bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Individual differences in response to novelty predict prefrontal cortex dopamine transporter function and cell surface expression
Authors: Zhu Jun , Bardo Michael T. , Bruntz Ronald C. , Stairs Dustin J. , Dwoskin Linda P. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractPrevious research has shown that individual differences in response to novelty predict self‐administration and the locomotor response to psychostimulant drugs of abuse. The aim of the present study was to determine if individual differences in response to novelty based on inescapable or free‐choice novelty tests predict dopamine transporter (DAT) function and trafficking as well as nicotine‐induced modulation of DAT. Results show that the maximal velocity (Vmax) of [3H]dopamine uptake into prefrontal cortex (PFC) synaptosomes correlated negatively with the locomotor response to inescapable novelty. In contrast, Vmax correlated positively with novelty place preference in the free‐choice novelty test. The divergent correlations between DAT and the two behavioral phenotypes suggest a differential contribution of DAT in these phenotypes, which are known not to be isomorphic. Furthermore, rats categorized as high responders to inescapable novelty had lower Vmax values, which were accompanied by less DAT expression at the cell surface in PFC compared with low responders, suggesting that inherent individual differences in DAT cellular localization may underlie the differential response to novelty. Compared with the saline control, nicotine increased Vmax and cell surface DAT immunoreactivity in PFC from high responders but not from low responders. Similarly, nicotine increased Vmax and cell surface DAT in PFC in rats classified as low in novelty place preference but not in rats classified as high in novelty place preference. Thus, despite the different behavioral phenotypes, the pharmacological effect of nicotine to increase DAT function and cell surface expression was apparent, such that rats with inherently lower DAT function show a greater sensitivity to the neurochemical effect of nicotine.
A BDNF infusion into the medial prefrontal cortex suppresses cocaine seeking in rats
Authors: Berglind William J. , See Ronald E. , Fuchs Rita A. , Ghee Shannon M. , Whitfield Timothy W. , Miller Scott W. , McGinty Jacqueline F. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is critical for reinstatement of cocaine seeking and is the main source of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to striatal regions of the brain relapse circuitry. To test the hypothesis that BDNF in the mPFC regulates cocaine‐seeking behavior, rats were trained to press a lever for cocaine infusions (0.2 mg/inf, 2 h/day) paired with light + tone conditioned stimulus (CS) presentations on 10 consecutive days. After the last self‐administration session, rats received a single infusion of BDNF (0.75 µg/0.5 µL/side) into the mPFC; this manipulation produced protracted effects on cocaine‐seeking behavior (non‐reinforced lever pressing). BDNF pretreatment administered after the last session attenuated cocaine seeking 22 h later and, remarkably, it also blocked cocaine‐induced suppression of phospho‐extracellular‐regulated kinase and elevated BDNF immunoreactivity in the nucleus accumbens. The same pretreatment also suppressed cocaine‐seeking behavior elicited by response‐contingent CS presentations after 6 days of forced abstinence or extinction training, as well as a cocaine challenge injection (10 mg/kg, i.p.) after extinction training. However, BDNF infused into the mPFC had no effect on food‐seeking behavior. Furthermore, BDNF infused on the sixth day of abstinence failed to alter responding, suggesting that the regulatory influence of BDNF is time limited. The suppressive effects of BDNF infused into the mPFC on cocaine seeking indicate that BDNF regulates cortical pathways implicated in relapse to drug seeking and that corticostriatal BDNF adaptations during early abstinence diminish compulsive drug seeking.
