bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Gene expression demonstrates increased resilience toward harmful inflammatory stimuli in the proliferating epidermis of human skin wounds
Authors: Markus Roupé K. , Alberius Per , Schmidtchen Artur , Sørensen Ole E. 
Published: July 2010

Please cite this paper as: Gene expression demonstrates increased resilience toward harmful inflammatory stimuli in the proliferating epidermis of human skin wounds. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: e329–e332.Abstract:  We examined the epidermal gene expression during the proliferative phase of wound healing. Matrix metalloproteases were the group of proteases most prominently up‐regulated in skin wounds, whereas serine protease inhibitors were the most strongly up‐regulated protease inhibitors. Furthermore, we found down‐regulation of genes involved in the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis. This together with the up‐regulation of inhibitors of leukocyte serine proteases likely represents a protective step to ensure survival of keratinocytes in the inflammatory wound environment. The down‐regulation of proapoptotic genes in the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis was not accompanied by a down‐regulation of receptors indicating that the keratinocytes in skin wounds did not become less responsive to external stimuli. Examining the transcription factor binding sites in the promoters of the most differentially expressed genes between normal skin and skin wounds a significant overrepresentation of binding sites were found for STAT‐5, SRY and members of the FOXO‐family of transcription factors.
Neurodevelopment of children born very preterm and free of severe disabilities: the Nord‐Pas de Calais Epipage cohort study
Authors: Charkaluk ML , Truffert P , Fily A , Ancel PY , Pierrat V ,   Epipage study group
Published: July 2010

AbstractAim:  To describe the development of very preterm children free of cerebral palsy or severe sensory impairment in the domains of gross and fine motor functions, language and sociability at a corrected age of 2 years; to identify factors associated with performances in each domain.Methods:  A total of 347 children born in 1997 before 33 weeks of gestation, part of the EPIPAGE population‐based cohort study, had their psychomotor development assessed with the Brunet‐Lezine scale.Results:  The study population had a mean gestational age of 30.1 ± 2.0 weeks. Lower developmental quotients (DQ) were observed in the study group compared to the reference sample (96 ± 13 vs 104 ± 8, p < 0.01). Fine motor function, language and sociability were all affected with a p value <0.01. Multivariate analysis showed that duration of intubation and parents’ educational and occupational levels were the only variables significantly related to each developmental domain (p < 0.01).Conclusions:  Children very preterm and free of severe disabilities had mild delays in multiple areas of development. The mechanisms by which neonatal factors played a role need further investigation. However socioeconomic status had a great impact on development and our results underline the need for improved support of socioeconomically disadvantaged parents after a preterm birth.
The effect of high ambient temperature on Ca, P and Mg balance and bone turnover in high‐yielding dairy cows
Authors: KAMIYA Yuko , KAMIYA Mitsuru , TANAKA Masahito 
Published: July 2010

ABSTRACTWe investigated the effect of heat stress on Ca, P and Mg balance and bone turnover in lactating cows. In a 2 × 2 crossover design, four multiparous lactating Holstein cows were kept in a chamber and subjected to a constant moderate (18°C) ambient temperature (MT) or high (28°C) ambient temperature (HT). The cows were fed total mixed ration (Ca, 0.7%; P, 0.4%; Mg, 0.2%) ad libitum. The milk yield under HT (35.4 kg/day) tended to be lower (P < 0.10) than that under MT (43.2 kg/day). The concentrations of milk P (P < 0.05) and Mg (P < 0.01) were significantly lower under HT than MT. The Ca, P and Mg intake (P < 0.10); Ca (P < 0.10), P, and Mg (P < 0.05) secretion into milk; and Ca (P < 0.05), P (P < 0.01), and Mg (P < 0.05) absorption in the intestine were lower under HT than MT. The plasma osteocalcin, a marker of bone turnover, was significantly lower (P < 0.05) under HT than MT. Heat stress did not affect plasma C‐telopeptide of collagen type I, a bone resorption marker, and plasma parathyroid hormone concentration.
Calf production from vitrified bovine sexed embryos following in‐straw dilution
Authors: AKIYAMA Kiyoshi , KOBAYASHI Jun , SATO Yoshimasa , SATA Ryuichi , OHASHI Megumi , SASAKI Emi , ODA Yorimasa , OGAWA Yoshio , UEDA Shuji , NABENISHI Hisashi , MATOBA Satoko 
Published: July 2010

