bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
URB597, an inhibitor of fatty acid amide hydrolase, reduces hyperalgesia in diabetic rats
Authors: Hasanein Parisa , Parviz Mohsen , Keshavarz Mansoor , Roohbakhsh Ali 
Published: June 2009

Diabetic rats display increased pain responses after injection of formalin into the paw or thermal stimulation of the tail, suggesting the presence of hyperalgesia. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of URB597 (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 mg/kg, i.p.), an inhibitor of endocannabinoids metabolism, on 2 models of experimental hyperalgesia in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Animals were divided into control, URB597-treated control (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 mg/kg), diabetic, and URB597-treated diabetic (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 mg/kg) groups. Formalin and tail-flick tests were performed 4 and 8 weeks after the onset of hyperglycemia, respectively. Diabetes caused significant hyperalgesia during these tests. URB597 (0.3 and 0.5 mg/kg) reversed chemical and thermal hyperalgesia in diabetic rats. Administration of URB597 at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg did not alter pain-related behaviors in control and diabetic groups compared with those of the respective control groups. URB597 treatment did not affect body weight or plasma glucose level of treated animals compared with nontreated animals. This study shows that increasing endocannabinoid neurotransmission with URB597 displays efficacy in chemical and thermal models of diabetic hyperalgesia. It also suggests that URB597 is a promising tool for treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy.
Mechanism of glucocorticoid-induced oxidative stress in rat hippocampal slice cultures
Authors: You Jung-Man , Yun Su-Jin , Nam Kyong Nyon , Kang Chulhun , Won Ran , Lee Eunjoo H. 
Published: June 2009

Prolonged stress results in elevation of glucocorticoid (GC) hormones, which can have deleterious effects in the brain. The hippocampus, which has a high concentration of glucocorticoid receptors, is especially vulnerable to increasing levels of GCs. GCs have been suggested to endanger hippocampal neurons by exacerbating the excitotoxic glutamate–calcium–reactive oxygen species (ROS) cascade. In an effort to reveal the mechanisms underlying GC-mediated hippocampal neurotoxicity, we aimed to clarify the molecular pathway of GC-induced ROS increase by using organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. Assays for ROS, using 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate fluorescence, showed that treatment of synthetic GC, dexamethasone (DEX) significantly enhanced ROS levels. Time course and dose response analyses indicated that peak amount of ROS was generated at 4 h after treatment with 50 µmol/L DEX. By contrast, other steroid hormones, progesterone and estradiol did not influence ROS production. N-acetyl-l-cysteine completely suppressed ROS produced by DEX. Propidium iodide staining exhibited prominent cell death in the hippocampal layer after 96 h of DEX treatment. RU486, a GC receptor antagonist, almost completely blocked the effect of DEX on ROS production and cell death, indicating that DEX-induced ROS overproduction and hippocampal death are mediated via GC receptors. Real-time reverse transcriptase PCR analysis demonstrated that after DEX treatment the level of glutathione peroxidase mRNA was decreased whereas that of NADPH oxidase mRNA was significantly enhanced. These findings suggest that excess GCs cause hippocampal damage by regulating genes involved in ROS generation.
Evaluation of the antidiabetic potential of selected medicinal plant extracts from the Canadian boreal forest used to treat symptoms of diabetes: part II
Authors: Harbilas Despina , Martineau Louis C. , Harris Cory S. , Adeyiwola-Spoor Danielle C.A. , Saleem Ammar , Lambert Jennifer , Caves Dayna , Johns Timothy , Prentki Marc , Cuerrier Alain , Arnason John T. , Bennett Steffany A.L. , Haddad Pierre S. 
Published: June 2009

