bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Normal ageing in adults with Down's syndrome: a longitudinal study
Authors: Devenny D. A. , Silverman W. P. , Hill A. L. , Jenkins E. , Sersen E. A. , Wisniewski K. E. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThe ubiquitous presence of the neuropathoiogy of Alzheimer disease (AD) in individuals with Down's syndrome (DS) over 40 years of age suggests that this group of people will exhibit a high prevalence of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) as they age. The present study indicates that there is a clear discrepancy between the presumed presence of AD neuropathoiogy and the clinical expression of DAT among older people with DS. In the first 6 years of a longitudinal study, the present authors compared 91 adults (31–63 years of age) with DS and mild or moderate mental retardation to 64 adults (3 l –76 years of age) with other forms of mental retardation (MR) on yearly measures of mental status, short‐and long‐term memory, speeded psychomotor function, and visuospatial organization. The results indicated that, over repeated testing on the verbal long–term memory test, younger participants with DS showed small increases in their scores, while older participants with DS showed very slight decreases. Overall performance scores on this test and a speeded psychomotor task were poorer for both diagnostic groups in individuals aged SO years and older. The magnitude and type of these selective changes in performance were consistent with performance profiles observed in older healthy adults without mental retardation on tests measuring similar cognitive functions. Only four out of the 91 people with DS in the present sample showed changes in funaioning that have led to a diagnosis of possible DAT. and in these individuals, alternative causes of performance declines were concurrently present (e.g, thyroid dysfunction). These findings indicate that some age–associated changes in funaioning are related to ‘normal’ but probably precocious ageing among adults with DS. Furthermore, these findings suggest that adults with DS and mild or moderate mental retardation may be at lower risk for dementia during their fourth and fifth decades of life than previous studies have suggested.
Self‐reported fears: a comparison study of youths with and without an intellectual disability
Authors: Gullone E. , Cummins R. A. , King N. J. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractNormal fear plays an essential role in human development and experience, and much research attention has been devoted to its study in the general population. In contrast, the normal fears of youths with intellectual disabilities have largely been ignored. The present paper reports the normative fears of 187 youths with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities. Data were also gathered from 372 youths of average intelligence for comparison purposes. All respondents were aged between 7 and 18 years. Fear was assessed using the Fear Survey Schedule for Children‐ll (FSSC‐II), an instrument which has been psychometrically validated in samples with and without disabilities. The youths with disabilities reported significantly higher levels of fearfulness and a greater range of fears than youths without disabilities. The content of their fears was also more likely to resemble those of younger children without disabilities. The fears that best discriminated between the two samples were those related to supernatural phenomena or animals. Included were fears of bees, lizards, ghosts or similar eerie things, and cemeteries. Nevertheless, there was considerable similarity between the two samples. For both samples, females reported a higher level of fearfulness and a greater range of fear than males, and fears of death and danger were endorsed as arousing the strongest fear for all respondents. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed.
Erotomania in a brain‐damaged male
Authors: John S. , Ovsiew F. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractA 31‐year‐old male presented to a neuropsychiatric service for the first time with an erotomatic delusion among other symptoms. He had suffered significant brain damage several times in the past and experienced a recent loss. After extensive evaluation, a trial of haloperidol resulted in some improvement. However, the erotomanic delusion remained unchanged.
Colocalisation of Dynorphin A and Neurokinin B Immunoreactivity in the Arcuate Nucleus and Median Eminence of the Sheep
Authors: Foradori C. D. , Amstalden M. , Goodman R. L. , Lehman M. N. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractDynorphin A (DYN)‐containing cells play a key role in conveying the negative feedback influence of progesterone upon pulsatile gonadotrophin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion in the ewe. A very high percentage of DYN cells in the arcuate nucleus express the progesterone receptor; another population of arcuate nucleus cells that also express steroid receptors in the sheep are those that express the tachykinin peptide, neurokinin B (NKB). Both DYN and NKB fibres have been shown to form close contacts with ovine GnRH cells. Therefore, the present study tested the hypothesis that neurones expressing NKB and DYN represent the same neuronal population in the arcuate nucleus. Confocal microscopic analysis of brain sections processed for dual immunofluorescence revealed that a large majority of DYN neurones in the arcuate nucleus were also immunoreactive for NKB. Likewise, a similar majority of NKB neurones in the arcuate nucleus were immunoreactive for DYN. By contrast, DYN cells in the preoptic area and anterior hypothalamus did not colocalise with NKB, nor did DYN cells in the paraventricular or supraoptic nuclei. Fibres that stained positively for both DYN and NKB were seen in the arcuate nucleus, where they formed close appositions with DYN/NKB‐positive neurones, and in the external zone of the median eminence. Taken together with previous findings, these data suggest that a subpopulation of arcuate nucleus neurones coexpressing DYN and NKB mediate the negative feedback influence of progesterone on pulsatile GnRH secretion in the ewe and may also be involved in other feedback actions of gonadal steroids.
