bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
International variations in associations of allergic markers and diseases in children: ISAAC Phase Two
Authors: Weinmayr G. , Genuneit J. , Nagel G. , Björkstén B. , Van Hage M. , Priftanji A. , Cooper P. , Rijkjärv M.‐A. , Von Mutius E. , Tsanakas J. , Forastiere F. , Doekes G. , Garrido J. B. , Suarez‐Varela M. M. , Bråbäck L. , Strachan D. P. ,   the ISAAC Phase Two Study Group
Published: December 2009

To cite this article: Weinmayr G, Genuneit J, Nagel G, Björkstén B, van Hage M, Priftanji A, Cooper P, Rijkjärv M‐A, von Mutius E, Tsanakas J, Forastiere F, Doekes G, Garrido JB, Suarez‐Varela MM, Bråbäck L, Strachan DP, the ISAAC Phase Two Study Group. International variations in associations of allergic markers and diseases in children: ISAAC Phase Two. Allergy 2010; 65: 766–775.AbstractBackground:  Circulating allergen‐specific IgE (sIgE) and skin prick tests (SPT) are used to define atopy. Downregulation of local inflammatory responsiveness has been proposed to explain a low prevalence of positive SPTs in less affluent countries. We analysed the association between SPTs, total and allergen‐specific IgE and their relationships to allergic symptoms in centres with diverse living conditions.Methods:  Cross‐sectional studies of stratified random samples of 8 to 12‐year‐old children (n = 7461) used the standardized methodology of Phase Two of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Symptoms of asthma, rhinitis and eczema were ascertained by parental questionnaires. Skin examination, hypertonic saline bronchial challenge, six aeroallergen SPTs and measurements of serum total IgE and sIgE were performed.Results:  In nonaffluent countries, a higher proportion of children with positive SPT had no detectable sIgE (range 37–61%) than in affluent countries (0–37%). Total serum IgE was associated with all disease outcomes among children with both positive SPT and sIgE (P < 0.001), but only with self‐reported eczema in children with negative SPTs and negative sIgE.Conclusions:  The international pattern of discordance between SPT and sIgE results did not support the downregulation hypothesis. Among children with no evidence of sensitization to common aeroallergens, increased total IgE contributes little to the risk of wheeze and rhinitis in the general population but may play a role in eczema.
Early (fifth day) vs. late (sixth month) steroid withdrawal in renal transplant recipients treated with Neoral® plus Rapamune®: four‐yr results of a randomized monocenter study
Authors: Sandrini Silvio , Setti Gisella , Bossini Nicola , Chiappini Raffaella , Valerio Francesca , Mazzola Giuseppe , Maffeis Roberto , Nodari Franco , Cancarini Giovanni 
Published: December 2009

Sandrini S, Setti G, Bossini N, Chiappini R, Valerio F, Mazzola G, Maffeis R, Nodari F, Cancarini G. Early (fifth day) vs. late (sixth month) steroid withdrawal in renal transplant recipients treated with Neoral® plus Rapamune®: four‐yr results of a randomized monocenter study.  Clin Transplant 2009 DOI: 10.1111/j.1399‐0012.2009.01171.x. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Abstract:  The most advisable timing for steroid withdrawal (CSWD) after renal transplantation (Tx) is still an open issue. This randomized study has compared early CSWD (at day 5) with late (at month 6) in patients under Neoral + Sirolimus. The primary end point was the percentage of success in CSWD at month 48. Ninety‐six transplants from deceased donors were randomized to withdraw steroids either early (n = 49) or late (n = 47). At four yr, the two strategies were comparable for: success in CSWD (65% in both), graft survival (95% and 98%), patient survival (92% and 96%) creatininemia (1.7 ± 0.3 and 1.6 ± 0.4 mg/dL), side effects, being still on Sirolimus + Neoral (69% and 74%), reversibility of rejection (AR) (all cases), severity of AR (grade 1A/1B: 81% and 63%). The major differences were incidence of AR: at month twelve (48% vs. 30%, p < 0.04), at 48 (53% and 33%, p < 0.03); timing of AR (72 ± 86 d vs. 202 ± 119 d, p < 0.0001). The timing of CSWD influences neither the rate of successful CSWD nor the long‐term results. However, early suspension causes a higher AR rate, mostly arising within month one, but always responsive to steroids. Yet, the early appearance of AR can make patient management easier and safer.
A single‐center retrospective analysis of liver transplantation on 255 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Wang Zheng‐Xin , Song Shao‐Hua , Teng Fei , Wang Gui‐Hua , Guo Wen‐Yuan , Shi Xiao‐Min , Ma Jun , Wu You‐Min , Ding Guo‐Shan , Fu Zhi‐Ren 
Published: December 2009

