bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Contact heat evoked potentials using simultaneous EEG and fMRI and their correlation with evoked pain
Authors: Roberts Katherine , Papadaki Anastasia , Gonçalves Carla , Tighe Mary , Atherton Duncan , Shenoy Ravikiran , McRobbie Donald , Anand Praveen 
Published: December 2008

Abstract

Background
The Contact Heat Evoked Potential Stimulator (CHEPS) utilises rapidly delivered heat pulses with adjustable peak temperatures to stimulate the differential warm/heat thresholds of receptors expressed by Aδ and C fibres. The resulting evoked potentials can be recorded and measured, providing a useful clinical tool for the study of thermal and nociceptive pathways. Concurrent recording of contact heat evoked potentials using electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has not previously been reported with CHEPS. Developing simultaneous EEG and fMRI with CHEPS is highly desirable, as it provides an opportunity to exploit the high temporal resolution of EEG and the high spatial resolution of fMRI to study the reaction of the human brain to thermal and nociceptive stimuli.

Methods
In this study we have recorded evoked potentials stimulated by 51°C contact heat pulses from CHEPS using EEG, under normal conditions (baseline), and during continuous and simultaneous acquisition of fMRI images in ten healthy volunteers, during two sessions. The pain evoked by CHEPS was recorded on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).

Results
Analysis of EEG data revealed that the latencies and amplitudes of evoked potentials recorded during continuous fMRI did not differ significantly from baseline recordings. fMRI results were consistent with previous thermal pain studies, and showed Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) changes in the insula, post-central gyrus, supplementary motor area (SMA), middle cingulate cortex and pre-central gyrus. There was a significant positive correlation between the evoked potential amplitude (EEG) and the psychophysical perception of pain on the VAS.

Conclusion
The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of recording contact heat evoked potentials with EEG during continuous and simultaneous fMRI. The combined use of the two methods can lead to identification of distinct patterns of brain activity indicative of pain and pro-nociceptive sensitisation in healthy subjects and chronic pain patients. Further studies are required for the technique to progress as a useful tool in clinical trials of novel analgesics.
Desmoglein 2 is a substrate of kallikrein 7 in pancreatic cancer
Authors: Ramani Vishnu C , Hennings Leah , Haun Randy S 
Published: December 2008

Abstract

Background
In a previous report we have demonstrated that the chymotryptic-like serine protease kallikrein 7 (KLK7/hK7) is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer. In normal skin, hK7 is thought to participate in skin desquamation by contributing in the degradation of desmosomal components, such as desmogleins. Thus, the ability of hK7 to degrade desmogleins was assessed and the effect of hK7 expression on desmoglein 2 was examined in cultured pancreatic cancer cells.

Methods
The expression of Dsg1, Dsg2, and Dsg3 in pancreatic tissues was examined by immunohistochemistry and their expression in two pancreatic cancer cell lines, BxPC-3 and Panc-1, was determined by western blot analysis. The ability of hK7 to degrade Dsg1 and Dsg2 was investigated using in vitro degradation assays. BxPC-3 cells stably transfected to overexpress hK7 were used to examine the effect of hK7 on cell-surface resident Dsg2.

Results
The levels of immunoreactive Dsg1 and Dsg2 were reduced in pancreatic adenocarcinomas compared with both normal pancreatic and chronic pancreatitis tissues. Among the desmosomal proteins examined, Dsg2 exhibited robust expression on the surface of BxPC-3 cells. When hK7 was overexpressed in this cell line, there was a significant increase in the amount of soluble Dsg2 released into the culture medium compared with vector-transfected control cells.

Conclusion
A reduction in the amount of the cell adhesion components Dsg1 and Dsg2 in pancreatic tumors suggests that loss of these desmosomal proteins may play a role in pancreatic cancer invasion. Using in vitro degradation assays, both Dsg1 and Dsg2 could be readily proteolyzed by hK7, which is overexpressed in pancreatic adenocarcinomas. The enforced expression of hK7 in BxPC-3 cells that express significant amounts of Dsg2 resulted in a marked increase in the shedding of soluble Dsg2, which is consistent with the notion that aberrant expression of hK7 in pancreatic tumors may result in diminished cell-cell adhesion and facilitate tumor cell invasion.
Evolutionary and structural analyses of alpha-papillomavirus capsid proteins yields novel insights into L2 structure and interaction with L1
Authors: Lowe John , Panda Debasis , Rose Suzanne , Jensen Ty , Hughes Willie A , Tso For Yue , Angeletti Peter C 
Published: December 2008

