bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Thrombin and protease-activated receptors (PARs) in atherothrombosis
Authors: Martorell Lluis , Rodríguez Cristina , Gentile Maurizio , Calvayrac Olivier , Badimon Lina , Martínez-González José 
Published: January 2008

SummaryThrombin is a multifunctional serine protease generated at the site of vascular injury that transforms fibrinogen into fibrin, activates blood platelets and elicits multiple effects on a variety of cell types including endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), monocytes,T lymphocytes and fibroblasts. Cellular effects of thrombin are mediated by protease-activated receptors (PARs), members of the G protein-coupled receptors that carry their own ligand which remains cryptic until unmasked by proteolytic cleavage. Thrombin signalling in platelets contributes to haemostasis and thrombosis. In normal arteries PARs are mainly expressed in endothelial cells, while their expression in VSMC is limited. Endothelial PARs participate in the regulation of vascular tone, vascular permeability and endothelial secretory activity while in VSMC they mediate contraction, migration, proliferation, hypertrophy and production of extra-cellular matrix. PARs contribute to the pro-inflammatory phenotype observed in endothelial dysfunction and their up-regulation inVSMC seems to be a key element in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and restenosis. In the last years a myriad of studies have emphasized the critical role of PAR signalling in thrombin mediated effects in haemostasis, inflammation, cancer and embryonic development. Lately, PARs have become a therapeutic target to inhibit platelet aggregation and thrombosis. Early data from a clinical trial (TRA-PCI) to evaluate safety and efficacy of a potent new oral thrombin receptor antagonist (TRA) have promisingly indicated that overallTRA treatment reduces adverse event rates without an increase in bleeding risk. In this paper we review cellular responses triggered by thrombin and their implication in vascular pathophysiology.
Stroke and thromboembolism in atrial fibrillation: A systematic review of stroke risk factors, risk stratification schema and cost effectiveness data
Authors: Hughes Michael , Lip Gregory Y. H. ,   on behalf of the Guideline Development Group for the NICE national clinical guideline for management of atrial fibrillation in primary and secondary care
Published: January 2008

SummaryThe risk of stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF) needs to be assessed in each patient to determine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of thromboprophylaxis, with the aim of appropriate use of antithrombotic therapy. To achieve this, stroke risk factors in AF populations need to be identified and stroke risk stratification models have been devised on the basis of these risk factors. In this article, we firstly provide a systematic review of studies examining the attributable stroke risk of various clinical, demographic and echocardiographic patient characteristics in AF populations. Secondly, we performed a systematic review of published stroke risk stratification models, in terms of the results of the review of stroke risk factors and their ability to accurately discriminate between different levels of stroke risk. Thirdly, we review the health economic evidence relating to the cost-effectiveness of anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy as thromboprophylaxis in AF patients. The studies included in the systematic review of stroke risk factors identified history of stroke or TIA, increasing age, hypertension and structural heart disease (left-ventricular dysfunction or hypertrophy) to be good predictors of stroke risk in AF patients. The evidence regarding diabetes mellitus, gender and other patient characteristics was less consistent. Three stroke risk stratification models were identified that were able to discriminate between different categories of stroke risk to at least 95% accuracy. Few models had addressed the cumulative nature of risk factors where a combination of risk factors would confer a greater risk than either factor alone. In patients at high risk of stroke, anticoagulation is cost effective, but not for those with a low risk of stroke. With the evidence available for stroke risk factors and the various alternative stroke risk stratification models, a review of these models in terms of the evidence on which they are devised and their performance in representative AF populations is important. The appropriate administration of thromboprophylaxis in AF patients would need to balance the risks and benefits of antithrombotic therapy with its cost-effectiveness.
Associations between common fibrinogen gene polymorphisms and cardiovascular disease in older adults
Authors: Cushman Mary , Jones Daniel , Lange Leslie A. , Hindorff Lucia A. , Rice Kenneth , Jenny Nancy S. , Durda J. Peter , Walston Jeremy , Carlson Christopher S. , Nickerson Debbie , Tracy Russell P. , Reiner Alex P. , Carty Cara L. 
Published: January 2008

