bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reversible increase of intraocular pressure in subclinical hypothyroid patients
Authors: Centanni M , Cesareo R , Verallo O , Brinelli M , Canettieri G , Viceconti N , Andreoli M 
Published: December 2008

Abstract
Objective: The aim of the study was to analyse the relationship between the ocular parameters, namely intraocular pressure (IOP), and the early forms of subclinical hypothyroidism.
Design: Fifty-three subjects (9 male and 44 female) aged from 18 to 45 years (mean 32±7 years) were selected for this study. Twenty-nine met the criteria of subclinical hypothyroidism and 24 euthyroid subjects, age- and sex-matched, were used as controls.
Methods: All individuals underwent a complete ocular examination, including visual field examination and serial measurement of IOP by means of a Goldmann tonometer. A tonographic examination was also performed.
Results: The hypothyroid patients showed a substantially higher pressure in both eyes compared with control subjects (right eye=17·52±4·74 vs 13·42±1·95 mmHg, p<0.0001; left eye=17·55±3·99 vs 13·71±1·55 mmHg, p<0.0001). Indeed, the tonometric pressure exceeded 18 mmHg in 11 out of the 29 (38%) patients in the right eye and in 8 out of 29 (27%) patients in the left eye. The outflow index was normal in all subjects except in two hypothyroid patients. After two months of L-thyroxine (L-T4) replacement therapy, only one patient continued to show tonometric values above 18 mmHg and the hypothyroid patients showed a significant reduction in mean IOP in both eyes compared with pretreatment values (right eye=14·96± 1·32 mmHg. p<0.0097; left eye=15·03± 1·38 mmHg, p<0.0018). Treatment did not lead to any change in the outflow indices; however, the C value (outflow coefficient at the sclerocorneal corner) returned to normal in the two patients with increased pre-treatment tonographic values.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that the intraocular pressure is increased even in subclinical hypothyroid patients and that, at this early stage, the impairment is fully reversible with L-T4 therapy.
European Journal of Endocrinology 136 595–598
Analysis of human thyrotropin receptor gene expression and immunoreactivity in human orbital tissue
Authors: Spitzweg Christine , Joba Werner , Hunt Nicholas , Heufelder Armin E 
Published: December 2008

Abstract
The human thyrotropin receptor (hTSHR) represents an autoantigen that plays a central role in the hyperthyroidism of Graves' disease (GD). hTSHR transcripts have recently been detected by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR in various extrathyroidal tissues, suggesting that the hTSHR may be more widely distributed than previously thought, and that it may serve as a common antigen in the thyroidal and extrathyroidal manifestations of GD. Using techniques other than RT-PCR, we examined whether RNA encoding hTSHR and hTSHR-specific immunoreactivity can be detected and localized in cultured orbital fibroblasts (OF), orbital connective tissue, extraocular muscle and various extraorbital tissues derived from both patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) and normal individuals. Using in situ hybridization with a digoxigenin-labeled antisense oligonucleotide probe specific for the extra-cellular domain of hTSHR, specific perinuclear and cytoplasmic hTSHR gene expression was detected in OF of patients with GO and, to a lesser degree, normal individuals. Using a highly sensitive immunostaining technique and a panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies directed against different epitopes of recombinant hTSHR, distinct cytoplasmic hTSHR-like immunoreactivity was detected in methanol-fixed OF and orbital connective tissue, which was absent in abdominal fibroblasts, or when using isotype-matched non-immune immunoglobulins. Mouse monoclonal and pig polyclonal hTSHR antibodies detected cytoplasmic hTSHR-like immunoreactivity in perimysial fibroblasts within extraocular muscle, but not in extraocular muscle fibers. Immunocytochemical staining with rabbit polyclonal hTSHR antibody revealed, in addition, distinct cell surface-associated immunoreactivity in paraformaldehyde-fixed OF, but not in abdominal fibroblasts. Taken together, our results suggest that RNA encoding hTSHR is present and actively processed to immunoreactive hTSHR-like protein in OF residing within orbital connective tissue and extraocular muscle. These data support the concept that OF expressing intact or variant hTSHR may act as extrathyroidal targets for sensitized T-cells and immunoglobulins in GD.