Effect of bile duct obstruction on the expression of intestinal mRNA related to cholesterol and bile acid metabolism in the rat
Authors: Kamisako Toshinori , Ogawa Hiroshi 
Published: May 2006

AbstractBackground and Aim:  The liver and small intestine play an important role in maintaining cholesterol and bile acid balance within the body. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of bile duct ligation (BDL) on the expression of intestinal and hepatic genes that are important for cholesterol and bile acid metabolism.Methods:  Rats were allocated to the BDL group or the sham operation group. Blood, liver and small intestine were obtained after 24, 72 and 168 h from both groups. Serum and hepatic lipids were measured by colorimetric assays and hepatic and intestinal mRNA related to lipid metabolism was studied by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR).Results:  Hepatic apolipoprotein (Apo) AIV, multidrug resistant protein (Mrp)2, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) binding cassette transporter (Abc)g5 and Abcg8 expression constantly decreased after BDL. Intestinal Apo AIV, Apo CIII, Mrp2, Abcg5 and Abcg8 expression remarkably decreased 24 h after BDL and recovered 72 and 168 h after BDL. Hepatic small heterodimer partner (Shp) expression did not change after BDL. Conversely, intestinal Shp expression remarkably decreased 24 h after BDL (16% of sham operation) and slightly recovered 168 h after BDL (58% of sham operation).Conclusion:  Several intestinal mRNA expressions important for lipid (Apo AIV, Apo CIII, Abcg5 and Abcg8) and bile acid (Mrp2 and Shp) metabolism were decreased in the early phase of obstructive jaundice and the expression of these intestinal mRNA recovered in the late phase of obstructive jaundice.
Long‐term trends and geographic variations in the survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: Analysis of 11 312 patients in Taiwan
Authors: Chen Chien‐Hung , Su Wei‐Wen , Yang Sheng‐Shun , Chang Ting‐Tsung , Cheng Ken‐Sheng , Lin Hans Hsienhong , Wu Shun‐Sheng , Lee Chuan‐Mo , Changchien Chi‐Sin , Chen Chien‐Jen , Sheu Jin‐Chuan , Chen Ding‐Shinn , Lu Sheng‐Nan 
Published: May 2006

AbstractBackground/Aims:  The survival rates of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were investigated over the past 20 years to clarify the long‐term survival trend.Methods:  A total of 11 312 patients with HCC from seven medical centers from 1986 to 2002 were included. Survival was analyzed by correlating data with the national mortality databank.Results:  Multivariate analysis showed that the following factors were associated with shorter survival: male sex, younger age, hepatitis B virus, earlier year of diagnosis, alpha fetoprotein higher than 400 ng/mL, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) higher than two times the upper normal limit, higher aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/ALT ratio, central or southern Taiwan residence, and rural areas residence. Patients diagnosed during 1998–2002 showed the highest survival rate, followed by patients diagnosed during 1994–1997, 1990–1993, and 1986–1989, respectively.Conclusions:  There are geographic variations in the survival rates of patients with HCC. Survival has been improving gradually over the past 20 years, probably due to earlier detection of HCC or to improved patient care.
