bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Glutamate receptors in nucleus accumbens mediate regionally selective increases in cortical acetylcholine release
Authors: Zmarowski Amy , Sarter Martin , Bruno John P. 
Published: December 2006

AbstractThe basal forebrain cortical cholinergic system (BFCS) is critical for the regulation of attentional information processing. BFCS activity is regulated by several cortical and subcortical structures, including the nucleus accumbens (NAC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). GABAergic projection neurons from NAC to basal forebrain are modulated by Glu receptors within NAC. We previously reported that intra‐NAC perfusions of NMDA or its antagonist CPP stimulate ACh release in PFC. In this experiment we determined whether this trans‐synaptic modulation of cortical ACh release is evident in multi‐sensory associational areas like the posterior parietal cortex (PPC). Artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF, control), NMDA (250 or 400 μM), or CPP (200 or 400 μM) were perfused into the NAC shell and ACh was measured in the ipsilateral PPC. Amphetamine (2.0 mg/kg, i.p), was systemically administered as a positive control in a fourth session, since it also stimulates cortical ACh release but via mechanisms known to not necessitate transmission within the NAC. Neither NMDA nor CPP increased ACh efflux in the PPC, yet both drugs increased ACh release in PFC, suggesting that NMDA receptor modulation in the NAC increases ACh in the cortex in a regionally‐specific manner. Systemic amphetamine administration significantly increased (100–200%) ACh in the PPC, suggesting that levels of ACh in the PPC can be increased following certain pharmacological manipulations. The cortical region‐specific modulation of ACh by NAC may underlie the linkage of motivational information with top‐down controls of attention as well as guide appropriate motor output following exposure to salient and behaviorally relevant stimuli. Synapse 61:115–123, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Seasonal patterns of egg production in field colonies of the termite Reticulitermes speratus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)
Authors: Matsuura Kenji , Kobayashi Norimasa , Yashiro Toshihisa 
Published: December 2006

AbstractThis is the first report on the annual egg production patterns in mature termite colonies in the field. Data on the seasonal patterns of egg production in field colonies are very important for understanding the annual colony growth schedule, resource allocation, and population dynamics of the termites. However, collecting the eggs from a sufficient number of colonies is extremely difficult in Reticulitermes termites because their multiple‐site nesting makes it difficult to find the reproductive center of the colonies. Here, we first show the seasonal pattern of egg production in the subterranean termite Reticulitermes speratus by collecting the reproductive center of ten colonies each month from April through October. We had to destructively examine dozens of nests to find eggs from enough field colonies each month. Mature field colonies began to produce eggs in late May, soon after the swarming season, and the egg production rate (EPR) reached its maximum in early July. The eggs hatched until late October. The EPR was significantly correlated with the average monthly temperature. Additional investigation of the egg distributions in the nests showed that most eggs were kept around the royal cell, which contained the reproductives. The largest colony had 109 supplemental queens and 94,023 eggs, suggesting that each queen produced an average of 24.7 eggs per day, based on the known mean hatching period of an inseminated egg of 34.95±0.12 (SE) days.
Morphological differences between guinea pig aortic and venous endothelial cells in situ
Authors: Katoh Kazuo , Kano Yumiko , Ookawara Shigeo 
Published: December 2006

AbstractEndothelial cells (ECs) respond to fluid shear stress. They reveal shear stress related morphological changes in both their cell shape and cytoskeletal organization. Little is known about the cytoskeletal organization of ECs in situ. We studied, together with the living ultrasound high resolution imaging system, the distribution of stress fibers (SFs), certain focal adhesion (FA) and signal transduction associated proteins in guinea pig aortic and venous ECs. Although SFs present in the basal portion of venous ECs ran along the direction of the blood flow, their size was smaller and their number was fewer than those of aortic ECs. Venous ECs were elongated to the direction of flow than in aortic ECs exposed over normal shear stress (SS). Since fluid SS in the vein is low, a sustained and uni‐directional low SS over a long period might thus cause these structural features observed in venous ECs.
Effect of nitric oxide on phagocytic activity of lipopolysaccharide‐induced macrophages: Possible role of exogenous l‐arginine
Authors: Tümer Cemil , Bilgin Hakkı Murat , Obay Basra Deniz , Diken Hüda , Atmaca Mukadder , Kelle Mustafa 
Published: December 2006

