bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Visfatin is associated with lipid metabolic abnormalities in Lyon hypertensive rats
Authors: Wang Pei , Bai Chong , Xu Quan‐Yi , Xu Tian‐Ying , Su Ding‐Feng , Sassard Jean , Miao Chao‐Yu 
Published: April 2010

Summary1. Visfatin (also known as nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase or Nampt) is a novel adipokine associated with metabolic abnormalities in obesity and diabetes. The aim of the present study was to determine whether visfatin levels in the circulation and visfatin expression in fat tissues are altered in Lyon hypertensive (LH) rats, a hypertensive strain with numerous metabolic abnormalities, and, if so, to explore the possible correlations between blood visfatin levels and the metabolic abnormalities in LH rats.2. Male 18–20‐week‐old LH rats and their control, Lyon normotensive (LN) rats, were used. Blood pressure was recorded in conscious, unrestrained rats. Fat tissue weight was determined. Serum visfatin concentrations were determined by enzyme immunoassay, whereas visfatin expression in fat tissues was determined by western blotting. Relationships between two parameters were evaluated by linear regression analysis.3. The LH rats had significantly higher bodyweight and fat tissue weight compared with LN rats. Serum lipid levels of total cholesterol (TC), high‐density lipoprotein–cholesterol (HDL‐C), low‐density lipoprotein–cholesterol (LDL‐C) and triglyceride (TG) were all significantly higher in LH rats than in LN rats. Moreover, serum visfatin levels were higher in LH rats than in LN rats and were positively correlated with bodyweight, fat tissue weight and serum lipid levels (i.e. TC, HDL‐C, LDL‐C, TG and the TG:HDL‐C ratio). There were no significant differences in serum glucose and insulin concentrations, or in the whole‐body insulin resistance index, between LN and LH rats, and serum visfatin levels were not correlated with any of these parameters. Visfatin expression in visceral fat tissue, but not in subcutaneous fat tissue, was markedly upregulated in LH compared with LN rats.4. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrate that serum visfatin levels in LH rats are elevated and are associated with lipid metabolic abnormalities.
Arginine‐vasopressin and the regulation of aggression in female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus)
Authors: Gutzler Stephanie J. , Karom Mary , Erwin W. D. , Albers H. E. 
Published: April 2010

AbstractArginine‐vasopressin (AVP) is critical for the expression of a variety of social behaviors in many species. Previous studies have demonstrated that AVP regulates behaviors such as social communication and aggression in Syrian hamsters through the V1a receptor subtype. In male hamsters, AVP injected into the anterior hypothalamus (AH) stimulates aggression, while injection of a V1a receptor antagonist inhibits the behavior. The purpose of the present studies was to determine whether AVP influences aggression by its action in the AH in female hamsters. In the first experiment, we were surprised to find that injection of the V1a receptor antagonist, Manning compound, into the AH of intact female hamsters increased aggression. The second experiment confirmed the ability of the V1a receptor antagonist to increase aggression and found that the largest effects of the antagonist occurred at intermediate concentrations of the compound. The next experiment found that injection of AVP into the AH significantly reduced the latency to attack and the duration of aggression. Finally, we examined whether the effects of AVP and the V1a receptor antagonist on aggression differed in hamsters exposed to long ‘summer‐like’ photoperiods or short ‘winter‐like’ photoperiods, and found that their effects on aggression were not photoperiod dependent. In summary, contrary to what is observed in males, these data suggest that AVP in the AH may play an inhibitory role on aggression in female Syrian hamsters.
Threshold and rate sensitivity of low‐threshold thermal nociception
Authors: Green Barry G. , Akirav Carol 
Published: April 2010

