bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome and metabolic syndrome: A synergistic cardiovascular risk factor
Authors: Goodson Becky Lynn , Wung Shu‐Fen , Archbold Kristen Hedger 
Published: August 2012

AbstractPurpose: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality for adults in the United States. One risk factor for CVD is metabolic syndrome, which encompasses obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, proinflammatory state, and prothrombotic state. A lesser‐understood risk factor is obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). This article explores the physiological consequences of the interaction between OSAHS and metabolic syndrome on the cardiovascular system.Data sources: Search terms “metabolic syndrome,”“obstructive sleep apnea,”“cardiovascular disease,”“diabetes,”“obesity,” and “atherosclerosis,” were used. Studies involving children were excluded.Conclusions: Both metabolic syndrome and OSAHS have significant impact on the cardiovascular system; however, when both conditions are present together, the impact is synergistic and CVD risk is multiplied. Treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) reduces the global burden of CVD risk.Implications for practice: Providers need to screen patients routinely for both metabolic syndrome and OSAHS. Treatment should include CPAP, weight reduction, oral appliances, and/or upper airway surgeries with concurrent management for metabolic syndrome. Future research should further elucidate the mechanisms of action by which OSAHA and metabolic syndrome contribute to CVD. This understanding can lead to more stringent guidelines on the management of metabolic syndrome and OSAHS.
“I got caught up in the game”: Generational influences on contraceptive decision making in African–American women
Authors: Harris Allyssa L. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractPurposeReproductive health disparities are a significant issue for African–American adolescents. This study was designed to explore the cross‐generational influences on adolescent sexuality in a cohort of daughters/granddaughters of U.S. born African–American women.Data sourcesData were generated through interviews with triads of African–American women: grandmothers, and their daughters and granddaughters, to gain insight into the phenomena of early sexual debut, high rates of unintended pregnancies, HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted infections from a cross‐generational perspective.ConclusionsSix themes emerged from the data: southern influences; a worldview of relationships; communication–key to preparedness; seeking information from mom; “I got caught up in the game”; and contraceptive use and beliefs. In this sample, mothers’ and grandmothers’ culture, values, and beliefs significantly influenced the adolescents’ sexual and reproductive decision making.Implications for practiceClinicians' knowledge of African–American culture, beliefs, and family values is key when providing guidance about contraception to these young women.
Home and heterosexuality in Aotearoa New Zealand: The spaces and practices of DIY and home renovation
Authors: Morrison Carey‐Ann 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThe ways in which domestic spaces function as sites of sexual subjectivity and relationship formation for heterosexual couples is an understudied area in geography. One way to address this gap in knowledge is to focus attention on the varied ways in which heterosexual couples use the practices and spaces of do‐it‐yourself (DIY) and home renovation to construct, materialise and sometimes disrupt their subjectivities and relationships. Taking into consideration the significance of home ownership in New Zealand, I argue that the practices of DIY and home renovations are an everyday event that can occur both within the dwelling and beyond. A focus on heterosexuality, home, DIY and home renovation encourages a more nuanced reading of the mutually constitutive relationship between bodies and spaces.
‘Troubling’ gender in virtual gaming spaces
Authors: Todd Cherie 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThis article considers the relationship between gaming and gender, and explores how eight mature women gamers (30 years of age and older), living in the Waikato region of New Zealand negotiate their ‘real‐life’ identities with their ‘virtual’ gaming identities. In particular, performances of ‘gender‐bending’ in gaming are examined and Butler's notion of ‘gender trouble’ is drawn upon to look at the ways in which ‘gender‐bending’ disrupts and/or reinforces hegemonic binary distinctions of gender – masculinity/femininity and man/woman. This article concludes by arguing that gender‐switching within gaming spaces is a normative practice within gaming culture, and as such, acts of ‘gender‐bending’ do very little to challenge or ‘bend’ dominant notions of gender within the spaces of mainstream gaming.
Sexuality, space and migration: South Asian gay men in Australia
Authors: Smith Geoffrey 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThis paper investigates the relationship between migration, private space and sexual expression for South Asian gay men who have relocated to Melbourne, Australia. Little is known about South Asian gay men who have moved to Australia, or the role of mobility and spatial setting in constituting their sexualities. To tackle this gap, 23 South Asian gay men (21–50 years old) living in Melbourne were interviewed. This paper discusses emergent themes on the contribution of migration and private space to constituting sexual identities. Cultural expectations for marriage, social stigma about homosexuality and a lack of private spaces for sexual exploration, constrained the participants' sexual expression in South Asia. These factors underpinned some men's migration decisions. But while living away from family and country of origin provide private spaces and greater freedom, ‘coming out’ and expressing homosexual interests within private domestic space in Australia is not always easy or possible.
Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy as a Tool to Measure the Absorption Coefficient in Skin: South African Skin Phototypes
Authors: Karsten Aletta E. , Singh Ann , Karsten Petrus A. , Braun Max W. H. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractIn any laser skin treatment, the optical properties (absorption and scattering coefficients) are important parameters. The melanin content of skin influences the absorption of light in the skin. The spread in the values of the absorption coefficients for the South African skin phototypes are not known. A diffuse reflectance probe consisting of a ring of six light delivery fibers and a central collecting fiber was used to measure the diffused reflected light from the arms of 30 volunteers with skin phototypes I–V (on the Fitzpatrick scale). The absorption coefficient was calculated from these measurements. This real‐time in vivo technique was used to determine the absorption coefficient of sun‐exposed and ‐protected areas on the arm. The range of typical absorption coefficients for the South African skin phototypes is reported. The values for the darker South African skin types were much higher than was previously reported for darker skin phototypes. In the analysis, the contributions of the eumelanin and pheomelanin were separated, which resulted in improved curve fitting for volunteers of southern Asian ethnicity without compromising the other groups.
Photosynthesis Assessment in Microphytobenthos Using Conventional and Imaging Pulse Amplitude Modulation Fluorometry
Authors: Vieira Sónia , Ribeiro Lourenço , Jesus Bruno , Cartaxana Paulo , Silva Jorge Marques da 
Published: August 2012

