julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Administration of brain natriuretic peptide improves cardiac function following operations using extracorporeal circulation in an animal model
2007-02-01

The critical phase during cardiosurgical procedures is weaning the diseased heart from the ECC (extracorporeal circulation). Post-ischaemic heart failure sometimes requires the administration of inotropic and/or vasconstrictive agents. The natriuretic peptides influence pre- and after-load through their natriuretic, diuretic and vasodilating actions. To date, there are only a few reports describing the therapeutic effect of BNP (brain natriuretic peptide) administration during cardiosurgical procedures. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of BNP administration following ECC in an animal model. Surgery was performed on 20 pigs using ECC. A 30-min ischaemic episode was simulated. Following de-clamping, BNP was administered to the BNP group (n=10) by an i.v. (intravenous) bolus at 0.3 μg·kg−1 of body weight·min−1, followed by an infusion at a rate of 0.015 μg·kg−1 of body weight·min−1 for 60 min. The animals in the control group (n=10) received a saline solution instead of BNP. Haemodynamic and clinical chemistry parameters as well as the amount of catecholamines that were required were measured. All of the animals in the BNP group had a significantly better cardiac output and cardiac index at the end of the experiment. Seven out of 10 animals from the control group required catecholamines, whereas only one animal from the BNP group did. Creatine kinase levels were significantly lower in the BNP group. Systemic vascular resistance was markedly lower in the BNP group. In conclusion, administration of BNP is highly effective in treating post-ischaemic heart failure following ECC. Haemodynamics are greatly improved, and there is almost no need for pharmacological support.
Crime and Culture: Breaking New Ground in Corruption Research
2007-02-01

What is Crime and Culture ? A Short Description Crime and Culture is a specific targeted research project supported within the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission and co-ordinated at Konstanz University, Germany. It brings together 35 researchers across ten institutions in eight European countries. The research project aims to develop means to optimise corruption prevention in the EU. The urgency of such a project is reflected in the fact that corruption holds the potential to retard seriously the process of the Community s enlargement and integration, even to the extent of threatening the very core of its concept of social order. The prevention policies that have been developed by the EU and implemented so far within individual member countries have in general been characterised by legislative, administrative and police force measures. These are based on a definition of corruption prevention developed in political and administrative institutions that rely on a top-down procedure for its implementation. The research project purports to conduct not an inquiry into the nature of corruption as such , but rather into the perceptions of corruption held by political and administrative decision-makers in specific regions and cultures, those held by actors representing various institutions and authorities, and above all by the citizens and the media in European societies. The project proceeds from the assumption that the considerably varying perceptions of corruption, determined as they are by cultural dispositions , have significant influence on a country s respective awareness of the problem and thereby on the success of any preventative measures. For this reason, the project investigates the fit between institutionalised prevention policies and how these are perceived in daily practice , as well as how EU-candidate and member countries as a result handle the issue of corruption. In a final step, the research project intends to make specific recommendations for readjusting this fit in the frame of an interactive scholars-experts conference in Brussels. The members of the project consortium are: University of Konstanz (Germany, co-ordinator), University of Tübingen (Germany), Police University (Federal German State of Baden-Württemberg, affiliated), Centre for Liberal Strategies (Sofia, Bulgaria), Research Institute for Quality of Life-Romanian Academy (Bucharest, Romania), Galatasaray University (Istanbul, Turkey), University of Zagreb (Croatia), National School of Public Administration and Local Government (Athens, Greece), Panteion University (Athens, Greece), South East European Studies at Oxford (United Kingdom), Center for Research and Policy Making (FYR Macedonia, affiliated).
New short-range electromagnetic current in the deuteron
2007-02-01

