bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Serum calcium‐independent phospholipase A2 activity in bipolar affective disorder
Authors: Ross Brian M , Hughes Bronwen , Kish Stephen J , Warsh Jerry J 
Published: May 2006

Objective:  Phospholipases A2 (PLA2) are a family of enzymes involved in membrane phospholipid metabolism and cell signalling. The gene encoding one form, type VI calcium‐independent phospholipase A2, is located in a region of DNA that may contain a gene important in the aetiology of psychosis. Moreover, the activity of calcium‐independent PLA2 is reported to be elevated in the blood and brain of patients with schizophrenia. In this study we determined whether a similar change takes place in patients with bipolar disorder with and without a history of psychosis.Methods:  Serum calcium‐independent and ‐dependent PLA2 activities were determined in 24 patients with bipolar I disorder.Results:  Serum calcium‐independent and ‐dependent PLA2 activities in bipolar cases did not differ significantly from that in healthy volunteers (HVs). However, calcium‐independent PLA2 activity was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in patients with a history of psychosis compared with those with no history of psychosis (by 55%) or to HVs (by 31%).Conclusions:  Our data suggest that a subset of bipolar I disorder patients with a history of psychosis have elevated calcium‐independent PLA2 activity. Given that this enzyme activity is also increased in schizophrenia, elevated rates of phospholipid turnover mediated by the enzyme could represent a common biochemical feature of psychotic illness.
Maintenance electroconvulsive therapy for recurrent refractory mania
Authors: Nascimento Antonio Leandro , Appolinario José Carlos , Segenreich Daniel , Cavalcanti Maria Tavares , Brasil Marco Antonio Alves 
Published: May 2006

Background:  Although there are some reports on the efficacy of maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (mECT) in rapid cycling bipolar disorder there is scant data about the use of mECT in the non‐rapid cycling form of this condition.Patient and methods:  We report the case of a 45‐year‐old man diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder at the age of 32 who had 5 manic episodes in 6 years. These episodes were severe, required hospitalization and had poor response to lithium carbonate, sodium valproate, carbamazepine, haloperidol and chlorpromazine (either alone or in combination). The patient was treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) during his last hospitalization and since then his treatment has included mECT and chlorpromazine (400 mg/day) and he has remained euthymic during the past 21 months.Conclusion:  This case describes the utility of mECT in medication refractory bipolar disorder.
Treatment adherence with antipsychotic medications in bipolar disorder
Authors: Sajatovic Martha , Valenstein Marcia , Blow Frederic C , Ganoczy Dara , Ignacio Rosalinda V 
Published: May 2006

Objectives:  Atypical antipsychotic medications are a relatively new, increasingly prominent component of the treatment armamentarium for bipolar disorder. Information on adherence with antipsychotics among individuals with bipolar disorder in general, and atypical antipsychotics in particular, is currently quite limited. Using data from the VA National Psychosis Registry, we examined adherence with antipsychotic medications among patients with bipolar disorder (n = 73,964).Methods:  Antipsychotic medication adherence among veterans with bipolar disorder was evaluated using the medication possession ratio and categorizing patients into three groups: fully adherent, partially adherent and non‐adherent. We compared characteristics of bipolar patients who received versus those who did not receive antipsychotic medication, and also identified predictors of poor adherence with antipsychotic medications.Results:  Approximately 45% (n = 32,993) of all individuals with bipolar disorder were prescribed antipsychotic medication. Individuals who were prescribed antipsychotic medications were younger and more often had comorbid substance abuse or post‐traumatic stress disorder compared to individuals with bipolar disorder who were not prescribed antipsychotic medication. Just over half (51.9%) of individuals appear to be fully adherent with antipsychotic medications, while 48.1% of individuals are either partially adherent or non‐adherent with antipsychotic medications. Factors associated with treatment non‐adherence were younger age, minority ethnicity, comorbid substance abuse and homelessness.Conclusions:  Treatment non‐adherence is a major issue for close to half of individuals with bipolar disorder prescribed antipsychotic medication. Additional studies are needed to better understand treatment adherence within the full range of pharmacologic therapies among individuals with bipolar disorder.
