bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Response of Boar Sperm to the Treatment with Cholesterol‐Loaded Cyclodextrins Added Prior to Cryopreservation
Authors: Blanch E , Tomás C , Graham JK , Mocé E 
Published: February 2012

ContentsCryopreserved boar sperm is not used extensively for artificial insemination, owing to the poor fertility rates of the sperm after freezing and thawing. The sperm membrane is damaged as the cells are cooled from body temperature to 5°C (cold shock), as well as during the freeze–thaw process. Increasing the cholesterol content of boar sperm membranes could help them survive cryopreservation, similar to sperm from other species that are cold shock sensitive. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal cholesterol‐loaded cyclodextrin (CLC) concentration to use for boar sperm cryopreservation, and the influence of CLCs on the cryosurvival of sperm from boars classified as good or poor freezers. Treating boar sperm with 1 mg of CLC/120 × 106 sperm slightly improved (p < 0.05) the percentage of viable sperm after freezing–thawing. On the other hand, sperm, from both good and poor freezers, responded similarly to CLC treatment. Nevertheless, additional studies will be needed to study the effect of this treatment on other parameters of sperm quality.
Hydrocortisone and long‐term outcomes in very‐low‐birthweight infants
Authors: Yamasaki Chika , Uchiyama Atsushi , Nakanishi Hidehiko , Masumoto Kenichi , Aoyagi Hiroyuki , Washio Yosuke , Totsu Satsuki , Imai Ken , Kusuda Satoshi 
Published: February 2012

AbstractBackground:  The long‐term effects of hydrocortisone (HDC) used for very‐low‐birthweight (VLBW) infants with chronic lung disease (CLD) are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to examine the short‐term clinical effects and long‐term impact of a physiological replacement dose of HDC on acute deterioration of CLD in VLBW infants.Methods:  This prospective case–control study included 110 of the 174 VLBW infants admitted to our facility between 2003 and 2006 who were followed up to a corrected age of 18 months. Infant deaths and infants with congenital deformities were excluded from the study. The infants were classified into the following three groups: infants with CLD and treated with HDC (1–2 mg/kg/dose) due to progressive deterioration in oxygenation (CLD treatment group; n= 24); infants with CLD but not treated with HDC (CLD untreated group; n= 40); and infants without CLD (non‐CLD group; n= 46).Results:  The fraction of inspired oxygen (FIO2) in the CLD treatment group improved significantly after treatment (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences among the three groups in terms of growth and neurodevelopmental quotient at the corrected age of 18 months following adjustment for birthweight, sex, and presence of light‐for‐date infants. There were also no significant intergroup differences in all three areas of developmental quotient.Conclusions:  Physiological doses of HDC replacement are effective in treating acute deterioration in oxygenation in VLBW infants with CLD. Furthermore, this treatment modality did not adversely affect the growth and development of infants at the corrected age of 18 months.
Rapid genetic change underpins antagonistic coevolution in a natural host‐pathogen metapopulation
Authors: Thrall Peter H. , Laine Anna‐Liisa , Ravensdale Michael , Nemri Adnane , Dodds Peter N. , Barrett Luke G. , Burdon Jeremy J. 
Published: February 2012

Ecology Letters(2012)15: 425–435AbstractAntagonistic coevolution is a critical force driving the evolution of diversity, yet the selective processes underpinning reciprocal adaptive changes in nature are not well understood. Local adaptation studies demonstrate partner impacts on fitness and adaptive change, but do not directly expose genetic processes predicted by theory. Specifically, we have little knowledge of the relative importance of fluctuating selection vs. arms‐race dynamics in maintaining polymorphism in natural systems where metapopulation processes predominate. We conducted cross‐year epidemiological, infection and genetic studies of multiple wild host and pathogen populations in theLinum‐Melampsoraassociation. We observed asynchronous phenotypic fluctuations in resistance and infectivity among demes. Importantly, changes in allelic frequencies at pathogen infectivity loci, and in host recognition of these genetic variants, correlated with disease prevalence during natural epidemics. These data strongly support reciprocal coevolution maintaining balanced resistance and infectivity polymorphisms, and highlight the importance of characterising spatial and temporal dynamics in antagonistic interactions.
Working with young adults with Type 1 diabetes: Views of a multidisciplinary care team and implications for service delivery
Authors: Brierley S. , Eiser C. , Johnson B. , Young V. , Heller S. 
Published: February 2012