SummaryElevated plasma fibrinogen is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but associations between fibrinogen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and disease risk are inconsistent. We investigated whether common (≥ 5% minor allele frequency) variation in the fibrinogen genes (FGA, FGB, FGG) is associated with fibrinogen concentration, carotid artery intima-medial thickness (IMT) and risk of incident myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic stroke and CVD mortality in European-(EA) and African-descent (AA) adults (≥ 65 years) from the Cardiovascular Health Study. TagSNPs were genotyped in 3,969 EA and 719 AA free of MI or stroke at baseline. Race-specific models included multiple testing correction and adjustment for sex, age and site. Among EA, minor alleles of FGA3807,FGB1437 and FGG902 were associated with higher fibrinogen levels; whereas FGA251, FGA2224, FGA6534 and FGG10034 were associated with lower levels, p<0.004 for each. Strongest associations were seen for FGB1437;each additional copy of the minor allele was associated with 13 mg/dl (95%CI: 9–16) higher fibrinogen level. Similar trends in AA were not significant. Fibrinogen haplotypes were not significantly associated with internal or common carotid IMT. No associations with MI or CVD mortality were seen in EA, though FGB1038 and FGG902 were significantly associated with increased and decreased risk of stroke in men, respectively, as were related haplotypes. FGB1038 was also associated with CVD mortality in AA, HR=1.9 (95%CI: 1.3–2.7). In conclusion, while fibrinogen genetic variation was strongly associated with fibrinogen levels, there was less evidence of association with the more complex outcomes of IMT and CVD events.
Glycoprotein Ibα and von Willebrand factor in primary platelet adhesion and thrombus formation: Lessons from mutant mice
Authors: Chauhan Anil K. , Wagner Denisa D. , Bergmeier Wolfgang 
Published: January 2008

SummaryThe von Willebrand factor (VWF) receptor complex, glycoprotein (GP)Ib-V-IX, and its main ligand VWF play a key role in the adhesion process of platelets to sites of vascular injury. Recent studies in mutant mice have shed new light on the importance of either molecule for the development of arterial and venous thrombosis. In this review, we summarize the most important aspects from these studies.
Sensory and Association Cortex in Time Perception
Authors: Bueti Domenica , Bahrami Bahador , Walsh Vincent 
Published: January 2008

Abstract
The recent upsurge of interest in brain mechanisms of time perception is beginning to converge on some new starting points for investigating this long under studied aspect of our experience. In four experiments, we asked whether disruption of normal activity in human MT/V5 would interfere with temporal discrimination. Although clearly associated with both spatial and motion processing, MT/V5 has not yet been implicated in temporal processes. Following predictions from brain imaging studies that have shown the parietal cortex to be important in human time perception, we also asked whether disruption of either the left or right parietal cortex would interfere with time perception preferentially in the auditory or visual domain. The results show that the right posterior parietal cortex is important for timing of auditory and visual stimuli and that MT/V5 is necessary for timing only of visual events.
Patient Registries in Cognitive Neuroscience Research: Advantages, Challenges, and Practical Advice
Authors: Fellows Lesley K. , Stark Marianna , Berg Arlene , Chatterjee Anjan 
Published: January 2008

Abstract
Neuropsychological work is the historical foundation of cognitive neuroscience and continues to be an important method in the study of the neural basis of human behavior, complementing newer techniques for investigating brain structure-function relationships in human subjects. Recent advances in neuroimaging, statistics and information management provide powerful tools to support neuropsychological research. At the same time, changing ethical requirements and privacy concerns impose increasingly high standards on the procedures used to recruit research participants, and on subsequent data management. Shared, centrally managed research registries provide a framework for facilitating access to this method for nonclinicians, addressing ethical concerns, streamlining recruitment and screening procedures, and coordinating subsequent research contacts and data storage. We report the experience of two such registries: the patient database of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Cognitive Neuroscience Research Registry at McGill University.
Is it Mine? Hemispheric Asymmetries in Corporeal Self-recognition
Authors: Frassinetti Francesca , Maini Manule , Romualdi Sabrina , Galante Emanuela , Avanzi Stefano 
Published: January 2008

Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate whether the recognition of “self body parts” is independent from the recognition of other people's body parts. If this is the case, the ability to recognize “self body parts” should be selectively impaired after lesion involving specific brain areas. To verify this hypothesis, patients with lesion of the right (right brain-damaged [RBD]) or left (left brain-damaged [LBD]) hemisphere and healthy subjects were submitted to a visual matching-to-sample task in two experiments. In the first experiment, stimuli depicted their own body parts or other people's body parts. In the second experiment, stimuli depicted parts of three categories: objects, bodies, and faces. In both experiments, participants were required to decide which of two vertically aligned images (the upper or the lower one) matched the central target stimulus. The results showed that the task indirectly tapped into bodily self-processing mechanisms, in that both LBD patients and normal subjects performed the task better when they visually matched their own, as compared to others', body parts. In contrast, RBD patients did not show such an advantage for self body parts. Moreover, they were more impaired than LBD patients and normal subjects when visually matching their own body parts, whereas this difference was not evident in performing the task with other people's body parts. RBD patients' performance for the other stimulus categories (face, body, object), although worse than LBD patients' and normal subjects' performance, was comparable across categories. These findings suggest that the right hemisphere may be involved in the recognition of self body parts, through a fronto-parietal network.
Illusory Vowels Resulting from Perceptual Continuity: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study
Authors: Heinrich Antje , Carlyon Robert P. , Davis Matthew H. , Johnsrude Ingrid S. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractWe used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the neural processing of vowels whose perception depends on the continuity illusion. Participants heard sequences of two-formant vowels under a number of listening conditions. In the “vowel conditions,” both formants were always present simultaneously and the stimuli were perceived as speech-like. Contrasted with a range of nonspeech sounds, these vowels elicited activity in the posterior middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and superior temporal sulcus (STS). When the two formants alternated in time, the “speech-likeness” of the sounds was reduced. It could be partially restored by filling the silent gaps in each formant with bands of noise (the “Illusion” condition) because the noise induced an illusion of continuity in each formant region, causing the two formants to be perceived as simultaneous. However, this manipulation was only effective at low formant-to-noise ratios (FNRs). When the FNR was increased, the illusion broke down (the “illusion-break” condition). Activation in vowel-sensitive regions of the MTG was greater in the illusion than in the illusion-break condition, consistent with the perception of Illusion stimuli as vowels. Activity in Heschl's gyri (HG), the approximate location of the primary auditory cortex, showed the opposite pattern, and may depend instead on the number of perceptual onsets in a sound. Our results demonstrate that speech-sensitive regions of the MTG are sensitive not to the physical characteristics of the stimulus but to the perception of the stimulus as speech, and also provide an anatomically distinct, objective physiological correlate of the continuity illusion in human listeners.
Neural Correlates of Post-error Slowing during a Stop Signal Task: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study
Authors: Li Chiang-shan Ray , Huang Cong , Yan Peisi , Paliwal Prashni , Constable Robert Todd , Sinha Rajita 
Published: January 2008

Abstract
The ability to detect errors and adjust behavior accordingly is essential for maneuvering in an uncertain environment. Errors are particularly prone to occur when multiple, conflicting responses are registered in a situation that requires flexible behavioral outputs; for instance, when a go signal requires a response and a stop signal requires inhibition of the response during a stop signal task (SST). Previous studies employing the SST have provided ample evidence indicating the importance of the medial cortical brain regions in conflict/error processing. Other studies have also related these regional activations to postconflict/error behavioral adjustment. However, very few studies have directly explored the neural correlates of postconflict/error behavioral adjustment. Here we employed an SST to elicit errors in approximately half of the stop trials despite constant behavioral adjustment of the observers. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we showed that prefrontal loci including the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex are involved in post-error slowing in reaction time. These results delineate the neural circuitry specifically involved in error-associated behavioral modifications.
Event-related Potentials Associated with Masked Priming of Test Cues Reveal Multiple Potential Contributions to Recognition Memory
Authors: Woollams Anna M. , Taylor Jason R. , Karayanidis Frini , Henson Richard N. 
Published: January 2008

Abstract
The relationship between recognition memory and repetition priming remains unclear. Priming is believed to reflect increased processing fluency for previously studied items relative to new items. Manipulations that affect fluency can also affect the likelihood that participants will judge items as studied in recognition tasks. This attribution of fluency to memory has been related to the familiarity process, as distinct from the recollection process, that is assumed by dual-process models of recognition memory. To investigate the time courses and neural sources of fluency, familiarity, and recollection, we conducted an event-related potential (ERP) study of recognition memory using masked priming of test cues and a remember/know paradigm. During the recognition test, studied and unstudied words were preceded by a brief, masked word that was either the same or different. Participants decided quickly whether each item had been studied (“old” or “new”), and for items called old, indicated whether they “remembered” (R) the encoding event, or simply “knew” (K) the item had been studied. Masked priming increased the proportion of K, but not R, judgments. Priming also decreased response times for hits but not correct rejections (CRs). Four distinct ERP effects were found. A medial-frontal FN400 (300–500 msec) was associated with familiarity (R, K Hits &gt; CRs) and a centro-parietal late positivity (500–800 msec) with recollection (R Hits &gt; K Hits, CRs). A long-term repetition effect was found for studied items judged “new” (Misses &gt; CRs) in the same time window as the FN400, but with a posterior distribution. Finally, a centrally distributed masked priming effect was visible between 150 and 250 msec and continued into the 300–500 msec time window, where it was topographically dissociable from the FN400. These results suggest that multiple neural signals are associated with repetition and potentially contribute to recognition memory.
Sequentially allocated clinical trial of rhythmic stabilization exercises and TENS in women with chronic low back pain
Authors: Kofotolis Nikolaos D. , Vlachopoulos Symeon P. , Kellis Eleftherios 
Published: January 2008