Among the Cree of northern Quebec, the disproportionately high rate of diabetic complications is largely due to the cultural inadequacy of modern therapies for type 2 diabetes. To establish culturally adapted antidiabetic treatments, our team identified several candidate plant species used by the Cree to treat symptoms of diabetes. An initial study focused on 8 species and revealed that most possess significant in vitro antidiabetic activity. The purpose of the present study was to assess a further 9 species identified through the ethnobotanical survey. Crude plant extracts were screened for (i) potentiation of basal and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by skeletal muscle cells (C2C12) and adipocytes (3T3-L1); (ii) potentiation of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by pancreatic β cells (βTC); (iii) potentiation of adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells; (iv) protection against glucose toxicity and glucose deprivation in PC12-AC neuronal precursor cells; and (v) diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) oxygen free radical scavenging. Four species potentiated basal glucose uptake in muscle cells or adipocytes, one species being as potent as metformin. Adipogenesis was accelerated by 4 species with a potency roughly half that of rosiglitazone. Five species protected PC12-AC cells against glucose toxicity and 4 protected against glucose deprivation. Five species exhibited antioxidant activity comparable to ascorbic acid. However, no species increased insulin secretion. The present study revealed that Gaultheria hispidula , Rhododendron tomentosum , and Vaccinium vitis-idaea exhibit a promising profile of antidiabetic potential and are good candidates for more in-depth evaluation.
Continuous therapy with transdermal nitroglycerin does not affect biomarkers of vascular inflammation and injury in healthy volunteers
Authors: Thomas George R. , DiFabio Jonathan M. , Gori Tommaso , Jenkins David J.A. , Parker John D. 
Published: June 2009

Continuous exposure to nitroglycerin (GTN) results in development of tolerance and is associated with increased free radical production and abnormal endothelial function. Elevated plasma biomarkers of inflammation have been shown to be associated with endothelial dysfunction in most cardiovascular conditions. It remains unclear whether exposure to GTN is also associated with increased biomarkers of endothelial and vascular injury or vascular inflammation. In an investigator-blind study, a total of 28 healthy volunteers were randomized to continuous therapy with GTN (0.6 mg/h 24 h/day for 7 days) or no therapy. Venous blood was collected on day 0 and day 7. Plasma levels of markers such as asymmetric dimethyl-arginine (ADMA), human soluble P-selectin, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and oxidized low-density lipoproteins were measured. The levels of blood markers on day 0 were similar in the control and GTN-treated groups. After 7 days of GTN exposure, there were no significant changes in the different markers of vascular inflammation and injury either in the GTN or control group (all p > 0.5). The present study documents that prolonged continuous therapy with transdermal GTN therapy is not associated with changes in markers of vascular inflammation and injury.
Infarct size is increased in female post-MI rats treated with rapamycin
Authors: Lajoie Claude , El-Helou Viviane , Proulx Cindy , Clément Robert , Gosselin Hugues , Calderone Angelino 
Published: June 2009

Rapamycin represents a recognized drug-based therapeutic approach to treat cardiovascular disease. However, at least in the female heart, rapamycin may suppress the recruitment of putative signalling events conferring cardioprotection. The present study tested the hypothesis that rapamycin-sensitive signalling events contributed to the cardioprotective phenotype of the female rat heart after an ischemic insult. Rapamycin (1.5 mg/kg) was administered to adult female Sprague–Dawley rats 24 h after complete coronary artery ligation and continued for 6 days. Rapamycin abrogated p70S6K phosphorylation in the left ventricle of sham rats and the noninfarcted left ventricle (NILV) of 1-week postmyocardial-infarcted (MI) rats. Scar weight (MI 0.028 ± 0.006, MI+rapamycin 0.064 ± 0.004 g) and surface area (MI 0.37 ± 0.08, MI+rapamycin 0.74 ± 0.03 cm2) were significantly larger in rapamycin-treated post-MI rats. In the NILV of post-MI female rats, rapamycin inhibited the upregulation of eNOS. Furthermore, the increased expression of collagen and TGF-β3 mRNAs in the NILV were attenuated in rapamycin-treated post-MI rats, whereas scar healing was unaffected. The present study has demonstrated that rapamycin-sensitive signalling events were implicated in scar formation and reactive fibrosis. Rapamycin-mediated suppression of eNOS and TGF-β3 mRNA in post-MI female rats may have directly contributed to the larger infarct and attenuation of the reactive fibrotic response, respectively.
Limited behavioural thermoregulation by adult upriver-migrating sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the Lower Fraser River, British Columbia
Authors: Donaldson M. R. , Cooke S. J. , Patterson D. A. , Hinch S. G. , Robichaud D. , Hanson K. C. , Olsson I. , Crossin G. T. , English K. K. , Farrell A. P. 
Published: June 2009

