bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Motor evoked potentials from the pelvic floor
Authors: Brostrøm Søren 
Published: October 2003

AbstractAimsProper function of the lower urinary tract depends on the integrity of the central and peripheral nervous pathways on multiple levels, and the complexity of this system leaves it susceptible to even minor lesions. While dysfunction of the lower urinary tract is prevalent amongst patients with nervous system disease, e.g., multiple sclerosis (MS), most women with lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) have no overt neurological cause. Refined neuro‐diagnostic approaches are needed to reveal neurogenicity in these patients. A potential method is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which is used routinely to test the motor innervation of limb muscles, but also can be applied to test pelvic floor efferents. To resolve the lack of methodological clarity and the need for normative values for the use of pelvic floor motor evoked potentials (MEPs), 30 healthy women and 16 women with MS were studied.MethodsThe healthy women underwent MEP studies with various stimulus and recording modalities, and, to test reproducibility, 18 of them were retested at a separate session. The women with MS underwent MEP testing as well as urodynamic studies.ResultsFrom the methodological studies of healthy women, the use of invasive concentric needle electrodes was found to be superior to surface electrodes. When applying magnetic stimuli over the sacral region, various methodological problems were encountered. In the healthy women, a large variability of responses was noted, the long‐term reproducibility of pelvic floor MEP latencies was poor, and in some cases responses could not be obtained. In the study of women with MS, prolonged central conduction times were found, along with many cases of unevokable responses, and a poor correlation of MEPs to urodynamic findings. The problems of obtaining selective recordings from the inaccessible pelvic floor musculature are discussed, and possible sources of variability in MEPs from the pelvic floor are considered. By relating the findings in the present studies to those of others using different modalities, some reflections are presented on the nature of the neural pathways to the pelvic floor activated by magnetic stimulation. As unevokable responses from the pelvic floor were an occasional finding among the healthy women, it is argued that a pelvic floor non‐response in a patient with suspected corticospinal lesion should be interpreted with care, and should not carry the same clinical significance as an absent limb response.ConclusionsThe inherent limitations of pelvic floor MEPs are discussed, and it is concluded that while there seems to be only limited clinical value of pelvic floor MEP testing, there might be some interesting scientific perspectives in studies that aim to control and explain the variability of responses. Neurourol. Urodynam. 22:620–637, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pelvic floor muscle strength and response to pelvic floor muscle training for stress urinary incontinence
Authors: Bø Kari 
Published: October 2003

AbstractAimsSeveral randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that pelvic floor muscle training is effective to treat stress urinary incontinence. The aim of the present study was to compare muscle strength increase and maximal strength in responders and non‐responders to pelvic floor muscle training.Materials and MethodsFifty‐two women with urodynamically proven stress incontinence who had participated in a six months randomized controlled trial on pelvic floor muscle training, mean age 45.4 years (range 24–64), participated in the study. The women were classified as responders and non‐responders based on a combination of five effect variables covering urodynamic measurement, pad test with standardized bladder volume, and self‐reports. Pelvic floor muscle strength was measured with a vaginal balloon connected to a fiber optic micro tip transducer (Camtech AS, Sandvika, Norway).ResultsThere was a positive correlation between improvement in PFM maximal strength and improvement measured by leakage index (r = 0.34, P < 0.01), and reduction in urinary leakage measured by the pad test (r = 0.23, P = 0.05). The total sample of 52 women comprised 21 responders, 18 unclassifiable, and 13 non‐responders. There was a statistically significant difference in maximal strength after the training period between responders and non‐responders; 24.0 cm H2O (95% CI:18.1–29.9) versus 12.7 cm H2O (95% CI: 6.8–18.6) P < 0.001), and strength increase; 14.8 cm H2O (95% CI: 8.9–20.7) versus 5.0 cm H2O (95% CI: 2.6–12.6), respectively (P = 0.03).ConclusionsThere was a positive relation between both pelvic floor muscle strength increase and maximal strength, and improvement of stress urinary incontinence. Neurourol. Urodynam. 22:654–658, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Free vibration analysis of arches using curved beam elements
Authors: Wu Jong‐Shyong , Chiang Lieh‐Kwang 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe natural frequencies and mode shapes for the radial (in‐plane) bending vibrations of the uniform circular arches were investigated by means of the finite arch (curved beam) elements. Instead of the complicated explicit shape functions of the arch element given by the existing literature, the simple implicit shape functions associated with the tangential, radial (or normal) and rotational displacements of the arch element were derived and presented in matrix form. Based on the relationship between the nodal forces and the nodal displacements of a two‐node six‐degree‐of‐freedom arch element, the elemental stiffness matrix was derived, and based on the equation of kinetic energy and the implicit shape functions of an arch element the elemental consistent mass matrix with rotary inertia effect considered was obtained. Assembly of the foregoing elemental property matrices yields the overall stiffness and mass matrices of the complete curved beam. The standard techniques were used to determine the natural frequencies and mode shapes for the curved beam with various boundary conditions and subtended angles. In addition to the typical circular arches with constant curvatures, a hybrid beam constructed by using an arch segment connected with a straight beam segment at each of its two ends was also studied. For simplicity, a lumped mass model for the arch element was also presented. All numerical results were compared with the existing literature or those obtained from the finite element method based on the conventional straight beam element and good agreements were achieved. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Finite element analysis of time‐dependent semi‐infinite wave‐guides with high‐order boundary treatment
Authors: Givoli Dan , Neta Beny , Patlashenko Igor 
Published: October 2003

