bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Enzyme replacement therapy for mucopolysaccharidosis VI: evaluation of long‐term pulmonary function in patients treated with recombinant human N‐acetylgalactosamine 4‐sulfatase
Authors: Harmatz Paul , Yu Zi‐Fan , Giugliani Roberto , Schwartz Ida Vanessa D. , Guffon Nathalie , Teles Elisa Leão , Miranda M. Clara Sá , Wraith J. Edmond , Beck Michael , Arash Laila , Scarpa Maurizio , Ketteridge David , Hopwood John J. , Plecko Barbara , Steiner Robert , Whitley Chester B , Kaplan Paige , Swiedler Stuart J. , Hardy Karen , Berger Kenneth I. , Decker Celeste 
Published: February 2010

AbstractPulmonary function is impaired in untreated mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (MPS VI). Pulmonary function was studied in patients during long‐term enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with recombinant human arylsulfatase B (rhASB; rhN‐acetylgalactosamine 4‐sulfatase). Pulmonary function tests prior to and for up to 240 weeks of weekly infusions of rhASB at 1 mg/kg were completed in 56 patients during Phase 1/2, Phase 2, Phase 3 and Phase 3 Extension trials of rhASB and the Survey Study. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and, in a subset of patients, maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV), were analyzed as absolute volume in liters. FEV1 and FVC showed little change from baseline during the first 24 weeks of ERT, but after 96 weeks, these parameters increased over baseline by 11% and 17%, respectively. This positive trend compared with baseline continued beyond 96 weeks of treatment. Improvements from baseline in pulmonary function occurred along with gains in height in the younger group (5.5% change) and in the older patient group (2.4% change) at 96 weeks. Changes in MVV occurred earlier within 24 weeks of treatment to approximately 15% over baseline. Model results based on data from all trials showed significant improvements in the rate of change in pulmonary function during 96 weeks on ERT, whereas little or no improvement was observed for the same time period prior to ERT. Thus, analysis of mean percent change data and longitudinal modeling both indicate that long‐term ERT resulted in improvement in pulmonary function in MPS VI patients.
Sensitivity of a Direct Computer-aided Detection System in Full-field Digital Mammography for Detection of Microcalcifications Not Associated with Mass or Architectural Distortion
Authors: Scaranelo Anabel M. , Crystal Pavel , Bukhanov Karina , Helbich Thomas H. 
Published: February 2010

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of a direct computer-aided detection (CAD) system (d-CAD) in full-field digital mammography (FFDM) for the detection of microcalcifications not associated with mass or architectural distortion. Materials and Methods A database search of 1063 consecutive stereotactic core biopsies performed between 2002 and 2005 identified 196 patients with Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) 4 and 5 microcalcifications not associated with mass or distortion detected exclusively by bilateral FFDM. A commercially available CAD system (Second Look, version 7.2) was retrospectively applied to the craniocaudal and mediolateral oblique views in these patients (mean age, 59 years; range, 35–84 years). Breast density, location and mammographic size of the lesion, distribution, and tumour histology were recorded and analysed by using χ2, Fisher exact, or McNemar tests, when applicable. Results When using d-CAD, 71 of 74 malignant microcalcification cases (96%) and 101 of 122 benign microcalcifications (83%) were identified. There was a significant difference ( P < .05) between CAD sensitivity on the craniocaudal view, 91% (68 of 75), vs CAD sensitivity on the mediolateral oblique view, 80% (60 of 75). The d-CAD sensitivity for dense breast tissue (American College of Radiology [ACR] density 3 and 4) was higher (97%) than d-CAD sensitivity (95%) for nondense tissue (ACR density 1 and 2), but the difference was not statically significant. All 28 malignant calcifications larger than 10 mm were detected by CAD, whereas the sensitivity for lesions small than or equal to 10 mm was 94%. Conclusions D-CAD had a high sensitivity in the depiction of asymptomatic breast cancers, which were seen as microcalcifications on FFDM screening, with a sensitivity of d-CAD on the craniocaudal view being significantly better. All malignant microcalcifications larger than 10 mm were detected by d-CAD.
Melatonin and the time window for the expression of the α8 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in the membrane of chick retinal cells in culture
Authors: de Fatima Sobral Sampaio Lucia , Markus Regina Pekelmann 
Published: February 2010

