bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Apocynin administration prevents the changes induced by a fructose-rich diet on rat liver metabolism and the antioxidant system
Authors: Castro María Cecilia , Francini Flavio , Schinella Guillermo , Caldiz Claudia Inés , Zubiría María Guillermina , Gagliardino Juan José , Massa María Laura 
Published: June 2012

In the present study, we investigated the role of NADPH oxidase in F (fructose)-rich-diet-induced hepatic OS (oxidative stress) and metabolic changes, and their prevention by apocynin co-administration. Wistar rats were fed for 21 days on (i) a control diet, (ii) a control diet plus 10% F in the drinking water, (iii) a control diet with apocynin in the drinking water (CA) and (iv) F plus apocynin in the drinking water (FA). Glycaemia, triglyceridaemia, NEFAs (non-esterified fatty acids) and insulinaemia were determined. In the liver, we measured (i) NADPH oxidase activity, and gene and protein expression; (ii) protein carbonyl groups, GSH and TBARSs (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances); (iii) catalase, CuZn-SOD (superoxide dismutase) and Mn-SOD expression; (iv) liver glycogen and lipid content; (v) GK (glucokinase), G6Pase (glucose-6-phosphatase) and G6PDH (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) activities; (vi) FAS (fatty acid synthase), GPAT (glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase), G6Pase and G6PDH, IL-1β (interleukin-1β), PAI-1 (plasminogen-activator inhibitor-1) and TNFα (tumour necrosis factor α) gene expression; and (vii) IκBα (inhibitor of nuclear factor κB α) protein expression. F-fed animals had high serum TAG (triacylglycerol), NEFA and insulin levels, high liver NADPH oxidase activity/expression, increased OS markers, reduced antioxidant enzyme expression, and increased glycogen, TAG storage and GK, G6Pase and G6PDH activities. They also had high G6Pase, G6PDH, FAS, GPAT, TNFα and IL-1β gene expression and decreased IκBα expression. Co-administration of apocynin to F-fed rats prevented the development of most of these abnormalities. In conclusion, NADPH oxidase plays a key role in F-induced hepatic OS production and probably also in the mechanism of liver steatosis, suggesting its potential usefulness for the prevention/treatment of T2DM (Type 2 diabetes mellitus).
The Impact of Dual Tasking on Sentence Comprehension in Children With Specific Language Impairment
Authors: Leclercq Anne-Lise , Majerus Steve , Prigent Gaïd , Maillart Christelle 
Published: June 2012

Purpose
In this study, the authors assessed the hypothesis of a limitation in attentional allocation capacity as underlying poor sentence comprehension in children with specific language impairment (SLI).

Method
Fifteen children with SLI, 15 age-matched controls, and 15 grammar-matched controls participated in the study. Sixty sentences were presented in isolation, and 60 sentences were presented with a concurrent choice reaction time task in which colored stimuli randomly appeared at the center of the computer screen.

Results
Sentence comprehension was affected by the dual-task condition to a greater extent in children with SLI relative to age controls but not relative to grammatical controls.

Conclusion
This study does not support limitations in attentional allocation capacity as representing a core deficit in SLI. Rather, the data show that these children show attentional allocation capacity comparable to that of younger children having similar language level, suggesting that SLI is characterized by a slowed development of both attentional and language domains.
Clinical and pathological analysis of transplant glomerulopathy cases
Authors: Shimizu Tomokazu , Tanabe Tatsu , Shirakawa Hiroki , Omoto Kazuya , Ishida Hideki , Tanabe Kazunari 
Published: June 2012