AbstractA new finite element (FE) scheme is proposed for the solution of time‐dependent semi‐infinite wave‐guide problems, in dispersive or non‐dispersive media. The semi‐infinite domain is truncated via an artificial boundary ℬ︁, and a high‐order non‐reflecting boundary condition (NRBC), based on the Higdon non‐reflecting operators, is developed and applied on ℬ︁. The new NRBC does not involve any high derivatives beyond second order, but its order of accuracy is as high as one desires. It involves some parameters which are chosen automatically as a pre‐process. A C0 semi‐discrete FE formulation incorporating this NRBC is constructed for the problem in the finite domain bounded by ℬ︁. Augmented and split versions of this FE formulation are proposed. The semi‐discrete system of equations is solved by the Newmark time‐integration scheme. Numerical examples concerning dispersive waves in a semi‐infinite wave guide are used to demonstrate the performance of the new method. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Phylogeny of major lineages of suboscines (Passeriformes) analysed by nuclear DNA sequence data
Authors: Irestedt Martin , Johansson Ulf S. , Parsons Thomas J. , Ericson Per G. P. 
Published: November 2003

Phylogenetic relationships among major groups of passeriform birds were studied by analyses of nucleotide sequence data from two nuclear genes, c‐myc and RAG‐1. The results corroborated both the monophyly of the order Passeriformes, and the major dichotomy into oscine and suboscine passerines previously suggested based on syringeal morphology and DNA‐DNA hybridizations. The representatives of the Old World suboscines (families Eurylaimidae, Philepittidae and Pittidae) formed a monophyletic clade. The New World suboscines clustered into two clades. The first contained Conopophaga (Conopophagidae), Furnarius (Furnariidae), Lepidocolaptes (Dendrocolaptidae), Thamnophilus (Formicariidae), and Rhinocrypta (Rhinocryptidae). Previously, the monophyly of this group has been inferred from their possession of a unique, “tracheophone” syrinx, and from DNA‐DNA hybridisation data. The second clade of New World suboscines includes Gubernetes and Muscivora (Tyrannidae), Phytotoma (Phytotomidae), Tityra (Cotingidae) and Pipra (Pipridae). This group of families have been considered monophyletic based on morphology (although ambiguously) and DNA‐DNA hybridisation. The sister group relationship of Tityra and Phytotoma supports the previously supposed cotingid affinity of Phytotoma. Nuclear DNA data also unambiguously group the lyrebirds Menura with the oscines.The presented results from the analysis of nuclear DNA agree well with morphology and DNA‐DNA hybridisation data. The precise age of the divergences studied herein are unknown but based on interpretations of the fossil record of passerine birds many of them might date back to the early Tertiary. The agreement between data from the nuclear DNA and other sources, along with the fact that neither of the studied genes showed sign of saturation, indicate the great potential of these two nuclear genes to resolve very old divergences in birds.
`Bacchen des Euripides zu erneuern': The Pentheus Project of Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Authors: Ward Philip Marshall 
Published: November 2003