Diabet. Med. 29, 677–681 (2012)AbstractAims  Young adults with Type 1 diabetes experience difficulties achieving glucose targets. Clinic attendance can be poor, although health and self‐care tend to be better among those who attend regularly. Our aims were to describe staff views about challenges working with this age‐group (16–21 years).Methods  Semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 staff from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals diabetes care team. Interviews were audio‐recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.Results  Three main themes emerged. Unique challenges working with young adults included staff emotional burden, the low priority given to self‐care by young adults and the complexity of the diabetes regimen. Working in a multidisciplinary team was complicated by differences in consultation styles, poor team cohesion and communication. An ideal service should include psychological support for the professional team, identification of key workers, and development of individualized care plans.Conclusions  Staff differed in their views about how to achieve optimal management for young adults, but emphasized the need for greater patient‐centred care and a range of interventions appropriate for individual levels of need. They also wanted to increase their own skills and confidence working with this age‐group. While these results reflect the views of staff working in only one diabetes centre, they are likely to reflect the views of professionals delivering care to individuals of this age; replication is needed to determine their generalizability.
Ethnic differences in mother–infant language and gestural communications are associated with specific skills in infants
Authors: Tamis‐LeMonda Catherine S. , Song Lulu , Leavell Ashley Smith , Kahana‐Kalman Ronit , Yoshikawa Hirokazu 
Published: February 2012

AbstractWe examined gestural and verbal interactions in 226 mother–infant pairs from Mexican, Dominican, and African American backgrounds when infants were 14 months and 2 years of age, and related these interactions to infants’ emerging skills. At both ages, dyads were video‐recorded as they shared a wordless number book, a wordless emotion book, and beads and string. We coded mothers’ and infants’ gestures and language/vocalizations. Each maternal utterance was coded as referential (e.g. ‘That’s a bead’) or regulatory (e.g. ‘Put it there’). Mothers reported on infants’ gestural, receptive, and productive vocabularies at 14 months, and infants were assessed on receptive language, expressive language, and action sequencing and imitation at 2 years of age. Mothers of the three ethnicities differed in their gesturing, distributions of the two types of language, and coupling of language and gestures. Mothers’ ethnicity, language, and gestures were differentially associated with infants’ 2‐year skills. Mother–infant communicative interactions are foundational to infant learning and development, and ethnic differences in modes of early communication portend divergent pathways in the development of specific skills.
Dynamic pointing triggers shifts of visual attention in young infants
Authors: Rohlfing Katharina J. , Longo Matthew R. , Bertenthal Bennett I. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractPointing, like eye gaze, is a deictic gesture that can be used to orient the attention of another person towards an object or an event. Previous research suggests that infants first begin to follow a pointing gesture between 10 and 13 months of age. We investigated whether sensitivity to pointing could be seen at younger ages employing a technique recently used to show early sensitivity to perceived eye gaze. Three experiments were conducted with 4.5‐ and 6.5‐month‐old infants. Our first goal was to examine whether these infants could show a systematic response to pointing by shifting their visual attention in the direction of a pointing gesture when we eliminated the difficulty of disengaging fixation from a pointing hand. The results from Experiments 1 and 2 suggest that a dynamic, but not a static, pointing gesture triggers shifts of visual attention in infants as young as 4.5 months of age. Our second goal was to clarify whether this response was based on sensitivity to the directional posture of the pointing hand, the motion of the pointing hand, or both. The results from Experiment 3 suggest that the direction of motion is necessary but not sufficient to orient infants’ attention toward a distal target. Infants shifted their attention in the direction of the pointing finger, but only when the hand was moving in the same direction. These results suggest that infants are prepared to orient to the distal referent of a pointing gesture which likely contributes to their learning the communicative function of pointing.
Very-Short-Term Probabilistic Forecasting of Wind Power With Generalized Logit–Normal Distributions
Authors: Pinson P. 
Published: February 2012

