bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Immunosuppressive effects of photodynamic therapy by topical aminolevulinic acid
Authors: HAYAMI Junji , OKAMOTO Hiroyuki , SUGIHARA Akira , HORIO Takeshi 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTPhotodynamic therapy (PDT) has been used for inflammatory skin disorders as well as superficial skin cancers such as solar keratosis and Bowen's disease. Whether PDT with topical application of aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and exposure to visible light has a similar immunosuppressive action to ultraviolet phototherapy was investigated using a murine contact hypersensitivity (CHS) model. The number of epidermal Langerhans cells (LC) was decreased with their morphological changes 1 day after PDT with the minimal level at 5 days and gradual recovery thereafter. Conversely, the number of CD11c+ I‐A+ cells was significantly increased in the draining lymph nodes after PDT. This suggests that LC moved from PDT‐treated skin, resulting in the decrement of epidermal LC and migration to lymph nodes. CHS response to DNFB applied on the PDT‐treated skin with 20% ALA and 40 J/cm2 visible light was significantly suppressed (local immunosuppression). When mice were treated with 80 J/cm2 of PDT, CHS response to the antigen applied on untreated distant skin was also significantly suppressed (systemic immunosuppression). The locally or systemically immunosuppressed mice by PDT were attempted to sensitize again with DNFB on non‐treated skin, but elicitation responses were significantly suppressed. However, these mice were able to be sensitized with another hapten, oxasolone. Thus, a hapten‐specific immunological unresponsiveness (tolerance) was induced in mice by topical ALA‐PDT. These findings suggest that PDT has a potential immunological contribution to clinical efficacy for inflammatory diseases identical to ultraviolet phototherapies.
Psoriasis and the eye: Prevalence of eye disease in Singaporean Asian patients with psoriasis
Authors: CHANDRAN Nisha S. , GREAVES Malcolm , GAO Fei , LIM Laurence , CHENG Bob C. L. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTThere is little published data on the incidence of eye disease in Asian patients with psoriasis. We determined the frequency of ocular complications in Singaporean Asian patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and related these to extent and severity of psoriasis, family history, treatment and presence of arthritis. A cross‐sectional prevalence investigation was carried out in 100 patients who received a comprehensive eye examination. Psoriasis extent and severity was graded by the Lattice System Physician's Global Assessment (LS‐PGA). Two patients (four eyes) had uveitis, one of whom had psoriatic arthritis (2% incidence). Presence or absence of uveitis correlated with mean LS‐PGA scores. Sixty‐three patients had cataract unrelated to previous steroid or phototherapy treatment; in younger (<50 years) patients they were commoner than in those with higher (>5) LS‐PGA scores. Three eyes in two patients (2% prevalence) had glaucomatous optic neuropathy unrelated to previous treatment, and comparable with expected population frequency. These findings, although limited by lack of data from a comparable control population, suggest that eye complications are common in Asian patients with psoriasis and eye symptoms should be elicited during history taking. Besides signs and symptoms of eye disease, an LS‐PGA score of more than 5 should prompt referral for ophthalmological examination.
Nicolau syndrome aggravated by cold application after i.m. diclofenac
Authors: ŞENEL Engin , ADA Simin , GÜLEÇ Ayşe Tülin , ÇAĞLAR Barış 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTNicolau syndrome is a rare but well‐recognized cutaneous adverse drug reaction at the site of i.m. injection of certain drugs. Clinically, it is characterized by severe pain immediately after the injection followed by an erythematous reticular patch that may result in a necrotic ulcer and scarring at the injection site. We describe a 60‐year‐old woman with a painful, violaceous, crusted plaque after i.m. diclofenac administration to her right buttock. She had applied an ice pack to this area immediately after the injection to relieve the pain without any benefit. A clinical diagnosis of Nicolau syndrome due to diclofenac injection was made, and reconstructive surgery of the wound was performed. Although diclofenac is a widely used non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug, Nicolau syndrome following i.m. diclofenac injection has rarely been reported in the published work. Application of a cold compress was considered an aggravating factor in our patient.
Sexually transmitted infections and human immunodeficiency virus infection in Europe: the way ahead?
Authors: Bingham JS , Barton SE , Stary A 
Published: September 2010

