bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The role of interleukin-1 in neuroinflammation and Alzheimer disease: an evolving perspective
Authors: Shaftel Solomon S , Griffin W Sue T , O'Banion M Kerry 
Published: February 2008

AbstractElevation of the proinflammatory cytokine Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is an integral part of the local tissue reaction to central nervous system (CNS) insult. The discovery of increased IL-1 levels in patients following acute injury and in chronic neurodegenerative disease laid the foundation for two decades of research that has provided important details regarding IL-1's biology and function in the CNS. IL-1 elevation is now recognized as a critical component of the brain's patterned response to insults, termed neuroinflammation, and of leukocyte recruitment to the CNS. These processes are believed to underlie IL-1's function in the setting of acute brain injury, where it has been ascribed potential roles in repair as well as in exacerbation of damage. Explorations of IL-1's role in chronic neurodegenerative disease have mainly focused on Alzheimer disease (AD), where indirect evidence has implicated it in disease pathogenesis. However, recent observations in animal models challenge earlier assumptions that IL-1 elevation and resulting neuroinflammatory processes play a purely detrimental role in AD, and prompt a need for new characterizations of IL-1 function. Potentially adaptive functions of IL-1 elevation in AD warrant further mechanistic studies, and provide evidence that enhancement of these effects may help to alleviate the pathologic burden of disease.
The first hydrophobic region of the HPV16 E5 protein determines protein cellular location and facilitates anchorage-independent growth
Authors: Lewis Caroline , Baro Marta F , Marques Margarita , Grüner Myriam , Alonso Angel , Bravo Ignacio G 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
The human papillomavirus type 16 E5 protein (HPV16 E5) is 83 amino acids in length and contains three well-defined hydrophobic regions. The protein is expressed at very limited amounts in transfected cells and the absence of specific antibodies has strongly hampered functional analyses. To investigate the relationship between structure and function we have synthesized a codon-adapted version of the gene (hE5) and prepared a series of N-terminal and C-terminal deletions. Immunofluorescence analyses show colocaliation of the protein with calnexin, an ER marker, EEA-1, an early endosomes marker, and Lamp-2, a lysosomal marker. No major colocalization was found between hE5 and the Golgi marker 58 K. Whereas deletions at the C-terminal end of the protein do not greatly alter the localisation pattern, deletion of the first hydrophobic region results in loss of colocalisation with the ER, early endosomes and lysosomes. Further, we show that while the complete E5 protein confers to HaCaT cells the property to grow in an anchorage-independent manner, deletion of the first hydrophobic region results in loss of growth in soft agar. We conclude that the first hydrophobic region of the E5 protein largely determines the biological properties of the viral protein.
Circuitous embolic hemorrhagic stroke: carotid pseudoaneurysm to fetal posterior cerebral artery conduit: a case report
Authors: Hoque Romy , Gonzalez-Toledo Eduardo , Minagar Alireza , Kelley Roger E 
Published: February 2008

Abstract

Introduction
The cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) is susceptible to injury through various mechanisms, including dissection, which can lead to pseudoaneurysm formation. Pathological processes affecting the ICA, in association with an ipsilateral fetal posterior cerebral artery (PCA), resulting in parieto-occipital strokes are rarely reported.

Case Presentation
We present a patient with a left PCA territory, presumably embolic, stroke with early hemorrhagic transformation. The identified nidus of the embolus was a carotid artery pseudoaneurysm. Manifestations included right homonymous hemianopsia with right hemiparesis and hemisensory loss.

Conclusion
Our case is unique, and of clinical interest, because it illustrates both the potential anterior-posterior circulation conduit provided by a fetal origin PCA as well as the apparent early hemorrhagic transformation of embolic infarcts that can lead to further confusion from a mechanistic standpoint.
A BAC-based integrated linkage map of the silkworm Bombyx mori
Authors: Yamamoto Kimiko , Nohata Junko , Kadono-Okuda Keiko , Narukawa Junko , Sasanuma Motoe , Sasanuma Shun-ichi , Minami Hiroshi , Shimomura Michihiko , Suetsugu Yoshitaka , Banno Yutaka , Osoegawa Kazutoyo , de Jong Pieter J , Goldsmith Marian R , Mita Kazuei 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Background
In 2004, draft sequences of the model lepidopteran Bombyx mori were reported using whole-genome shotgun sequencing. Because of relatively shallow genome coverage, the silkworm genome remains fragmented, hampering annotation and comparative genome studies. For a more complete genome analysis, we developed extended scaffolds combining physical maps with improved genetic maps.