SummaryVery-short-term probabilistic forecasts, which are essential for an optimal management of wind generation, ought to account for the non-linear and double-bounded nature of that stochastic process. They take here the form of discrete–continuous mixtures of generalized logit–normal distributions and probability masses at the bounds. Both auto-regressive and conditional parametric auto-regressive models are considered for the dynamics of their location and scale parameters. Estimation is performed in a recursive least squares framework with exponential forgetting. The superiority of this proposal over classical assumptions about the shape of predictive densities, e.g. normal and beta, is demonstrated on the basis of 10-min-ahead point and probabilistic forecasting at the Horns Rev wind farm in Denmark.
Estimating Probabilities in Recommendation Systems
Authors: Sun Mingxuan , Lebanon Guy , Kidwell Paul 
Published: February 2012

SummaryRecommendation systems are emerging as an important business application with significant economic impact. Currently popular systems include Amazon's book recommendations, Netflix's movie recommendations and Pandora's music recommendations. We address the problem of estimating probabilities associated with recommendation system data by using non-parametric kernel smoothing. In our estimation we interpret missing items as randomly censored observations of preference relations and obtain efficient computation schemes by using combinatorial properties of generating functions. We demonstrate our approach with several case-studies involving real world movie recommendation data. The results are comparable with state of the art techniques while also providing probabilistic preference estimates outside the scope of traditional recommender systems.
Postnatal histomorphogenesis of the mandible in the house mouse
Authors: Martinez‐Maza Cayetana , Montes Laëtitia , Lamrous Hayat , Ventura Jacint , Cubo Jorge 
Published: February 2012

AbstractThe mandible of the house mouse, Mus musculus, is a model structure for the study of the development and evolution of complex morphological systems. This research describes the histomorphogenesis of the house mouse mandible and analyses its biological significance from the first to the eighth postnatal weeks. Histological data allowed us to test a hypothesis concerning modularity in this structure. We measured the bone growth rates by fluorescent labelling and identified the bone tissue types through microscopic analysis of histological cross‐sections of the mandible during its postnatal development. The results provide evidence for a modular structure of the mouse mandible, as the alveolar region and the ascending ramus show histological differences throughout ontogeny. The alveolar region increases in length during the first two postnatal weeks by bone growth in the posterior region, while horizontally positioned incisors preclude bone growth in the anterior region. In the fourth postnatal week, growth dynamics shows a critical change. The alveolar region drifts laterally and the ramus becomes more vertical due to the medial growth direction of the coronoid region and the lateral growth of the ventral region of the ramus. Diet changes after weaning are probably involved in these morphological changes. In this way, the development of the masticatory muscles that insert on the ascending ramus may be particularly related to this shape modeling of the house mouse mandible.
Habitat and resource partitioning between abundant and relatively rare grazing ungulates
Authors: Macandza V. A. , Owen‐Smith N. , Cain J. W. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractSpecies assemblages commonly include species persisting at low density alongside more abundant species, raising questions about the mechanisms enabling this coexistence. Relatively rare species may persist through (1) specializing on a narrow range of resource types that are sparsely but widely available or (2) precisely selecting patches where their favoured resources are concentrated that are only lightly exploited by more abundant species. Our study compared the habitat and resource use across a range of scales of relatively uncommon sable antelope with those of more abundant buffalo and zebra sharing a common preference for relatively tall grass. Buffalo occupied a wide range of habitat types, but shifted towards lowlands during the late dry season when water became limiting. Sable and zebra foraged year‐round in upland regions, undertaking journeys to water. Zebra occupied mainly the prevalent habitat type on basaltic substrates. Sable more narrowly exploited habitats on quartzitic sandstone where green leaves persisted in grasslands through the dry season, and favoured the grass species that retained green leaves. Buffalo and zebra were tolerant of grass that was mostly brown. Hence, the coexistence of sable was enabled by their precise selection for the green foliage remaining in between the depletion zones generated by the more abundant grazers. Nevertheless, the local sable distribution had contracted following an influx of zebra, suggesting that resource use distinctions were insufficient to prevent the competitive displacement of sable from a wider region by zebra. Hence, niche breadth and resource availability concepts both have relevance.
N‐Terminal pyroglutamate formation of Aβ38 and Aβ40 enforces oligomer formation and potency to disrupt hippocampal long‐term potentiation
Authors: Schlenzig Dagmar , Rönicke Raik , Cynis Holger , Ludwig Hans‐Henning , Scheel Eike , Reymann Klaus , Saido Takaomi , Hause Gerd , Schilling Stephan , Demuth Hans‐Ulrich 
Published: February 2012