AbstractImaging pulse amplitude modulated (Imaging‐PAM) fluorometry is a breakthrough in the study of spatial heterogeneity of photosynthetic assemblages. However, Imaging and conventional PAM uses a different technology, making comparisons between these techniques doubtful. Thereby, photosynthetic processes were comparatively assessed using conventional (Junior PAM and PAM 101) and Imaging‐PAM on intertidal microphytobenthos (MPB; mud and sand) and on cork oak leaves. Lower values of α (initial slope of the rETR, relative photosynthetic electron transport rate) vs E (incident photosynthetic active radiation) curve), ETRmax (maximum relative ETR), Ek (light saturation parameter) and Fv/Fm (maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II of dark‐adapted samples) were obtained using the Imaging‐PAM. The level of discrepancy between conventional and Imaging‐PAM systems was dependent on the type of sample, being more pronounced for MPB muddy sediments. This may be explained by differences in the depth integration of the fluorescence signal related to the thickness of the photosynthetic layer and in the light attenuation coefficients of downwelling irradiance. An additional relevant parameter is the taxonomic composition of the MPB, as cyanobacteria present in sandy sediments rendered different results with red and blue excitation light fluorometers. These findings emphasize the caution needed when interpreting chlorophyll fluorescence data of MPB communities.
Modulation of Lipopolysaccharide‐Induced NF‐κB Signaling Pathway by 635 nm Irradiation via Heat Shock Protein 27 in Human Gingival Fibroblast Cells
Authors: Lim WonBong , Kim JiSun , Kim SangWoo , Karna Sandeep , Won JaeWoong , Jeon Sang Mi , Kim Seo Yeon , Choi YooDuk , Choi HongRan , Kim OkJoon 
Published: August 2012