A new model for short-range isoscalar current in the deuteron and NN system is developed and tested on a variety of isoscalar magnetic observables such as the deuteron magnetic moment, magnetic form factor, and the circular polarization of photons at % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfKttLearuqr1ngBPrgarmWu51MyVXgatC% vAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaeHbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharyavP1wz% ZbItLDhis9wBH5garqqtubsr4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbb% L8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpe% pae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-xfr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaam% aaeaqbaaGcbaWaa8HaaeaacqWGUbGBaiaawEniaiabdchaWbaa!3F4D! radiative capture at thermal neutron energies. The model for electromagnetic two-nucleon current proposed in the paper is based on generation of an intermediate dibaryon in the short-range NN interaction. This intermediate dibaryon, in turn, is treated within the new model for intermediate and short-range NN interaction recently proposed by the present authors. The transition current model developed here satisfies the current conservation relation by the construction. Our calculations have demonstrated that the new current model, using only one parameter (with a clear physical meaning), is able to describe, in very good agreement with the experimental data, three basic deuteron observables of magnetic type, viz., the magnetic moment, the photon circular polarization in the % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfKttLearuqr1ngBPrgarmWu51MyVXgatC% vAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaeHbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharyavP1wz% ZbItLDhis9wBH5garqqtubsr4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbb% L8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpe% pae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-xfr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaam% aaeaqbaaGcbaGaemiCaaNaeiikaGYaa8HaaeaacqWGUbGBaiaawEni% aiabcYcaSmaaFiaabaqegCuyYfwBV5gzaGGbciaa-n7aaiaawEniai% abcMcaPiabdsgaKbaa!496B! process, and the structure function B(Q 2) up to Q 2 ≃ 60 fm−2.
P31-S Identification of Protein Biomarkers Associated with Hypoxia in Human Malignant Glioma Cell Lines Using Proteomics Technologies.
2007-02-01

The most common type of primary malignant brain tumors are glioblastomas. These highly aggressive, rapidly growing tumors are exposed to hypoxia, which occurs as a consequence of inadequate blood supply. Hypoxia exerts a variety of influences on tumor cell biology. Among these are activation of signal transduction pathways, adapting hypoxic tumor cells to an anaerobic environment. As a complementary approach to gene expression profiling, we aimed to investigate changes in the overall protein pattern of malignant glioma cell lines after hypoxia treatment compared to normoxic controls utilizing various proteomics techniques. The human malignant glioma cell line LNT-229 was initially used in our studies. Three individual samples representing three cell cultures grown under identical conditions were taken at four different time-points of hypoxia treatment (control, 8, 24 and 72 h). Proteins from total cell lysates were separated by high-resolution 2D gel electrophoresis and visualized by silver staining. Computer-assisted image analysis of the gels allowed the detection of differentially expressed proteins. Proteins spots that were recognized to be up- or down-regulated were identified by mass spectrometry in preparative gels. We have found 14 proteins up-regulated and 6 proteins down-regulated in hypoxia compared to normoxia based on the image analysis of the corresponding 2D gels. These results are currently being verified by Western-blot analysis of samples from three different glioma cell lines—LN-18, U87, and LNT229. Furthermore, all candidate proteins will be evaluated on primary cell cultures from human gliomas, and immunohistochemically on glioma tissue microarrays.
Reconstructive urology
2007-02-01

Objectives: The optimal management of locally advanced prostate cancer (cT3) is still a matter of debate.The objective of this study is to present 10-year outcomes of radical prostatectomy (RP) in unilateral cT3a disease.Patients and Methods: Between 1987Between and 2004Between , 2273 patients underwent RP at our institution.Two hundred and thirty-five (10.3%) patients were assessed as unilateral cT3a disease by digital rectal examination.Thirtyfive patients who received neoadjuvant treatment before surgery were excluded from further analysis.Mean
Color screening, Casimir scaling, and domain structure in G(2) and SU(N) gauge theories
2007-02-02

We argue that screening of higher-representation color charges by gluons implies a domain structure in the vacuum state of non-abelian gauge theories, with the color magnetic flux in each domain quantized in units corresponding to the gauge group center. Casimir scaling of string tensions at intermediate distances results from random spatial variations in the color magnetic flux within each domain. The exceptional G(2) gauge group is an example rather than an exception to this picture, although for G(2) there is only one type of vacuum domain, corresponding to the single element of the gauge group center. We present some numerical results for G(2) intermediate string tensions and Polyakov lines, as well as results for certain gauge-dependent projected quantities. In this context, we discuss critically the idea of projecting link variables to a subgroup of the gauge group. It is argued that such projections are useful only when the representation-dependence of the string tension, at some distance scale, is given by the representation of the subgroup.
Retinotectal ganglion cells in the zebrafish, Danio rerio
2007-02-02

