bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association between psoriasis and viral infections in the United States: focusing on hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus
Authors: Kanada K.N. , Schupp C.W. , Armstrong A.W. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractBackground  No published data in the U.S. population regarding an association between viral infections and psoriasis are currently available. Assessment of infection and immunosuppression risk is critical in managing psoriasis patients.Objectives  To examine the association between psoriasis and viral infections including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency viral infections in the general U.S. population.Methods  Population data representative of the U.S. cohort were analysed from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2003–2006. Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency antibodies status were ascertained from laboratory evaluations. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the associations between psoriasis and these viral infections.Results  Among 6532 participants aged 20–59 years who provided responses to their psoriasis status, 162 patients reported having psoriasis. Based on multivariate regression analyses, psoriasis was not significantly associated with positive serology for hepatitis B core [odds ratio (OR), 0.83; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.32–2.17; P = 0.7060], hepatitis B surface [OR, 7.89; CI, 0.52–119; P = 0.1355], hepatitis C [OR, 0.24; CI, 0.03–2.01; P = 0.1915], or human immunodeficiency virus [OR, 0.73; CI, 0.09–5.93; P = 0.7646] antibodies, after adjusting for age, gender, race and smoking status.Conclusions  From the limited sample of the NHANES database on psoriasis and viral infections, psoriasis does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or HIV infection in the U.S. population. Epidemiology of these viral infections in psoriasis needs to be continually studied and updated given their importance in management considerations.
Cortical processing of unplanned movement sequences involving hands and feet: Evidence from event‐related potentials
Authors: Miller Jeff , Buchlak Quinlan 
Published: May 2012

AbstractThe neural processes underlying an unplanned shift in movement control across limb systems were studied by recording event‐related potentials (ERPs) as participants made a left or right hand movement followed by a left or right foot movement or vice versa. ERPs associated with both first and second movements replicated a recent finding that Cz is more positive before hand than foot responses. Lateralized readiness potentials (LRPs) associated with the first movement replicated patterns observed previously with single movements, but LRPs leading up to the second movement depended strongly on the side of the first movement, possibly because of residual lateralization from it. Overall, the results suggest that the motor processes associated with limb system selection can be fully reset prior to a switch between hand and foot movements, but the processes associated with side selection may not be.
How reward modulates mimicry: EMG evidence of greater facial mimicry of more rewarding happy faces
Authors: Sims Thomas B. , Van Reekum Carien M. , Johnstone Tom , Chakrabarti Bhismadev 
Published: May 2012

AbstractSpontaneous mimicry is a marker of empathy. Conditions characterized by reduced spontaneous mimicry (e.g., autism) also display deficits in sensitivity to social rewards. We tested if spontaneous mimicry of socially rewarding stimuli (happy faces) depends on the reward value of stimuli in 32 typical participants. An evaluative conditioning paradigm was used to associate different reward values with neutral target faces. Subsequently, electromyographic activity over the Zygomaticus Major was measured whilst participants watched video clips of the faces making happy expressions. Higher Zygomaticus Major activity was found in response to happy faces conditioned with high reward versus low reward. Moreover, autistic traits in the general population modulated the extent of spontaneous mimicry of happy faces. This suggests a link between reward and spontaneous mimicry and provides a possible underlying mechanism for the reduced response to social rewards seen in autism.
ERPs across arithmetic operations in a delayed answer verification task
Authors: Jasinski Emily C. , Coch Donna 
Published: May 2012