AbstractWe have previously shown that melatonin influences the development of α8 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) by measurement of the acetylcholine‐induced increase in the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) in chick retinal cell cultures. Cellular differentiation that takes place between DIV (days in vitro) 4 and DIV 5 yields cells expressing α8 nAChR and results in a significant increase in the ECAR acetylcholine‐induced. Blocking melatonin receptors with luzindole for 48 h suppresses the development of functional α8 nAChR. Here we investigated the time window for the effect of melatonin on retinal cell development in culture, and whether this effect was dependent on an increase in the expression of α8 nAChR. First, we confirmed that luzindole was inhibiting the effects of endogenous melatonin, since it increases 2‐[125I] iodomelatonin (23 pM) binding sites density in a time‐dependent manner. Then we observed that acute (15, 60 min, or 12 h) luzindole treatment did not impair acetylcholine‐induced increase in the ECAR mediated by activation of α8 nAChR at DIV 5, while chronic treatment (from DIV 3 or DIV 4 till DIV 5, or DIV 3.5 till DIV 4.5) led to a time‐dependent reduction of the increase in the acetylcholine‐induced ECAR. The binding parameters for [125I]‐α‐bungarotoxin (10 nM) sites in membrane were unaffected by melatonin suppression that started at DIV 3. Thus, melatonin surges in the time window that occurs at the final stages of chick retinal cell differentiation in culture is essential for development of the cells expressing α8 nAChR subtype in full functional form.
Improved quality of life is partly explained by fewer symptoms after treatment of fibroids with mifepristone
Authors: Feng Changyong , Meldrum Sean , Fiscella Kevin 
Published: February 2010

AbstractObjectiveTo examine mediators of mifepristone treatment on improvements in health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) among women with symptomatic fibroids.MethodsThe study sample included women with symptomatic uterine fibroids who were treated with 5 mg or 2.5 mg of mifepristone or placebo. Assessments of uterine size (ultrasound), pain (McGill pain questionnaire), bleeding (diary), anemia (gm/dL), and HRQOL measured using the uterine fibroid symptom quality of life scale were done at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. The improvements in HRQOL that could be explained by changes in these clinical factors were assessed.ResultsThe final sample included 62 women. Treatment with mifepristone was associated with significant improvement in HRQOL, which was explained in part by reduction in pain (28%, P < 0.001) and bleeding (18%, P < 0.001). Reduction in uterine volume was of marginal significance (P = 0.05) and was associated with a decrease in HRQOL (7%). Much of the impact of treatment on HRQOL (61%) remained unexplained in this model.ConclusionsImprovements in HRQOL after treatment with mifepristone are partly explained by improvements in pain and bleeding, but not uterine size. However, most of the improvement in HRQOL is not explained by improvements in these clinical parameters.
Comparing Assembly Maps in Algebraic K-Theory
Authors: Sperber Ron 
Published: February 2010

AbstractGiven a group G and a ring R, Loday [Lod, 1976] described an assembly map αG : hn(BG;L(R)) → Kn(RG) where L(R) is a spectrum with nth space K0(SnR) × BGL(SnR)+ for n ≥ 0 and Kn(RG) = πn(BGL(RG)+ × K0(RG)). Hambleton and Pederson, [HP, 2004], indicate a proof that this map is isomorphic to the map on homotopy groups from the assembly map . We will complete the proof of this.
Vitamin A equivalency and apparent absorption of β-carotene in ileostomy subjects using a dual-isotope dilution technique
Authors: Van Loo-Bouwman Carolien A. , Naber Ton H. J. , van Breemen Richard B. , Zhu Dongwei , Dicke Heleen , Siebelink Els , Hulshof Paul J. M. , Russel Frans G. M. , Schaafsma Gertjan , West Clive E. 
Published: February 2010