The objective of this study was to combine radio telemetry with individual thermal loggers to assess the extent to which adult migrating sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum in Artedi, 1792)) behaviourally thermoregulate during their migration through the Fraser River mainstem, British Columbia. The Fraser mainstem represents a region of the migration route that contains some of the highest mean temperatures encountered by sockeye salmon during their life history. We found that throughout the study area, individual sockeye salmon body temperatures occasionally deviated from ambient temperatures (ΔT), yet individuals maintained a ΔT of –1 °C or cooler for only 5% of their migration through the study region. There were moderate mean deviations of ΔT in two segments that are known to contain thermally stratified waters. In one of the study segments with the greatest ΔT, mean body temperatures decreased as river temperatures increased and ΔT became increasingly positive with higher river discharge rates, but these relationships were not observed in any of the other study segments. No relationship existed between ΔT and migration rate. While periodic associations with cool water were evident, mean body temperatures were not significantly different than mean river temperatures throughout the lower Fraser mainstem. This finding raises further conservation concerns for vulnerable Fraser River sockeye stocks that are predicted to encounter increasing peak summer river temperatures in the coming decades.
Asymmetrical male-mediated gene flow between harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) populations in Alaska
Authors: Herreman J. K. , Blundell G. M. , McDonald D. B. , Ben-David M. 
Published: June 2009

Harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina richardii (Gray, 1864)) in Alaska are currently treated as three distinct management stocks. Previous genetic analyses using mitochondrial DNA suggested that these stocks are differentiated genetically. We studied populations in Glacier Bay (GB; Southeast Alaska Stock), where harbor seals are declining, and Prince William Sound (PWS; Gulf of Alaska Stock), where the population has recently stabilized. Using six pairs of hypervariable microsatellite primers, we determined that these populations are a single panmictic unit with estimated migration rates of 22 animals/generation (PWS to GB) and 63 animals/generation (GB to PWS). The asymmetrical gene flow between GB and PWS is likely driven in part by a recent increase in competitors and predators of seals in GB. In contrast with males, emigration of females from PWS to GB (8.3 seals/generation) is higher than emigration of females from GB to PWS (3.3 seals/generation), likely because females use glacial ice as pupping habitat. Despite the high gene flow, the number of migrants per year (0.02% of the Gulf of Alaska population) is likely too low to influence the demographics of harbor seals in PWS, and the two populations may best be managed as separate stocks.
Go with the flow
Authors: Xu Guoqing , Arnold Matthew , Mitchell Nick , Rountev Atanas , Sevitsky Gary 
Published: June 2009

Many large-scale Java applications suffer from runtime bloat. They execute large volumes of methods, and create many temporary objects, all to execute relatively simple operations. There are large opportunities for performance optimizations in these applications, but most are being missed by existing optimization and tooling technology. While JIT optimizations struggle for a few percent, performance experts analyze deployed applications and regularly find gains of 2x or more.
Finding such big gains is difficult, for both humans and compilers, because of the diffuse nature of runtime bloat. Time is spread thinly across calling contexts, making it difficult to judge how to improve performance. Bloat results from a pile-up of seemingly harmless decisions. Each adds temporary objects and method calls, and often copies values between those temporary objects. While data copies are not the entirety of bloat, we have observed that they are excellent indicators of regions of excessive activity. By optimizing copies, one is likely to remove the objects that carry copied values, and the method calls that allocate and populate them.

