bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dose‐Dependent Deficits in Dual Interstimulus Interval Classical Eyeblink Conditioning Tasks Following Neonatal Binge Alcohol Exposure in Rats
Authors: Brown Kevin L. , Calizo Lyngine H. , Stanton Mark E. 
Published: September 2008

Background:  Neonatal alcohol consumption in rats is widely used to model cerebellar injury arising from 3rd‐trimester human fetal alcohol exposure. Binge alcohol exposure of 5 g/kg/day or more over postnatal days (PD) 4 to 9 in rats damages the cerebellum and consequently impairs classical eyeblink conditioning (EBC). The present study sought to identify deficits in EBC using doses lower than those that have been reported previously following alcohol exposure limited to PD4‐9. Complex conditioned response (CR) timing tasks utilizing 2 interstimulus intervals (ISIs) were used to test the hypothesis that 3 g/kg/day of alcohol would produce early onset and early peaked CRs, whereas 4 and 5 g/kg/day would impair CR acquisition.Methods:  Five neonatal treatment groups were used: (1) undisturbed controls, (2) sham intubation controls, (3) 3 g/kg/day of alcohol, (4) 4 g/kg/day of alcohol, or (5) 5 g/kg/day of alcohol. Intubations occurred over PD4‐9. In adulthood, rats were trained using ISI discrimination (Experiment 1) or temporal uncertainty (Experiment 2) EBC tasks. In ISI discrimination, 2 distinct conditioned stimuli (CSs; tone and light) are reinforced with a periocular shock unconditioned stimulus (US) at 2 different CS–US intervals. Temporal uncertainty is identical in design with the exception that the same CS is presented at both CS–US intervals.Results:  Alcohol‐exposed subjects were impaired in CR acquisition in a task‐ and dose‐dependent fashion. CR deficits were most salient in the peak amplitude measure and occurred in both tasks following alcohol exposure at 4 and 5 g/kg/day. Alcohol at a dosage of 3 g/kg/day impaired CR acquisition only in ISI discrimination. All alcohol doses failed to produce short latency CRs in either task. Alcohol‐exposed subjects displayed later‐onset and later‐peaked CRs to the long‐ISI CS in ISI discrimination relative to controls.Conclusions:  ISI discrimination training may be ideal to identify CR deficits resulting from neonatal exposure to moderate alcohol doses. Applications of this EBC task to humans may enable reliable early identification and diagnosis of individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
DSM‐IV Criteria Endorsement Patterns in Alcohol Dependence: Relationship to Severity
Authors: Moss Howard B. , Chen Chiung M. , Yi Hsiao‐ye 
Published: September 2008

Background:  In DSM‐IV, the diagnostic threshold for alcohol dependence (AD) is met when a patient presents with at least 3 of 7 criteria. We have computed the predictive value for each individual DSM‐IV AD criterion, and examined subtypes of AD criteria endorsement patterns and their associated severity indicators for community‐dwelling AD individuals.Methods:  We utilized data from the 2001 to 2002 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Positive predictive values (PPV) for DSM‐IV AD were computed for each of the individual criteria. Patterns of criteria endorsements were identified by latent class analysis (LCA). Sociodemographic status, age of onset and duration of AD, patterns of drinking, and drinking treatment history, were conditional on DSM criteria endorsement clusters, as indicators of the respondents’ clinical severity.Results:  At the individual criterion level, the single criterion with the greatest PPV was D7—“Activities given up” with ∼95% of drinking individuals who endorsed this DSM criterion correctly diagnosed as having DSM‐IV AD. In addition to D7, only D5—“Physical/Psychological problems”, and D6—“Time spent” had a PPV for AD substantially >50%. The LCA of AD endorsement patterns yielded a 6‐cluster solution. The most common response pattern (34.5% of those with AD) was endorsement of 5 criteria: D1—“Quit/Control,” D2—“Larger/Longer,” D3—“Tolerance,” D4—“Withdrawal,” and D5—“Physical/Psychological problems.” The most severe cluster (14%) was comprised of those who were likely to endorse 7/7 criteria. Cluster 1 (8.3%) did not include an endorsement of withdrawal, despite a heavy pattern of alcohol consumption. Unmarried status was associated with more severe criteria endorsement patterns.Conclusions:  The present findings indicate a Guttman‐like scaling of endorsement which yielded associations with severity for some of the concurrent indicators included in the analysis. However, severity measures did not always increase with DSM‐IV AD criterion endorsement counts. Although endorsement of 6/7 or 7/7 criteria was associated with greater severity across a variety of indicators, fewer criteria were randomly associated with these measures. These data do not support the use of AD symptom counts as a phenotypic dependent variable. At least 2 extant diagnostic criteria showed relatively low PPV for AD, indicating a need for further assessment of these criteria with new symptoms or re‐wording of the current symptom items.
Parenting Mechanisms in Links Between Parents’ and Adolescents’ Alcohol Use Behaviors
Authors: Latendresse Shawn J. , Rose Richard J. , Viken Richard J. , Pulkkinen Lea , Kaprio Jaakko , Dick Danielle M. 
Published: September 2008