AbstractHeat shock protein‐27 (HSP27) is a member of the small HSP family which has been linked to the nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) signaling pathway regulating inflammatory responses. Clinical reports have suggested that low‐level light therapy/laser irradiation (LLLT) could be an effective alternative treatment to relieve inflammation during bacterial infection associated with periodontal disease. However, it remains unclear how light irradiation can modulate the NF‐κB signaling pathway. We examined whether or not 635 nm irradiation could lead to a modulation of the NF‐kB signaling pathway in HSP27‐silenced cells and analyzed the functional cross‐talk between these factors in NF‐κB activation. The results showed that 635 nm irradiation led to a decrease in the HSP27 phosphorylation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, I‐κB kinase (IKK)/inhibitor of κB (IκB)/NF‐κB phosphorylation, NF‐κB p65 translocation and a subsequent decrease in the COX‐1/2 expression and prostaglandin (PGE2) release in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)‐induced human gingival fibroblast cells (hGFs). However, in HSP27‐silenced hGFs, no obvious changes were observed in ROS generation, IKK/IκB/NF‐κB phosphorylation, NF‐κB p65 translocation, nor in COX‐1/2 expression, or PGE2 release. This could be a mechanism by which 635 nm irradiation modulates LPS‐induced NF‐κB signaling pathway via HSP27 in inflammation. Thus, HSP27 may play a role in regulating the anti‐inflammatory response of LLLT.
The Meaning of Embodiment
Authors: Kiverstein Julian 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThere is substantial disagreement among philosophers of embodied cognitive science about the meaning of embodiment. In what follows, I describe three different views that can be found in the current literature. I show how this debate centers around the question of whether the science of embodied cognition can retain the computer theory of mind. One view, which I will label body functionalism, takes the body to play the functional role of linking external resources for problem solving with internal biological machinery. Embodiment is thus understood in terms of the role the body plays in supporting the computational circuits that realize cognition. Body enactivism argues by contrast that no computational account of cognition can account for the role of commonsense knowledge in our everyday practical engagement with the world. I will attempt a reconciliation of these seemingly opposed views.
Calcium spike variability in cardiac myocytes results from activation of small cohorts of ryanodine receptor 2 channels
Authors: Janíček Radoslav , Zahradníková Jr Alexandra , Poláková Eva , Pavelková Jana , Zahradník Ivan , Zahradníková Alexandra 
Published: August 2012

Key points
Cardiac myocytes contract due to the upsurge in intracellular calcium concentration resulting from the activation of ryanodine receptor (RyR) channels residing at calcium releasing sites.
Calcium release can be observed as local calcium spikes that vary in amplitude, time course and frequency of occurrence due to reasons that are not well understood.
In this study we quantify the characteristics of calcium spikes in isolated myocytes, typify them by stochastic analysis and interpret them by mathematical modelling.
We show that the observable properties of calcium spikes are compatible with gating properties, calcium/magnesium sensitivity and distribution of RyR channels, if only a few out of the many RyRs clustered at the release sites activate at a single release event.
The proposed mechanism of stimulated calcium release clarifies the concepts of the structure and function of calcium releasing sites and of plasticity and dynamics of calcium signalling in cardiac development and disease.
Abstract  In mammalian cardiac myocytes, the elementary calcium releases triggered by step voltage stimuli manifest either as solitary or as twin spikes that vary widely in kinetics and amplitude for unknown reasons. Here we examined the variability of calcium spikes measured using line‐scanning confocal microscopy in patch‐clamped rat ventricular myocytes. Amplitude distributions of the single and of the first of twin spikes were broader than those of the second spikes. All could be best approximated by a sum of a few elementary Gaussian probability distribution functions. The latency distributions of the single and the first spikes were identical, much shorter and less variable than those of the second spikes. The multimodal distribution of spike amplitudes and the probability of occurrence of twin spikes were stochastically congruent with activation of only a few of the many RyR2 channels present in the release site cluster. The occurrence of twin release events was rare due to refractoriness of release, induced with a probability proportional to the number of RyR2s activated in the primary release event. We conclude that the variability of the elementary calcium release events supports a calcium signalling mechanism that arises from stochastics of RyR2 gating and from inactivation of local origin.
Muscarinic control of AMPA receptor responsiveness in mouse spinal cord motoneurons
Authors: Mejia‐Gervacio Sheyla 
Published: August 2012

