bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Periadolescent amphetamine treatment causes transient cognitive disruptions and long‐term changes in hippocampal LTP depending on the endogenous expression of pleiotrophin
Authors: Gramage Esther , Del Olmo Nuria , Fole Alberto , Martín Yasmina B. , Herradón Gonzalo 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTAmphetamine treatment during adolescence causes long‐term cognitive deficits in rats. Pleiotrophin (PTN) is a cytokine with important roles in the modulation of synaptic plasticity, whose levels of expression are significantly regulated by amphetamine administration. To test the possibility that the long‐term consequences of periadolescent amphetamine treatment cross species and, furthermore, to test the hypothesis that PTN could be one of the factors involved in the adult cognitive deficits observed after periadolescent amphetamine administrations, we comparatively studied the long‐term consequences of periadolescent amphetamine treatment (3 mg/kg intraperitoneal, daily during 10 days) in normal wild‐type (PTN+/+) and in PTN genetically deficient (PTN−/−) mice. Within the first week after cessation of treatment, significant deficits in the passive avoidance and Y‐maze tests were only observed in amphetamine‐pretreated PTN−/− mice. However, 13 and 26 days after the last administration, we did not find significant differences in Y‐maze between amphetamine‐ and saline‐pretreated PTN−/− mice. In addition, we did not find any genotype‐ or treatment‐related anxiogenic‐ or depressive‐like behaviour in adult mice. Furthermore, we observed a significantly enhanced long‐term potentiation (LTP) in CA1 hippocampal slices from saline‐pretreated PTN−/− mice compared with saline‐pretreated PTN+/+ mice. Interestingly, amphetamine pre‐treatment during adolescence significantly enhanced LTP in adult PTN+/+ mice but did not cause any effect in PTN−/− mice, suggesting LTP mechanisms saturation in naïve PTN−/− mice. The data demonstrate that periadolescent amphetamine treatment causes transient cognitive deficits and long‐term alterations of hippocampal LTP depending on the endogenous expression of PTN.
Optimising Perceived Distortion in Lossy Encoding of Dynamic Meshes
Authors: Váša L. , Petřík O. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractDevelopment of geometry data compression techniques in the past years has been limited by the lack of a metric with proven correlation with human perception of mesh distortion. Many algorithms have been proposed, but usually the aim has been to minimise mean squared error, or some of its derivatives.In the field of dynamic mesh compression, the situation has changed with the recent proposal of the STED metric, which has been shown to capture the human perception of mesh distortion much better than previous metrics. In this paper we show how existing algorithms can be steered to provide optimal results with respect to this metric, and we propose a novel dynamic mesh compression algorithm, based on trajectory space PCA and Laplacian coordinates, specifically designed to minimise the newly proposed STED error. Our experiments show that using the proposed algorithm, we were able to reduce the required data rate by up to 50% while preserving the introduced STED error.
An Optimization Approach to Improving Collections of Shape Maps
Authors: Nguyen Andy , Ben‐Chen Mirela , Welnicka Katarzyna , Ye Yinyu , Guibas Leonidas 
Published: August 2011

AbstractFinding an informative, structure‐preserving map between two shapes has been a long‐standing problem in geometry processing, involving a variety of solution approaches and applications. However, in many cases, we are given not only two related shapes, but a collection of them, and considering each pairwise map independently does not take full advantage of all existing information. For example, a notorious problem with computing shape maps is the ambiguity introduced by the symmetry problem — for two similar shapes which have reflectional symmetry there exist two maps which are equally favorable, and no intrinsic mapping algorithm can distinguish between them based on these two shapes alone. Another prominent issue with shape mapping algorithms is their relative sensitivity to how “similar” two shapes are — good maps are much easier to obtain when shapes are very similar. Given the context of additional shape maps connecting our collection, we propose to add the constraint of global map consistency, requiring that any composition of maps between two shapes should be independent of the path chosen in the network. This requirement can help us choose among the equally good symmetric alternatives, or help us replace a “bad” pairwise map with the composition of a few “good” maps between shapes that in some sense interpolate the original ones. We show how, given a collection of pairwise shape maps, to define an optimization problem whose output is a set of alternative maps, compositions of those given, which are consistent, and individually at times much better than the original. Our method is general, and can work on any collection of shapes, as long as a seed set of good pairwise maps is provided. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method for improving maps generated by state‐of‐the‐art mapping methods on various shape databases.
