bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Low‐dose cyclosporin improves the health‐related quality of life in Japanese psoriasis patients dissatisfied with topical corticosteroid monotherapy
Authors: Hashimoto Takashi , Kawakami Tamihiro , Tsuruta Daisuke , Hamada Takahiro , Natsuaki Yohei , Fukuda Shunpei , Koga Hiroshi , Sogame Ryosuke , Ohyama Bungo , Ono Fumitake , Karashima Tadashi , Nakama Takekuni , Dainichi Teruki , Ishii Norito , Yasumoto Shinichiro 
Published: February 2012

ABSTRACTPsoriasis greatly impacts the health‐related quality of life of patients, including any dermatological conditions that are listed in the dermatology life quality index (DLQI). We investigated the relationships between DLQI and the degree of patient satisfaction using questionnaires among psoriasis patients treated only with topical corticosteroids. Patients who were dissatisfied with topical corticosteroids alone and agreed to receive cyclosporin were given low‐dose oral cyclosporin. We assessed changes of the DLQI and the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) scores in patients dissatisfied with treatment during the period of cyclosporin addition. Of 32 enrolled patients, 17 reported dissatisfaction with the current treatment of topical corticosteroids alone. There was a significantly positive correlation between the degree of patient satisfaction questionnaires and the DLQI of these 32 patients. Among the 17 dissatisfied patients, 12 patients agreed to receive additional cyclosporin therapy and five did not. The 12 patients who started on cyclosporin had a significantly lower PASI after 12 weeks than they did at baseline. The DLQI improved significantly after 12 weeks in the cyclosporin‐treated patients. The 12 patients who agreed to receive cyclosporin showed a significantly lower DLQI at 12 weeks compared to the five patients who declined the addition of cyclosporin to their treatment. Assessing the degree of patient satisfaction with therapy using a questionnaire could be useful for improving clinical interventions in psoriasis patients. Low‐dose oral cyclosporin could be effective in patients who are dissatisfied with topical corticosteroid treatment alone.
Insulin resistance at diagnosis in Japanese children with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Urakami Tatsuhiko , Habu Masako , Kuwabara Remi , Komiya Kei , Nagano Nobuhiko , Suzuki Junichi , Mugishima Hideo 
Published: February 2012

AbstractBackground:  Insulin resistance at diagnosis was investigated in Japanese children with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods:  A total of 160 children with T2DM were divided into groups on the basis of percent overweight at time of diagnosis: group A (n= 28), <20%; group B (n= 55), 20–39%; group C (n= 37), 40–59%; group D (n= 40), ≥60%. Indicators of insulin resistance at diagnosis were compared among the four patient groups, and also between the children with T2DM and the 201 age‐matched normal Japanese children.Results:  There were no significant differences in plasma glucose (PG) levels among the four patient groups. The mean concentration of fasting plasma immunoreactive insulin (IRI) was significantly higher in group D than in groups A and B (39.2 µU/mL vs 16.2 µU/mL and 24.1 µU/mL, P < 0.05, respectively). The mean homeostasis model assessment (HOMA‐R) was significantly higher in group D than in all the other three groups (17.6 vs 7.8, 10.8 and 12.7, P < 0.05, respectively). The indicators HOMA‐R and fasting IRI were significantly higher in each diabetes group, even in non‐obese group A, than in normal children (P < 0.01, respectively).Conclusions:  Japanese children with T2DM had insulin resistance at diagnosis regardless of percent overweight, and the degree of insulin resistance gradually increased with rise in percent overweight.
Fire weather risk differs across rain forest—savanna boundaries in the humid tropics of north‐eastern Australia
Authors: LITTLE JEREMY K. , PRIOR LYNDA D. , WILLIAMSON GRANT J. , WILLIAMS STEPHEN E. , BOWMAN DAVID M. J. S. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractAlternative stable state theory has been applied to understanding the control by landscape fire activity of pyrophobic tropical rain forest and pyrophytic eucalypt savanna boundaries, which are often separated by tall eucalypt forests. We evaluate the microclimate of three vegetation types across an elevational gradient and their relative fire risk as measured by McArthur's Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI). Microclimatic data were collected from rain forest, tall eucalypt forest and savanna sites on eight vegetation boundaries throughout the humid tropics in north Queensland over a 3‐year period and were compared with data from a nearby meteorological station. There was a clear annual pattern in daily FFDI with highest values in the austral winter dry season and lowest values in the austral summer wet season. There was a strong association of the meteorological station FFDI values with those from the three vegetation types, albeit they were substantially lower. The rank order of FFDI values among the vegetation types decreased from savanna, tall eucalypt forest, then rain forest, a pattern that was consistent across each transect. Only very rarely would rain forest be flammable, despite being adjacent to highly flammable savannas. These results demonstrate the very strong effect of vegetation type on microclimate and fire risk, compared with the weak effect of elevation, consistent with a fire–vegetation feedback. This study is the first demonstration of how vegetation type influences microclimate and fire risk across a topographically complex tropical forest–savanna gradient.
Subpopulations of cholinergic, GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons in the pedunculopontine nucleus contain calcium‐binding proteins and are heterogeneously distributed
Authors: Martinez‐Gonzalez Cristina , Wang Hui‐Ling , Micklem Benjamin R. , Bolam J. Paul , Mena‐Segovia Juan 
Published: February 2012