Background:  Adolescence has been identified as a critical period with regard to the initiation and early escalation of alcohol use. Moreover, research on familial risk and protective processes provides independent support for multiple domains of parental influence on adolescent drinking; including parents’ own drinking behaviors, as well as the practices they employ to socialize their children. Despite this prevalence of findings, whether and how these distinct associations are related to one another is still not entirely clear.Methods:  The present study used data from 4,731 adolescents and their parents to test the nature of associations between (a) parents’ frequencies of alcohol use and intoxication, and lifetime alcohol‐related problems, (b) adolescents’ perceptions of the parenting that they receive, and (c) adolescents’ prevalence of alcohol use and intoxication at 14 and 17½ years of age. As such, multiple mediation modeling was used to assess whether parental alcohol use behaviors influence adolescent alcohol use directly, or if they operate through indirect associations with various aspects of parenting that subsequently influence adolescent use.Results:  Examination of simple associations demonstrated that maternal and paternal alcohol use behaviors were positively linked with adolescent use behaviors at 14 and 17½ years of age. Likewise, several parenting behaviors were independently associated with both parental and adolescent drinking. Examined collectively, multivariate path analyses indicated that associations between parents’ and adolescents’ alcohol‐related behaviors were mediated, in part, by adolescents’ perceptions of the parenting that they received, especially at 14 years of age. Furthermore, perceived parental monitoring and discipline had unique mediating capabilities, net the effects of all other parenting behaviors.Conclusions:  This study demonstrates that parenting is an important mediator of the association between parental and adolescent drinking practices. An important area for future research will be to study how adolescents can avoid alcohol‐related problems despite being reared within a risk laden parenting environment and/or having parents who drink frequently.
Effect of Alcohol on miR‐212 Expression in Intestinal Epithelial Cells and Its Potential Role in Alcoholic Liver Disease
Authors: Tang Yueming , Banan Ali , Forsyth Christopher B. , Fields Jeremy Z. , Lau Cynthia K. , Zhang Li Juan , Keshavarzian Ali 
Published: September 2008

Background and Aims: Alcohol‐induced gut leakiness is a key factor in alcoholic liver disease (ALD); it allows endotoxin to enter the circulation and initiate liver damage. Zonula occludens 1 (ZO‐1) protein is a major component of tight junctions that regulates intestinal permeability. microRNAs (miRNAs) are recently discovered regulatory molecules that inhibit expression of their target genes. The aims of our study were: (i) to investigate the effect of alcohol on miRNA‐212 (miR‐212) and on expression of its predicted target gene, ZO‐1, (ii) to study the potential role of miR‐212 in the pathophysiology of ALD in man.Methods: Using a TaqMan miRNA assay system, we measured miR‐212 expression levels in colon biopsy samples from patients with ALD and in Caco‐2 cells (a human intestinal epithelial cell line) treated with or without EtOH. We measured ZO‐1 protein levels using western blots. ZO‐1 mRNA was assayed using real‐time PCR. Intestinal barrier integrity was measured using fluorescein sulfonic acid clearance and immunofluorescent staining for ZO‐1.Results: Ethanol increased miR‐212 expression, decreased ZO‐1 protein levels, disrupted tight junctions, and increased the permeability of monolayers of Caco‐2 cells. An miR‐212 over‐expression is correlated with hyperpermeability of the monolayer barrier. miR‐212 levels were higher in colon biopsy samples in patients with ALD than in healthy controls; ZO‐1 protein levels were lower.Conclusion: These data suggest a novel mechanism for alcohol‐induced gut leakiness, one in which EtOH induces miR‐212 over‐expression which causes gut leakiness by down‐regulating ZO‐1 translation. This mechanism is a potential therapeutic target for leaky gut in patients with or at risk for ALD.
Teacher Motivation Strategies, Student Perceptions, Student Motivation, and English Achievement
Authors: BERNAUS MERCÈ , GARDNER ROBERT C. 
Published: September 2008