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to develop an in‐straw dilution method suitable for direct transfer of vitrified bovine sexed embryos. Embryo sexing was performed by molecular diagnosis. Several sexed and vitrified‐warmed embryos were transferred after evaluation of morphologically embryonic survival at warming and in‐straw dilution (Evaluation group). The other embryos were immediately directly transferred to recipients without first being expelled from the straws after in‐straw dilution (Non‐evaluation group). The pregnancy rates of vitrified sexed embryos were 38.7% and 34.8% in the Evaluation group and Non‐evaluation group, respectively, which were not significantly different. The viability of lower quality embryos before vitrification tended to be lower (P = 0.087) than that of the higher quality embryos regardless of evaluating embryos after warming and in‐straw dilution. The abortion rates were similar, and there was no difference between the two groups (13.9% and 12.5%, respectively). These results demonstrate that vitrified bovine sexed embryos can be vitrified and diluted by the in‐straw method and that the vitrified and warmed sexed embryos can develop to term.
Molecular cloning, chromosomal localization and expression pattern of porcine ADP‐ribosylation factor(Arf) gene family
Authors: ZHANG Rongrong , LEI Ting , QI Yanmei , LEI Peng , CHEN Zhilong , CHEN Xiaodong , YANG Zaiqing 
Published: July 2010

ABSTRACTAdenosine diphosphate‐ribosylation factors (Arfs) are a family of guanosine triphosphate‐binding proteins involved in fundamental biological processes including secretion, endocytosis, phagocytosis, cytokinesis, cell adhesion and tumor cell invasion. We report here the molecular cloning, chromosome localization and expression analysis of porcine Arf1–6, of which Arf1–3 (Class I) have >93% similarity to each other and encode nearly similar proteins with 181 amino acids in length. Arf4 and Arf5 (Class II) are 78–81% homologous to Class I Arfs and both encode a protein of 180 amino acids, Arf6 (Class III) shows 64–68% homology to the other Arfs and encodes 175 amino acids. With radiation hybrid mapping, porcine Arf1–6 are assigned to chromosomes 14q21‐q22, 12p14, 5p12‐q11, 13q21.1, 18q24, 1q21‐q27, respectively. Moreover, real‐time quantitative RT‐PCR assays show that porcine Arf1‐6 are ubiquitous in all tissues examined, with the highest levels in the kidney and stomach and the lowest in muscle and the heart. This is the first report of molecular characterization of the Arf gene family in pigs.
Neuroendocrine mechanism of seasonal reproduction in birds and mammals
Authors: YOSHIMURA Takashi 
Published: July 2010

ABSTRACTIn temperate zones, animals use changes in day length as a calendar to time their breeding season. However, the photoreceptive and neuroendocrine mechanisms of seasonal reproduction are considered to differ markedly between birds and mammals. This can be understood from the fact that the eye is the only photoreceptive organ, and melatonin mediates the photoperiodic information in mammals, whereas in birds, photoperiodic information is directly received by the deep brain photoreceptors and melatonin is not involved in seasonal reproduction. Recent molecular and functional genomics analysis uncovered the gene cascade regulating seasonal reproduction in birds and mammals. Long day‐induced thyroid stimulating hormone in the pars tuberalis of the pituitary gland regulates thyroid hormone catabolism within the mediobasal hypothalamus. Further, this local thyroid hormone catabolism appears to regulate seasonal gonadotropin‐releasing hormone secretion. These findings suggest that although the light input pathway is different between birds and mammals (i.e. light or melatonin), the core mechanisms are conserved in these vertebrates.
Observational constraints on supermassive dark stars
Authors: Zackrisson Erik , Scott Pat , Rydberg Claes-Erik , Iocco Fabio , Sivertsson Sofia , Östlin Göran , Mellema Garrelt , Iliev Ilian T. , Shapiro Paul R. 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Some of the first stars could be cooler and more massive than standard stellar models would suggest, due to the effects of dark matter annihilation in their cores. It has recently been argued that such objects may attain masses in the 104–107 M⊙ range and that such supermassive dark stars should be within reach of the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope. Notwithstanding theoretical difficulties with this proposal, we argue here that some of these objects should also be readily detectable with both the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based 8–10 m class telescopes. Existing survey data already place strong constraints on 107 M⊙ dark stars at z ≈ 10. We show that such objects must be exceedingly rare or short lived to have avoided detection.
Molecular Footprints of Neurotoxic Amphetamine Action
Authors: KUHN DONALD M. , GEDDES TIMOTHY J. 
Published: July 2010

