bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Axon–axon interactions in neuronal circuit assembly: lessons from olfactory map formation
Authors: Imai Takeshi , Sakano Hitoshi 
Published: November 2011

AbstractDuring the development of the nervous system, neurons often connect axons and dendrites over long distances, which are navigated by chemical cues. During the past few decades, studies on axon guidance have focused on chemical cues provided by the axonal target or intermediate target. However, recent studies have shed light on the roles and mechanisms underlying axon–axon interactions during neuronal circuit assembly. The roles of axon–axon interactions are best exemplified in recent studies on olfactory map formation in vertebrates. Pioneer–follower interaction is essential for the axonal pathfinding process. Pre‐target axon sorting establishes the anterior–posterior map order. The temporal order of axonal projection is converted to dorsal–ventral topography with the aid of secreted molecules provided by early‐arriving axons. An activity‐dependent process to form a discrete map also depends on axon sorting. Thus, an emerging principle of olfactory map formation is the ‘self‐organisation’ of axons rather than the ‘lock and key’ matching between axons and targets. In this review, we discuss how axon–axon interactions contribute to neuronal circuit assembly.
Forward signaling by EphB1/EphB2 interacting with ephrin‐B ligands at the optic chiasm is required to form the ipsilateral projection
Authors: Chenaux George , Henkemeyer Mark 
Published: November 2011

AbstractEphB receptor tyrosine kinases direct axonal pathfinding through interactions with ephrin‐B proteins following axon–cell contact. As EphB:ephrin‐B binding leads to bidirectional signals, the contributions of signaling into the Eph‐expressing cell (forward signaling) or the ephrin‐expressing cell (reverse signaling) cannot be assigned using traditional protein null alleles. To determine if EphB1 is functioning solely as a receptor during axon pathfinding, a new knock‐in mutant mouse was created, EphB1T‐lacZ, which expresses an intracellular‐truncated EphB1‐β‐gal fusion protein from the endogenous locus. As in the EphB1−/− protein null animals, the EphB1T‐lacZ/T‐lacZ homozygotes fail to form the ipsilateral projecting subpopulation of retinal ganglion cell axons. This indicates that reverse signaling through the extracellular domain of EphB1 is not required for proper axon pathfinding of retinal axons at the optic chiasm. Further analysis of other EphB and ephrin‐B mutant mice shows that EphB1 is the preferred receptor of ephrin‐B2 and, to a lesser degree, ephrin‐B1 in mediating axon guidance at the optic chiasm despite the coexpression of EphB2 in the same ipsilaterally projecting retinal axons.
Transcriptional control of differentiation and neurogenesis in autonomic ganglia
Authors: Rohrer Hermann 
Published: November 2011

AbstractAutonomic neuron development is controlled by a network of transcription factors, which is induced by bone morphogenetic protein signalling in neural crest progenitor cells. This network intersects with a transcriptional program in migratory neural crest cells that pre‐specifies autonomic neuron precursor cells. Recent findings demonstrate that the transcription factors acting in the initial specification and differentiation of sympathetic neurons are also important for the proliferation of progenitors and immature neurons during neurogenesis. Elimination of Phox2b, Hand2 and Gata3 in differentiated neurons affects the expression of subtype‐specific and/or generic neuronal properties or neuron survival. Taken together, transcription factors previously shown to act in initial neuron specification and differentiation display a much broader spectrum of functions, including control of neurogenesis and the maintenance of subtype characteristics and survival of mature neurons.
Cell‐autonomous and cell‐to‐cell signalling events in normal and altered neuronal migration
Authors: Manent Jean‐Bernard , Beguin Shirley , Ganay Thibault , Represa Alfonso 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThe cerebral cortex is a complex six‐layered structure that contains an important diversity of neurons, and has rich local and extrinsic connectivity. Among the mechanisms governing the cerebral cortex construction, neuronal migration is perhaps the most crucial as it ensures the timely formation of specific and selective neuronal circuits. Here, we review the main extrinsic and extrinsic factors involved in regulating neuronal migration in the cortex and describe some environmental factors interfering with their actions.
What can we get from ‘barrels’: the rodent barrel cortex as a model for studying the establishment of neural circuits
Authors: Wu Chia‐Shan , Ballester Rosado Carlos J. , Lu Hui‐Chen 
Published: November 2011