Early maternal, genetic and environmental components of antioxidant protection, morphology and immunity of yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) chicks
Authors: Rubolini D. , Romano M. , Bonisoli Alquati A. , Saino N. 
Published: May 2006

Abstract
Maternal effects mediated by egg quality are important sources of offspring phenotypic variation and can influence the course of evolutionary processes. Mothers allocate to the eggs diverse antioxidants that protect the embryo from oxidative stress. In the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis), yolk antioxidant capacity varied markedly among clutches and declined considerably with egg laying date. Analysis of bioptic yolk samples from clutches that were subsequently partially cross-fostered revealed a positive effect of yolk antioxidant capacity on embryonic development and chick growth, but not on immunity and begging behaviour, while controlling for parentage and common environment effects. Chick plasma antioxidant capacity varied according to rearing environment, after statistically partitioning out maternal influences mediated by egg quality. Thus, the results of this study indicate that egg antioxidants are important mediators of maternal effects also in wild bird populations, especially during the critical early post-hatching phase.
Cultural and PCR‐based detection of Septoria musiva in inoculated hybrid poplar stems
Authors: Weiland J. E. , Stanosz G. R. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryThe fungal pathogen Septoria musiva can be difficult to isolate from cankers that result from its colonization of poplar stems, and its persistence in these cankers has not been well studied. In order to compare cultural and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐based assays for detection of S. musiva in cankers, stems of susceptible hybrid poplar clone NC11505 were wounded and inoculated in August 2003. At 8, 16, 24 and 32 weeks after inoculation (October and December 2003, February and April 2004, respectively), 110 inoculated stems (plus controls) were harvested and a semiselective culture medium was used in attempts to detect the pathogen in bark and wood. Six chips of bark and six chips of underlying wood from one half of each canker were incubated on the semiselective medium for 2 weeks until pycnidia and conidia of S. musiva could be identified. The number of positive cankers and positive chips (out of six attempts per tissue per canker) was recorded. The remaining halves of cankers from subsets of 70 inoculated stems (plus controls) of those harvested in October 2003 and April 2004 were tested using a PCR‐based assay. Three chips of bark and three chips of underlying wood were ground, and DNA was extracted and then amplified using S. musiva‐specific primers designed from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear rDNA repeats. The number of positive cankers and positive chips (out of three attempts per tissue per canker) was recorded. For both assays, the number of positive cankers and the number of positive chips per canker decreased with time. Using either assay, however, the pathogen was still detected from at least 49% of cankers at 32 weeks after inoculation.
Increasing dietary crude protein does not increase the essential amino acid requirements of kittens*
Authors: Strieker M. J. , Morris J. G. , Rogers Q. R. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryEssential amino acid (EAA) requirements of omnivores and herbivores (e.g. chicks, lambs, pigs and rats) are directly related to the concentration of dietary crude protein (CP). When an EAA is limiting in the diet, addition of a mixture of EAA lacking the limiting one (which increases dietary CP) results in a decrease in food intake and weight gain. This interaction has been referred to as an AA imbalance and has not been studied in depth in strict carnivores. The objectives of these experiments were to examine the effects on growing kittens (2‐week periods) of the addition to diets of a mixture of AA lacking the limiting one. The control diets were at the requirement of the respective limiting EAA (or about 85% of the 1986 National Research Council requirement). In experiment 1, with the dietary EAAs at the minimally determined requirements, the concentration of the essential or dispensable amino acids was increased to determine if CP or an EAA was limiting. Results of growth rates (n = 12) and plasma AA concentrations indicated that tryptophan was limiting, but increased body weight gain also occurred when the concentration of CP was increased as dispensable amino acids without additional tryptophan. Experiment 1 was repeated in experiment 2 using a crossover design. Again, when tryptophan was limiting additional concentrations of dispensable AAs increased body weight gain. This response is the opposite of that in herbivores and omnivores. Experiment 3 consisted of 10 separate crossover trials, one for each of the 10 EAA and examined the effect of two concentrations of dietary CP (200 and 300 g CP/kg diet) on body weight gain of kittens (n = 8) offered diets limiting in each respective EAA. Body weight gain was numerically greater when diets contained 300 g CP/kg than 200 g CP/kg for eight of 10 EAAs (p < 0.05 for only isoleucine and threonine) when each amino acid was limiting. This response is the reverse of that which occurs in chicks, lambs, pigs and rats when an EAA is limiting and dietary CP lacking the limiting EAA is increased. These results indicate that the EAA requirements of kittens are not positively correlated with dietary CP concentrations.
