bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mechanism of asynchronous Ca2+waves underlying agonist‐induced contraction in the rat basilar artery
Authors: Syyong HT , Yang HHC , Trinh G , Cheung C , Kuo KH , Van Breemen C 
Published: January 2009

Background and purpose: Uridine 5'‐triphosphate (UTP) is a potent vasoconstrictor of cerebral arteries and induces Ca2+waves in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). This study aimed to determine the mechanisms underlying UTP‐induced Ca2+waves in VSMCs of the rat basilar artery.Experimental approach: Isometric force and intracellular Ca2+([Ca2+]i) were measured in endothelium‐denuded rat basilar artery using wire myography and confocal microscopy respectively.Key results: Uridine 5'‐triphosphate (0.1–1000 µmol·L−1) concentration‐dependently induced tonic contraction (pEC50 = 4.34 ± 0.13), associated with sustained repetitive oscillations in [Ca2+]ipropagating along the length of the VSMCs as asynchronized Ca2+waves. Inhibition of Ca2+reuptake in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) by cyclopiazonic acid abolished the Ca2+waves and resulted in a dramatic drop in tonic contraction. Nifedipine reduced the frequency of Ca2+waves by 40% and tonic contraction by 52%, and the nifedipine‐insensitive component was abolished by SKF‐96365, an inhibitor of receptor‐ and store‐operated channels, and KB‐R7943, an inhibitor of reverse‐mode Na+/Ca2+exchange. Ongoing Ca2+waves and tonic contraction were also abolished after blockade of inositol‐1,4,5‐triphosphate‐sensitive receptors by 2‐aminoethoxydiphenylborate, but not by high concentrations of ryanodine or tetracaine. However, depletion of ryanodine‐sensitive SR Ca2+stores prior to UTP stimulation prevented Ca2+waves.Conclusions and implications: Uridine 5'‐triphosphate‐induced Ca2+waves may underlie tonic contraction and appear to be produced by repetitive cycles of regenerative Ca2+release from the SR through inositol‐1,4,5‐triphosphate‐sensitive receptors. Maintenance of Ca2+waves requires SR Ca2+reuptake from Ca2+entry across the plasma membrane via L‐type Ca2+channels, receptor‐ and store‐operated channels, and reverse‐mode Na+/Ca2+exchange.Mandarin translation of abstract
A novel diketopiperazine improves functional recovery given after the onset of 6‐OHDA‐induced motor deficit in rats
Authors: Krishnamurthi RVM , Mathai S , Kim AH , Zhang R , Guan J 
Published: January 2009

Background and purpose:  Cyclo‐L‐glycyl‐L‐2‐allylproline (NNZ‐2591), a modified diketopiperazine, is neuroprotective and improves long‐term function after hypoxic‐ischaemic brain injury in rats. The present studies were designed to examine both the neuroprotective and neurotrophic actions of NNZ‐2591 on neurochemical and behavioural changes in a rat model of Parkinson's disease.Experimental approach:  To examine its protective effect, either NNZ‐2591 (20 ng·day−1) or saline was given intracerebroventricularly for 3 days starting 2 h after 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) induced unilateral striatal lesion. In a subsequent experiment either NNZ‐2591 (0.2, 1 and 5 mg·day−1, s.c.) or saline was administered daily for 14 days starting 2 weeks after the lesion. Behavioural and neurochemical outcomes were examined using the adjusting step test and immunohistochemical staining.Key results:  Cyclo‐L‐glycyl‐L‐2‐allylproline given 2 h after the lesion reduced the degree of motor deficit compared with the saline‐treated group. Delayed treatment with NNZ‐2591, initiated after the onset of motor deficit, significantly improved motor function from week 7 onwards compared with the saline‐treated group. Neither treatment regime altered nigrostriatal dopamine depletion. NNZ‐2591 significantly enhanced the expression of doublecortin‐positive neuroblasts in the sub‐ventricular zone.Conclusions and implications:  These studies reveal that early treatment with NNZ‐2591 protects against the motor deficit induced by 6‐OHDA and that treatment initiated after the establishment of motor impairment significantly improves long‐term motor function. These effects of NNZ‐2591 on functional recovery were independent of dopamine depletion and also appeared not to be symptomatic as the improved motor function was long‐lasting. NNZ‐2591 has potential as a therapeutic agent for neurodegenerative disorders.Mandarin translation of abstract
Price Clustering: Evidence Using Comprehensive Limit‐Order Data
Authors: Chiao Chaoshin , Wang Zi‐May 
Published: January 2009