Deformable 3D Shape Registration Based on Local Similarity Transforms
Authors: Papazov C. , Burschka D. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractIn this paper, a new method for deformable 3D shape registration is proposed. The algorithm computes shape transitions based on local similarity transforms which allows to model not only as‐rigid‐as‐possible deformations but also local and global scale. We formulate an ordinary differential equation (ODE) which describes the transition of a source shape towards a target shape. We assume that both shapes are roughly pre‐aligned (e.g., frames of a motion sequence). The ODE consists of two terms. The first one causes the deformation by pulling the source shape points towards corresponding points on the target shape. Initial correspondences are estimated by closest‐point search and then refined by an efficient smoothing scheme. The second term regularizes the deformation by drawing the points towards locally defined rest positions. These are given by the optimal similarity transform which matches the initial (undeformed) neighborhood of a source point to its current (deformed) neighborhood. The proposed ODE allows for a very efficient explicit numerical integration. This avoids the repeated solution of large linear systems usually done when solving the registration problem within general‐purpose non‐linear optimization frameworks. We experimentally validate the proposed method on a variety of real data and perform a comparison with several state‐of‐the‐art approaches.
Multiscale Biharmonic Kernels
Authors: Rustamov Raif M. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThis paper introduces a general principle for constructing multiscale kernels on surface meshes, and presents a construction of the multiscale pre‐biharmonic and multiscale biharmonic kernels. Our construction is based on an optimization problem that seeks to minimize a smoothness criterion, the Laplacian energy, subject to a sparsity inducing constraint. Namely, we use the lasso constraint, which sets an upper bound on the l1 ‐norm of the solution, to obtain a family of solutions parametrized by this upper‐bound parameter. The interplay between sparsity and smoothness results in smooth kernels that vanish away from the diagonal. We prove that the resulting kernels have gradually changing supports, consistent behavior over partial and complete meshes, and interesting limiting behaviors (e.g. in the limit of large scales, the multiscale biharmonic kernel converges to the Green's function of the biharmonic equation); in addition, these kernels are based on intrinsic quantities and so are insensitive to isometric deformations. We show empirically that our kernels are shape‐aware, are robust to noise, tessellation, and partial object, and are fast to compute. Finally, we demonstrate that the new kernels can be useful for function interpolation and shape correspondence.
Current psoriasis treatments in an Italian population and their association with socio‐demographical and clinical features
Authors: Altobelli E. , Marziliano C. , Fargnoli M.C. , Petrocelli R. , Maccarone M. , Chimenti S. , Peris K. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractBackground  Patient adherence is a key element for therapeutic success and represents a major concern for all healthcare professionals.Objective  Aim of our study was to assess the frequency of use of treatments currently available for psoriasis and its association with specific socio‐demographical and clinical variables.Methods  The study population consisted of 1689 patients, aged 12–85 years. Information concerning socio‐demographical variables, clinical features and the type of current treatment was collected. Items on patients’ satisfaction of current treatments and of dermatologist‐patient relationship were also included. The chi‐squared test was used to estimate the association between the categorical variables, whereas Wilcoxon and Kruskal–Wallis tests were applied to the interval and ordinal variables. The Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel chi‐squared trend test was used to evaluate the degree of satisfaction related to dermatologist–patient relationship.Results  Of the 1689 psoriatic patients, 54.1% did not use any treatments and 45.9% used at least one treatment. The use of drugs was significantly associated exclusively to severity of disease and affected body surface area. Systemic therapies, both traditional treatments and biological agents, were mainly used in patients with disease duration >10 years and disease severity. Treatment adherence was significantly associated to the degree of patient’s satisfaction of his/her relationship with the dermatologist. Alternative treatment such as over the counter medications and acupuncture were used by 33% of patients.Conclusion  The majority of psoriatic patients do not use any treatments. However, treatment adherence significantly increases when dermatologists clarify the treatment schedule, inform patients and meet the patients’ needs.
The Swedish APP mutation alters the effect of genetically reduced BACE1 expression on the APP processing
Authors: Rabe Sabine , Reichwald Julia , Ammaturo Domenico , de Strooper Bart , Saftig Paul , Neumann Ulf , Staufenbiel Matthias 
Published: August 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 119, 231–239.AbstractInhibition of β‐secretase (BACE1) is a key therapeutic approach in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as BACE1 initiates amyloid‐β (Aβ) cleavage from the β‐amyloid precursor protein (APP). As Aβ reductions in mice lacking one BACE1 allele diverged considerably between studies we investigated the effect of BACE1 knock‐out in more detail. With both BACE1 alleles the Swedish mutation (APP23 mice) increased APP processing and shifted it towards the β‐secretase pathway as compared with non‐mutated APP expressed at a similar level (APP51/16 mice). This effect was much smaller then observed in cell culture. An about 50% decrease in BACE1 enzyme activity resulted in a sub‐proportional Aβ reduction with the Swedish mutation (−20%) and even less for non‐mutated APP (−16%). In wild‐type mice, the Aβ reduction may be even further diminished. Other metabolites of the β‐secretase pathway decreased accordingly while the alternative α‐secretase pathway increased. Complete BACE1 deletion strongly enhanced these changes. The remaining Aβ signal also described by others can be explained by assay cross‐reactivity with other APP metabolites supporting BACE1 as the major β‐secretase. Our data indicate that BACE1 is in excess over APP at the cleavage site(s). Alterations in APP expression or substrate properties, therefore, quantitatively change its cleavage and Aβ generation.