Investigation on the growth of coprophagy‐prevented rats with supplemented vitamin B12
Authors: Sukemori S. , Kurosawa A. , Ikeda S. , Kurihara Y. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryThe growth of coprophagy‐prevented rats was compared under administration of normal levels of vitamin B12 and supplemented amounts. Two experiments in which supplemented amounts of vitamin B12 were administered were conducted under different conditions. Six rats per group were fed under coprophagy‐allowed (conventional feeding) and coprophagy‐prevented conditions respectively. In the first experiment, coprophagy‐prevented rats were fed only feed containing recommended vitamin B12 level and forced fed hydrous faeces, vitamin B12 and folic acid respectively. In the second experiment, coprophagy‐prevented rats were fed AIN‐93G at the recommended vitamin B12 level (25 μg/kg diet), at 100 times the level and at 1000 times the level respectively. Body weight, feed consumption and amounts of each faeces type were determined in both experiments. In a comparison of body weight gain, we learned that coprophagy prevention reduced the values, but that there was no significant difference in the forced feeding group in the first experiment. Similar results were recognized in the second experiment. Vitamin B12 supplementation was not able to raise feed intake significantly and hence it obviously was not a severely limiting factor under the respective experimental condition which depressed feed intake.
Effects of L‐carnitine supplementation in pregnant sows on plasma concentrations of insulin‐like growth factors, various hormones and metabolites and chorion characteristics
Authors: Doberenz J. , Birkenfeld C. , Kluge H. , Eder K. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryPrevious studies have shown that supplementation of sow diets with l‐carnitine increases the body weight of piglets at birth. This study was conducted to elucidate the reasons for this phenomenon. Three experiments with 24 (experiment 1), 40 (experiment 2) and 12 (experiment 3) sows were conducted. In all three experiments, sows were allotted to two groups which had free access to a nutritionally adequate diet. Sows of one group were supplemented with 125 mg l‐carnitine/day during pregnancy; sows of the other group (control group) did not receive l‐carnitine. In experiment 1, plasma samples were collected at day 95 of pregnancy, in experiment 2 plasma samples were collected at days 80 and 100 of pregnancy. In experiment 3, chorions of the sows were collected at parturition. l‐carnitine‐treated sows had higher plasma concentrations of total l‐carnitine than control sows (p < 0.05). The number of piglets born and weights of litter and individual piglets at birth were not different between both groups in all three experiments. l‐carnitine‐treated sows had higher plasma concentrations of insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) on day 80 of pregnancy (experiment 2, p < 0.05) and on day 95 (experiment 1, p < 0.10), and a higher plasma concentration of IGF‐II on day 80 (experiment 2, p < 0.05) than control sows. Moreover, sows supplemented with l‐carnitine had heavier chorions (+22%, p =0.10) with greater amounts of protein (+45%, p < 0.05) and DNA (+38%, p < 0.10) and a higher protein concentration of glucose transporter‐1 (+62%, p < 0.05). Plasma concentrations of 17β‐oestradiol, progesterone and thyroid hormones as well as concentrations of urea and total free amino acids were not different between both groups of sows. Plasma concentrations of non‐esterified fatty acids, ketone bodies, triacylglycerols and cholesterol were also largely indifferent between both groups of sows. In conclusion, this study shows that l‐carnitine has less influence on lipid metabolism and utilization of nitrogen in pregnant sows but increases their plasma concentrations of IGFs. This in turn may enhance development of the placentae and the intrauterine nutrition of the fetuses. This may be the reason for increased birth weights observed in recent studies in sows supplemented with l‐carnitine.