AbstractAmong the antimicrobial mechanisms associated with macrophages, NO produced by iNOS plays a major role in intracellular killing, but the relationship between NO and phagocytic activity after injection of inflammatory agents into the peritoneal cavity is not clear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of nitric oxide (NO) on macrophage function after treatment with intraperitoneal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the role of exogenous l‐arginine administration in this event. Six experimental groups and one control group, each consisting of seven Wistar rats were used: Group I: Control; Group II: LPS; Group III: LPS + l‐arginine; Group IV: LPS + l‐arginine + Aminoguanidine; Group V: LPS + Aminoguanidine; Group VI: l‐arginine; Group VII: Aminoguanidine. Macrophage phagocytic activity and total plasma nitrite levels were increased in the LPS group. In the LPS + l‐arginine group, both the phagocytic activity and total plasma nitrite levels showed large increases. Administration of aminoguanidine (AG), a specific iNOS inhibitor, abolished macrophage phagocytic activity and total plasma nitrite levels in the LPS and LPS + l‐arginine groups. As a result, we showed that NO produced by macrophages has a role not only in intracellular killing, but also in phagocytic activity.
The effect of age on the structure and composition of rat tendon fibrocartilage
Authors: Esquisatto M.A.M. , Joazeiro P.P. , Pimentel E.R. , Gomes L. 
Published: December 2006

AbstractBiochemical and morphological aspects of fibrocartilages of calcaneal and deep digital flexor tendons in rats aged 30, 180 and 730 days were analyzed. In both tendons a stronger staining with Alcian blue, indicating the presence of proteoglycans, was detected in rats of 30 and 180 days. In animals 730 days old, it was restricted to the pericellular area. Ultrastructural analysis showed a more prominent pericellular matrix in calcaneal tendon compared to the deep digital flexor tendon. The biochemical analysis showed higher levels of proteins and glycosaminoglycans in the calcaneal tendon of 30‐day‐old rats compared to older rats. In the deep digital flexor tendon, no significant differences were observed between ages. The small proteoglycan, fibromodulin, was detected in both tendons of all ages, but in young rats it appeared to be running as a 210 kDa component, probably due to the association with collagen chains or self‐association.
Patterns of presentation and diagnosis of patients with Wegener's granulomatosis: ENT aspects
Authors: Srouji I A , Andrews P , Edwards C , Lund V J 
Published: December 2006

Design: a cross-sectional study.Participants: One hundred and ninety-nine patients with Wegener's granulomatosis belonging to a patient self-help group.Main outcome measures: Mode of initial presentation; diagnosis timescales and delay; rhinologic involvement; and treatment.Results: Sixty-three per cent of patients initially presented with ENT-related symptoms. Ninety-two per cent faced a delay in their diagnosis of more than one month, a pattern which has not improved over the last few decades and which compares unfavourably with North American figures. Rhinologic and otologic symptoms are a common occurrence in up to 85 and 50 per cent of Wegener's granulomatosis patients, respectively, attracting varying degrees of targeted treatment.Conclusions: As sinonasal and other ENT symptoms are so common at the presentation of Wegener's granulomatosis, it is clear that the otolaryngologist has an important role in its diagnosis and treatment. There are long delays in the diagnosis and possible under-treatment of the ENT symptoms of this condition, highlighting the need for greater awareness, particularly in the ENT community.
Characterization and application of multiple genetic markers forPlasmodium malariae
Authors: BRUCE M. C. , MACHESO A. , GALINSKI M. R. , BARNWELL J. W. 
Published: December 2006