Results
We mapped 1,755 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers from bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) end sequences onto 28 linkage groups using a recombining male backcross population, yielding an average inter-SNP distance of 0.81 cM (about 270 kilobases). We constructed 6,221 contigs by fingerprinting clones from three BAC libraries digested with different restriction enzymes, and assigned a total of 724 single copy genes to them by BLAST (basic local alignment search tool) search of the BAC end sequences and high-density BAC filter hybridization using expressed sequence tags as probes. We assigned 964 additional expressed sequence tags to linkage groups by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of a nonrecombining female backcross population. Altogether, 361.1 megabases of BAC contigs and singletons were integrated with a map containing 1,688 independent genes. A test of synteny using Oxford grid analysis with more than 500 silkworm genes revealed six versus 20 silkworm linkage groups containing eight or more orthologs of Apis versus Tribolium, respectively.

Conclusion
The integrated map contains approximately 10% of predicted silkworm genes and has an estimated 76% genome coverage by BACs. This provides a new resource for improved assembly of whole-genome shotgun data, gene annotation and positional cloning, and will serve as a platform for comparative genomics and gene discovery in Lepidoptera and other insects.
Visualization of pseudogenes in intracellular bacteria reveals the different tracks to gene destruction
Authors: Fuxelius Hans-Henrik , Darby Alistair C , Cho Nam-Huyk , Andersson Siv GE 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Background
Pseudogenes reveal ancestral gene functions. Some obligate intracellular bacteria, such as Mycobacterium leprae and Rickettsia spp., carry substantial fractions of pseudogenes. Until recently, horizontal gene transfers were considered to be rare events in obligate host-associated bacteria.

Results
We present a visualization tool that displays the relationships and positions of degraded and partially overlapping gene sequences in multiple genomes. With this tool we explore the origin and deterioration patterns of the Rickettsia pseudogenes and find that variably present genes and pseudogenes tend to have been acquired more recently, are more divergent in sequence, and exhibit a different functional profile compared with genes conserved across all species. Overall, the origin of only one-quarter of the variable genes and pseudogenes can be traced back to the common ancestor of Rickettsia and the outgroup genera Orientia and Wolbachia. These sequences contain only a few disruptive mutations and show a broad functional distribution profile, much like the core genes. The remaining genes and pseudogenes are extensively degraded or solely present in a single species. Their functional profile was heavily biased toward the mobile gene pool and genes for components of the cell wall and the lipopolysaccharide.

Conclusion
Reductive evolution of the vertically inherited genomic core accounts for 25% of the predicted genes in the variable segments of the Rickettsia genomes, whereas 75% stems from the flux of the mobile gene pool along with genes for cell surface structures. Thus, most of the variably present genes and pseudogenes in Rickettsia have arisen from recent acquisitions.
Early and preferential induction of IL-1 receptor-associated kinase-M in THP-1 cells by LPS derived fromPorphyromonas gingivalis
Authors: Domon Hisanori , Honda Tomoyuki , Oda Taro , Yoshie Hiromasa , Yamazaki Kazuhisa 
Published: February 2008

