bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Asymmetries in long‐term and short‐term plasticity at thalamic and cortical inputs to the amygdala in vivo
Authors: Sigurðsson Torfi , Cain Christopher K. , Doyère Valérie , LeDoux Joseph E. 
Published: January 2010

AbstractConverging lines of evidence suggest that synaptic plasticity at auditory inputs to the lateral amygdala (LA) is critical for the formation and storage of auditory fear memories. Auditory information reaches the LA from both thalamic and cortical areas, raising the question of whether they make distinct contributions to fear memory storage. Here we address this by comparing the induction of long‐term potentation (LTP) at the two inputs in vivo in anesthetized rats. We first show, using field potential measurements, that different patterns and frequencies of high‐frequency stimulation (HFS) consistently elicit stronger LTP at cortical inputs than at thalamic inputs. Field potential responses elicited during HFS of thalamic inputs were also smaller than responses during HFS of cortical inputs, suggesting less effective postsynaptic depolarization. Pronounced differences in the short‐term plasticity profiles of the two inputs were also observed: whereas cortical inputs displayed paired‐pulse facilitation, thalamic inputs displayed paired‐pulse depression. These differences in short‐ and long‐term plasticity were not due to stronger inhibition at thalamic inputs: although removal of inhibition enhanced responses to HFS, it did not enhance thalamic LTP and left paired‐pulse depression unaffected. These results highlight the divergent nature of short‐ and long‐term plasticity at thalamic and cortical sensory inputs to the LA, pointing to their different roles in the fear learning system.
View‐invariant object recognition ability develops after discrimination, not mere exposure, at several viewing angles
Authors: Yamashita Wakayo , Wang Gang , Tanaka Keiji 
Published: January 2010

AbstractOne usually fails to recognize an unfamiliar object across changes in viewing angle when it has to be discriminated from similar distractor objects. Previous work has demonstrated that after long‐term experience in discriminating among a set of objects seen from the same viewing angle, immediate recognition of the objects across 30–60° changes in viewing angle becomes possible. The capability for view‐invariant object recognition should develop during the within‐viewing‐angle discrimination, which includes two kinds of experience: seeing individual views and discriminating among the objects. The aim of the present study was to determine the relative contribution of each factor to the development of view‐invariant object recognition capability. Monkeys were first extensively trained in a task that required view‐invariant object recognition (Object task) with several sets of objects. The animals were then exposed to a new set of objects over 26 days in one of two preparatory tasks: one in which each object view was seen individually, and a second that required discrimination among the objects at each of four viewing angles. After the preparatory period, we measured the monkeys’ ability to recognize the objects across changes in viewing angle, by introducing the object set to the Object task. Results indicated significant view‐invariant recognition after the second but not first preparatory task. These results suggest that discrimination of objects from distractors at each of several viewing angles is required for the development of view‐invariant recognition of the objects when the distractors are similar to the objects.
Methamphetamine‐induced neuroinflammation and neuronal dysfunction in the mice hippocampus: preventive effect of indomethacin
Authors: Gonçalves Joana , Baptista Sofia , Martins Tânia , Milhazes Nuno , Borges Fernanda , Ribeiro Carlos F. , Malva João O. , Silva Ana P. 
Published: January 2010

AbstractMethamphetamine (METH) causes irreversible damage to brain cells leading to neurological and psychiatric abnormalities. However, the mechanisms underlying life‐threatening effects of acute METH intoxication remain unclear. Indeed, most of the hypotheses focused on intra‐neuronal events, such as dopamine oxidation, oxidative stress and excitotoxicity. Yet, recent reports suggested that glia may contribute to METH‐induced neuropathology. In the present study, we investigated the hippocampal dysfunction induced by an acute high dose of METH (30 mg/kg; intraperitoneal injection), focusing on the inflammatory process and changes in several neuronal structural proteins. For that, 3‐month‐old male wild‐type C57BL/6J mice were killed at different time‐points post‐METH. We observed that METH caused an inflammatory response characterized by astrocytic and microglia reactivity, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) system alterations. Indeed, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and CD11b immunoreactivity were upregulated, likewise TNF‐α and TNF receptor 1 protein levels. Furthermore, the effect of METH on hippocampal neurons was also investigated, and we observed a downregulation in beta III tubulin expression. To clarify the possible neuronal dysfunction induced by METH, several neuronal proteins were analysed. Syntaxin‐1, calbindin D28k and tau protein levels were downregulated, whereas synaptophysin was upregulated. We also evaluated whether an anti‐inflammatory drug could prevent or diminish METH‐induced neuroinflammation, and we concluded that indomethacin (10 mg/kg; i.p.) prevented METH‐induced glia activation and both TNF system and beta III tubulin alterations. In conclusion, we demonstrated that METH triggers an inflammatory process and leads to neuronal dysfunction in the hippocampus, which can be prevented by an anti‐inflammatory treatment.
Involvement of the 4‐aminopyridine‐sensitive transient A‐type K+ current in macrophage‐induced neuronal injury
Authors: Hu Dehui , Liu Jianuo , Keblesh James , Xiong Huangui 
Published: January 2010