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that sensations of burning, stinging or pricking can be evoked by warming or cooling the skin to innocuous temperatures [low‐threshold thermal nociception (LTN)] below the thresholds of cold‐ and heat‐sensitive nociceptors. LTN implies that some primary afferent fibers classically defined as warm and cold fibers relay stimulation to the nociceptive system. We addressed this question in humans by determining if different adaptation temperatures (ATs) and rates of temperature change would affect thermal sensation and LTN similarly. In Experiment 1 subjects rated the intensity of warmth, cold and nociceptive sensations produced by increasing steps in temperature (±0.5°C increments) from ATs of 35, 33 and 31°C for cooling, and 30, 32 and 34°C for heating. Depending upon the AT, thresholds for nociceptive and thermal sensations estimated from the rating data differed by as little as −1.0°C for cooling and +1.5°C for heating. Thresholds of thermal and nociceptive sensations shifted by similar amounts across the three ATs during cooling, whereas during heating the nociceptive threshold was significantly affected only between ATs of 32 and 34°C. In Experiment 2, increasing the rate of temperature change from 0.5 to 4.0°C/s increased the intensity of thermal and nociceptive sensations significantly but the effect was greatest for nociceptive sensations during heating. The results of both experiments are consistent with the mediation of LTN by low‐threshold thermoreceptors, although LTN caused by heating may depend on a subset of fibers that express less sensitive TRP channels than those that serve sensations of warmth at the mildest temperatures.
Protein kinase Cγ is a signaling molecule required for the developmental speeding of α‐amino‐3‐hydroxyl‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazole‐propionate receptor kinetics
Authors: Patten Shunmoogum A. , Roy Birbickram , Cunningham Marcus E. , Stafford James L. , Ali Declan W. 
Published: April 2010

AbstractA key step in the maturation of glutamate synapses is the developmental speeding of α‐amino‐3‐hydroxyl‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazole‐propionate receptor (AMPA‐R) kinetics, which occurs via a switch in receptor subtypes. However, the molecular components required for the switch in receptors are unknown. Here, we used the zebrafish preparation to show that activation of protein kinase C (PKC)γ is necessary for the developmental speeding of AMPA‐R kinetics. Targeted knockdown of PKCγ with an antisense morpholino oligonucleotide [PKCγ‐morpholino (PKCγ‐MO)], prevents the normal speeding up of AMPA‐R kinetics in Mauthner cells. PKCγ‐MO‐injected embryos are incapable of trafficking AMPA‐Rs following application of phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate or PKCγ. PKCγ‐MO‐injected embryos do not hatch or exhibit the C‐start escape response. Increasing synaptic activity (33 h post‐fertilization embryos) by application of an elevated K+ medium or by application of N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate induces rapid PKCγ‐dependent trafficking of fast AMPA‐Rs to synapses. Our findings reveal that PKCγ is a molecular link underlying the developmental speeding of AMPA‐Rs in zebrafish Mauthner cells.
IGF‐I stimulates neurogenesis in the hypothalamus of adult rats
Authors: Pérez‐Martín M. , Cifuentes M. , Grondona J. M. , López‐Ávalos M. D. , Gómez‐Pinedo U. , García‐Verdugo J. M. , Fernández‐Llebrez P. 
Published: April 2010

AbstractIn the brain of adult rats neurogenesis persists in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles and in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. By contrast, low proliferative activity was observed in the hypothalamus. We report here that, after intracerebroventricular treatment with insulin‐like growth factor I (IGF‐I), cell proliferation significantly increased in both the periventricular and the parenchymal zones of the whole hypothalamus. Neurons, astrocytes, tanycytes, microglia and endothelial cells of the local vessels were stained with the proliferative marker 5‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) in response to IGF‐I. Conversely, we never observed BrdU‐positive ciliated cubic ependymal cells. Proliferation was intense in the subventricular area of a distinct zone of the mid third ventricle wall limited dorsally by ciliated cubic ependyma and ventrally by tanycytic ependyma. In this area, we saw a characteristic cluster of proliferating cells. This zone of the ventricular wall displayed three cell layers: ciliated ependyma, subependyma and underlying tanycytes. After IGF‐I treatment, proliferating cells were seen in the subependyma and in the layer of tanycytes. In the subependyma, proliferating glial fibrillary acidic protein‐positive astrocytes contacted the ventricle by an apical process bearing a single cilium and there were many labyrinthine extensions of the periventricular basement membranes. Both features are typical of neurogenic niches in other brain zones, suggesting that the central overlapping zone of the rat hypothalamic wall could be considered a neurogenic niche in response to IGF‐I.
Emerging topics in Reelin function
Authors: Förster Eckart , Bock Hans H. , Herz Joachim , Chai Xuejun , Frotscher Michael , Zhao Shanting 
Published: April 2010

