bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sex among Asian men and women: The Global Better Sex Survey in Asia
Authors: Tan Hui Meng , Marumo Ken , Yang Dae‐yul , Hwang Thomas I‐sheng , Ong Moh‐Lim 
Published: April 2009

Objectives:  To explore by a pooled subanalysis of the Global Better Sex Survey sexual aspirations and unmet needs of men and women from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.Methods:  To qualify, respondents must have had sexual intercourse at least once in the past 12 months. Women must have had heterosexual intercourse. Data were weighted by population size between countries.Results:  Of 3538 Asian respondents (1776 men and 1762 women), 52% were aged <40 years, 40% were aged 40–59 years, and 8% were aged ≥60 years. The majority were married or in a relationship. Men and women reported having sexual intercourse 5.1 and 4.0 times monthly, respectively. Attraction to partner, foreplay, intercourse, and achieving orgasm were important to most men and women. Two thirds were less than very satisfied with their sex life, and 36% of men were interested in improving sex. For a good sexual experience, the man's ability to get and maintain an erection and erection hardness were important to the majority of Asian men and women. Few respondents reported using a prescription erectile dysfunction medication, but many showed interest in using these medications to improve their sex lives. A comparison between individual countries suggests that attitudes about sex differ from country to country, and between men and women in each country.Conclusions:  Sex is very important to Asian men and women, but many of them are not fully satisfied with their sex lives and want to improve them.
Prevalence and risk factors of female urinary incontinence in eastern Turkey
Authors: Onur Rahmi , Deveci Suleyman Erhan , Rahman Suheyla , Sevindik Feyza , Acik Yasemin 
Published: April 2009

Objectives:  To evaluate the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) and determine risk factors for its development in women living in eastern Turkey.Methods:  A cross‐sectional study was conducted on 2275 women aged between 17 and 80 years. A questionnaire examining demographic characteristics, parity and pelvic organ prolapse was given. Presence and types of incontinence were examined using a validated form of the Turkish version of the urogenital distress inventory questionnaire‐short form (UDI‐6).Results:  A total of 1054 (46.3%) women reported involuntary loss of urine. Stress UI was present in 46% of women, whereas urge UI was detected in 43% of them. Mean age of patients with and without UI were 44.57 + 11.04 and 35.04 + 9.51, respectively. Age, total number of pregnancies and number of deliveries were shown to be significantly different in patients with and without any type of UI. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the factors revealed that age, total delivery number, pelvic organ prolapse and difficult labor were significantly associated with the presence of UI.Conclusions:  This is the first study examining the prevalence of UI in women living in eastern Turkey. By using a validated questionnaire, several risk factors for the development of UI were determined. Pelvic organ prolapse and increased number of births were found to be two most significant ones.
Antagonism of serotonergic 5‐HT2A/2Creceptors: mutual improvement of sleep, cognition and mood?
Authors: Landolt H.‐P. , Wehrle R. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractSerotonin [5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT)] and 5‐HT receptors are involved in sleep and in waking functions such as cognition and mood. Animal and human studies support a particular role for the 5‐HT2Areceptor in sleep, which has led to renewed interest in this receptor subtype as a target for the development of novel pharmacological agents to treat insomnia. Focusing primarily on findings in healthy human volunteers, a review of the available data suggests that antagonistic interaction with 5‐HT2Areceptors (and possibly also 5‐HT2Creceptors) prolongs the duration of slow wave sleep and enhances low‐frequency (< 7 Hz) activity in the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG), a widely accepted marker of sleep intensity. Despite certain differences, the changes in sleep and the sleep EEG appear to be remarkably similar to those of physiologically more intense sleep after sleep deprivation. It is currently unclear whether these changes in sleep are associated with improved vigilance, cognition and mood during wakefulness. While drug‐induced interaction with sleep must be interpreted cautiously, too few studies are available to provide a clear answer to this question. Moreover, functional relationships between sleep and waking functions may differ between healthy controls and patients with sleep disorders. A multimodal approach investigating subjective and objective aspects of sleep and wakefulness provides a promising research avenue for shedding light on the complex relationships among 5‐HT2A/2Creceptor‐mediated effects on sleep, the sleep EEG, cognition and mood in health and various diseases associated with disturbed sleep and waking functions.
