bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Attempted randomized controlled trial of pamidronate versus calcium and calcitriol supplements for management of steroid‐induced osteoporosis in children and adolescents
Authors: Brown JJ , Zacharin MR 
Published: November 2005

Objectives: To describe an attempted interventional trial for glucocorticoid‐induced osteoporosis in children and adolescents and to discuss the reasons for trial failure to inform future interventional studies in this important group of patients. Methods: Prospective randomized controlled trial comparing the effect of bisphosphonate therapy with calcium and vitamin D supplementation on bone mineral accrual is described. For non‐trial patients, retrospective analysis of the effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation combined with bisphosphonate treatment on bone mineral accrual. Results: Only 12 patients were enrolled in the trial over 4 years. Bisphosphonate recipients (n = 5) had a mean annual percentage increase in lumbar spine bone mineral density of 8.76 ± 5.2% compared to 6.6 ± 4.0% in the calcium/vitamin‐treated group (difference not significant). Mean annual change in lumbar spine areal bone mineral density in non‐trial patients (n = 11) was 3.72 ± 2.5%. Conclusion: Conducting a randomized controlled trial in this group of corticosteroid users is difficult, given the unpredictable nature of the underlying disease and intermittent need for steroid treatment. The trial failed through inadequate recruitment combined with discontinued interventions.
New normal ranges of antistreptolysin O and antideoxyribonuclease B titres for Australian children
Authors: Danchin MH , Carlin JB , Devenish W , Nolan TM , Carapetis JR 
Published: November 2005

Objective: To determine age‐specific upper limit of normal (ULN) values of the ASO and ADB titres in children aged 4–14 years in urban Melbourne. Serology is often used to diagnose a preceding Streptococcus pyogenes infection, particularly in potential cases of rheumatic fever and post‐streptococcal glomerulonephritis. The most commonly used antigens are antistreptolysin O (ASO) and antideoxyribonuclease B (ADB). Reference ranges used in Australia for these serological markers are usually based on data in adults from other countries. There are no age‐specific reference values for Australian children. Methods: Sixty‐six sera from children with no history of recent streptococcal infection were obtained in May–June 2002. The children were divided into three age groups for analysis: 4–5 (n = 20), 6–9 (n = 19) and 10–14 (n = 25) years. The geometric mean titre and ULN (defined as the 80th percentile) for the ASO and ADB titres for each age group were determined in both international and log units. Results: The ULN for ASO titres in each age group was 120 (2.08 log units), 480 (2.68) and 320 (2.51). The ULN for ADB titres in each age group was 100 (2.00 log units), 400 (2.60) and 380 (2.58). Conclusion: The ASO and ADB ULN values in school‐aged children are higher than the current reference ranges suggest.
Minimal invasiveness and effectivity of subinguinal microscopic varicocelectomy: a comparative study with retroperitoneal high and laparoscopic approaches
Authors: WATANABE MASAMI , NAGAI ATSUSHI , KUSUMI NORIHIRO , TSUBOI HIROMU , NASU YASUTOMO , KUMON HIROMI 
Published: November 2005

Abstract  Aim:  The standard management of varicocele repair is the subject of ongoing controversy. We retrospectively evaluated three surgical methods of varicocele treatment to determine the minimally invasive and most effective procedure.Methods:  We performed 144 varicocelectomies on infertile patients with left clinical varicocele. Of the patients, 50 were treated with retroperitoneal high ligation under lumbar anesthesia, 33 with laparoscopic ligation under general anesthesia, and 61 with subinguinal microscopic ligation under local anesthesia. Operative time, hospital days, and clinical outcomes were compared between these techniques.Results:  The operating time and hospitalization period required for subinguinal microscopic ligation was signiﬁcantly shorter compared to those for the other procedures. All patients treated with subinguinal microscopic ligation could achieve normal activity as soon as they returned to their rooms. Postoperative complications were observed in ﬁve (10.0%) cases treated with high ligation and three (9.1%) laparoscopic cases, but were not observed after the subinguinal procedure. There were six cases (12.0%) of recurrence in the high ligation group and six (6.1%) in the laparoscopic group, but none in the subinguinal group. Sperm density was signiﬁcantly improved in all procedures postoperatively, but sperm motility was not improved. The two‐year pregnancy rate calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method was 35.8% for high ligation, 40.4% for laparoscopic ligation and 50.9% for subinguinal microscopic ligation, although there were no statistical differences between the three groups.Conclusion:  We concluded that subinguinal microscopic varicocelectomy could be a minimally invasive procedure compared to the other two techniques and a worthy method for treating male infertility due to clinical varicocele.
Constitutive activation of the 41‐ and 43‐kDa mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinases in the progression of prostate cancer to an androgen‐independent state
Authors: OKA HIROYA , CHATANI YUJI , KOHNO MICHIAKI , KAWAKITA MUTSUSHI , OGAWA OSAMU 
Published: November 2005