AbstractThe incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is increasing in Europe. The reasons for this are multifactorial but ease of travel is one of them. This is worrying in view of the established role of STIs in facilitating HIV transmission. Care of this group of infections is provided by a variety of doctors, often not following agreed guidelines. It is vital that doctors and their specialist societies engage in setting standards, in ensuring that STIs and HIV infection are moved up the healthcare agendas of all European countries and in making sure that access to care is rapid. Surveillance should be enhanced, interventions evaluated and the media engaged.
Rab7 is a critical mediator in vesicular transport of tyrosinase‐related protein 1 in melanocytes
Authors: HIDA Tokimasa , SOHMA Hitoshi , KOKAI Yasuo , KAWAKAMI Akinori , HIROSAKI Kuninori , OKURA Masae , TOSA Noriko , YAMASHITA Toshiharu , JIMBOW Kowichi 
Published: September 2010

AbstractHow melanosomal proteins such as enzymic proteins (tyrosinase and tyrosinase‐related proteins, Tyrps) and structural protein (gp100) are transported from Golgi to melanosomal compartments is not yet fully understood. A number of small GTPases have been found to be associated with melanosomes and we have identified one of them, Rab7, a regulator of vesicular transport, organelle motility, phospholipid signaling and cytosolic degradative machinery, as being involved in the transport of Tyrp1 from Golgi to stage I melanosomes. This study further characterizes the role of Rab7 as a regulator of differential sorting of melanosomal proteins in this process. Murine melanocytes were transiently transfected with a plasmid encoding either wild‐type (Rab7WT), constitutively active (Rab7Q67L) or dominant‐negative (Rab7N125I and Rab7T22N) Rab7. Through immunocytostaining and confocal laser scanning microscopy, we quantitatively compared the bio‐distribution of melanosomal proteins between Rab7WT‐expressing cells and mutant Rab7‐expressing cells. We also characterized their differential elimination from melanosomal compartments by Rab7 by utilizing a proteasome inhibitor, MG132. Our findings indicate that Rab7 plays an important role in differential sorting of tyrosinase, Tyrp1 and gp100 in early melanogenesis cascade, and that it is more specifically involved with Tyrp1 than tyrosinase and gp100 in the trafficking from Golgi to melanosomes and the specific exit from the degradative process.
Exon 87 skipping of the COL7A1 gene in dominant dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa
Authors: KOGA Hiroshi , HAMADA Takahiro , ISHII Norito , FUKUDA Shunpei , SAKAGUCHI Sachiko , NAKANO Hajime , TAMAI Katuto , SAWAMURA Daisuke , HASHIMOTO Takashi 
Published: September 2010

AbstractDystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) is a rare, inherited, blistering disorder resulting from mutations in the COL7A1 gene, which encodes the anchoring fibrils, type VII collagen. We herein describe a further Japanese girl diagnosed with dominant DEB (DDEB). She had blisters sporadically and erosions healed with mild scarring and milia on the knees and pretibial regions. Severe pruritus was present at this time. Direct nucleotide sequencing of genomic DNA disclosed a heterozygous same splice‐site mutation c.6900G>A in the COL7A1, which causes in‐frame exon 87 skipping. So far, five different COL7A1 mutations leading to exon 87 skipping have been identified in rare forms of DEB: four DDEB pruriginosa and one pretibial DDEB. Therefore, a recent study suggested that exon 87 skipping in COL7A1 was related to the phenotype of DDEB pruriginosa. When she was 18 years old, however, the blister formation and pruritus markedly decreased. Therefore, her clinical symptoms were consistent to very mild DDEB but not to DDEB pruriginosa. Taken together, in‐frame exon 87 skipping through c.6900G>A mutation may account for the mild skin features, rather than DDEB pruriginosa, in the present case.
Prenatal methadone exposure, meconium biomarker concentrations and neonatal abstinence syndrome
Authors: Gray Teresa R. , Choo Robin E. , Concheiro Marta , Williams Erica , Elko Andrea , Jansson Lauren M. , Jones Hendreé E. , Huestis Marilyn A. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTAims  Methadone is standard pharmacotherapy for opioid‐dependent pregnant women, yet the relationship between maternal methadone dose and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) severity is still unclear. This research evaluated whether quantification of fetal methadone and drug exposure via meconium would reflect maternal dose and predict neonatal outcomes.Design  Prospective clinical study.Setting  An urban drug treatment facility treating pregnant and post‐partum women and their children.Participants  Forty‐nine opioid‐dependent pregnant women received 30–110 mg methadone daily.Measurements  Maternal methadone dose, infant birth parameters and NAS assessments were extracted from medical records. Thrice‐weekly urine specimens were screened for opioids and cocaine. Newborn meconium specimens were quantified for methadone, opioid, cocaine and tobacco biomarkers.Findings  There was no relationship between meconium methadone concentrations, presence of opioids, cocaine and/or tobacco in meconium, maternal methadone dose or NAS severity. Opioid and cocaine were also found in 36.7 and 38.8 of meconium specimens, respectively, and were associated with positive urine specimens in the third trimester. The presence of opioids other than methadone in meconium correlated with increased rates of preterm birth, longer infant hospital stays and decreased maternal time in drug treatment.Conclusions  Methadone and its metabolite 2‐ethylidene‐1,5‐dimethyl‐3,3‐diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP) concentrations in meconium did not predict infant birth parameters or NAS severity. Prospective urine testing defined meconium drug detection windows for opiates and cocaine as 3 months, rather than the currently accepted 6 months. The presence of opioids in meconium could be used as a biomarker for infants at elevated risk in the newborn period.
An assessment of the plastic Thermafil obturation technique
Authors: GUTMANN J. L. , SAUNDERS W. P. , SAUNDERS E. M. , NGUYEN L. 
Published: September 2010