AbstractThrough their capacity to secrete, upon activation, a variety of bioactive molecules, brain macrophages (and resident microglia) play an important role in brain immune and inflammatory responses. To test our hypothesis that activated macrophages induce neuronal injury by enhancing neuronal outward K+ current, we studied the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated human monocyte‐derived macrophage (MDM) on neuronal transient A‐type K+ current (IA) and resultant neuronal injury in primary rat hippocampal neuronal cultures. Bath application of LPS‐stimulated MDM‐conditioned media (MCM+) enhanced neuronal IA in a concentration‐dependent manner. Non‐stimulated MCM (MCM‐) failed to alter IA. The enhancement of neuronal IA was recapitulated in neurons co‐cultured with macrophages. The link of MCM(+)‐induced enhancement of IA to MCM(+)‐associated neuronal injury, as detected by propidium iodide and 4″,6‐diamidino‐2‐phenylindol staining (DAPI) and 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, was demonstrated by experimental results showing that addition of IA blocker 4‐aminopyridine to the cultures protected hippocampal neurons from MCM(+)‐induced neuronal injury. Further investigation revealed that glutamate was involved in MCM(+)‐induced enhancement of neuronal IA. These results suggest that during brain inflammation macrophages (and microglia) might mediate neuronal injury via enhancement of neuronal IA, and that neuronal Kv channel might be a potential target for the development of therapeutic strategies for some neurodegenerative disorders by which immune and inflammatory responses are believed to be involved in the pathogenesis.
Filopodial protrusions induced by glycoprotein M6a exhibit high motility and aids synapse formation
Authors: Brocco Marcela A. , Fernández María Eugenia , Frasch Alberto C. C. 
Published: January 2010

AbstractM6a is a neuronal membrane glycoprotein whose expression diminishes during chronic stress. M6a overexpression in rat primary hippocampal neurons induces the formation of filopodial protrusions that could be spine precursors. As the filopodium and spine motility has been associated with synaptogenesis, we analysed the motility of M6a‐induced protrusions by time‐lapse imaging. Our data demonstrate that the motile protrusions formed by the neurons overexpressing M6a were more abundant and moved faster than those formed in control cells. When different putative M6a phosphorylation sites were mutated, the neurons transfected with a mutant lacking intracellular phosphorylation sites bore filopodia, but these protrusions did not move as fast as those formed by cells overexpressing wild‐type M6a. This suggests a role for M6a phosphorylation state in filopodium motility. Furthermore, we show that M6a‐induced protrusions could be stabilized upon contact with presynaptic region. The motility of filopodia contacting or not neurites overexpressing synaptophysin was analysed. We show that the protrusions that apparently contacted synaptophysin‐labeled cells exhibited less motility. The behavior of filopodia from M6a‐overexpressing cells and control cells was alike. Thus, M6a‐induced protrusions may be spine precursors that move to reach presynaptic membrane. We suggest that M6a is a key molecule for spine formation during development.
Neurons in primary motor cortex engaged during action observation
Authors: Dushanova Juliana , Donoghue John 
Published: January 2010