Abstract  Aim:  The 41‐ and 43‐kDa mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPK; ERK2 and ERK1, respectively) play pivotal roles in the mitogenic signal transduction pathway. We previously demonstrated that constitutive activation of the MAPK cascade was related to the carcinogenesis of human tumors. In this study, we examined whether constitutive activation of MAPK was related to the progression to androgen independence of prostate cancer.Methods:  MAPK activation was examined by the appearance of phosphorylated forms and an in vitro kinase assay in four human (androgen‐dependent and independent) prostate cancer cell lines and rat prostate cancer cell line Dunning (androgen‐sensitive G line, and androgen‐independent AT‐3, AT‐6 sublines). In addition, when androgen‐dependent mouse Shionogi Carcinoma 115 (SC115) cells were serially cultured without androgen to obtain androgen‐independent cells, the time and degree of MAPK activation were examined.Results:  One of three human androgen‐independent cell lines (DU145) showed constitutive activation of MAPK, while an androgen‐dependent cell line (LNCaP) did not show MAPK activation. While MAPK were not activated in an androgen‐sensitive Dunning G cell line, MAPK were activated in androgen‐independent sublines (AT‐3 and AT‐6) derived from a G cell line. In addition, when SC115 cells were serially cultured without androgen, the cells 16–24 weeks after androgen removal showed MAPK activation. Furthermore, in subcloned cells, MAPK activation was observed even in the cells maintained for 9 weeks in medium without testosterone.Conclusions:  The present ﬁndings suggest that constitutive activation of MAPK may be associated with the acquisition of hormone independence in prostate cancer and that clonal selection after androgen removal and hormone‐independent growth through the MAPK signal transduction pathway could begin at a relatively early period in the individual cells.
Urological robotic surgery: Preliminary experience with the Zeus system
Authors: MIYAKE OSAMU , KIUCHI HIROSHI , YOSHIMURA KAZUHIRO , OKUYAMA AKIHIKO 
Published: November 2005

Abstract  Aim:  We performed robotic or robotically‐assisted laparoscopic surgery for urological diseases, and evaluated the efﬁcacy and safety of this surgery.Methods:  Between November 2003 and June 2004, we performed laparoscopic surgery with the Zeus system in eight cases. Three adrenalectomy cases of cortical adenoma presenting with Cushing syndrome and primary aldosteronism, and two cases of nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma in dialyzed patients were performed solely with Zeus. In two cases of ureteral stenosis, Zeus was used for ureteral anastomosis after partial ureterectomy by manual laparoscopy. In one prostatectomy case, vesico‐urethral anastomosis was performed with Zeus after extraperitoneal prostatectomy by manual laparoscopy.Results:  All of the cases were successfully treated without any complications during or after operation. All patients were discharged from hospital within 12 days postoperatively. As for adrenalectomy, nephrectomy and pyeloplasty, this may be the ﬁrst report in Japan.Conclusions:  Our preliminary experiences suggest that such a robot system, which is being developed day by day, might become more beneﬁcial in future in urological laparoscopic surgery.
Quantitative measurement of serotonin synthesis and sequestration in individual live neuronal cells
Authors: Balaji J. , Desai R. , Kaushalya S. K. , Eaton M. J. , Maiti S. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractSynthesis and subsequent sequestration into vesicles are essential steps that precede neurotransmitter exocytosis, but neither the total neurotransmitter content nor the fraction sequestered into vesicles have been measured in individual live neurons. We use multiphoton microscopy to directly observe intracellular and intravesicular serotonin in the serotonergic neuronal cell line RN46A. We focus on how the relationship between synthesis and sequestration changes as synthesis is up‐regulated by differentiation or down‐regulated by chemical inhibition. Temperature‐induced differentiation causes an increase of about 60% in the total serotonin content of individual cells, which goes up to about 10 fmol. However, the number of vesicles per cell increases by a factor of four and the proportion of serotonin sequestered inside the vesicles increases by a factor of five. When serotonin synthesis is inhibited in differentiated cells and the serotonin content goes down to the level present in undifferentiated cells, the sequestered proportion still remains at this high level. The total neurotransmitter content of a cell is, thus, an unreliable indicator of the sequestered amount.
Immunoisolation of two synaptic vesicle pools from synaptosomes: a proteomics analysis
Authors: Morciano Marco , Burré Jacqueline , Corvey Carsten , Karas Michael , Zimmermann Herbert , Volknandt Walter 
Published: November 2005