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of rhythmic stabilization exercises and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and their combination in treating women with chronic low back pain. Design: Sequentially allocated, single-blinded and controlled study, with a two-month follow-up. Setting: The data were collected in a patient rehabilitation setting. Subjects: A total of 92 women (34—46 years old) with chronic low back pain were studied. Interventions: Sequential allocation was undertaken into four groups: `rhythmic stabilization' (n=23), `rhythmic stabilization — TENS' (n=23), TENS (n=23), and a placebo group (n = 23). Each programme lasted for four weeks. All outcome measures were assessed prior to, immediately after, four weeks and eight weeks post intervention. Main measures: Data were obtained on functional disability, pain intensity, trunk extension range of motion, dynamic endurance of trunk flexion and static endurance of trunk extension. Results: A total of 88 patients provided two-month follow-up data. The `rhythmic stabilization' and the `rhythmic stabilization — TENS' groups displayed statistically significant (P<0.05) improvements in functional disability and pain intensity (ranging from 21.2 to 42.8%), trunk extension range of motion (ranging from 6.5 to 25.5%), dynamic endurance of trunk flexion and static endurance of trunk extension (ranging from 13.5 to 74.3%) compared with the remaining groups. Conclusions: The rhythmic stabilization programmes resulted in more gains in women with chronic low back pain regarding the present outcome variables compared with the other groups; therefore, its application in female chronic low back pain patients aged 34—46 years is recommended.
A meta-analysis examining clinical test utilities for assessing meniscal injury
Authors: Meserve Brent B. , Cleland Joshua A. , Boucher Thomas R. 
Published: January 2008

Objective: To systematically review the most recent literature with meta-analysis to summarize the accuracy of clinical tests for assessing meniscal lesions of the knee. Methods and measures: A computerized database search was performed to identify eligible articles. Identified articles were reviewed to determine eligibility and methodological quality. Sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios and diagnostic odd ratios were reproduced or recorded from each study. Meta-analysis was performed using the reported study sensitivity and specificity values. Results: Three tests — joint line tenderness, McMurray's and Apley's — were compared in the meta-analysis. The methodological quality of the studies was found to have a significant effect on both the test sensitivities and specificities. Summary receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, sensitivity values, mean likelihood ratios and diagnostic odd ratios (DOR) uniformly show joint line tenderness (DOR = 10.98) to be the best `common' test, followed by McMurray's (DOR = 3.99) and Apley's (DOR = 2.2). Thessaly's test reported the strongest DOR of 227, but samples were smaller (n = 410), than those for joint line tenderness (n = 1354), McMurray's (n = 1232) and Apley's (n = 479). Conclusion: Methodological quality varied from poor to fair among studies, affecting test performance. Future studies should, where possible, utilize larger samples of individuals without meniscal lesions to better estimate test specificity and thus more accurately identify optimal clinical tests.
A study of constraint-induced movement therapy in subacute stroke patients in Hong Kong
Authors: Myint Jennifer Ma Wai Wai , Yuen Grace Fung Chi , Yu Teresa Kim Kam , Kng Carolyn Poey Lyn , Wong Amy Mei Yee , Chow Keith Kit Chi , Li Hercy Chi Kong , Chun Por Wong  
Published: January 2008

Objective: To investigate the beneficial effect of constraint-induced movement therapy in improving the function of hemiplegic upper extremity in the early subacute stroke patients. Design: A prospective, single-blinded, randomized controlled study comparing the effectiveness of constraint-induced movement therapy or control treatment at post intervention and 12 weeks follow-up. Subjects: The inclusion criteria were 2—16 weeks after stroke, hemiparesis of the affected limb, minimal function of ≥20 degrees wrist extension and ≥10 degrees extension of all digits and Mini-Mental State Examination score ≥17. Interventions: The intervention group underwent a programme of 10 days upper extremity training (4 hours per day) with the unaffected limb being restrained in a shoulder sling and the control group received an equivalent duration of conventional rehabilitation therapy. Main measures: Functional level for hemiparetic upper extremity, Motor Activity Log, Action Research Arm Test and modified Barthel Index. Results: There were 23 and 20 subjects respectively in the constraint-induced movement therapy and control groups. Significant improvements were seen at post intervention and 12 weeks after constraint-induced movement therapy in functional level for hemiparetic upper extremity (P= 0.001), and in the `amount of use' (P= 0.001) and `how well' (P= 0.021) subscales of the Motor Activity Log. The total Action Research Arm Test score, grasp (P= 0.004), grip (P= 0.004), pinch (P= 0.032) and gross (P= 0.006) components showed significant improvement over the control group at post intervention. The grip component (P=0.019) and the total Action Research Arm Test score (P= 0.009) were superior to the control group at 12 weeks. Conclusion: Significant improvement in hand function could be achieved with constraint-induced movement therapy in subacute stroke patients, which was maintained up to 12 week follow-up.