Marginal Bone‐Level Alterations at Implants Installed in Block versus Particulate Onlay Bone Grafts Mixed with Platelet‐Rich Plasma in Atrophic Maxilla. A Prospective 5‐Year Follow‐Up Study of 15 Patients
Authors: Dasmah Amir , Thor Andreas , Ekestubbe Annika , Sennerby Lars , Rasmusson Lars 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTBackground: Extensive atrophy of the alveolar process may require a bone‐grafting procedure prior to implant treatment. Autogenous bone grafts from the iliac crest, used as onlay block and particulate bone, have been used together with sinus‐lift procedure in order to rehabilitate patients with extremely resorbed maxillae. However, there are to our knowledge no 5‐year follow‐up studies evaluating the extent of bone‐level change in patients treated with respectively block and particulate autogenous bone grafts.Purpose: The purpose of this prospective clinical study was to conduct a 5‐year follow‐up analysis with focus on bone‐level alteration in block versus particulate onlay bone grafts.Material and Methods: Fifteen out of originally 19 patients who were treated with iliac bone grafts and oral implants in the maxilla have been followed through the first 5 postoperative years. In a first study conducted on 19 patients, the role of platelet‐rich plasma in conjunction with autogenous bone was evaluated. In this 5‐year follow‐up study, the marginal bone alterations have been documented at base line, 1 year and 5 years of loading to the nearest 0,1 mm at mesial and distal surfaces of the implants. Two implants were installed on each side of the midline in either block or particulate bone grafts giving test and control sides in each patient. Additionally, two implants on each side were installed in residual bone/grafted sinus floor.Result: Marginal bone alteration in the anterior maxilla appeared larger at the side augmented by block bone at baseline, and after 1 and 5 years of loading, but the change was not statistically significant. Moreover, there was a significantly higher degree of marginal alteration during the first year of loading, compared with the examinations after 5 years.Conclusion: The present follow‐up study showed that there is no significant difference in the extension of resorption between block‐ and particulate autogenous bone grafts over a 5‐year period. Most of the resorption occurred during the first year in function.
Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Expression in Human and Rat Lower Urinary Tract Tissues and the Effect of Tadalafil on Prostate Gland Oxygenation in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
Authors: Morelli Annamaria , Sarchielli Erica , Comeglio Paolo , Filippi Sandra , Mancina Rosa , Gacci Mauro , Vignozzi Linda , Carini Marco , Vannelli Gabriella B. , Maggi Mario 
Published: August 2011

AbstractIntroductionIn humans, prostate phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5) expression was prominently localized in the endothelial and smooth muscle cells of the vascular bed, suggesting a possible action of PDE5 inhibitors (PDE5i) on prostate blood flow.AimTo investigate PDE5 expression in human and rat lower urinary tract (LUT) tissues, including vasculature, and determine the effects of PDE5 inhibition with tadalafil on prostatic blood perfusion.Main Outcome MeasuresHuman vesicular-deferential arteries (which originate from the inferior vesical artery, the main arterial source of blood supply to the bladder and prostate) were analyzed for PDE5 expression and activity. The effects of tadalafil on prostate oxygenation were studied in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), characterized by ischemia/hypoxia of the genitourinary tract.MethodsPDE5 expression was evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. SHR were treated with tadalafil (2 mg/kg/day) for 1, 7, or 28 days and compared with untreated SHR and the unaffected counterpart Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Prostate oxygenation was detected by Hypoxyprobe-1 and hypoxia markers (hypoxia-inducible factor-1α[HIF-1α] and endothelin-1 type B [ETB]) immunostaining.ResultsHuman vesicular-deferential artery expressed high levels of PDE5, similar to corpora cavernosa, immunolocalized in the endothelial and smooth muscle layer. In these arteries, tadalafil inhibited cyclic guanosine monophosphate breakdown (half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) in the low nanomolar range, as in corpora cavernosa) and increased the relaxant response to sodium nitroprusside. SHR prostate resulted markedly hypoxic (hypoxyprobe immunopositivity) and positive for HIF-1α and ETB, while tadalafil treatment restored oxygenation to WKY level at each time point. The mRNA expression of the HIF-1α target gene, BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa interacting protein 3, was significantly increased in SHR prostate and partially restored to WKY level by tadalafil.ConclusionHuman vesicular-deferential artery is characterized by a high expression and activity of PDE5, which was inhibited by tadalafil in vitro. In SHR, tadalafil increases prostate tissue oxygenation, thus suggesting a possible mechanism through which PDE5i exert beneficial effects on LUT symptoms.
