bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Thrombolysis for acute myocardial infarction in Australasia 1999
Authors: Mountain David , Jelinek George A , O'Brien Debra L , Ingarfield Sharyn L , Jacobs Ian G , Lynch Dania M 
Published: December 2004

AbstractObjective: To describe revascularization practice for acute myocardial infarction in a sample of Australasian hospitals during 1999.Design: Survey for the 1999 calendar year.Setting: Hospitals with Australasian College for Emergency Medicine‐accredited emergency departments in Australia and New Zealand.Participants: Forty‐eight hospitals of 80 surveyed (60%), comprising 15 tertiary and 33 non‐tertiary hospitals.Main outcome measures: Time from arrival in emergency department to initiation of thrombolytic therapy, site of therapy, agent used, mortality and intracranial haemorrhage rates.Results: Approximately 30% of patients with acute myocardial infarction had revascularization therapy. Sixty‐two per cent of patients receiving thrombolytics were given this treatment in the emergency department, the remainder in the coronary care unit. Overall median door‐to‐needle times were 35.0 min emergency department versus 48.3 min coronary care unit. Streptokinase was used for 58.3% of thrombolysis. In‐hospital mortality of thrombolysed patients was 6.7% in the emergency department versus 4.3% in the coronary care unit with intracranial haemorrhage rates of 0.8% emergency department and 0.7% coronary care unit.Conclusions: Overall times to thrombolysis and outcome rates in this sample were within internationally reported figures. Emergency department times were shorter than in coronary care unit.
Otago Glaucoma Surgery Outcome Study. Atypical late failure of drainage following clear cornea trabeculectomy
Authors: Whittaker Karl W , Molteno Anthony CB , Bevin Tui H 
Published: December 2004

Abstract Background: Bleb scarring is the major cause of late drainage failure following the standard trabeculectomy. To overcome this, Cairns described a modification of his original technique, which he termed the clear cornea trabeculectomy. The essential feature was communication between the anterior chamber and subconjunctival space without intraoperative disturbance of the conjunctival or Tenon's tissue. As there is little published data on Cairns’ clear cornea trabeculectomy, this study aimed to assess the long‐term success of this procedure relative to conventional trabeculectomy. Methods: Patients who underwent clear cornea trabeculectomy at Dunedin Hospital were identified. Cases in which late failure occurred were subject to a detailed review. Records of all patients in whom late failure of drainage occurred following conventional trabeculectomy performed since 1985 were also reviewed. The nature of late drainage failure associated with these different procedures was assessed. Results: Late failure of drainage occurred in three of 21 eyes following clear cornea trabeculectomy. In each case there was an accelerated drainage failure with a dramatic rise in intraocular pressure. Consequent visual loss occurred in two patients. Late failure occurred in 32 of the 450 cases of conventional trabeculectomy, in all of which the pressure rise was gradual and less acute. Conclusions: This report highlights a previously unreported type of late failure associated with clear cornea trabeculectomy, which may result in significant visual loss. This reinforces the view that the standard Cairns’ trabeculectomy is a safer procedure.
