bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sildenafil promotes neuroprotection of the pelvic ganglia neurones after bilateral cavernosal nerve resection in the rat
Authors: Hlaing Su M. , Garcia Leah A. , Kovanecz Istvan , Martinez Ramon A. , Shah Sanjana , Artaza Jorge N. , Ferrini Monica G. 
Published: June 2012

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?
Treatment with phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors preserves penile corporal smooth muscle and inhibits the fibrotic degeneration normally seen after bilateral cavernosal nerve resection (BCNR) in rats. However, the effect of PDE5 inhibitors on the pelvic ganglia neurones affected by BCNR is unknown.
The present study found that cavernosal nerve damage triggers a cascade of events in pelvic ganglia neurones, including changes in the expression of neurotransmitters, neurotrophic factors and cytokine production. Treatment with sildenafil ameliorates the impact of nerve damage by up‐regulating neuronal nitric oxide synthase and neurotrophic factors, promoting a neuroprotective microenvironment that may favour nerve regeneration of the pelvic ganglia neurones affected by BCNR.
Objective
To determine the gene expression profile of pelvic ganglia neurones after bilateral cavernosal nerve resection (BCNR) and subsequent treatment with sildenafil in relation to neurotrophic‐related pathways.
Materials and Methods
Fisher rats aged 5 months were subjected to BCNR or sham operation and treated with or without sildenafil (20 mg/kg body‐weight in drinking water) for 7 days.
Total RNA isolated from pelvic ganglia was subjected to reverse transcription and then to quantitative reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the RAT‐neurotrophic array.
Results were corroborated by real‐time PCR and western blotting.
Another set of animals were injected with a fluorescent tracer at the base of the penis, 7 days before BCNR or sham operation, and were sacrificed 7 days after surgery.
Sections of pelvic ganglia were used for immunohistochemistry with antibodies against neurturin, neuronal nitric oxide synthase, tyrosine hydroxylase and glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor receptor α2.
Results
A down‐regulation of the expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase accompanied by changes in the level of cholinergic neurotrophic factors, such as neurturin and its receptor glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor receptor α2, artemin, neurotrophin‐4 and cilliary neurotrophic factor, was observed 7 days after BCNR in pelvic ganglia neurones.
Treatment with sildenafil, starting immediately after surgery, reversed all these changes at a level similar to that in sham‐operated animals.
Conclusions
Sildenafil treatment promotes changes in the neurotrophic phenotype, leading to a regenerative state of pelvic ganglia neurones.
The present study provides a justification for the use of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors as a neuroprotective agent after BCNR.
Lack of international consensus in low‐risk drinking guidelines
Authors: Furtwængler Nina A. F. F. , de Visser Richard O. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractIntroduction and AimsTo encourage moderate alcohol consumption, many governments have developed guidelines for alcohol intake, guidelines for alcohol consumption during pregnancy and legislation relating to blood alcohol limits when driving. The aim of this study was to determine the degree of international consensus within such guidelines.Design and MethodsOfficial definitions of standard drinks and consumption guidelines were searched for on government websites, including all 27 European Union Member States and countries from all global geographic regions.ResultsThere was a remarkable lack of agreement about what constitutes harmful or excessive alcohol consumption on a daily basis, a weekly basis and when driving, with no consensus about the ratios of consumption guidelines for men and women.Discussion and ConclusionsInternational consensus in low‐risk drinking guidelines is an important—and achievable—goal. Such agreement would facilitate consistent labelling of packaged products and could help to promote moderate alcohol consumption. However, there are some paradoxes related to alcohol content labelling and people's use of such information: although clearer information could increase people's capacity to monitor and regulate their alcohol consumption, not all drinkers are motivated to drink moderately or sensibly, and drinkers who intend to get drunk may use alcohol content labelling to select more alcoholic products.
Is there unity within the discipline?
Authors: Newham Roger A. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThis paper will examine a claim that nursing is united by its moral stance. The claim is that there are moral constraints on nurses' actions as people practising nursing (nurses qua nurses) and that they are in some way different from both what for now can be called standard morality and also different from the person's own moral views who also happens to be a nurse, hence the defining and unifying factor for nursing. I will begin by situating the claim within the broader area about the need for a definition to state features that are essential to all and only members of its class. This will highlight the fact that there are two distinct types of definition used by authors seeking to find a unity for nursing. One type of definition has to do with goals or purposes given to nursing and the other with ends discovered as nursing. But even if there are ends waiting to be discovered a particular practical concern is how we can have knowledge of them. I will suggest that knowledge by intuition is plausible but that as things currently stand in moral epistemology it will not provide the unifying ground for nursing. Then I will argue that in the latter approach to definition a certain account of human nature has been advanced in order to provide features that are there to be discovered and so not dependent on human beings for the definition or classification. However, such an attempt to define nursing cannot do what is wanted. Rather than the account of human nature grounding morality and doing so for nursing, the account of human nature itself relies upon a prior account of morality. Because of this it loses its supposed ground of unity for the profession. Nursing is not united by its moral stance especially if this is understood in a strong sense as unique moral stance, but as things currently stand in moral epistemology this is not necessarily a bad thing for practitioners or patients.
Harm reduction and the medicalisation of tobacco use
Authors: Rooke Catriona 
Published: June 2012

