rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
The evolution and elaboration of vertebrate neural crest cells.
Current opinion in genetics & development, 2008

Vertebrate neural crest cells are embryonic neuroepithelial cells that undergo an epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migrate throughout the embryo and form a wide variety of derivatives, including peripheral neurons and glia, pigment cells, and craniofacial cartilage, bone and teeth. Neural crest cell evolution and elaboration is intimately bound up with vertebrate evolution: the most primitive living vertebrates, lampreys and hagfishes, have most but not all neural crest derivatives. A torrent of recent molecular information has changed our understanding of vertebrate phylogenetic relationships, expanded our understanding of the gene circuitry underlying neural crest development, and given interesting information on the deployment of homologues of these genes in invertebrate relatives such as ascidians and amphioxus. New molecular insights into the evolutionary origin of cartilage, as well as into the nature and evolution of the cells and genes involved in tooth and bone formation, enable tentative hypotheses to be framed for the evolution of skeletal neural crest derivatives.
Dynamic Equilibrium of Cardiac Troponin C's Hydrophobic Cleft and Its Modulation by Ca
Bioconjugate chemistry, 2017

Several studies have suggested that conformational dynamics are important in the regulation of thin filament activation in cardiac troponin C (cTnC); however, little direct evidence has been offered to support these claims. In this study, a dye homodimerization approach is developed and implemented that allows the determination of the dynamic equilibrium between open and closed conformations in cTnC's hydrophobic cleft. Modulation of this equilibrium by Ca
Subsampling effects in neuronal avalanche distributions recorded in vivo.
BMC neuroscience, 2009

Many systems in nature are characterized by complex behaviour where large cascades of events, or avalanches, unpredictably alternate with periods of little activity. Snow avalanches are an example. Often the size distribution f(s) of a system's avalanches follows a power law, and the branching parameter sigma, the average number of events triggered by a single preceding event, is unity. A power law for f(s), and sigma = 1, are hallmark features of self-organized critical (SOC) systems, and both have been found for neuronal activity in vitro. Therefore, and since SOC systems and neuronal activity both show large variability, long-term stability and memory capabilities, SOC has been proposed to govern neuronal dynamics in vivo. Testing this hypothesis is difficult because neuronal activity is spatially or temporally subsampled, while theories of SOC systems assume full sampling. To close this gap, we investigated how subsampling affects f(s) and sigma by imposing subsampling on three different SOC models. We then compared f(s) and sigma of the subsampled models with those of multielectrode local field potential (LFP) activity recorded in three macaque monkeys performing a short term memory task.
Performance, morphology and control of power-amplified mandibles in the trap-jaw ant 
The Journal of experimental biology, 2017

Trap-jaw ants are characterized by high-speed mandibles used for prey capture and defense. Power-amplified mandibles have independently evolved at least four times among ants, with each lineage using different structures as a latch, spring and trigger. We examined two species from the genus
Determinants of clinical effectiveness and significant neurological diagnoses in an urgent brain cancer referral pathway in the United Kingdom.
Clinical neurology and neurosurgery, 2015

Cerebral tumours can rapidly progress to life-threatening complications yet referral pathways often result in non-significant diagnoses. We aimed to identify the determinants of referrals resulting in significant neurological diagnoses after specialist review.
A parsimonious computational model of visual target position encoding in the superior colliculus.
Biological cybernetics, 2015

The superior colliculus (SC) is a brainstem structure at the crossroad of multiple functional pathways. Several neurophysiological studies suggest that the population of active neurons in the SC encodes the location of a visual target to foveate, pursue or attend to. Although extensive research has been carried out on computational modeling, most of the reported models are often based on complex mechanisms and explain a limited number of experimental results. This suggests that a key aspect may have been overlooked in the design of previous computational models. After a careful study of the literature, we hypothesized that the representation of the whole retinal stimulus (not only its center) might play an important role in the dynamics of SC activity. To test this hypothesis, we designed a model of the SC which is built upon three well-accepted principles: the log-polar representation of the visual field onto the SC, the interplay between a center excitation and a surround inhibition and a simple neuronal dynamics, like the one proposed by the dynamic neural field theory. Results show that the retinotopic organization of the collicular activity conveys an implicit computation that deeply impacts the target selection process.
Is the corticotomy assisted orthodontic treatment efficient in the expansion of narrow arches in adult patients?
Minerva dental and oral science, 2021

Corticotomy assisted orthodontic treatment (CAOT) is a technique which, performing surgical cuts on the cortical alveolar bone around the teeth, induces a faster rate of orthodontic tooth movement. The development CAOT offers solutions to overcome many of limitations in adult orthodontic treatment, such as risk of hyalinization, root resorption, periodontal problems, lack of bone growth and a long therapy time due to slower tooth movement compared to adolescents. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify if CAOT is also useful for expanding narrow arches in adult orthodontic patients.
Does physical activity influence the association between depressive symptoms and low-grade inflammation in adults? A study of 8,048 adults.
Physiology & behavior, 2020

