bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effect of low‐carbohydrate diet on left ventricular diastolic function in obese children
Authors: Zeybek Cenap , Celebi Ahmet , Aktuglu‐Zeybek Cigdem , Onal Hasan , Yalcin Yalim , Erdem Abdullah , Akdeniz Celal , Imanov Elnur , Altay Suheyla , Aydın Ahmet 
Published: August 2009

AbstractBackground:  This study was conducted to evaluate left ventricle (LV) functions using conventional and tissue Doppler imaging in childhood obesity and to identify the effects of diet on LV diastolic functions.Methods:  Conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiographic measurements were compared in 34 obese children and 24 age‐ and gender‐matched lean controls. Fasting plasma glucose, insulin and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance levels were also obtained. Thirty‐one of the obese children were subjected to a low‐carbohydrate diet and their follow‐up measurements were obtained after 6 months.Results:  Left atrial diameter, LV mass and LV mass index were higher in obese children than in lean controls. Lateral mitral myocardial early diastolic (Em) and peak Em/myocardial late diastolic (Am) were lower, and mitral E/Em and lateral mitral myocardial isovolumetric relaxation time were higher in obese subjects than in lean controls. Insulin and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance levels were higher in obese patients and decreased significantly after diet. After diet therapy, lateral mitral Em and peak Em/Am, were increased, mitral E/Em and myocardial isovolumetric relaxation time were decreased.Conclusions:  Obesity predisposes children to increased preload reserve, left ventricular subclinical diastolic dysfunction and deterioration in diastolic filling. Weight reduction with a low‐carbohydrate diet seems to be associated with significant improvement in LV diastolic function and a decrease in diastolic filling, as well as causing reversal in insulin resistance seen in obese children.
Nucleus accumbens neurons exhibit synaptic scaling that is occluded by repeated dopamine pre‐exposure
Authors: Sun Xiu , Wolf Marina E. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractSynaptic scaling has been proposed as a form of plasticity that may contribute to drug addiction but it has not been previously demonstrated in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a critical region for addiction. Here we demonstrate bidirectional synaptic scaling in postnatal rat NAc neurons that were co‐cultured with prefrontal cortical neurons to restore excitatory input. Prolonged activity blockade (1–3 days) with an AMPA receptor antagonist increased cell surface (synaptic and extrasynaptic) glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1) and GluR2 but not GluR3, as well as GluR1/2 co‐localization on the cell surface and total GluR1 and GluR2 protein levels. A prolonged increase in activity (bicuculline, 48 h) produced opposite effects. These results suggest that GluR1/2‐containing AMPA receptors undergo synaptic scaling in NAc neurons. GluR1 and GluR2 surface expression was also increased by tetrodotoxin alone or in combination with anN‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor or AMPA receptor antagonist but not by thel‐type Ca2+channel antagonist nifedipine. A cobalt‐quenching assay confirmed the immunocytochemical results indicating that synaptic scaling after activity blockade did not involve a change in abundance of GluR2‐lacking AMPA receptors. Increased AMPA receptor surface expression after activity blockade required protein synthesis and was occluded by inhibition of the ubiquitin‐proteasome system. Repeated dopamine (DA) treatment, which leads to upregulation of surface GluR1 and GluR2, occluded activity blockade‐induced synaptic scaling. These latter results indicate an interaction between cellular mechanisms involved in synaptic scaling and adaptive mechanisms triggered by repeated DA receptor stimulation, suggesting that synaptic scaling may not function normally after exposure to DA‐releasing drugs such as cocaine.
GABA release from cerebellar stellate cells is developmentally regulated by presynaptic GABAB receptors in a target‐cell‐specific manner
Authors: Astori Simone , Luján Rafael , Köhr Georg 
Published: August 2009