Tripterygium glycosides suppress production of interleukin‐4 by splenocytes in oxazolone‐induced murine colitis
Authors: HAN Ying , CHEN Gang , SONG Ying Xin , MURATA Yuhji , ITOH Jugoh , MUNAKATA Akihiro 
Published: December 2004

OBJECTIVE:  To investigate the in vitro effect of Tripterygium glycosides (TG) on cytokine production by splenocytes in oxazolone (OXZ)‐induced colitis in mice.METHODS:  Oxazolone (6 mg in 50% ethanol) was administered to male SJL/J mice intrarectally to induce colitis and the mice were killed 3 days later. Isolated splenocytes were cultured for 24 h in the presence of phorbol myristate acetate and ionomycin. A preparation of Tripterygium glycosides at a concentration of either 0.1 mg/mL or 0.01 mg/mL was added to the culture medium of splenocytes. Production of interferon gamma (IFN‐γ) and interleukin‐4 (IL‐4) in the supernatant were measured by ELISA.RESULTS:  Production of IFN‐γ in the normal control group was suppressed by TG at both concentrations (0.01 and 0.1 mg/mL; 1.24 ± 0.13 pg/mL (samples without TG) → 0.97 ± 0.26 pg/mL (0.01 mg/mL TG) → 0.87 ± 0.18 pg/mL (0.1 mg/mL TG); P < 0.02) in a dose dependent manner. In the OXZ‐induced colitis group, the basic level of IFN‐γ was significantly lower than that of the normal control group (1.24 ± 0.13 pg/mL vs 0.65 ± 0.08 pg/mL; P < 0.01); but IL‐4 production was significantly increased in the OXZ‐induced colitis without TG group (7.83 ± 0.69 pg/mL vs 5.65 ± 0.48 pg/mL, P < 0.01). In both groups, TG suppressed IL‐4 production in a dose‐dependent manner (normal control group: 5.65 ± 0.48 pg/mL (samples without TG) → 4.97 ± 0.38 pg/mL (0.01 mg/mL TG) → 3.98 ± 0.32 pg/mL (0.1 mg/mL TG), P < 0.01; OXZ group: 7.83 ± 0.69 pg/mL (samples without TG) → 7.07 ± 0.47 pg/mL (0.01 mg/mL TG) → 6.35 ± 0.48 pg/mL (0.1 mg/mL TG), P < 0.01).CONCLUSION:  Oxazalone‐induced IL‐4 overproduction by splenocytes was significantly suppressed by TG in a dose dependent manner and the beneficial effects of TG on ulcerative colitis might be related to the suppression of the Th2 type (e.g. IL‐4) mediated immunological response of splenocytes.
Aberrant responses to acoustic stimuli in mice deficient for neural recognition molecule NB‐2
Authors: Li Hong , Takeda Yasuo , Niki Hiroaki , Ogawa Junko , Kobayashi Satoru , Kai Nobuyuki , Akasaka Keiko , Asano Masahide , Sudo Katsuko , Iwakura Yoichiro , Watanabe Kazutada 
Published: December 2004

AbstractNB‐2, a member of the contactin subgroup in the immunoglobulin superfamily, is expressed specifically in the postnatal nervous system, reaching a maximum level at 3 weeks postnatal. NB‐2 displays neurite outgrowth‐promoting activity in vitro. To assess its function in the nervous system, we generated mutant mice in which a part of the NB‐2 gene was ablated and replaced with the tau‐LacZ gene. The general appearance of NB‐2‐deficient mice and their gross anatomical features were normal. The LacZ expression patterns in heterozygous mice revealed that NB‐2 is preferentially expressed in the central auditory pathways. In the audiogenic seizure test, NB‐2‐deficient mice exhibited a lower incidence of wild running, but a higher mortality rate than the wild‐type littermates. c‐Fos immunohistochemistry demonstrated that neural excitability induced by the audiogenic seizure test in the NB‐2‐deficient mice was prominently attenuated in both the dorsal and external cortices of the inferior colliculus, where enhanced neural excitability was observed in the wild‐type mice. In response to pure‐tone stimulation after priming, NB‐2‐deficient mice exhibited a diffuse and low level of c‐Fos expression in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus, which was distinctly different from the band‐like c‐Fos expression corresponding to the tonotopic map in the wild‐type littermates. Taken together, these results suggest that a lack of NB‐2 causes impairment of the neuronal activity in the auditory system.
Spreading of slow cortical rhythms to the basal ganglia output nuclei in rats with nigrostriatal lesions
Authors: Belluscio Mariano A. , Kasanetz Fernando , Riquelme Luis A. , Gustavo Murer M. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractA high proportion of neurons in the basal ganglia display rhythmic burst firing after chronic nigrostriatal lesions. For instance, the periodic bursts exhibited by certain striatal and subthalamic nucleus neurons in 6‐hydroxydopamine‐lesioned rats seem to be driven by the ∼ 1 Hz high‐amplitude rhythm that is prevalent in the cerebral cortex of anaesthetized animals. Because the striatum and subthalamic nucleus are the main afferent structures of the substantia nigra pars reticulata, we examined the possibility that the low‐frequency modulations (periodic bursts) that are evident in approximately 50% nigral pars reticulata neurons in the parkinsonian condition were also coupled to this slow cortical rhythm. By recording the frontal cortex field potential simultaneously with single‐unit activity in the substantia nigra pars reticulata of anaesthetized rats, we proved the following. (i) The firing of nigral pars reticulata units from sham‐lesioned rats is not coupled to the ∼ 1 Hz frontal cortex slow oscillation. (ii) Approximately 50% nigral pars reticulata units from 6‐hydroxydopamine‐lesioned rats oscillate synchronously with the ∼ 1 Hz cortical rhythm, with the cortex leading the substantia nigra by ∼ 55 ms; the remaining ∼ 50% nigral pars reticulata units behave as the units recorded from sham‐lesioned rats. (iii) Periodic bursting in nigral pars reticulata units from 6‐hydroxydopamine‐lesioned rats is disrupted by episodes of desynchronization of cortical field potential activity. Our results strongly support that nigrostriatal lesions promote the spreading of low‐frequency cortical rhythms to the substantia nigra pars reticulata and may be of outstanding relevance for understanding the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease.