The objective was to quantify the vitamin A equivalency of β-carotene in two diets using a dual-isotope dilution technique and the apparent β-carotene absorption as measured by the oral–faecal balance technique. Seventeen healthy adults with an ileostomy completed the 4-week diet-controlled, cross-over intervention study. Each subject followed both diets for 2 weeks: a diet containing vegetables low in β-carotene content with supplemental β-carotene in salad dressing oil (‘oil diet’; mean β-carotene intake 3·1 mg/d) and a diet containing vegetables and fruits high in β-carotene content (‘mixed diet’; mean β-carotene intake 7·6 mg/d). Daily each subject consumed a mean of 190 μg [13C10]β-carotene and 195 μg [13C10]retinyl palmitate in oil capsules. The vitamin A equivalency of β-carotene was calculated as the dose-corrected ratio of [13C5]retinol to [13C10]retinol in serum. Apparent absorption of β-carotene was determined with oral–faecal balance. Isotopic data quantified a vitamin A equivalency of [13C10]β-carotene in oil of 3·6:1 (95 % CI 2·8, 4·6) regardless of dietary matrices differences. The apparent absorption of (labelled and dietary) β-carotene from the ‘oil diet’ (30 %) was 1·9-fold higher than from the ‘mixed diet’ (16 %). This extrinsic labelling technique can measure precisely the vitamin A equivalency of β-carotene in oil capsules, but it does not represent the effect of different dietary matrices.
Effect of different physiological traits on grain yield in barley grown under irrigated and terminal water deficit conditions
Authors: GONZÁLEZ A. , BERMEJO V. , GIMENO B. S. 
Published: February 2010

SUMMARYDrought is the main factor limiting the productivity of crops in Mediterranean areas. The introduction of physiological traits into crops that improve their tolerance to drought is necessary if yields under these conditions are to be efficiently improved. The effect of drought on different gas exchange variables, i.e. net photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (gs) and leaf chlorophyll concentration (Chl), and the relationship of these variables with yield were studied in 12 barley genotypes grown under irrigated and terminal drought conditions. The variable most sensitive to water deficit was gs(mean reduction 43% with respect to control conditions), followed by A (mean reduction 34%). The mean reduction of yield by terminal drought was 27%. A significant correlation was seen between these physiological traits and yield. The effect of water deficit on A, gsand Chl was smaller in the breeding lines than in the traditional varieties assayed, in agreement with the results found for yield. These results suggest a potential indirect selection of physiological characteristics in these breeding lines that allow greater tolerance to drought. The response of the different genotypes examined was not homogeneous across all the variables analysed. This variability is important in programmes aiming to obtain drought-tolerant genotypes via the optimization of traits such as those above.
Comparison of three methods to enumerate gut microbiota of weanling piglets fed insoluble dietary fibre differing in lignin content
Authors: PETERSSON A. , DOMIG K. J. , SCHEDLE K. , WINDISCH W. , KNEIFEL W. 
Published: February 2010

SUMMARYThe aim of the current study was to compare three methods for determining the influence of different feeding strategies on the gut microbiota of piglets. Forty-eight weanling piglets were fed four different diets enriched with insoluble dietary fibre (wheat bran and pollen fromPinus massoniana). Starting from ileal and colonic samples, the total microbial DNA was isolated and bacterial parameters (lactobacilli, bifidobacteria,Bacteroides vulgatusand total bacterial counts) were quantified using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The results for lactobacilli, bifidobacteria and total bacterial counts were compared with those obtained by fluorescencein situhybridization (FISH) and cultivation method. No significant differences could be observed between dietary treatments with real-time PCR and FISH for all investigated parameters. Comparing the applied three methods no consistent results were achieved, whereas FISH usually showed lower values. It was shown that real-time PCR can be regarded as an alternative to conventional techniques and also as a complement to results obtained from conventional culture method.
The Birth of a Nation and the Making of the NAACP
Authors: WEINBERGER STEPHEN 
Published: February 2010