European Journal of Endocrinology 136 599–607
Healing Rate of Swim Bladders in Rainbow Trout
Authors: Bellgraph Brian J. , Brown Richard S. , Stephenson John R. , Welch Abigail E. , Deters Katherine A. , Carlson Thomas J. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractSwim bladders of juvenile rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were ruptured and subsequently observed for 28 d to identify healing patterns of swim bladder wounds and the effect of swim bladder rupture on direct mortality. Healing began within 7 d, wounds were completely closed after 14 d, and no mortality occurred. The healing process followed a pattern in which tissue first thickened around the opening (7‐14 d), scarring of the ruptured area occurred, and evidence of the wound ultimately disappeared (21‐28 d). The healing observed in juvenile rainbow trout suggests that swim bladder rupture does not result in direct mortality as was hypothesized; however, the indirect effects of swim bladder injury (e.g., a decreased ability to swim efficiently) may lead to mortality by predation or other natural phenomena that were not observable in this study.
Improvement of an Esocid Bioenergetics Model for Juvenile Fish
Authors: Schoenebeck Casey W. , Chipps Steven R. , Brown Michael L. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractFeeding rate and water temperature are known to influence the accuracy of fish bioenergetics models. In an effort to improve the accuracy of a juvenile esocid bioenergetics model, we used a regression‐based approach to develop a corrective equation that accounted for the prediction error associated with variable feeding rates and water temperatures. The regression model explained 58% of the variability in the consumption rate prediction error for age‐0 tiger muskellunge (northern pike Esox lucius × muskellunge E. masquinongy) and included the following variables: Initial body weight (g), water temperature (°C), and relative growth rate (cal·g−1·d−1). The corrected model accurately predicted observed food consumption and had lower prediction error (mean error = 7%) than the uncorrected model (mean error = 43%). Moreover, the differences between the observed and modeled estimates of cumulative food consumption were significantly greater than zero for the uncorrected model while those between the observed and adjusted model estimates of food consumption were not, indicating that the corrective equation provided a significant improvement in model accuracy. We recommend using the corrective equation to adjust consumption estimates for juvenile tiger muskellunge when using the esocid bioenergetics model. Further work is needed to identify the physiological mechanisms responsible for consumption‐dependent error in fish bioenergetics models.
Longitudinal Gradients along a Reservoir Cascade
Authors: Miranda L. E. , Habrat M. D. , Miyazono S. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractReservoirs have traditionally been regarded as spatially independent entities rather than as longitudinal segments of a river system that are connected upstream and downstream to the river and other reservoirs. This view has frustrated advancement in reservoir science by impeding adequate organization of available information and by hindering interchanges with allied disciplines that often consider impounded rivers at the basin scale. We analyzed reservoir morphology, water quality, and fish assemblage data collected in 24 reservoirs of the Tennessee River; we wanted to describe longitudinal changes occurring at the scale of the entire reservoir series (i.e., cascade) and to test the hypothesis that fish communities and environmental factors display predictable gradients like those recognized for unimpounded rivers. We used a data set collected over a 7‐year period; over 3 million fish representing 94 species were included in the data set. Characteristics such as reservoir mean depth, relative size of the limnetic zone, water retention time, oxygen stratification, thermal stratification, substrate size, and water level fluctuations increased in upstream reservoirs. Conversely, reservoir area, extent of riverine and littoral zones, access to floodplains and associated wetlands, habitat diversity, and nutrient and sediment inputs increased in downstream reservoirs. Upstream reservoirs included few, largely lacustrine, ubiquitous fish taxa that were characteristic of the lentic upper reaches of the basin. Fish species richness increased in a downstream direction from 12 to 67 species/reservoir as riverine species became more common. Considering impoundments at a basin scale by viewing them as sections in a river or links in a chain may generate insight that is not always available when the impoundments are viewed as isolated entities. Basin‐scale variables are rarely controllable but constrain the expression of processes at smaller scales and can facilitate the organization of reservoir management efforts.