GABAergic currents in RT and VB thalamic nuclei follow kinetic pattern of α3‐ and α1‐subunit‐containing GABAA receptors
Authors: Mozrzymas Jerzy W. , Barberis Andrea , Vicini Stefano 
Published: July 2007

AbstractInhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) of the thalamic reticular (RT) nucleus are dramatically slower than in the neighboring ventrobasal (VB) neurons. It has been suggested that α3‐subunit‐containing receptors underlie slow IPSCs in RT neurons, while rapid synaptic currents in the VB nucleus are due to γ‐aminobutyric acid A receptors (GABAARs), including the α1‐subunit. In our recent study [Barberis et al. (2007) Eur. J. Neurosci., 25, 2726–2740] we have found that profound differences in kinetics of currents mediated by α3β2γ2 and α1β2γ3 receptors resulted from distinct binding and desensitization properties. However, a direct comparison between kinetics of neuronal GABAARs from RT and VB neurons and α3‐ and α1‐subunit‐containing receptors has not been made. For this purpose, current responses to ultrafast GABA applications were recorded from patches excised from neurons in VB and RT areas. Deactivation kinetics determined for RT and VB neurons closely resembled that in currents mediated by α3β2γ2 and α1β2γ2 receptors. In RT neurons, currents elicited by non‐saturating [GABA] had a remarkably slow onset, a hallmark of α3‐subunit‐containing receptors. In VB and RT neurons, single‐channel currents elicited by brief GABA pulses had similar characteristics to those of α1β2γ2 and α3β2γ2 receptors. However, in stationary conditions, similarity between single‐channel currents in neurons and respective recombinant receptors was less apparent. We propose that the non‐stationary kinetics of GABAergic currents in VB and RT nuclei mimic that of currents mediated by α1‐ and α3‐subunit‐containing receptors. The dissimilarity between stationary kinetics of neuronal and recombinant receptors probably reflects differences between GABAARs mediating phasic and tonic currents in these neurons.
The Equity and Legitimacy of Markets for Ecosystem Services
Authors: Corbera Esteve , Brown Katrina , Adger W. Neil 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTMarkets for ecosystem services are being promoted across the developing world, amidst claims that the provision of economic incentives is vital to bring about resource conservation. This article argues that equity and legitimacy are also critical dimensions in the design and implementation of such markets, if social development goals beyond economic gains are to be achieved. The article examines this issue by focusing on two communities involved in a project for carbon sequestration services of forests in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The perceived legitimacy of the activities and the distribution of economic outcomes and project‐related information are found to be mediated by organizational allegiances and the history of social relations regarding access to property and forest resources. Political affiliation determines the project's legitimacy, while the poorest farmers and women have been excluded from project design and implementation. The authors argue that pitfalls such as these contribute to reinforcing existing power structures, inequities and vulnerabilities, and suggest that this is a product of the nature of emerging markets. Markets for ecosystem services are, in effect, limited in promoting more legitimate forms of decision making and a more equitable distribution of their outcomes.
Resource Accessibility and Vulnerability in Andhra Pradesh: Caste and Non‐Caste Influences
Authors: Bosher Lee , Penning‐Rowsell Edmund , Tapsell Sue 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTCoastal Andhra Pradesh in southern India is prone to tropical cyclones. Access to key resources can reduce the vulnerability of the local population to both large‐scale disasters, such as cyclones, and to the sort of small‐scale crises that affect their everyday lives. This article uses primary fieldwork to present a resource accessibility vulnerability index for over 300 respondents. The index indicates that caste is the key factor in determining who has assets, who can access public facilities, who has political connections and who has supportive social networks. The ‘lower’ castes (which tend to be the poorest) are marginalized to the extent that they lack access to assets, public facilities and opportunities to improve their plight. However, the research also indicates that the poor and powerless lower castes are able to utilize informal social networks to bolster their resilience, typically by women's participation with CBOs and NGOs. Nevertheless it is doubtful whether this extra social capital counterbalances the overall results which show that — despite decades of counteractions by government — caste remains a dominant variable affecting the vulnerability of the people of coastal Andhra Pradesh to the hazards that they face.