This study investigated whether physical activity (PA) influences the association between depression risk and low-grade inflammation. This was a cross-sectional study including 8,048 adults (18-59y). Depression symptoms were evaluated with the Beck depression inventory (BDI) and physical activity through the international physical activity questionnaire. Adults with infectious and inflammatory diseases were excluded. Blood samples were collected, including high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of low-grade inflammation when ≥3mg/L. Additional measures of LDL-C, HDL-C, triglycerides and fasting glucose were also determined. Sex, chronological age, tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, body mass index, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure and fasting glucose were used as covariates. Mediation models were conducted using the procedures of Karlson Holm Breen. Adults with elevated CRP (≥3mg/L) compared to those with low CRP (<3mg/L) presented with higher BDI scores [8.5%(95%CI:7.2%-10.1%) vs. 5.8%(95%CI:5.2-6.4)] as well as higher prevalence of physical inactivity 67.4% (95%CI:64.9-69.9) vs. 59.7% (95%CI:58.4-60.9). The prevalence of elevated CRP was highest in physically inactive adults with greater depression risk. Models revealed that physical activity risk explained 13% of the association between depression risk and elevated CRP (p=0.035), independently of potential confounders. Physical activity may reduce the association between depression symptoms and elevated CRP. Future longitudinal research is required to determine the directionality of the relationships observed.
Revisiting the modifiers: how should the evaluation and management of acute concussions differ in specific groups?
British journal of sports medicine, 2013

One of the key difficulties while managing concussion in sport is that there are few prognostic factors to reliably predict clinical outcome. The aims of the current paper are to review the evidence for concussion modifiers and to consider how the evaluation and management of concussion may differ in specific groups.
Hyperosmolar Therapy in Pediatric Severe Traumatic Brain Injury-A Systematic Review.
Critical care medicine, 2019

Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of hospital visits for children. Hyperosmolar therapy is often used to treat severe traumatic brain injury. Hypertonic saline is used predominantly, yet there remains disagreement about whether hypertonic saline or mannitol is more effective.
A human monoclonal IgG that binds aβ assemblies and diverse amyloids exhibits anti-amyloid activities in vitro and in vivo.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2015

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and familial Danish dementia (FDD) are degenerative neurological diseases characterized by amyloid pathology. Normal human sera contain IgG antibodies that specifically bind diverse preamyloid and amyloid proteins and have shown therapeutic potential in vitro and in vivo. We cloned one of these antibodies, 3H3, from memory B cells of a healthy individual using a hybridoma method. 3H3 is an affinity-matured IgG that binds a pan-amyloid epitope, recognizing both Aβ and λ Ig light chain (LC) amyloids, which are associated with AD and primary amyloidosis, respectively. The pan-amyloid-binding properties of 3H3 were demonstrated using ELISA, immunohistochemical studies, and competition binding assays. Functional studies showed that 3H3 inhibits both Aβ and LC amyloid formation in vitro and abrogates disruption of hippocampal synaptic plasticity by AD-patient-derived soluble Aβ in vivo. A 3H3 single-chain variable fragment (scFv) retained the binding specificity of the 3H3 IgG and, when expressed in the brains of transgenic mice using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector, decreased parenchymal Aβ amyloid deposition in TgCRND8 mice and ADan (Danish Amyloid) cerebral amyloid angiopathy in the mouse model of FDD. These data indicate that naturally occurring human IgGs can recognize a conformational, amyloid-specific epitope and have potent anti-amyloid activities, providing a rationale to test their potential as antibody therapeutics for diverse neurological and other amyloid diseases.
Persistent hyperactivity and distinctive strategy features in the Morris water maze in 3xTg-AD mice at advanced stages of disease.
Behavioral neuroscience, 2015

Search strategies in the Morris water maze provide useful insights on cognitive function that may reveal genotype differences not reflected by escape latency or distance. Its analysis is pointed out as a complementary tool to better define the phenotype and the effect of treatments in animal models in which both cognitive impairment and behavioral symptoms reproduce the clinical complexity of the Alzheimer's disease patient. Here, we studied the performance of 13-month-old male 3xTg-AD mice in 3 different paradigms (cue learning, place task, and probe trial) and as compared with age-matched nontransgenic mice. The quantitative analysis (escape latency, distance, and speed) showed that in all tasks, the cognitive performance of 3xTg-AD mice was interfered with by a persistent hyperactive pattern. Their worse cognitive function was revealed by the qualitative features of nonsearch behaviors (floating and circling) and search strategies (single and /mixed, goal directed and nongoal directed). The search pattern was based on mixed and nongoal-directed strategies, in contrast to the single and goal-directed strategies used by controls. In the place task, poor cognitive flexibility of 3xTg-AD mice was also shown in persistence of search in the cue-trained position and the need to correct the strategy to find the new location. Trials involving a naïve situation (first trial of the cue task) or the difficulty of a new task (first trial of the place task and the probe trial) were the most suitable to show the deficits. This qualitative analysis may also be useful in the assessment of preventive or therapeutical treatments.
Theta rhythm supports hippocampus-dependent integrative encoding in schematic/semantic memory networks.
NeuroImage, 2021