Abstract

Background
PVs (PV) are small, non-enveloped, double-stranded DNA viruses that have been identified as the primary etiological agent for cervical cancer and their potential for malignant transformation in mucosal tissue has a large impact on public health. The PV family Papillomaviridae is organized into multiple genus based on sequential parsimony, host range, tissue tropism, and histology. We focused this analysis on the late gene products, major (L1) and minor (L2) capsid proteins from the family Papillomaviridae genus Alpha-papillomavirus. Alpha-PVs preferentially infect oral and anogenital mucosa of humans and primates with varied risk of oncogenic transformation. Development of evolutionary associations between PVs will likely provide novel information to assist in clarifying the currently elusive relationship between PV and its microenvironment (i.e., the single infected cell) and macro environment (i.e., the skin tissue). We attempt to identify the regions of the major capsid proteins as well as minor capsid proteins of alpha-papillomavirus that have been evolutionarily conserved, and define regions that are under constant selective pressure with respect to the entire family of viruses.

Results
This analysis shows the loops of L1 are in fact the most variable regions among the alpha-PVs. We also identify regions of L2, involved in interaction with L1, as evolutionarily conserved among the members of alpha- PVs. Finally, a predicted three-dimensional model was generated to further elucidate probable aspects of the L1 and L2 interaction.
Decreased postnatal neurogenesis in the hippocampus combined with stress experience during adolescence is accompanied by an enhanced incidence of behavioral pathologies in adult mice
Authors: Hayashi Fumihiko , Takashima Noriko , Murayama Akiko , Inokuchi Kaoru 
Published: December 2008

Abstract

Background
Adolescence is a vulnerable period in that stress experienced during this time can affect the incidence of psychiatric disorders later, during adulthood. Neurogenesis is known to be involved in the postnatal development of the brain, but its role in determining an individual's biological vulnerability to the onset of psychiatric disorders has not been addressed.

Results
We examined the role of postnatal neurogenesis during adolescence, a period between 3 to 8 weeks of age in rodents. Mice were X-irradiated at 4 weeks of age, to inhibit postnatal neurogenesis in the sub-granule cell layer of the hippocampus. Electrical footshock stress (FSS) was administered at 8 weeks old, the time at which neurons being recruited to granule cell layer were those that had begun their differentiation at 4 weeks of age, during X-irradiation. X-irradiated mice subjected to FSS during adolescence exhibited decreased locomotor activity in the novel open field, and showed prepulse inhibition deficits in adulthood. X-irradiation or FSS alone exerted no effects on these behaviors.

Conclusion
These results suggest that mice with decreased postnatal neurogenesis during adolescence exhibit vulnerability to stress, and that persistence of this condition may result in decreased activity, and cognitive deficits in adulthood.
The prognostic value of blood lactate levels relative to that of vital signs in the pre-hospital setting: a pilot study
Authors: Jansen Tim C , van Bommel Jasper , Mulder Paul G , Rommes Johannes H , Schieveld Selma JM , Bakker Jan 
Published: December 2008

Abstract
Introduction
A limitation of pre-hospital monitoring is that vital signs often do not change until a patient is in a critical stage. Blood lactate levels are suggested as a more sensitive parameter to evaluate a patient's condition. The aim of this pilot study was to find presumptive evidence for a relation between pre-hospital lactate levels and in-hospital mortality, corrected for vital sign abnormalities.

Methods
In this prospective observational study (n = 124), patients who required urgent ambulance dispatching and had a systolic blood pressure below 100 mmHg, a respiratory rate less than 10 or more than 29 breaths/minute, or a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) below 14 were enrolled. Nurses from Emergency Medical Services measured capillary or venous lactate levels using a hand-held device on arrival at the scene (T1) and just before or on arrival at the emergency department (T2). The primary outcome measured was in-hospital mortality.