AbstractIn tobacco control the focus has, for some time, been on abstinence from all types of tobacco use as the only solution to the problem of smoking, and harm reduction approaches are controversial. The most recent English tobacco strategy has incorporated harm reduction approaches in the form of new ‘routes’ to quitting smoking that encourage those who cannot quit to use safer sources of nicotine. This move away from a focus on abstinence can be seen as the result of gradual shifts over the past 50 years in the way that that the problem of smoking is understood and the solutions that are offered. These shifts have involved increasingly seeing tobacco use as a medical problem. This article uses conceptual tools from science and technology studies to examine developments over the last decade in England, primarily the increasing importance of harm reduction approaches. Drawing on 20 semi‐structured qualitative interviews with key stakeholders and documentary analysis, I suggest that the shape harm reduction has taken in English tobacco control policy has been another shift towards the medicalisation of tobacco use, but that this process has occurred in ways that provide a contrast to commonly outlined ‘drivers’ of medicalisation.
Talkin' 'bout the Ghetto: Popular Culture and Urban Imaginaries of Immobility
Authors: JAFFE RIVKE 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThe concept of the ghetto, referring to specifically urban experiences of sociospatial marginalization, has played a prominent role in black popular culture. This article explores the role of the ghetto as a discursive space of immobility and traces its global journey as a mobile imaginary. Focusing mainly on the US and the Caribbean, it explores how this popular culture imaginary is produced and employed to frame and negotiate social and spatial marginalization in a broad range of urban settings. As ‘the ghetto’ begins to travel through the global dissemination and appropriation of black popular culture, its relation to racialized understandings of blackness shifts. This move, in which the ghetto can belong to anyone, allows the imaginary both to function as a site for the production of transgressive, cosmopolitan ‘immobile subjects’, and to be transformed by commercial forces into a global commodity.RésuméLe concept de ghetto, visant les expériences spécifiquement urbaines de la marginalisation socio‐spatiale, a pris une grande place dans la culture populaire noire. Cette étude porte sur le rôle du ghetto vu comme un espace multiple d'immobilité, tout en retraçant son voyage planétaire en tant qu'imaginaire mobile. Consacrée surtout aux États‐Unis et aux Antilles, elle explore comment cet imaginaire de la culture populaire est créé et utilisé pour définir et surmonter la marginalisation sociale et spatiale dans divers cadres urbains. Au fur et à mesure que «le ghetto» se déplace grâce à la propagation et à l'appropriation de la culture populaire noire à travers le monde, sa relation avec les conceptions racialisées de la négritude évolue. Ce flux, grâce auquel le ghetto peut appartenir à n'importe qui, permet à l'imaginaire d'opérer comme site de production de «sujets immobiles», cosmopolites et transgressifs, tandis que les forces commerciales le transforment en produit mondialisé.
Protection of dopaminergic cells by urate requires its accumulation in astrocytes
Authors: Cipriani Sara , Desjardins Cody A. , Burdett Thomas C. , Xu Yuehang , Xu Kui , Schwarzschild Michael A. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractUrate is the end product of purine metabolism and a major antioxidant circulating in humans. Recent data link higher levels of urate with a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and with a slower rate of its progression. In this study, we investigated the role of astrocytes in urate‐induced protection of dopaminergic cells in a cellular model of Parkinson’s disease. In mixed cultures of dopaminergic cells and astrocytes oxidative stress‐induced cell death and protein damage were reduced by urate. By contrast, urate was not protective in pure dopaminergic cell cultures. Physical contact between dopaminergic cells and astrocytes was not required for astrocyte‐dependent rescue as shown by conditioned medium experiments. Urate accumulation in dopaminergic cells and astrocytes was blocked by pharmacological inhibitors of urate transporters expressed differentially in these cells. The ability of a urate transport blocker to prevent urate accumulation into astroglial (but not dopaminergic) cells predicted its ability to prevent dopaminergic cell death. Transgenic expression of uricase reduced urate accumulation in astrocytes and attenuated the protective influence of urate on dopaminergic cells. These data indicate that urate might act within astrocytes to trigger release of molecule(s) that are protective for dopaminergic cells.
Globalising Indigeneity? Writing Indigenous Histories in a Transnational World
Authors: Fox Karen 
Published: June 2012