AbstractTransplant glomerulopathy (TG) is involved in the criteria of chronic active antibody‐mediated rejection (c‐AMR) in Banff ‘09 classification.PatientsTG was diagnosed in 58 renal allograft biopsy specimens (BS) from 37 renal transplant patients.ResultsAmong 58 BS of TG, 27 BS were mild (cg1), 16 were moderate (cg2), and 15 were severe (cg3). Peritubular capillaritis was present in 49 (84%), transplant glomerulitis was seen in 47 BS (81%), interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy in 47 (81%) and the thickening of the peritubular capillary (PTC) basement membrane (PTCBM) in 44 (76%), and interstitial inflammation was present in 26 BS (45%). C4d deposition in PTC was presented in 32 BS (55%). The circulating anti‐HLA alloantibody was detected in 38 times (76%), of which 27/38 (54%) were donor‐specific antibodies. Deterioration of renal allografts’ function after biopsies was seen in 12 patients (32%) with six of them lost their graft.ConclusionsWe suggest that histopathological changes of TG accompanying by transplant glomerulitis, peritubular capillaritis, the thickening of the PTCBM, and circulating anti‐HLA antibodies might indicate c‐AMR, even if C4d deposition in PTC is negative. The prognosis of the graft exhibiting TG was relatively good under the present immunosuppression protocol in short time.
Significance of C4d deposition in antibody‐mediated rejection
Authors: Takeda Asami , Otsuka Yasuhiro , Horike Keiji , Inaguma Daijo , Hiramitsu Takahisa , Yamamoto Takayuki , Nanmoku Koji , Goto Norihiko , Watarai Yoshihiko , Uchida Kazuharu , Morozumi Kunio , Kobayashi Takaaki 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThe C4d staining as a special tissue marker for humoral immunity has served criteria of pathological diagnosis for antibody‐mediated rejection (ABMR) in Banff classification since 2003. However, the sensitivity and specificity of C4d staining have been questioned, and recently, C4d‐negative ABMR has been more focused in renal allograft pathology. The aim of this study was to make certain of C4d staining for ABMR that was diagnosed by clinical and morphological findings. C4d staining was employed by immunofluorescence. This study included 14 patients with acute ABMR and 16 with chronic active ABMR. Eight of acute ABMR were ABO‐blood‐type‐incompatible renal transplantation (ABOinRTx) pre‐treated by DFPP and splenectomy or rituximub. In acute ABMR after ABOinRTx, C4d staining along peritubular capillary (PTC) was positive in five of them (62.5%). Only one graft biopsy of five acute ABMR with donor‐specific antibody (DSA) showed C4d positive. We assembled 16 graft biopsies showing typical transplant glomerulopathy and thickened PTC basement membrane with peritubular capillaritis as a suspicious pathological chronic active ABMR. Four of eight DSA‐positive patients were C4d negative in PTC; however, three of four DSA‐positive and C4d‐negative patients in PTC chronic active ABMR were C4d positive in only glomerular capillaries. C4d positivity could not come to a specific marker of ABMR diagnosing based on clinically and ordinary morphological findings.
De novo minimal change disease after ABO‐incompatible kidney transplantation
Authors: Mochizuki Yasushi , Iwata Takahisa , Nishikido Masaharu , Uramatsu Tadashi , Sakai Hideki , Taguchi Takashi 
Published: June 2012

AbstractWe report the clinical and pathological findings of a case of de novo minimal change disease (MCD) after ABO‐incompatible living kidney transplantation. A 62‐yr‐old man with end‐stage renal disease associated with type I diabetes received ABO‐incompatible kidney transplantation from his 58‐yr‐old wife. Although allograft function was excellent immediately after surgery, massive proteinuria (35 g/d) appeared on post‐transplantation day 5. After the allograft biopsy taken on post‐transplantation day 6, he was treated with 12 cycles of plasma exchange, but the nephrotic‐range proteinuria showed no remission. The biopsy specimen showed no significant pathological findings on light microscopy, but electron microscopy showed diffuse effacement of podocyte foot processes. Based on the diagnosis of de novo MCD, the patient received intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy, followed by high‐dose steroid maintenance therapy. The steroid therapy induced complete remission of nephrotic syndrome and stable allograft function immediately, which was also maintained at one yr after the transplantation.
Selection of interspecific vine cacti hybrids (Hylocereus spp.) for self‐compatibility
Authors: Tel‐Zur Noemi , Dudai Mordehai , Raveh Eran , Mizrahi Yossi 
Published: June 2012