AbstractThe nerve terminal proteome governs neurotransmitter release as well as the structural and functional dynamics of the presynaptic compartment. In order to further define specific presynaptic subproteomes we used subcellular fractionation and a monoclonal antibody against the synaptic vesicle protein SV2 for immunoaffinity purification of two major synaptosome‐derived synaptic vesicle‐containing fractions: one sedimenting at lower and one sedimenting at higher sucrose density. The less dense fraction contains free synaptic vesicles, the denser fraction synaptic vesicles as well as components of the presynaptic membrane compartment. These immunoisolated fractions were analyzed using the cationic benzyldimethyl‐n‐hexadecylammonium chloride (BAC) polyacrylamide gel system in the first and sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the second dimension. Protein spots were subjected to analysis by matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS). We identified 72 proteins in the free vesicle fraction and 81 proteins in the plasma membrane‐containing denser fraction. Synaptic vesicles contain a considerably larger number of protein constituents than previously anticipated. The plasma membrane‐containing fraction contains synaptic vesicle proteins, components of the presynaptic fusion and retrieval machinery and numerous other proteins potentially involved in regulating the functional and structural dynamics of the nerve terminal.
Increased expression of genes that control ionic homeostasis, second messenger signaling and metabolism in the carotid plaques from patients with symptomatic stroke
Authors: Vemuganti Raghu , Dempsey Robert J. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractThe molecular mechanisms that render a carotid atherosclerotic plaque symptomatic have not yet been identified. Using an Affymetrix Human GeneChip set, we analyzed the gene expression patterns of 44 862 mRNA transcripts in surgically removed carotid artery plaques from six patients with symptomatic stroke and four non‐symptomatic patients. The age, body mass index and the degree of stenosis were similar in the two groups. Some 236 transcripts (∼0.5% of the total transcripts analyzed) were expressed more abundantly in the symptomatic than the asymptomatic group. Of these, 61 transcripts are those that participate in ionic homeostasis, signal transduction and metabolism. The other groups of transcripts up‐regulated in the symptomatic plaques include oncogenes, growth factors, tumor markers, angiogenesis promoters, transcription factors, and RNA splicing and processing factors. This study indicates that the higher metabolic activity in some atherosclerotic plaques leads to their faster growth and precipitation of stroke symptoms. The implications of these findings are that both diagnosis and prevention of stroke symptoms may become possible at the genetic level.
Fibronectin promotes brain capillary endothelial cell survival and proliferation through α5β1 and αvβ3 integrins via MAP kinase signalling
Authors: Wang Jan , Milner Richard 
Published: November 2005