Effect of Trawling and Habitat on Mercury Concentration in Juvenile Red Snapper from the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Wells R. J. David , Chumchal Matthew M. , Cowan James H. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractWe evaluated mercury (Hg) contamination in juvenile red snapper Lutjanus campechanus (<250 mm total length) as an indicator of Hg pollution on the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) continental shelf. Specifically, we examined the effects of fish size, commercial shrimp trawling, and habitat type on total Hg concentrations and stable nitrogen isotope ratios (δ15N; a proxy for trophic position) in red snapper. Red snapper Hg concentrations and δ15N values were positively and significantly correlated with fish size. In addition, red snapper collected over trawled habitats had significantly higher Hg concentrations and δ15N values than did red snapper collected from similar, nontrawled habitats. Red snapper also exhibited habitat‐specific differences in Hg concentrations and δ15N values, but differences were size dependent and generally small. Our study suggests that the Hg concentrations of juvenile red snapper in the northern GOM are elevated in areas where commercial shrimp trawling occurs, possibly due to increases in both red snapper trophic position and bioavailable Hg in trawled areas. Additional studies are needed to determine whether Hg concentrations are elevated in fish from trawled areas in other marine ecosystems.
The effect of gross cystic disease fluid proteins on oestrogen synthesis in breast cancer cells
Authors: Duncan L J , Robinson G V , Ghilchik M W , Reed M J 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
Gross cystic breast disease frequently occurs in premenopausal women and women with apocrine cysts may have an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Many steroids, growth factors, cytokines and proteins have now been identified in breast cyst fluid (BCF), but it is not yet known whether any of these factors may be associated with an increased risk for cancer, or if these factors have a functional role within the breast. In this study we show that concentrations of the cytokine interleukin-2 are higher in BCF with a low electrolyte ratio, whereas albumin concentrations are increased in BCF with a high Na+/K+ ratio. As albumin has been shown to potentiate the ability of growth factors, such as insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), to stimulate oestradiol-17β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (E2DH) (reductive) activity in breast cancer cells, we have examined the ability of other proteins which are found in breast secretions (α-lactalbumin, lactoferrin) or BCF (gross cystic disease proteins-15 and -24) to potentiate the action of this growth factor. While lactoferrin had no effect on E2DH, the other proteins tested significantly potentiated the effect of IGF-I on the activity of this enzyme. Recombinant human albumin also acted synergistically with IGF-I to stimulate E2DH activity, suggesting that the ability of albumin to potentiate growth factor action is an intrinsic property of the molecule itself, rather than being due to the presence of a ligand which is bound to the molecule. Results from these investigations suggest that proteins found in breast secretions and BCF may have a functional role in regulating oestrogen synthesis in breast tissues.
Can patients with benign breast disease who are at high risk for breast cancer be identified using bombesin estimation?
Authors: Milewicz A , Daroszewski J , Jedrzejak J , Bielanski W , Jedrzejuk D , Arkonska A 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
Clinical follow-up studies of women with breast cystic disease indicate an increased risk of subsequent development of breast cancer, but the absolute risk marker has not yet been identified. It has been shown that bombesin/gastrin-releasing peptide can stimulate the proliferation of breast cancer cells in culture. In order to address the question of whether biological measurements might identify women with benign breast disease (BBD) at particular risk for breast cancer, analyses of bombesin and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels in tumor tissue from patients with breast cancer and BBD were carried out.
The groups of patients comprised 13 women with breast cancer (mean age 52.3 years), 12 women with fibroadenoma (mean age 47.5 years), 6 with microcystic breast disease (mean age 43.5 years) and 6 with gross cystic breast disease (mean age 47.2 years). Malignant and benign tumor tissues were collected after mastectomy or tumorectomy. Bombesin and DHEA-S levels was measured by RIA after homogenization and extraction of tissues. Bombesin concentrations were higher in women with breast cancer (83.67±21.07 ng/g) than in other groups, except women with gross cystic disease (79.6±10.9 ng/g). In contrast, tissue concentrations of DHEAS in women with breast cancer (130.5±34.5 μg/g) were lower with comparison to the others, except women with fibroadenoma (177.7±84.9 μg/g). Bombesin and DHEAS tissue concentrations showed significant negative correlation only in women with fibroadenoma. All values are means±S.D.