AbstractEmploying comprehensive limit‐order data which identify investor types, this paper examines the clustering pattern of limit‐order prices. First, limit orders, particularly those submitted by individual investors (IIs), tend to cluster at integer and even prices. Second, nonmarketable limit‐order prices cluster more than marketable limit‐order prices, indicating that aggressive limit orders generally embed more information. Third, investors choosing even‐priced limit orders are not penalized by lower execution ratios. Fourth, investors (particularly IIs) strategically exhibit front‐running behavior. Fifth, price clustering indeed creates price barriers. Finally, the degree of price clustering using trade data is significantly underestimated, compared to that using limit‐order data.
Short Selling and the Weekend Effect in Nasdaq Stock Returns
Authors: Christophe Stephen E. , Ferri Michael G. , Angel James J. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractWe examine daily short selling of Nasdaq stocks to explore whether speculative short selling causes a significant portion of the weekend effect in returns. We identify a weekend effect in speculative short selling whereby it constitutes a larger percentage of trading volume on Mondays versus Fridays. We find an opposite effect in dealer short selling, consistent with market makers adding liquidity and stability. Our main finding is that speculative short selling does not explain an economically meaningful portion of the weekend effect in returns, even among the firms most that are most actively shorted. This finding contradicts some prior studies.
Pedigree or Placement? An Analysis of Research Productivity in Finance
Authors: Chan Kam C. , Chen Carl R. , Fung Hung‐Gay 
Published: January 2009

AbstractWe examine pedigree and placement effects of research productivity in finance and find a notable placement effect: authors who are currently affiliated with “elite” institutions tend to be more productive, especially among the top three finance journals. The placement effect, however, weakens in more recent years. We also observe a pedigree effect in the top three journals, where there is a higher concentration of publications by authors with degrees from “elite” institutions. We provide rankings of the institutions that are best at developing and training scholars.
Entrepreneurial Financing and Costly Due Diligence
Authors: Yung Chris 
Published: January 2009

AbstractIn the traditional solution to the adverse selection problem, entrepreneurs indirectly signal quality via security choice, typically debt. This paper models an alternative solution. The costly due diligence of venture capitalists directly reveals the quality of projects, thereby reducing information asymmetry. It is shown that this mechanism necessitates profit‐sharing, a contractual feature usually associated in the literature with managerial agency costs rather than adverse selection.
Mesenchymal stem cells induce a weak immune response in the rat striatum after allo or xenotransplantation
Authors: Rossignol Julien , Boyer Cécile , Thinard Reynald , Remy Séverine , Dugast Anne‐Sophie , Dubayle David , Dey Nicolas D. , Boeffard Françoise , Delecrin Joël , Heymann Dominique , Vanhove Bernard , Anegon Ignacio , Naveilhan Philippe , Dunbar Gary L. , Lescaudron Laurent 
Published: January 2009

AbstractMesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted attention for their potential use in regenerative medicine such as brain transplantation. As MSCs are considered to be hypoimmunogenic, transplanted MSCs should not trigger a strong host inflammatory response. To verify this hypothesis, we studied the brain immune response after transplantation of human or rat MSCs into the rat striatum and MSC fate at days 5, 14, 21 and 63 after transplantation. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that both MSCs express CD90 and human leucocyte antigen (MHC) class I, but no MHC class II molecules. They do not express CD45 or CD34 antigens. However, MSC phenotype varies with passage number. Human MSCs have mRNAs for interleukin (IL)‐6, IL‐8, IL‐12, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α and TGF‐β1, whereas rat MSCs express IL‐6‐, IL‐10‐, IL‐12‐ and TGF‐β1‐mRNAs. The quantification shows higher levels of mRNAs for the anti‐inflammatory molecules IL‐6 and TGF‐β1 than for pro‐inflammatory cytokines IL‐8 and IL‐12; ELISA analysis showed no IL‐12 whereas TGF‐β1 and IL‐6 were detected. Transplant size did not significantly vary between 14 and 63 days after transplantation, indicating an absence of immune rejection of the grafts. Very few mast cells and moderate macrophage and microglial infiltrations, observed at day 5 remained stable until day 63 after transplantation in both rat and human MSC grafts. The observations of very few dendritic cells, T αβ‐cells, and no T γδ‐lymphocytes, all three being associated with Tp rejection in the brain, support the contention that MSCs are hypoimmunogenic. Our results suggest that MSCs are of great interest in regenerative medicine in a (xeno)transplantation setting.
Oncogenesis and cancer stem cells: current opinions and future directions
Authors: Cheng Xiaoyu , O’Neill Helen C. 
Published: January 2009

Abstract

Introduction
Stem cells and haematopoiesis
The cancer stem cell hypothesis
Evidence form leukaemias and solid tumours
Cellular origin and the role of the niche
Molecular basis of self‐renewal and differentiation
Concluding remarks: cancer stem cells as a target for new cancer therapy

There is increasing evidence to show that only a subset of cancer cells drives the growth and progression of a tumour. These cells share similar properties with normal stem cells and are termed ‘cancer stem cells’. Cancer stem cells have been identified in acute myeloid leukaemia and in some solid tumours by their distinct expression of cell surface antigens. Their long‐term, self‐renewing capacity is thought to be a determining factor in the maintenance and regrowth of the tumour. Studies on haematopoietic cancers show that important signalling pathways and genes for normal haematopoiesis, such as Wnt, NF‐κB, Notch, hedgehog (Hh) and Bmi1, are oncogenic, thereby potentially involved in cancer stem cell regulation. Elimination of cancer stem cells in tumours could result in the degeneration of downstream cells, which makes them potential targets for new cancer therapies.
Congenital diaphragmatic hernia: an overview of the etiology and current management
Authors: Gaxiola Alejandra , Varon Joseph , Valladolid Genaro 
Published: January 2009

AbstractAim: To review provide an overview of the etiology and current strategies in the management of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).Methods: We did a comprehensive review of research trends, evidence based studies and epidemiologic studies.Results: CDH is a life‐threatening pathology in infants, and a major cause of death due to the pulmonary hypoplasia and pulmonary hypertension. There is much research related to elucidating the etiology of CDH and developing management strategies to improve the outcomes in these infants.Conclusion: An early diagnosis with increased understanding of this disease is a crucial factor for a timely approach to managing the critically ill infant, and to offer the potential for improved outcomes and substantial reductions in morbidity.
Negotiating a New Role in a Gendered Order: A Cultural Lens
Authors: Golden‐Biddle Karen , Reay Trish 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThis article examines how advocates for the nurse practitioner (NP) role negotiated its implementation in a large urban health system that differentiates nursing from medicine on the basis of gender. Using a cultural perspective, analyses show how advocates envisioned the NP role as liminal—neither traditional nursing nor medical—and as expanding the boundaries of nursing work through appropriation of some medical work. Four key negotiation strategies are profiled that advocates used to successfully implement and sustain this role in most settings. The conclusion examines whether and how this new role altered or maintained the gendered arrangements and more generally points to the significance of liminal phenomena in producing fundamental change.
Gendered Bodies: Negotiating Normalcy and Support
Authors: Putnam Linda L. , Bochantin Jaime 
Published: January 2009