Abstract The morphology of retinotectal ganglion cells was investigated by retrograde transport of dextran amines applied into the optic tectum in vitro. Based on criteria such as stratification pattern and size of the dendritic processes, as well as the shape and position of the soma within the dendritic field, three main groups of ganglion cell types with a total of nine different types were identified. The first group included monostratified cells, of which two types (Ma 2 and Mb 5 ) may be ON‐ and OFF‐variants, and the third (Mb 6 ) had its dendritic field as a narrow band at the inner border of the inner plexiform layer. These three cells had the largest dendritic fields, with areas exceeding 40,000 μm 2 . In two additional monostratified cells the dendrites were spread over the entire width of either sublamina a or sublamina b of the inner plexiform layer (Ma, Mb). They were of intermediate size with mean dendritic field areas between 10,000 and 20,000 μm 2 . The second group contained two types of bistratified cells (Bb 4/5 and Bb 4,5/5,6 ) with two distinct bands of dendritic stratifications in sublamina b. One of them had the smallest dendritic field (below 5,000,mm 2 ) of all cell types in the sample. The diffuse cells of the third group had their dendrites across the entire width of the inner plexiform layer. The sample of retinotectal cells investigated in this study included types described previously (Mangrum et al. [2002] Vis Neurosci 19:767–779) but also new types not described previously. J. Comp. Neurol. 501:647–658, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Muropeptide Modification-Amidation of Peptidoglycand-Glutamate Does Not Affect the Proinflammatory Activity ofStaphylococcus aureus
2007-02-02

ABSTRACT Peptidoglycan muropeptides, potent proinflammatory components, are amidated in Staphylococcus aureus for unknown reasons. To study whether this modification may modulate proinflammatory capacity, cytokine induction by isogenic S. aureus strains with different amidation levels and by synthetic amidated/nonamidated muramyldipeptides was evaluated. However, amidation did not significantly affect cytokine induction. This finding contributes to defining peptidoglycan receptor specificities and indicates that further rationales for muropeptide amidation have to be considered.
Faculty Opinions recommendation of Plasma exchange for severe optic neuritis: treatment of 10 patients.
2007-02-02

The authors reviewed a series of 10 consecutive patients treated with plasma exchange (PE) for acute, severe optic neuritis (ON) largely unresponsive to previous high-dose IV glucocorticosteroids. PE was associated with an improvement of visual acuity according to the study criteria in 7 of 10 patients. On follow-up, three of these patients continued to improve, two remained stable, and two had worsened again. PE may be beneficial as an escalating treatment in a subset of patients with severe ON. A controlled trial is warranted. PMID: 15452303
Protective Role of Ecto-5′-Nucleotidase (CD73) in Renal Ischemia
2007-02-03

Acute renal failure from ischemia significantly contributes to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Extracellular adenosine has been implicated as an anti-inflammatory metabolite particularly during conditions of limited oxygen availability (e.g., ischemia). Because ecto-5'-nucleotidase (CD73) is rate limiting for extracellular adenosine generation, this study examined the contribution of CD73-dependent adenosine production to ischemic preconditioning (IP) of the kidneys. After the initial observation that murine CD73 transcript, protein, and function are induced by renal IP, its role in IP-mediated kidney protection was studied. In fact, increases in renal adenosine concentration with IP are attenuated in cd73(-/-) mice. Moreover, pharmacologic inhibition of CD73 or its targeted gene deletion abolished renal protection by IP as measured by clearance studies, plasma electrolytes, and renal tubular destruction, and reconstitution of cd73(-/-) mice with soluble 5'-nucleotidase resulted in complete restoration of renal protection by IP. Finally, renal injury after ischemia was attenuated by intraperitoneal treatment of wild-type mice with soluble 5'-nucleotidase to a similar degree as by IP. Taken together, these data reveal what is believed to be a previously unrecognized role of CD73 in renal protection from ischemia and suggest treatment with soluble 5'-nucleotidase as a novel therapeutic approach in the treatment of renal diseases that are precipitated by limited oxygen availability.
The increased expression of Y box‐binding protein 1 in melanoma stimulates proliferation and tumor invasion, antagonizes apoptosis and enhances chemoresistance
2007-02-03