Poverty, Social Exclusion and Social Policy in the Czech Republic
Authors: Sirovátka Tomáš , Mareš Petr 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThis article analyses the pattern of poverty and social exclusion in the Czech Republic and the impact of social policy on this pattern. The analysis is mostly based on data from the Czech Survey on Social Conditions of Households (2001; 27,000 respondents); Eurostat data provide a benchmark for making international comparisons. The poverty rate in the Czech Republic is among the lowest in Europe. On the other hand, material deprivation, as well as concentration of poverty within specific population groups, is high, with the unemployed facing the highest risk of poverty. Social policy measures in effect reinforce this pattern: while the benefit system is highly redistributive and effectively eliminates income poverty among households of employed persons and among pensioners, incomes of persons outside paid employment are protected less effectively. Labour market policy measures are insufficient in scope and inadequate in targeting groups which are facing the highest risk of labour market exclusion and poverty. We argue that although this practice is effective at present, it is not sustainable in the long term.
Density‐dependent foraging behaviour of sheep on alpine pastures: effects of scale
Authors: Kausrud K. , Mysterud A. , Rekdal Y. , Holand Ø. , Austrheim G. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractForaging patterns of large herbivores may give important clues as to why their life history varies depending on population density. In this landscape‐scale experiment, domestic sheep Ovis aries were kept at high (80 sheep km−2) and low (25 sheep km−2) population densities during summer in high mountain pastures in Hol, Norway. We predicted an increasing use of less preferred plant species or habitat types with increasing sheep population density. Foraging behaviour was investigated by direct observations of individually marked sheep on different spatial scales, and diet composition was also assessed with microhistological analysis of faecal samples from known individuals. We found that the effects of density on foraging behaviour depended on scale and were only detected at the scale of diet choice. Use of the common grass species Deschampsia flexuosa, which provided the bulk forage (10–65% of the diet), remained constant throughout the season at low densities, but increased significantly over time at high densities. On a coarser spatial scale, neither within vegetation type nor between vegetation types, selection was affected by density, but vegetation type selection differed depending on whether the sheep were grazing or resting. Our study provides evidence of density dependence in foraging behaviour, but only at the finest spatial scale (diet choice).
Interaction between ephrins/Eph receptors and excitatory amino acid receptors: possible relevance in the regulation of synaptic plasticity and in the pathophysiology of neuronal degeneration
Authors: Calò Laura , Cinque Carlo , Patanè Monica , Schillaci Danilo , Battaglia Giuseppe , Melchiorri Daniela , Nicoletti Ferdinando , Bruno Valeria 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThere is increasing evidence that Eph receptors and their transmembrane ligands, named ephrins, interact with glutamate receptors in both developing and adult neurons. EphB receptors interact with proteins that regulate the membrane trafficking of α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methylisoxazole‐4‐propionate (AMPA) receptor subunits, and both ephrins and EphB receptors have been found to co‐localize with N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptors and to positively modulate NMDA receptor function. Moreover, pharmacologic activation of ephrin‐Bs amplifies group‐I metabotropic glutamate receptor signaling through mechanisms that involve NMDA receptors. The interaction with ionotropic or metabotropic glutamate receptors provides a substrate for the emerging role of ephrins and Eph receptors in the regulation of activity‐dependent forms of synaptic plasticity, such as long‐term potentiation and long‐term depression, which are established electrophysiologic models of associative learning. In addition, these interactions explain the involvement of ephrins/Eph receptors in the regulation of pain threshold and epileptogenesis, as well as their potential implication in processes of neuronal degeneration. This may stimulate the search for new drugs that might modulate excitatory synaptic transmission by interacting with the ephrin/Eph receptor system.