Key points
The muscarinic receptors increase the excitability in spinal cord motoneurons.
In the present study, I report the muscarinic modulation of postsynaptic AMPA receptors at glutamatergic synapses on spinal cord motoneurons.
The muscarinic modulation acts specifically on synapses originated at the dorsolateral funiculus, which contains supraspinal and spinal intersegmental influences.
The present results suggest that the modulatory actions of muscarinic receptors reduce the synaptic weight of excitatory inputs originating at intersegmental and/or supraspinal levels but not at the intrasegmental level.
The muscarinic receptor activity might amplify the differences between synaptic weights of inputs with different origins, potentially contributing to the diversity of motor outputs implicating the same muscular groups, as well as to the refinement of locomotor behaviour at early postnatal stages.
Abstract  A cholinergic synaptic input has been highlighted in recent years as an important modulator of motoneuron excitability. In the present study, it was examined whether, as in other regions, the cholinergic inputs on spinal motoneurons modulate the glutamatergic synaptic activity, evoked by electrical stimulation at the dorsolateral funiculus. The present results show that the pharmacological stimulation of muscarinic receptors produces a selective depression of AMPA‐mediated glutamatergic activity in thoracic and lumbar spinal motoneurons. This effect does not involve a change in transmitter release and occurs both on synaptic currents and on AMPA responses evoked by photolysis of MNI‐glutamate. Thus, it is concluded that muscarinic modulation occurs at the postsynaptic level. The results suggest that cholinergic inputs contacting motoneurons, which are known to increase motoneuron excitability, also directly interfere with incoming synaptic inputs by changing their amplitudes.
Lifelong physical activity prevents an age‐related reduction in arterial and skeletal muscle nitric oxide bioavailability in humans
Authors: Nyberg Michael , Blackwell James R. , Damsgaard Rasmus , Jones Andrew M. , Hellsten Ylva , Mortensen Stefan P. 
Published: August 2012

Key points
Ageing has been proposed to be associated with increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that scavenge nitric oxide (NO), thereby decreasing the bioavailability of this potent vasodilator.
Here we show that NO bioavailability is compromised in the systemic circulation and in skeletal muscle of sedentary older humans as evidenced by an increase in NO metabolites after antioxidant infusion.
Lifelong physical activity opposes this effect within the trained musculature and in the arterial circulation.
The reduced blood flow to contracting leg muscles with ageing does not appear to be related to changes in NO bioavailability.
These findings expand our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the age‐related changes in vascular function and highlight the beneficial effect of exercise training throughout the lifespan.
Abstract  Ageing has been proposed to be associated with increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that scavenge nitric oxide (NO). In eight young sedentary (23 ± 1 years; Y), eight older lifelong sedentary (66 ± 2 years; OS) and eight older lifelong physically active subjects (62 ± 2 years; OA), we studied the effect of ROS on systemic and skeletal muscle NO bioavailability and leg blood flow by infusion of the antioxidant N‐acetylcysteine (NAC). Infusion of NAC increased the bioavailability of NO in OS, as evidenced by an increased concentration of stable metabolites of NO (NOx) in the arterial and venous circulation and in the muscle interstitium. In OA, infusion of NAC only increased NOx concentrations in venous plasma whereas in Y, infusion of NAC did not affect NOx concentrations. Skeletal muscle protein levels of endothelial and neuronal NO synthase were 32% and 24% higher, respectively, in OA than in OS. Exercise at 12 W elicited a lower leg blood flow response that was associated with a lower leg oxygen uptake in OS than in Y. The improved bioavailability of NO in OS did not increase blood flow during exercise. These data demonstrate that NO bioavailability is compromised in the systemic circulation and in the musculature of sedentary ageing humans due to increased oxidative stress. Lifelong physical activity opposes this effect within the trained musculature and in the arterial circulation. The lower blood flow response to leg exercise in ageing humans is not associated with a reduced NO bioavailability.
Altered pallido‐pallidal synaptic transmission leads to aberrant firing of globus pallidus neurons in a rat model of Parkinson's disease
Authors: Miguelez Cristina , Morin Stéphanie , Martinez Audrey , Goillandeau Michel , Bezard Erwan , Bioulac Bernard , Baufreton Jérôme 
Published: August 2012