No Change for Thirty Years: The Renewed Question of Women's Land Rights in Rural China
Authors: Judd Ellen R. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTSince the mid‐1990s, a new land‐use rights regime has gradually come into effect in China. It follows upon a series of earlier changes — land reform, collectivization and the first wave of contracting land to households — that paid attention to women's role in publicly recognized work and provided access to land. The new regime, which has gradually come into effect as previous (usually fifteen‐year) terms expired, authorizes an adjustment in land allocation which is then normally frozen for thirty years. An apparently inadvertent effect of this policy is not only the exclusion of young people from direct access to land for up to thirty years from birth, but the de facto separation of the majority of women who marry or remarry patrilocally from allocated land. ‘No change for thirty years’ (sanshi nian bu bian) has thus become the distinctive feature for women of China's current land‐use regime. The state has renounced its potential to reallocate land periodically and there is no indication that market mechanisms are filling, or are capable of filling, the void thereby created. This article examines local conceptions, responses and practices regarding land‐use rights and their transfer within this new framework, using field evidence from three upland agricultural communities in Chongqing and Sichuan (studied in 2003, 2004 and 2005), where land allocations were fixed in 1995, 1999 and 2001 respectively. The ethnographic findings are further explored in relation to contemporary research on gender and land rights.
Mixed Outcomes: The Impact of Regional Autonomy and Decentralization on Indigenous Ethnic Minorities in Indonesia
Authors: Duncan Christopher R. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTThis article examines how indigenous ethnic minorities in Indonesia are being affected by the implementation of decentralization and regional autonomy policies. New legislation transferred responsibility and authority over various issues, including resource extraction and local governance, from the central government to regional authorities at the district level. Members of the growing indigenous rights movement hoped that this decentralization process would allow ethnic minority communities to retain or regain control over natural resources through local‐level politics. Furthermore, some ethnic minorities saw the implementation of decentralization as an opportunity to return to local forms of land tenure and resource management that had been disparaged by the national government for most of the twentieth century. However, these new laws also encourage district level governments to generate income through natural resource exploitation, as they will receive a certain percentage of these revenues. Minority communities could be adversely affected as local governments disregard their land rights in efforts to raise income to cover their new expenses, essentially continuing the practices of previous governments. This article examines the new opportunities, as well as the new threats, posed by decentralization to ethnic minorities throughout Indonesia.
Status Epilepticus in Children with Epilepsy: Dutch Study of Epilepsy in Childhood
Authors: Stroink Hans , Geerts Ada T. , Van Donselaar Cees A. , Peters A. C. Boudewijn , Brouwer Oebele F. , Peeters Els A. , Arts Willem F. 
Published: July 2007

Summary:  Purpose: To study course and outcome of epilepsy in children having had a status epilepticus (SE) as the presenting sign or after the diagnosis. Methods: A total of 494 children with newly diagnosed epilepsy, aged 1 month through 15 years, were followed prospectively for 5 years. Results: A total of 47 Children had SE. Forty‐one of them had SE when epilepsy was diagnosed. For 32 (78%), SE was the first seizure. SE recurred in 13 out of 41 (32%). Terminal remission at 5 years (TR5) was not significantly worse for these 41 children: 31.7% had a TR5 <1 year versus 21.2% of 447 children without SE. They were not more often intractable. Five out of six children with first SE after diagnosis had a TR5 <1 year. Mortality was not significantly increased for children with SE. Independent factors associated with SE at presentation were remote symptomatic and cryptogenic etiology, and a history of febrile convulsions. Children with first SE after inclusion more often had symptomatic etiology. Conclusions: Although we find a trend for shorter TR5 in children with SE at presentation, outcome and mortality are not significantly worse. Etiology is an important factor for prognosis. Children with SE during the course of their epilepsy have a worse prognosis and a high recurrence rate of SE. This outcome is not due to the SE itself, but related to the etiology and type of epilepsy. The occurrence of SE is just an indicator of the severity of the disease.