With 2 figures and 1 tableAbstractSelf‐incompatibility (SI) is the major factor that limits the development of the exotic fruit crops belonging to Hylocereus species. The selection of self‐compatible (SC) hybrids would greatly benefit growers by eliminating the need to grow complementary cultivars for cross‐pollination. With this breeding objective in mind, a total of 182 plants that resulted from the first and second generations of hybrids and a first generation of back‐crosses were screened for SC. Five hybrids, all of which were a cross between the triploid hybrid ‘S‐75’ and the diploid Hylocereus undatus, were found to be fully SC; they exhibited similar fruit weights and similar total seed numbers following cross‐ or self‐pollination. Flow cytometric analyses revealed that all the SC hybrids were tetraploids, suggesting a possible relation between SC and ploidy level. Further studies will be needed for an efficient identification of SC hybrids during their juvenile period.
Length of vernalization period affects flowering time in three lupin species
Authors: Adhikari Kedar N. , Buirchell Bevan J. , Sweetingham Mark W. 
Published: June 2012

With 2 figures and 2 tablesAbstractLupin is a long‐day plant, and its flowering time can be affected by prolonged exposure to cold, ambient temperatures and photoperiod. The vernalization response was investigated in three species of lupins, Lupinus albus L., L. luteus L. and L. mutabilis Sweet., under varying vernalization regimes in glasshouse conditions over summer. A range of genotypes were included from each species. Three weeks after emergence, each line was vernalized for 0–4 weeks in a cool room at 6°±1°C with 14h photoperiod. Vernalization did not affect flowering time in early‐season genotypes of all lupin species. However, significant differences occurred in mid to late‐season genotypes. All genotypes including very late wild types flowered after 2 weeks of vernalization, indicating 2‐week cold treatment was enough to induce flowering. Vernalization synchronized flowering for mid and late‐season genotypes of L. luteus, giving greater flexibility of phenology in long growing season environments where vernalization occurs naturally. Vernalization reduced leaf node number in late‐flowering lines of all species including mid‐season L. luteus.
The Influence of Managerial Ownership on Bank Market Value, Performance, and Risk: Evidence from Banks Listed on the Stoxx Global Index
Authors: Gulamhussen Mohamed Azzim , Pinheiro Carlos , Sousa Rui 
Published: June 2012

AbstractWe follow agency theory to assess the influence of managerial ownership on the market value, performance, and risk of 123 listed banks in 23 countries included in the STOXX Global Index in 2007 and 2010. After controlling for bank characteristics, regulatory restrictions, and macroeconomic conditions, our findings show a positive relation between managerial ownership and both market value (Tobin's Q) and performance (ROA and ROE). Moreover, we find a negative relation between managerial ownership and risk (EDF, NPL/L, and Z‐SCORE). Bank market value and performance is a non‐linear, inverse U‐shaped function of managerial ownership. The negative relation between managerial ownership and bank risk is also non‐linear and U‐shaped. Our results remain robust to reverse causality. In their effort to immunize the global financial system from systemic risks, central banks and practitioners should find our results relevant for regulation purposes.
Preparatory distributed cortical synchronization determines execution of some, but not all, future intentions
Authors: Knight Justin B. , Marsh Richard L. , Brewer Gene A. , Clementz Brett A. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractAssociating intentions to events that cue future behaviors is a central aspect of human cognition. There is limited understanding of the neural dynamics supporting recognition of intention‐related events, with little known about how pre‐event brain state varies as a function of intention specificity. Prior to recognized events (that cued planned behavior) occurring during an unrelated activity, we found increased steady‐state visual evoked potential (ssVEP) and intrinsic gamma synchronization for ill‐ compared to well‐specified events, as measured by EEG. Enhanced fronto‐temporo‐parietal ssVEP synchrony emerged preceding ill compared to well‐specified events, and the degree of synchrony predicted the completion of ill‐specified intentions but predicted failure to complete well‐specified intentions. Distinct executive processing and neural states are therefore optimal for anticipating and fulfilling future intentions varying in event specificity.
Accuracy and Limitations of the Diagnosis of Malnutrition in Dialysis Patients
Authors: Kovesdy Csaba P. , Kalantar‐Zadeh Kamyar 
Published: June 2012