This study investigated language teaching strategies, as reported by teachers and students, and the effects of these strategies on students' motivation and English achievement. The participants consisted of 31 English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers and their students (N= 694) in Catalonia, Spain. The teachers and students rated the frequency of use of 26 strategies in their classes. In addition, the students were tested on their attitudes, motivation, and language anxiety with the mini‐Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB; Gardner & MacIntyre, 1993) and completed objective tests of English achievement.The results indicated that the teachers and students agreed on the relative frequency of some strategies but not on the frequency of other strategies and that, although the teachers' reported use of motivational and traditional strategies was not related to the students' English achievement, attitudes, motivation, or language anxiety, the students' perceptions of these strategies tended to be related to their attitudes and motivation at both the individual and class levels. In addition, when the students were the unit of analysis, there was a negative correlation between the students' ratings of the frequency of traditional strategy use and English achievement. Path analysis indicated that integrativeness, attitudes toward the learning situation, and instrumental orientation predicted the motivation to learn English and that motivation was a positive predictor of English achievement, whereas attitudes toward the learning situation and language anxiety were negative predictors of English achievement. Hierarchical linear modelling analysis confirmed these findings but indicated that the effects of strategies are much more complex than previously thought. Strategy use as reported by the teachers did not influence the regression coefficients for any of the predictors, but strategy use reported by students had a positive effect on the predictability of motivation on English achievement.
Host location and parasitism of Brevicoryne brassicae in diversified broccoli cropping systems
Authors: Broad S. T. , Schellhorn N. A. , Lisson S. N. , Mendham N. J. , Corkrey R. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractHost location is a crucial step in the life cycle of the cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae (L.) (Homoptera: Aphididae). Diversified cropping systems have the potential to inhibit or interfere with host location processes to reduce the severity of aphid outbreaks. We altered the vegetation mix of a broccoli [Brassica oleracea var. italica (Plenck) (Brassicaceae)] cropping system by substituting broccoli with strips of potatoes [Solanum tuberosum (L.) (Solanaceae)], planting broccoli into a cereal rye [Secale cereale (L.) (Poaceae)] cover crop, or both. The probability of aphid infestation was significantly reduced by the presence of the cover crop, whereas strips of potatoes slightly increased initial numbers. The effectiveness of the cover crop treatments was primarily due to fewer alate aphids initially colonizing broccoli plants. Aphid parasitism by Diaeretiella rapae (McIntosh) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) did not explain the observed differences in the number of aphid colonies present in each treatment.
Studies on feeding and trophallaxis in the subterranean termite Odontotermes formosanus using rubidium chloride
Authors: Huang Qiu‐Ying , Wang Wei‐Ping , Mo Rang‐Yu , Lei Chao‐Liang 
Published: September 2008