AbstractWe showed previously that blood vessel maturation in the CNS is associated with a developmental switch in brain capillary endothelial cells (BCEC), from fibronectin signalling during angiogenesis to laminin signalling in the adult. To investigate the functional significance of this switch, we have examined the response of BCEC to different extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. This showed that BCEC proliferation was significantly promoted by fibronectin (28.2 ± 4.0%) and by vitronectin (14.8 ± 2.1%) compared with uncoated glass (7.2 ± 0.7%), while BCEC survival was significantly promoted by fibronectin (1130 ± 131 cells), vitronectin (830 ± 63 cells), collagen IV (703 ± 77 cells) and laminin (680 ± 34 cells) compared with the uncoated glass (367 ± 48 cells). Biochemical studies showed that BCEC express a limited repertoire of integrins, including the β1 integrins, α3β1, α5β1 and α6β1, and the αvβ3 integrin. Function‐blocking studies showed that the response to fibronectin was mediated equally by the α5β1 and αvβ3 integrins. Analysis of signalling pathways revealed that fibronectin stimulated activation of the p44/p42 MAP kinase signalling pathway and pharmacological inhibitors of this pathway blocked BCEC proliferation on fibronectin. Taken together, these findings show that fibronectin exerts a strong angiogenic influence on endothelial cells (EC) in the CNS, and that this is mediated through the α5β1 and αvβ3 integrins via MAP kinase signalling. In addition to a fundamental role in development, these findings may also have implications in pathological conditions of the CNS where fibronectin is re‐expressed.
Post‐translational excision of the carboxyl‐terminal segment of CaM kinase phosphatase N and its cytosolic occurrence in the brain
Authors: Kitani Takako , Okuno Sachiko , Nakamura Yasuhisa , Tokuno Hironobu , Takeuchi Masayuki , Fujisawa Hitoshi 
Published: November 2005

AbstractCa2+/Calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase) phosphatase, occurring in the cytoplasm of all tissues, dephosphorylates and thereby deactivates multifunctional CaM kinases, such as CaM kinases I, II and IV. In contrast, CaM kinase phosphatase N has been reported to occur almost exclusively in the brain and to be localized in the nucleus in the transfected COS‐7 cells, as examined immunocytochemically with antibodies against the carboxyl‐terminal segment of the enzyme, indicating its involvement in the deactivation of CaM kinase IV. Here, we show that the majority of the naturally occurring CaM kinase phosphatase N in the brain exists not in the intact form of the enzyme (83.4 kDa) but in a form (61.1 kDa) in which the carboxyl‐terminal segment containing nuclear localization signals is deleted, and that it is present mostly in the cytoplasm but a little in the nucleus throughout the central nervous system, although occurring mostly in the nucleus in some large neurons. Strong immunostaining of the enzyme was also observed at postsynaptic density. These findings suggest that CaM kinase phosphatase N is involved in the regulation of not only CaM kinase IV but also CaM kinases II and I.
Y chromosome microsatellite isolation from BAC clones in the greater white‐toothed shrew (Crocidura russula)
Authors: HANDLEY LORI J. LAWSON , PERRIN NICOLAS 
Published: November 2005

AbstractWe constructed a microsatellite library from four Crocidura russula Y chromosome‐specific bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones. Only one of eight microsatellites was male‐specific, despite genome walking to obtain more flanking sequence and testing of 93 primer combinations. Potential reasons for this low success are discussed. The male‐specific locus, CRY3, was genotyped in 90 males, including C. russula from across the species range and two related species. The large difference in CRY3 allele size between eastern and western lineages supports earlier reports of high divergence between them. Despite polymorphism of CRY3 in Morocco, only one allele was found throughout the whole of Europe, consistent with previous studies that suggest recent colonization of Europe from a small number of Moroccan founders.
Isolation and characterization of highly polymorphic microsatellite loci in a pelagic‐spawning reef fish Hypodytes rubripinnis
Authors: KOKITA T. , MATSUOKA K. , TOMINAGA O. , SEIKAI T. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractGroup spawning (1 female and more than 2 males) and streaking behaviour of subordinate males are common in pelagic‐spawning reef fishes such as the temperate tetrarogidid fish Hypodytes rubripinnis. Five microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized for paternity analysis of this species. Four of the five loci were highly polymorphic, having 11–34 alleles with observed heterozygosities between 0.89 and 1.00 in 37 unrelated individuals. These four loci conformed to Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. These loci should be useful in future studies that assess how fertilization is partitioned among male H. rubripinnis in multimale spawning events.
Melanocortin‐1 receptor structure and functional regulation
Authors: García‐Borrón José C. , Sánchez‐Laorden Berta L. , Jiménez‐Cervantes Celia 
Published: November 2005