AbstractIn order to compare processing across operations, we recorded event‐related potentials (ERPs) elicited by both problems and solutions in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division conditions in a delayed answer verification task. Amplitudes of an early negativity, P300, and late positive component (LPC) elicited by solutions were sensitive to the correctness of the presented answers within operations and differed across operations only for incorrect solutions. The early negativity resembled an N270 rather than an N400. The amplitude of an N300 elicited by problem presentations also differed across operations. Our results indicate that ERPs are sensitive to differences in processing across arithmetic operations in an answer verification task both during presentation of the problems, when production/retrieval processes occur, and during comparison of incorrect presented solutions with expected solutions.
The deployment of visual attention during temporal integration: An electrophysiological investigation
Authors: Akyürek Elkan G. , Meijerink Steven K. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractThe deployment of attention during temporal integration was investigated with event‐related potentials. Attentional selection of an integrated percept and an actual singleton were examined. Integration performance was related to modulations of the N2pc, N2, and P3 components. Singleton localization performance was reflected in N2pc and P3 only. Of note, the singleton N2pc developed and subsided earlier than the integration N2pc. The singleton P3 seemed to develop in a single deflection, while the integration P3 showed two more distinct deflections. Physical stimulus differences could not explain these results. The N2pc and N2 modulations showed that attending to an integrated percept is not slower per se, but does differ from attending to a singleton. Integrated percepts furthermore have special correlates in late stages of perception (i.e., the P3). These differences are linked to the unique demand to combine and represent successive stimuli.
RGS10 exerts a neuroprotective role through the PKA/c‐AMP response‐element (CREB) pathway in dopaminergic neuron‐like cells
Authors: Lee Jae‐Kyung , Chung Jaegwon , Druey Kirk M. , Tansey Malú G. 
Published: May 2012

J. Neurochem. (2012) 122, 333–343.AbstractRegulator of G‐protein signaling‐10 (RGS10) is a GTPase activating protein for Gαi/q/z subunits that is highly expressed in the immune system and in a broad range of brain regions including the hippocampus, striatum, dorsal raphe, and ventral midbrain. Previously, we reported that RGS10‐null mice display increased vulnerability to chronic systemic inflammation‐induced degeneration of nigral dopaminergic (DA) neurons. Given that RGS10 is expressed in DA neurons, we investigated the extent to which RGS10 regulates cell survival under conditions of inflammatory stress. Because of the inherent limitations associated with use of primary DA neurons for biochemical analyses, we employed a well‐characterized ventral mesencephalon DA neuroblastoma cell line (MN9D) for our studies. We found that stable over‐expression of RGS10 rendered them resistant to TNF‐induced cytotoxicity; whereas MN9D cells expressing mutant RGS10‐S168A (which is resistant to phosphorylation by protein kinase A at a serine residue that promotes its nuclear translocation) showed similar sensitivity to TNF as the parental MN9D cells. Using biochemical and pharmacologic approaches, we identified protein kinase A and the downstream phospho‐cAMP response element‐binding signaling pathway (and ruled out ERK 1/2, JNK, and NFkB) as key mediators of the neuroprotective effect of RGS10 against inflammatory stress.
Distinct molecular mechanisms of acquired resistance to temozolomide in glioblastoma cells
Authors: Happold Caroline , Roth Patrick , Wick Wolfgang , Schmidt Natalie , Florea Ana‐Maria , Silginer Manuela , Reifenberger Guido , Weller Michael 
Published: May 2012

J. Neurochem. (2012) 122, 444–455.AbstractTemozolomide (TMZ) is an alkylating chemotherapeutic agent that prolongs the survival of patients with glioblastoma. Clinical benefit is more prominent in patients with methylation of the O6‐methyl‐guanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter. However, all patients eventually suffer from tumor progression because their tumors become resistant to TMZ. Here, we modeled acquired TMZ resistance in glioma cells in vitro to identify underlying molecular mechanisms. To this end, the glioma cell lines LNT‐229, LN‐308, and LN‐18 were exposed repetitively to increasing concentrations of TMZ to induce a stable resistant phenotype (R) defined by clonogenic survival assays. The molecular mechanisms mediating acquired resistance were assessed by immunoblot, PCR, and flow cytometry. Rescue experiments were performed with siRNA‐mediated candidate gene silencing. We found in LN‐18 cells constitutively expressing MGMT a strong up‐regulation of MGMT levels in TMZ‐resistant cells. TMZ resistance in the MGMT‐negative cell lines LNT‐229 and LN‐308 was not associated with de novo expression of MGMT. Instead, we found a down‐regulation of several DNA mismatch‐repair proteins in resistant LNT‐229 cells. A TMZ‐resistant phenotype was also achieved by silencing selected DNA mismatch repair proteins in parental LNT‐229 cells. No obvious mechanism of resistance was identified in the third cell line, LN‐308, except for reduced methylation of LINE‐1 repetitive elements. In conclusion, we demonstrate that different molecular mechanisms may contribute to the development of acquired TMZ resistance in glioma cells, indicating the need to develop distinct strategies to overcome resistance.
A MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR STUDY OF AUSTRAL SARGASSUM (FUCALES, PHAEOPHYCEAE) SUPPORTS THE RECOGNITION OF PHYLLOTRICHA AT GENUS LEVEL, WITH FURTHER ADDITIONS TO THE GENUS SARGASSOPSIS1
Authors: Dixon Rainbo R. M. , Huisman John M. , Buchanan Joe , Gurgel Carlos Frederico D. , Spencer Peter 
Published: May 2012