Consequences of sleep deprivation on neurotransmitter receptor expression and function
Authors: Longordo Fabio , Kopp Caroline , Lüthi Anita 
Published: April 2009

AbstractSeveral pieces of evidence suggest that sleep deprivation causes marked alterations in neurotransmitter receptor function in diverse neuronal cell types. To date, this has been studied mainly in wake‐ and sleep‐promoting areas of the brain and in the hippocampus, which is implicated in learning and memory. This article reviews findings linking sleep deprivation to modifications in neurotransmitter receptor function, including changes in receptor subunit expression, ligand affinity and signal transduction mechanisms. We focus on studies using sleep deprivation procedures that control for side‐effects such as stress. We classify the changes with respect to their functional consequences on the activity of wake‐promoting and/or sleep‐promoting systems. We suggest that elucidation of how sleep deprivation affects neurotransmitter receptor function will provide functional insight into the detrimental effects of sleep loss.
Functional and structural brain alterations in insomnia: implications for pathophysiology
Authors: Riemann D. , Kloepfer C. , Berger M. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractInsomnia is defined as the complaint of not being able to fall asleep or to maintain sleep, and/or nonrestorative sleep, accompanied by impaired daytime functioning on a social, emotional or professional level. Insomnia per se is a very frequent complaint and can be caused by environmental, medical, mental or psychosocial factors or the intake of drugs. Primary insomnia is an insomnia subtype characterized by the absence of a causative medical or psychiatric factor. From a pathophysiological point of view, persistent hyperarousal on autonomous, emotional, cognitive or neurobiological levels is thought to be the decisive factor for the development and persistence of chronic primary insomnia. This view is supported by studies confirming that patients with primary insomnia display heightened levels of fast frequencies of the sleep EEG, show increased production of cortisol and interleukin‐6, and demonstrate increased metabolism in several brain areas during sleep (as measured by positron emission tomography). Furthermore, primary insomnia is coupled with cognitive deficits during waking and with impairments of nocturnal memory consolidation. Just recently, reductions in hippocampal volume size have been reported in patients suffering from primary insomnia. In the light of neurobiological theories of sleep–wake regulation, primary insomnia may be conceptualised as the final common pathway of the interaction of a genetic vulnerability to an imbalance between arousing and sleep‐inducing brain centres (which is triggered by psychosocial and/or medical stressors) with perpetuating mechanisms such as maladaptive behaviours, learned sleep‐preventing associations and cognitive factors.
Circadian clock genes and sleep homeostasis
Authors: Franken P. , Dijk D.‐J. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractCircadian and sleep‐homeostatic processes both contribute to sleep timing and sleep structure. Elimination of circadian rhythms through lesions of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), the master circadian pacemaker, leads to fragmentation of wakefulness and sleep but does not eliminate the homeostatic response to sleep loss as indexed by the increase in EEG delta power. In humans, EEG delta power declines during sleep episodes nearly independently of circadian phase. Such observations have contributed to the prevailing notion that circadian and homeostatic processes are separate but recent data imply that this segregation may not extend to the molecular level. Here we summarize the criteria and evidence for a role for clock genes in sleep homeostasis. Studies in mice with targeted disruption for core circadian clock genes have revealed alterations in circadian rhythmicity as well as changes in sleep duration, sleep structure and EEG delta power. Clock‐gene expression in brain areas outside the SCN, in particular the cerebral cortex, depends to a large extent on prior sleep–wake history. Evidence for effects of clock genes on sleep homeostasis has also been obtained in Drosophila and humans, pointing to a phylogenetically preserved pathway. These findings suggest that, while within the SCN clock genes are utilized to set internal time‐of‐day, in the forebrain the same feedback circuitry may be utilized to track time spent awake and asleep. The mechanisms by which clock‐gene expression is coupled to the sleep–wake distribution could be through cellular energy charge whereby clock genes act as energy sensors. The data underscore the interrelationships between energy metabolism, circadian rhythmicity, and sleep regulation.