SummaryAdaptation and placement of alpha‐phase gutta‐percha delivered with a plastic core‐carrier, Thermafil, was compared to the lateral condensation of gutta‐percha in a specific tooth model. Fifty‐one mandibular molar roots with separate canals, patent canal orifices and curvatures greater than 15 degrees were cleaned and shaped with K‐files and 2.5% sodium hypochlorite to a size 30 at the apex, and flared with Hedstrom flies to create a continuously tapering funnel preparation. Canals were randomly obturated with Sealapex root canal sealer and either alpha‐phase gutta‐percha on a plastic Thermafil carrier, or standard beta‐phase gutta‐percha with lateral condensation. Roots were radiographed from the proximal and evaluated by three examiners, based on established criteria for overall material adaptation, apical adaptation, and filling material extrusion. Thermafil provided a statistically significant better over‐alt canal obturation (P < 0.001), while, in the apical third, both techniques were not significantly different (P > 0.05). When the apical orifice was patent there was a significant propensity for the extrusion of filling materials beyond the apex (P < 0.001) with the Thermafil technique.
An assessment of the plastic Thermafil obturation technique
Authors: GUTMANN J. L. , SAUNDERS W. P. , SAUNDERSz E. M. , NGUYEN L. 
Published: September 2010

SummaryThe short‐ and long‐term apical seal of root canals obturated with softened alpha‐phase gutta‐percha on plastic core‐carriers, Thermafil, was compared to that of laterally condensed, cold gutta‐percha. Fifty‐one roots from mandibular molars with separate canals, patent canal orifices and curvatures greater than 15 degrees were cleaned and shaped with K‐files and 2.5% sodium hypochlorite to a size 30 at the apex, and flared with Hedstrom files to create a continuously tapering funnel preparation. Canals were randomly obturated with Sealapex root canal sealer and either alpha‐phase gutta‐percha on a plastic Thermafil carrier, or standard beta‐phase gutta‐percha with lateral condensation. Teeth were separated into three groups of 17 each and placed in black India ink for 24 h, 7 days or after 5 months storage in water. The teeth were demineralized, rendered transparent, and apical microleakage determined by the linear measurement of dye penetration. Significant differences in microleakage were noted between the 24 h and 5‐month Thermafil groups (P<0.05), 24‐h and 7‐day lateral condensation groups (P<0.05), and 24‐h and 5‐month lateral condensation groups (p<0.05). There were no significant difierencs between the two techniques at each time interval. It was concluded that both techniques demonstrated a significant increase in apical microleakage over a 5‐month period.
Tubular sclerosis rather than the smear layer impedes dye penetration into the dentine of endodontically instrumented root canals
Authors: Paqué F. , Luder H. U. , Sener B. , Zehnder M. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractAim  To evaluate the effect of different root canal irrigating regimes on dentine penetration of Patent Blue dye.Methodology  Eighty extracted single‐rooted human mandibular premolar teeth with narrow root canals were prepared using ProFile instruments. After each instrument, canals were irrigated with 1% sodium hypochlorite. Subsequently, teeth were randomly assigned to receive a 10 mL rinse of aqueous 17% (w/v) ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or tap water for 2 or 10 min, followed by a final rinse with a 2% Patent Blue dye solution for 2 or 10 min (eight groups, n = 10 teeth per group). Teeth were then horizontally sectioned 3, 6 and 9 mm from the apex. Sections were digitally photographed and dye penetration was calculated as percentage of total dentine area using NIH Image J. Values