AbstractIn recent decades, Indigenous histories have been increasingly significant and growing areas of historical research in white settler societies such as Australia and New Zealand. These rich veins of historical enquiry have, for the most part, been explored within the framework of national boundaries, and the state has been central to many analyses of Indigenous experiences of the past. Calls to write comparative Indigenous histories are not new, and since the 1990s, such projects have appeared in growing numbers. Yet they remain relatively scarce, particularly outside the history of the British empire, or across empires. At the same time, more and more scholars have adopted the methods and approaches of transnational history. Trends in the writing of Indigenous histories and trends in transnational historical scholarship, however, may be leading in opposite directions. In this paper I reflect on these trends, and on the longer history of comparative Indigenous history writing, taking comparisons of Australia and New Zealand as a particular example. Exploring some of the problems and possibilities that have faced those embarking on such research, I reflect on the implications for the transnational history project of the call to local and regional views emerging from Indigenous histories.
Introduction to a virtual special issue on crustal melting
Authors: BROWN MICHAEL 
Published: June 2012

This virtual special issue represents a collection of papers concerning Crustal Melting selected by the Editor from those published on various aspects of this theme in the JMG since 1982. The papers are grouped into sequences that address topics that have been prominent in the JMG during the last 30 years concerning the origin, evolution and tectonic role of migmatites and migmatitic granulites in crustal evolution. These topics are: Open‐ and closed‐system processes in the formation of migmatites and migmatitic granulites; thermobarometry, P–T paths, phase equilibria modelling and retrograde processes in formerly melt‐bearing rocks; geochronology in partially melted rocks; and, microstructures, deformation and tectonics of melt bearing rocks.About one‐third of the papers published in the JMG since its inception concern the origin, evolution and tectonic significance of migmatites and migmatitic granulites in crustal evolution, including the first special issue published by the JMG concerning ‘Studies in the genesis and deformation of migmatites’ edited by Tracy & Day (1988; Volume 6, Issue 4, Pages 385‐543). Three subsequent Special Issues of the JMG include papers relevant to the theme of this virtual special issue; they are ‘Metamorphic processes: a celebration of the career contribution of Ron Vernon’, ‘Processes in granulite metamorphism’ and ‘Granulites, partial melting and the rheology of the lower crust’, edited by Brown & Clarke (2002; Volume 20, Issue 1, Pages 1‐213), Brown & White (2008; Volume 26, Issue 2, Pages 121‐299) and Brown et al. (2011; Volume 29, Issue 1, Pages 1‐166), respectively.The selection of papers in this virtual special issue is by no means comprehensive, but it is intended as a representative selection of what has been published in the JMG over 30 years to give the reader a broad overview of crustal melting. Furthermore, although many papers address more than one topic, each is included only once and has been placed within the most appropriate section.
Skin Graft Vascular Maturation and Remodeling: A Multifractal Approach to Morphological Quantification
Authors: GOULD DANIEL J. , REECE GREGORY P. 
Published: June 2012