AbstractNeurons in higher cortical areas appear to become active during action observation, either by mirroring observed actions (termed mirror neurons) or by eliciting mental rehearsal of observed motor acts. We report the existence of neurons in the primary motor cortex (M1), an area that is generally considered to initiate and guide movement performance, responding to viewed actions. Multielectrode recordings in monkeys performing or observing a well‐learned step‐tracking task showed that approximately half of the M1 neurons that were active when monkeys performed the task were also active when they observed the action being performed by a human. These ‘view’ neurons were spatially intermingled with ‘do’ neurons, which are active only during movement performance. Simultaneously recorded ‘view’ neurons comprised two groups: approximately 38% retained the same preferred direction (PD) and timing during performance and viewing, and the remainder (62%) changed their PDs and time lag during viewing as compared with performance. Nevertheless, population activity during viewing was sufficient to predict the direction and trajectory of viewed movements as action unfolded, although less accurately than during performance. ‘View’ neurons became less active and contained poorer representations of action when only subcomponents of the task were being viewed. M1 ‘view’ neurons thus appear to reflect aspects of a learned movement when observed in others, and form part of a broadly engaged set of cortical areas routinely responding to learned behaviors. These findings suggest that viewing a learned action elicits replay of aspects of M1 activity needed to perform the observed action, and could additionally reflect processing related to understanding, learning or mentally rehearsing action.
Schizophrenia‐related endophenotypes in heterozygous neuregulin‐1 ‘knockout’ mice
Authors: O’Tuathaigh C. M. P. , Harte M. , O’Leary C. , O’Sullivan G. J. , Blau C. , Lai D. , Harvey R. P. , Tighe O. , Fagan A. J. , Kerskens C. , Reynolds G. P. , Waddington J. L. 
Published: January 2010

AbstractNeuregulin‐1 (NRG1) has been shown to play a role in glutamatergic neurotransmission and is a risk gene for schizophrenia, in which there is evidence for hypoglutamatergic function. Sensitivity to the behavioural effects of the psychotomimetic N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor antagonists MK‐801 and phencyclidine (PCP) was examined in mutant mice with heterozygous deletion of NRG1. Social behaviour (sociability, social novelty preference and dyadic interaction), together with exploratory activity, was assessed following acute or subchronic administration of MK‐801 (0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg) or PCP (5 mg/kg). In untreated NRG1 mutants, levels of glutamate, N‐acetylaspartate and GABA were determined using high‐performance liquid chromatography and regional brain volumes were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging at 7T. NRG1 mutants, particularly males, displayed decreased responsivity to the locomotor‐activating effects of acute PCP. Subchronic MK‐801 and PCP disrupted sociability and social novelty preference in mutants and wildtypes and reversed the increase in both exploratory activity and social dominance‐related behaviours observed in vehicle‐treated mutants. No phenotypic differences were demonstrated in N‐acetylaspartate, glutamate or GABA levels. The total ventricular and olfactory bulb volume was decreased in mutants. These data indicate a subtle role for NRG1 in modulating several schizophrenia‐relevant processes including the effects of psychotomimetic N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor antagonists.
DISCOUNTS FOR CASH IN RETAIL GASOLINE MARKETING
Authors: Barron JOHN M. , Staten MICHAEL E. , Umbeck JOHN 
Published: January 2010

Before introducing cash discounting in retail gasoline markets, major oil companies offered proprietary credit cards as an unpriced service to their customers. This paper analyzes the origins of cash discounting in order to determine why oil companies introduced explicit pricing of the credit service in 1982 only to begin discouraging it by the end of the decade. Sharp increases in nominal interest rates and in the real price of gasoline between 1978–1982 spurred a rapid rise in the cost of financing accounts receivable. This increasing cost in part drove the initial decision to discount. By 1990 the discounting trend reversed as the costs of processing credit transactions and of the float associated with non‐revolving accounts receivable fell.Using station data from Delaware in 1983 and Washington in 1989, the paper also provides two separate estimations of the subsidy to credit buyers by cash buyers.
Validation of HPLC method for the simultaneous and quantitative determination of 12 UV‐filters in cosmetics
Authors: Nyeborg M. , Pissavini M. , Lemasson Y. , Doucet O. 
Published: January 2010

