bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Identification of 5‐HT2C mediated mechanisms involved in urethral sphincter reflexes in a guinea‐pig model of urethral function
Authors: Conlon Kelly , Miner Wes , McCleary Scott , McMurray Gordon 
Published: December 2011

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?Preclinically, studies investigating urethral function have shown that the clinical benefit of agents such as duloxetine may partly reflect increases in urethral striated muscle activity via a central mode of action. Duloxetine has been shown to inhibit the presynaptic reuptake of 5‐HT and norepinephrine in Onuf's nucleus, leading to an increased activity of pudendal motor neurones and a subsequent increase in the strength of urethral sphincter contractions. Preclinical studies have postulated a role for both 5‐HT2C receptors and 5‐HT2A receptors in external urethral sphincter (EUS) function, with differences between species that may reflect the differing physiological roles of the EUS in different preclinical species. The present study therefore aimed to investigate the 5‐HT receptor subtype involved in EUS function in the guinea‐pig.The in vivo data reported in the present study suggest that the effects of clinical agents used to treat stress urinary incontinence, which enhance serotonergic drive, may be mediated, at least in part, via 5‐HT2C receptors.OBJECTIVE
To elucidate the subtype of 5‐HT receptor involved in urethral function using a preclinical model of urethral function.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The effects of the 5‐HT2C agonist Ro 600‐175 were investigated by measuring the urethral pressure profile in anaesthetized guinea‐pigs together with antagonists at 5‐HT2A, 5‐HT2B and 5‐HT2C receptor subtypes.
RESULTS
Ro 600‐175 increased peak urethral pressure in a dose‐dependent manner
This effect was reversed by the selective 5‐HT2C antagonist SB 242084
Neither the 5‐HT2A antagonist MDL 100907, nor the 5‐HT2B antagonist SB 240741 had any significant effect on the response.
CONCLUSIONS
The clinical benefit of drugs used to treat stress urinary incontinence through enhanced serotonergic and adrenergic drive may be mediated, at least in part, via 5‐HT2C receptors
Selective 5‐HT2C agonism increases urethral tone, and hence provides an opportunity for developing new pharmacotherapies for stress urinary incontinence with reduced side‐effects.
A temperate palaeodiversity peak in Mesozoic dinosaurs and evidence for Late Cretaceous geographical partitioning
Authors: Mannion Philip D. , Benson Roger B. J. , Upchurch Paul , Butler Richard J. , Carrano Matthew T. , Barrett Paul M. 
Published: December 2011

ABSTRACTAim  Modern biodiversity peaks in the tropics and declines poleward, a pattern that is potentially driven by climate. Although this latitudinal biodiversity gradient (LBG) also characterizes the marine invertebrate fossil record, distributions of ancient terrestrial faunas are poorly understood. This study utilizes data on the dinosaur fossil record to examine spatial patterns in terrestrial biodiversity throughout the Mesozoic.Location  We compiled data on fossil occurrences across the globe.Methods  We compiled a comprehensive dataset of Mesozoic dinosaur genera (738), including birds. Following the utilization of sampling standardization techniques to mediate for the uneven sampling of the fossil record, we constructed latitudinal patterns of biodiversity from this dataset.Results  The dominant group of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates did not conform to the modern LBG. Instead, dinosaur diversity was highest at temperate palaeolatitudes throughout the 160 million year span of dinosaurian evolutionary history. Latitudinal diversity correlates strongly with the distribution of land area. Late Cretaceous sauropods and ornithischians exhibit disparate LBGs.Main conclusions  The continuity of the palaeotemperate peak in dinosaur diversity indicates a diminished role for climate on the Mesozoic LBG; instead, dinosaur diversity may have been driven by the amount of land area among latitudinal belts. There is no evidence that the tropics acted as a cradle for dinosaur diversity. Geographical partitioning among major clades of herbivorous dinosaurs in the Late Cretaceous may result from the advanced stages of continental fragmentation and/or differing responses to increasing latitudinal climatic zonation. Our results suggest that the modern‐day LBG on land was only established 30 million years ago, following a significant post‐Eocene recalibration, potentially related to increased seasonality.
Vertebrate metacommunity structure along an extensive elevational gradient in the tropics: a comparison of bats, rodents and birds
Authors: Presley Steven J. , Cisneros Laura M. , Patterson Bruce D. , Willig Michael R. 
Published: December 2011