AbstractLPS of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) is suggested to be a virulence factor in periodontitis, stimulating host cells to produce proinflammatory mediators. However, P. gingivalis LPS has been reported to show lower biological activity compared with Escherichia coli (E. coli) LPS. Although differences in the chemical structure of lipid A and the receptor conferring LPS signaling are thought to account for these characteristics, the precise reason is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that P. gingivalis LPS up-regulates IL-1R-associated kinase (IRAK)-M, a negative regulator of the TLR signaling pathway, in a THP-1-derived macrophage more robustly than E. coli LPS. Although down-regulation of IRAK-M by small interfering (si)RNA augmented transcription and translation of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-12 p40 in LPS-stimulated macrophages, the effect of siRNA was more prominent in P. gingivalis LPS-stimulated cells. Degradation of IRAK-1 was more obvious in E. coli LPS-stimulated macrophages than the cells stimulated with P. gingivalis LPS, suggesting that P. gingivalis LPS-induced IRAK-M suppressed dissociation of IRAK-1 from the receptor complex, resulting in escape from subsequent degradation. This activity may be involved in the chronic infection of this bacterium in periodontal tissue by serving as an escape mechanism from immune surveillance.
Cooperation between NOD2 and Toll-like receptor 2 ligands in the up-regulation of mouse mFPR2, a G-protein-coupled Aβ42 peptide receptor, in microglial cells
Authors: Chen Keqiang , Zhang Lingzhi , Huang Jian , Gong Wanghua , Dunlop Nancy M , Wang Ji Ming 
Published: February 2008

AbstractHuman G-protein-coupled formyl peptide receptor-like 1 and its mouse homologue formyl peptide receptor 2 (mFPR2) mediate the chemotactic activity of a variety of pathogen and host-derived peptides, including amyloid β42, a key causative factor in Alzheimer’s disease. In mouse microglia, mFPR2 is up-regulated by pathogen-associated molecular patterns and proinflammatory cytokines, as shown, for instance, in our previous study using peptidoglycan (PGN) of Gram+ bacteria. As PGN and its components have been reported to use TLR2 and an intracellular receptor nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2 (NOD2), we investigated the capacity of palmitoyl-cys[(RS)-2, 3-di(palmitoyloxy)-propyl]-Ala-Gly-OH (PamCAG), a specific TLR2 ligand, and muramyl dipeptide (MDP), a NOD2 ligand, to cooperatively regulate the expression and function of mFPR2 in microglia. We found that MDP and PamCAG as well as another TLR2-specific agonist palmitoyl-3-cysteine-serine-lysine-4 (Pam3CSK4), when used alone, each increased the expression of functional mFPR2 in microglial cells, and the combination of MDP and PamCAG or Pam3CSK4 exhibited an additive effect. Mechanistic studies revealed that MDP increased the levels of TLR2 expression on the microglial cell surface and enhanced the levels of MAPKs p-38, ERK1/2, and NF-κB activated by PamCAG. Our results suggest that TLR2 and NOD2 cooperate to up-regulate the expression of mFPR2 and therefore, may actively participate in the pathogenic processes of brain inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases.
The UK postmortem organ retention crisis: a qualitative study of its impact on parents
Authors: Sque Magi , Long Tracy , Payne Sheila , Roche William R , Speck Peter 
Published: February 2008