SynopsisThe aim of the study was the validation of a high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the simultaneous and quantitative determination of twelve commonly used organic UV‐filters (phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid, benzophenone‐3, isoamyl p‐methoxycinnamate, diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate, octocrylene, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, ethylhexyl salicylate, butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane, diethylhexyl butamido triazone, ethylhexyl triazone, methylene bis‐benzotriazolyl tetramethylbutylphenol and bis‐ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine) contained in suncare products. The separation and quantitative determination was performed in <30 min, using a Symmetry Shield® C18 (5 μm) column from Waters and a mobile phase (gradient mode) consisting of ethanol and acidified water. UV measurements were carried out at multi‐wavelengths, according to the absorption of the analytes.
Epidermal tight junction: The master skin barrier regulator
Authors: Kuroda S. , Kurasawa M. , Mizukoshi K. , Maeda T. , Yamamoto T. , Oba A. , Sasaki H. 
Published: January 2010

IFSCC Magazine, 12 (2009) (2) 87–91Tight junctions between adjacent epithelial cells control paracellular permeability of solutes and maintain cell polarity by fencing lipid bilayer components into demarcated apical and basolateral domains. In the present study we investigated the role of epidermal tight junctions in two skin physiological processes, ‘formation of the epidermal calcium ion (Ca2+) gradient’ and ‘polarized lamellar body secretion’. The former is based on the fact that the epidermal Ca2+ gradient is closely related to epidermal differentiation and the latter on the knowledge that polarized lamellar body secretion is essential to supply intercellular lipids to the stratum corneum. We hypothesized that tight junctions might form the Ca2+ gradient in the epidermis by sealing cell‐cell contact at the stratum granulosum and allow the lamellar bodies to be normally secreted toward the stratum corneum by giving granular cells polarity. In our experiments we discovered that tight junctions control not only both intercellular Ca2+ permeability and fluorescent ceramide analog (Cer‐FL) secretion in cultured normal human keratinocyte cells but also both intercellular calcium distribution and polarized lamellar body secretion in the skin equivalent. Thus, tight junctions should be responsible for linking a series of processes from epidermal differentiation to stratum corneum barrier formation. Our findings suggest that tight junctions should have a crucial role not only in epidermal barrier function but also in both epidermal differentiation and stratum corneum barrier function. Keywords: Calcium gradient, cell polarity, lamellar body, skin barrier, tight junctionIFSCC Basic Research Award winning paper presented at the 25th IFSCC Congress 2008, Barcelona, Spain
Cell‐activating effects of a viniferin‐enriched grapevine extract
Authors: Holtkötter O. , Jassoy C. , Bock A. , Waldmann‐Laue M. , Janßen F. 
Published: January 2010

IFSCC Magazine, 12 (2009) (2) 101–105Extracts of grapevine, especially in the fermented form of wine, are reported to exert beneficial effects to human health. Grapevine polyphenols are considered to be the main compounds responsible for this beneficial activity, and of these, resveratrol has been studied in most detail. Because of its antioxidant properties, resveratrol demonstrates cell protective characteristics, but it is also able to reduce cell proliferation and induce apoptosis, especially in cancer cells. Investigations on the effects of resveratrol on UVB irradiated primary keratinocytes and HaCats have demonstrated protective properties also in skin cells. Although grapevine extracts are routinely used as an active ingredient in skincare cosmetics, the activity of these extracts on skin, apart from that of resveratrol, is only poorly understood. Here the effects on skin cells of a grapevine extract enriched with the resveratrol dimer ε‐viniferin were analyzed in vitro and in vivo. Keywords: Fibroblast, collagen contraction, confocal laser microscopy, resveratrol, senescenceThis paper was presented as a poster at the 25th IFSCC Congress 2008, Barcelona, Spain
An analysis of semantic structure of KAITEKI‐KAN and development of its measuring method using emotional words
Authors: Monchi‐Semba R. , Katayama A. , Hikichi S. 
Published: January 2010