AbstractNeurons in the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) are highly heterogeneous in their discharge properties, their neurochemical markers, their pattern of connectivity and the behavioural processes in which they participate. Three main transmitter phenotypes have been described, cholinergic, GABAergic and glutamatergic, and yet electrophysiological evidence suggests heterogeneity within these subtypes. To gain further insight into the molecular composition of these three populations in the rat, we investigated the pattern of expression of calcium binding proteins (CBPs) across distinct regions of the PPN and in relation to the presence of other neurochemical markers. Calbindin‐ and calretinin‐positive neurons are as abundant as cholinergic neurons, and their expression follows a rostro‐caudal gradient, whereas parvalbumin is expressed by a low number of neurons. We observed a high degree of expression of CBPs by GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons, with a large majority of calbindin‐ and calretinin‐positive neurons expressing GAD or VGluT2 mRNA. Notably, CBP‐positive neurons expressing GAD mRNA were more concentrated in the rostral PPN, whereas the caudal PPN was characterized by a higher density of CBP‐positive neurons expressing VGluT2 mRNA. In contrast to these two large populations, in cholinergic neurons expression of calretinin is observed only in low numbers and expression of calbindin is virtually non‐existent. These findings thus identify novel subtypes of cholinergic, GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons based on their expression of CBPs, and further contribute to the notion of the PPN as a highly heterogeneous structure, an attribute that is likely to underlie its functional complexity.
Cocaine abstinence alters nucleus accumbens firing dynamics during goal‐directed behaviors for cocaine and sucrose
Authors: Cameron Courtney M. , Carelli Regina M. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractDistinct subsets of nucleus accumbens (NAc) neurons differentially encode goal‐directed behaviors for natural vs. drug rewards [R. M. Carelli et al. (2000)The Journal of Neuroscience, 20, 4255–4266], and the encoding of cocaine‐seeking is altered following cocaine abstinence [J. A. Hollander & R. M. Carelli (2007) The Journal of Neuroscience, 27, 3535–3539]. Here, electrophysiological recording procedures were used to determine if the selective encoding of natural vs. cocaine reward by NAc neurons is: (i) maintained when the natural reinforcer is a highly palatable sweet tastant and (ii) altered by cocaine abstinence. Rats (n = 14) were trained on a multiple schedule of sucrose reinforcement and cocaine self‐administration (2–3 weeks) and NAc activity was recorded during the task before and after 30 days of cocaine abstinence. Of 130 cells recorded before abstinence, 82 (63%) displayed patterned discharges (increases or decreases in firing rate, termed phasic activity) relative to operant responding for sucrose or cocaine. As in previous reports, the majority of those cells displayed nonoverlapping patterns of activity during responding for sucrose vs. cocaine. Specifically, only 17 (21%) showed similar patterns of activity (i.e. overlapping activity) across the two reinforcer conditions. After abstinence, this pattern was largely maintained, 23 of 70 phasic cells (33%) were overlapping. However, cocaine abstinence altered the overall percentage of selectively active neurons across reinforcer conditions. Specifically, significantly more neurons became selectively activated during cocaine‐directed behaviors than during sucrose‐directed behaviors. The results indicate that, although the selective encoding of cocaine and natural rewards is maintained even with a highly palatable substance, 30 days of cocaine abstinence dynamically alters the overall population encoding of natural and drug rewards by NAc neurons.
The ecology of viruses that infect eukaryotic algae
Authors: Short Steven M. 
Published: February 2012