With the appearance of D. W. Griffith's 1915 racist epic, The Birth of a Nation, the six-year-old NAACP reluctantly organized a campaign to ban the film entirely or at least to censor its most offensive elements. Although this struggle was a failure, it helped transform the association in ways no one could have imagined at the outset. Up to this point, the issues the NAACP had taken up, such as housing segregation and lynching, focussed primarily on southern or border states. The Birth of a Nation, however, was a national event. As the film moved from major population centers to smaller ones throughout the country, so too did the protests and countless meetings between local NAACP leaders and mayors, city councils, censors, and governors. In the end, this failed campaign had the effect of providing local association members with invaluable political experience and of elevating the NAACP to a position of national stature and indeed prominence in the struggle for civil rights in America.
Experimental infection of selected arthropods with spirurid nematodesSpirocerca lupiRailliet & Henry, 1911 andGongylonema ingluvicolaMolin, 1857
Authors: Mukaratirwa S. , Pillay E. , Munsammy K. 
Published: February 2010

AbstractGongylonema ingluvicolaandSpirocerca lupiare spirurid nematodes that require arthropod intermediate hosts in order to complete their life cycle. Beetles of the family Scarabaeidae are reported to serve as intermediate hosts for both these parasites. In this study selected species of beetles of the family Scarabaeidae as well as other groups of arthropods were screened for susceptibility to infection withS. lupiandG. ingluvicola. Arthropods were exposed to infective eggs of both parasites for a determined period of time and dissected/digested to determine the presence or absence of pre-infective and infective larvae. All the five species of dung beetles exposed to infection withS. lupi, namely,Pachylomerus femoralis,Scarabaeus rugosus,Gymnopleurus humanus,Kheper nigroaeneusandAnachalcos convexuswere susceptible and, of the two species exposed toG. ingluvicola, onlyGy. humanuswas susceptible.Spirocerca lupieggs developed in millipede species,Daratoagonus cristulatus, and remained as encysted larvae, while inOrthoporoides kyrhocephalusno development was observed.Spirocerca lupilarvae were not detected in the cricket speciesGryllus assimilis, or the cockroach speciesPeriplaneta americana, and, similarly,G. ingluvicolalarvae were not detected in the millipede speciesO. kyrhocephalus. The difference in the susceptibility of the arthropods to the two parasite species may depend on their feeding biology.
Adverse life event reporting and worst illness episodes in unipolar and bipolar affective disorders: measuring environmental risk for genetic research
Authors: Hosang G. M. , Korszun A. , Jones L. , Jones I. , Gray J. M. , Gunasinghe C. M. , McGuffin P. , Farmer A. E. 
Published: February 2010

BackgroundStudies exploring gene–environment interplay in affective disorders now include very large numbers of participants. Methods for evaluating the role of adversity in such studies need to be developed that do not rely on lengthy and labour-intensive interviews. In the present study, a brief questionnaire method for measuring 11 adverse events reported before interview and before their worst illness episodes by bipolar, unipolar and healthy control participants, participating in genetic association studies, was evaluated.MethodFive hundred and twelve bipolar disorder (BD) participants, 1447 participants with recurrent unipolar depression (UPD) and 1346 psychiatrically healthy control participants underwent the researcher-administered version of the List of Threatening Experiences Questionnaire (LTE-Q) for the 6 months before their worst affective episodes for UPD and BD participants, and for the 6 months before interview for the UPD participants and controls.ResultsUPD and BD cases were significantly more likely to report at least one event, as well as more events in the 6 months before interview and before their worst illness episodes, than healthy controls. Both manic and depressive episodes were significantly associated with adverse events in the BD cases. Depressed mood at the time of interview influenced event reporting in UPD and control participants but not the BD cases. Age was negatively correlated with the number of events reported by controls.ConclusionsThe researcher-administered LTE-Q provides a measure of case-control differences for adversity that is applicable in large genetic association studies. Confounding factors for event reporting include present mood and age.
Neurocognitive functioning before and after the first psychotic episode: does psychosis result in cognitive deterioration?
Authors: Becker H. E. , Nieman D. H. , Wiltink S. , Dingemans P. M. , van de Fliert J. R. , Velthorst E. , de Haan L. , van Amelsvoort T. A. , Linszen D. H. 
Published: February 2010