ABSTRACTAim  We evaluated the structure of metacommunities for each of three vertebrate orders (Chiroptera, Rodentia and Passeriformes) along an extensive elevational gradient. Using elevation as a proxy for variation in abiotic characteristics and the known elevational distributions of habitat types, we assessed the extent to which variation in those factors may structure each metacommunity based on taxon‐specific characteristics.Location  Manu Biosphere Reserve in the Peruvian Andes.Methods  Metacommunity structure is an emergent property of a set of species distributions across geographic or environmental gradients. We analysed elements of metacommunity structure (coherence, range turnover and range boundary clumping) to determine the best‐fit structure for each metacommunity along an elevational gradient comprising 13 250‐m elevational intervals and 58 species of rodent, 92 species of bat or 586 species of passerine.Results  For each taxon, the environmental gradient along which the metacommunity was structured was highly correlated with elevation. Clementsian structure (i.e. groups of species replacing other such groups along the gradient) characterized rodents, with a group of species that was characteristic of rain forests and a group of species that was characteristic of higher elevation habitats (i.e. above 1500 m). Distributions of bats were strongly nested, with more montane communities comprising subsets of species at lower elevations. The structure of the passerine metacommunity was complex and most consistent with a quasi‐Clementsian structure.Main conclusions  Each metacommunity exhibited a different structure along the same elevational gradient, and each structure can be accounted for by taxon‐specific responses to local environmental factors that vary predictably with elevation. The structures of rodent and bird metacommunities suggest species sorting associated with habitat specializations, whereas structure of the bat metacommunity is probably moulded by a combination of species‐specific tolerances to increasingly cold, low‐productivity environs of higher elevations and the diversity and abundance of food resources associated with particular habitat types.
Career Change and the Iron Cage: Organizations and the Early Labour Market Experience of Professional Managers
Authors: Dobrev Stanislav D. 
Published: December 2011

abstractAlthough it is often acknowledged that organizational structure and career outcomes are related, developed theory on how formal features of the design affect inter‐firm job mobility is incomplete. I focus on organizational size and structural differentiation and relate them to ideas about internal labour markets, organizational senescence, bureaucratic complexity, and resource endowments. Analysing data on the early career histories of professional managers, I find that the negative effect of organizational size on quits weakens with organizational age while a firm's elaborate hierarchy monotonically increases quits in all but very large firms. I interpret these effects as potential mechanisms for linking demographic processes between and within organizations and as a basis for integrating research in corporate demography and career mobility.
The Relative Value Relevance of Shareholder versus Stakeholder Corporate Governance Disclosure Policy Reforms in South Africa
Authors: Ntim Collins G. , Opong Kwaku K. , Danbolt Jo 
Published: December 2011