J. Neurochem. (2012) 121, 774–784.AbstractPyroglutamate (pGlu)‐modified amyloid peptides have been identified in sporadic and familial forms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and the inherited disorders familial British and Danish Dementia (FBD and FDD). In this study, we characterized the aggregation of amyloid‐β protein Aβ37, Aβ38, Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADan species in vitro, which were modified by N‐terminal pGlu (pGlu‐Aβ3‐x, pGlu‐ADan) or possess the intact N‐terminus (Aβ1‐x, ADan). The pGlu‐modification confers rapid formation of oligomers and short fibrillar aggregates. In accordance with these observations, the pGlu‐modified Aβ38, Αβ40 and Αβ42 species inhibit hippocampal long term potentiation of synaptic response, but pGlu‐Aβ3‐42 showing the highest effect. Among the unmodified Aβ peptides, only Aβ1‐42 exhibites such propensity, which was similar to pGlu‐Aβ3‐38 and pGlu‐Aβ3‐40. Likewise, the amyloidogenic peptide pGlu‐ADan impaired synaptic potentiation more pronounced than N‐terminal unmodified ADan. The results were validated using conditioned media from cultivated HEK293 cells, which express APP variants favoring the formation of Aβ1‐x, Aβ3‐x or N‐truncated pGlu‐Aβ3‐x species. Hence, we show that the ability of different amyloid peptides to impair synaptic function apparently correlates to their potential to form oligomers as a common mechanism. The pGlu‐modification is apparently mediating a higher surface hydrophobicity, as shown by 1‐anilinonaphtalene‐8‐sulfonate fluorescence, which enforces potential to interfere with neuronal physiology.
The thermal structure of continental crust in active orogens: insight from Miocene eclogite and granulite xenoliths of the Pamir Mountains
Authors: GORDON S. M. , LUFFI P. , HACKER B. , VALLEY J. , SPICUZZA M. , KOZDON R. , KELEMEN P. , RATSHBACHER L. , MINAEV V. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractRare ultrahigh‐temperature–(near)ultrahigh‐pressure (UHT–near‐UHP) crustal xenoliths erupted at 11 Ma in the Pamir Mountains, southeastern Tajikistan, preserve a compositional and thermal record at mantle depths of crustal material subducted beneath the largest collisional orogen on Earth. A combination of oxygen‐isotope thermometry, major‐element thermobarometry and pseudosection analysis reveals that, prior to eruption, the xenoliths partially equilibrated at conditions ranging from 815 °C at 19 kbar to 1100 °C at 27 kbar for eclogites and granulites, and 884 °C at 20 kbar to 1012 °C at 33 kbar for garnet–phlogopite websterites. To reach these conditions, the eclogites and granulites must have undergone mica‐dehydration melting. The extraction depths exceed the present‐day Pamir Moho at ∼65 km depth and suggest an average thermal gradient of ∼12–13 °C km−1. The relatively cold geotherm implies the introduction of these rocks to mantle depths by subduction or gravitational foundering (transient crustal drip). The xenoliths provide a window into a part of the orogenic history in which crustal material reached UHT–(U)HP conditions, partially melted, and then decompressed, without being overprinted by the later post‐thermal relaxation history.
X Chromosome Inactivation in Women with Alcoholism
Authors: Manzardo Ann M. , Henkhaus Rebecca , Hidaka Brandon , Penick Elizabeth C. , Poje Albert B. , Butler Merlin G. 
Published: February 2012