SUMMARYPlasmodium malariae, a protozoan parasite that causes malaria in humans, has a global distribution in tropical and subtropical regions and is commonly found in sympatry with otherPlasmodiumspecies of humans. Little is known about the genetics or population structure ofP. malariae. In the present study, we describe polymorphic genetic markers forP. malariaeand present the first molecular epidemiological data for this parasite. Six microsatellite or minisatellite markers were validated using 76P. malariaesamples from a diverse geographical range. The repeat unit length varied from 2 to17 bp, and up to 10 different alleles per locus were detected. Multiple genotypes ofP. malariaewere detected in 33 of 70 samples from humans with naturally acquired infection. Heterozygosity was calculated to be between 0·236 and 0·811. Allelic diversity was reduced for samples from South America and, at some loci, in samples from Thailand compared with those from Malawi. The number of unique multilocus genotypes defined using the 6 markers was significantly greater in Malawi than in Thailand, even when data from single genotype infections were used. There was a significant reduction in the multiplicity of infection in symptomatic infections compared with asymptomatic ones, suggesting that clinical episodes are usually caused by the expansion of a single genotype.
Can the host immune system promote multiple invasions of erythrocytesin vivo? Differential effects of medication and host sex in a wild malaria-like model
Authors: LA PUENTE J. MARTÍNEZ-DE , MERINO S. , TOMÁS G. , MORENO J. , MORALES J. , LOBATO E. , GARCÍA-FRAILE S. 
Published: December 2006

SUMMARYMultiple invasions (MIs) or infections, i.e. those by more than 1 parasite in the same erythrocyte, could be the result of parasite density or, alternatively, to parasite-related factors or host-related factors. According to the last possibility, to our knowledge, only 3 laboratory studies of malaria have found an increase in the occurrence of MIs when antibodies to parasite antigens were present. Therefore, we tested the possibility that MIs were influenced by the host immune status, using as model the malaria-like parasiteHaemoproteusinfecting blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Avian hosts infected withHaemoproteuswere medicated with primaquine or injected with saline solution and the density of infection and the presence of MIs counted. Medication treatment reduced significantly the density of infection byHaemoproteusin females but not in males. For females, the presence of MIs was positively associated with both the density of infection and the immunoglobulin levels on each capture, but no association was found between the treatment and the presence of MIs. For males, the density of infection but not the immunoglobulin levels was positively associated with the presence of MIs. In addition, medicated males supported more MIs than controls. Our results represent the first line of evidence in the wild for a possible role of the host immune system promoting MIs.
The ability of two commercially available quick test kits to detect drug‐facilitated sexual assault drugs in beverages
Authors: Beynon C. M. , Sumnall H. R. , McVeigh J. , Cole J. C. , Bellis M. A. 
Published: December 2006

ABSTRACTAims  Assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of two commercially available ‘drug‐facilitated sexual assault’ drug detector kits, Drink Guard and Drink Detective.Design  Experimental.Setting  Laboratory.Measurements  Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) sodium salt, ketamine hydrochloride, temazepam, flunitrazepam and diazepam were dissolved (Tween added to benzodiazepine solutions) as separate stock solutions and added to 330 ml samples of cola (Pepsi Max®), beer (Stella Artois®), ‘alcopop’ (Bacardi Breezer®) and placebo (distilled water). The doses used are reported to be common in cases of intoxication. Each kit was tested 10 times for each drink/drug combination. Two blind, independent observers scored each test (presence/absence of drug) in accordance with kit instructions; χ2 was used to compare the proportion of times raters scored tests correctly and incorrectly. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated overall, for each drink, and sensitivity was calculated for each drug. Inter‐observer agreement was evaluated using the kappa statistic.Findings  While both raters were able to score significantly more tests correctly than incorrectly using Drink Detective, and one rater scored similarly using Drink Guard, the overall sensitivity of Drink Detective and Drink Guard was 69.0% (95% CI 64.2–73.5%) and 37.5% (95% CI 30.1–45.5%), respectively. Sensitivity was drink‐dependent. Drink Detective was unable to detect our dose of GHB in water, with all tests scored negatively by both raters for this drink/drug combination (n = 20 negative scores). Overall, specificity was 76.6% (95% CI 71.5–81.0%) and 87.9% (95% CI 83.0–91.6%) for Drink Guard and Drink Detective, respectively, but was affected by the beverage. Inter‐rater agreement was poor for Drink Guard (kappa = 0.278 ± 0.069) but excellent for Drink Detective (kappa = 0.894 ± 0.245). Inter‐observer agreement was drug‐dependent.Conclusions  Use of drug detector kits by the public in the night‐time environment needs further investigation and may create a false sense of security (false negatives) and undue concern (false positives) among kit users.
DIFFERENT EFFECTS OF GLOBALISATION FOR WORKERS AND the POOR IN CHINA AND INDIA, COMPARING COUNTRIES, CITIES AND ICT CLUSTERS
Authors: DIJK MEINE PIETER VAN 
Published: December 2006