AbstractDifferences in feeding and trophallaxis among castes of the fungus‐cultivating higher subterranean termite Odontotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Termitidae) were determined using rubidium (Rb) as a tracer. In the feeding study, workers and third instars fed directly on Rb‐treated filter paper and acquired the highest levels of Rb content. Although fifth and sixth instars obtained the Rb content over the marked level, the feeding ability of the caste was very poor. However, soldiers did not feed on Rb‐treated filter paper. In the trophallaxis study, worker, soldier, and fifth‐ and sixth‐instar recipients paired with Rb‐fed worker donors had a significantly higher Rb content than those paired with control donors. Results indicate that soldiers are completely dependent on workers for nutrition. Workers and fifth and sixth instars may obtain nutritional material from foraging workers. When third‐instar recipients were paired with Rb‐fed worker donors, they did not have a significantly higher Rb content than when they were paired with control donors, suggesting that the frequency of worker/third instar trophallaxis was very low. Transfer efficiency from the four trophallactic combinations ranged from 1.2 (worker donors to third‐instar recipients) to 12.9% (worker donors to soldier recipients). Accordingly, nutritional material from foraging workers could be transferred to non‐foraging workers, soldiers, and fifth and sixth instars by trophallaxis; however, third instars rarely obtain nutritional material from foraging workers, because they are capable of feeding within the nest.
Experimental gingivitis: reproducibility of plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation parameters in selected populations during a repeat trial
Authors: Trombelli Leonardo , Farina Roberto , Minenna Luigi , Carrieri Alberto , Scapoli Chiara , Tatakis Dimitris N. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractObjectives: This study aimed to assess whether and to what extent the experimental gingivitis clinical parameters are reproducible within selected populations with different gingival inflammatory response (high or low) to plaque accumulation. In addition, the consistency in developing a high or low gingival inflammatory response within the selected populations was evaluated.Material and Methods: Thirty‐seven subjects previously identified as high (HR, n=20) or low responders (LR, n=17) during an experimental gingivitis trial (first trial) were enrolled in a “repeat” experimental gingivitis trial.Results: No significant differences in plaque accumulation parameters and bleeding index values were detected between first and repeat trial for the 37 participants. Gingival index was higher during the repeat trial but behaved consistently in terms of the temporal changes in the course of both trials in both populations. Of the 17 LR participants, 10 manifested low susceptibility to inflammation after repeat trial. Among the 20 HR, 10 manifested high susceptibility to inflammation after repeat trial.Conclusions: These results indicate that our experimental gingivitis model is reproducible to some extent in selected populations. The high reproducibility of plaque and, to a lesser extent, of inflammation parameters under the employed controlled conditions could be a valuable tool in gingivitis research.
Detection of the nucleophosmin gene mutations in acute myelogenous leukemia through RT‐PCR and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
Authors: Calvo Karina Lucrecia , Ojeda Mara Jorgelina , Ammatuna Emanuele , Lavorgna Serena , Ottone Tiziana , Targovnik Hector Manuel , Lo‐Coco Francesco , Noguera Nélida Inés 
Published: September 2008

AbstractObjectives:  Mutations in the C‐terminal region of the nucleophosmin (NPM1) gene occur in approximately 60% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases with normal karyotype and represent the most common genetic lesion presently known in this disease. Because of their frequency and favorable impact on prognostic outcome, screening for this aberration is currently recommended in routine diagnostic characterization of AML. Several techniques enabling to detect NPM1 mutation have been reported, but all require sophisticated equipment, which represent an obstacle particularly in countries with limited resources.Methods:  We designed an RT‐PCR strategy to amplify NPM1 exon 12 followed by electrophoresis and fragment visualization on polyacrylamide gels to discriminate a 4–5 bp size difference resulting from mutations in this gene. A hemi‐nested method was designed to increase sensitivity for the study of minimal residual disease (MRD).Results:  The assay enabled specific detection of NPM1 mutations in 12/36 patients. A 10−2 sensitivity level was obtained using one amplification round, while the hemi‐nested PCR approach yielded a 10−5 sensitivity level, therefore proving useful to assess MRD in patients carrying the mutation. The results were independently validated in 24 AML cases by sequencing analysis.Conclusions:  This simple and low‐cost assay may integrate diagnostic work‐up of AML and could be used for assessment of response to therapy in patients with NPM1 mutations.
Aberrant increase in the immature platelet fraction in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome: a marker of karyotypic abnormalities associated with poor prognosis
Authors: Sugimori Naomi , Kondo Yukio , Shibayama Masami , Omote Mika , Takami Akiyoshi , Sugimori Chiharu , Ishiyama Ken , Yamazaki Hirohito , Nakao Shinji 
Published: September 2008