Sargassum subgenus Phyllotricha currently includes seven species restricted to Australian and New Zealand coasts. A recent study of Cystoseira and other Sargassaceae genera based on mitochondrial 23S DNA and chloroplast‐encoded psbA sequences resulted in the most widely distributed species of subgenus Phyllotricha, Sargassum decurrens, being transferred to the reinstated monospecific Sargassopsis Trevisan. The fate of the residual six Phyllotricha species, however, was not considered. The present study examines these Phyllotricha species, alongside other Sargassum subgenera, Sargassopsis, Sirophysalis trinodis (formerly Cystoseira trinodis) and the New Zealand endemic Carpophyllum Greville, using morphological evidence and the molecular phylogenetic markers cox3, ITS‐2 and the rbcL–S spacer. Our results suggest both the genus Sargassum and Sargassum subgenus Phyllotricha are polyphyletic as currently circumscribed. Four S. subgen. Phyllotricha species, i.e. S. sonderi, S. decipiens, S. varians and S. verruculosum, form a monophyletic group sister to the genus Carpophyllum, and S. peronii is genetically identical to S. decurrens with regard to all three loci. We propose the resurrection of the genus Phyllotricha Areschoug, with type species Phyllotricha sonderi, and include the new combinations Phyllotricha decipiens, Phyllotricha varians and Phyllotricha verruculosum. Sargassum peronii, S. heteromorphum and S. kendrickii are transferred to Sargassopsis and Sargassum peronii is considered a synonym of Sargassopsis decurrens.
Developmental Trajectory and Environmental Moderation of the Effect of ALDH2 Polymorphism on Alcohol Use
Authors: Irons Daniel E. , Iacono William G. , Oetting William S. , McGue Matt 
Published: May 2012

BackgroundIn the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene, the ALDH2*2 allele, prevalent in East Asian populations, encodes an enzyme with severely reduced activity, thereby disrupting the normal metabolism of alcohol. Possession of the ALDH2*2 allele has been repeatedly shown to be associated with lower risk for alcohol dependence and reduced alcohol use. However, relatively few studies have considered whether the magnitude of the effect of ALDH2 polymorphism upon drinking is related to developmental stage or varies by environmental context.MethodsIn a longitudinally assessed sample of 356 adopted adolescents and young adults of East Asian descent, we examined the progression over time of the relationship between ALDH2 genotype and multiple measures of drinking behavior. We also sought to determine whether the environmental influences of nonbiological parent and elder sibling alcohol use and misuse, as well as deviant peer behavior, moderated the effect of ALDH2 genotype upon alcohol use.ResultsAcross all measures of alcohol use, the association between ALDH2*2 allele possession and reduced drinking went from negligible to moderate between mid‐adolescence and early adulthood. A combined index of adoptive parent alcohol use and misuse consistently moderated the protective effect of the ALDH2*2 allele across the measures of quantity and frequency of alcohol use, and symptomology, such that high parental alcohol use and misuse reduced the protective effect of the ALDH2*2 allele, while low parental alcohol use and misuse enhanced the effect of the allele. Neither a combined index of elder sibling alcohol use and misuse, nor deviant peer behavior was consistently related to the effect of ALDH2 genotype.ConclusionsThe protective effect of the ALDH2*2 allele increases over the course of adolescence and young adulthood and is modified by the environmental influence of parental alcohol use and misuse. As such, ALDH2 provides a model system for exploring the nature of gene–environment interplay across development.
Acute Ethanol Exposure Increases Firing and Induces Oscillations in Cerebellar Golgi Cells of Freely Moving Rats
Authors: Huang Jian‐Jia , Yen Chen‐Tung , Tsai Meng‐Li , Valenzuela Carlos F. , Huang Chiming 
Published: May 2012