SummaryBecause viruses of eukaryotic algae are incredibly diverse, sweeping generalizations about their ecology are rare. These obligate parasites infect a range of algae and their diversity can be illustrated by considering that isolates range from small particles with ssRNA genomes to much larger particles with 560 kb dsDNA genomes. Molecular research has also provided clues about the extent of their diversity especially considering that genetic signatures of algal viruses in the environment rarely match cultivated viruses. One general concept in algal virus ecology that has emerged is that algal viruses are very host specific and most infect only certain strains of their hosts; with the exception of viruses of brown algae, evidence for interspecies infectivity is lacking. Although some host–virus systems behave with boom‐bust oscillations, complex patterns of intraspecies infectivity can lead to host–virus coexistence obfuscating the role of viruses in host population dynamics. Within the framework of population dynamics, host density dependence is an important phenomenon that influences virus abundances in nature. Variable burst sizes of different viruses also influence their abundances and permit speculations about different life strategies, but as exceptions are common in algal virus ecology, life strategy generalizations may not be broadly applicable. Gaps in knowledge of virus seasonality and persistence are beginning to close and investigations of environmental reservoirs and virus resilience may answer questions about virus inter‐annual recurrences. Studies of algal mortality have shown that viruses are often important agents of mortality reinforcing notions about their ecological relevance, while observations of the surprising ways viruses interact with their hosts highlight the immaturity of our understanding. Considering that just two decades ago algal viruses were hardly acknowledged, recent progress affords the optimistic perspective that future studies will provide keys to unlocking our understanding of algal virus ecology specifically, and aquatic ecosystems generally.
Bilateral uveal metastasis of a subcutaneous fibrosarcoma in a cat
Authors: Mowat Freya M. , Langohr Ingeborg M. , Bilyk Olenka , Koterbay Amy , Pierce Kenneth E. , Petersen‐Jones Simon M. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractA 6‐year‐old neutered male domestic short‐haired cat was presented to the Comparative Ophthalmology service at Michigan State University with a 3‐week history of decreased appetite and redness of the left eye. The left forelimb had been removed 15 months previously because of the presence of a subcutaneous fibrosarcoma. In the left globe, a large iridal mass was associated with increased intraocular pressure and retinal detachment. A smaller mass involving the right iris was also present. Imaging revealed a 2‐cm mass in the left caudodorsal lung lobe, and abdominal ultrasound showed multifocal bilateral renal masses. Aspirates of these masses were nondiagnostic. The left globe was removed for palliative reasons, and histopathology showed that fibrosarcoma was infiltrating the iris, choroid, and optic nerve. Despite systemic chemotherapy with doxorubicin, the animal died 4 months after initial presentation. Histopathology confirmed highly angioinvasive metastatic fibrosarcoma also in the right uveal tract, the lungs, and both kidneys.
BUILDING SOCIAL CAPITAL FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Authors: WESTLUND Hans , GAWELL Malin 
Published: February 2012

ABSTRACT: By entrepreneurial combinations of voluntary resources, project means from public and private sources, commissions on contracts and other ways of financing, the youth house Fryshuset, with a great number of social activities for primarily young people in Stockholm, Sweden, has been able to allocate resources for establishing and expanding its activities. This development would not have been possible without struggle against established norms, values, traditions and institutions, not least the ‘close to monopoly’ that the public sector in practice was having on the fields in which Fryshuset emerged. Step by step, Fryshuset has built partnerships and alliances with public, private as well as civil actors. Expressed in a general way, Fryshuset has built a new social capital and created new norms and values.The aim of the paper is to investigate how Fryshuset has managed to build social capital through, and for entrepreneurial efforts aiming to facilitate young peoples’ development.
The Relationship between Social Defiance, Vindictiveness, Anger, and Brain Morphology in Eight‐year‐old Boys and Girls
Authors: Fahim Cherine , Fiori Marina , Evans Alan C. , Pérusse Daniel 
Published: February 2012