AbstractUremic malnutrition, also known as protein‐energy wasting (PEW), is a common phenomenon in maintenance dialysis patients and a risk factor for poor clinical outcomes including worse quality of life and increased hospitalization and mortality. The paradoxical association between traditional cardiovascular risk factors and better outcomes in dialysis patients also referred to as “reverse epidemiology,” is a good example of the powerful effect‐modifying impact of the nutritional status in this population. Measures of food intake, body composition tools, nutritional scoring systems, and laboratory values such as serum albumin are used to diagnose PEW and to assess the degree of severity of PEW without clearly validated diagnostic criteria. Some observational studies suggest that inflammation is a missing link between the PEW and poor clinical outcomes in dialysis patients, although PEW per se may also predispose to illness and inflammation. Ongoing debate as to whether such surrogates as serum albumin or prealbumin concentrations are markers of nutritional status, inflammation, comorbidity, or other conditions has led to confusion and diagnostic and therapeutic nihilism. Irrespective of the cause of hypoalbuminemia in dialysis patients, evidence suggests that nutritional interventions can increase serum albumin in dialysis patients. Hence, we should continue assessing serum albumin and other surrogates of nutritional status to risk‐stratify patients and to allocate nutritional therapy, while well‐designed, large‐scale, randomized, controlled trials of the effects of nutritional intake on clinical outcomes are awaited.
Involvement of the ubiquitin‐proteasome system in the stabilization of cell–cell contacts in human keratinocytes
Authors: Löffek Stefanie , Bruckner‐Tuderman Leena , Magin Thomas M. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractDesmosomes are highly organized intercellular junctions composed of a number of interacting proteins that provide mechanical integrity to epithelial tissues. Mutations in genes encoding desmosomal proteins, including desmoplakin (DP), are associated with human hereditary diseases affecting skin integrity. The detailed mechanism of desmosome assembly remains, despite many efforts, incompletely understood. Recently, the ubiquitin‐proteasome system (UPS) has been suggested to be an important regulatory system for the proper intracellular trafficking of proteins. Here, we provide evidence for a calcium‐independent, but UPS‐dependent, stabilization of cell–cell contacts in human keratinocytes, which might be mediated by the maintenance of DP at desmosomes.
Burial grounds’ impact on groundwater and public health: an overview
Authors: Oliveira Bruna , Quinteiro Paula , Caetano Carla , Nadais Helena , Arroja Luís , Ferreira da Silva Eduardo , Senos Matias Manuel 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThe most common practice for disposal of dead bodies is inhumation in soil, which favours interactions with the surrounding environment and returns nutrients to the life cycle. However, when the burial ground is located where hydrogeological, geological and climatic conditions are not favourable to the process, contamination of soils and groundwater may occur, and decomposition may be inhibited, leading to social, economic and political problems. The most critical parameters when assessing the pollution potential of a burial ground are inhumation depth, geological formation, depth of the water table, density of inhumations, soil type and climate. Considering that, this paper presents an overview of the potential threat that cemeteries can pose, analysing and discussing the influence of the main variables causing environmental impacts and public health risks.
Sub‐ and suprathreshold adaptation currents have opposite effects on frequency tuning
Authors: Deemyad Tara , Kroeger Jens , Chacron Maurice J. 
Published: June 2012

Key points
We provide the first experimental evidence that sub‐ and suprathreshold adaptation currents, despite having similar effects on spike frequency adaptation, have opposite effects on frequency tuning.
Through a combination of computational analysis and mathematical modelling, we reveal how the differential activation properties of these currents can lead to differential effects on the neuronal transfer function.
Our findings challenge the common assumption that spike frequency adaptation always attenuates the neural response to low frequency stimuli, and instead suggest that spike frequency adaptation and frequency tuning can be regulated independently of one another.
Abstract  Natural stimuli are often characterized by statistics that can vary over orders of magnitude. Experiments have shown that sensory neurons continuously adapt their responses to changes in these statistics, thereby optimizing information transmission. However, such adaptation can also alter the neuronal transfer function by attenuating if not eliminating responses to the low frequency components of time varying stimuli, which can create ambiguity in the neural code. We recorded from electrosensory pyramidal neurons before and after pharmacological inactivation of either calcium‐activated (IAHP) or KCNQ voltage‐gated potassium currents (IM). We found that blocking each current decreased adaptation in a similar fashion but led to opposite changes in the neuronal transfer function. Indeed, blocking IAHP increased while blocking IM instead decreased the response to low temporal frequencies. To understand this surprising result, we built a mathematical model incorporating each channel type. This model predicted that these differential effects could be accounted for by differential activation properties. Our results show that the mechanisms that mediate adaptation can either increase or decrease the response to low frequency stimuli. As such, they suggest that the nervous system resolves ambiguity resulting from adaptation through independent control of adaptation and the neuronal transfer function.
MO‐F‐217BCD‐01: Assessment of Image Quality in the New CT
Authors: Siewerdsen J , Fessler J , Myers K 
Published: June 2012