A novel tricyclic pyrone compound ameliorates cell death associated with intracellular amyloid‐β oligomeric complexes
Authors: Maezawa Izumi , Hong Hyun‐Seok , Wu Hui‐Chuan , Battina Srinivas K. , Rana Sandeep , Iwamoto Takeo , Radke Gary A. , Pettersson Erik , Martin George M. , Hua Duy H. , Jin Lee‐Way 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThe neurotoxicity of amyloid‐β protein (Aβ) is widely regarded as one of the fundamental causes of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD). This toxicity is related to Aβ aggregation into oligomers, protofibrils and fibrils. Recent studies suggest that intracellular Aβ, which causes profound toxicity, could be one of the primary therapeutic targets in AD. So far, no compounds targeting intracellular Aβ have been identified. We have investigated the toxicity induced by intracellular Aβ in a neuroblastoma MC65 line and found that it was closely related to intracellular accumulation of oligomeric complexes of Aβ (Aβ‐OCs). We further identified a cell‐permeable tricyclic pyrone named CP2 that ameliorates this toxicity and significantly reduces the levels of Aβ‐OCs. In aqueous solution, CP2 attenuates Aβ oligomerization and prevents the oligomer‐induced death of primary cortical neurons. CP2 analogs represent a new class of promising compounds for the amelioration of Aβ toxicities within both intracellular and extracellular sites.
Phosphorylation of CaMKII at Thr253 occurs in vivo and enhances binding to isolated postsynaptic densities
Authors: Migues Paola V. , Lehmann Ingo T. , Fluechter Lisa , Cammarota Martin , Gurd James W. , Sim Alistair T. R. , Dickson Phillip W. , Rostas John A. P. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractAutophosphorylation of Ca2+‐calmodulin stimulated protein kinase II (CaMKII) at two sites (Thr286 and Thr305/306) is known to regulate the subcellular location and activity of this enzyme in vivo. CaMKII is also known to be autophosphorylated at Thr253 in vitro but the functional effect of phosphorylation at this site and whether it occurs in vivo, is not known. Using antibodies that specifically recognize CaMKII phosphorylated at Thr253 together with FLAG‐tagged wild type and phospho‐ and dephospho‐mimic mutants of α‐CaMKII, we have shown that Thr253 phosphorylation has no effect on either the Ca2+‐calmodulin dependent or autonomous kinase activity of recombinant α‐CaMKII in vitro. However, the Thr253Asp phosphomimic mutation increased α‐CaMKII binding to subcellular fractions enriched in post‐synaptic densities (PSDs). The increase in binding was similar in extent, and additive, to that produced by phosphorylation of Thr286. Thr253 phosphorylation was dynamically regulated in intact hippocampal slices. KCl induced depolarisation increased Thr253 phosphorylation and the phospho‐Thr253‐CaMKII was specifically recovered in the subcellular fraction enriched in PSDs. These results identify Thr253 as an additional site at which CaMKII is phosphorylated in vivo and suggest that this dynamic phosphorylation may regulate CaMKII function by altering its distribution within the cell.
Conserved residues in juxtamembrane region of the extracellular domain of nicastrin are essential for γ‐secretase complex formation
Authors: Walker Emily S. , Martinez Maribel , Wang Jun , Goate Alison 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThe Alzheimer's disease‐linked protein, presenilin, forms the active site of the γ‐secretase enzyme complex. However, three other proteins, nicastrin (NCT), PEN‐2 and APH‐1, are required for enzyme activity. This complex is responsible for cleaving the β‐amyloid precursor protein to produce amyloid β and the intracellular domain (AICD). Although much research has focused on the regions of presenilin that are important for γ‐secretase function, less is known about NCT. To further our understanding of the role of NCT in γ‐secretase activity and complex formation, we have undertaken a systematic evaluation of conserved residues in the juxtamembrane region of the extracellular domain of NCT. Two mutants, S632A and W648A, greatly reduce γ‐secretase activity, as seen by a reduction in amyloid β and AICD levels. Several lines of evidence suggest that these mutations result in reduced γ‐secretase activity because they affect the ability of NCT to stably associate with the other γ‐secretase components. Since NCT and APH‐1 must first bind in order for presenilin and PEN‐2 to stably join the complex, we propose that S632 and W648 are essential for a stable interaction with APH‐1.