bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of Behçet's Disease on Sexual Function and Psychological Status of Male Patients
Authors: Hiz Ozcan , Ediz Levent , Gülcü Elif , Tekeoglu İbrahim 
Published: October 2010

ABSTRACT

Introduction
There are no studies on the sexual function of male patients with Behçet's disease (BD), but it is probable that male sexual dysfunction may be seen in this chronic condition.

Aim
The aim of this study was to assess the effect of BD on male sexual function and psychiatric status, and to examine the relationship between sexual function and depression in this population.

Methods
Patients with a diagnosis of BD for at least one year were included in the study. The patients' age, educational level, and duration of disease were recorded. A healthy control group was selected with highly similar characteristics to the patient group. The sexual functions of the patient and the control groups were assessed using the International Index of Erectile Functions (IIEF), and their emotional status was evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

Main Outcome Measures
The results of the questionnaires in patient and control groups were compared. The relationship between the clinical findings and questionnaire scores was assessed in the patient group.

Results
Forty-two patients with BD and 42 healthy individuals were included in the study. The mean subscale scores of the IIEF for erectile function were significantly lower in the patient group compared to the control group (P  &lt; 0.001). The IIEF score was not related to active skin findings, active oral ulcers, active genital ulcers, eye involvement, or medication for BD, but it was related with history of arthritis. The BDI and IIEF scores were negatively correlated in the patient group.

Conclusion
BD has a negative impact on men's psychological state and sexual function. We recommend that depression and sexual dysfunction be investigated and treated while assessing patients with BD.
Vascular Modifications of the Clitoris Induced by Topic Nitric Oxide Donor Gel—Preliminary Study
Authors: Souto Sophia , Palma Paulo , Seabra Amedea Barozzi , Fregonesi Adriano , Palma Thais , Reis Leonardo Oliveira 
Published: October 2010

ABSTRACT

Introduction
The clitoral blood flow increase is dependent of nitric oxide (NO) and it occurs due to sexual arousal. Female sexual disorder mechanisms are poorly understood and NO therapeutic role in this scenario is to be determined.

Aim
To assess topic NO donor S-nitrosoglutationa (GSNO) gel—100 µM effect on clitoral blood flow in healthy women.

Methods
Forty healthy women were double-blinded randomized for Group 1, GSNO gel, n = 20 and Group 2, placebo gel, n = 20. All patients underwent Doppler ultrasound test in the clitoral artery. Hemodynamic analysis consisted of: systolic peak speed, diastolic speed, and vase resistance rate. Ten random patients were analyzed regarding sexual function after two double-blinded placebo and NO donor gel periods of 30 days.

Main Outcome Measures
To consider female sexual dysfunction treatment through local NO-dependent pathway.

Results
Mean age was 31 years (20–39) and mean female sexual function index score 31.5 (26–34). Group 1: The mean and standard deviation baseline and 15 minutes after the application of the GSNO gel systolic (11.7 ± 2.1 cm/second to 15.9 ± 2.4 cm/second) and diastolic speeds (2.7 ± 0.3 cm/second to 4.2 ± 0.4 cm/second) and resistance (0.71 ± 0.04 to 1.38 ± 0.06) were significantly increased (P = 0.002) (P = 0.043), and (P = 0.005), respectively. No local or systemic adverse effect was observed in women or in their sexual partners and the sexual function presented a slightly insignificant improvement (P = 0.065), although eight of 10 women could subjectively identify the GSNO gel as the preferred and most pleasant between both tried. Group 2 presented no significant differences at baseline and 15 minutes after the application of the placebo gel, P &gt; 0.05.