Genetic and epigenetic alterations of the KLF6 gene in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Song Jaehwi , Kim Chang Jae , Cho Yong Gu , Kim Su Young , Nam Suk Woo , Lee Sug Hyung , Yoo Nam Jin , Lee Jung Young , Park Won Sang 
Published: May 2006

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Kruppel‐like factor 6 (KLF6) is a zinc finger tumor suppressor gene that is frequently mutated in several human cancers and is broadly involved in differentiation and development, growth‐related signal transduction, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to elucidate the potential etiological role of KLF6 in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Korea.Methods:  The gene mutation, allelic loss, and methylation status of the KLF6 gene was analyzed in a series of 85 Korean patients: 21 with dysplastic nodules and 85 with HCC.Results:  No somatic mutations were observed in the patients with dysplastic nodules or with HCC. Allelic loss was found in five (6.8%) of 73 informative HCC tissues. Three of the five patients with allelic loss had HCC with hepatitis B virus infection and cirrhosis, and the remaining two had no viral infection and a non‐specific background. In methylation analysis, unmethylated and methylated DNAs of the KLF6 gene were amplified in all corresponding non‐neoplastic liver tissues. Only one HCC tissue showed methylated DNA without unmethylated DNA.Conclusions:  The results suggest that genetic and epigenetic alteration of KLF6 may play a minor role in the development of HCC.
Fred Hollows Lecture: Hypertensive retinopathy – a journey from fundoscopy to digital imaging
Authors: Wong Tien Y 
Published: May 2006

AbstractHypertensive retinopathy refers to a spectrum of retinal microvascular signs that develop in response to elevated blood pressure. These signs are broadly divided into localized signs (focal retinal arteriolar narrowing, arteriovenous nicking, retinal haemorrhages, cotton wool spots, hard exudates and microaneurysms) and diffuse signs (generalized retinal arteriolar narrowing, arterial wall opacification and optic disc oedema). Although their association with systemic morbidity was recognized more than a century ago, the prognostic significance of hypertensive retinopathy has not received much attention. In large part, this is because clinical assessment of hypertensive retinopathy signs with the direct fundoscopy has proven imprecise. Data from large population‐based studies in the past decade, using retinal photographic methods to define hypertensive retinopathy signs, have provided new insights into the epidemiology, systemic associations and clinical significance of hypertensive retinopathy. These studies show that hypertensive retinopathy signs are common (up to 14% of adults aged 40 years and older, even in those without clinical diabetes or hypertension) and are strongly associated with blood pressure. Various retinopathy signs predict the risk of stroke, congestive heart failure and cardiovascular mortality, independent of blood pressure and other risk factors. These data suggest that patients with hypertensive retinopathy signs may benefit from a careful cardiovascular evaluation, and appropriate risk reduction therapy if indicated. Future advances in digital retinal imaging technology will allow researchers and clinicians to better chart and monitor the vascular effects of hypertension.
Social‐cognition and the broad autism phenotype: identifying genetically meaningful phenotypes
Authors: Losh Molly , Piven Joseph 
Published: May 2006

Background:  Strong evidence from twin and family studies suggests that the genetic liability to autism may be expressed through personality and language characteristics qualitatively similar, but more subtly expressed than those defining the full syndrome. This study examined behavioral features of this ‘broad autism phenotype’ (BAP) in relation to performance on a measure of social‐cognition in an attempt to tease out this complex clinical picture and identify markers of underlying neuropsychological systems of genetic significance to autism. We hypothesized that mild social‐cognitive impairment would be associated with clinically defined social characteristics of the BAP (aloof personality style, lower quality social relationships, and impaired pragmatic language use).Method:  Forty‐eight parents of individuals with autism (13 of whom were identified as ‘aloof’), and 22 control parents, were administered the ‘Eyes Test’, a social‐cognitive measure that taps the ability to read complex psychological states from viewing only the eye region of faces.Results:  Whereas social‐cognitive ability was unimpaired among parents of autistic children in general, the subgroup of parents defined as ‘aloof’ displayed significant social‐cognitive deficits on the ‘Eyes Test’. Impaired social‐cognitive ability was associated with low quality of friendships and problems with pragmatic language use, associations which mirror those documented in autism. Conclusions: Findings suggest that social‐cognitive impairments co‐segregate with conceptually related personality, social, and language features that constitute the BAP, and point towards performance on the Eyes Test as a genetically meaningful endophenotype.