SummaryThe melanogenic actions of the melanocortins are mediated by the melanocortin‐1 receptor (MC1R). MC1R is a member of the G‐protein‐coupled receptors (GPCR) superfamily expressed in cutaneous and hair follicle melanocytes. Activation of MC1R by adrenocorticotrophin or α‐melanocyte stimulating hormone is positively coupled to the cAMP signaling pathway and leads to a stimulation of melanogenesis and a switch from the synthesis of pheomelanins to the production of eumelanic pigments. The functional behavior of the MC1R agrees with emerging concepts in GPCR signaling including dimerization, coupling to more than one signaling pathway and a high agonist‐independent constitutive activity accounting for inverse agonism phenomena. In addition, MC1R displays unique properties such as an unusually high number of natural variants often associated with clearly visible phenotypes and the occurrence of endogenous peptide antagonists. Therefore MC1R is an ideal model to study GPCR function. Here we review our current knowledge of MC1R structure and function, with emphasis on information gathered from the analysis of natural variants. We also discuss recent data on the regulation of MC1R function by paracrine and endocrine factors and by external stimuli such as ultraviolet light.
Improvement of Galactose Uptake in
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
through Overexpression of Phosphoglucomutase: Example of Transcript Analysis as a Tool in Inverse Metabolic Engineering
Authors: Bro Christoffer , Knudsen Steen , Regenberg Birgitte , Olsson Lisbeth , Nielsen Jens 
Published: November 2005

ABSTRACT

Through genome-wide transcript analysis of a reference strain and two recombinant
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
strains with different rates of galactose uptake, we obtained information about the global transcriptional response to metabolic engineering of the
GAL
gene regulatory network. One of the recombinant strains overexpressed the gene encoding the transcriptional activator Gal4, and in the other strain the genes encoding Gal80, Gal6, and Mig1, which are negative regulators of the
GAL
system, were deleted. Even though the galactose uptake rates were significantly different in the three strains, we surprisingly did not find any significant changes in the expression of the genes encoding the enzymes catalyzing the first steps of the pathway (i.e., the genes encoding Gal2, Gal1, Gal7, and Gal10). We did, however, find that
PGM2
, encoding the major isoenzyme of phosphoglucomutase, was slightly up-regulated in the two recombinant strains with higher galactose uptake rates. This indicated that
PGM2
is a target for overexpression in terms of increasing the flux through the Leloir pathway, and through overexpression of
PGM2
the galactose uptake rate could be increased by 70% compared to that of the reference strain. Based on our findings, we concluded that phosphoglucomutase plays a key role in controlling the flux through the Leloir pathway, probably due to increased conversion of glucose-1-phosphate to glucose-6-phosphate. This conclusion was supported by measurements of sugar phosphates, which showed that there were increased concentrations of glucose-6-phosphate, galactose-6-phosphate, and fructose-6-phosphate in the strain construct overexpressing
PGM2
.
Diversity of “
Candidatus
Liberibacter asiaticus,” Based on the
omp
Gene Sequence
Authors: Bastianel C. , Garnier-Semancik M. , Renaudin J. , Bové J. M. , Eveillard S. 
Published: November 2005

ABSTRACT

Huanglongbing (yellow dragon disease) is a destructive disease of citrus. The etiological agent is a noncultured, phloem-restricted alpha-proteobacterium, “
Candidatus
Liberibacter africanus” in Africa and “
Candidatus
Liberibacter asiaticus” in Asia. In this study, we used an
omp
-based PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) approach to analyze the genetic variability of “
Ca
. Liberibacter asiaticus” isolates. By using five different enzymes, each the 10 isolates tested could be associated with a specific combination of restriction profiles. The results indicate that the species “
Ca
. Liberibacter asiaticus,” even within a given region, may comprise several different variants. Thus,
omp
-based PCR-RFLP analysis is a simple method for detecting and differentiating “
Ca
. Liberibacter asiaticus” isolates.