We introduce
copy profiling
, a technique that summarizes runtime activity in terms of chains of data copies. A flat copy profile counts copies by method. We show how flat profiles alone can be helpful. In many cases, diagnosing a problem requires data flow context. Tracking and making sense of raw copy chains does not scale, so we introduce a summarizing abstraction called the
copy graph
. We implement three clients analyses that, using the copy graph, expose common patterns of bloat, such as finding hot copy chains and discovering temporary data structures. We demonstrate, with examples from a large-scale commercial application and several benchmarks, that copy profiling can be used by a programmer to quickly find opportunities for large performance gains.
Some Remarks on Patronage in Syria-Palestine During the Late Bronze Age
Authors: Pfoh Emanuel 
Published: June 2009

AbstractFollowing the discussion presented in an article by R. Westbrook on patronage in the ancient Near East (JESHO 48/2, 2005), the aim of this paper is to continue with the discussion as well as to address some of the views on the topic regarding Syria-Palestine during the Late Bronze Age, using examples from the Amarna letters and Hittite treaties. Some of the critical questions that should be addressed in further discussions on the subject are related to the socio-political nature of patronage and its relationship to kinship ties in society, and why and how patronage relationships are established in society. Après l'étude du R. Westbrook sur l'évidence du patronage dans le Proche-Orient ancien, publié dans ce journal (JESHO 48/2, 2005), on veut continuer avec la discussion du thème mais donner aussi quelques révisions pour la Syrie-Palestine du l'âge du Bronce Récent à partir de exemples dans les lettres d'Amarna et les traités hittites. Questions fondamentales qu'on doit traiter sont: la nature socio-politique du patronage et son rapport avec la parenté dans la société; et pourquoi et comment les liens de patronage sont établis dans la société.
Agriculture in al-Hamdānī's Yemen: A Survey from Early Islamic Geographical Texts
Authors: Varisco Daniel Martin 
Published: June 2009

AbstractThe area of Yemen has been one of the most productive agricultural regions in the Arab World since the beginning of Islam. This article surveys the available knowledge from Arabic geographical and historical texts on the state of agriculture in Yemen during the early Islamic period up through the 10th century CE. The primary focus is on the work of Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī, including translation of a section on Yemeni agriculture from his Sifat jazīrat al-Arab. In addition to discussion of rain periods, water resources and agricultural methods, information on the known cultivated crops is provided. Depuis le commencement de l'ère islamique le Yémen constitue la région agricole la plus fertile du monde arabe. Cette contribution étudie l'agriculture au Yémen jusqu'au Xe siècle EC en exploitant les textes géographes et historiques arabes disponibles, tout d'abord les écrits de Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī, y inclut la traduction de la section qui traite de l'agriculture yéménite de son Sifat jazīrat al-Arab.Des considérations sur les pluies saisonnières, les ressources d'eau douce, et la méthode de culture, l'étude nous révèle en outre des détails sur la nature des produits agricoles connus.
Colombo versus Cannanore: Contrasting Structures of Two Colonial Port Cities (1500-1700)
Authors: Biedermann Zoltán 
Published: June 2009

AbstractThis article compares the urban structures of early modern Colombo and Cannanore, two South Asian port cities controlled by the Portuguese during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and taken over by the Dutch in 1656 and 1663. It is argued that, whereas Cannanore was an urban complex marked by a set of walls that separated ethnically and religiously distinct neighborhoods, Colombo, less influenced by regulations emanating from Lisbon and Goa and more exposed to local politics in an unusual historical and military context, developed into a more integrated city surrounded by a single external wall. Although, after the Dutch takeover, Cannanore's urban structure did not change much, Colombo's, on the other hand, was entirely transformed. These contrasts draw our attention to the complexity of urban developments in the colonial contexts of South Asia between 1500 and 1700. Cet article compare les structures urbaines, à l'époque moderne, de Colombo et de Cannanore, deux villes portuaires sud-asiatiques contrôlées par les Portugais aux XVIe-XVIIe siècles puis, à partir de 1656 et 1663 respectivement, par les Hollandais. Tandis que Cannanore était un complexe urbain marqué par des murs séparant les uns des autres les quartiers habités par des groupes ethniques et religieux différent, Colombo, moins influencée par les régulations issues de Lisbonne et de Goa et plus exposée aux influences politiques locales dans un contexte historique et militaire particulier, devint une ville plus intégrative encadrée par une seule ligne de remparts. Après la conquête hollandaise, les structures urbaines furent peu altérées à Cannanore, mais entièrement transformée à Colombo en vue d'une organisation ségrégative de l'espace. Ces attitudes contrastées servent à nous alerter sur la complexité des développements urbains dans les contextes coloniaux d'Asie du Sud entre 1500 et 1700.
The Ottoman State and Descendants of the Prophet in Anatolia and the Balkans (c. 1500-1700)
Authors: Canbakal Hülya 
Published: June 2009