Results
The average (standard deviation) time from T1 to T2 was 27 (10) minutes. Non-survivors (n = 32, 26%) had significantly higher lactate levels than survivors at T1 (5.3 vs 3.7 mmol/L) and at T2 (5.4 vs 3.2 mmol/L). Mortality was significantly higher in patients with lactate levels of 3.5 mmol/L or higher compared with those with lactate levels below 3.5 mmol/L (T1: 41 vs 12% and T2: 47 vs 15%). Also in the absence of hypotension, mortality was higher in those with higher lactate levels. In a multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis including systolic blood pressure, heart rate, GCS (all at T1) and delta lactate level (from T1 to T2), only delta lactate level (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.05 to 0.76, p = 0.018) and GCS (HR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.88 to 0.99, p = 0.022) were significant independent predictors of in-hospital mortality.

Conclusions
In a cohort of patients that required urgent ambulance dispatching, pre-hospital blood lactate levels were associated with in-hospital mortality and provided prognostic information superior to that provided by the patient's vital signs. There is potential for early detection of occult shock and pre-hospital resuscitation guided by lactate measurement. However, external validation is required before widespread implementation of lactate measurement in the out-of-hospital setting.
The views of doctors on their working lives: a qualitative study
Authors: Watt Ian , Nettleton Sarah , Burrows Roger 
Published: December 2008

Summary Objective To describe doctors' views on, and responses to, their professional working lives in the UK National Health Service (NHS). Design Qualitative study using semi structured interviews. Setting Two district hospitals and primary care settings in the North of England. Participants Fifty-two doctors participated in the study – 47 worked in hospital and five worked in general practice. Main outcome measures Qualitative information regarding doctors' views on their working lives. Results The study provided insights into the views of their working lives of a sample of doctors in the NHS. Feelings they articulated contained a number of ambivalences. Feelings about the future were coloured by concerns about the impact of regulatory changes and processes of modernization on the experiential knowledge of doctors. Conclusions These insights into doctors' views of their working lives might usefully inform those involved in the planning and overseeing of changes to health service structures and systems.
Is prolonged systemic antibiotic treatment essential in two-stage revision hip replacement for chronic Gram-positive infection?
Authors: Whittaker J. P. , Warren R. E. , Jones R. S. , Gregson P. A. 
Published: December 2008

When using a staged approach to eradicate chronic infection after total hip replacement, systemic delivery of antibiotics after the first stage is often employed for an extended period of typically six weeks together with the use of an in situ antibiotic-eluting polymethylmethacrylate interval spacer. We report our multi-surgeon experience of 43 consecutive patients (44 hips) who received systemic vancomycin for two weeks in combination with a vancomycin- and gentamicin-eluting spacer system in the course of a two-stage revision procedure for deep infection with a median follow-up of 49 months (25 to 83). The antibiotic-eluting articulating spacers fractured in six hips (13.9%) and dislocated in five patients (11.6%). Successful elimination of the infecting organisms occurred in 38 (92.7%) of 41 hips with three patients developing superinfection with a new organism. We conclude that prolonged systemic antibiotic therapy may not be essential in the two-stage treatment of a total hip replacement for Gram-positive infection, provided that a high concentration of antibiotics is delivered locally using an antibiotic-eluting system.
The morphological and immunocytochemical features of impingement syndrome and partial-thickness rotator-cuff tear in relation to outcome after subacromial decompression
Authors: Benson R. T. , McDonnell S. M. , Rees J. L. , Athanasou N. A. , Carr A. J. 
Published: December 2008

We assessed the predictive value of the macroscopic and detailed microscopic appearance of the coracoacromial ligament, subacromial bursa and rotator-cuff tendon in 20 patients undergoing subacromial decompression for impingement in the absence of full-thickness tears of the rotator cuff. Histologically, all specimens had features of degenerative change and oedema in the extracellular matrix. Inflammatory cells were seen, but there was no evidence of chronic inflammation. However, the outcome was not related to cell counts. At three months the mean Oxford shoulder score had improved from 29.2 (20 to 40) to 39.4 (28 to 48) (p < 0.0001) and at six months to 45.5 (36 to 48) (p < 0.0001). At six months, although all patients had improved, the seven patients with a hooked acromion had done so to a less extent than those with a flat or curved acromion judged by their mean Oxford shoulder scores of 43.5 and 46.5 respectively (p = 0.046). All five patients with partial-thickness tears were within this group and demonstrated less improvement than the patients with no tear (mean Oxford shoulder scores 43.2 and 46.4, respectively, p = 0.04). These findings imply that in the presence of a partial-thickness tear subacromial decompression may require additional specific treatment to the rotator cuff if the outcome is to be improved further.
Being needy versus being needed: The role of self‐regulatory focus in the experience of breast cancer
Authors: Frieswijk Nynke , Hagedoorn Mariët 
Published: December 2008