AbstractTransmitter release from boutons along a common axon is often regulated depending on the postsynaptic target. Here, GABA release from cerebellar stellate cells onto Purkinje cells and other stellate cells was examined in acute cerebellar slices of 2‐ and 4‐week‐old mice. Consistent with previous findings on action potential‐dependent GABA release, we found a developmental decrease in inhibitory inputs onto Purkinje cells but not onto stellate cells when recording miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs). Although amplitudes of mIPSCs were developmentally reduced in both cell types, mIPSC frequencies were decreased in Purkinje cells but were increased in stellate cells. Similarly, modulation of GABA release by presynaptic GABAB receptors changed during development in Purkinje cells but not in stellate cells, as demonstrated by the baclofen‐mediated depression of mIPSC frequency and evoked IPSC (eIPSC) amplitudes. The selectively diminished baclofen effect in 4‐week‐old Purkinje cells correlated with a selective downregulation of presynaptic GABAB receptors at stellate cell‐to‐Purkinje cell synapses observed by immunoelectron microscopy analysis. Thus, expression of GABAB receptors in stellate cell axons and presynaptic modulation of GABA release appear to change during development in a target‐cell‐specific manner.
3D surface perception from motion involves a temporal–parietal network
Authors: Beer Anton L. , Watanabe Takeo , Ni Rui , Sasaki Yuka , Andersen George J. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractPrevious research has suggested that three‐dimensional (3D) structure‐from‐motion (SFM) perception in humans involves several motion‐sensitive occipital and parietal brain areas. By contrast, SFM perception in nonhuman primates seems to involve the temporal lobe including areas MT, MST and FST. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging study compared several motion‐sensitive regions of interest including the superior temporal sulcus (STS) while human observers viewed horizontally moving dots that defined either a 3D corrugated surface or a 3D random volume. Low‐level stimulus features such as dot density and velocity vectors as well as attention were tightly controlled. Consistent with previous research we found that 3D corrugated surfaces elicited stronger responses than random motion in occipital and parietal brain areas including area V3A, the ventral and dorsal intraparietal sulcus, the lateral occipital sulcus and the fusiform gyrus. Additionally, 3D corrugated surfaces elicited stronger activity in area MT and the STS but not in area MST. Brain activity in the STS but not in area MT correlated with interindividual differences in 3D surface perception. Our findings suggest that area MT is involved in the analysis of optic flow patterns such as speed gradients and that the STS in humans plays a greater role in the analysis of 3D SFM than previously thought.
What works best when? The role of active labour market policy programmes in different business cycles
Authors: Nordlund Madelene 
Published: August 2009

Nordlund M. What works best when? The role of active labour market policy programmes in different business cyclesInt J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 43–54 © 2009 The Author, Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare.At what point in a business cycle do long‐term unemployed persons gain most from participation in active labour market policy programmes (ALMP) as compared with openly unemployed persons? This article studies this question from the perspective of individual human capital with the hazard of labour market exit and chances of future labour market stability and equal post‐unemployment income as output variables. All the long‐term unemployed in Sweden were followed on a four‐year basis, with 1993 (recession) and 1999 (boom) as starting years. The study shows mainly positive effects among participants regardless of the state of the market. However, ALMP training has a ‘bridging’ effect over different labour market conditions, and a quick return to the regular labour market is, therefore, not as important for the success of participation as it is among ALMP employment participants.
The integration of digestion and osmoregulation in the avian gut
Authors: McWhorter Todd J. , Caviedes‐Vidal Enrique , Karasov William H. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractWe review digestion and osmoregulation in the avian gut, with an emphasis on the ways these different functions might interact to support or constrain each other and the ways they support the functioning of the whole animal in its natural environment. Differences between birds and other vertebrates are highlighted because these differences may make birds excellent models for study and may suggest interesting directions for future research. At a given body size birds, compared with mammals, tend to eat more food but have less small intestine and retain food in their gastrointestinal tract (GIT) for shorter periods of time, despite generally higher mass‐specific energy demands. On most foods, however, they are not less efficient at digestion, which begs the question how they compensate. Intestinal tissue‐specific rates of enzymatic breakdown of substrates and rates of active transport do not appear higher in birds than in mammals, nor is there a demonstrated difference in the extent to which those rates can be modulated during acclimation to different feeding regimes (e.g. diet, relative intake level). One compensation appears to be more extensive reliance on passive nutrient absorption by the paracellular pathway, because the avian species studied so far exceed the mammalian species by a factor of at least two‐ to threefold in this regard. Undigested residues reach the hindgut, but there is little evidence that most wild birds recover microbial metabolites of nutritional significance (essential amino acids and vitamins) by re‐ingestion of faeces, in contrast to many hindgut fermenting mammals and possibly poultry. In birds, there is some evidence for hindgut capacity to breakdown either microbial protein or protein that escapes the small intestine intact, freeing up essential amino acids, and there is considerable evidence for an amino acid absorptive capacity in the hindgut of both avian and mammalian hindgut fermenters. Birds, unlike mammals, do not excrete hyperosmotic urine (i.e. more than five times plasma osmotic concentration). Urine is mixed with digesta rather than directly eliminated, and so the avian gut plays a relatively more important role in water and salt regulation than in mammals. Responses to dehydration and high‐ and low‐salt loads are reviewed. Intestinal absorption of ingested water is modulated to help achieve water balance in one species studied (a nectar‐feeding sunbird), the first demonstration of this in any terrestrial vertebrate. In many wild avian species the size and digestive capacity of the GIT is increased or decreased by as much as 50% in response to nutritional challenges such as hyperphagia, food restriction or fasting. The coincident impacts of these changes on osmoregulatory or immune function of the gut are poorly understood.
Leptin increases growth of primary ossification centers in fetal mice
Authors: Bertoni Laura , Ferretti Marzia , Cavani Francesco , Zavatti Manuela , Resca Elisa , Benelli Augusta , Palumbo Carla 
Published: August 2009