Conclusion
The topic GSNO gel increased significantly the clitoral blood flow and could be considered therapeutically in selected cases of female sexual dysfunction warranting further investigation.
Effect of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Receptor Antagonist on Psychologically Suppressed Masculine Sexual Behavior in Rats
Authors: Miwa Yoshiji , Nagase Keiko , Oyama Nobuyuki , Akino Hironobu , Yokoyama Osamu 
Published: October 2010

ABSTRACTIntroductionCorticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) coordinates various responses of the body to stress, and CRF receptors are important targets of treatment for stress-related disorders.AimTo investigate the effect of a nonselective CRF receptor antagonist, astressin, on suppression of masculine sexual behavior by psychological stress in rats.MethodsFirst, we investigated the influence of psychological stress, induced 2 hours per day for three consecutive days, on sexual behavior. Then, rats were divided into 4 groups: a control group, an astressin administration group (A), a psychological stress loading group (PS), and a psychological stress loading and astressin administration group (PS + A). The rats were exposed to sham or psychological stress for three consecutive days. After the last stress loading, the rats were injected with vehicle or astressin, and their sexual behavior was observed. We also measured serum levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH).Main Outcome MeasureThe effects of astressin on sexual behavior and serum levels of ACTH in rats affected by psychological stress were determined.ResultsSexual behavior was reduced after psychological stress loading. The PS rats had significantly longer mount, intromission, and ejaculation latencies and lower ejaculation frequency than did the control, A, and PS + A rats. The intromission latency and ejaculation frequency in the PS + A rats did not achieve the level observed in the controls. There was no significant difference in these parameters between the control and A rats. Serum ACTH levels were significantly lower in PS + A rats than in PS rats.ConclusionsPsychologically suppressed masculine sexual behavior could be partially recovered with astressin administration in rats. These data provide a rationale for the further study of CRF receptor antagonists as novel agents for treating psychological sexual disorders.
Chemosensory function of amphibian skin: integrating epithelial transport, capillary blood flow and behaviour
Authors: Hillyard S. D. , Willumsen N. J. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractTerrestrial anuran amphibians absorb water across specialized regions of skin on the posterioventral region of their bodies. Rapid water absorption is mediated by the insertion of aquaporins into the apical membrane of the outermost cell layer. Water moves out of the epithelium via aquaglyceroporins in the basolateral membrane and into the circulation in conjunction with increased capillary blood flow to the skin and aquaporins in the capillary endothelial cells. These physiological responses are activated by intrinsic stimuli relating to the animals’ hydration status and extrinsic stimuli relating to the detection of osmotically available water. The integration of these processes has been studied using behavioural observations in conjunction with neurophysiological recordings and studies of epithelial transport. These studies have identified plasma volume and urinary bladder stores as intrinsic stimuli that activate the formation of angiotensin II (AII) to stimulate water absorption behaviour. The coordinated increase in water permeability and capillary blood flow appears to be mediated primarily by sympathetic stimulation of beta adrenergic receptors, although the neurohypopyseal hormone arginine vasotocin (AVT) may also play a role. Extrinsic stimuli relate primarily to the ionic and osmotic properties of hydration sources. Toads avoid NaCl solutions that have been shown to be harmful in acute exposure, approx. 200–250 mm. The avoidance is partially attenuated by amiloride raising the hypothesis that the mechanism for salt detection by toads resembles that for salt taste in mammals that take in water by mouth. In this model, depolarization of the basolateral membrane of taste cells is coupled to afferent neural stimulation. In toad skin we have identified innervation of skin epithelial cells by branches of spinal nerves and measured neural responses to NaCl solutions that elicit behavioural avoidance. These same concentrations produce depolarization of the basolateral membrane in isolated epithelial preparations. As with salt taste in mammals, the neural responses and depolarization of basolateral membrane potential are partially inhibited by amiloride. In addition, toads are more tolerant of sodium gluconate solution which is consistent with the phenomenon in mammalian taste physiology termed the anion paradox in which sodium salts with larger molecular weight anions produce a reduced intensity of salt taste. Finally, toads also avoid concentrated solutions of a non‐electrolyte, mannitol, which differs from NaCl solutions in not affecting transepithelial conductance and requires a longer time to depolarize the basolateral membrane. Osmotic stimuli may mediate sensory processes for longer term detection of conditions with low water potential while ionic stimuli are more important for shorter term analysis of rehydration sources.
Syntactic Priming Effects in Comprehension: A Critical Review
Authors: Tooley Kristen M. , Traxler Matthew J. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractSyntactic priming occurs when processing of a target sentence is facilitated following processing of a prime sentence that has the same syntactic structure (Bock, 1986Cognitive Psychology, 18. 355–387). Syntactic priming has been widely investigated in production (Bock, 1986Cognitive Psychology, 18. 355–387; Bock and Griffin, 2000General.129(2). 177–192; Cleland and Pickering, 2003.Journal of Memory and Language, 49. 214–230; Cleland and Pickering 2006.Journal of Memory and Language, 54. 185–198; Pickering and Branigan, 1998.Journal of Memory and Language, 39. 633–651; and others), but only relatively recently in comprehension (Arai et al. 2007.Cognitive Psychology, 54(3). 218–250; Ledoux et al., 2007.Psychological Science. 18(2). 135–143; and others). This article reviews the current literature on syntactic priming in comprehension and contrasts these findings to those in production. Critically, syntactic priming effects in comprehension are observed more often when prime and target sentences share a content word, whereas in production, these effects are often observed when there are no shared content words between the primes and targets. Possible explanations for the differing degrees of lexical dependency between syntactic priming effects in production and in comprehension are posed and include differences in task paradigms and stimuli, differences in time course and syntactic processing between the two modalities, and mechanistic differences. Implications from the reviewed literature are then considered in attempts at determining the most likely mechanistic explanation for syntactic priming effects in both comprehension and production. A residual activation account (Pickering and Branigan, 1998.Journal of Memory and Language, 39. 633–651), an implicit learning account (Bock and Griffin, 2000General.129(2). 177–192; Chang et al. 2006.Psychological Review, 113(2). 234–272), and a dual mechanism account (Tooley, 2009. Is Syntactic Priming in Sentence Comprehension Really Just Implicit Learning? Paper presented to the22nd Annual CUNY Conference on Human Sentence Processing, Davis, March 26–28) are outlined. The dual mechanism account may prove more consistent with a wider range of the reviewed research findings.
From ‘Evolutionary Turn’ to ‘Territorial Resources’: The New Trajectories of Innovation in Provence, France
Authors: Daviet Sylvie , Monge Romain 
Published: October 2010

