bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Opposite impacts of tenascin‐C and tenascin‐R deficiency in mice on the functional outcome of facial nerve repair
Authors: Guntinas‐Lichius Orlando , Angelov Doychin N. , Morellini Fabio , Lenzen Mithra , Skouras Emmanouil , Schachner Melitta , Irintchev Andrey 
Published: November 2005

AbstractThe glycoproteins tenascin‐C (TNC) and tenascin‐R (TNR) are extracellular matrix proteins involved in the development, plasticity and repair of the nervous system. Altered expression patterns after nerve lesions in adult animals have suggested that these molecules influence axonal regeneration. To test this hypothesis, we investigated adult mice constitutively deficient in the expression of TNC, TNR or both, using the facial nerve injury paradigm. Quantitative analysis of vibrissal movements prior to nerve transection and repair (facial–facial anastomosis) did not reveal genotype‐specific differences, and thus impacts of the mutations on motor function in intact animals. Two months after nerve repair, recovery of vibrissal whisking was poor in wild‐type mice, a typical finding after facial–facial anastomosis in rodents. Differential effects of the mutations on whisking were found: recovery of function was worse in TNC‐deficient and better in TNR null mice compared with wild‐type littermates. In double‐knockout animals, vibrissal performance was insufficient, but to a lesser extent compared with TNC null mutant mice. Retrograde labelling of motoneurons in the same animals showed that similar numbers of motoneurons had reinnervated the whisker pads in all experimental groups precluding varying extents of motoneuron death and/or axon regeneration failures as causes for the different outcomes of nerve repair. Our results provide strong evidence that TNC promotes and TNR impedes recovery after nerve lesion. These findings are of particular interest with regard to the scanty knowledge about factors determining success of regeneration in the peripheral nervous system of mammals.
High‐frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over the hand area of the primary motor cortex disturbs predictive grip force scaling
Authors: Nowak Dennis A. , Voss Martin , Huang Ying‐Zu , Wolpert Daniel M. , Rothwell John C. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractWhen we repetitively lift an object, our grip force is influenced by the mechanical object properties of the preceding lift, irrespective of whether the subsequent lift is performed with the same hand or the hand opposite to the preceding lift. This study investigates if repetitive high‐frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the dominant primary motor cortex affects this relationship. After completion of 10 lifts of an object using the dominant hand, rTMS was applied over the dominant primary motor cortex for 20 s. On the first lift following rTMS, the peak grip force was significantly higher than on the lift preceding rTMS. Moreover, this measure remained elevated throughout the following set of lifts after rTMS. rTMS did not change the peak lift force generated by more proximal arm muscles. The same effect was observed when the lifts following rTMS over the dominant motor cortex were performed with the ipsilateral hand. These effects were not observed when subjects rested both hands on their lap or when a sham stimulation was applied for the same period of time. These preliminary data suggest that rTMS over the sensorimotor cortex disturbs predictive grip force planning.
Stimulation of PGE2 receptors EP2 and EP4 protects cultured neurons against oxidative stress and cell death following β‐amyloid exposure
Authors: Echeverria Valentina , Clerman Andrew , Doré Sylvain 
Published: November 2005

AbstractAlzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with gliosis, neuroinflammation and higher levels of prostaglandins. Conflicting roles for cyclooxygenases and prostaglandins in the etiopathology of AD have been reported. We hypothesized that PGE2 signaling through EP2 and EP4 G‐protein‐coupled receptors could protect against amyloid β‐peptide (Aβ) neurotoxicity by increasing the cAMP signaling cascade. Using primary neuronal cultures, we investigated the presence of EP receptors (EP1–4) and the action of PGE2 and EP receptor agonists on neuronal susceptibility to Aβ1−42 toxicity. Low concentrations (1 µm) of PGE2, butaprost (EP2 agonist), and 1‐hydroxy‐PGE1 (EP4/EP3 agonist) were neuroprotective against Aβ1−42 toxicity, while sulprostone (EP3/EP1 agonist) at similar doses had no detectable effects. EP2 and EP4 receptor‐mediated neuroprotection would involve changes in cAMP levels, as both EP2 and EP4 agonists increased intracellular cAMP concentration by approximately doubling basal levels, and both exhibited neuroprotective actions against Aβ‐induced toxicity. The protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor RpcAMPS significantly attenuated the neuroprotection by butaprost, but not that by 1‐hydroxy‐PGE1, implying differences between EP2 and EP4 receptor protective mechanisms. Additionally, the increase in reactive oxygen species generated following exposure to Aβ was reduced by stimulation of both EP2 and EP4 receptors. Together, these results indicate that PGE2 can protect neurons against Aβ toxicity by acting on given receptors and stimulating a cascade of intracellular events, including the cAMP–PKA pathway. We propose that development and testing of specific PGE2 receptor agonists downstream of cyclooxygenase could lead to therapeutic applications.
Central nervous system neurons acquire mast cell products via transgranulation
Authors: Wilhelm M. , Silver R. , Silverman A. J. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractResting and actively degranulating mast cells are found on the brain side of the blood–brain barrier. In the periphery, exocytosis of mast cell granules results in the release of soluble mediators and insoluble granule remnants. These mast cell constituents are found in a variety of nearby cell types, acquired by fusion of granule and cellular membranes or by cellular capture of mast cell granule remnants. These phenomena have not been studied in the brain. In the current work, light and electron microscopic studies of the medial habenula of the dove brain revealed that mast cell‐derived material can enter neurons in three ways: by direct fusion of the granule and plasma membranes (mast cell and neuron); by capture of insoluble granule remnants and, potentially, via receptor‐mediated endocytosis of gonadotropin‐releasing hormone, a soluble mediator derived from the mast cell. These processes result in differential subcellular localization of mast cell material in neurons, including free in the neuronal cytoplasm, membrane‐bound in granule‐like compartments or in association with small vesicles and the trans‐Golgi network. Capture of granule remnants is the most frequently observed form of neuronal acquisition of mast cell products and correlates quantitatively with mast cells undergoing piecemeal degranulation. The present study indicates that mast cell‐derived products can enter neurons, a process termed transgranulation, indicating a novel form of brain–immune system communication.
Opposing effects of amygdala and orbital prefrontal cortex lesions on the extinction of instrumental responding in macaque monkeys
Authors: Izquierdo Alicia , Murray Elisabeth A. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractExtinction is a well‐known behavioural phenomenon that allows organisms to respond flexibly to a changing environment. Although recent work implicates the amygdala and orbital prefrontal cortex (PFo) in extinction of Pavlovian conditioned fear and aversion, much less is known about the neural bases of instrumental extinction. To explore the contribution of the macaque amygdala to flexible responding in the face of changing reward contingency, we tested the effects of selective, excitotoxic lesions of the amygdala on extinction of an instrumental response. For comparison, we evaluated the effects of ablation of PFo on the same task. Amygdala lesions facilitated the extinction of instrumental responses, whereas lesions of PFo had the opposite effect.
Differential involvement of the prelimbic cortex and striatum in conditioned heroin and sucrose seeking following long‐term extinction
Authors: Schmidt E. Donné , Voorn Pieter , Binnekade Rob , Schoffelmeer Anton N. M. , De Vries Taco J. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractRelapse to drug taking is triggered by stimuli previously associated with consumption of drugs of misuse (cues) and involves brain systems controlling motivated behaviour towards natural reinforcers. In this study, we aimed to identify and compare neuronal pathways in corticostriatal systems that control conditioned heroin or natural reward (sucrose) seeking. To that end, rats were trained to self‐administer heroin or sucrose in association with an identical compound cue. After more than 3 weeks of abstinence during extinction training, cue exposure robustly reinstated heroin and sucrose seeking, but induced distinct and even opposing changes in the expression of the neuronal activation marker zif268 in the prelimbic cortex and striatal complex, respectively. Because in the prelimbic area zif268 expression was enhanced during cue‐induced heroin seeking but unaffected during sucrose seeking, a pharmacological intervention was aimed at this prefrontal region. Injection of a GABA agonist mixture within the prelimbic area enhanced conditioned heroin seeking, but had no effect on conditioned sucrose seeking. Our findings suggest a differential role of the prelimbic area and the striatum in the persistence of heroin vs. sucrose seeking following long‐term extinction.
Parasitism of Cameraria ohridella (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae) in natural and artificial horse‐chestnut stands in the Balkans
Authors: Grabenweger G. , Avtzis N. , Girardoz S. , Hrasovec B. , Tomov R. , Kenis M. 
Published: November 2005

Abstract1 The horse‐chestnut leafminer, Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimic, was discovered during a mass outbreak on planted horse‐chestnut trees, Aesculus hippocastanum, near Lake Ohrid in Macedonia. However, several peculiarities in the leafminer's biology and ecology, such as its inefficient control through natural enemies, indicate that it may be of exotic origin.2 In this study, the parasitism of C. ohridella was examined in natural and artificial horse‐chestnut stands in South‐eastern Europe. The size and composition of the parasitoid complex of natural stands was comparable with that known from artificial stands. No specialist parasitoid species were detected in any of the samples. The only parasitoid species found exclusively in natural stands during this investigation were the braconid Colastes braconius and the eulophid Chrysocharis phryne. Both are known to be polyphagous on many leafminers in Europe and C. braconius has been often recorded from C. ohridella in artificial stands in previous studies. Parasitism levels varied within the same range (3.6–21.0%) throughout the entire region, in both types of habitats.3 These results suggest that the parasitoid complex of C. ohridella in natural and planted horse‐chestnut stands in Europe is typically that of an exotic, recently introduced leafminer. Consequently, C. ohridella is probably not indigenous in the Balkans, but has been introduced to the area of its discovery from another continent.
Population dynamics ofOligonychus afrasiaticusin the southern Arava Valley of Israel in relation to date fruit characteristics and climatic conditions
Authors: Palevsky E. , Borochov‐Neori H. , Gerson U. 
Published: November 2005