ABSTRACTThe effects of globalisation on income, the income distribution and other social indicators in China and India will be analysed in this paper. A comparison between the two countries is made on a large number of variables to determine how globalisation influences wages and labour conditions. The question asked is what explains the differences in competitiveness of information and communication technology (ICT) clusters in a Chinese and an Indian city. Labour cost and conditions turn out to be one of the factors influencing the competitiveness of the two countries and clusters. It is not so much the price of labour that explains the difference in performance, but rather the productiveness and the labour legislation. A number of other factors underlying the rapid economic growth of China are analysed to conclude that that country, more than India, has benefited from globalisation. The resulting income distribution is more unequal in China, however, there is also more employment created, poverty alleviated and wages are higher and have increased recently in China.
PLASTIC YAM AND PLASTIC YAM STICKS – PERSPECTIVES ON INDIGENOUS TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AMONG JAMAICAN FARMERS
Authors: BARKER DAVID , BECKFORD CLINTON 
Published: December 2006

ABSTRACTYam farming in Jamaica has been one of the few success stories in agriculture since Independence in 1962. Production is entirely dominated by small farmers who have intensified production systems. Over the last decade yam farmers experienced a ‘yam stick problem’ due to the scarcity, poor quality and high prices of yam sticks. This paper focuses on the content and contextualisation of indigenous technical knowledge among yam farmers. The intrinsic dynamic nature of indigenous technical knowledge is revealed by showing how farmers have adapted their cultivation methods and have themselves innovated new ways of staking yams in efforts to solve the yam stick problem. In effect they have had to rely on their own indigenous knowledge base as a source of new ideas. We discuss a series of alternatives to traditional yam staking methods with a large sample of farmers, including both real and hypothetical examples of externally‐induced innovations. Farmers’ responses to these innovations are reported and analysed in the context of Briggs’ recent review of indigenous knowledge and development issues. Our research suggests that farmer innovation is a normal consequence of coping with farming problems. Further, farmers are not intrinsically unresponsive to externally‐induced innovations, which supports the view that ‘Western science’ and indigenous knowledge are not necessarily bipolar and mutually exclusive knowledge systems. We conclude that indigenous technical knowledge can provide a nexus for research in fostering partnerships with farmers, NGOs and planners in their search for sustainable solutions to the yam stick problem and broader aspects of rural development and resource management.
INDIRECT MEASUREMENT OF REGIONAL CULTURE IN THE NETHERLANDS
Authors: BRONS LAJOS L. 
Published: December 2006

ABSTRACTCulture is a key concept in contemporary cultural and economic geography, but geographical research on culture is thus far mainly limited to case studies. To supplement this qualitative approach with a quantitative analysis of cultural causes and effects of geographic phenomena a data set is needed that somehow measures culture. This paper presents an attempt at such a measurement at the spatial scale of Dutch municipalities. Culture as a ‘map for behaviour’ is measured here indirectly, by means of factor analysis. Five dimensions of Dutch regional culture were found in this way: (1) post‐materialism; (2) Protestant conservatism; (3) classical individualism; (4) egalitarian anti‐conservatism; and (5) dissatisfaction. Although the regional differences in these dimensions are to a considerable extent related to differences in urbanisation, income and education rather than to some historical cultural geography, the measurement is shown to be empirically relevant and can be used in further research on culture in geography.
RESIDENTIAL DESEGREGATION DYNAMICS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CITY OF POLOKWANE (PIETERSBURG)
Authors: DONALDSON RONNIE , KOTZE NICO 
Published: December 2006