Please cite this paper as: Gould DJ, Reece GP. Skin graft vascular maturation and remodeling: a multifractal approach to morphological quantification. Microcirculation 19: 652–663, 2012.AbstractObjective:  One important contributor to tissue graft viability is angiogenic maturation of the graft tissue bed. This study uses scale‐invariant microvascular morphological quantification to track vessel maturation and remodeling in a split‐thickness skin‐grafting model over 21 days, comparing the results to classical techniques.Methods:  Images from a previous study of split‐thickness skin grafting in rats were analyzed. Microvascular morphology (fractal and multifractal dimensions, lacunarity, and vessel density) within fibrin interfaces of samples over time was quantified using classical semi‐automated methods and automated multifractal and lacunarity analyses.Results:  Microvessel morphology increased in density and complexity, from three to seven days after engraftment and then regressed by 21 days. Vessel density increased from 0.07 on day 3 to 0.20 on day 7 and then decreased to 0.06 on day 21. A similar trend was seen for the fractal dimension that increased from 1.56 at three days to 1.77 at seven days then decreased to 1.57 by 21 days. Vessel diameters did not change whereas complexity and density did, signaling remodeling.Conclusions:  This new automated analysis identified design parameters for tissue engraftment and could be used in other models of graft vessel biology to track proliferation and pruning of complex vessel beds.
Consumption inequality between farm and nonfarm households in Taiwan: a decomposition analysis of differences in distribution
Authors: Chang Hung‐Hao 
Published: June 2012

AbstractConsumption has been recognized as a more reliable indicator of household well‐being than income. Although a considerable body of literature has examined income inequality between farm and nonfarm households, little is known about inequality in consumption. This research aims to fill this knowledge gap by investigating consumption disparity between farm and nonfarm households. Using a nationally representative household survey from Taiwan, we apply an unconditional quantile regression‐based decomposition method to decompose the differences in the distribution of household expenditure between these farm and nonfarm households. The results indicate that differences in the observed characteristics between these two types of households explain most of the consumption inequality. Moreover, the difference in the education level of the farm operator, household income, and the degree of urbanization are particularly important.
The PfNF‐YB transcription factor is a downstream target of melatonin and cAMP signalling in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
Authors: Lima Wânia R. , Moraes Miriam , Alves Eduardo , Azevedo Mauro F. , Passos Dario O. , Garcia Célia R. S. 
Published: June 2012

Abstract:  Plasmodium falciparum causes the most severe form of malaria and is responsible for the majority of deaths worldwide. The mechanism of cell cycle control within intra‐erythrocytic stages has been examined as a potential means of a promising way to identifying how to stop parasite development in red blood cells. Our group determined that melatonin increases parasitemia in P. falciparum and P. chabaudi through a complex signalling cascade. In vertebrates, melatonin controls the expression of transcription factors, leading us to postulate rather that the indoleamine would affect PfNF‐YB expression in human malaria parasites. We show here that PfNF‐YB transcription factor is highly expressed and colocalized in the nucleus in mature parasites during intra‐erythrocytic stages, thus suggesting an important role in cell division. Moreover, we demonstrate for the first time that melatonin and cAMP modulate the PfNF‐YB transcription factor expression in P. falciparum at erythrocytic stages. In addition, PfNF‐YB is found to be more ubiquitinated in the presence of melatonin. Finally, the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib is able to modulate PfNF‐YB expression as well. Taken together, our dada reinforce the role played by melatonin in the cell cycle control of P. falciparum and point this indolamine as a target to develop new antimalarial drugs.
Improving the diagnostic accuracy of dysplastic and melanoma lesions using the decision template combination method
Authors: Faal Maryam , Miran Baygi Mohammad Hossein , Kabir Ehsanollah 
Published: June 2012