AbstractMethamphetamine (METH) and 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or Ecstasy) are amphetamine analogs with high abuse potential. These drugs also cause damage to dopamine and serotonin nerve terminalsin vivo.The mechanisms by which these drugs cause neurotoxicity are not known, but a great deal of attention has been focused on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) as mediators of this toxicity. ROS and RNS have very short biological half‐livesin vivo, and it is virtually impossible to measure them in brain directly. However, ROS and RNS are also characterized by their extreme reactivity with proteins and nucleotides. Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the initial and rate limiting enzymes in the synthesis of serotonin and dopamine, respectively, are identified targets for the actions of METH and MDMA. Using recombinant forms of these proteins, we have found that nitric oxide, catechol‐quinones, and peroxynitrite, all of which are potentially produced by the neurotoxic amphetamines, covalently modify both TPH and TH. The ROS and RNS cause reductions in catalytic function of these enzymes in a manner that is consistent with the effects of METH and MDMAin vivo.Protein‐bound ROS or RNS may serve as molecular footprints of neurotoxic amphetamine action.
New Tests of Vestibular Function
Authors: DEMER JOSEPH L. , CRANE BENJAMIN T. , TIAN JUN‐RU , WIEST GERALD 
Published: July 2010

Abstract: The vestibulo‐ocular reflex (VOR) is the only drive for short‐latency eye movements stabilizing the retina during externally imposed, sudden, high‐head accelerations. New strategies can exploit this unique VOR feature to study it under conditions relevant to the daily lives of patients, and to exclude the contributions from confounding nonvestibular mechanisms. Testing of the yaw vestibulo‐ocular reflex (VOR) during random, whole‐body rotational transients at ≤2800°/s2 delivered about centered and eccentric axes enables measurement of gains and millisecond latencies of the canal and otolith VORs in humans. Repeated measurements in acute unilateral deafferentation show sequential recovery of canal and otolith VORs to contralesional rotation, but severe and permanent deficits to ipsilesional rotation. Patients with bilateral loss of caloric responses show severe bilateral loss of VORs to transient rotation, suggesting that the apparent preservation of their VORs during sinusoidal rotations at moderate frequencies may be due instead to somatosensory inputs.Since visual acuity is degraded by retinal image motion, dynamic visual acuity (DVA) measured during imposed head‐on‐body or whole‐body transient motion can correlate closely with VOR performance only if optotypes are presented during directionally and temporally unpredictable, high‐acceleration head motion. Prediction and efference copy are relentlessly employed by vestibulopathic patients to enable good DVA during predictable or low‐acceleration head motion. The linear VOR to transient lateral acceleration is strongly dependent upon viewing distance. The latency of this otolith VOR is slightly longer and more variable than the canal VOR. Unlike the canal VOR, the otolith VOR does not develop a strong directional asymmetry in unilateral deafferentation. The otolith VOR is bilaterally attenuated in bilateral vestibulopathy, and loses target distance dependence in cerebellar degeneration.
Fertility and Maternal Age
Authors: KREY LEWIS , LIU HUI , ZHANG JOHN , GRIFO JAMIE 
Published: July 2010