ABSTRACTThis paper revisits the city of Pietersburg more than ten years after the repealing of the Group Areas Act in order to determine the extent to which the socio‐spatial impress of apartheid segregation has been changed. The socio‐spatial changes that have taken place in the city were brought about mainly through residential desegregation. The scrapping of the Group Areas Act in 1991 saw the movement of blacks into the city's former white, Indian and coloured suburbs. Initially the percentage in this regard was low: in 1992 the city's suburbs were one per cent desegregated. Ten years later, the city's desegregation level had increased to 32 per cent. In all neigbourhoods except three, the number of black property‐owners had doubled. New Pietersburg remained undeveloped until informal squatters invaded it in the 1990s after the fall of apartheid. This area was earmarked for the development of low‐income housing units in the 1997 Land Development Objectives. More than 300 land claims were lodged at the time. Because of the complexity of land claims and urban restructuring, the problem was still unresolved by 2005.
EVALUATING THE SOCIO‐CULTURAL CARRYING CAPACITY OF RURAL TOURISM COMMUNITIES: A ‘VALUE STRETCH’ APPROACH
Authors: MANSFELD YOEL , JONAS ALIZA 
Published: December 2006

ABSTRACTUsing the carrying capacity value stretch (CCVS) model incorporated into nominal group technique (NGT) methodology, this paper investigated a rural community's determinants of socio‐cultural carrying capacity perceptions in the wake of rural tourism development. The case of Kibbutz Yiron in Northern Israel was used to detect the tourism impacts, to evaluate to what extent rural tourism in this community is violating its limits for acceptable change and what necessary steps should be taken in order to mitigate existing, and to avoid future negative impacts? Results of this study support previous tourism impact studies. However, they are unique in their interpretation of carrying capacity measures in a qualitative and multidimensional manner. Based on the analysis of perceived intolerable, current and expected tourist impacts, these results can guide planning and policy oriented benchmarks for socio‐culturally sustainable rural tourism.
THE RETURN OF REGULATION IN THE SHOPPING LANDSCAPE? REFLECTING ON THE PERSISTENT POWER OF CITY CENTRE PRESERVATION WITHIN SHIFTING RETAIL PLANNING IDEOLOGIES
Authors: SPIERINGS BAS 
Published: December 2006

ABSTRACTSince the construction of the hierarchical retail system in the postwar period, the main goal of Dutch retail planning has been to preserve city centres and the complementary shopping centres. National guidelines restricted the development of large‐scale retail locations on peripheral sites. Considering this restrictive planning ideology since the 1970s, the recent proposal to deregulate and decentralise retail planning came as a surprise and caused great controversy. Dutch retailers in particular raised their voices. They feared a disruption of the hierarchical retail system, following the removal of national restrictions on peripheral developments. The policy goal to preserve city centres seemed to disappear but returned when the national government and provincial authorities decided to reregulate retail planning. This paper analyses shifting retail planning ideologies in the Netherlands and reflects on the strength and persistence of city centre preservation within these shifts.
Optimal endpoints of resuscitation and early goal‐directed therapy
Authors: Prittie Jennifer 
Published: December 2006

AbstractObjective: To review the available endpoints of shock resuscitation, including traditional perfusion parameters, oxygen‐transport variables, lactate, base deficit (BD), venous oxygen saturation, and gastric mucosal pH, and to discuss the currently accepted methods of assessing successful reversal of oxygen (O2) debt in shock patients.Human‐based studies: Early goal‐directed therapy has unequivocally been shown to positively affect outcome in human patients experiencing cardiovascular shock. However, specific endpoints of resuscitation to target in critically ill patients remain controversial. Reliance on traditional endpoints of resuscitation (heart rate [HR], blood pressure [BP]) appears insufficient in detection of ongoing tissue hypoxia in shock states. A multitude of publications exist suggesting that indirect indices of global (lactate, base deficit, mixed/central venous oxygen saturation), regional (gastric intramucosal pH [pHi]) and cellular (transcutaneous oxygen) oxygenation are more successful in outcome prediction and in assessing adequacy of resuscitative efforts in this patient population.Veterinary‐based studies: While there are several large studies evaluating endpoints of resuscitation in experimental canine shock models, this author was unable to find similar research pertaining to small animal veterinary patients. The few articles in which blood lactate is evaluated for prognostic purposes in canine patients are included in this review.Data sources: Veterinary and human literature review.Conclusions: Optimization of early resuscitative efforts has proven to have a survival benefit in human shock patients, and major strides have been made in determining which endpoints of resuscitation to target in this patient population. Similar clinical trials designed to evaluate indices of ongoing global and regional tissue hypoxia in small animal veterinary shock patients are warranted.