AbstractSensory inputs triggered by external stimuli are projected into discrete arrays of neuronal modules in the primary sensory cortex. This whisker‐to‐barrel pathway has gained in popularity as a model system for studying the development of cortical circuits and sensory processing because its clear patterns facilitate the identification of genetically modified mice with whisker map deficits and make possible coordinated in vitro and in vivo electrophysiological studies. Numerous whisker map determinants have been identified in the past two decades. In this review, we summarize what have we learned from the detailed studies conducted in various mutant mice with cortical whisker map deficits. We will specifically focus on the anatomical and functional establishment of the somatosensory thalamocortical circuits.
Decoding the transcriptional basis for GABAergic interneuron diversity in the mouse neocortex
Authors: Anastasiades Paul G. , Butt Simon J. B. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThe locally projecting GABAergic interneurons of the mammalian cerebral cortex are a highly heterogeneous population, whose malfunction or deficit has been implicated in a wide range of neurological disorders. However, the low incidence of the various distinct interneuron populations within the neocortex, combined with the lack of molecular or physiological markers specific to these subtypes, have hampered investigations into their function in the normal and dysfunctional brain. A number of research groups have begun to elucidate the developmental genetic mechanism that underpins this diversity in the mouse neocortex, spurred on by the knowledge that the temporal and spatial origin of an interneuron in the embryonic brain is predictive of its eventual intrinsic properties in the mature cortex. In this review we highlight a number of recent findings that strengthen our understanding of the transcription factor code that is at the heart of generating this diversity. Further understanding of this code will enable selective observation, targeting and manipulation of interneuron subtypes across both in vitro and in vivo systems.
Predictive factors of PACU stay after herniorraphy in infant: a classification and regression tree analysis
Authors: Silins Vilnis , Julien Florence , Brasher Christopher , Nivoche Yves , Mantz Jean , Dahmani Souhayl 
Published: November 2011

SummaryIntroduction:  Herniorraphy is a common surgical intervention in infants, particularly in those born prematurely. Prematurity and perioperative sedation have been shown to be risk factors for postoperative apnea. However, their influence upon PACU stay duration has not been evaluated. The goal of this study was to investigate predictive factors for PACU stay in infants undergoing herniorraphy.Material and Methods:  This study is a retrospective analysis of perioperative data in infants <6 months of age undergoing herniorraphy during the period November 2007–November 2009. Collected data included age, gestational age at birth, post‐conceptional age, weight, weight at birth, type of anesthesia (spinal vs general), perioperative administration of opioids and paracetamol, duration of surgery, duration of PACU stay, and apnea in PACU. Data analysis used classification and regression trees (CART) with a 10‐fold cross‐validation.Results:  Two hundred and ninety‐six patients were included in the analysis. Five parameters were found to predict the duration of PACU stay: a post‐conceptional age below 45 weeks, prematurity, general anesthesia, postoperative opioid administration, and the use of intraoperative regional analgesia. CRT method allows constructing a decision tree with eight terminal nodes. The percentage of explained variability of the model and the cross‐validation were 79.7% and 76.6%, respectively.Discussion:  Our study allows construction of an accurate predictive tree for PACU stay during herniorraphy in infants <6 months. Parameters found to influence the duration of PACU stay were related to anesthesia techniques and perinatal outcomes.
Perioperative management of the child on long‐term opioids
Authors: Geary Tim , Negus Anna , Anderson Brian J. , Zernikow Boris 
Published: November 2011