AbstractIn humans, the live birth rate drops precipitously with increasing maternal age, and this decline is associated with increases in the incidence of oocyte and embryo aneuploidy. Preimplantation aneuploidy screening has improved pregnancy outcome by significantly lowering the miscarriage rate. Nevertheless, aneuploidy screening only identifies the affected embryos; it does not attempt to correct the underlying biologic problem. Anomalies in chromosome segregation can result from a dysfunctional first or second meiotic division in the egg or develop after fertilization during the first few mitoses of early embryonic development. In both instances, ooplasmic anomalies may account for the nuclear problem. Low cell levels of cytoplasmic proteins (e.g., cytoskeletal elements, enzymes, energy stores, cell cycle regulatory proteins) may lead to a dysfunctional division of chromosomes during egg maturation or following fertilization. Ooplasmic injection is a micromanipulation technique that has produced pregnancies in patients with a history of poor‐quality, fragmented embryos. Germinal vesicle transfer is a research procedure used to investigate the ooplasmic‐nuclear interplay regulating cell cycle, maturation, and fertilization. Both these techniques may prove to be effective in improving the quality of eggs from patients of advanced maternal age.
Genetic and Environmental Influences on Exceptional Longevity and the AGE Nomogram
Authors: PERLS THOMAS 
Published: July 2010

AbstractTo live beyond the octogenarian years, population and molecular genetic studies of centenarian sibships indicate that genetic factors play an increasingly important role as the limit of life span is approached. These factors are likely to influence basic mechanisms of aging that in turn broadly influence susceptibility to age‐related illnesses. Lacking genetic variations that predispose to disease as well as having variations that confer disease resistance (longevity enabling genes) are probably both important to achieving exceptional old age. The AGE (aging, genetics, environment) nomogram is introduced as an illustrative construct for understanding the influence of environmental and genetic factors on survival to various ages, depending on variations in the hypothesized relative importance of genes and environment to longevity. The rapid rise in the incidence of centenarians could indicate that many more people than we originally thought have the optimal set of genetic factors necessary to get to 100 and beyond. Recent studies indicate the likelihood that such factors will be elucidated in the near future.
Pigments in Aging: An Overview
Authors: PORTA EDUARDO A. 
Published: July 2010

AbstractAlthough during the normal aging process there are numerous pigmentary changes, the best recognized are those of melanin and lipofuscin. Melanin may increase (e.g., age spots, senile lentigo, or melanosis coli) or decrease (e.g., graying of hair or ocular melanin) with age, while lipofuscin (also called age pigment) always increases with age. In fact, the time‐dependent accumulation of lipofuscin in lysosomes of postmitotic cells and some stable cells is the most consistent and phylogenetically constant morphologic change of aging. This pigment displays a typical autofluorescence (Ex: ∼440; Em: ∼600 nm), sudanophilia, argyrophilia, PAS positiveness, and acid fastness. Advances on its biogenesis, composition, evolution, and lysosomal degradation have been hampered by the persistent confusion between lipofuscin and the large family of ceroid pigments found in a variety of pathological conditions, as evidenced by the frequent use of the hybrid term lipofuscin/ceroid by investigators mainly working with in vitro systems of disputable relevance to in vivo lipofuscinogenesis. While lipofuscin and ceroid pigments may share some of their physicochemical properties at one moment or another in their evolutions, these pigments have different tissue distribution, rates of accumulation, origin of their precursors, and lectin binding affinities. Although it is widely believed that lipofuscin is a marker of oxidative stress, and that it can be, therefore, modified by antioxidants and prooxidants, these assumptions are mainly based on in vitro experiments and are not generally supported by in vivo studies. Another common misconception is the belief that lipofuscin can be extracted from tissues by lipid solvents and measured spectrofluorometrically. These and other disturbing problems are reviewed and discussed in this presentation.
Fruit Polyphenolics and Brain Aging
Authors: GALLI RACHEL L. , SHUKITT‐HALE BARBARA , YOUDIM KURESH A. , JOSEPH JAMES A. 
Published: July 2010