Hofmannsthal's Nachlaß contains a series of notes for an adaptation or rewriting of Euripides' Bacchae, notes written in three phases (1892–3, 1904, 1905–18). Working from the new standard Hofmannsthal edition, this article seeks to make sense of these fragments by re‐arranging each group into a coherent sequence, based on Hofmannsthal's outline scenario and on the structure of the model, Euripides' play. The result is a skeletal text of a two‐act drama, radically different from previously published versions, which may aid future scholarship in the appreciation of this hitherto confusing material.The article sets three targets: to assess what attracted Hofmannsthal to the subject, what he attempted to make of it, and why he did not succeed. It begins with an introduction to the main characteristics of Hofmannsthal's Hellenism and its historical‐critical context (Nietzsche, Rohde, etc.) Euripides' Bacchae is briefly interpreted in terms that provide a basis for assessing Hofmannsthal's project. There then follows a summary of each newly constituted scene at the three stages of interest, drawing attention to principal themes and points of congruence with or divergence from Euripides' drama. After sections on the influence of Nietzsche and Pater, the article concludes with reflections on why Hofmannsthal was unable to complete the project.
Re‐Circumcising Derrida
Authors: Siegumfeldt I. B. 
Published: November 2003

… my own skin thus torn off, in the very place, along the crural artery where my books find their inspiration, they are written first in skin …1
For this wound is also a sign of being chosen, a sign that one must know how to recognize in oneself, the privilege of a destination, an assigned mission: in the night, by the night itself.2
Direct evidence of collagenolysis in chronic periodontitis
Authors: Ma Jian , Sorsa Timo , Billinghurst Clark R. , Poole Robin A. , Kitti Uula , Santavirta Seppo , Konttinen Yrjö T. 
Published: November 2003

Background:  There is no previous evidence that collagenases in chronic periodontitis excessively cleave collagen fibrils.Objectives:  In this study the eventual presence of neoepitopes produced in such a cleavage were looked for.Methods:  A polyclonal antibody, which recognizes collagenase‐cleaved collagen type I 3/4 carboxy‐terminal neoepitope (COL1‐3/4C), was used in avidin–biotin–peroxidase complex staining.Results:  In addition, moderate staining was seen in connective tissue bordering to the sulcular and junctional epithelium, surrounding some of the fibroblasts and in some areas infiltrated by inflammatory mononuclear cells. COL1‐3/4C staining in chronic periodontitis was more extensive (6.3 ± 1.2%, n = 10) and intense than that observed in controls (1.6 ± 0.7%, n = 10, Unpaired Student's t‐test, p < 0.01).Conclusions:  It is concluded that collagenases produced by host cells contribute to periodontal tissue destruction and attachment loss.
Tumor necrosis factor‐alpha expression and detection of apoptosis at the site of chronic periodontitis in AIDS patients
Authors: Vieira Beatriz Julião , De Souza Andrezza Rodrigues , Aarestrup Fernando Monteiro 
Published: November 2003

Background:  Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is associated with the regulation of the life cell cycle of leukocytes in healthy and diseased states.Objectives:  In the present study, we investigated the presence of apoptosis of mononuclear inflammatory cells in the periodontal lesion from adult periodontitis in healthy control patients and AIDS patients.Materials and methods:  Tissue samples adjacent to a 5–6 mm gingival sulcus, measured with a periodontal probe, were obtained during routine periodontal surgical procedures. The direct immuno‐peroxidase of digoxigenin‐labeled genomic DNA method was used for in situ detection of apoptosis in gingival tissues.Results:  Many tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNFα)‐positive cells, detected by immunohistochemistry method, were observed in gingival samples of both groups of patients. In addition, a significant lower number ( p < 0.05) of mononuclear apoptotic cells were observed in AIDS patients when compared with healthy control patients.Conclusion:  These data suggested an important role of the apoptosis of mononuclear cells in the pathogenesis of chronic adult periodontitis in AIDS patients.
Anandamide and vanilloid TRPV1 receptors
Authors: Ross Ruth A 
Published: October 2003