Wang Z‐X, Song S‐H, Teng F, Wang G‐H, Guo W‐Y, Shi X‐M, Ma J, Wu Y‐M, Ding G‐S, Fu Z‐R. A single‐center retrospective analysis of liver transplantation on 255 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.  Clin Transplant 2010: 24: 752–757. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Abstract:  Background:  Liver transplantation (LT) was advocated as a salvage treatment of choice for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study was designed to assess the eligibility of LT criteria for patients with HCC and to analyze the factors influencing the recurrence of HCC following LT, aiming to further improve the efficacy of LT for patients with HCC.Methods:  Clinical data of 255 patients with HCC who underwent LT between December 2001 and December 2007 at Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, China were retrospectively analyzed.Results:  Among these cases, 75 patients were within the Milan criteria and 180 were beyond it; 110 patients were within the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) criteria, while 145 were beyond it. The difference in overall survival rates was not only significant between the patients within and beyond the Milan criteria but also between patients within and beyond the UCSF criteria. Tumor‐node‐metastasis (TNM) staging, portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT), and the pre‐operative alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) level were independent risk factors affecting the overall survival and post‐operative recurrence‐free survival rates of patients with HCC. Pathological staging and pre‐operative local treatment of HCC had no obvious correlation with the post‐operative recurrence‐free survival rate.Conclusion:  LT is an effective treatment modality for HCC. The UCSF criteria did not show better effectiveness than the Milan criteria. TNM staging, PVTT, and the pre‐operative AFP level are closely related to the recurrence of HCC following LT.
Effects of sevoflurane on collagen production and growth factor expression in rats with an excision wound
Authors: LEE H.‐J. , KWON J.‐Y. , SHIN S.‐W. , BAEK S.‐H. , CHOI K.‐U. , JEON Y.‐H. , KIM W.‐S. , BAE J.‐H. , CHOI H.‐J. , KIM H.‐K. , BAIK S.‐W. 
Published: December 2009