AbstractObjectives:  Some patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) show a marked increase in the percentage of immature platelet fraction (IPF%) despite the absence of severe thrombocytopenia. To determine the significance of such an unbalanced increase in the IPF%, we investigated the IPF% and other laboratory findings of 51 patients recently diagnosed with MDS.Method:  Subjects consisted of 80 healthy males, 90 healthy females, and 51 patients with MDS and 20 patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The IPF and IPF% were determined using a Sysmex XE‐2100 system loaded with IPF Master software (XE IPF Master, Sysmex). Platelet counts were measured simultaneously.Results:  IPF% and platelet counts of these patients ranged from 1.1% to 25.1% (median, 5.3%) and from 6 to 260 × 109/L (median, 71 × 109/L), respectively. Twelve patients showed platelet counts more than 50 × 109/L with 10% or more IPF%. All of the 12 patients had chromosome abnormalities including monosomy 7 and complex abnormalities involving 7 or 5q. In the other 39 patients who did not show the aberrant IPF% increase, chromosomal abnormalities were seen only in seven patients and none of them had chromosome 7 abnormalities. The IPF% of two patients increased to more than 10% in association with the appearance of monosomy 7.Conclusions:  These findings suggest that a high IPF% in MDS patient may be a marker for karyotypic abnormalities with a poor prognosis, including chromosome 7 abnormalities.
Four new cases of PHACES syndrome: variable phenotypic expression and endocrine features
Authors: Mussa Alessandro , Baldassarre Giuseppina , Rosaia De Santis Lucia , Gastaldi Roberto , Corrias Andrea , Silengo Margherita Cirillo 
Published: September 2008

AbstractAim: PHACES syndrome is a neurocutaneous condition characterized by the coexistence of large facial haemangiomas and at least one feature among posterior fossa malformations, cardiac and arterial anomalies, eye defects and sternal clefting. We review and discuss the phenotypes and the endocrine aspects of PHACES syndrome, hypothesizing that endocrine anomalies, although rare, could be considered as feature of the disease.Methods: We described four new cases representative of the wide variable phenotype of this syndrome, commenting on the possible phenotypic expression.Results: Two children displayed endocrine anomalies, sporadically described among PHACES subjects. One of them developed a transient hyperthyreotropinemia induced by interferon alpha‐2α treatment for a giant facial haemangioma, while the second presented with congenital hypothyroidism with an in situ thyroid gland, a trait previously unreported in the syndrome.Conclusion: PHACES syndrome has a wide variable phenotypic expression and endocrine anomalies, especially hypothyroidism, may represent a trait of the syndrome and should be always investigated.
Population Genetic Structure of the Medicinal Plant Vitex rotundifolia in China: Implications for its Use and Conservation
Authors: Hu Yuan , Zhu Yu , Zhang Qiao‐Yan , Xin Hai‐Liang , Qin Lu‐Ping , Lu Bao‐Rong , Rahman Khalid , Zheng Han‐Chen 
Published: September 2008

Abstract
Vitex rotundifolia L. is an important plant species used in traditional Chinese medicine. For its efficient use and conservation, genetic diversity and clonal variation of V. rotundifolia populations in China were investigated using inter‐simple sequence repeat markers. Fourteen natural populations were included to estimate genetic diversity, and a large population with 135 individuals was used to analyze clonal variation and fine‐scale spatial genetic structure. The overall genetic diversity (GD) of V. rotundifolia populations in China was moderate (GD = 0.190), with about 40% within‐population variation. Across all populations surveyed, the average within‐population diversity was moderate (P = 22.6%; GD = 0.086). A relatively high genetic differentiation (Gst = 0.587) among populations was detected based on the analysis of molecular variance data. Such characteristics of V. rotundifolia are likely attributed to its sexual/asexual reproduction and limited gene flow. The genotypic diversity (D = 0.992) was greater than the average values of a clonal plant, indicating its significant reproduction through seedlings. Spatial autocorrelation analysis showed a clear within‐population structure with gene clusters of approximately 20 m. Genetic diversity patterns of V. rotundifolia in China provide a useful guide for its efficient use and conservation by selecting particular populations displaying greater variation that may contain required medicinal compounds, and by sampling individuals in a population at >20 m spatial intervals to avoid collecting individuals with identical or similar genotypes.