evaluation showed a marked increase in α‐SMA, CTGF, collagen I‐III, TGF‐β and Smad3 staining in the liver of Smad3 WT compared with that in null mice, whereas Smad7 was increased only in null mice.Conclusions: The results indicate that Smad3 loss confers resistance to the development of DMN‐induced hepatic fibrosis. The reduced fibrotic response appears to be due to a reduction of fibrogenic myofibroblast activation and ECM production and accumulation. Smad3 could be a novel target for potential treatment of fibrosis complicating chronic hepatitis.
Diabetes pattern on the 75 g oral glucose tolerance test is a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with hepatitis C virus
Authors: Konishi Ichiro , Hiasa Yoichi , Shigematsu Syuichiro , Hirooka Masashi , Furukawa Shinya , Abe Masanori , Matsuura Bunzo , Michitaka Kojiro , Horiike Norio , Onji Morikazu 
Published: April 2009

AbstractBackground: Patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) frequently show glucose intolerance. Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been proposed to be a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Aims: The aim of this study is to clarify the influence of glucose intolerance as evaluated by the 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) on hepatocarcinogenesis in patients with HCV.Methods: This study was carried out in a cohort of 197 patients with HCV who had not been previously diagnosed as having DM. All patients underwent the 75 g OGTT at entry. They were also screened for HCC and, thereafter, the rate of hepatocarcinogenesis was compared between the patients with and without glucose intolerance.Results: Based on the results of the 75 g OGTT, 125 (63%) had normal glucose tolerance (NGT), 49 (25%) had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and 23 (12%) had the DM pattern. HCC occurred more frequently in patients with the DM pattern than in patients with either NGT or IGT. Even in patients without advanced liver fibrosis, HCC was more frequently observed in patients with DM than in patients with NGT. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed advanced liver fibrosis, the DM pattern on the 75 g OGTT, an older age and γ‐glutamyltransferase to all be independent risk factors related to hepatocarcinogenesis.Conclusions: A DM pattern on the 75 g OGTT was thus found to be associated with hepatocarcinogenesis and the 75 g OGTT is considered to be useful for identifying this risk factor for HCC in patients with HCV.
Return of Fire to a Free‐Flowing Desert River: Effects on Vegetation
Authors: Stromberg Juliet C. , Rychener Tyler J. , Dixon Mark D. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractAfter a long period in which fuel loads were sparse, fire recently has occurred with high frequency in the ungrazed riparian zone of the Upper San Pedro River in southern Arizona’s Chihuahuan Desert. We studied four accidental fires that occurred during 1994–2003 (two in different years at the same site). Woody vegetation was contrasted between three burned sites and matched spatial controls, and before and after the most recent fire. Herbaceous vegetation was sampled in multiple years producing a chronosequence of time since fire (from 4 months to 8 years). Riparian fire was associated with reductions in woody plant species diversity and canopy cover. In contrast, fire caused a short‐term (2 year) pulse of herbaceous plant diversity, driven by annual species, and persistent increase in herbaceous cover. Path analysis indicated that the increase in herbaceous cover was mediated in part by the reduction in tree canopy cover. Ordination (nonmetric multidimensional scaling) and regression analysis also indicated that canopy cover and/or fire played a role in structuring the herbaceous community, although its effects were secondary to that of hydrologic factors (stream flow rate, seasonal flood size). By converting riparian forests to grasslands and savannahs, fire may be shifting structure of the Upper San Pedro floodplain vegetation closer toward conditions present during past centuries when fire was frequent in the upland desert grasslands and embedded riparian corridor.
Pain Remapping in Migraine: A Novel Characteristic Following Trigeminal Nerve Injury
Authors: Hussain Aamir , Stiles Marlind A. , Oshinsky Michael L. 
Published: April 2009

(Headache 2010;50:669‐674)The location of pain during the headache phase of migraine varies between individuals as well as between attacks in some individuals. We have observed a “remapping” or a change in the location of migraine pain following injury to the trigeminal system that is a novel characteristic to migraine and has not been described in other trigeminal pain syndromes of the head, neck, and face. Recognition of this clinical feature implies that the pathophysiology of migraine is impressionable and may be why diagnosis and treatment are often delayed.