AbstractThis article provides a comparative insight of two theoretical frameworks: the ‘Evolutionary Turn’ of Evolutionary Economic Geography (EEG) developed notably by Ron Boschma, Ron Martin and Peter Sunley, and the new works of the GREMI1 group, developed notably by Roberto Camagni, Denis Maillat and Andrée Matteaccioli. EEG assets that the economic landscape is influenced by ‘path dependence’ and witnesses a strong capacity of evolution and adaptation. The GREMI, on the other hand, has recently been focusing on natural and cultural resources that are able to generate new forms of local development in the long term. These ‘territorial resources’ are exploited by an innovative ‘milieu’ that plays a key role in coordinating this process. By studying the competitive cluster of perfumes, aromas, flavors and fragrances in Provence (France) that develops a relatively new industry built on historical and territorial specificities of place and landscape, we will argue that these two approaches are complementary. After highlighting the main contributions of both theories, we will then present the historical framework of old industries like soap of Marseilles. Next, we will focus on the ideological turn that occurred in the 1970s with the emergent notion of authenticity and the capacity of the local milieu to convert latent resources into active resources. The concluding section will emphasize the role played by regional actors in setting these new trajectories in motion, without underestimating the persistent or new deadlocks, and it will also draw lessons and perspectives from this research.
Information Privacy: Networks of Regulation at the Subglobal Level
Authors: Raab Charles D. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractRegulating personal information processing to protect privacy in the face of strong threats occurs at many jurisdictional levels. Recent efforts among data protection authorities (DPAs) have emphasised the need for transborder collaboration in enforcement and other tasks, and they have organised themselves to undertake this work. Network and group formation and activity among DPAs has increased at global and subglobal levels, aimed at concerting regulatory practices and principles as well as at developing institutionalised infrastructures for greater continuity and effectiveness. This article identifies and describes the many cross‐cutting associations through which this activity takes place at the subglobal level as they interact with wider global efforts in this field, and briefly assesses the prospects for further development.Policy Implications