WATER‐SOLUBLE CARBOHYDRATES OF SEEDS OF THE GRAMINEAE
Authors: MacLEOD Anna M. , McCorquodale H. 
Published: May 2006

summaryQualitative and quantitative determinations have been made of the sugars, oligosaccha‐rides and water‐soluble polysaccharides of the seeds of twenty‐two species of the Gramineae.Although in most species sucrose was the most plentiful free sugar, in Lolium perenne and in Festuca pratensis a trisaccharide which contained residues of galactose, glucose and fructose and which was chromatographically distinct from raffinose constituted the most abundant oligosaccharide; in Elymus arenarius and in Bromus sterilis an homologous series of low‐molecular fructosans represented the major simple carbohydrate. Similar fructosans were also present in Agropyron repens.Raffinose was present in fifteen of the seeds examined and stachyose in ten of these fifteen raffinose‐containing seeds. The contents of raffinose and stachyose were positively correlated.Water‐soluble polysaccharides were obtained in yields approaching 1 per cent of the dry weight of the seeds from certain members of the Bromeae, the Hordeeae, the Festuceae and the Aveneae; yields from members of other tribes were low and predominantly dextrinous in nature.A pure β‐glucosan, resembling that of cultivated barley, has been obtained from Bromus, from Avena and Arrhenatherum, and from Dactylis and other members of the Festuceae. The polysaccharide prepared from Nardus contained a high proportion of mannan and that from Molinia a high proportion of galactan.When the water‐soluble carbohydrates of these seeds are considered in relation to the classification of the Gramineae, it is seen that Bromus is quite distinct from Brachy‐podium; that the members of the Festuceae here examined show underlying similarity in the composition of their water‐soluble polysaccharides, though Festuca pratensis and Lolium perenne are distinctive in containing an unusual trisaccharide; that Avena and Arrhenatherum differ from the other two members of the Aveneae examined (Holcus and Anthoxanthum) and that the members of the Hordeae constitute a natural group on the basis of their sugars content.
ASEXUAL SPORES IN CLOSTERIUM DIDTMOTOCUM RALFS
Authors: STARR RICHARD C. 
Published: May 2006

summary Closterium didymotocum var. pygmaeiim is described as a new variety because of its narrow width and its lack of subapical thickenings on the cell wall. An unusual type of asexual spore formation is described in which the protoplast escapes from the enclosing cell wall and forms a spherical resistant spore. On germination the spore produces a single vegetative cell.
CYTOGENETIC STUDIES IN TUBEROUS SOLANUM SPECIES
Authors: MARKS G. E. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryMeiosis was studied in S. × vallis‐mexici (2n =36). Chromosome pairing tends towards the production of 12 bivalents and 12 univalents per cell. This indicates that the chromosome complement of S. ×vallis‐mexici consists of two similar genomes and one dissimilar genome which in turn suggests that this species is a hybrid between a diploid and an unrelated tetraploid species.Bukasov (1939) and Hawkes (1956) suggest from morphological and geographical evidence that S. × vallis‐mexici is a natural hybrid between S. verrucosum (2n = 24) and S. stoloniferum (2n = 28). Thirty‐four triploid (2n = 36) hybrids, one aneuploid (2n = 37) hybrid and one tetraploid (2n = 48) hybrid were produced by crossing plants from two families of S. verrucosum with four different varieties of S. stoloniferum, C.P.C. 9.1, 9.2, 1331 and 2282.3.The leaflet index and corolla shape were scored in each plant. Meiosis was also studied in detail. Those hybrids resulting from the use of C.P.C. 1331 and to a lesser degree those obtained using C.P.C. 9.1 and 9.2 are morphologically and cytologically similar to S. × vallis‐mexici. Hybrids produced using C.P.C. 2282.3 have leaflet indices similar to it, and corollas shaped like those of S. verrucosum.These differences between the synthesized hybrids can also be expected to occur in natural hybrids. It is suggested, therefore, that the name S. × vallis‐mexici should be applied to all forms of hybrids between S. verrucosum and S. stoloniferum irrespective of whether or not they conform to the type.
THE EFFECTS OF SHORT PERIODS OF WATER STRESS ON THE GROWTH OF SUGAR BEET IN POTS
Authors: OWEN P. C. 