BackgroundAlcohol is a widely abused substance and is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The precise mechanisms underlying ethanol (EtOH)'s actions in the central nervous system (CNS) remain elusive. In vitro studies suggest that GABAergic interneurons are important targets of EtOH action in the CNS. Although EtOH generally acts to inhibit CNS neurons, it appears to cause an increase in GABAergic interneuron excitability. However, it has yet to be demonstrated that EtOH produces this effect in the brain of behaving animals. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that acute EtOH exposure excites a subtype of GABAergic interneuron (cerebellar Golgi cell [GoC]) in a freely moving animal.MethodsElectrophysiological recordings were made from microwire arrays implanted in the anterior cerebellum of freely moving rats.ResultsCerebellar GoCs display a slow, irregular, spontaneous action potential firing pattern under control conditions. EtOH caused dramatic and consistent increases in the rate and regularity of GoC discharges, including a redistribution of the power in the GoC spike train, such that power became concentrated in the 26.7 ± 7.3 Hz region.ConclusionsTaken together with our previous findings, these data suggest that a major mechanism of EtOH actions on cerebellar function is an EtOH‐induced de‐afferentation at the input stage of the cerebellar cortex in the form of granule cell inhibition, and that this inhibition is caused by an increase in GoC firing. It is likely that GoCs may play a significant role both in the gating of information transmission to granule cells and in the modulation of the overall excitability of the cerebellum by tonically controlling granule cell activity.
Laparoscopic‐Assisted Colpotomy for Ovariectomy in the Mare
Authors: Tate Lloyd P. , Fogle Callie A. , Bailey C. Scott , Tate Kathryn B. , Davis John W. 
Published: May 2012

ObjectiveTo describe a technique for ovariectomy through a colpotomy using a chain écraseur with laparoscopic guidance and report outcome in 4 mares.Study DesignCase series.MethodAfter insertion of a laparoscope into the abdomen through the left flank, colpotomy was performed to allow introduction of an écraseur into the caudal aspect of the abdomen. Grasping and removal of the ovary and evaluation of the pedicle was observed via the laparoscope. The laparoscope was then inserted in the right flank for right ovariectomy. The colpotomy was closed in a continuous suture pattern using laparoscopic or long needle holders.ResultsInsertion of a laparoscope allowed ready identification of the ovaries and capture within an écraseur, including assurance that no other tissues were contained within écraseur chain. The mesovarial pedicles were easily be examined for hemorrhage. Surgical time for ovariectomy was 10–15 minutes with no postsurgical complications. Closure of the colpotomy healed without complications.ConclusionLaparoscopic‐assisted écraseur ovariectomy is inexpensive, rapid, and a safe alternative to other methods of open and laparoscopic ovariectomy.
Implantation Feasibility, Procedure‐Related Adverse Events and Lead Performance During 1‐Year Follow‐Up in Patients Undergoing Triple‐Site Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: A Substudy of TRUST CRT Randomized Trial
Authors: LENARCZYK RADOSŁAW , KOWALSKI OSKAR , SREDNIAWA BEATA , PRUSZKOWSKA‐SKRZEP PATRYCJA , MAZUREK MICHAŁ , JĘDRZEJCZYK‐PATEJ EWA , WOŹNIAK ALEKSANDRA , PLUTA SŁAWOMIR , GŁOWACKI JAN , KALARUS ZBIGNIEW 
Published: May 2012