ABSTRACTManuscript Type: EmpiricalResearch Question/Issue: South Africa (SA) has pursued distinctive corporate governance (CG) disclosure policy reforms in the form of the King Reports, which require firms to disclose a set of recommended good CG practices on both shareholders and stakeholders. This paper investigates the effect of the new shareholder and stakeholder CG disclosure rules on firm value, as well as the relative value relevance of disclosing good CG practices on shareholders versus stakeholders.Research Findings/Insights: Using a sample of 169 SA listed firms from 2002 to 2007, we find that disclosing good CG practices on both shareholders and stakeholders impacts positively on firm value, with the latter evidence providing new explicit support for the resource dependence theory. However, we provide additional new evidence, which suggests that disclosing shareholder CG practices contributes significantly more to firm value than stakeholder ones. Our results are robust to controlling for different types of endogeneities.Theoretical/Academic Implications: The paper generally contributes to the literature on the association between disclosure of CG practices and firm value by specifically modeling the relationship within a unique institutional and CG environment. Specifically, we make two new contributions to the extant literature. First, we show how stakeholder CG disclosure practices impact on firm value. Second, we provide evidence on the relative value relevance of disclosing shareholder and stakeholder CG practices.Practical/Policy Implications: Our results have important policy and regulatory implications, especially for authorities in other developing countries facing socio‐economic problems that are currently contemplating or pursuing CG disclosure policy reforms. Since our evidence indicates that additional value can be created for firms that provide more transparent information on stakeholder CG practices, it provides authorities in other emerging countries currently planning or pursing CG reforms with a strong motivation to formally extend CG disclosure rules to cover both shareholder and stakeholder provisions.
Martyrdom: A Philosophical Perspective
Authors: Verbin N. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractMartyrdom has played and continues to play a dominant role in the religious imagination of many. Jews and Christians alike conceive of their martyrs as exceptional people of faith who express exceptional love and devotion to God. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the conceptual features of martyrdom by virtue of which it has its role and to show, using those very features and using Simone Weil's observations, that martyrdom cannot mark the logical climax of the believer's love of God.
Special and Differential Treatment of Developing Countries and Export Promotion Policies under the WTO
Authors: Mah Jai S. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractThis paper explains the export promotion measures that can be utilised by developing countries under the current World Trade Organization (WTO) system and compares the WTO Members’ proposals on modification of export promotion provisions in the Doha Development Agenda negotiations. Non‐reciprocity between developed countries and developing countries in favour of the latter needs to be strengthened in modifying the current WTO regulations, because of the very different levels of economic development between those two groups of countries. Therefore, from the viewpoint of ‘distributional fairness’, it suggests ways of modifying special and differential treatment provisions applied to export promotion policies of developing economies in the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures of the WTO.
Politicizing Brandom's Pragmatism: Normativity and the Agonal Character of Social Practice
Authors: Fossen Thomas 
Published: December 2011

AbstractThis paper provides an agonistic interpretation of Robert Brandom's social‐pragmatic account of normativity. I argue that social practice, on this approach, should be seen not just as cooperative, but also as contestatory. This aspect, which has so far remained implicit, helps to illuminate Brandom's claim that normative statuses are ‘instituted’ by social practices: normative statuses are brought into play in mutual engagement, and are only in play from an engaged social perspective among others. Moreover, in contrast to a positivist or conventionalist understanding of Brandom's work, it shows that the possibility of a critical stance toward existing practices is not only compatible with, but already implicit in this form of pragmatism. This can be made explicit with the notion of farcical practices: practices that are treated merely as if they institute genuine commitments and entitlements. Interpreting a practice as farcical is taking a critical stance toward it, and this possibility is inherent in Brandom's theoretical framework. This opens the way for a fruitful appropriation of Brandom's pragmatism for social and political philosophy.
A randomized two‐sided placebo‐controlled study on the efficacy and safety of atmospheric non‐thermal argon plasma for pruritus
Authors: Heinlin J. , Isbary G. , Stolz W. , Zeman F. , Landthaler M. , Morfill G. , Shimizu T. , Zimmermann J.L. , Karrer S. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractBackground  To look into new potential indications for physical plasma and because some reports suggest plasma having antipruritic effects, we investigated the treatment of pruritus that often represents a therapeutic challenge.Objectives  To assess the efficacy and safety of cold atmospheric argon plasma as add‐on‐therapy in pruritic diseases.Methods  We treated 46 patients with various pruritic diseases with cold plasma for 2 min daily in addition to standard treatment. All patients served as their own control, when their pruritic disease was treated with argon gas (placebo). The outcome measure was a long‐term and short‐term reduction in itching measured by means of a visual analogue score (VAS).Results  The VAS scores at baseline were comparable (plasma 4.57, SD 2.38, argon 4.34, SD 2.35). We did not find any significant differences in VAS reduction between plasma and argon: long‐term VAS difference of 1.97 (SD 1.33) for plasma and 1.74 (SD 2.37) for argon [P = 0.224, 95% CI: (−0.15; 0.60)], short‐term VAS difference of 1.92 (SD 1.33) for plasma and 1.97 (SD 1.29) for argon [P = 0.544, 95% CI: (−0.21; 0.11)]. In both groups, patients experienced a significant reduction of pruritus at the end of therapy compared to baseline [plasma 1.97 (P < 0.0001), placebo 1.74 [P < 0.0001)]. No relevant side effects occurred, and treatment was well tolerated.Conclusions  Treatment with cold plasma did not result in higher pruritus reduction than treatment with placebo. A significant reduction of pruritus compared to no effect was found at the end of therapy in both groups. Both treatment options had similar safety profiles.
Mephedrone, an abused psychoactive component of ‘bath salts’ and methamphetamine congener, does not cause neurotoxicity to dopamine nerve endings of the striatum
Authors: Angoa‐Pérez Mariana , Kane Michael J. , Francescutti Dina M. , Sykes Katherine E. , Shah Mrudang M. , Mohammed Abiy M. , Thomas David M. , Kuhn Donald M. 
Published: December 2011