were compared using one‐way anova and Bonferroni correction with the alpha‐type error set at <0.05. Representative tooth sections from all groups were further analysed using scanning electron microscopy.Results  No significant impact of irrigating protocols on dye penetration was found. Dye penetration was significantly (P < 0.001) greater in the coronal than middle, and in middle than in apical root thirds. When observed microscopically, irrigant penetration was independent of the presence of a smear layer, but was rather a function of tubular sclerosis.Conclusions  Tubular sclerosis, a physiological phenomenon that starts in the third decade of life in the apical root region and advances coronally with age, was the main factor influencing penetrability of root dentine.
Cytotoxicity of materials used in perforation repair tested using the V79 fibroblast cell line and the granulocyte‐macrophage progenitor cells
Authors: Souza N. J. A. , Justo G. Z. , Oliveira C. R. , Haun M. , Bincoletto C. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractAim  To compare the cytotoxicity of materials used to repair perforations using permanent V79 fibroblasts and murine granulocyte‐macrophage progenitor cells (CFU‐GM).Methodology  Set specimens from amalgam, glass–ionomer, SuperEBA, N‐Rickert, MTA and gutta‐percha were eluted with culture medium for 72 h and their cytotoxicities were assessed by incubating the extracts with V79 and bone marrow‐derived progenitors for 24 h and 7 days, respectively. Cytotoxicity on V79 cells was judged using the total nucleic acid content (NAC), neutral red uptake (NRU) and reduction of the tetrazolium salt (MTT). The number of bone marrow CFU‐GM colonies determined in clonal cultures stimulated with recombinant murine granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor was used to assess cytotoxicity to progenitor cells. Statistical analyses were conducted using the one‐way analysis of variance and Tukey's test where appropriate.Results  All materials were cytotoxic in both cell systems; however, CFU‐GM was more sensitive to the extracts than V79 cells. A similar rank order of toxicity was observed in V79 cells using the NAC and the MTT assays: glass–ionomer > N‐Rickert ≅ SuperEBA > gutta‐percha > amalgam ≅ MTA (P < 0.05). In contrast, the NRU test exhibited a lower sensitivity to MTA, gutta‐percha and amalgam extracts. In the clonal culture assay, the toxicity was less pronounced in the presence of gutta‐percha, SuperEBA and MTA. Similar cellular responses were found by placing the set specimens directly in the clonal culture dishes.Conclusions  The sensitivity of toxicity depended on the choice of the endpoint and the cell‐culture system. Nevertheless, MTA was ranked as the least cytotoxic cement in both cell systems.
From molecules to ecosystems through dynamic energy budget models
Authors: Nisbet R. M. , Muller E. B. , Lika K. , Kooijman S. A. L. M. 
Published: September 2010

Summary 1. Dynamic energy budget (DEB) models describe how individuals acquire and utilize energy, and can serve as a link between different levels of biological organization. 2. We describe the formulation and testing of DEB models, and show how the dynamics of individual organisms link to molecular processes, to population dynamics, and (more tenuously) to ecosystem dynamics. 3. DEB models offer mechanistic explanations of body‐size scaling relationships. 4. DEB models constitute powerful tools for applications in toxicology and biotechnology. 5. Challenging questions arise when linking DEB models with evolutionary theory.
Metapopulation structure depends on spatial scale in the host‐specific moth Wheeleria spilodactylus (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae)
Authors: Menéndez Rosa , Thomas Chris D. 
Published: September 2010