Background: Sevoflurane is a widely used inhalation anesthetic, but there are no studies on its effect on the wound‐healing process. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of exposure time to sevoflurane on wound healing.Method: Male Sprague–Dawley rats were used. Two circular full‐thickness skin defects 8 mm in diameter were made on the dorsum of the rats. The animals were divided into six groups according to exposed gas type and time: S1 (sevoflurane, 1 h), S4 (sevoflurane, 4 h), S8 (sevoflurane, 8 h), O1 (oxygen, 1 h), O4 (oxygen, 4 h), and O8 (oxygen, 8 h). The surface area of the wounds was measured 0, 1, 3, and 7 days after surgery. Separately, the mean blood pressures (MBP) and arterial oxygen pressures (PaO2) were monitored during the sevoflurane exposure. Collagen type I production and transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) expression on the wound surface were analyzed. Routine histological analysis was also performed.Result: Exposure duration to sevoflurane had no influence on MBP and PaO2. The reduction in wound size and collagen type I production was delayed in S8. The expression of TGF‐β1 and bFGF on the wound surface in S8 was significantly attenuated in S8. The histology of the S8 demonstrated a delayed healing status.Conclusions: Prolonged exposure to sevoflurane might alter the inflammatory phase of the wound‐healing process by attenuation of growth factor expression such as TGF‐β1 and bFGF and subsequently by reduced collagen production.
Parasitism of cotton leafworm Alabama argillacea eggs by Trichogramma pretiosum in commercial cotton fields
Authors: Bastos C. S. , Torres J. B. , Suinaga F. A. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractRelease of natural enemies in commercial fields is challenging and has been inconsistent in the results achieved. This work discusses the augmentative releases of Trichogramma pretiosum to control the cotton leafworm (CLW) Alabama argillacea and also examines the parasitoid–host interaction under grower field conditions. The treatments consisted of fields with and without releases of T. pretiosum set up in Primavera do Leste and Campo Verde Counties, MT, Brazil, during three different seasons (2003 and 2004 dry and 2004 regular summer seasons). Trichogramma wasps were weekly released in the treated fields throughout the entire sampling period (14–15 week period) at a rate of 100 000 wasps per hectare. One‐way repeated measures analysis of variance was performed for the number of parasitized eggs, followed by a meta‐analysis procedure to determine the contribution of T. pretiosum release on overall parasitism. In addition, regression analysis was conducted with each season’s data sets to study the relationship of the host density and parasitism response by T. pretiosum. The overall results of Trichogramma augmentative releases did not result in significant increase of CLW egg parasitism beyond the natural parasitism in the areas studied. However, based on Cohen’s d effect sizes from the meta‐analysis, the parasitism rate was greater in fields under T. pretiosum releases during four out of 15 weeks surveyed. The parasitism of CLW eggs by T. pretiosum exhibited host density‐dependence only in one out of three seasons surveyed. These findings are encouraging as they are evidence that T. pretiosum is able to maintain a considerable level of parasitism under commercial field conditions, highlighting their potential value in large‐scale commercial areas of cotton as previously found at the small and diverse farming scale. Future studies should address the potential of early‐season, low density releases of the parasitoid.
Genetic reductions of β‐site amyloid precursor protein‐cleaving enzyme 1 and amyloid‐β ameliorate impairment of conditioned taste aversion memory in 5XFAD Alzheimer’s disease model mice
Authors: Devi Latha , Ohno Masuo 
Published: December 2009

AbstractAlthough transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) recapitulate amyloid‐β (Aβ)‐related pathologies and cognitive impairments, previous studies have mainly evaluated their hippocampus‐dependent memory dysfunctions using behavioral tasks such as the water maze and fear conditioning. However, multiple memory systems become impaired in AD as the disease progresses and it is important to test whether other forms of memory are affected in AD models. This study was designed to use conditioned taste aversion (CTA) and contextual fear conditioning paradigms to compare the phenotypes of hippocampus‐independent and ‐dependent memory functions, respectively, in 5XFAD amyloid precursor protein/presenilin‐1 transgenic mice that harbor five familial AD mutations. Although both types of memory were significantly impaired in 5XFAD mice, the onset of CTA memory deficits (∼9 months of age) was delayed compared with that of contextual memory deficits (∼6 months of age). Furthermore, 5XFAD mice that were genetically engineered to have reduced levels of β‐site amyloid precursor protein‐cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) (BACE1+/−·5XFAD) exhibited improved CTA memory, which was equivalent to the performance of wild‐type controls. Importantly, elevated levels of cerebral β‐secretase‐cleaved C‐terminal fragment (C99) and Aβ peptides in 5XFAD mice were significantly reduced in BACE1+/−·5XFAD mice. Furthermore, Aβ deposition in the insular cortex and basolateral amygdala, two brain regions that are critically involved in CTA performance, was also reduced in BACE1+/−·5XFAD compared with 5XFAD mice. Our findings indicate that the CTA paradigm is useful for evaluating a hippocampus‐independent form of memory defect in AD model mice, which is sensitive to rescue by partial reductions of the β‐secretase BACE1 and consequently of cerebral Aβ.
Neural correlates of odor learning in the honeybee antennal lobe
Authors: Denker Michael , Finke Robert , Schaupp Frank , Grün Sonja , Menzel Randolf 
Published: December 2009