AbstractResearch on gender and negotiation typically focuses on formal bargaining about salary and compensation. This work needs to be expanded to everyday negotiations in the workplace, especially negotiations on organizational issues deemed germane to women. Drawing from research on work‐life issues, this study focuses on how women frame problems about menopause at work in ways that make them open to negotiation. Specifically, it examines message board posts on an online discussion board to see how issues are named, blamed, and claimed and how this framing situates them as interests, rights, or power concerns that foster or hinder opportunities for negotiation.
A Rainbow Coalition or Separate Wavelengths? Negotiations Among Employee Network Groups
Authors: Scully Maureen A. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractEmployee network groups are increasingly common in the workplace, such as a women’s network, an African American caucus, or a GLBT resource group. These groups may seem like natural allies for addressing inequality at work, particularly subtle forms of second generation discrimination. However, they often compete for attention, resources, and the limited political will of top managers to make changes. This article examines four cases in which employee groups were able to negotiate effective alliances across their own differences. They do so by reframing areas of shared interests, using and adapting social movement tactics, and reaching for outcomes with broader societal significance for equal economic opportunity.
Gendered Organizational Order and Negotiations Research
Authors: Sondak Harris , Stuhlmacher Alice F. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThe study of negotiations can be informed by conceptualizing gender, as well as negotiation, within the larger organizational and societal order. Expanding the definition of negotiation and gender begins with consideration of who negotiates, what is negotiated, when negotiations are undertaken, how negotiations proceed, and finally, why this research proceeds. By considering this broad set of questions, researchers can incorporate a wider range of perspectives about negotiation, gender, and organizational contexts into their work.
Effects of Light Exposure and Use of Intraocular Lens on Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells In Vitro
Authors: Hui Sheng , Yi Lu , Fengling Qing L. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractTo investigate the effect of a blue light‐filtering intraocular lens (IOL) and a UV‐absorbing IOL on light‐induced damage to retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells laden with the lipofuscin fluorophore N‐retinylidene‐N‐retinylethanolamine (A2E), A2E‐laden RPE cells were exposed to white light which was filtered by either a blue light‐filtering IOL or a UV‐absorbing IOL. After 30 min of illumination the cell viability and the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), free glutathione (GSH), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and pigment epithelium‐derived factor (PEDF) were determined. In the absence of an IOL, the white light exposure decreased cell viability to 37.2% of the nonirradiated control. The UV‐absorbing IOL tended to reduce light‐induced cell death; however, the decrease was not significant. The blue light‐filtering IOL significantly attenuated light‐induced cell damage, increasing cell viability to 79.5% of the nonirradiated control. The presence of the blue light‐filtering IOL significantly increased GSH and PEDF levels, and decreased ROS and VEGF levels. This study suggests that a blue light‐filtering IOL may be more protective against A2E‐induced light damage and inhibit more light‐induced ROS and VEGF production than a conventional UV‐absorbing IOL.
How do People Evaluate Objects? A Brief Review
Authors: Houwer Jan De 
Published: January 2009

AbstractEvaluation can be defined either as the process of determining the liking of an object or as responding in an evaluative manner to objects. It can be studied by examining the evaluative responses that objects evoke. After justifying these definitions and this approach to the study of evaluation, I present a brief overview of what is known about the variables that influence evaluative responding. Finally, I describe the Associative‐Propositional Evaluation model as an example of a theory about the mental processes that are assumed to underlie evaluative responding.
Synthesis of glycine betaine from choline in the moderate halophile Halobacillus halophilus: co‐regulation of two divergent, polycistronic operons
Authors: Burkhardt Janin , Sewald Xaver , Bauer Bettina , Saum Stephan H. , Müller Volker 
Published: January 2009

SummaryThe moderately halophilic bacterium Halobacillus halophilus can synthesize glycine betaine from choline. Oxidation of choline is induced by salinity and repressed by exogenous glycine betaine. The genes encoding the choline dehydrogenase (gbsB) and the glycine betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (gbsA) were identified and shown to constitute an operon. Divergent to this operon is another operon containing gbsR and gbsU that encode proteins with similarities to a transcriptional regulator and a glycine betaine‐binding protein respectively. Synthesis of the four Gbs proteins was strictly dependent on the choline concentration of the medium. Salinity was essential for the production of GbsB and increased the production of GbsA, GbsR and GbsU. Glycine betaine repressed the production of all four Gbs proteins with half maximal inhibition at 0.1 mM glycine betaine.
The gut microbiota of toll‐like receptor 2‐deficient mice exhibits lineage‐specific modifications
Authors: Albert Eric J. , Sommerfeld Katrin , Gophna Sharon , Marshall Jean S. , Gophna Uri 
Published: January 2009