Objectives. Individual differences may exist in the psychological distress that women with breast cancer experience as a result of disease‐related changes in both their own needs and the needs of their social environment. In the current study, we investigated whether the negative impact of one's personal needs versus the needs of others depends on the self‐regulatory focus of women with breast cancer, that is, the extent to which they are motivated by promotion or prevention goals.Design and methods. In an on‐line survey among 113 women with breast cancer, participants were primed on either their personal needs or the needs of others. Subsequently, women's perception of having been distressed in the past week was measured with the CES‐D.Results. As expected, promotion focus was found to moderate the effect of this experimental manipulation: after concentrating on their own needs, women with breast cancer with a strong promotion focus perceived themselves as having been less distressed in the past week than those with a weak promotion focus, whereas promotion focus was not related to distress when women concentrated on the needs of others. Prevention focus, on the other hand, did not moderate the relationship between the experimental conditions and perceived distress, but it proved to be a strong predictor of perceived distress, independent of whether patients were focusing on their own needs or the needs of others.Conclusion. By identifying the role of a promotion focus in the relationship between patients' personal needs and their perception of distress, the current study highlights the importance of individual differences in the experience of breast cancer.
Gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus infections in organ transplant patients
Authors: Péter Antal , Telkes Gábor , Varga Marina , Járay Jenő 
Published: December 2008

A cytomegalovirus (CMV) az immunszupprimált szervtranszplantált betegek egyik veszélyes fertőzése. A transzplantáltak 80-90%-ánál a fertőzés inaktív; a tünetekkel járó CMV-betegség gyakorisága 30-40%-os. Gastrointestinalis CMV-betegség a szervátültetettek mintegy 10%-ában fordul elő, a kórkép a tápcsatorna bármelyik szakaszát érintheti. A CMV-betegség leggyakrabban a nyálkahártya károsodásával, fekélyekkel, eróziókkal, vérzésekkel jár, oka lehet a tápcsatorna motilitási zavarának, ritkábban gastrointestinalis gyulladásos teriméknek, perforációknak. A diagnosztika alapja az endoszkópos vizsgálat biopsziás mintavétellel. A biopsziás minta szövettani vizsgálatakor keresni kell a CMV-fertőzésre jellemző cytomegaliás sejteket intranukleáris („bagolyszem”) és intracitoplazmatikus zárványokkal. A vírus kimutatására számos mikrobiológiai, immunhisztokémiai és molekuláris biológiai módszer létezik. Igazolt kórkép esetén a kezelés kettős: az elváltozásoknak, tüneteknek megfelelő gasztroenterológiai kezelés mellett meg kell kezdeni az antivirális terápiát általában intravénás ganciclovirrel és/vagy orális valganciclovirrel. Lényeges a betegség kialakulásának megelőzése is: a magas rizikójú betegcsoportban általános profilaxis javasolt per os valganciclovirrel, speciális esetekben hiperimmunglobulinnal; közepes kockázat esetén a mikrobiológiai surveillance eredménye alapján preemptív kezelés kezdhető.
Age Composition, Growth, and Density-Dependent Mortality in Juvenile Red Snapper Estimated from Observer Data from the Gulf of Mexico Penaeid Shrimp Fishery
Authors: Gazey William J. , Gallaway Benny J. , Cole John G. , Fournier David A. 
Published: December 2008