Global threats to information privacy should be mitigated by the further development of institutions and instruments for data protection at the global level.
Subglobal developments in data protection will remain important to this, in providing arenas for practical cooperation among data protection authorities, and should be encouraged.
Organisational development beyond current networks and groups at both global and subglobal levels will require permanent institutional machinery and resources.
The value of regulation beyond individual jurisdictional boundaries will depend on achievements more than on the further promulgation of resolutions and declarations, although the latter can be instrumental for the former.
Poloxamer 407 as a general lipase inhibitor: its implications in lipid metabolism and atheroma formation in C57BL/6 mice
Authors: Johnston Thomas P 
Published: October 2010

Abstract

Objectives
The aims of this investigation were to determine if the activity of endothelial lipase was inhibited in vitro by the polymeric surfactant, poloxamer 407 (P-407), and to review the action of P-407 on the biological activity of several other critical lipases involved in lipid metabolism. The overall goal was to suggest a possible explanation for the observed dyslipidaemia and formation of aortic atherosclerotic lesions when present and previous findings, along with key findings proposed by others, were combined and reviewed in the context of the P-407-induced mouse model of atherogenesis.

Key findings
Endothelial lipase was expressed using a recombinant adenovirus; subconfluent COS cells were exposed to recombinant adenoviruses and triglyceride lipase activity was determined using standard assay methods. It was demonstrated that P-407 inactivates endothelial lipase in vitro. Endothelial lipase was inhibited in vitro by P-407, with an IC50 of approximately 11.3 µm. It is suggested that one possible explanation for the eventual formation of aortic atherosclerotic lesions in the P-407-induced mouse model of atherogenesis may be related to the capacity of P-407 to inhibit the activity of several critical lipases involved in lipid metabolism.

Conclusions
The following physiological and biochemical processes are all observed in the P-407-induced mouse model of dyslipidaemia and atherosclerosis: inactivation of endo-thelial lipase (both in vitro and in vivo), hepatic lipase and lipoprotein lipase by P-407; reduced plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; no activation of either human or mouse peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (as well as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ) in vitro or in vivo; increased plasma concentrations of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and soluble E-selectin; and aortic atherosclerotic lesion formation following 12–16 weeks of P-407 administration (0.5 g/kg administered every 3 days by intraperitoneal injection). This biochemical-based pathway, or series of events, may contribute, in part, to the dyslipidaemia and eventual formation of aortic atherosclerotic lesions observed in the P-407-induced mouse model of atherogenesis.
Hypoxic preconditioning facilitates acclimatization to hypobaric hypoxia in rat heart
Authors: Singh Mrinalini , Shukla Dhananjay , Thomas Pauline , Saxena Saurabh , Bansal Anju 
Published: October 2010

Abstract

Objectives
Acute systemic hypoxia induces delayed cardioprotection against ischaemia-reperfusion injury in the heart. As cobalt chloride (CoCl2) is known to elicit hypoxia-like –responses, it was hypothesized that this chemical would mimic the preconditioning effect and facilitate acclimatization to hypobaric hypoxia in rat heart.

Methods
Male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with distilled water or cobalt chloride (12.5 mg Co/kg for 7 days) were exposed to simulated altitude at 7622 m for different time periods (1, 2, 3 and 5 days).

Key findings
Hypoxic preconditioning with cobalt appreciably attenuated hypobaric hypoxia-induced oxidative damage as observed by a decrease in free radical (reactive oxygen species) generation, oxidation of lipids and proteins. Interestingly, the observed effect was due to increased expression of the antioxidant proteins hemeoxygenase and metallothionein, as no significant change was observed in antioxidant enzyme activity. Hypoxic preconditioning with cobalt increased hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) expression as well as HIF-1 DNA binding activity, which further resulted in increased expression of HIF-1 regulated genes such as erythropoietin, vascular endothelial growth factor and glucose transporter. A significant decrease was observed in lactate dehydrogenase activity and lactate levels in the heart of preconditioned animals compared with non-preconditioned animals exposed to hypoxia.