SummaryThe strategies used to manage children exposed to long‐term opioids are extrapolated from adult literature. Opioid consumption during the perioperative period is more than three times that observed in patients not taking chronic opioids. A sparing use of opioids in the perioperative period results in both poor pain management and withdrawal phenomena. The child’s pre‐existing opioid requirement should be maintained, and acute pain associated with operative procedures should be managed with additional analgesia. This usually comprises short‐acting opioids, regional or local anesthesia, and adjuvant therapies. Long‐acting opioids, transdermal opioid patches, and implantable pumps can be used to maintain the regular opioid requirement. Intravenous infusion, nurse controlled analgesia, patient‐controlled analgesia, or oral formulations are invaluable for supplemental requirements postoperatively. Effective management requires more than simply increasing opioid dose during this time. Collaboration of the child, family, and all teams involved is necessary. While chronic pain or palliative care teams and other staff experienced with the care of children suffering chronic pain may have helpful input, many pediatric hospitals do not have chronic pain teams, and many patients receiving long‐term opioids are not palliative. Acute pain services are appropriate to deal with those on long‐term opioids in the perioperative setting and do so successfully in many centers. Staff caring for such children in the perioperative period should be aware of the challenges these children face and be educated before surgery about strategies for postoperative management and discharge planning.
Sealed Orifice Laparoscopic or Endoscopic (SOLE) Surgery: technology and technique convergence for next‐step colorectal surgery
Authors: Cahill R. A. , Hompes R. , Cunningham C. , Mortensen N. J. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThe new avenue of minimally invasive surgery, referred to as single‐incision/access laparoscopy, is often presented as an alternative to standard multiport approaches, whereas in fact it is more usefully perceived as a complementary modality. The emergence of the technique can be of greater use both to patients and to the colorectal specialty if its principles can be merged into next‐stage evolution by synergy with more conventional practice. In particular, rather than device specificity, what is needed is convergence of capability that can be applied by the same surgeon in differing scenarios depending on the individualized patient and disease characteristics. We detail here the global applicability of a simple access device construct that allows the provision of simple and complex single‐port laparoscopy as well as contributing to multiport laparoscopic and transanal resections in a manner that is reliable, reproducible, ergonomical and economical.
Laparoscopic low anterior resection and transanal pull‐through for low rectal cancer: a Natural Orifice Specimen Extraction (NOSE) technique
Authors: D’Hoore A. , Wolthuis A. M. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractUltralow anterior resection with coloanal anastomosis has been proven to be oncologically sound and the majority of patients will have acceptable functional outcome. Here we describe a technique that combines laparoscopic ultralow total mesorectal excision with an intersphincteric dissection in order to allow the mobilized rectum and descending colon to be extracted via the muscular anal canal and so avoid any further abdominal incision other than laparoscopic port sites. We believe this novel approach to have significant clinical potential in selected patients.
Transrectal Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) for colorectal resection
Authors: Rieder E. , Whiteford M. H. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractNatural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) is a new surgical paradigm involving performance of intra‐abdominal surgery via a natural orifice and thereafter peritoneal access through an intentionally created hole in a hollow viscus. The vast majority of research in this rapidly evolving field had involved access via an oral or vaginal route. Access via a transanal route, other than the obvious concern over contamination, has many appealing attributes. In addition, transanal surgery has long been a common procedure lending a valuable clinical experience to the foundation of this field of research. Examples of preclinical and clinical research on transanal NOTES colorectal resections are here presented and discussed.
Totally transrectal endoscopic Total Mesorectal Excision (TME)
Authors: Lacy A. M. , Adelsdorfer C. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractSurgical treatment has been in constant evolution in the search for minimizing incisions regardless of the complexity of the operation. Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) represents this progression of surgery to less invasive procedures. Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) is an ideal NOTES platform to access the peritoneal cavity endoscopically through the anus and specifically to allow colorectal resections be performed through smaller, or indeed without, abdominal incisions. Transanal rectosigmoidectomy with total mesorectal excision (TME) using TEM is a feasible and oncologically safe option. Such use of currently available combined hybrid laparoendoscopic systems provides a safe platform to define future clinical applications and advantages of NOTES. Furthermore, it stimulates the active development of technologies that will support and enable it.
Safe Sigmoid Access for Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES)
Authors: Feussner H. , Fiolka A. , Schneider A. , Gillen S. , Kranzfelder M. , Friess H. , Wilhelm D. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractOne of the main challenges in transluminal surgery is sterile and safe access. For many interventions, a transanal approach would be ideal but it is considered too risky because of contamination and the danger of secondary leakage. A new safe and sterile transanal access was developed, combining four basic principles: (i) the creation of a decontaminating hydroperitoneum, (ii) the use of an overtube, (iii) defining the entry point with ultrasound and (iv) dedicated closure technique. Applicability and reliability was first proven in extensive animal experiments. Feasibility of the concept in humans was subsequently demonstrated in cadavers.
Current clinical status of sentinel lymph nodes in colon and proximal rectal cancer
Authors: Bembenek A. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThe postoperative report of the lymph node status of colorectal cancer in clinical practice is not a given fact. Among other factors, it is dependent on the experience and technique of the surgeon as well as the pathologist. Therefore a method like sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) that identifies and provides for analysis the lymph node at highest risk for tumour involvement would be highly beneficial. Unlike in breast cancer or melanoma, SLNB is more difficult to apply in colorectal cancer and is still not ready for clinical routine application for these tumor entities. However, careful patient selection and expertise of the involved specialists can improve the quality and results of SLNB in colorectal cancer. Especially in the early stage cancer patients, SLNB may be helpful to identify the earliest signs of lymphatic dissemination (thereby upstaging the patient) or to encourage a limited extent of resection.
Near infrared fluorescence lymphatic laparoscopy of the colon and mesocolon
Authors: Ankersmit M. , van der Pas M. H. G. M. , van Dam D. A. , Meijerink W. J. H. J. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractDuring surgery, a surgeon relies on the vision of his eyes and the touch of his hands. While laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer has proven to be safe and effective, it still remains a technically difficult procedure. Although it is associated with reduced haptic feedback, by enforcing the power of visual guidance, the loss of this feedback can be (partly) compensated for. Here we describe how the use of near‐infrared dyes and fluorescence laparoscopy could help improve tumour staging and therefore lead to better selection of patients for postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. More controversially, and analogous to melanoma and breast cancer surgery with sentinel node biopsy, we speculate that local resection with SLN harvesting in early colon cancer might change the therapeutic and surgical strategy in colon cancer.
The Norwegian minke whale DNA register: a data base monitoring commercial harvest and trade of whale products
Authors: Glover Kevin A , Haug Tore , Øien Nils , Walløe Lars , Lindblom Lotta , Seliussen Bjørghild B , Skaug Hans J 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThe application of genetics for the management of natural resources is expanding, and within this field, DNA registers will play an increasing role. The Norwegian minke whale DNA register, established in 1996, was designed primarily as a control system to detect any attempts at illegal trade of products derived from other stocks of minke whale, or other whale species, under cover of the legal Norwegian harvest originating from the Northeast Atlantic. The register contains genetic data for 7644 of 7751 whales landed in the period 1997–2010. Profiles are established from sequencing part of the mtDNA control region, analysis of 10 STRs and a sex‐determining marker. Probabilities of genotypes matching between two randomly selected whales are 6.0−04 and 3.0−08 for five and eight of the STR loci, respectively. This permits verification of traded whale products via match to the register. The register has also been used in a number of ad hoc scientific studies resulting through the accumulation of genetic, demographic and biological data. Here, we review the register’s logistics, specifications and evaluate the potential to apply similar registers to control the exploitation of other marine species.
Does Incorporation Improve Firm Performance?
Authors: Li Xiao Mei , Yueh Linda 
Published: November 2011