J. Neurochem. (2012) 120, 1097–1107.AbstractMephedrone (4‐methylmethcathinone) is a β‐ketoamphetamine with close structural analogy to substituted amphetamines and cathinone derivatives. Abuse of mephedrone has increased dramatically in recent years and has become a significant public health problem in the United States and Europe. Unfortunately, very little information is available on the pharmacological and neurochemical actions of mephedrone. In light of the proven abuse potential of mephedrone and considering its similarity to methamphetamine and methcathinone, it is particularly important to know if mephedrone shares with these agents an ability to cause damage to dopamine nerve endings of the striatum. Accordingly, we treated mice with a binge‐like regimen of mephedrone (4 × 20 or 40 mg/kg) and examined the striatum for evidence of neurotoxicity 2 or 7 days after treatment. While mephedrone caused hyperthermia and locomotor stimulation, it did not lower striatal levels of dopamine, tyrosine hydroxylase or the dopamine transporter under any of the treatment conditions used presently. Furthermore, mephedrone did not cause microglial activation in striatum nor did it increase glial fibrillary acidic protein levels. Taken together, these surprising results suggest that mephedrone, despite its numerous mechanistic overlaps with methamphetamine and the cathinone derivatives, does not cause neurotoxicity to dopamine nerve endings of the striatum.
Nicotine stimulates secretion of corticosterone via both CRH and AVP receptors
Authors: Lutfy Kabirullah , Aimiuwu Otaren , Mangubat Michael , Shin Chang‐Sung , Nerio Namiko , Gomez Richard , Liu Yanjun , Friedman Theodore C. 
Published: December 2011

J. Neurochem. (2012) 120, 1108–1116.AbstractCorticosterone‐releasing hormone (CRH) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) are crucial components of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis that stimulates the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone from the pituitary and mediate the stress response. CRH binds to two subtypes of CRH receptors (CRH‐R1 and CRH‐R2) that are present in both central and peripheral tissues. We used the CRH‐R1‐specific antagonist, antalarmin (ANT), the CRH‐R1 and CRH‐R2 peptide antagonist, astressin (AST), and the CRH‐R2‐specific peptide antagonist, astressin2b (AST2b), to determine which CRH receptor is involved in the nicotine‐stimulated secretion of corticosterone. Male C57BL/6 mice were administered ANT (20 mg/kg, i.p.), AST (0.3 mg/kg, i.p.), AST2b (0.3 mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle prior to administration of nicotine (1.0 mg/kg, s.c.), CRH (10 μg/kg, s.c.), AVP (10 μg/kg, s.c.) or saline (s.c.), killed 15 min later and trunk blood collected and assayed for corticosterone plasma levels. We found that CRH enhanced corticosterone release, and this response was blocked by both AST and ANT. Nicotine also increased corticosterone secretion, but this effect persisted in the presence of either CRH antagonist. Furthermore, AST but not ANT or AST2b decreased corticosterone levels associated with stress of handling and injection. We also assessed the role of AVP V1b‐specific receptor antagonist, SSR149415 alone and in combination with AST and AST2b. Although the AVP antagonist did not alter basal or nicotine‐stimulated corticosterone secretion, it attenuated the AVP‐induced stimulation of corticosterone and its combination with AST but not AST2b completely abolished nicotine‐mediated stimulation of corticosterone secretion. Our results demonstrate that the nicotine‐induced stimulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis is mediated by both the CRH‐R and the AVP V1b receptor and when the CRH receptor is blocked, nicotine may utilize the AVP V1b receptor to mediate secretion of corticosterone. These results argue in favor of the development of specific antagonists that block both AVP and CRH receptors to decrease the pleasurable component of nicotine, which may be mediated by corticosterone.
Retracted: The serine protease inhibitor neuroserpin regulates the growth and maturation of hippocampal neurons through a non‐inhibitory mechanism
Authors: Lee Tet Woo , Montgomery Johanna M. , Birch Nigel P. 
Published: December 2011