AbstractThe goal of this study is twofold: (1) to assess brain anatomical differences between children meeting diagnostic criteria for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and healthy controls, and (2) to investigate whether morphological brain characteristics associated with ODD differ in boys and girls. Eight‐year‐old participants (N = 38) were scanned using magnetic resonance imaging. ODD symptoms were assessed using the Dominic‐R interactive. In ODD participants, we observed a significant reduction of gray matter density in the left orbitofrontal cortex—a prefrontal region that plays a pivotal role in emotional self‐regulation and impulse control—and, conversely, an increase in the left temporal area—an area that has been associated with aggressive, impulsive, and antisocial personality. Furthermore, ODD boys showed a reduction of both gray matter density in the left orbitofrontal cortex and of white matter density in the left superior frontal area. The structural abnormalities found in the present study, in particular, the correlation between ODD symptoms and reduction of gray matter density in the left orbitofrontal cortex, may present some evidence for the existence of neuropathology associated with ODD symptoms during childhood. Furthermore, our findings indicate morphometric differences between boys and girls with ODD, which may be associated with gender differences in social behavior in children showing ODD symptoms.
ASIAN BUSINESS CYCLE SYNCHRONIZATION
Authors: HE DONG , LIAO WEI 
Published: February 2012

AbstractThis paper develops a multilevel structural factor model to study international output comovement and its underlying driving forces. Our method combines a structural vector autoregression with a multilevel factor model, which helps us understand the economic meaning of the estimated factors. Using quarterly data of real GDP growth covering 9 emerging Asian economies and G‐7 countries, we estimate a global supply factor, a global demand factor, and group supply and demand factors for each group of the economies. We find that although the role of the global factors has intensified over the past 15 years for most of the economies, output fluctuations in Asia have remained less synchronized with the global factor than those in the industrial countries. The Asian regional factors have become increasingly important in tightening the interdependence within the region over time. Therefore, although emerging Asian economies cannot ‘decouple’ completely from the advanced economies, they have, nonetheless, sustained a strong independent cycle among themselves. We also find that synchronized supply shocks contributed more to the observed synchronization in output fluctuations among the Asian economies than demand shocks. This points to the role of productivity enhancement and transmission of other supply shocks through, for example, vertical trade integration, rather than dependence on external demand, as the primary source of business cycle synchronization in emerging Asia.
Delistings, Controlling Shareholders and Firm Performance in Europe
Authors: Croci Ettore , Giudice Alfonso Del 
Published: February 2012

AbstractUsing a novel European data set, we investigate the role of controlling shareholders in delisting decisions. Minority shareholders earn lower abnormal returns when the controlling shareholder takes the company private, but this lower premium disappears when we control for the firm's characteristics. After the delisting, firms delisted by their controlling shareholders do not improve their operating performance. These results do not suggest that controlling shareholders expropriate minority investors with minority freeze‐outs. Our findings are not due to heterogeneity across controlling shareholders. In fact, when we focus on family controlling shareholders, we find no evidence of performance improvement after the delisting.
Lungworm infection modifies cardiac response to exercise in cane toads
Authors: Pizzatto L. , Shine R. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractParasites can affect the locomotor performance of their hosts via a range of mechanisms. Cane toads (Rhinella marina) in Australia often contain native‐range lung nematodes (Rhabdias pseudosphaerocephala), and the parasite reduces endurance (and thus, dispersal rate) of this invasive anuran. The mechanism of impact plausibly involves reduced oxygen supply from infected lungs; if so, we expect to see that exercise will increase heartbeat rates more in infected toads than in uninfected conspecifics. Our data on 103 field‐collected toads (53 of which contained lungworms) support this prediction. Exercise induced a greater increase in heartbeat rate in infected toads than in uninfected conspecifics, but no shift in oxygen saturation of the haemoglobin.
Let us go shopping: exploring Northwest Chinese consumers' shopping experiences
Authors: Davis Lizhu Y. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractWith economic development and improvement of living standards, China has become an important and competitive consumer market. It becomes critical to understand Chinese consumers' shopping behaviour, especially that of largely neglected Northwest Chinese consumers. This study explores Northwest Chinese consumers' shopping experiences. The in‐depth interview revealed key retail factors that affect local consumers' shopping experiences, including atmospherics, store design, social environment, customer services and merchandise elements. The findings suggest that Northwest Chinese consumers have become more westernized, and the shopping experience has become important for local consumers. The study contributes to the literature by providing valuable insights for retailers aiming to expand to the large retail market in Northwest China.
Complications of hysteroscopic Essure® sterilisation: report on 4306 procedures performed in a single centre
Authors: Povedano B , Arjona JE , Velasco E , Monserrat JA , Lorente J , Castelo‐Branco C 
Published: February 2012