The emergence of fully volumetric CT imaging systems and statistical / iterative reconstruction methods present an immediate need for rigorous methods of image quality assessment. Major themes arising in the widespread utilization of such technologies include: 1.) the reduction of radiation dose in a manner that maintains imaging performance with respect to the imaging task; 2.) the need for quantitative standards in image quality assessment appropriate to various vendor hardware and reconstruction systems; 3.) imaging performance metrics that provide meaningful descriptors of fully 3D spatial resolution and noise characteristics; 4.) the dependence of these metrics on acquisition technique, reconstruction parameters, and their applicability (or lack thereof) to novel reconstruction methods that may defy conventional metrics founded in assumptions of linearity and shift invariance; and 5.) methods for physical measurement (e.g., phantoms) and theoretical analysis of image quality for these new and emerging CT technologies and their implications for dose reduction.Learning Objectives:1. Understand the methods and metrics of image quality assessment for fully volumetric (cone‐beam) CT imaging using 3D filtered backprojection, including analysis of the 3D NPS, NEQ, and detectability index.2. Understand the limitations and assumptions of such metrics with respect to linearity, stationarity, and novel reconstruction techniques.3. Gain an understanding of how rigorous assessment of imaging performance can guide technique optimization, dose reduction, and the development of new CT technologies and applications.4. Understand the factors of image quality assessment in nonlinear statistical / model‐based 3D reconstruction techniques, including PSF and covariance estimation in nonstationary systems.5. Gain perspective on image quality assessment standards, including methods for dose and image quality measurement on different vendor platforms and the implications for dose reduction.
TU‐A‐217BCD‐01: Introductory CT Dosimetry (and What We Can Learn from Making Measurements on Cylinders)
Authors: Bakalyar Donovan 
Published: June 2012

A variety of methods are used to describe and control the radiation output of a CT scanner. Different approaches may serve to emphasize one facet of a particular scan over another, favor the lexicon and style of a specific manufacturer or simply reflect history. The multiplicity of terms often adds confusion to what should be a simple task: to characterize the output of a CT machine in terms of the radiation dose to a cylinder. We will begin by examining radiation dose to cylinders with an emphasis on isolating superfluous parameters.We start, as in TG111, with an infinite helical scan of an infinitely long cylindrical phantom. During such a scan the dose at any point in the cylinder will asymptotically build up to its ultimate value Deq. The spatial average of this value, Deq, can serve as an indicator of scanner output and along with the total number of rotations N determine Etot, the total energy absorbed by the cylinder. If a finite cylinder is long enough (≥ Leq), a scan through it from one end to the other will yield these values in its central plane.The approach to Deq can conveniently be described by h(L), a robust function of scan length L which depends only weakly on z axis collimation and tube potential. This function facilitates the simple calculation of the lower dose to the central plane resulting from a finite scan. If the length of the cylinder is finite, as it is for the standard CTDI phantom, the dose is reduced further in a predictable fashion resulting in good correlation between Deq,bar and CTDIvol which in turn has been shown to be a useful tool in equating the radiation output between scanners differing in model and vendor.Though CTDIvol (and Deq,bar) are useful for characterizing CT machine output, we need to include the effect of patient size in assessing patient dose. TG204 has used measurements on phantoms of varying size to determine a size specific dose estimate (SSDE) which serves to accomplish this task. The SSDE has also proven to be very helpful in designing protocols for patients of varying size, especially pediatric patients.Learning Objectives:1. To describe the radiation dose to a cylinder in uncomplicated terms, starting with the particularly simple case of an infinite scan to an infinite cylinder.2. To extend the description to finite scans to infinite cylinders in terms of the h(L) function and then to the standard CTDI phantoms.3. To describe some of the subtleties in making reliable CTDI measurements.4. The demonstrated fact that dose indices (e.g., CTDIvol) provide a reliable indicator of machine output will be used to show, for example, how patient scans from machines of varying model and manufacturer can be compared.5. To describe how characterizing the dose to cylinders of varying size can be used both to provide a reasonable index of patient dose and as a useful tool in the design of pediatric protocols.