Current Treatment of Myoclonic Astatic Epilepsy: Clinical Experience at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Authors: Kilaru Sudha , Bergqvist A. G. Christina 
Published: July 2007

Summary: Purpose:Myoclonic astatic epilepsy (MAE) is a generalized epilepsy of early childhood. Little is known about the use of newer antiepileptic treatments (AET) in MAE. The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics, treatment, and outcome of a contemporary MAE cohort exposed to the new generation AET.Methods:Charts of subjects with MAE treated between 1998 and 2005 were reviewed.Results:Twenty‐three subjects (19 boys), with a median (range) follow‐up of 38 (2– 86) months were identified. Thirty‐nine percent had a family history of epilepsy, and 39% had family history of febrile seizures. Age at seizure onset was a median of 36 (12–24) months. Initial EEG was normal in 30%. When seizures ceased, EEG background and epileptiform abnormalities persisted in 17 and 58%, respectively. On average, each subject was exposed to five AET. The most frequently used AET was valproate (83%). Seizure freedom occurred spontaneously in three subjects, with ethosuximide and levetiracetam in one each, valproate and lamotrigine in two each, topiramate in three and the ketogenic diet (KD) in five subjects. By 36 months after seizure onset, 67% achieved seizure freedom. At the last visit, 43% were developmentally normal, 52% had mild, and 5% had moderate cognitive disabilities. Time to seizure freedom did not correlate with cognitive outcome.Conclusions:The new generation of AET may offer significant benefit to children with MAE. The KD was the most effective AET in this series, and perhaps should be considered earlier in treatment.
Lack of Pharmacokinetic Interaction of Levetiracetam on Carbamazepine, Valproic Acid, Topiramate, and Lamotrigine in Children with Epilepsy
Authors: Otoul Christian , De Smedt Heidi , Stockis Armel 
Published: July 2007

SummaryPurpose:To determine whether levetiracetam (LEV) affects plasma concentrations of carbamazepine, valproic acid, topiramate, and lamotrigine in children with epilepsy.Methods:The potential for interaction of LEV with other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) was assessed using plasma drug levels obtained in a randomized placebo‐controlled phase III trial of adjunctive LEV in children receiving one or two concomitant AEDs. Multiple plasma AED levels at baseline and during adjunctive treatment with LEV or placebo were compared by repeated measures analysis of covariance and mean concentration ratios (treatment/baseline) were estimated with their 90% confidence intervals (CI).Results:The study population included 187 children receiving any concomitant AED alone or in combination. The geometric mean concentrations at baseline and during LEV treatment were carbamazepine 8.4 μg/ml versus 8.1 μg/ml (coefficient of variation, CV = 30%; n = 35); valproic acid 83.8 versus 82.5 μg/ml (CV = 38%; n = 23); topiramate 7.3 versus 7.2 μg/ml (CV = 82%; n = 28); lamotrigine 8.2 versus 7.7 μg/ml (CV = 62%; n = 22). For each AED, the mean concentration ratios (LEV/baseline) and their 90% CIs showed that AED concentrations were unaffected by concomitant LEV administration. No differences were observed between LEV and placebo.Conclusions:LEV does not affect plasma concentrations of carbamazepine, valproic acid, topiramate, or lamotrigine in children with epilepsy.
Intranasal Delivery of a Thyrotropin‐Releasing Hormone Analog Attenuates Seizures in the Amygdala‐Kindled Rat
Authors: Veronesi Michael C. , Kubek Daniel J. , Kubek Michael J. 
Published: July 2007

SummaryPurpose:Thyrotropin‐releasing hormone (TRH) is known to have anticonvulsant effects in several animal seizure models and is efficacious in treating patients with certain intractable epilepsies. However, the duration of TRH's action is limited due to low bioavailability and difficulty penetrating the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Since direct nose to brain delivery of therapeutic compounds may provide a means for overcoming these barriers, we utilized the kindling model of temporal lobe epilepsy to determine if intranasal administration of a TRH analog, 3‐methyl‐histidine TRH (3Me‐H TRH), could significantly inhibit various seizure parameters.Methods:Kindling was accomplished using a 1s train of 60 Hz biphasic square wave (200 μA peak to peak) administered daily to the basolateral amygdala until the animal was fully kindled. Afterdischarge duration (ADD) was assessed via electroencephalographs (EEGs) recorded bilaterally from bipolar electrodes in the basolateral amygdala and behavioral seizure severity (stage I–V) was simultaneously recorded digitally. Kindled subjects received 3Me‐H TRH (10−9, 10−8, 10−7M) intranasally 60 and 30 min prior to amygdala stimulation. The ADD and seizure stage was compared to control kindled animals receiving physiological saline intranasally.Results:Intranasal application of 3Me‐H TRH resulted in a concentration‐dependent reduction in total seizure ADD. Additionally, the analog had significant concentration‐dependent effects on behavioral stages I through IV (partial) and stage V (generalized) seizures. However, 3Me‐H TRH significantly reduced clonus duration only at the highest concentration.Discussion:The results indicate that intranasal delivery of TRH/analogs may be a viable means to suppress temporal lobe seizures and perhaps other seizure disorders.