Objective: To explore the impact of postmortem organ retention on parents who made enquires about their babies and children when the retention of hearts and other organs removed at postmortem and stored without explicit knowledge or consent of the next-of-kin came to public attention in the UK during 1999-2004. Design: Qualitative study conducted 2003-2004. Data were collected via semi-structured, qualitative interviews and focus groups. Participants: 39 parents who had been affected by organ retention. Setting: Participants were recruited via three parental peer support groups and two NHS Hospital Trusts. Results: Transcripts of the interviews and focus groups were analysed using a thematic approach that sought patterns within the data and highlighted important similarities and differences between participants' accounts. Participants reported the distressing impact organ retention had on their lives; their need for information about the retention of their babies' or children's organs; and the difficulties in their decision making about disposal of retained body parts and tissue blocks and slides. Analysis indicated that organ retention had evoked unresolved bereavement issues and a renewal of grief as well as an opportunity for some parents to resolve ongoing bereavement concerns. Conclusions: Parents in this study wanted NHS teams to appreciate the difficulties organ retention had caused them, deal with their enquires proactively with openness and honesty, and facilitate an environment where they felt supported and could gain the answers to their questions and concerns that were provoked by postmortem organ retention. Such issues may also have implications for the care of other parents and relatives of deceased children.
Tibial Bone Geometry in Chronic Stroke Patients: Influence of Sex, Cardiovascular Health, and Muscle Mass
Authors: Pang Marco YC , Ashe Maureen C , Eng Janice J 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
This study aimed to examine the geometry of the tibia in chronic stroke survivors. Fifty-five ambulatory individuals with chronic stroke were included in the study. pQCT was used to obtain a cross-sectional scan of the tibia at the 30% site on both the paretic and nonparetic sides. Leg lean mass was derived from a total body scan using DXA. Each subject was also evaluated for peak oxygen consumption rate, spasticity, and functional mobility. Paired t-tests were used to compare the pQCT parameters between the two sides. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify the significant determinants of tibial bone strength index (BSI). In men, marrow cavity area on the paretic side was significantly greater than the nonparetic side (p = 0.011), whereas the total bone area showed no significant side-to-side difference (p = 0.252). In women, total bone area on the paretic side was significantly smaller than the nonparetic side (p = 0.003), whereas the marrow cavity area had no side-to-side difference (p = 0.367). Peak oxygen consumption (r2 = 0.739, F5,49 = 22.693, p &lt; 0.001) and paretic leg lean mass (r2 = 0.802, F6,48 = 32.475, p &lt; 0.001) remained independently associated with tibial BSI, after controlling for age, sex, body mass index, years since stroke onset, and physical activity level. The geometry of the tibia in stroke patients showed sex-specific side-to-side differences. The results suggested that, whereas endosteal resorption was apparent in men, periosteal resorption was more predominant in women. The results also highlight the potential importance of promoting cardiovascular health and leg muscle mass in enhancing bone geometry in chronic stroke survivors.
Physical Performance and Risk of Hip Fractures in Older Men
Authors: Cawthon Peggy Mannen , Fullman Robin L , Marshall Lynn , Mackey Dawn C , Fink Howard A , Cauley Jane A , Cummings Steven R , Orwoll Eric S , Ensrud Kristine E 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
The aim of these analyses was to describe the association between physical performance and risk of hip fractures in older men. Performance on five physical function exams (leg power, grip strength, usual walking pace, narrow walk balance test, and five repeated chair stands) was assessed in 5902 men ≥65 yr of age. Performance (time to complete or strength) was analyzed as quartiles, with an additional category for unable to complete the measure, in proportional hazards models. Follow-up averaged 5.3 yr; 77 incident hip fractures were confirmed by physician review of radiology reports. Poor physical performance was associated with an increased risk of hip fracture. In particular, repeated chair stand performance was strongly related to hip fracture risk. Men unable to complete this exam were much more likely to experience a hip fracture than men in the fastest quartile of this test (multivariate hazard ratio [MHR]: 8.15; 95% CI: 2.65, 25.03). Men with the worst performance (weakest/slowest quartile or unable) on at least three exams had an increased risk of hip fracture compared with men with higher functioning (MHR: 3.14, 95% CI: 1.46, 6.73). Nearly two thirds of the hip fractures (N = 49, 64%) occurred in men with poor performance on at least three exams. Poor physical function is independently associated with an increased risk of hip fracture in older men. The repeated chair stands exam should be considered in clinical settings for evaluation of hip fracture risk. Concurrent poor performance on multiple physical function exams is associated with an increased risk of hip fractures.
Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression and Prostaglandin E2 Production in Response to Acidic pH Through OGR1 in a Human Osteoblastic Cell Line
Authors: Tomura Hideaki , Wang Ju-Qiang , Liu Jin-Peng , Komachi Mayumi , Damirin Alatangaole , Mogi Chihiro , Tobo Masayuki , Nochi Hiromi , Tamoto Koichi , Im Doon-Soon , Sato Koichi , Okajima Fumikazu 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Acidosis has been shown to induce depletion of bone calcium from the body. This calcium release process is thought to be partially cell mediated. In an organ culture of bone, acidic pH has been shown to induce cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) induction and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production, resulting in stimulation of bone calcium release. However, the molecular mechanisms whereby osteoblasts sense acidic circumstances and thereby induce COX-2 induction and PGE2 production remain unknown. In this study, we used a human osteoblastic cell line (NHOst) to characterize cellular activities, including inositol phosphate production, intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), PGE2 production, and COX-2 mRNA and protein expression, in response to extracellular acidification. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) specific to the OGR1 receptor and specific inhibitors for intracellular signaling pathways were used to characterize acidification-induced cellular activities. We found that extracellular acidic pH induced a transient increase in [Ca2+]i and inositol phosphate production in the cells. Acidification also induced COX-2 induction, resulting in PGE2 production. These proton-induced actions were markedly inhibited by siRNA targeted for the OGR1 receptor and the inhibitors for Gq/11 protein, phospholipase C, and protein kinase C. We conclude that the OGR1/Gq/11/phospholipase C/protein kinase C pathway regulates osteoblastic COX-2 induction and subsequent PGE2 production in response to acidic circumstances.
NSM and cognitive-functional models of grammar
Authors: Michaelis Laura A 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
The Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach articulated by Uwe Durst is a componential theory of meaning, and it inherits many of the strengths of such theories. This is especially evident when we compare NSM with componential models that share its view of linguistic cognition as a reflex of the human meaning-making capacity in general. One such strength is the model's ability to account for prototype effects in categorization judgments without assuming scalar category membership or fuzzy category boundaries. Durst argues (section 3.3) that “[s]ince meaning is more than reference, one cannot conclude from referential fuzziness or vagueness that the meanings of words are fuzzy or vague as well”. The view is reminiscent of Lakoff's (1987) radial model of category structure, in which prototypicality ratings reflect not category structure but divergence of cognitive submodels that jointly define the best exemplars. Another strength of NSM that can likewise be traced to its decompositional base is its ability to capture cross-linguistic differences in lexical conflation patterns, as exemplified by Durst's comparison of words denoting anger in a variety of languages (section 3.3). Similarities and differences among the cognate words are captured by partial overlaps in their propositional representations, and what emerges is a relatively constrained picture of the range of typological variation. This is a strength that NSM shares with Talmy's (1985) model of motion-verb lexicalization patterns: these models allow otherwise ineffable translation problems to be described in rigorous ways. Just as Talmy's model enables us to talk about rhetorical-style differences among languages (or language families) by reference to fundamental features of event schematization (Slobin 1996), so the NSM approach captures ‘connotational’ differences among cognate lexical items that have been neglected in denotation-based lexicography.
About NSM: A general reply
Authors: Durst Uwe 
Published: February 2008