THE USE OF CFD TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF A PARTIALLY LOADED COLD STORE
Authors: TANAKA FUMIHIKO , KONISHI YOSHIHIRO , KUROKI YUZURU , HAMANAKA DAISUKE , UCHINO TOSHITAKA 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTA transient three‐dimensional computational fluid dynamics model was developed to investigate the cooling performance of a partially loaded cold store in cooling process. The model accounted for turbulence by means of the standard k‐ε model with standard wall profiles. The model was validated successfully in cooling experiments with a mean error of 0.36 m/s and 1.4C for the air velocity in a refrigerated room and the temperature of the product, respectively. Based on the model, we studied the effect of different loading patterns of corrugated fiberboard containers filled with products in a cold store on cooling effectiveness. As a result, flat loading with air gaps was the optimal configuration to achieve high uniformity of temperature and rapid cooling. The findings of this study can help to elucidate and improve the cooling performance of refrigerated rooms for storing agricultural products.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe developed model is used to assess the cooling performance of partially loaded store. In this study, we have investigated how to stack the product in cold store to achieve uniform and rapid cooling. In order to extend the shelf life of fresh produce, it is very important to investigate the effect of loaded pattern on the cooling performance. The developed cooling model with 48 loaded corrugated fiberboard containers was based on one container cooling model. The approach presented in this paper can be used to design the loading pattern of agricultural products in a cold store.
FLOW AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF CORNSTARCH POWDER IN THE PRESENCE OF WATER AND PREGELATINIZED STARCH
Authors: DHANALAKSHMI K. , BHATTACHARYA SUVENDU 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTA model system comprising cornstarch has been agglomerated in the presence of binders like water and pregelatinized starch (PGS). Moisture and PGS contents have been varied between 12.3 and 20.1% and 0 and 6%, respectively. The physical characteristics of powder that have been determined include loose bulk density, wetting time and sinking time. A powder flow analyzer has been employed to determine flow characteristics like maximum force and energy for compression and decompression. An increase in moisture content and/or PGS increases average particle size and loose bulk density of agglomerates. The wet agglomerates show improved wetting and sinking times compared to dried agglomerates. Like wetting time, sinking time also decreases with an increase in moisture content meaning that these two indices behave in a similar manner. The functional properties like wetting and sinking times of powders at 18.5% moisture made with PGS are instant and only take less than 5 s.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONProcessed powdered foods frequently undergo the process of rehydration with a solvent system such as water or milk. Hence, the powder needs to be wetted quickly and thoroughly, sinking into the liquid rather than floating at the liquid surface and disperse/dissolve preferably without any lump formation. The importance of wetting time lies in the development and quality control of several food powders like milk powder, instant tea, coffee and mixes that are claimed to have instant properties. The generated data and findings, although developed on a model system, can be extrapolated to other food systems for developing new products for convenience to consumers.
QUANTIFYING SHEAR EFFECTS ON A MODEL EMULSION SYSTEM
Authors: YURGEC M.J. , OSBORNE J. , STEFFE J.F. , DAUBERT C.R. 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTA model corn oil‐in‐water emulsion, stabilized by Tween 20 (0.2–0.6%), was subjected to homogenization conditions of time, number of homogenization cycles and pressure (100–800 bar), which corresponded to predetermined shear work and shear power intensity values. This project investigated the roles that shear work and intensity have on the development and destabilization of a sensitive emulsion system. Samples with the same shear work level produced an emulsion with any identical median particle size (MPS). Particle size data were modeled (MPS is a function of shear work and surfactant concentration). The data revealed a critical shear limit, where an increase in shear work no longer reduced the particle size that was directly related to surfactant concentration. A statistical model was adapted to determine the critical shear work value, resulting in the lowest MPS for each surfactant concentration tested.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSShear work and shear power intensity are rheological tools that can be used to design processing systems to yield optimum product quality. A process technologist can understand the shear limitations of a fluid system simply by understanding the affects that increasing levels of shear work and shear power intensity have on that system. By understanding the shear input that is occurring within a fluid system caused by various unit operations, a process technologist would be able to correlate this to the known shear limitations and make a determination if the process is too severe or not intense enough. Knowledge of this information would enable a process technologist to better select equipment, piping schematics and settings on devices that cause shear, which could lead to more optimum product quality and less product loss caused by over‐ or under‐shearing.