SummaryMutations in toll‐like receptors that mediate bacterial recognition by the mammalian innate immune system have the potential to substantially alter the composition of an individual's microbiota. Here we tested this hypothesis by comparing the intestinal microbiota of toll‐like receptor 2‐deficient mice, both young and middle aged, with that of wild‐type mice of the same genetic background, housed together under specific pathogen‐free conditions. Bacterial DNA was extracted from mouse caecal tissue samples, amplified using universal bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene primers, and cloned into a plasmid vector. Insert‐containing colonies were picked for high‐throughput sequencing, and sequence data were analysed yielding species‐level phylogenetic data. Clone libraries were compared by phylogenetic composition analysis using UniFrac. While pairwise differences in phylogenetic population structure between mutant and wild‐type mice were not statistically significant, anosim analysis did demonstrate a significant difference between toll‐like receptor 2‐deficient mice and their wild‐type counterparts. The difference observed was probably due to a high level of colonization of the toll‐like receptor 2‐deficient mice by two distinct Helicobacter phylotypes that were totally absent from wild‐type mice. Principal coordinate analysis clustering indicated that age is a weaker determinate than genotype and maternal heritage in the mouse caecal microbiota. The findings suggest that although mutations in toll‐like receptors may cause increased susceptibility to specific opportunistic bacteria, they do not dramatically alter the phylogenetic structure of microbiota.
Prevalence and Risk Factors for Bacterial Food‐Borne Zoonotic Hazards in Slaughter Pigs: A Review
Authors: Fosse J. , Seegers H. , Magras C. 
Published: January 2009

SummaryThe Hygiene Package and Regulation EC‐2160/2003 require information flow from farm to slaughterhouse to enhance European consumers protection in a ‘farm to fork’ approach. This obligation especially concerns food‐borne zoonotic hazards transmitted to humans through pork consumption, such as thermophilicCampylobacterspp.,Listeria monocytogenes,Salmonella entericaandYersinia enterocolitica. Prevalence estimates of these four hazards are affected by the sampling strategy and diagnostic procedure. Individual prevalence estimates for pig carriage (from digestive contents or lymph nodes collected at slaughterhouse) were higher than individual prevalence estimates for pig shedding (from faeces). Among risk factors described in the literature, poor pen cleaning and disinfection after pig departure to slaughterhouse and poor bio‐security measures are of major significance. Moreover, whereas wet feed increases the risk of pig infection byL. monocytogenes, dry feed is a risk factor forSalm. enterica. Mixing batches of pigs, notably in fattening herds, represents a risk for the transmission ofSalm. entericaandY. enterocolitica. Whereas small herds are more infected by thermophilic campylobacters andY. enterocolitica, higher prevalence ofSalmonellais observed in large herds due to a more frequent mixing of batches. Antibiotic treatment during the finishing period increases the risk of transmission ofSalm. enterica. The forenamed elements should be taken into account to characterize farms in a risk assessment approach and to improve zoonotic hazard management in the pork food chain.
Risk Factors for Encephalitis from West Nile Virus: A Matched Case‐Control Study Using Hospitalized Controls
Authors: Murray K. O. , Koers E. , Baraniuk S. , Herrington E. , Carter H. , Sierra M. , Kilborn C. , Arafat R. 
Published: January 2009

SummaryWe conducted a case‐control study to determine risk factors for developing encephalitis among West Nile virus cases when compared with age‐, gender‐ and race/ethnicity‐matched hospitalized controls. In the multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis, we identified the following independent risk factors associated with being an encephalitis case: hypertension (OR 4.0; P = 0.005), immunosuppressing conditions (OR 5.6; P = 0.001) and cardiovascular disease (OR = 28.3; P < 0.001). Individuals with these comorbidities should be targeted for education on protecting themselves from mosquito exposures.