AbstractExtracellular spiking activity and local field potentials (LFP) were recorded via tetrodes at the output of the antennal lobe (AL) in the honeybee brain during olfactory conditioning. Odors induce reliable rate responses that consist of either phasic‐tonic responses, or complex responses with odor‐specific profiles. In addition, odors evoke consistent responses of LFP oscillations in the 50‐Hz band during the phasic ON‐response to odor stimulation, and variable LFP responses at other frequency bands during the sustained response. A principal component analysis of the ensemble activity during differential conditioning consistently indicates the largest changes in response to the learned odor (conditioned stimulus; CS+). Relative LFP power increases for CS+ in the 15–40‐Hz frequency band during the sustained response, and decreases for frequencies above 45 Hz. To quantify the relationship between these population responses given by the ensemble spiking activity and LFP, we show that for CS+ the learning‐related changes in the degree of the phase‐locked spiking activity correlate with the power changes in the corresponding frequency bands. Our results indicate associative plasticity in the AL of the bee leading to both enhancement and decrease of neuronal response rates. LFP power changes and the correlated changes in the locking between spikes and LFP at different frequencies observed for the learned odor serve as further evidence for a learning‐induced restructuring of temporal ensemble representations.
Neural responses to uninterrupted natural speech can be extracted with precise temporal resolution
Authors: Lalor Edmund C. , Foxe John J. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractThe human auditory system has evolved to efficiently process individual streams of speech. However, obtaining temporally detailed responses to distinct continuous natural speech streams has hitherto been impracticable using standard neurophysiological techniques. Here a method is described which provides for the estimation of a temporally precise electrophysiological response to uninterrupted natural speech. We have termed this response AESPA (Auditory Evoked Spread Spectrum Analysis) and it represents an estimate of the impulse response of the auditory system. It is obtained by assuming that the recorded electrophysiological function represents a convolution of the amplitude envelope of a continuous speech stream with the to‐be‐estimated impulse response. We present examples of these responses using both scalp and intracranially recorded human EEG, which were obtained while subjects listened to a binaurally presented recording of a male speaker reading naturally from a classic work of fiction. This method expands the arsenal of stimulation types that can now be effectively used to derive auditory evoked responses and allows for the use of considerably more ecologically valid stimulation parameters. Some implications for future research efforts are presented.
Improved glycaemic control with minimal hypoglycaemia and no weight change with the once‐daily human glucagon‐like peptide‐1 analogue liraglutide as add‐on to sulphonylurea in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Kaku K. , Rasmussen M. F. , Clauson P. , Seino Y. 
Published: December 2009

Aim: Sulphonylureas (SUs) are often used as first‐line treatments for type 2 diabetes in Japan, hence it is important to study new antidiabetic drugs in combination with SUs in Japanese patients. Methods: The efficacy and safety of the once‐daily human glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) analogue liraglutide were compared in 264 Japanese subjects [mean body mass index (BMI) 24.9 kg/m2; mean glycated haemoglobin (HBA1c) 8.4%] randomized and exposed to receive liraglutide 0.6 mg/day (n = 88), 0.9 mg/day (n = 88) or placebo (n = 88) each added to SU monotherapy (glibenclamide, glicazide or glimeprimide) in a 24‐week, double‐blind, parallel‐group trial. Results: The mean change in HBA1c from baseline to week 24 (LOCF) was −1.56 (s.d. 0.84) and −1.46 (s.d. 0.95) with liraglutide 0.9 and 0.6 mg respectively, and −0.40 (s.d. 0.93) with placebo. HBA1c decreased in the placebo group from 8.45 to 8.06%, while liraglutide reduced HBA1c from 8.60 to 7.14%, and from 8.23 to 6.67% at the 0.6 and 0.9 mg doses respectively. Mean HBA1c at week 24 of the two liraglutide groups were significantly lower than the placebo group (p < 0.0001 for both). More subjects reached HBA1c < 7.0% with liraglutide (0.6 mg: 46.5%; 0.9 mg: 71.3%) vs. placebo (14.8%). Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels were significantly improved with liraglutide (difference −1.47 mmol/l and −1.80 mmol/l with 0.6 and 0.9 mg vs. placebo; p < 0.0001). Overall safety was similar between treatments: no major hypoglycaemic episodes were reported, while 84/77/38 minor hypoglycaemic episodes occurred in the 0.6 mg/0.9 mg and placebo treatment groups (all in combination with SU), reflecting lower ambient glucose levels. No relevant change in mean body weight occurred in subjects receiving liraglutide (0.6 mg: 0.06 kg; 0.9 mg: −0.37 kg), while mean body weight decreased in subjects receiving placebo (−1.12 kg). Conclusions: The addition of liraglutide to SU treatment for 24 weeks dose‐dependently improved glycaemic control vs. SU monotherapy, without causing major hypoglycaemia or weight gain or loss.
The emergence of the chordate body plan: some puzzles and problems
Authors: Lacalli Thurston C. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractLacalli, T.C. 2010. The emergence of the chordate body plan: some puzzles and problems. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 91: 4–10Rather than being sessile filter feeders, ancestral chordates are now thought to have evolved from more active benthic animals, possibly hemichordate‐like, that took to swimming, to generate something resembling modern amphioxus. This general picture conceals a number of specific problems that underline how little we understand the transition in detail. I will address three. First, and closest to resolution is the issue of dorsoventral inversion, which has implications for understanding how an internalized brain evolved. This is because the mouth, dorsal after inversion, has first to be moved out of the way. Its migration down the left side of the head during amphioxus development may be a recapitulation of this event. Two other puzzles, both further from resolution are: (1) the significance, if any, of the neurenteric canal, which may be telling us something important about the true nature of deuterostomy, specifically whether hemichordates and echinoderms are deuterostomes for a different reason than chordates, and (2) whether the functional digestive tract of chordates is a secondary replacement of an earlier structure whose fate remains unexplained. Resolving these latter two issues will require a better understanding of molecular level events during development in protochordates and their immediate invertebrate relatives.
A new dimension in combining data? The use of morphology and phylogenomic data in metazoan systematics
Authors: Giribet Gonzalo 
Published: December 2009