AbstractReelin signalling in the early developing cortex regulates radial migration of cortical neurons. Later in development, Reelin promotes maturation of dendrites and dendritic spines. Finally, in the mature brain, it is involved in modulating synaptic function. In recent years, efforts to identify downstream signalling events induced by binding of Reelin to lipoprotein receptors led to the characterization of novel components of the Reelin signalling cascade. In the present review, we first address distinct functions of the Reelin receptors Apoer2 and Vldlr in cortical layer formation, followed by a discussion on the recently identified downstream effector molecule n‐cofilin, involved in regulating actin cytoskeletal dynamics required for coordinated neuronal migration. Next, we discuss possible functions of the recently identified Reelin–Notch signalling crosstalk, and new aspects of the role of Reelin in the formation of the dentate radial glial scaffold. Finally, progress in characterizing the function of Reelin in modulating synaptic function in the adult brain is summarized. The present review has been inspired by a session entitled ‘Functions of Reelin in the developing and adult hippocampus’, held at the Spring Hippocampal Research Conference in Verona/Italy, June 2009.
Left temporal alpha band activity increases during working memory retention of pitches
Authors: Van Dijk Hanneke , Nieuwenhuis Ingrid L.C. , Jensen Ole 
Published: April 2010

AbstractThe functional role and regional specificity of ∼10 Hz alpha band activity remains of debate. Alpha band activity is strongly modulated in visual working memory tasks and it has been proposed to subserve resource allocation by disengaging task‐irrelevant regions. It remains unknown if alpha band activity plays a similar role during auditory working memory processing. In this study we applied whole‐head magnetoencephalography to investigate brain activity in a delayed‐match‐to‐sample task including pure tones, non‐harmonic complex tones and harmonic tones. The paradigm included a control condition in which no active auditory maintenance was required. We observed a bilateral increase in 5–12 Hz power during the perception of harmonic and non‐harmonic complex tones compared with the control tone. During the maintenance period a left‐lateralized increase in 5–12 Hz was found for all stimuli compared with the control condition. Using a beam‐forming approach we identified the sources in left temporal regions. Given that functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography and lesion studies have identified right hemisphere regions to be engaged in memory of pitch, we propose that the 5–12 Hz activity serves to functionally disengage left temporal regions. Our findings support the notion that alpha activity is a general mechanism for disengaging task‐irrelevant regions.
Electrophysiological evidence of mediolateral functional dichotomy in the rat nucleus accumbens during cocaine self‐administration II: phasic firing patterns
Authors: Fabbricatore Anthony T. , Ghitza Udi E. , Prokopenko Volodymyr F. , West Mark O. 
Published: April 2010

AbstractIn the cocaine self‐administering rat, individual nucleus accumbens (NAcc) neurons exhibit phasic changes in firing rate within minutes and/or seconds of lever presses (i.e. slow phasic and rapid phasic changes, respectively). To determine whether neurons that demonstrate these changes during self‐administration sessions are differentially distributed in the NAcc, rats were implanted with jugular catheters and microwire arrays in different NAcc subregions (core, dorsal shell, ventromedial shell, ventrolateral shell, or rostral pole). Neural recording sessions were typically conducted on days 13–17 of cocaine self‐administration (0.77 mg/kg per 0.2‐mL infusion; fixed‐ratio 1 schedule of reinforcement; 6‐h daily sessions). Pre‐press rapid phasic firing rate changes were greater in lateral accumbal (core and ventrolateral shell) than in medial accumbal (dorsal shell and rostral pole shell) subregions. Slow phasic pattern analysis revealed that reversal latencies of neurons that exhibited change + reversal patterns differed mediolaterally: medial NAcc neurons exhibited more early reversals and fewer progressive/late reversals than lateral NAcc neurons. Comparisons of firing patterns within individual neurons across time bases indicated that lateral NAcc pre‐press rapid phasic increases were correlated with tonic increases. Tonic decreases were correlated with slow phasic patterns in individual medial NAcc neurons, indicative of greater pharmacological sensitivity of neurons in this region. On the other hand, the bias of the lateral NAcc towards increased pre‐press rapid phasic activity, coupled with a greater prevalence of tonic increase firing, may reflect particular sensitivity of these neurons to excitatory afferent signaling and perhaps differential pharmacological influences on firing rates between regions.
The Fate of Former East German Police in Reunified Germany, 1990–1996: The Dialectics of Inclusion and Exclusion
Authors: CROSSLEY‐FROLICK KATY A. 
Published: April 2010