BackgroundCognitive impairment is considered to be a core characteristic of schizophrenia. The relationship between psychosis and cognitive deterioration, however, remains unclear. This longitudinal study investigated the neuropsychological functioning of patients before and after their first psychotic episode. Cognitive functioning of participants who later developed a psychosis was compared to that of people at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis who did not develop psychosis at follow-up and healthy controls.MethodParticipants were 41 persons at UHR for psychosis (the UHR group), of whom 17 developed psychosis between the first and second assessment. Seventeen healthy controls were included in the study. Cognitive performance was assessed at intake (T0) and again after 18 months (T1). The areas of cognitive functioning assessed include verbal memory and learning, visuospatial working memory, executive function, sustained attention and motor speed.ResultsThe transition group did not perform significantly worse at the second assessment than at the first on any of the outcome measures. The UHR group performed better on a verbal learning and memory test at T1 compared to T0. At T0, the control group scored significantly better than the UHR group and the transition group on the verbal learning and memory test and the verbal fluency test.ConclusionsThe results indicate that no cognitive deterioration occurs during the first psychotic episode. Problems in verbal memory may be present before the first episode of psychosis.
Binge eating disorder: a symptom-level investigation of genetic and environmental influences on liability
Authors: Mitchell K. S. , Neale M. C. , Bulik C. M. , Aggen S. H. , Kendler K. S. , Mazzeo S. E. 
Published: February 2010

BackgroundRecent behavioral genetic studies have emphasized the importance of investigating eating disorders at the level of individual symptoms, rather than as overall diagnoses. We examined the heritability of binge eating disorder (BED) using an item-factor analytic approach, which estimates contributions of additive genetic (A), common environmental (C), and unique environmental (E) influences on liability to BED as well as individual symptoms.MethodParticipants were 614 monozygotic and 410 dizygotic same-sex female twins from the Mid-Atlantic Twin Registry who completed a self-report measure of BED symptoms based upon DSM-IV criteria. Genetic and environmental contributions to BED liability were assessed at the diagnostic and symptom levels, using an item-factor approach.ResultsLiability to BED was moderately heritable; 45% of the variance was due to A, with smaller proportions due to C (13%), and E (42%). Additive genetic effects accounted for 29–43% of the variance in individual items, while only 8–14% was due to C.ConclusionsResults highlight the relevance of examining eating disorders at the symptom level, rather than focusing on aggregate diagnoses.
God and other minds
Authors: ELLIS FIONA 
Published: February 2010

AbstractI reconsider the idea that there is an analogy between belief in other minds and belief in God, and examine two approaches to the relevant beliefs. The ‘explanatory inductive’ approach raises difficulties in both contexts, and involves questionable assumptions. The ‘expressivist’ approach is more promising, and presupposes a more satisfactory metaphysical framework in the first context. Its application to God is similarly insightful, and offers an intellectually respectable, albeit resistible, version of the doctrine that nature is a book of lessons.
CNS–immune system interactions: Conditioning phenomena
Authors: Ader Robert , Cohen Nicholas 
Published: February 2010

AbstractConverging data from different disciplines indicate that central nervous system processes are capable of influencing immune responses. This paper concentrates on recent studies documenting behaviorally conditioned suppression and enhancement of immunity. Exposing rats or mice to a conditioned stimulus previously paired with an immunomodulating agent results in alterations in humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to antigenic stimuli, and unreinforced reexposures to the conditioned stimuli result in extinction of the conditioned response. Although the magnitude of such conditioning effects has not been large, the phenomenon has been independently verified under a variety of experimental conditions. The biological impact of conditioned alterations in immune function is illustrated by studies in which conditioning operations were applied in the pharmacotherapy of autoimmune disease in New Zealand mice. In conditioned animals, substituting conditioned stimuli for active drugs delays the onset of autoimmune disease relative to nonconditioned animals using a dose of immunosuppressive drug that, by itself, is ineffective in modifying the progression of disease. The hypothesis that such conditioning effects are mediated by elevations in adrenocortical steroid levels receives no support from available data. Despite its capacity for self-regulation, it appears that the immune system is integrated with other psychophysiological processes and subject to modulation by the brain.