Key points
We used optogenetics approach to characterize the short‐term plasticity of striato‐pallidal (STR–GP) and pallido‐pallidal (GP–GP) GABAergic synapses in rat brain slices.
We show that only GP–GP (and not STR–GP) transmission is augmented by chronic dopamine depletion.
Finally, we report that altered GP–GP synaptic transmission promotes neuronal synchronization and rebound bursting in globus pallidus neurons.
Our results support the conclusion that maladaptive GP–GP GABAergic transmission is likely to be a key underlying factor of the pathological activity in the globus pallidus observed in Parkinson's disease.
Abstract  The pattern of activity of globus pallidus (GP) neurons is tightly regulated by GABAergic inhibition. In addition to extrinsic inputs from the striatum (STR–GP) the other source of GABA to GP neurons arises from intrinsic intranuclear axon collaterals (GP–GP). While the contribution of striatal inputs has been studied, notably its hyperactivity in Parkinson's disease (PD), the properties and function of intranuclear inhibition remain poorly understood. Our objective was therefore to test the impact of chronic dopamine depletion on pallido‐pallidal transmission. Using patch‐clamp whole‐cell recordings in rat brain slices, we combined electrical and optogenetic stimulations with pharmacology to differentiate basic synaptic properties of STR–GP and GP–GP GABAergic synapses. GP–GP synapses were characterized by activity‐dependent depression and insensitivity to the D2 receptor specific agonist quinpirole and STR–GP synapses by frequency‐dependent facilitation and quinpirole modulation. Chronic dopamine deprivation obtained in 6‐OHDA lesioned animals boosted the amplitude of GP–GP IPSCs but did not modify STR–GP transmission and increased the amplitude of miniature IPSCs. Replacement of calcium by strontium confirmed that the quantal amplitude was increased at GP–GP synapses. Finally, we demonstrated that boosted GP–GP transmission promotes resetting of autonomous activity and rebound‐burst firing after dopamine depletion. These results suggest that GP–GP synaptic transmission (but not STR–GP) is augmented by chronic dopamine depletion which could contribute to the aberrant GP neuronal activity observed in PD.
Characterization of Poliovirus Variants Selected for Resistance to the Antiviral Compound V-073
Authors: Liu Hong-Mei , Roberts Jason A. , Moore Deborah , Anderson Barbara , Pallansch Mark A. , Pevear Daniel C. , Collett Marc S. , Oberste M. Steven 
Published: August 2012

ABSTRACT

V-073, a small-molecule capsid inhibitor originally developed for nonpolio enterovirus indications is considerably more potent against polioviruses. All poliovirus isolates tested to date (
n
= 45), including wild, vaccine, vaccine-derived, and laboratory strains, are susceptible to the antiviral capsid inhibitor V-073. We grew poliovirus in the presence of V-073 to allow for the identification of variants with reduced susceptibility to the drug. Sequence analysis of 160 independent resistant variants (80 isolates of poliovirus type 1, 40 isolates each of types 2 and 3) established that V-073 resistance involved a single amino acid change in either of two virus capsid proteins, VP1 (67 of 160 [42%]) or VP3 (93 of 160 [58%]). In resistant variants with a VP1 change, the majority (53 of 67 [79%]) exhibited a substitution of isoleucine at position 194 (equivalent position 192 in type 3) with either methionine or phenylalanine. Of those with a VP3 change, alanine at position 24 was replaced with valine in all variants (
n
= 93). The resistance phenotype was relatively stable upon passage of viruses in cell culture in the absence of drug. Single-step growth studies showed no substantial differences between drug-resistant variants and the virus stocks from which they were derived, while the resistant viruses were generally more thermally labile than the corresponding drug-susceptible parental viruses. These studies provide a foundation from which to build a greater understanding of resistance to antiviral compound V-073.