AbstractThis article analyzes the vetting of former East German police in Berlin and Brandenburg in the context of the former East Germany's transition to democracy and German unification. Police are one of the most critical and sensitive sectors of the civil service and typically, along with teachers, among the first groups to be vetted in the context of democratic transitions. The German case illustrates the often unpredictable and inconsistent approaches to vetting that led to very different outcomes throughout the East. It identifies several factors that influenced vetting and employment prospects for former East German police officers. These included political geography, who did the vetting, how a candidate's past was interpreted (whether aggravating or mitigating circumstances were weighed), the institutional arrangements for vetting, state‐mandated guidelines or criteria for determining suitability, and timing.
Progressive and regressive developmental changes in neural substrates for face processing: testing specific predictions of the Interactive Specialization account
Authors: Joseph Jane E. , Gathers Ann D. , Bhatt Ramesh S. 
Published: April 2010

AbstractFace processing undergoes a fairly protracted developmental time course but the neural underpinnings are not well understood. Prior fMRI studies have only examined progressive changes (i.e. increases in specialization in certain regions with age), which would be predicted by both the Interactive Specialization (IS) and maturational theories of neural development. To differentiate between these accounts, the present study also examined regressive changes (i.e. decreases in specialization in certain regions with age), which is predicted by the IS but not the maturational account. The fMRI results show that both progressive and regressive changes occur, consistent with IS. Progressive changes mostly occurred in occipital‐fusiform and inferior frontal cortex, whereas regressive changes largely emerged in parietal and lateral temporal cortices. Moreover, inconsistent with the maturational account, all of the regions involved in face viewing in adults were active in children, with some regions already specialized for face processing by 5 years of age and other regions activated in children but not specifically for faces. Thus, neurodevelopment of face processing involves dynamic interactions among brain regions including age‐related increases and decreases in specialization and the involvement of different regions at different ages. These results are more consistent with IS than maturational models of neural development.
An image is worth a thousand words: why nouns tend to dominate verbs in early word learning
Authors: McDonough Colleen , Song Lulu , Hirsh‐Pasek Kathy , Golinkoff Roberta Michnick , Lannon Robert 
Published: April 2010

AbstractNouns are generally easier to learn than verbs (e.g.Bornstein, 2005;Bornstein et al., 2004;Gentner, 1982;Maguire, Hirsh‐Pasek & Golinkoff, 2006). Yet, verbs appear in children’s earliest vocabularies, creating a seeming paradox. This paper examines one hypothesis about the difference between noun and verb acquisition. Perhaps the advantage nouns have is not a function of grammatical form class but rather is related to a word’s imageability. Here, word imageability ratings and form class (nouns and verbs) were correlated with age of acquisition according to the MacArthur‐Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI;Fenson et al., 1994). CDI age of acquisition was negatively correlated with words’ imageability ratings. Further, a word’s imageability contributes to the variance of the word’s age of acquisition above and beyond form class, suggesting that at the beginning of word learning, imageability might be a driving factor.
REVERSIBLE JUMP MARKOV CHAIN MONTE CARLO METHODS AND SEGMENTATION ALGORITHMS IN HIDDEN MARKOV MODELS
Authors: Paroli R. , Spezia L. 
Published: April 2010