Astrocytes and oligodendrocytes can be generated from NG2+ progenitors after acute brain injury: intracellular localization of oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2 is associated with their fate choice
Authors: Zhao Jing‐Wei , Raha‐Chowdhury Ruma , Fawcett James W. , Watts Colin 
Published: April 2009

AbstractBrain injury induces gliosis and scar formation; its principal cell types are mainly astrocytes and some oligodendrocytes. The origin of the astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in the scar remains unclear together with the underlying mechanism of their fate choice. We examined the response of oligodendrocyte transcription factor (Olig)2+ glial progenitors to acute brain injury. Both focal cortical (mechanical or excitotoxic) and systemic (kainic acid‐induced seizure or lipopolysaccharide‐induced inflammation) injury caused cytoplasmic translocation of Olig2 (Olig2TL) exclusively in affected brain regions as early as 2 h after injury in two‐thirds of Olig2+ cells. Many of the proliferating Olig2+ cells reacting to injury co‐expressed chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan neuron/glia antigen 2 (NG2). Using 5‐bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) tracing protocols, proliferating Olig2TLGFAP+BrdU+ cells were observed from 2 days post‐lesion (dpl). Immature oligodendrocytes were also seen from 2 dpl and all of them retained Olig2 in the nucleus (Olig2Nuc). From 5 dpl Olig2TLNG2+GFAP+ cells were observed in the wound and some of them were proliferative. From 5 dpl NG2+RIP+ cells were also seen, all of which were Olig2Nuc and some of which were also BrdU+. Our results suggest that, in response to brain injury, NG2+ progenitors may generate a subpopulation of astrocytes in addition to oligodendrocytes and their fate choice was associated with Olig2TL or Olig2Nuc. However, the NG2+GFAP+ phenotype was only seen within a limited time window (5–8 dpl) when up to 20% of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) cells co‐expressed NG2. We also observed Olig2TLGFAP+ cells that appeared after injury and before the NG2+GFAP+ phenotype. This suggests that not all astrocytes are derived from an NG2+ population.
Corticosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone in songbird plasma and brain: effects of season and acute stress
Authors: Newman Amy E. M. , Soma Kiran K. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractProlonged increases in plasma glucocorticoids can exacerbate neurodegeneration. In rats, these neurodegenerative effects can be reduced by dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), an androgen precursor with anti‐glucocorticoid actions. In song sparrows, season and acute restraint stress affect circulating levels of corticosterone and DHEA, and the effects of stress differ in plasma collected from the brachial and jugular veins. Jugular plasma is an indirect index of the neural steroidal milieu. Here, we directly measured corticosterone and DHEA in several brain regions and jugular plasma, and examined the effects of season and acute restraint stress (30 min) (n = 571 samples). Corticosterone levels were up to 10× lower in brain than in jugular plasma. In contrast, DHEA levels were up to 5× higher in brain than in jugular plasma and were highest in the hippocampus. Corticosterone and DHEA concentrations were strongly seasonally regulated in plasma but, surprisingly, not seasonally regulated in brain. Acute stress increased corticosterone levels in plasma and brain, except during the molt, when stress unexpectedly decreased corticosterone levels in the hippocampus. Acute stress increased DHEA levels in plasma during the molt but had no effects on DHEA levels in brain. This is the first study to measure (i) corticosterone or DHEA levels in the brain of adult songbirds and (ii) seasonal changes in corticosterone or DHEA levels in the brain of any species. These results highlight several critical differences between systemic and local steroid concentrations and the difficulty of using circulating steroid levels to infer local steroid levels within the brain.