AbstractGiribet, G. 2010. A new dimension in combining data? The use of morphology and phylogenomic data in metazoan systematics. —Acta Zoologica(Stockholm)91: 11–19Animal phylogenies have been traditionally inferred by using the character state information derived from the observation of a diverse array of morphological and anatomical features, but the incorporation of molecular data into the toolkit of phylogenetic characters has shifted drastically the way researchers infer phylogenies. A main reason for this is the ease at which molecular data can be obtained, compared to, e.g., traditional histological and microscopical techniques. Researchers now routinely use genomic data for reconstructing relationships among animal phyla (using whole genomes or Expressed Sequence Tags) but the amount of morphological data available to study the same phylogenetic patterns has not grown accordingly. Given the disparity between the amounts of molecular and morphological data, some authors have questioned entire morphological programs. In this review I discuss issues related to the combinability of genomic and morphological data, the informativeness of each set of characters, and conclude with a discussion of how morphology could be made scalable by utilizing new techniques that allow for non‐intrusive examination of large amounts of preserved museum specimens. Morphology should therefore remains a strong field in evolutionary and comparative biology, as it continues to provide information for inferring phylogenetic patterns, is an important complement for the patterns derived from the molecular data, and it is the common nexus that allows studying fossil taxa with large data sets of molecular data.
Some aspects of spiralian development
Authors: Nielsen Claus 
Published: December 2009

AbstractNielsen, C. 2010. Some aspects of spiralian development. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 91: 20–28Spiralian development is not only a characteristic early cleavage pattern, with shifting orientations of the cleavage planes, but also highly conserved cell lineages, where the origin of several organs can be traced back to identifiable cells in the lineage. These patterns are well documented in annelids, molluscs, nemertines, and platyhelminths and are considered ancestral of a bilaterian clade including these phyla. Spiral cleavage has not been documented in ecdysozoans, and no trace of the spiral development pattern is seen in phoronids and brachiopods. Origin of the spatial organization in spiralian embryos is puzzling, but much of the information appears to be encoded in the developing oocyte. Fertilization and “pseudofertilization” apparently provides the information defining the secondary, anterior‐posterior body axis in many species. The central nervous system consists of three components: an apical organ, derived from the apical blastomeres 1a111‐1d111, which degenerates before or at metamorphosis; the cerebral ganglia derived from other blastomeres of the first micromere quartet and retained in the adult as a preoral part of the brain; and the originally circumblastoporal nerve cord, which has become differentiated into a perioral part of the brain, the paired or secondarily fused ventral nerve cords, and a small perianal nerve ring.