The significantly higher bombesin levels in tissues from women with breast cancer and in breast benign gross cystic disease (high risk of cancer) suggests the possible role of bombesin in the malignant process. Further studies are necessary to confirm these initial results.
Morphological and immunohistochemical study of typical and atypical carcinoids of the lung with clinico-pathological correlation
Authors: Klemen H , Smolle-Jüttner F M , Popper H H 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
Typical and atypical carcinoids are neuroendocrine epithelial lung tumours which are difficult to distinguish. Confusion has been introduced by designating atypical carcinoids as well differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas and including some tumours which are large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas.
We therefore investigated 32 typical and 23 atypical carcinoids of the lung, and 9 combined forms of atypical carcinoid and small cell carcinoma. The following parameters were each independently correlated in a multivariate analysis with 10-year survival data: nuclear and nucleolar polymorphism, mitotic counts, vascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, structural pattern, location of the tumours, immunohistochemistry, age and sex of the patients.
Typical carcinoids were characterized by an absence of vascular invasion and lymph node metastases, and a mean mitotic rate of 0.75/10 high power fields (HPFs), while atypical carcinoids were characterized by vascular invasion and/or metastases, a mean mitotic rate of 4.25/10 HPFs and nuclear pleomorphism. Combined forms of atypical carcinoid and small cell carcinoma were characterized by vascular invasion, metastases and a mean mitotic rate of 20.7/10 HPFs. Vascular invasion, lymph node metastases, mitotic counts and nuclear pleomorphism significantly correlated with 10-year survival data, whereas location, size and structural pattern of the tumour, age and sex did not correlate with survival. All tumours were positive for cytokeratins and at least two out of three general neuroendocrine markers. However, positive reactivity for different peptides, hormones, and neurotransmitters did not correlate with one of the structural subtypes of carcinoid or with patient survival.
Structural analysis of the 5′-flanking sequence of the mouse epidermal growth factor gene
Authors: Pascall J. C. , Brown K. D. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
The 5′-flanking sequence of the mouse epidermal growth factor gene has been isolated from a mouse genomic DNA library. S1 nuclease mapping indicated that the transcription start sites used in the submaxillary gland and the kidney are identical. Computer-aided sequence comparisons have indicated regions of the gene which may be involved in hormonal regulation.
Heat-shock treatment of mouse pancreatic islets results in a partial loss of islet cells but no remaining functional impairment among the surviving β cells
Authors: Welsh M. , Eizirik D. L. , Strandell E. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
To elucidate the role of thermal stress on the function of pancreatic β cells, isolated mouse pancreatic islets were incubated for 30 min at 42°C. This resulted in decreased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, inhibited total protein and pro-insulin synthesis and the induction of heat-shock proteins with molecular weights of 64 and 88 kDa. Six days later, the islets exposed to heat shock showed a lower DNA content, indicating islet cell death. However, the insulin secretory response and rates of oxygen consumption in the presence of glucose were normal. It is suggested that the induction of heat-shock proteins does not permanently impair β-cell function, but rather protects these cells from lasting damage.
Presence of pro-vasopressin mRNA, neurophysin and arginine vasopressin in mouse anterior pituitary cells and the AtT-20 corticotrophic tumour cell line
Authors: Loh Y. P. , Castro M. G. , Zeng F.-J. , Patel-Vaidya U. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
Pro-vasopressin mRNA, neurophysin and arginine vasopressin (AVP) were assayed in the mouse anterior pituitary gland, in mouse anterior pituitary cells in culture and in the AtT-20 corticotrophic tumour cell line. Northern blot analysis revealed the presence of an ∼700 base pair pro-vasopressin mRNA in anterior pituitary and AtT-20 cells. Neurophysin, identified by immunoblots, and AVP, identified by high-performance liquid chromatography and cross-reactivity with AVP antiserum, were detected in anterior pituitary cells and AtT-20 cells. Immunocytochemical staining with anti-neurophysin showed that ∼40–45% of the dissociated anterior pituitary cells in culture and >95% of the AtT-20 cells were stained. Anterior pituitary cells in culture and AtT-20 cells had a basal level of release of AVP in the 0·01–0·1 nm range. These results indicate that anterior pituitary cells and AtT-20 cells have the ability to synthesize and process pro-vasopressin to AVP and neurophysin, endogenously.