Please cite this paper as: Povedano B, Arjona J, Velasco E, Monserrat J, Lorente J, Castelo‐Branco C. Complications of hysteroscopic Essure® sterilisation: report on 4306 procedures performed in a single centre. BJOG 2012;119:795–799.Objective  To analyse the short‐, medium‐ and long‐term complications in women undergoing hysteroscopic tubal sterilisation with the Essure® device.Design  Retrospective 7‐year study.Setting  Office hysteroscopic unit in a teaching hospital.Sample  A total of 4306 women whoe underwent the Essure® sterilisation procedure from 2003 to 2010.Methods  Data on the success of the procedure and complications arising from outpatient hysteroscopic sterilisation using the Essure® system were collected from consecutive women undergoing the procedure over a 7‐year period.Main outcome measures  Placement rate, successful bilateral tubal occlusion, perioperative adverse events, early postoperative (during the first 3 months of follow‐up) and late complications (after the initial 3 months of follow‐up).Results  A total of 4108 (96.8%) women completed the standard 3‐month follow‐up protocol. Only 534 (13%) women had undergone the procedure within the previous year. There were 115 (out of 4306; 2.7%) recorded complications, none of which resulted in the need for hospitalisation or discharge later than 2 hours after the procedure. Vasovagal syncope was the most frequently encountered adverse event, occurring in 85 (2.0%) of 4306 cases. In 19 cases, one device was expelled, with most expulsions (14 out of 19) being detected before or during the 3‐month follow‐up.Conclusions  Outpatient hysteroscopic sterilisation using the Essure® system is safe, with a low rate of complications.
The brain in vivo expresses the 2′,3′‐cAMP‐adenosine pathway
Authors: Verrier Jonathan D. , Jackson Travis C. , Bansal Rashmi , Kochanek Patrick M. , Puccio Ava M. , Okonkwo David O. , Jackson Edwin K. 
Published: February 2012

J. Neurochem. (2012) 122, 115–125.AbstractAlthough multiple biochemical pathways produce adenosine, studies suggest that the 2′,3′‐cAMP‐adenosine pathway (2′,3′‐cAMP→2′‐AMP/3′‐AMP→adenosine) contributes to adenosine production in some cells/tissues/organs. To determine whether the 2′,3′‐cAMP‐adenosine pathway exists in vivo in the brain, we delivered to the brain (gray matter and white matter separately) via the inflow perfusate of a microdialysis probe either 2′,3′‐cAMP, 3′,5′‐cAMP, 2′‐AMP, 3′‐AMP, or 5′‐AMP and measured the recovered metabolites in the microdialysis outflow perfusate with mass spectrometry. In both gray and white matter, 2′,3′‐cAMP increased 2′‐AMP, 3′‐AMP and adenosine, and 3′,5′‐cAMP increased 5′‐AMP and adenosine. In both brain regions, 2′‐AMP, 3‐AMP and 5′‐AMP were converted to adenosine. Microdialysis experiments in 2′,3′‐cyclic nucleotide‐3′‐phosphodiesterase (CNPase) wild‐type mice demonstrated that traumatic brain injury (controlled cortical impact model) activated the brain 2′,3′‐cAMP‐adenosine pathway; similar experiments in CNPase knockout mice indicated that CNPase was involved in the metabolism of endogenous 2′,3′‐cAMP to 2′‐AMP and to adenosine. In CSF from traumatic brain injury patients, 2′,3′‐cAMP was significantly increased in the initial 12 h after injury and strongly correlated with CSF levels of 2′‐AMP, 3′‐AMP, adenosine and inosine. We conclude that in vivo, 2′,3′‐cAMP is converted to 2′‐AMP/3′‐AMP, and these AMPs are metabolized to adenosine. This pathway exists endogenously in both mice and humans.