SummaryWe consider hidden Markov models with an unknown number of regimes for the segmentation of the pixel intensities of digital images that consist of a small set of colours. New reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms to estimate both the dimension and the unknown parameters of the model are introduced. Parameters are updated by random walk Metropolis–Hastings moves, without updating the sequence of the hidden Markov chain. The segmentation (i.e. the estimation of the hidden regimes) is a further aim and is performed by means of a number of competing algorithms. We apply our Bayesian inference and segmentation tools to digital images, which are linearized through the Peano–Hilbert scan, and perform experiments and comparisons on both synthetic images and a real brain magnetic resonance image.
Association of polymorphisms in the BDNF, DRD1 and DRD3 genes with tobacco smoking in schizophrenia
Authors: Novak Gabriela , LeBlanc Martha , Zai Clement , Shaikh Sajid , Renou Julien , DeLuca Vincenzo , Bulgin Natalie , Kennedy James L. , Le Foll Bernard 
Published: April 2010

SummaryEmerging evidence indicates that the DRD1‐BDNF‐DRD3 cluster plays an important role in nicotine addiction. We have performed an association analysis of 42 SNPs within these genes with cigarette consumption in a group of 341 schizophrenia patients. The ACCG haplotype consisting of four BDNF markers (Val66Met (rs6265), rs11030104, rs2049045 and rs7103411) showed an association with the risk of smoking (p = 0.0002). Both DRD1 markers tested (rs4532 and rs686) and the DRD3 marker (rs1025398) showed association with quantity of tobacco smoked (p = 0.01, 0.005 and 0.002, respectively). Our findings are preliminary; however, they support the involvement of the DRD1, BDNF and DRD3 genes in smoking behaviour.
Why do British Indian children have an apparent mental health advantage?
Authors: Goodman Anna , Patel Vikram , Leon David A. 
Published: April 2010

Background:  Previous studies document a mental health advantage in British Indian children, particularly for externalising problems. The causes of this advantage are unknown.Methods:  Subjects were 13,836 White children and 361 Indian children aged 5–16 years from the English subsample of the British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Surveys. The primary mental health outcome was the parent Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Mental health was also assessed using the teacher and child SDQs; diagnostic interviews with parents, teachers and children; and multi‐informant clinician‐rated diagnoses. Multiple child, family, school and area factors were examined as possible mediators or confounders in explaining observed ethnic differences.Results:  Indian children had a large advantage for externalising problems and disorders, and little or no difference for internalising problems and disorders. This was observed across all mental health outcomes, including teacher‐reported and diagnostic interview measures. Detailed psychometric analyses provided no suggestion of information bias. The Indian advantage for externalising problems was partly mediated by Indian children being more likely to live in two‐parent families and less likely to have academic difficulties. Yet after adjusting for these and all other covariates, the unexplained Indian advantage only reduced by about a quarter (from 1.08 to .71 parent SDQ points) and remained highly significant (p < .001). This Indian advantage was largely confined to families of low socio‐economic position.Conclusion:  The Indian mental health advantage is real and is specific to externalising problems. Family type and academic abilities mediate part of the advantage, but most is not explained by major risk factors. Likewise unexplained is the absence in Indian children of a socio‐economic gradient in mental health. Further investigation of the Indian advantage may yield insights into novel ways to promote child mental health and child mental health equity in all ethnic groups.
Social and non‐social visual attention patterns and associative learning in infants at risk for autism
Authors: Bhat A.N. , Galloway J.C. , Landa R.J. 
Published: April 2010

Background:  Social inattention is common in children with autism whereas associative learning capabilities are considered a relative strength. Identifying early precursors of impairment associated with autism could lead to earlier identification of this disorder. The present study compared social and non‐social visual attention patterns as well as associative learning in infant siblings of children with autism (AU sibs) and low‐risk (LR) infants at 6 months of age.Methods:  Twenty‐five AU sibs and 25 LR infants were observed in a novel social‐object learning task, within which attention to social and non‐social cues was contrasted. Video recorded data were coded for percent duration of gaze to objects or caregiver. Movement rates to activate the toy within the associative learning task were also quantified.Results:  Both groups learned the association between moving a switch and activating a cause–effect toy. AU sibs spent less time looking at caregivers and more time looking at the toy or joystick when their caregivers made no attempts to engage their attention. However, response to caregiver‐initiated social bids was comparable for both groups.Conclusions:  Infrequent self‐initiated socially directed gaze may be an early marker of later social and communication delays.