Abstract1 Oligonychus afrasiaticus, the old world date mite, is a serious pest of dates in North Africa and the Near East, including Israel. It attacks and rapidly develops when the fruit is young and green. Mite phenology is affected by date cultivar, but the relationship between fruit characteristics and mite population development is unknown.2 We report that mite establishment on the main cultivars grown in Israel, ‘Medjool’, ‘Barhi’ and ‘Deglet Noor’, began only when the water content of the fruit increased to ≥ 84%. Fruit bunch architecture and resistance to penetration, as well as sugar composition and content, were not key factors in mite establishment.3 Later in the season, when total sugar levels reached ≥ 150 mg/g fresh fruit weight, total soluble solids comprised 15% and water content decreased to ≤ 75%, mite populations declined.4 Yearly climatic variations could be responsible for phenological asynchrony between the pest and fruit development.
Size and shape changes of Ips typographus L. (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) in relation to population level
Authors: Sallé Aurélien , Baylac Michel , Lieutier François 
Published: November 2005

Abstract1 High intraspecific competition is known to occur during Ips typographus outbreaks, and is thought to be the main factor regulating epidemic populations by affecting beetle population productivity. However, little is known about the consequences of intraspecific competition on population quality during outbreaks, although it could have consequences on beetle population dynamics.2 Ips typographus morphological variations among localities, years and beetle population levels were investigated in 10 Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands having various beetle damage intensities. Beetle size and shape estimators based on wing length, and using isometric size and log‐shape ratios, were employed. Field‐caught beetles were compared with beetles emerging from controlled breeding at different densities, performed in the laboratory. Beetles from this colony were also used to check the influence of breeding densities on the size estimator.3 Size variations occurred among localities and years and were consistent with the epidemic or latent status of the beetle populations. Controlled breeding confirmed the negative effect of beetle densities encountered in the field on offspring size. Two hypotheses are formulated to explain this increase of intraspecific competition during an outbreak, but our data support the effect of host quality change between latent and epidemic populations.4 Shape variations also occurred among localities but were unrelated to beetle population levels. No groups consistent with a geographical structure were found, suggesting low genetic variation for I. typographus populations in France.
Parasitoid assemblages reared from geometrid defoliators (lepidoptera: geometridae) of larch and fir in the alps
Authors: Kenis Marc , Herz Kathrin , West Richard J. , Shaw Mark R. 
Published: November 2005

Abstract1 Geometrid larvae were collected from larch and fir in the Swiss Alps in 1991–94. Eight geometrid species were found in sufficient numbers to rear out parasitoids:Agriopis aurantiaria,Bupalus piniarius,Epirrita autumnata,Eupithecia lariciata,Odontopera bidentata,Lycia isabellaeandSemiothisa lituratawere collected from larch, andPuengeleria capreolariawas obtained from fir.2 Parasitoid species belonging to five different guilds and four families were obtained; however, the taxonomic status of some of these is not completely resolved.3 The parasitoid complex of the larch‐feeding species was totally different from that of Tortricidae and Tenthredinidae, which feed on the same host tree. In general, there was little overlap in the parasitoid complexes of the larch geometrids, with the most dominant parasitoid of each species reared from only one host. By contrast, many parasitoid species found during our study are also known to attack the same hosts or closely related hosts on different host tree species in different environments, suggesting that host specificity in geometrid parasitoids is more related to host taxonomy than to host plant or habitat.
The influence of home on learning to read
Authors: Moon Cliff , Wells Gordon 
Published: November 2005

ABSTRACTLarge scale investigations into home variables and educational success frequently demonstrate relationships between global factors such as socio‐economic status, education of parents, etc. and general educational achievement, of which attainment in reading is often taken as an index. This paper reports a small but detailed study of home influences on the early stages of learning to read within the context of the Bristol Longitudinal Language Development Research Programme. Data were derived from three sources: interviews with the parents when the children were aged 5 and 7 years; regular recordings of spontaneous conversation at home between 3 %and 5 years; assessments of reading at 5 and 7 years. Attainment in reading at age 7 was found to be strongly predicted by knowledge of literacy on entry to school, and this in turn to be predicted by parental interest in literacy and quality of verbal interaction with the child in the preschool years. The child's own pre‐school interest in literacy was not found to be strongly associated with later success. The significance of these findings is discussed.
The relation between linguistic factors identified by a principal components analysis of written style and reading comprehension as measured by cloze tests
Authors: Henry G. 
Published: November 2005