A large body of evidence now exists to substantiate that the endocannabinoid, anandamide, activates TRPV1 receptors. It is a low intrinsic efficacy TRPV1 agonist that behaves as a partial agonist in tissues with a low receptor reserve, while in tissues with high receptor reserve and in circumstances associated with certain disease states, it behaves as a full agonist. The efficacy of anandamide as a TRPV1 agonist is influenced by a succession of factors including receptor reserve, phosphorylation, metabolism and uptake, CB1 receptor activation, voltage, temperature, pH and bovine serum albumin. There are indications that the endocannabinoid system may play a role in the modulation of TRPV1 receptor activation. The activation of TRPV1 receptors by anandamide has potential implications in the treatment of inflammatory, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders. The relative importance of anandamide as a physiological and/or pathophysiological TRPV1 receptor agonist in comparison to other potential candidates has yet to be revealed.British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 140, 790–801. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705467
Cellular accumulation of anandamide: consensus and controversy
Authors: Hillard Cecilia J , Jarrahian Abbas 
Published: October 2003

The endocannabinoids N‐arachidonylethanolamine (AEA or anandamide) and 2‐arachidonylglycerol (2‐AG) are hypothesized to function in the brain as interneuronal signaling molecules. Prevailing models of the actions of these molecules require that they traverse cellular plasma membranes twice; first, following cellular synthesis and second, prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. The transmembrane movement of AEA has been studied in multiple laboratories with a primary focus on its cellular accumulation following extracellular administration. Although there are areas of consensus among laboratories regarding AEA accumulation, several aspects are very unclear. In particular, there is a lack of consensus in the literature regarding the importance of AEA hydrolysis by fatty acid amide hydrolase in maintaining the driving force for accumulation. Furthermore, evidence for and against a transmembrane carrier protein has been published. We have reviewed the available literature and present a working model of the processes that are involved in the cellular accumulation of AEA. It is our hypothesis that transmembrane movement of AEA is regulated by concentration gradient between extracellular and intracellular free AEA. Furthermore, it is our view that a significant portion of the intracellular AEA in most cells is sequestered either by a protein or lipid compartment and that AEA sequestered in this manner does not equilibrate directly with the extracellular pool. Finally, we discuss the available data that have been presented in support of a transmembrane carrier protein for AEA.British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 140, 802–808. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705468
A structural model of agonist binding to the α3β4 neuronal nicotinic receptor
Authors: Costa Valeria , Nistri Andrea , Cavalli Andrea , Carloni Paolo 
Published: October 2003

(α3)2(β4)3 is the most abundant type of neuronal nicotinic ACh receptor (nAChR) mediating cholinergic actions on the autonomic nervous system. Studies to refine or devise drugs selectively acting on (α3)2(β4)3 receptors would benefit from a detailed description of the hitherto unclear agonist‐binding domain.
The present study reports a three‐dimensional model for the ligand‐binding domain (LBD) of this receptor either in its unoccupied or agonist‐bound conformation. The receptor model was based on the structure of the acetylcholine‐binding protein (AChBP), and was obtained using molecular modelling techniques.
ACh, nicotine and cytisine (full agonists), muscarine (a selective agonist of muscarinic ACh receptors) and the allosteric modulator eserine were docked into the binding pockets of the receptor model. Simulated agonist–receptor complexes were compared with the agonist‐binding complex of the AChBP, as well as of the (α4)2(β2)3 type of nAChR, which is the commonest in the brain.
Agonist docking identified discrete amino‐acid residues of the β subunits important for pharmacological selectivity of nAChRs. The predicted affinity of muscarine for the nAChR was low, suggesting the present model to be suitable for effective discrimination of nicotinic agonist binding versus nonselective cholinergic binding. Furthermore, the current model outlined a potential binding site for the allosteric modulator eserine, the site of action of which has remained elusive.
The present LBD model of the receptor in its free state provides a novel structural framework to interpret experimental observations and a useful template for future investigations to develop (α3)2(β4)3‐selective ligands.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 140, 921–931. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705498
The rabbit motilin receptor: molecular characterisation and pharmacology
Authors: Dass N B , Hill J , Muir A , Testa T , Wise A , Sanger G J 
Published: October 2003