Summary 1. The distribution and dynamics of a host‐specific moth Wheeleria spilodactylus were studied between 1998 and 1999 at a hierarchy of spatial scales: geographic (c. 8000 km2), regional (c. 35 km2), subregional (mean c. 12 km2) and local (c. 0·03 km2). We tested the hypothesis that resource quantity and isolation would assume different levels of importance at different scales of analysis, with respect to habitat occupancy and population turnover. 2. Experimental releases in occupied and empty habitats showed that W. spilodactylus dispersal was very rare over distances in excess of 100 m, and that relatively large plants were more likely to be colonized. 3. The host‐plant distribution was very fragmented and the moth did not occupy the entire distribution of its host‐plant at any of the spatial scales studied. At most spatial scales, occupancy decreased with isolation and increased with habitat quantity. 4. Colonization was most likely to occur in non‐isolated habitat patches at the regional scale, in patches with large numbers of plants at the subregional scale, and in patches with large plants at the local scale. Relatively isolated populations were more likely to go extinct at the subregional scale of analysis. 5. At a geographic scale, the distribution apparently depends on metapopulation persistence, which itself depends principally on the amount of habitat in each region. At regional and subregional scales, distributions and dynamics reflect colonization–extinction dynamics within metapopulations; these are affected by the interaction of habitat quantity (number and size of host‐plants) and isolation. At the local scale, distributions and dynamics are affected by relatively frequent movements of individuals between resource patches (influenced by behavioural choices). 6. Long‐term metapopulation dynamics of the moth also reflect population dynamics of its disturbance‐dependent host‐plant Marrubium vulgare. The metapopulation dynamics of the moth are superimposed on the dynamics of its host.
Seed selection by an exceptionally rich community of harvester ants in the Australian seasonal tropics
Authors: Andersen Alan N. , Azcárate Francisco M. , Cowie Ian D. 
Published: September 2010

Summary1. We used the composition of nest middens to describe the extent of dietary partitioning in an exceptionally diverse assemblage of harvester ants in the Kakadu region of northern Australia. Eight of the >15 harvester species known from adjacent 30 × 30‐m plots, comprising four species ofMeranoplusand two species each ofMonomoriumandPheidole, maintained conspicuous nest middens.2. All these eight harvester species are monomorphic (or functionally so in the context of seed collection), with total body length ranging from 2·0 to 5·0 mm. The two species ofMonomoriumare column foragers, whereas the others apparently forage solitarily. Nests averaged 0·1 m2, but were highly patchy both within and between plots.3. Seed fragments from a total of 33 plant species were identified from 50 middens sampled during the end of the wet season, with up to 19 seed species recorded from a single midden. Seed species diversity was greatest in middens ofMeranoplus minimus,Monomoriumsp. 1 (rothsteinigroup) andPheidolesp. 1 (mjobergigroup), and least in middens of thediversusgroup ofMeranoplus.4. Despite a high overall diversity of seed species, each harvester species collected primarily two or three seed species (with one exception, all grasses), and there was virtually no overlap in these species between harvesters. The pronounced dietary separation of harvester species was demonstrated by multivariate analysis of midden composition.5. The extent to which differential seed selection is determined by intrinsic preferences, vs. interactions between, harvester species is unknown, nor is it clear why the diversity of harvester ants is so high. However, it is likely that differential seed selection plays a significant role in species coexistence.
Latitudinal variation in growth of young brown troutSalmo trutta
Authors: Jensen Arne J. , Forseth Torbjørn , Johnsen Bjørn Ove 
Published: September 2010

Summary1.A new laboratory‐based growth model for brown trout (Salmo trutta) was used to explore latitudinal variation in growth among natural populations. The model included the effects of differences in ambient temperatures and fish size among populations. Annual growth rates of anadromous brown trout parr from 22 Norwegian populations at 61–70 °N were compared with predictions from the growth model. Published field data from one Spanish, 15 British and four Danish populations at 44–58 °N were included in the analysis to increase the latitudinal range.2.Among the Norwegian populations, the ratio between observed and predicted growth rates was not significantly different from 1·00 in eight rivers, but was significantly higher in eight, and was significantly lower in six. Observed growth was highest, relative to predicted growth, in the coldest rivers. In Spanish, British and Danish rivers, observed growth did not exceed predicted growth.3.The ratio between observed and predicted annual growth rate decreased significantly with increasing annual mean temperature. Observed annual growth was higher than predicted growth only in rivers with an annual mean temperature lower than 5·1 °C, and this indicates that some kind of thermal adaptation may occur in trout populations in the coldest rivers.4.Regression analyses showed that besides the direct effects of temperature and body size predicted by the growth model, annual growth rates were significantly related to annual mean temperature, densities of juvenile salmonids, duration of twilight (average for May–August) and latitude. Adding these variables to the original model increased the explanatory power from 73·9 to 80·6%.