The superior retina performs better than the inferior retina when reading with eccentric viewing: a comparison in normal volunteers
Authors: Frennesson Christina , Nilsson Sven Erik 
Published: July 2007

Abstract.Purpose:  Patients with an absolute central scotoma, such as in age‐related macular degeneration, need to use eccentric viewing for reading. In the present study, we investigated whether there are differences in reading performance between the superior and inferior retina.Methods:  Twelve volunteers with normal vision, aged 25–58 years and able to maintain stable eccentric viewing, were studied in a scanning laser ophthalmoscope while reading a line of text, 6 degrees above or below a fixation line (series A). The text, properly magnified above threshold, was scrolled at a speed of 60 words/min. The number of words missed or incorrectly read in 1 min as well as words read when occasionally fixating the text was counted. In series B, a random letter text was superimposed upon the fixation line (i.e. at 6 degrees from the original line of text) to see whether this would disturb reading. In series C, the random letter text was moved away from the fixation line to a distance of 12 degrees from the original line of text. The entire programme was repeated in reverse order, and the mean value of the two series was used for calculations, which were carried out using Student's two‐sided t‐test.Results:  In all series of experiments, the number of errors was significantly lower when using the superior retina compared with the inferior retina (A: p = 0.006; B: p = 0.042, C: p = 0.009). The addition of the random letter line of text at 6 or 12 degrees did not disturb reading performance significantly. There was no significant difference between the superior and inferior retina in terms of visual acuity.Conclusions:  In eccentric viewing, reading performance was significantly better when using the superior retina compared with the inferior retina. A line of random letter text at a distance of 6 or 12 degrees from the original line of text did not disturb reading significantly.
Correlation between intraretinal changes in diabetic macular oedema seen in fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography
Authors: Soliman Wael , Sander Birgit , Hasler Pascal W. , Larsen Michael 
Published: July 2007

Abstract.Purpose:  To study the relationship between intraretinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescein angiography (FA) findings in eyes with diabetic macular oedema (DMO).Methods:  We carried out a retrospective observational case series. Thirty eyes with previously untreated DMO underwent FA and OCT. The same ETDRS template was overlaid on the FA images in order to compare OCT and FA. Transfoveal linear high‐resolution OCT scans (at the 0‐ and 90‐degree meridians) and FA pictures were compared according to the ETDRS rings.Results:  Six distinct patterns of intraretinal changes in OCT correlated with changes in FA: (a) focal angiographic leakage did not correspond to any obvious intraretinal abnormality in OCT in four eyes; (b) localized thickening of the outer nuclear layer in OCT corresponded to focal leaking microaneurysm (focal oedema) in FA in 11 eyes; (c) diffuse thickening of the outer nuclear layer in OCT corresponded to diffuse angiographic leakage in 21 eyes; (d) cystoid expansion of the outer nuclear layer was found in seven eyes with a petaloid angiographic pattern of leakage; (e) cystoid expansion of the inner nuclear layer was found in relation to honeycomb angiographic oedema in five eyes, and (f) serous detachment of the fovea in OCT did not correspond to any distinct finding in FA in four eyes.Conclusions:  Intraretinal abnormalities found in OCT correlate systemically with changes in FA. Very early DMO morphological changes may be seen better with FA than with OCT. Serous detachment of the fovea is seen in OCT, but not in FA. The combination of OCT and FA is useful in facilitating understanding of the pathophysiological changes that occur in DMO.