Sleep function: current questions and new approaches
Authors: Vassalli Anne , Dijk Derk‐Jan 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe mammalian brain oscillates through three distinct global activity states: wakefulness, non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and REM sleep. The regulation and function of these ‘vigilance’ or ‘behavioural’ states can be investigated over a broad range of temporal and spatial scales and at different levels of functional organization, i.e. from gene expression to memory, in single neurons, cortical columns or the whole brain and organism. We summarize some basic questions that have arisen from recent approaches in the quest for the functions of sleep. Whereas traditionally sleep was viewed to be regulated through top‐down control mechanisms, recent approaches have emphasized that sleep is emerging locally and regulated in a use‐dependent (homeostatic) manner. Traditional markers of sleep homeostasis, such as the electroencephalogram slow‐wave activity, have been linked to changes in connectivity and plasticity in local neuronal networks. Thus waking experience‐induced local network changes may be sensed by the sleep homeostatic process and used to mediate sleep‐dependent events, benefiting network stabilization and memory consolidation. Although many questions remain unanswered, the available data suggest that sleep function will best be understood by an analysis which integrates sleep’s many functional levels with its local homeostatic regulation.
Possible role of reactive chlorine in microbial antagonism and organic matter chlorination in terrestrial environments
Authors: Bengtson Per , Bastviken David , De Boer Wietse , Öberg Gunilla 
Published: April 2009

SummarySeveral studies have demonstrated that extensive formation of organically bound chlorine occurs both in soil and in decaying plant material. Previous studies suggest that enzymatic formation of reactive chlorine outside cells is a major source. However, the ecological role of microbial‐induced extracellular chlorination processes remains unclear. In the present paper, we assess whether or not the literature supports the hypothesis that extracellular chlorination is involved in direct antagonism against competitors for the same resources. Our review shows that it is by no means rare that biotic processes create conditions that render biocidal concentrations of reactive chlorine compounds, which suggest that extracellular production of reactive chlorine may have an important role in antagonistic microbial interactions. To test the validity, we searched the UniprotPK database for microorganisms that are known to produce haloperoxidases. It appeared that many of the identified haloperoxidases from terrestrial environments are originating from organisms that are associated with living plants or decomposing plant material. The results of the in silico screening were supported by various field and laboratory studies on natural chlorination. Hence, the ability to produce reactive chlorine seems to be especially common in environments that are known for antibiotic‐mediated competition for resources (interference competition). Yet, the ability to produce haloperoxidases is also recorded, for example, for plant endosymbionts and parasites, and there is little or no empirical evidence that suggests that these organisms are antagonistic.
Use of topical negative pressure in assisted abdominal closure does not lead to high incidence of enteric fistulae
Authors: Shaikh I. A. , Ballard‐Wilson A. , Yalamarthi S. , Amin A. I. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractAim  Reports suggested an increase in enterocutaneous fistulae with topical negative pressure (TNP) use in the open abdomen. The purpose of this study was to establish if our experience raises similar concerns.Method  This is a 5‐year prospective analysis, from January 2004 to December 2008, of 42 patients who developed deep wound dehiscence or their abdomen was left open at laparotomy requiring ‘TNP’ to assist in their management. The decision to use TNP was taken if it was felt unwise or not feasible to close the abdomen.Results  There were 22 men; the median age was 68 (range 21–88) years. Twenty of 42 patients had peritonitis, 5/42 had oedematous bowel, 5/42 ischaemic gut, one had a large abdominal wall defect following debridement due to methicillin–resistant staphyloccus (MRSA) infection, 11/42 developed deep wound dehiscence. In 30/42, VAC® abdominal dressing system and TNP were applied. In 12/42, VAC® GranuFoam® and TNP were used, of these five patients required a mesh to control the oedematous bowel. Four of 42 patients died. A total of 34 patients had anastomotic lines, 2/42 developed enteric fistulae, and both survived.Conclusion  This study does not support the reports suggesting a higher fistulae rate with TNP. In our opinion, its use in the open abdomen is safe.
Can the tropical conservatism hypothesis explain temperate species richness patterns? An inverse latitudinal biodiversity gradient in the New World snake tribe Lampropeltini
Authors: Pyron R. Alexander , Burbrink Frank T. 