Background/purposeMelanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer, and early detection of suspicious lesions can decrease the mortality rate of this cancer. In this article, we present a multi‐classifier system for improving the diagnostic accuracy of melanoma and dysplastic lesions based on the decision template combination rule.MethodsFirst, the lesion is differentiated from the surrounding healthy skin in an image. Next, shape, colour and texture features are extracted from the lesion image. Different subsets of these features are fed to three different classifiers: k‐nearest neighbour (k‐NN), support vector machine (SVM) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The decision template method is used to combine the outputs of these classifiers.ResultsThe proposed method has been evaluated on a set of 436 dermatoscopic images of benign, dysplastic and melanoma lesions. The final classifier ensemble delivers a total classification accuracy of 80.46%, with 67.73% of dysplastic lesions correctly classified and 83.53% of melanoma lesions correctly classified.ConclusionThe results show that the proposed method significantly increases the diagnostic accuracy of dysplastic and melanoma lesions compared with a single classifier. The total classification rate is also improved.
Study of the Uterine Local Immune Response in a Murine Model of Embryonic Death Due to Tritrichomonas foetus
Authors: Woudwyk Mariana A. , Monteavaro Cristina E. , Jensen Federico , Soto Pedro , Barbeito Claudio G. , Zenclussen Ana C. 
Published: June 2012

ProblemBovine tritrichomonosis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by Tritrichomonas foetus, characterized by conceptus loss. We developed a mouse model of tritrichomonosis to study the mechanisms involved in the embryonic death. We hypothesized that embryonic death may be due to an exacerbated maternal response to the pathogen that then affects embryo development.Method of studyWe infected BALB/c mice with Tritrichomonas foetus and paired them after confirming active infection. We studied the expression of pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines, markers for T regulatory and T helper 17 cells as well as haem‐oxygenase‐1 expression in uterine tissue by real‐time RT‐PCR.ResultsAs expected, TNF‐α was augmented in infected animals. IL‐10 and IL‐4 were also up‐regulated. Treg‐associated genes were higher expressed in uteri of infected group. In mice that have lost their conceptus after the infection, haem‐oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) mRNA levels were strongly decreased, while RORγt mRNA, a reliable marker for Th17, was augmented in uterus.ConclusionA T effector response of type 1 and 17 may be involved in tritrichomonosis‐related embryonic death. This alters protective mechanisms as HO‐1. Increased regulatory T cells may facilitate embryonic death by promoting the persistence of infection.
Urban legends series: lichen planus
Authors: Baccaglini L , Thongprasom K , Carrozzo M , Bigby M 
Published: June 2012

Oral Diseases (2012)Lichen planus (LP) is a common disorder affecting the oral cavity (OLP) and skin. Despite intensive research, LP/OLP etiology and treatment remain controversial. We investigated four controversial topics: (i) Is hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection associated with LP and involved in its pathogenesis? (ii) Should all patients with LP be screened for HCV? (iii) Should patients with OLP have all their amalgam restorations removed? (iv) Are there any new treatments for OLP? Results from extensive literature searches suggested that: (i) Robust evidence from three meta‐analyses indicate that HCV is associated with LP and might be involved in OLP pathogenesis (ii) It would be prudent to screen patients with LP/OLP at significant risk with an ELISA for HCV antibodies using country‐specific screening strategies (iii) There is no evidence that either OLP or oral lichenoid lesions patients would routinely benefit from having all their amalgam restorations replaced. Weak evidence from potentially very biased, small, non‐randomized, unblinded studies suggests that a small fraction of patients may benefit from targeted amalgam replacement. (iv) There is weak evidence that, among new OLP treatments, topical pimecrolimus, aloe vera, and oral curcuminoids may be useful. The development of specific formulations for oral delivery of topical medications is a promising field.