AbstractNutritional interventions, in this case, increasing dietary intake of fruits and vegetables, can retard and even reverse age‐related declines in brain function and in cognitive and motor performance in rats. Our lab has shown that as Fischer 344 rats age their brains are increasingly vulnerable to oxidative stress. Dietary supplementation with fruit or vegetable extracts high in antioxidants (e.g., blueberry, BB, spinach, respectively) can decrease this vulnerability to oxidative stress as assessed in vivo by examining reductions in neuronal signaling and behavioral deficits and in vitro via H2O2‐induced decrements in striatal synaptosomal calcium buffering. Examinations have also revealed that BB supplementations are effective in antagonizing other age‐related changes in brain and behavior, as well as decreasing indices of inflammation and oxidative stress in gastrocnemius and quadriceps muscles. In ongoing studies we are attempting to determine the most effective BB polyphenolic components. To date, the anthocyanins show the most efficacy in penetrating the cell membrane and in providing antioxidant protection. In sum, our results indicate that increasing dietary intake of fruits and vegetables high in antioxidant activity may be an important component of a healthy living strategy designed to maximize neuronal and cognitive functioning into old age.
Ascorbic Acid, Blood Pressure, and the American Diet
Authors: BLOCK GLADYS 
Published: July 2010

AbstractA large controlled study supported by the NIH, the DASH study (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), demonstrated that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can reduce blood pressure in persons with moderate elevation in blood pressure (BP). Fruits and vegetables are important sources of antioxidants such as vitamin C and carotenoids. We conducted a study in which we fed people a diet deficient in vitamin C for 30 days, followed for another 30 days by a diet adequate in vitamin C. Their blood levels of vitamin C and blood pressure (BP) were tracked. Plasma vitamin C was inversely related to diastolic blood pressure one month later (correlation =−0.48,P< 0.0001). Persons whose blood levels of vitamin C went down the furthest on depletion had the highest blood pressure one month later. Persons in the lowest one‐fourth of the plasma vitamin C distribution had diastolic BP 7 mm Hg higher than did those in the upper one‐fourth of the plasma ascorbic acid distribution. Multivariate control for age, body mass index, other plasma antioxidants, and dietary energy, calcium, fiber, sodium, and potassium did not reduce the plasma vitamin C effect. We believe that this indicates that the tissue stores of vitamin C may be important in regulating blood pressure. It is often thought that Americans' intake of vitamin C is ample, since the average intake is about 100 mg/day. However, this average level obscures the fact that substantial numbers of people actually have habitually low intake levels and low blood levels. African Americans tend to have low blood levels of vitamin C as well as the highest risk of hypertension. Low intake of antioxidant‐rich fruits and vegetables may be one of the causes of hypertension.
Programmed Death Phenomena: From Organelle to Organism
Authors: SKULACHEV VLADIMIR P. 
Published: July 2010

AbstractProgrammed death phenomena appear to be inherent not only in living cells (apoptosis), but also in subcellular organelles (e.g., self‐elimination of mitochondria, called mitoptosis), organs (organoptosis), and even whole organisms (phenoptosis). In all these cases, the “Samurai law of biology”—it is better to die than to be wrong—seems to be operative. The operation of this law helps complicated living systems avoid the risk of ruin when a system of lower hierarchic position makes a significant mistake. Thus, mitoptosis purifies a cell from damaged and hence unwanted mitochondria; apoptosis purifies a tissue from unwanted cells; and phenoptosis purifies a community from unwanted individuals. Defense against reactive oxygen species (ROS) is probably one of the primary evolutionary functions of programmed death mechanisms. So far, it seems that ROS play a key role in the mito‐, apo‐, organo‐, and phenoptoses, which is consistent with Harman's theory of aging. Here a concept is described that tries to unite Weismann's hypothesis of aging as an adaptive programmed death mechanism and the generally accepted alternative point of view that considers aging as an inevitable result of accumulation in an organism of occasional injuries. It is suggested that injury accumulation is monitored by a system(s) actuating a phenoptotic death program when the number of injuries reaches some critical level. The system(s) in question are organized in such a way that the lethal case appears to be a result of phenoptosis long before the occasional injuries make impossible the functioning of the organism. It is stressed that for humans these cruel regulations look like an atavism that, if overcome, might dramatically prolong the human life span.