Published: April 2009

ABSTRACTAim  A latitudinal gradient in species richness, defined as a decrease in biodiversity away from the equator, is one of the oldest known patterns in ecology and evolutionary biology. However, there are also many known cases of increasing poleward diversity, forming inverse latitudinal biodiversity gradients. As only three processes (speciation, extinction and dispersal) can directly affect species richness in areas, similar factors may be responsible for both classical (high tropical diversity) and inverse (high temperate diversity) gradients. Thus, a modified explanation for differential species richness which accounts for both patterns would be preferable to one which only explains high tropical biodiversity.Location  The New World.Methods  We test several proposed ecological, temporal, evolutionary and spatial explanations for latitudinal diversity gradients in the New World snake tribe Lampropeltini, which exhibits its highest biodiversity in temperate regions.Results  We find that an extratropical peak in species richness is not explained by latitudinal variation in diversification rate, the mid‐domain effect, or Rapoport's rule. Rather, earlier colonization and longer duration in the temperate zones allowing more time for speciation to increase biodiversity, phylogenetic niche conservatism limiting tropical dispersal and the expansion of the temperate zones in the Tertiary better explain inverse diversity gradients in this group.Main conclusions  Our conclusions are the inverse of the predictions made by the tropical conservatism hypothesis to explain higher biodiversity near the equator. Therefore, we suggest that the processes invoked are not intrinsic to the tropics but are dependent on historical biogeography to determine the distribution of species richness, which we refer to as the ‘biogeographical conservatism hypothesis’.
Shrinking baseline: the growth in juvenile fisheries, with the Hong Kong grouper fishery as a case study
Authors: To Allen W L , De Mitcheson Yvonne Sadovy 
Published: April 2009

AbstractHistoric and current information on the grouper fishery from Hong Kong and adjacent waters reveals significant changes in species composition and fish sizes over the past 50 years in this important Asian centre for seafood consumption. Once dominant, large groupers are now rare and small species and sizes prevail in the present‐day fishery. Juveniles comprise over 80% of marketed fish by number among the most commonly retailed groupers, and reproductive‐sized fish are absent among larger species. Current fishery practices and the lack of management in Hong Kong and adjacent waters pose a significant threat to large species with limited geographic distribution such as Epinephelus akaara and Epinephelus bruneus, both now listed as threatened by the IUCN. The heavy reliance on juveniles, not only for groupers, but for an increasing diversity of desired fishes within Asia, potentially reduces stock spawning potential. The ‘shrinking baseline’ in terms of a progressive reduction in fish sizes being marketed in the region can seriously undermine fishery sustainability and recoverability of depleted fish stocks. Fishing pressure on groupers and other valuable food fishes within the Asia‐Pacific is intensifying, the declining long‐term trend of grouper landings in Hong Kong and the increasing focus on juveniles for immediate sale or for mariculture ‘grow‐out’ signal a worrying direction for regional fisheries. Moreover, the common appearance of small groupers for sale will influence public perception regarding what are ‘normal‐sized’ fish. Management attention is needed if these fisheries are to remain viable.
Possible functions of the octavolateralis system in fish schooling
Authors: Larsson Matz 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe development of the octavolateralis system in fish ancestors created the phenomenon of sensory reafference associated with the fish’s own locomotion. Particularly in fish species living and moving in groups, there is a potential to produce complex pressure waves and other water movements interfering with the octavolateralis perception of critical environmental signals. The hypothesis presented is that the development of the octavolateralis system may have initiated, or been a factor in, the evolutionary development of synchronized group locomotion, eventually leading to schooling behaviour. Theoretical models suggest that schooling may be related to a reduction in masking of environmental signals, as well as to survival mechanisms, e.g. confusion of the lateral line and electro‐sensory systems of predators by overlapping pressure waves and overlapping electrical fields. The combined effects of reduced masking and predator confusion may help explain why schooling became an evolutionary success. Including pressure waves and other water movements in the model of join, stay or leave decisions might shed some light on fish shoal assortment. A model encompassing the complex effects of synchronized group locomotion on octavolateralis and electro‐sensory perception of both prey and predator fish might increase the understanding of schooling behaviour.