AbstractThroughout the Islamic world those claiming descent from the Prophet Muhammad (T. seyyid/şerif, pl. sadat/eşraf) were (and are) accorded a special status. This article shows that the process of teseyyüd ("seyyidization") not only took place through official awards, but also through appropriation. In the Ottoman Empire registers thus began to be kept of officially recognized sadat. The examination of these, largely un(der)studied, sources argues that the state sometimes employed its capacity to seyyidize for (cultural) political purposes. The article also sheds valuable light on Ottoman policies vis-à-vis tribalism and nomadism. Dans le monde islamique entier un statut spécial était (et est) accordé à tous ceux qui revendiquent descendance du Prophète Mahomet (T. seyyid/şerif, pl. sadat/eşraf). Dans cet article on explique que le processus de tessyyüd ('seyyidisation') se passait non seulement par attribution officielle, mais aussi par appropriation. Dans l'Empire ottoman on a commencé ainsi à tenir des registres de sadat officiellement reconnu. L'examen de ces sources largement sous-étudiées démontre que l'État parfois usait de son autorité de 'seyyediser' pour des fins politiques (culturelles). Cet article jette en même temps une lumière de grande valeur sur la politique ottomane quant au tribalisme et au nomadisme.
Application and Comparison of Robust Linear Regression Methods for Trend Estimation
Authors: Muhlbauer Andreas , Spichtinger Peter , Lohmann Ulrike 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
In this study, robust parametric regression methods are applied to temperature and precipitation time series in Switzerland and the trend results are compared with trends from classical least squares (LS) regression and nonparametric approaches. It is found that in individual time series statistically outlying observations are present that influence the LS trend estimate severely. In some cases, these outlying observations lead to an over-/underestimation of the trends or even to a trend masking. In comparison with the classical LS method and standard nonparametric techniques, the use of robust methods yields more reliable trend estimations and outlier detection.
Extratropical Rossby Waves in the Presence of Buoyancy Mixing
Authors: Marchal Olivier 
Published: June 2009

AbstractThe propagation of Rossby waves on a midlatitude β plane is investigated in the presence of density diffusion with the aid of linear hydrostatic theory. The search for wave solutions in a vertically bounded medium subject to horizontal (vertical) diffusion leads to an eigenvalue problem of second (fourth) order. Exact solutions of the problem are obtained for uniform background stratification (N), and approximate solutions are constructed for variable N using the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin method. Roots of the eigenvalue relations for free waves are found and discussed.The barotropic wave of adiabatic theory is also a solution of the eigenvalue problem as this is augmented with density diffusion in the horizontal or vertical direction. The barotropic wave is undamped as fluid parcels in the wave move only horizontally and are therefore insensitive to the vortex stretching induced by mixing. On the other hand, density diffusion modifies the properties of baroclinic waves of adiabatic theory. In the presence of horizontal diffusion the baroclinic modes are damped but their vertical structure remains unaltered. The ability of horizontal diffusion to damp baroclinic waves stems from its tendency to counteract the deformation of isopycnal surfaces caused by the passage of these waves. The damping rate increases (i) linearly with horizontal diffusivity and (ii) nonlinearly with horizontal wavenumber and mode number. In the presence of vertical diffusion the baroclinic waves suffer both damping and a change in vertical structure. In the long-wave limit the damping is critical (wave decay rate numerically equal to wave frequency) and increases as the square roots of vertical diffusivity and zonal wavenumber. Density diffusion in the horizontal or vertical direction reduces the amplitude of the phase speed of westward-propagating waves. Observational estimates of eddy diffusivities suggest that horizontal and vertical mixing strongly attenuates baroclinic waves in the ocean but that vertical mixing is too weak to notably modify the vertical structure of the gravest modes.