BackgroundAll female mammals with 2 X chromosomes balance gene expression with males having only 1 X by inactivating one of their X chromosomes (X chromosome inactivation [XCI]). Analysis of XCI in females offers the opportunity to investigate both X‐linked genetic factors and early embryonic development that may contribute to alcoholism. Increases in the prevalence of skewing of XCI in women with alcoholism could implicate biological risk factors.MethodsThe pattern of XCI was examined in DNA isolated in blood from 44 adult women meeting DSM‐IV criteria for an alcohol use disorder and 45 control women with no known history of alcohol abuse or dependence. XCI status was determined by analyzing digested and undigested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of the polymorphic androgen receptor (AR) gene located on the X chromosome. Subjects were categorized into 3 groups based upon the degree of XCI skewness: random (50:50 to 64:36%), moderately skewed (65:35 to 80:20%), and highly skewed (>80:20%).ResultsXCI status from informative women with alcoholism was found to be random in 59% (n = 26), moderately skewed in 27% (n = 12), or highly skewed in 14% (n = 6). Control subjects showed 60, 29, and 11%, respectively. The distribution of skewed XCI observed among women with alcoholism did not differ statistically from that of control subjects (χ2 test = 0.14, 2 df, p = 0.93).ConclusionsOur data did not support an increase in XCI skewness among women with alcoholism or implicate early developmental events associated with embryonic cell loss or unequal (nonrandom) expression of X‐linked gene(s) or defects in alcoholism among women.
Actin Dynamics in Development of Behavioral Sensitization After Withdrawal from Long‐Term Ethanol Administration to Mice
Authors: Shibasaki Masahiro , Kurokawa Kazuhiro , Mizuno Koji , Suzuki Tsutomu , Ohkuma Seitaro 
Published: February 2012

Background and MethodsThe present study investigated the role of actin depolymerizing factor (ADF) in the brain of mice after withdrawal from continuous ethanol (EtOH) vapor inhalation for 9 days using C57BL/6J and ADF mutant mice.ResultsC57BL/6J mice with withdrawal signs 10 hours after withdrawal from EtOH vapor inhalation showed transient and significant enhancement of locomotor activity by a single injection of EtOH (2 g/kg, i.p.) and of EtOH‐induced place preference 3 days after withdrawal from EtOH vapor inhalation, suggesting the development of sensitization of locomotion activity to EtOH and of place preference 3 days after withdrawal from EtOH in C57BL/6J mice with EtOH physical dependence. The levels of ADF and G‐actin in the ventral tegmental area, including a little bit of surrounding tissues, increased immediately (0 hours), 10 hours, and 3 days after withdrawal from EtOH vapor. F‐actin, synaptic vesicle‐associated protein 38, and postsynaptic density 95 increased 0 hours and 3 days after withdrawal with their decreases 10 hours after withdrawal from EtOH vapor. An F‐actin stabilizing agent phalloidin (3 nmol/mouse/d, i.c.v., once a day) administered daily for 3 days after withdrawal from continuous EtOH vapor inhalation for 9 days significantly suppressed the increase in both EtOH‐induced place preference and locomotor activity by a single injection of EtOH 3 days after withdrawal from long‐term EtOH vapor inhalation for 9 days. In addition, the changes in behavioral sensitization in ADF mutant mice were significantly weaker than those observed in C57BL/6J mice (wild‐type mice for ADF mutant mice).ConclusionsThe findings presented here suggest that withdrawal from EtOH physical dependence causes behavioral sensitization to EtOH, which may be, at least in part, mediated by alternation of actin dynamics.
Commentary: The Complementarity of Intrapsychic and Intersubjective Dimensions of Social Reality
Authors: Jackson Michael D. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractThis comment revisits the pioneering work of George Devereux in arguing for a reintegration of ethnographic and psychological perspectives in anthropology. The focus is not on an epistemological fusion of these different perspectives but on methodological strategies whose measure of value may be practical, aesthetic, or interpretive, depending on the researcher's interests and the research subject's own concerns. [George Devereux, psychoanalytic anthropology, phenomenological anthropology]