AbstractThe effect of peripheral leptin on fetal primary ossification centers during the early phases of bone histogenesis was investigated by administration of leptin to pregnant mice. Fourteen pregnant mice were divided into two groups. The treated pregnant group was subcutaneously injected in the intrascapular region with supraphysiologic doses (2 mg kg−1) of leptin (Vinci Biochem, Firenze, Italy) in a volume of 0.1 mL per 10 g body weight, at the 7th, 9th and 11th day of gestation. The control group was treated with physiological solution in the same manner and same times as the treated group. The new‐born mice were killed 1 day after birth and the primary ossification centers were stained with Alizarin Red S after diaphanizing the soft tissues in 1% potassium hydroxide. The development of both endochondral and intramembranous ossification centers was morphometrically analysed in long bones. The results showed that the ossification centers of mice born by mothers treated with leptin grow more rapidly in both length and cross‐sectional area compared with mice born by the untreated mothers. As the development of long bones depends on endochondral ossification occurring at proximal and distal epiphyseal plates as well as on intramembranous ossification along the periosteal surface, it appears that leptin activates the differentiation and proliferation of both chondrocytes and osteoblasts. The role of leptin as a growth factor of cartilage and bone is discussed in the light of the data reported in the literature.
The efficacy of end‐to‐end and end‐to‐side nerve repair (neurorrhaphy) in the rat brachial plexus
Authors: Liao Wen‐Chieh , Chen Jeng‐Rung , Wang Yueh‐Jan , Tseng Guo‐Fang 
Published: August 2009

AbstractProximal nerve injury often requires nerve transfer to restore function. Here we evaluated the efficacy of end‐to‐end and end‐to‐side neurorrhaphy of rat musculocutaneous nerve, the recipient, to ulnar nerve, the donor. The donor was transected for end‐to‐end, while an epineurial window was exposed for end‐to‐side neurorrhaphy. Retrograde tracing showed that 70% donor motor and sensory neurons grew into the recipient 3 months following end‐to‐end neurorrhaphy compared to 40–50% at 6 months following end‐to‐side neurorrhaphy. In end‐to‐end neurorrhaphy, regenerating axons appeared as thick fibers which regained diameters comparable to those of controls in 3–4 months. However, end‐to‐side neurorrhaphy induced slow sprouting fibers of mostly thin collaterals that barely approached control diameters by 6 months. The motor end plates regained their control density at 4 months following end‐to‐end but remained low 6 months following end‐to‐side neurorrhaphy. The short‐latency compound muscle action potential, typical of that of control, was readily restored following end‐to‐end neurorrhaphy. End‐to‐side neurorrhaphy had low amplitude and wide‐ranging latency at 4 months and failed to regain control sizes by 6 months. Grooming test recovered successfully at 3 and 6 months following end‐to‐end and end‐to‐side neurorrhaphy, respectively, suggesting that powerful muscle was not required. In short, both neurorrhaphies resulted in functional recovery but end‐to‐end neurorrhaphy was quicker and better, albeit at the expense of donor function. End‐to‐side neurorrhaphy supplemented with factors to overcome the slow collateral sprouting and weak motor recovery may warrant further exploration.
Enhanced long‐term recollection for emotional pictures: Evidence from high‐density ERPs
Authors: Weymar Mathias , Löw Andreas , Melzig Christiane A. , Hamm Alfons O. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractThe present study used behavioral and electrophysiological measures to investigate the processes mediating long‐term recognition memory for emotional and neutral pictures. The results show enhanced memory recollection for emotional arousing pictures compared to neutral low arousing pictures. In accordance with the behavioral data, we observed enhanced old/new effects in the ERPs for emotionally arousing pictures in the recollection‐sensitive old/new component at centro‐parietal sites (500–800 ms). Moreover, early old/new effects were present over frontal and parietal sites (300–500 ms) irrespective of picture contents. Analysis of the subjective awareness, indexed by the confidence ratings, showed that the late parietal old/new effect was increased for high confidence responses whereas the early component (300–500 ms) was mainly driven by low confidence responses, an indication for familiarity based recognition processes.
Effects of prior stimulus and prior perception on neural correlates of auditory stream segregation
Authors: Snyder Joel S. , Holder W. Trent , Weintraub David M. , Carter Olivia L. , Alain Claude 
Published: August 2009