Published: May 2006

SummarySugar beet, broad beans and lettuce growing in soil in pots were subjected to repeated short periods of water stress up to a maximum PF of 4.0. In some experiments the leaf areas of such plants were lower than those of plants grown under conditions of minimum water stress, but there was no significant effect of water stress on dry matter production or Net Assimilation Rate. The loss of water per unit leaf area was not affected by the water regime, but the cumulative water loss from pot and plant over the experiments was greater under the wet regime, partly because the leaf area was greater. In pot culture experiments, where the total amount of water within the root zone is relatively small, it is impossible to impose stress conditions above wilting point for long enough to produce detectable effects on growth. The results of water stress experiments may depend as much on the duration and timing of the periods of stress as on the level of stress imposed.
THE RELATION OF LEAF WATER DEFICIT TO SOIL MOISTURE TENSION IN PINUS SYLVESTRIS L.
Authors: SANDS K. , RUTTER A. J. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryExperiments were carried out in which pots with 3–5 year old plants of Pinus sylvestris were allowed to dry from field capacity to soil water tensions of 5 atm. or more, while measurements of soil moisture tension, leaf water deficit and transpiration rate were made daily at sunrise and noon.By fitting multiple regressions it was shown that most of the variation in the leaf water deficit could be accounted for by changes in soil moisture tension and transpiration rate.The conclusion reached in earlier work was confirmed by these experiments, namely that the leaf water deficit at sunrise is the best index of the soil moisture conditions experienced by the plant, since effects of transpiration are negligible at this time. The effect of various factors on the relation between soil moisture tension and leaf water deficit was experimentally examined. It was found that the relation was affected by the age of needles used for the determination, by the time of year, by nitrogen nutrition, and by soil moisture conditions prior to the experimental run. The way in which these factors may operate is discussed.Despite the variability in the relation examined, broad conclusions as to the soil moisture tension experienced by young plants of this species may be drawn from measurements of leaf water deficit made on 1‐year old leaves at sunrise. Thus in soils near field capacity, leaf water deficits rarely exceed 8 per cent. Deficits of 12–14 per cent indicate soil moisture tensions in the 1–5 atm. range, and when the deficits rise above 17 per cent, the soil moisture has probably been reduced to the permanent wilting percentage.
THE EFFECT OF PRE‐EMERGENT TREATMENT OF PEAS WITH TRICHLORACETIC ACID ON THE SUB‐MICROSCOPIC STRUCTURE OF THE LEAF SURFACE
Authors: JUNIPER BARRIE E. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryPeas were sown in sand, which was treated with varying concentrations of trichloracetic acid. The behaviour of water droplets on the leaves of peas was observed, and it was found that the angle made by the droplet on the surface falls with increasing concentration of T.C.A. No changes in leaf structure, which could account for these changes in behaviour, were revealed by ordinary light microscopy. Investigation of the sub‐microscopic anatomy of the surface by the carbon replica technique under the electron microscope did reveal significant differences in the leaf surfaces. A reduction in the number and a change in form of the minute wax structures occurs with an increased concentration of T.C.A. in the soil. These changes correlate well with an increase in the wettability of the leaf surface as determined by the contact angle of water droplets.
THE ASCORBIC ACID SYSTEM IN PLANT TISSUES
Authors: BARKER J. , MAPSON L. W. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryEvidence is presented which shows that when plant tissues are extracted with metaphosphoric acid at room temperature, some oxidation of ascorbic acid to dehydroascorbic acid occurs.This oxidation was diminished, though no conclusive proof was obtained that it was eliminated, by extracting the tissue with either metaphosphoric acid at —3°C or with methanol‐metaphosphoric acid at —70°C, in the absence of oxygen.An effect attributed to disorganization occurred if the tissue was held in the frozen state and as a result ascorbic acid Avas oxidized during disintegration in an acid extractant. The effect of disorganization was greater when the period in the frozen state was extended.The lowest values for dehydroascorbic acid in plant tissues have been obtained, either by extraction in metaphosphoric acid at —3°C or by rapid freezing and immediate extraction with methanol‐metaphosphoric acid solution at —70°C, both extractions being carried out in the absence of oxygen. These procedures gave similar results within the limits of experimental error.