Abstract In previous studies we identified the transcription/translation factor Y‐box‐binding protein (YB‐1) as a gene that is upregulated in primary melanoma and melanoma metastases when compared to benign melanocytic nevi. To analyze whether YB‐1 expression correlates with melanoma progression in vitro and in vivo , we performed expression analysis on melanoma cell lines representing different stages of melanoma progression and on tissues of melanocytic nevi, primary melanoma and melanoma metastases. Our data indicate that compared to benign melanocytes YB‐1 expression is increased in melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo and that YB‐1 is translocated into the nucleus in invasive and metastatic melanoma cells. To reveal the functional role of YB‐1 in melanoma progression we achieved a stable downregulation of YB‐1 using shRNA in metastatic melanoma cells. Interestingly, YB‐1 downregulation resulted in a pronounced reduced rate of proliferation and an increased rate of apoptotic cell death. In addition, migration and invasion of melanoma cells in monolayer and in a three‐dimensional skin reconstruct in vitro was significantly reduced. These effects were accompanied by downregulation of genes involved in proliferation, survival and migration/invasion of melanoma cells such as MMP‐2, bcl‐2, Cyclin D1, p53 and p16INK4A. Furthermore, melanoma cells with a reduced YB‐1 expression showed a decreased resistance to the chemotherapeutic agents cisplatin and etoposide. These data suggest that YB‐1 is involved in malignant transformation of melanocytes and contributes to the stimulation of proliferation, tumor invasion, survival and chemoresistance. Thus, YB‐1 may be a promising molecular target in melanoma therapy. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Voltage‐sensitive prestin orthologue expressed in zebrafish hair cells
2007-02-03

Prestin, a member of the solute carrier (SLC) family SLC26A, is the molecular motor that drives the somatic electromotility of mammalian outer hair cells (OHCs). Its closest reported homologue, zebrafish prestin (zprestin), shares ∼70% strong amino acid sequence similarity with mammalian prestin, predicting an almost identical protein structure. Immunohistochemical analysis now shows that zprestin is expressed in hair cells of the zebrafish ear. Similar to mammalian prestin, heterologously expressed zprestin is found to generate voltage‐dependent charge movements, giving rise to a non‐linear capacitance (NLC) of the cell membrane. Compared with mammalian prestin, charge movements mediated by zprestin display a weaker voltage dependence and slower kinetics; they occur at more positive membrane voltages, and are not associated with electromotile responses. Given this functional dissociation of NLC and electromotility and the structural similarity with mammalian prestin, we anticipate that zprestin provides a valuable tool for tracing the molecular and evolutionary bases of prestin motor function.
Crystalline Pr2O3 monolayers on Si(111)
2007-02-05

In this study the authors present an x-ray analysis of the structure and of the interface of 1 ML Pr2O3 on Si(111). The x-ray analysis shows that the interface is formed of a Si–O–Pr bond with Pr above the T4 adsorption site of silicon (111). The layer exhibits a thickness of 0.6nm corresponding to one bulk unit cell from the hexagonal phase of Pr2O3. The layer is well ordered with Pr–O bond lengths close to the bulk values and a Si–O distance of 0.18nm.
Specific influences of cerebellar dysfunctions on gait
2007-02-07