Stimulation site determines the conditioned effects of kindling in rats: anterior neocortex versus amygdala
Authors: Barnes Steven J. , Pinel John P. J. , Wig Gagan S. , Stuettgen Maik C. , Hölzel C. Heike 
Published: December 2004

AbstractRats received 53 stimulations to either the left basolateral amygdala (BA) or left anterior neocortex (AN) in one environment (CS+) and 53 sham stimulations (the stimulation lead was attached but no current was delivered) in another environment (CS–), quasirandomly over 54 days. Confirming a previous report [Barnes, S.J., Pinel, J.P., Francis, L.H. & Wig, G.S. (2001) Behav. Neurosci., 115, 1065–1072], as BA kindling progressed, the CS+ began to elicit more defensive behaviours (i.e. less activity, more freezing and avoidance of the CS+) than the CS–, and at the end of the experiment, convulsions elicited in the CS+ were more severe than those elicited in the CS–. Like BA kindling, AN kindling led to less activity in the CS+; but unlike BA kindling, AN kindling led to more wet‐dog‐shakes and less, rather than more, severe convulsions in the CS+. During AN kindling, the mean number of wet‐dog‐shakes in the CS+ was negatively correlated with the mean convulsion class, suggesting that wet‐dog‐shakes contribute to the inherent variability of AN kindling. These findings confirm that inherent conditioned effects influence kindled convulsions and interictal behaviour and establish for the first time that the pattern of these conditioned effects is a function of the kindling site.
Differential expression and cellular localization of doublecortin in the developing rat retina
Authors: Lee Eun‐Jin , Kim In‐Beom , Lee Eun , Kwon Sung‐Oh , Oh Su‐Ja , Chun Myung‐Hoon 
Published: December 2004

AbstractDoublecortin is 40 kDa microtubule‐associated phosphoprotein required for neuronal migration and differentiation in various regions of the developing central nervous system. We have investigated the expression and cellular localization of doublecortin in the developing rat retina using immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis. The expression of doublecortin was high from embryonic day 18 (E18) until E20 and was low during the postnatal period. The doublecortin immunoreactivity first appeared in a few radially orientated cells in the mantle zone of the primitive retina at E15. From E16 onward, the immunoreactivity appeared in two different regions: the inner part of the retina and middle of the neuroblastic layer. In the inner part, the somata of cells in the ganglion cell layer, in the distal row of the neuroblastic layer and profiles in the inner plexiform layer showed doublecortin immunoreactivity up to postnatal day 1 (P1). Afterwards, the doublecortin immunoreactivity persisted in the inner plexiform layer until P15, although the intensity decreased gradually with the maturation of the retina. In the middle of the neuroblastic layer, doublecortin immunoreactivity appeared in the radially orientated cells. These cells transformed into horizontal cells. The doublecortin immunoreactivity persisted in these cells up to P21. Given these results, doublecortin may play an important role in the migration and differentiation of specific neuronal populations in developmental stages of the rat retina.