Abstract

1. Is NSM ‘scientific’?

The absence of technical terms and formal devices in NSM explications seems to invite some critics to dispute the scientific nature of the theory. In one example, Riemer2 states that “[the] commitment to naturalness seems contradictory because in other areas of investigation, the development of a ‘scientific’ (i.e. empirical and testable) theory necessitates the very type of technical, artificial vocabulary which NSM explicitly repudiates”. To support this criticism, Riemer refers to evolutionary theory and generative phonology. But evolutionary theory is about the development of natural species, and generative phonology investigates (the rules of) phonological representations on the basis of phonological features. Both disciplines can rely on physical data, and hypotheses can be tested on this physical basis. Even abstract phonological features such as [±vocalic] or [±grave] can be described in physical terms.
Pizzas und Pizzen – die Pluralformen (un)assimilierter Fremdwörter im Deutschen
Authors: Wegener Heide 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
The paper takes plural formation as an example of morphological assimilation of loanwords into the German inflectional system and shows that the assimilation process proceeds in two steps. German speakers first create intermediate plural forms with the non syllabic suffix -s, later the definite forms with a schwa suffix. Both kinds of plural forms are analysed in the framework of Optimality Theory. The forms created during the two stages are shown to follow from different hierarchies of wellformedness constraints and correspondence constraints respectively. Correspondence constraints are highly ranked for unassimilated borrowings as they are for peripheral word classes of proper names and onomatopoeia, by contrast, prosodic and phonological, esp. phonotactic wellformedness constraints are highly ranked for assimilated borrowings as they are for common nouns in the native lexicon. The shape of both kinds of plural forms will be shown to be functionally motivated. Whereas the schwa plural formation is rooted in the pressure for plural forms to be easy to articulate, the -s plural is rooted in the need for preservation of the sound shape of the stems: The syllabic schwa suffixes provide trochaic plural forms, words of optimal length with optimal syllable structure, the non syllabic -s provides structure preserving forms where the base is easy to recognize.