Feasibility and Safety of Triple‐Site CRT. Introduction: This substudy was to assess implantation feasibility and long‐term safety of triple‐site resynchronization therapy (CRT) in a series of consecutive patients included in a randomized trial.Methods and results: One hundred consecutive patients enrolled into Triple‐Site Versus Standard Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Randomized Trial were analyzed. Eligibility criteria included NYHA class III‐IV, sinus rhythm, QRS ≥ 120 milliseconds, left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35%, and significant mechanical dyssynchrony. Patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to conventional or triple‐site CRT with defibrillator–cardioverter. After 12 months of resynchronization 30% of patients with conventional resynchronization and 12.5% with triple‐site CRT were in NYHA functional class III or IV (P < 0.05). Implantation of triple‐site systems was significantly longer (median 125 minutes vs 96 minutes; P < 0.001), with higher fluoroscopic exposure, especially in patients with very enlarged left ventricle or pulmonary hypertension. Implantation success‐rate was similar in the triple‐site and conventional group (94% vs 98%; P = NS); however, additional techniques had to be used in a greater proportion of the triple‐site patients (33.3% vs 16%; P < 0.05). Long‐term lead performance tests revealed significantly higher pacing threshold and lower impedance in the triple‐site group. The 1‐year incidence of serious, CRT‐related adverse events was similar in triple‐site and conventional group (20.8% vs 30%; P = NS).Conclusions: Triple‐site CRT is associated with more pronounced functional improvement than standard resynchronization. This form of pacing is equally safe and feasible as the conventional CRT. However, triple‐site procedure is more time‐consuming, associated with higher radiation exposure and the need to use additional techniques. Triple‐site resynchronization is associated with less favorable electrical lead characteristics. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 23, pp. 1228–1236, November 2012)
Comparative Climate Change Policy and Federalism: An Overview
Authors: Brown Douglas M. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractThis commentary provides an overview of the four papers in this issue of Review of Policy Research on the politics of climate change. The papers all address in one way or another aspects of how federal‐type systems are dealing with the collective action and multilevel governance issues of climate change policy. The comparative study of federal systems provides insight into how domestic authority is so often overlapping and divided when dealing with greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Federal arrangements offer a rich array of norms, institutions, and practices for tackling these problems. Federal systems grapple continuously with the kinds of issues that are the most intractable in the climate change case, such as overcoming interregional differences of interests and values. A common federal feature is competition among subnational governments and between them and national or federated governments over climate change policy, which has been especially significant in the United States and in Canada in the relative absence of national action––although soberingly, the whole is as yet nowhere near as great as the sum of the parts. More significant, but rarer is the achievement of tighter coordination in federal systems achieved through intergovernmental co‐decision, as seen in the European Community and Australia. This has been accomplished in large part due to a consensus among all intergovernmental parties on the nature of the problem and congruence with the existing international regime, characteristics missing in the North American context.
Carbon Taxation and Policy Labeling: Experience from American States and Canadian Provinces
Authors: Rabe Barry G. , Borick Christopher P. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractA vast economics literature embraces taxation of the carbon content of fossil fuels as the superior policy approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, experience around the world suggests that carbon taxes face exceedingly difficult political hurdles. Federal experience in the United States and in Canada confirms this pattern. This article reviews sub‐federal policy development among American states and Canadian provinces, a great many of which have pursued climate policy development. With one major exception, explicit carbon taxation appears to remain a political nonstarter. At the same time, states and provinces have been placing indirect carbon prices on fossil fuel use through a wide range of policies. These tend to strategically alter labeling, avoiding the terms of “tax” and “carbon” in imposing costs. The article offers a framework for considering such strategies and examines common design features, including direct linkage between cost imposition and fund usage to build political support.
A Tale of Two Taxes: The Fate of Environmental Tax Reform in Canada
Authors: Harrison Kathryn 
Published: May 2012

AbstractPolicy makers who embrace market‐based approaches to environmental regulation, typically eschew carbon taxes in favor of the political advantages of cap and trade, which offers lower visibility of costs to consumers and the opportunity to allocate valuable permits freely to industry. Against this backdrop, the article examines two surprising proposals for carbon taxes, by the government of British Columbia (BC) and by the federal Liberal Party of Canada. Both reflected a triumph of party leaders' normative “good policy” motives over “good politics.” The BC tax alone succeeded first because it was adopted by a party already in government. Second, the onset of a recession before the next elections shifted voters' attention to the economy, which advantaged the BC Liberals but disadvantaged their federal counterparts. However, proposals for carbon taxes were unpopular in both jurisdictions, offering a cautionary tale concerning the fate of politicians' normative commitments absent electoral backing.