We conducted three Internet studies in order to develop a psychological conceptual model of KAITEKI‐KAN which is comfortable and pleasant feelings in daily life. First, we collected emotional words that express positive feelings from literature and dictionaries. Then, we asked respondents (n = 239) to imagine a familiar comfortable scene and to rate their feelings on the scales of emotional words (study l). Factor analyses revealed that KAITEKI‐KAN is constructed from 14 factors, for example, satisfaction, calmness, refreshment, and so on. Because imaginary scenes that were reported by respondents of study 1 were limited to a few variations, we carried out study 2 which requested respondents (n = 1047) to imagine a wide variety of comfortable scenes. The results added two factors to the 14 factor model. Finally, we confirmed the reliability of the 16 factor model by study 3, which requested a part of respondents of study 2 (n = 409) to answer the same questions 3 months after study 2. From these studies, we concluded the 16 factor model was reliable and usable for understanding and measuring KAITEKI‐KAN. In addition, multidimensional scaling showed that the 16 factors could be depicted on a semantic space which was constructed in three dimensions. We understood the three dimensions as the ‘activation–deactivation’ dimension, the ‘physical‐cognitive’ dimension, and the ‘challenge‐acceptance’ dimension. Applying our 16 factor model of KAITEKI‐KAN, we developed a quantitative measurement method for KAITEKI‐KAN. We concluded that researchers would be able to understand details of consumers’ feeling when consumers rate commodities by using our method.Key words:  KAITEKI‐KAN, comfort, pleasant, positive feeling, emotion, psychology, Internet research, factor analysis, multidimensional scaling, conceptual model, semantic space, dimension.
Founder Mutation(s) in theRSPH9Gene Leading to Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia in Two Inbred Bedouin Families
Authors: Reish Orit , Slatkin Montgomery , Chapman‐Shimshoni Daphne , Elizur Arnon , Chioza Barry , Castleman Victoria , Mitchison Hannah M. 
Published: January 2010

SummaryA rare mutation in theRSPH9gene leading to primary ciliary dyskinesia was previously identified in two Bedouin families, one from Israel and one from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Herein we analyse mutation segregation in the Israeli family, present the clinical disease spectrum, and estimate mutation age in the two families. Mutation segregation was studied by restriction fragment length analysis. Mutation ages were estimated using a model of the decrease in the length of ancestral haplotypes. The mutations in each of the two families had a common ancestor less than 95 and less than 17 generations in the past. If the mutations in the two families are descended from a common ancestor, that mutation would have to have arisen at least 150 generations ago. If the Bedouin population has been roughly constant in size for at least 6000 years, it is possible that the mutations in the two families are identical by descent. If there were substantial fluctuations in the size of the Bedouin population, it is more likely that there were two independent mutations. Based on the available data, the population genetic analysis does not strongly favour one conclusion over the other.
Genome‐Wide Association Study Confirms SNPs in SNCA and the MAPT Region as Common Risk Factors for Parkinson Disease
Authors: Edwards Todd L. , Scott William K. , Almonte Cherylyn , Burt Amber , Powell Eric H. , Beecham Gary W. , Wang Liyong , Züchner Stephan , Konidari Ioanna , Wang Gaofeng , Singer Carlos , Nahab Fatta , Scott Burton , Stajich Jeffrey M. , Pericak‐Vance Margaret , Haines Jonathan , Vance Jeffery M. , Martin Eden R. 
Published: January 2010

SummaryParkinson disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder with a cumulative prevalence of greater than one per thousand. To date three independent genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) have investigated the genetic susceptibility to PD. These studies implicated several genes as PD risk loci with strong, but not genome‐wide significant, associations.In this study, we combined data from two previously published GWAS of Caucasian subjects with our GWAS of 604 cases and 619 controls for a joint analysis with a combined sample size of 1752 cases and 1745 controls. SNPs in SNCA (rs2736990, p‐value = 6.7 × 10−8; genome‐wide adjusted p = 0.0109, odds ratio (OR) = 1.29 [95% CI: 1.17–1.42] G vs. A allele, population attributable risk percent (PAR%) = 12%) and the MAPT region (rs11012, p‐value = 5.6 × 10−8; genome‐wide adjusted p = 0.0079, OR = 0.70 [95% CI: 0.62–0.79] T vs. C allele, PAR%= 8%) were genome‐wide significant. No other SNPs were genome‐wide significant in this analysis. This study confirms that SNCA and the MAPT region are major genes whose common variants are influencing risk of PD.