ABSTRACT60 passages are analysed using 25 linguistic factors as descriptors. These 25 linguistic variables are factor analysed using a principal components technique. The factor analysis suggests three important factors: content, syntax and redundancy. The reading comprehension difficulty of each of the 60 passages was assessed at three grade levels (5‐6; 8‐9; 11‐12) by using the cloze technique with about 900 subjects at each level. The differential influence of the three factors on reading comprehension as measured by cloze was established by regressing the factor scores on the cloze results. The main results are that the semantic content of a passage is the main source of difficulty for the youngest children; syntactical and redundancy factors are not relevant when the content remains too difficult, and older children are more and more able to use redundancy cues.
The influence of pictures on the derivation of meaning from children's reading materials
Authors: Coldstein Ralph , Underwood Geoffrey 
Published: November 2005

ABSTRACTThis discussion is a review of experimental work designed to determine whether pictures have an effect upon the derivation of meaning from the text printed in children's reading materials. Many reading schemes emphasize the use of illustration, but for a number of different purposes ranging from the provision of a referent for a specific word, to the provision of' contextual support, and the generation of motivation for reading. Experimental studies of the interactions between pictures arid words in the cognitive system go some way to supporting three uses of illustration in (a) the provision of meanings against which the print may be compared, (b) in the development of an organized understanding of the meaning of the text, and (c) in the enhancement of subsequent recall. The danger of distraction arising from the pictures has also been investigated, and been found to lead to decoding errors in young children presented with one word at a time. An analysis of mutual interference effects between pairs of pictures and words leads to the conclusion that the cognitive representations of meanings arc organized in a semantic system common to pictures and words. Thus, any decoding errors due to interference effects are of more than local importance—they can affect comprehension and influence the stored representation.
A study of the relationship between the Stroop effect and reading age in dyslexic subjects
Authors: Hicks Carolyn , Jackson Peter 
Published: November 2005

ABSTRACT40 dyslexic subjects were given a version of the Stroop test and the magnitude of interference was plotted as a function of reading age as measured by the British Ability Scale. A negative linear relationship emerged, such that greater reading proficiency was associated with less interference. This result is discussed in the context of LaBerge and Samuel's theory of automatic information processing in reading.
Behaviour problems and their relationship to reading difficulty
Authors: Bale Peter 
Published: November 2005

ABSTRACTAn investigation into the relationship between reading difficulty and maladjustment indicated that a significantly greater number of backward readers than normal readers were antisocial. The higher incidence of maladjustment was found in those backward readers with perceptual motor problems. The backward readers were also significantly more restless and uncontrolled in their behaviour. The relationship of restless hyperactive behaviour with perceptual motor difficulties is associated with an inability by the backward reader to ignore distracting stimuli and focus upon relevant perceptual information. As the restless hyperactive behaviour was present from an early age but the antisocial behaviour did not develop until he or she was experiencing difficulty with reading, it is probable that the backward reader's poor concentration and impulsive behaviour contribute both to the reading difficulty and to the development of antisocial tendencies.
Text Display Effects on the Fluency of Young Readers
Authors: Raban Bridie 
Published: November 2005

ABSTRACTThe aim of this research was to investigate one of the features of text display in books printed for young readers. The feature chosen as the focus for this study was the position of the line‐break with respect to the phrase structure of the sentence. When reading aloud, children tend to equate line length with a complete sentence, thus disrupting their fluency and, possibly, comprehension. This research was specifically designed to investigate the effect of a line‐break after each word in the sentence pattern: subject‐verb‐object‐adverbial. In an associated experiment, positioning effects of the word were investigated in coordinating positions between clauses, phrases and words occurring at the end of one line or at the beginning of the next. These experimental line‐breaks were embedded in a story which had an identical parallel form in which none of the sentences was violated by line‐breaks. In total, 254 five‐ to eight‐year‐old children were tape‐recorded reading pairs of texts aloud, with a three‐week break between recordings. These tapes were analysed for disruptions of fluency and comprehension. A hierarchy of difficulty in relation to the occurrence of the line‐breaks for these sentence patterns has been identified.
Predicting Future Reading Attainment from the WPPSI
Authors: Yule William , Rigley Leslie V. 
Published: November 2005

ABSTRACTA sample of 150 children who had been tested on the WPPSI at five and a half years of age were subsequently tested on group and individual tests of reading at ages seven and eight years. Correlations of approximately ' 0.6 are reported with group tests of reading, but only low correlations were found in the sub‐sample tested individually on the Neale test.