Following identification of the human motilin receptor, we isolated the rabbit orthologue by PCR amplification and found this to be 85% identical to the open reading frame of the human receptor. The protein encoded was 84% identical to the human polypeptide.
In HEK293T cells transfected with the rabbit receptor, motilin concentration‐dependently increased intracellular calcium mobilisation (pEC50=9.25). After transfection with Go1α, motilin similarly stimulated [35S]GTPγS binding (pEC50=8.87). Using both systems, similar values were obtained with the human receptor, with rank‐order potencies of motilin=[Nle13]‐motilin>erythromycin; ghrelin was ineffective.
In circular muscle preparations of rabbit gastric antrum, [Nle13]‐motilin 0.1–30 nM concentration‐dependently increased the amplitude of electrically‐evoked, neuronally‐mediated contractions (pEC50=8.3); higher concentrations increased the muscle tension (30–3000 nM). Both responses to [Nle13]‐motilin faded rapidly during its continual presence. Rat or human ghrelin 0.01–10 μM were without activity.
Erythromycin 30–3000 nM and 10 μM, respectively, increased neuronal activity and muscle tension in rabbit stomach. Unlike [Nle13]‐motilin, the increase in neuronal activity did not fade during continual presence of submaximally‐effective concentrations of erythromycin; some fade was observed at higher concentrations.
We conclude that the pharmacology of the rabbit motilin receptor is similar to the human orthologue and, when expressed as a recombinant, comparable to the native receptor. However, in terms of their ability to increase neuronal activity in rabbit stomach, [Nle13]‐motilin and erythromycin are distinguished by different response kinetics, reflecting different rates of ligand degradation and/or interaction with the receptor.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 140, 948–954. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705505
WAY‐855 (3‐amino‐tricyclo[2.2.1.02.6]heptane‐1,3‐dicarboxylic acid): a novel, EAAT2‐preferring, nonsubstrate inhibitor of high‐affinity glutamate uptake
Authors: Dunlop John , Eliasof Scott , Stack Gary , McIlvain H Beal , Greenfield Alexander , Kowal Dianne , Petroski Robert , Carrick Tikva 
Published: October 2003

The pharmacological profile of a novel glutamate transport inhibitor, WAY‐855 (3‐amino‐tricyclo[2.2.1.02.6]heptane‐1,3‐dicarboxylic acid), on the activity of the human forebrain glutamate transporters EAAT1, EAAT2 and EAAT3 expressed in stable mammalian cell lines and in Xenopus laevis oocytes is presented.
WAY‐855 inhibited glutamate uptake mediated by all three subtypes in a concentration‐dependent manner, with preferential inhibition of the CNS‐predominant EAAT2 subtype in both cells and oocytes. IC50 values for EAAT2 and EAAT3 inhibition in cells were 2.2 and 24.5 μM, respectively, while EAAT1 activity was inhibited by 50% at 100 μM (IC50 values determined in oocytes were 1.3 μM (EAAT2), 52.5 μM (EAAT3) and 125.9 μM (EAAT1)).
Application of WAY‐855 to EAAT‐expressing oocytes failed to induce a transporter current, and the compound failed to exchange with accumulated [3H]D‐aspartate in synaptosomes consistent with a nonsubstrate inhibitor. WAY‐855 inhibited D‐aspartate uptake into cortical synaptosomes by a competitive mechanism, and with similar potency to that observed for the cloned EAAT2.
WAY‐855 failed to agonise or antagonise ionotropic glutamate receptors in cultured hippocampal neurones, or the human metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 4 expressed in a stable cell line.
WAY‐855 represents a novel structure in glutamate transporter pharmacology, and exploration of this structure might provide insights into the discrimination between EAAT2 and other EAAT subtypes.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 140, 839–846. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705509