AbstractSince the 1990s, China has made a significant effort to transform its state‐owned enterprises into shareholding companies and allow its private firms to become incorporated. This corporatization policy has been used to restructure state‐owned enterprises as well as govern a growing and diverse set of firms in a marketizing economy. The intent of these reforms is that, as has been found in other economies, incorporation should improve firm performance through granting previously state‐owned and private firms the various legal forms that provide better protection of property rights and limited liability protection, among others. The findings are that incorporation improves firm performance separately from privatization and listing on stock markets. Even with an under‐developed legal system and imperfect capital markets, incorporation generates a productivity improvement which bodes well for the emerging corporate sector in China.
Diagnosing Development Bottlenecks: China and India*
Authors: Li Wei , Mengistae Taye , Xu Lixin Colin 
Published: November 2011

AbstractBeginning with lower income level in 1980, China's 2006 per capita GDP stands more than twice that of India's. We investigate the role of business environment in explaining China's productivity advantage using recent firm‐level survey data. We find that China has better infrastructure, more skilled workers and more labour‐hiring flexibility than India, but worse access to finance and a higher regulatory burden. Infrastructure appears to be a key constraint for India: it lags significantly behind China, yet it has important indirect effects for the effectiveness of labour flexibility. Labour flexibility also appears to be a major constraint for India, as evident in the predominance of small firms, the importance of firm size in accounting for India's disadvantage in productivity and the complementarity of proxies of labour flexibility with infrastructure and access to finance. Interestingly, regulatory uncertainty has adverse effects in India but not in China. Our empirical analysis suggests that it is important to consider country‐specific growth bottlenecks and the indirect effects of policy reforms.
Does Financial Repression Inhibit or Facilitate Economic Growth? A Case Study of Chinese Reform Experience*
Authors: Huang Yiping , Wang Xun 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThis article examines the impact of financial repression on economic growth during China's reform period. The aggregate financial repression index suggests that China's financial liberalization has been steady but gradual. Empirical estimation confirms that, on average, repressive policies helped economic growth, thanks probably to the prudent liberalization approach. But the impact turned from positive in the 1980s and the 1990s to negative in the 2000s, suggesting rising efficiency losses in recent years. Specifically, we find that lending to the state sector, interest rate regulation and capital account control were the main factors constraining China's economic growth in recent years.
An alternative approach for Mohs surgery using a combination of a flexible blade and the traditional scalpel
Authors: Gurgen J. , Judy D. , Witfill K. , Miller R. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractBackground  Mohs surgery is a specialized surgical and pathological technique used for the removal of high‐risk neoplasms. Previous reports show the ability of using a flexible blade for Mohs surgery.Method  We utilized a technique combining the traditional #15 blade and scalpel with a flexible blade to perform excisions for Mohs surgery.Discussion  The use of the flexible blade alone in Mohs may yield jagged tissue peripheral edges after cutting on the cryostat. The classic technique with a scalpel excision often results in a deeper cut than desired, resulting in a larger defect. We modified both the traditional Mohs technique and the flexible blade by combining both. We have performed this method in approximately over 100 cases on the scalp, face and ears, preserving tissue, minimizing bleeding and avoiding alopecia.