J. Neurochem. (2012) 121, 561–574.AbstractNeuroserpin is a brain‐specific serine protease inhibitor that is expressed in the developing and adult nervous system. Its expression profile led to suggestions that it played roles in neuronal growth and connectivity. In this study, we provide direct evidence to support a role for neuroserpin in axon and dendritic growth. We report that axon growth is enhanced while axon and dendrite diameter are reduced following neuroserpin treatment of hippocampal neurons. More complex effects are seen on dendritic growth and branching with neuroserpin‐stimulating dendritic growth and branching in young neurons but switching to an inhibitory response in older neurons. The protease inhibitory activity of neuroserpin is not required to activate changes in neuronal morphology and a proportion of responses are modulated by an antagonist to the LRP1 receptor. Collectively, these findings support a key role for neuroserpin as a regulator of neuronal development through a non‐inhibitory mechanism and suggest a basis for neuroserpin’s effects on complex emotional behaviours and recent link to schizophrenia.
Activation of NK1 receptors in the locus coeruleus induces analgesia through noradrenergic‐mediated descending inhibition in a rat model of neuropathic pain
Authors: Muto Y , Sakai A , Sakamoto A , Suzuki H 
Published: December 2011

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSEThe locus coeruleus (LC) is a major source of noradrenergic projections to the dorsal spinal cord, and thereby plays an important role in the modulation of nociceptive information. The LC receives inputs from substance P (SP)‐containing fibres from other regions, and expresses the NK1 tachykinin receptor, a functional receptor for SP. In the present study, we investigated the roles of SP in the LC in neuropathic pain.EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHChronic constriction injury (CCI) of the left sciatic nerve was performed in rats to induce neuropathic pain. After development of neuropathic pain, SP was injected into the LC and the nocifensive behaviours were assessed. The involvement of noradrenergic descending inhibition in SP‐induced analgesia was examined by i.t. administration of yohimbine, an α2‐adrenoceptor antagonist. NK1 receptor expression in the LC was examined by immunohistochemistry.KEY RESULTSIn CCI rats, mechanical allodynia was alleviated by SP injection into the LC. These effects were abolished by prior injection of WIN 51708, an NK1 receptor antagonist, into the LC or i.t. treatment with yohimbine. NK1 receptor‐like immunoreactivity was observed in noradrenergic neurons throughout the LC in intact rats, and remained unchanged after CCI.CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONSSP in the LC exerted analgesic effects on neuropathic pain through NK1 receptor activation and resulted in facilitation of spinal noradrenergic transmission. Accordingly, manipulation of the SP/NK1 receptor signalling pathway in the LC may be a promising strategy for effective treatment of neuropathic pain.
3D‐Sutra—Interactive Analysis Tool for a Web Atlas of Scanned Sutra Inscriptions in China
Authors: Schmidt Natalie , Schütze Rainer , Boochs Frank 
Published: December 2011

AbstractBuddhist stone inscriptions of the 8th to 12th centuries ad are important cultural assets of China that need to be documented, analysed and interpreted archaeologically, art‐historically and linguistically. On the one hand, such Buddhist stone inscriptions have to be conserved for future generations, but on the other hand, further possibilities for analysing the data could be achieved if the inscriptions were made accessible to a wider community, for instance, for understanding of the historical growth of Buddhism in China. In this paper, innovative techniques for the documentation of stone inscriptions located in the province of Sichuan, in the south‐west of China, are demonstrated. The tasks to be performed include capturing the stone inscriptions by using high precision measuring techniques to generate copies of the original inscriptions, together with processing of the data enabling improvement in the legibility of characters and thus aiding the interpretation of the inscriptions. The concept and features of image processing as applied to the captured inscriptions are outlined. In order to present the outcome to as many people as possible and to allow individual interpretations of the results of the stone inscription reconstruction, their current interpretation and additional 2D/3D maps are published within an interactive web platform.