AbstractWe examined whether effects of prior experience are mediated by distinct brain processes from those processing current stimulus features. We recorded event‐related potentials (ERPs) during an auditory stream segregation task that presented an adaptation sequence with a small, intermediate, or large frequency separation between low and high tones (Δf), followed by a test sequence with intermediate Δf. Perception of two streams during the test was facilitated by small prior Δf and by prior perception of two streams and was accompanied by more positive ERPs. The scalp topography of these perception‐related changes in ERPs was different from that observed for ERP modulations due to increasing the current Δf. These results reveal complex interactions between stimulus‐driven activity and temporal‐context‐based processes and suggest a complex set of brain areas involved in modulating perception based on current and previous experience.
Customer satisfaction with apartment housing offered by Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
Authors: James III Russell 
Published: August 2009

AbstractThe explosive growth of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is changing the ownership structure of rental housing in the US and across the world. This paper reports the impact of REIT ownership on renter satisfaction by analysing nearly one‐half million ratings posted on the largest US consumer comment website for apartments. Descriptive statistics and ordered logit analyses (both with and without zip code fixed effects) indicated that REITs following an aggressive branding strategy had positive effects on residential satisfaction, while non‐branding REITs had negative effects. This dichotomous outcome is consistent with an asymmetric‐information model of consumer choice in apartment rentals.
Objective measures as a predictor of late payments by high‐risk borrowers
Authors: Kolodinsky Jane M. , Roche Erin 
Published: August 2009

AbstractManufactured homes (also known outside the US as prefabricated homes) are a viable housing option for low‐income buyers, but traditional mortgages are not available for purchase of manufactured homes because of a perception of higher risk of default among purchasers of manufactured homes. Research suggests that creditscoring models which incorporate objective data such as income, debt‐to‐income ratio and credit history result in an accurate and objective predictive tool to estimate likelihood of late payments and default among traditional home buyers. This study showed that these same models can be applied similarly to purchasers of manufactured homes. A Tobit model was developed to evaluate which factors most accurately predict default and late payment behaviour among borrowers who purchased a manufactured home. The model showed that when decomposed into the probability of making a late payment and number of late payments, credit score and income are both significant predictors in both sets of borrowers of both the probability of making a late payment and the number of late payments. The higher the credit score, the less likely the borrower is to make a late payment.
Aesthetics in displacement – Hmong, Somali and Mexican home‐making practices in Minnesota
Authors: Hadjiyanni Tasoulla 
Published: August 2009

AbstractPersonalizing a residential environment has long been recognized among the dimensions of home. Little research though has focused on understanding the home‐making process of aesthetic construction under conditions of displacement. Questions still abound: What does the notion of aesthetics entail in displacement? Do immigrant groups construct a sense ofdifferencein the home, and if so, how? And, what can impede their efforts? Answering these questions sheds light on the opportunities that arise when interdisciplinary connections between architectural, housing and consumer studies are formed.Using data from in‐depth interviews conducted in the homes of three displaced groups now living in Minnesota (Hmong, Somali and Mexicans), this paper explores the above questions and proposes theoretical and practical directions for supporting diverse housing needs. Delving into the living and socializing areas, the discussion uncovers the material and immaterial forms that aesthetic constructions can take: from decorative objects to colours, textures, materials, light levels, furniture placement and type as well as sound and smell. Interviewees varied in the number of cultural expressions they employed and degree to which they invested time, energy and funds to personalize their homes. Their efforts though were often purposive: a means to connect to a homeland, pass down one's cultural traditions to future generations, foster alliances with others from the same cultural group and a form of constructingdifference.Particularly insightful are the impediments those interviewed endured in constructing an aesthetic they resonated with. Factors like spatiality, religious beliefs, regulations, income limitations, construction norms and availability of objects to purchase often suppressed their attempts to transform the spaces they lived in into places they can relate to, threatening in the process the group's cultural identity definition and creating stress in their lives. Given that home‐making is found to be inextricably tied to consumer studies through behaviours like purchasing products, the paper closes with the implications of rethinking aesthetics as well as directions for future research.
Modes of production in home maintenance: accounting for the choice between formality, off the books and self‐provisioning
Authors: Adriaenssens Stef , Hendrickx Jef 
Published: August 2009

AbstractHouseholds depend on the existence of a home, and therefore, maintenance plays an important social and economic role. Formal outsourcing is often overestimated here and alternative modes, such as informal outsourcing and do‐it‐yourself (DIY), are overlooked. This paper estimates and accounts for the choice of one mode of production in Flemish households.First, the different modes of production are quantified according to two different methods. Further, an explanation of the choice made is constructed. The complexity of maintenance work has an impact as well as the dimensions of social and cultural capital. Factors such as dexterity, occupational acquaintance with maintenance work, social trust and social contacts play a role. Finally, a model of a sequence of decisions is tested. This ramification mechanism shows that the primary choice is formal commissioning or not, inspired by technical complexity. The second choice between off‐the‐books outsourcing and DIY is influenced by the capital resources of the households.