Dentate granule cell GABAA receptors in epileptic hippocampus: enhanced synaptic efficacy and altered pharmacology
Authors: Cohen Akiva S. , Lin Dean D. , Quirk Gerald L. , Coulter Douglas A. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThe dentate gyrus (DG) normally functions as a filter, preventing propagation of synchronized activity into the seizure‐prone hippocampus. This filter or ‘gatekeeper’ attribute of the DG is compromised in various pathological states, including temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). This study examines the role that altered inhibition may play in the deterioration of this crucial DG function. Using the pilocarpine animal model of TLE, we demonstrate that inhibitory synaptic function is altered in principal cells of the DG. Spontaneous miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) recorded in dentate granule cells (DGCs) from epileptic animals were larger, more sensitive to blockade by zinc and less sensitive to augmentation by the benzodiazepine type site 1 modulator zolpidem. Furthermore, mIPSCs examined during a quiescent period following injury but preceding onset of epilepsy were significantly smaller than those present either in control or in TLE DGCs, and had already acquired sensitivity to blockade by zinc prior to the onset of spontaneous seizures. Rapid agonist application experiments demonstrated that prolonged (>35 ms) exposure to zinc is required to block GABAA receptors (GABAARs) in patches pulled from epileptic DGCs. Therefore, zinc must be tonically present to block DGC GABAARs and alter DG function. This would occur only during repetitive activation of mossy fibres. Thus, in the pilocarpine animal model of TLE, an early, de novo, expression of zinc‐sensitive GABAARs is coupled with delayed, epilepsy‐induced development of a zinc delivery system provided by aberrant sprouting of zinc‐containing mossy fibre recurrent collaterals. The temporal and spatial juxtaposition of these pathophysiological alterations may compromise normal ‘gatekeeper’ function of the DG through dynamic zinc‐induced failure of inhibition, predisposing the hippocampal circuit to generate seizures.
Dissociation between mesocortical dopamine release and fear‐related behaviours in two psychogenetically selected lines of rats that differ in coping strategies to aversive conditions
Authors: Giorgi O. , Lecca D. , Piras G. , Driscoll P. , Corda M. G. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThe mesocortical and mesolimbic dopaminergic (DAergic) pathways are activated by either aversive or rewarding stimuli. The functional tone of these DAergic neurons also increases during the execution of cognitive tasks. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between mesocortical and mesolimbic DAergic function and the expression of fear‐related behaviours as compared with attention‐ and cognition‐related mechanisms (e.g. coping strategies), in response to aversive conditions. To this aim, we used two psychogenetically selected rat lines, Roman high‐avoidance (RHA/Verh) and Roman low‐avoidance (RLA/Verh), which display drastically different emotion‐ and coping‐related behaviours in response to stressors: RLA/Verh rats are ‘reactive copers’ and more fearful than RHA/Verh rats, which are ‘proactive copers’. Brain dialysis experiments demonstrated that tail‐pinch (TP) and the anxiogenic compounds pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) and ZK 93426 increased DA output in the medial prefrontal cortex (PFCX) of RHA/Verh but not RLA/Verh, rats. In contrast, in the shell compartment of the nucleus accumbens (NAC shell), TP caused a small increase in DA output only in RLA/Verh rats, whereas PTZ and ZK 93426 had no significant effect on either line. RHA/Verh rats displayed more robust and longer lasting coping activity and less frequent freezing and self‐grooming episodes than did RLA/Verh rats after TP, PTZ or ZK 93426. This dissociation between fear‐related behaviour and cortical DAergic activation argues against the view that the latter may be involved in the control of fear‐like responses. We therefore propose that the activation of mesocortical DAergic projections by aversive stimuli underlies the cognitive mechanisms that are triggered in an attempt to gain control over the stressor.
Facilitative role of endogenous oxytocin in noradrenaline release in the rat supraoptic nucleus
Authors: Onaka Tatsushi , Ikeda Keiko , Yamashita Tomoko , Honda Kazufumi 
Published: December 2004

AbstractOxytocin is released not only from the axon terminals in the neurothypophysis but also from the dendrites in the hypothalamus. In the present study, we examined the role of dendritic oxytocin release in regulating presynaptic noradrenaline release within the hypothalamus. In vivo microdialysis experiments showed that local application of oxytocin augmented high‐K+‐induced noradrenaline release in the hypothalamic supraoptic nucleus. Oxytocin application to the hypothalamic synaptosomal preparation in vitro also potentiated high‐K+‐induced noradrenaline release. The effect of oxytocin was dose‐dependent and was blocked by an oxytocin receptor antagonist. We then examined roles of oxytocin released from the dendrites using in vivo microdialysis. Local application of an oxytocin receptor antagonist impaired noradrenaline release in the supraoptic nucleus in response to high‐K+ solution or noxious stimuli. An i.c.v. injection of an oxytocin receptor antagonist also impaired oxytocin release from the pituitary after noxious stimuli. These data suggest that dendritic oxytocin facilitates activation of oxytocin neurons, at least in part by augmentation of noradrenaline release via a presynaptic action.