Conclusions
The results showed that hypoxic preconditioning with cobalt induces acclimatization by up-regulation of hemeoxygenase 1 and metallothionein 1 via HIF-1 stabilization.
Muscarinic M1, M3 receptor modulation in the corpus striatum of streptozotocin induced diabetic rats as a function of age
Authors: Savitha Balakrishnan , Kumar Peeyush , Pretty Mary A , Naijil George , Paulose Chiramadathikudiyil S 
Published: October 2010

AbstractObjectivesIn this study we have investigated muscarinic M1, M3 receptor kinetics and the functional role of IP3 and cGMP in the corpus striatum of both young and old diabetic and insulin-treated diabetic rats.MethodsRadioreceptor binding assays was done in the corpus striatum using specific antagonists QNB and DAMP. IP3 and cGMP assay using [3H]IP3 and [3H]cGMP Biotrak assay system kits.Key findingsM1 receptor increased and M3 receptor decreased in control old rats when compared with young control rats. In young diabetic groups M1 receptor increased and M3 receptor decreased. Old diabetic groups showed reversed M1 and M3 receptors compared with their controls. IP3 and cGMP content increased in old control rats compared with young control rats. IP3 content increased in young diabetic rats and decreased in old diabetic rats. cGMP content was increased significantly in both young and old diabetic groups. Insulin treatment reversed these altered parameters near to control.ConclusionsOur studies showed that M1 and M3 receptors, IP3 and cGMP were functionally regulated during diabetes as function of age, which will have immense clinical significance.
Resveratrol improves cardiovascular function and reduces oxidative organ damage in the renal, cardiovascular and cerebral tissues of two-kidney, one-clip hypertensive rats
Authors: Toklu Hale Z , Şehirli Özer , Erşahin Mehmet , Süleymanoğlu Selami , Yiğiner Ömer , Emekli-Alturfan Ebru , Yarat Ayşen , Yeğen Berrak Ç , Şener Göksel 
Published: October 2010

Abstract

Objectives
The putative protective effects of resveratrol against oxidative injury in the heart, kidney and brain tissues of rats induced with the two-kidney, one-clip (2K1C) hypertension model were investigated.

Methods
Wistar albino rats were divided into sham-operated (n = 8) or 2K1C groups, in which rats received either resveratrol (10 mg/kg per day, i.p., n = 8), or saline (n = 8) starting at Week 3 after the surgery and continuing for the following 6 weeks. Indirect blood pressure recordings and echocardiographic images were made to evaluate cardiac function. At the end of Week 9 the animals were decapitated and plasma, heart, kidney and brain were taken for biochemical assays, while aortic rings were prepared for vascular reactivity studies.

Key findings
2K1C hypertension resulted in increased blood pressure, aortic hypercontractility and reduced left ventricular function, leading to increased lipid peroxidation and myeloperoxidase activity, concomitant with significant reductions in tissue glutathione, superoxide dismutase, Na+/K+-ATPase and catalase activities in the cardiac, renal and brain tissues, indicating the presence of oxidative tissue damage in peripheral target organs. Elevated plasma levels of lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, as well as reduced plasma levels of antioxidant capacity and nitric oxide further verified the severity of oxidative injury. A 6-week treatment with resveratrol reversed all the measured parameters, ameliorated hypertension-induced oxidative injury in the target organs and improved cardiovascular function.

Conclusions
Resveratrol improved cardiovascular function through the augmentation of endogenous antioxidants and the inhibition of lipid peroxidation by maintaining a balance in oxidant/antioxidant status, which also ameliorated hypertension-induced oxidative injury in the cardiac, renal and cerebral tissues.