Gonadal regulation of pituitary hormone mRNA levels in male rats
Authors: Abbot S. D. , Docherty K. , Clayton R. N. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
The control of anterior pituitary hormone gene expression by testosterone in male rat pituitaries in vivo was investigated using dot-blot mRNA-cDNA hybridization assays.
Common α subunit mRNA levels doubled by 2 days after orchidectomy and rose progressively to reach plateau levels three to four times intact control values by 2 weeks. LH-β mRNA increased significantly (≃50%) within 12h, and thereafter progressively to seven times intact control values by 3 weeks after orchidectomy. The changes in α mRNA were likely to have occurred in gonadotrophs and not thyrotrophs, since TSH-β mRNA levels were unaltered by orchidectomy. LH subunit mRNA changes were accompanied by an initial (1–4 days) decrease in pituitary LH content; thereafter, pituitary LH increased in parallel with and by a similar magnitude to the LH-β mRNA. Serum LH rises occurred before significant increases in LH subunit mRNA after orchidectomy. The lack of temporal correlation between mRNA levels and serum and pituitary LH in the early stages after removal of testosterone feedback contrasts with the good correlation when a new steady state was achieved after 3–4 weeks, and indicates differing kinetics for changes in these aspects of gonadotroph function.
An inhibitory effect of testosterone on LH subunit gene expression was confirmed by prevention of the rise in α and LH-β mRNAs when treatment commenced immediately after castration. However, pituitary LH content and serum LH levels were reduced relative to control values, suggesting additional inhibitory actions of testosterone on translational and post-translational events in gonadotrophs. A stimulatory effect of testosterone on α mRNA levels was observed between 4 and 24 h after a single injection in rats castrated 2 weeks previously, no effect being seen on LH-β mRNA. The mechanism for this action remains to be elucidated. Gene specificity of testosterone action was confirmed by unaltered levels of mRNA for prolactin, GH, TSH-β subunit and actin under all experimental conditions. No changes in pituitary content of prolactin or GH were found. We conclude that regulation of LH subunit gene expression by testosterone is an important step in control of gonadotrophin synthesis and availability for release.
Functional expression of the oxytocin receptor in Xenopus laevis oocytes primed with mRNA from bovine endometrium
Authors: Morley S. D. , Meyerhof W. , Schwarz J. , Richter D. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
Synthesis of the uterine receptor for the hypothalamic hormone oxytocin has been induced in oocytes from Xenopus laevis previously primed with bovine endometrium mRNA. The injected oocytes responded to oxytocin by showing dose-dependent oscillations in membrane currents as recorded by the voltage-clamp method. The response was specific in that it was not elicited by several other peptides tested. The oxytocin-induced membrane changes were suppressed when oocytes were pretreated with an oxytocin receptor antagonist.
Sheep antiluteolytic interferon: cDNA sequence and analysis of mRNA levels
Authors: Stewart H.J. , McCann S.H.E. , Northrop A.J. , Lamming G.E. , Flint A.P.F. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT
A cloned cDNA has been isolated by probing a sheep blastocyst cDNA library using a synthetic oligonucleotide representing the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the antiluteolytic protein, ovine trophoblast protein-1. Sequence analysis of the cDNA confirms the 70% homology between the antiluteolysin and the interferon-α family of proteins; however, the sequence reported here differs at several points from previously reported amino acid and cDNA sequences for the antiluteolysin. In-vitro translation of day-16 poly(A)+ RNA indicated that antiluteolysin mRNA is a major constituent of total mRNA at this stage of blastocyst development, and Northern blotting confirmed that antiluteolysin mRNA production occurred between days 13 and 22 after oestrus. This is consistent with the stage at which embryonic extracts are antiluteolytic on administration in vivo. These and other data confirm that the ovine trophoblast antiluteolysin is an interferon, and suggest that at least five isoforms of this protein may exist.