Abstract
Beginning in May 1998, the National Marine Fisheries Service has required that bycatch reduction devices be installed in penaeid shrimp trawl gear in the Gulf of Mexico. Changes in observer protocols were introduced, one of which was that all of the red snapper Lutjanus campechanus collected would be enumerated and measured when possible. This change has yielded catch and length information from the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery. To date, however, an integrated approach to determining the age composition, growth, and mortality of juvenile red snapper has not been attempted. To address this problem, we constructed a length-based, age-structured model to objectively estimate the growth and mortality parameters and age composition of the shrimp trawl bycatch of red snapper in the western Gulf of Mexico from 81 monthly length frequency data sets (a total of 239,521 fish were measured) from July 1999 to February 2007. Our modeling strategy was to make simple and straightforward representations of the deviations in growth from the mean trend, partial recruitment, density-dependent mortality, and population dynamics. Bayesian parameter estimation was accomplished by calculating the mode of the posterior distribution. Important findings of this paper include (1) the shrimp trawl bycatch during the first and third trimesters is dominated (86–87%) by age-0 fish, (2) the growth patterns of age-0 and age-1 red snapper suggest that the fish form an opaque annulus in winter months, (3) the natural mortality of age-0 fish appears to be about double (a minimum 70% increase) the value used in the last stock assessment, and (4) the evidence for density-dependent juvenile mortality is overwhelming. Inclusion of these findings in the red snapper stock assessment has the potential to substantially alter management practices.
Long-Term Retention and Visibility of Visible Implant Elastomer Tags in Brook Trout
Authors: Josephson Daniel C. , Robinson Jason M. , Weidel Brian C. , Kraft Clifford E. 
Published: December 2008

Abstract
Understanding how juvenile brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis from different sources contribute to fishable populations would be facilitated by a batch mark that could be applied to early life stages and be retained and visible throughout a fish's life. We evaluated visible implant elastomer (VIE) as a long-term batch mark for juvenile brook trout in hatchery and lake environments. Visible implant elastomer material was injected into the postocular eye tissue of 2,350 age-0 brook trout. Marked fish were stocked into three lakes, and an additional group was held in the hatchery. Tissue dissections revealed that VIE tag retention was 100% in both environments after 970 d. Tag visibility in hatchery fish examined under indoor fluorescent light was greater than 95% through 585 d, then dropped to 55–70% between 700 and 900 d. Tag visibility in lake fish examined under outdoor sunlight was 50–72% at 400 d and 0% at 959 d. When these same fish were observed in dark conditions with blue-filtered light and amber glasses, tag visibility was 75% for hatchery fish at 970 d and 100% for lake fish at 959 d. The high retention and increased visibility when viewed in dark conditions with blue-filtered light demonstrates that VIE tags are a suitable long-term batch mark for juvenile brook trout.
Lipid and Lipoprotein Profiles in Youth With and Without Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Guy John , Ogden Lorraine , Wadwa R. Paul , Hamman Richard F. , Mayer-Davis Elizabeth J. , Liese Angela D. , D'Agostino Ralph , Marcovina Santica , Dabelea Dana 
Published: December 2008

OBJECTIVE—The purpose of this study was to compare the lipid profile and the prevalence of lipid abnormalities in youth with and without type 1 diabetes and explore the role of glycemic control on the hypothesized altered lipid profile in youth with type 1 diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 512 youth with type 1 diabetes (mean duration 4.22 years) and 188 healthy control subjects aged 10–22 years in Colorado and South Carolina. SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth (SEARCH) participants with type 1 diabetes and healthy control subjects recruited from primary care offices in the same geographic regions were invited to attend a research visit. Fasting lipid profiles were compared between youth with type 1 diabetes (stratified according to categories of optimal [A1C &lt;7.5%] and suboptimal [A1C ≥7.5%] glycemic control) and healthy nondiabetic youth, using multiple linear and logistic regression.
RESULTS—Youth with type 1 diabetes and optimal A1C had lipid concentrations that were similar (total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and LDL particle size) or even less atherogenic (HDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, triglyceride, and triglyceride–to–HDL cholesterol ratio) than those observed in nondiabetic youth, whereas youth with suboptimal glycemic control had elevated standard lipid levels (total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol). Youth with type 1 diabetes also had significantly elevated apolipoprotein B levels and more small, dense LDL particles than nondiabetic youth, regardless of glycemic control.
CONCLUSIONS—Youth with type 1 diabetes have abnormal lipid levels and atherogenic changes in lipoprotein composition, even after a relatively short disease duration. As in adults, glycemic control is an important mediator of these abnormalities.