Cerebellar ataxic gait is characterized by unsteady movements and variable gait patterns.Previous studies have successfully identified pathological changes of balance-related gait parameters.However, it has been difficult to demonstrate deficits of joint coordination and the control of limb dynamics.This has motivated the hypothesis that cerebellar ataxic gait might be affected predominantly by balance impairments.We investigated the influences of different types of cerebellar dysfunction on the gait patterns of patients suffering from degenerative cerebellar disease (13 patients, five females, 50.4 AE 14.4 years).Walking patterns were quantitatively analysed combining standard gait measures and novel measures for the characterization of the spatial and the temporal variability of intra-joint coordination patterns.The temporal variability of gait patterns was significantly correlated with a subscale of the clinical ataxia scale (ICARS) that rates deficits of the control of limb dynamics and intra-limb coordination for goal-directed movements.This suggests that common cerebellar mechanisms might be involved in coordination during voluntary limb control and ataxic gait.The tested standard gait parameters correlated predominantly with clinical measures for balance-related abnormalities.These results imply that ataxic gait is influenced by both balance-related impairments and deficits related to limb control and intralimb coordination.Applying the same analysis to gait patterns from patients with peripheral vestibular failure (six patients, four females, 47.8 AE14.3 years) and Parkinson's disease (eight patients, two females, 60.7 AE10.6 years), we found comparable abnormalities in balance-related gait parameters and general gait variability, but significantly lower increases of temporal variability.This implies that increased temporal variability of intra-limb coordination is a specific characteristic of cerebellar dysfunction, which does not arise for other movement disorders that also cause balance deficits and increased gait variability.
Influence of a Lipid-Lowering Therapy on Calcified and Noncalcified Coronary Plaques Monitored by Multislice Detector Computed Tomography
2007-02-07

Statin therapy led to a significant reduction of noncalcified plaque burden that was not reflected in calcium scoring or total plaque burden. This finding might explain the risk reduction after the initiation of statin therapy. Using multislice detector computed tomography, physicians have the potential to monitor medical treatment in patients with coronary atherosclerosis.
R1R2R3-Myb proteins positively regulate cytokinesis through activation of KNOLLE transcription in Arabidopsis thaliana
2007-02-08

G2/M phase-specific gene transcription in tobacco cells is mediated by R1R2R3-Myb transcriptional activators, NtmybA1 and NtmybA2, which bind to mitosis-specific activator (MSA) elements. We show here that two structurally related genes, MYB3R1 and MYB3R4, which encode homologs of NtmybA1 and NtmybA2, play a partially redundant role in positively regulating cytokinesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. The myb3r1 myb3r4double mutant often fails to complete cytokinesis, resulting in multinucleate cells with gapped walls and cell wall stubs in diverse tissues. These defects correlate with the selective reduction of transcript levels of several G2/M phase-specific genes, which include B2-type cyclin (CYCB2), CDC20.1 and KNOLLE (KN). These genes contain MSA-like motifs in their promoters and were activated by MYB3R4 in transient expression assays in tobacco cells. The KN gene encodes a cytokinesis-specific syntaxin that is essential for cell plate formation. The cytokinesis defects of myb3r1 myb3r4 double mutants were partially rescued by KN gene expression from heterologous promoters. In addition, a kn heterozygous mutation enhanced cytokinesis defects resulting from heterozygous or homozygous mutations in the MYB3R1 and MYB3R4 genes. Our results suggest that a pair of structurally related R1R2R3-Myb transcription factors may positively regulate cytokinesis mainly through transcriptional activation of the KN gene.
Hippocampal activation in patients with mild cognitive impairment is necessary for successful memory encoding
2007-02-08

These results suggest that in patients with MCI, an increase in MTL activation is necessary for successful memory encoding. Hippocampal activation may help to link newly learned information to items already stored in memory. Increased activation in MTL regions in MCI may reflect a compensatory response to the beginning of AD pathology.
Influence of Social and Environmental Factors on Nesting Behaviour in Captive Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)
2007-02-08

Field studies on gorilla sleeping sites usually emphasize environmental influences on nest site selection, as individual nesting behaviours are usually not observed directly. In captivity, nesting behaviour and influencing factors are often overlooked. In the present study, the sleeping sites of members of a captive group of 16–21 gorillas were analysed, based on 152 nights over a 5-year period. Subadults tended to sleep apart from adults but clustered around the oldest blackback male. Full siblings and mothers with offspring were often nearest neighbours. Some sleeping dyads notably endured. Neither age of offspring nor rank of adult females influenced neighbour choice or distances; an interadult distance of 1.5–3 m was typical. Group dynamics were reflected in nesting arrangements. We suggest that possibilities for co-nesting and choice of sleeping sites should be provided to improve the welfare of captive gorillas and other great apes.