Two variants of the rat brain sodium‐driven chloride bicarbonate exchanger (NCBE): developmental expression and addition of a PDZ motif
Authors: Giffard Rona G. , Lee Yong‐Sun , Ouyang Yi‐Bing , Murphy Sherry L. , Monyer Hannah 
Published: December 2004

AbstractRegulation of pH in the central nervous system is critical to normal brain function and response to pathophysiological conditions. Here we identify two novel variants of the sodium‐driven chloride bicarbonate exchanger (NCBE) from brain. The developmental expression pattern seen byin situhybridization for the 90‐bp containing insert (insert A) reveals strong expression in spinal cord and brain beginning in embryonic development. High‐level expression is seen in cerebellar Purkinje cells and principal cells in hippocampus. The variant missing a 39‐bp insert at the 3′ end (insert B) encodes a protein in which the deduced carboxyterminal three amino acids are replaced with a unique 21 amino acid stretch terminating in a PDZ motif. rb2NCBE, the PDZ motif‐encoding variant, is more highly expressed in astrocytes than is rb1NCBE. Both variants are expressed at similar levels in neurons. Expression varies with age and cell type. The FLAG epitope was fused in‐frame at the amino terminus and each variant was expressed using a retroviral vector to study subcellular localization. Both variants were associated with the plasma membrane, but rb2NCBE colocalized with actin filaments to a greater extent, suggesting the PDZ form may interact with the cytoskeleton, whereas rb1NCBE was more often seen in intracellular vesicles. The PDZ motif‐containing variant was much more active in pH regulation, with the expected ionic dependence on Na+, HCO3−and Cl−when expressed in 3T3 cells. These results are a first step towards understanding the regulation of expression and activity of this transporter in the brain.
Heritability of dispersal in the great reed warbler
Authors: Hansson B. , Bensch S. , Hasselquist D. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractDispersal is commonly considered to be a condition‐dependent behaviour with no or low heritability. Here, we show that dispersal in the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) has a high heritability. Analyses of capture–recapture data of male great reed warblers gathered from the species’ whole Swedish breeding range revealed a remarkable offspring–parent resemblance in dispersal behaviour (philopatry vs. inter‐population dispersal). Also, the degree of dispersal differed between cohorts, which shows that dispersal was partly conditionally dependent. The offspring to mid‐parent estimate of heritability was 0.50. In a previous study of the same data set of male offspring, we did not detect associations between dispersal and several relevant environmental, parental and offspring condition factors. Thus, our results indicate that variation in dispersal partly has a genetic basis in great reed warblers.
Regional warming‐induced species shift in north‐west Mediterranean marine caves
Authors: Chevaldonné P. , Lejeusne C. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThe north‐western Mediterranean Sea's high biodiversity originates from a mixture of temperate and subtropical species. Large‐scale warming has been detected through northward range shifts of ‘warm‐water’ species, and mass‐mortality events for ‘cold‐water’ invertebrates. Marine caves are affected in a more subtle way. By monitoring endemic species of cave mysids (Crustacea) and comparing our results with data in the literature, we observed a strong decline in one species, coupled with the success of another. Near Marseille (France), this phenomenon began while two major thermal anomalies were reported. Different tolerances to temperature were demonstrated by both the species distribution ranges and laboratory experimentation. We provide a possible physiological explanation for populations of cold stenothermal species of endemic cave mysids being replaced by congeners of warmer affinities, with a high risk of extinction. We also found strong support for the view that Mediterranean marine biodiversity is already under the threat of global warming.
Different male morphs of Otitesella pseudoserrata fig wasps have equal fitness but are not determined by different alleles
Authors: Pienaar Jason , Greeff Jaco M. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThe extreme male dimorphisms exhibited by some non‐pollinating fig wasps have often been thought to be a consequence of a genetic polymorphism, and have been cited as an example of how frequency‐dependent selection can maintain alternative alleles in a population. If true, then the proportions of each morph in one generation should reflect their mating success in previous generations. Here, we test the genetic polymorphism assumption in the male dimorphic species Otitesella pseudoserrata, and demonstrate that it is impossible for such a mechanism to generate alternative morphs in the highly variable proportions observed. These results suggest that male dimorphism is not a classic case of alternative strategies attributable to alternative alleles at a single locus. Rather, it would seem that although the fitnesses of the alternative morphologies are frequency dependent, their actual proportions in a generation are determined through a facultative decision.