Integrating new information into existing schematic/semantic structures of knowledge is the basis of learning in our everyday life as it enables structured representation of information and goal-directed behaviour in an ever-changing environment. However, how schematic/semantic mnemonic structures aid the integration of novel elements remains poorly understood. Here, we showed that the ability to integrate novel picture information into learned structures of picture associations that overlapped by the same picture scene (i.e., simple network) or by a conceptually related picture scene (i.e., schematic/semantic network) is hippocampus-dependent, as patients with lesions at the medial temporal lobe (including the hippocampus) were impaired in inferring novel relations between pictures within these memory networks. We also found more persistent and widespread scalp EEG theta oscillations (3-5 Hz) while participants integrated novel pictures into schematic/semantic memory networks than into simple networks. On the other hand, greater neural similarity was observed between EEG patterns elicited by novel and related events within simple networks than between novel and related events within schematic/semantic memory networks. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the neural mechanisms that support the development and organization of structures of knowledge.
On the road of dried blood spot sampling for antidoping tests: Detection of GHRP-2 abuse.
Drug testing and analysis, 2021

Dried blood spots (DBSs) sampling is gaining support by the antidoping community because of simplicity and cost-effective characteristics, especially in collection, transport, and storage. Nevertheless, DBS applicability demands specific studies for each of the analytes proposed for testing. Here, GHRP-2 has been selected as a representing member of the growth hormone-releasing peptides (GHRPs) family to provide further evidence of DBS suitability for GHRPs abuse detection in sport testing. An analytical procedure to extract GHRP-2 and its main metabolite (AA-3) from DBS and to detect them by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has been developed. The method has been validated for the detection of GHRP-2. Specificity and identification capabilities have been assessed in agreement with antidoping guidelines. The low AA-3 levels found in DBS samples prevented its effective application for the determination of this metabolite. The limit of detection (LoD) for GHRP-2 has been established at 50 pg/ml. Long-term stability (>2 years) has been confirmed. The procedure has been successfully applied to actual DBS samples from an administration study with a single intravenous dose of GHRP-2 (100 μg) being detected up to 4 h after drug injection. GHRP-2 concentrations have been higher in venous blood DBS than in capillary blood DBS. Despite the observed differences, a similar detection window has been achieved independently of the type of blood used. In summary, this study provides specific evidence supporting DBS usefulness to detect GHRP-2, and potentially other GHRPs family members, for antidoping tests.
Olfactory Ensheathing Cell Transplantation after a Complete Spinal Cord Transection Mediates Neuroprotective and Immunomodulatory Mechanisms to Facilitate Regeneration.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2016

Multiple neural and peripheral cell types rapidly respond to tissue damage after spinal cord injury to form a structurally and chemically inhibitory scar that limits axon regeneration. Astrocytes form an astroglial scar and produce chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), activate microglia, and recruit blood-derived immune cells to the lesion for debris removal. One beneficial therapy, olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation, results in functional improvements and promotes axon regeneration after spinal cord injury. The lack of an OEC-specific marker, however, has limited the investigation of mechanisms underlying their proregenerative effects. We compared the effects of enhanced green fluorescent protein-labeled fibroblast (FB) and OEC transplants acutely after a complete low-thoracic spinal cord transection in adult rats. We assessed the preservation of neurons and serotonergic axons, the levels of inhibitory CSPGs and myelin debris, and the extent of immune cell activation between 1 and 8 weeks postinjury. Our findings indicate that OECs survive longer than FBs post-transplantation, preserve axons and neurons, and reduce inhibitory molecules in the lesion core. Additionally, we show that OECs limit immune-cell activation and infiltration, whereas FBs alter astroglial scar formation and increase immune-cell infiltration and concomitant secondary tissue damage. Administration of cyclosporine-A to enhance graft survival demonstrated that immune suppression can augment OEC contact-mediated protection of axons and neurons during the first 2 weeks postinjury. Collectively, these data suggest that OECs have neuroprotective and immunomodulatory mechanisms that create a supportive environment for neuronal survival and axon regeneration after spinal cord injury.
Antidepressant-like effect of losartan involves TRKB transactivation from angiotensin receptor type 2 (AGTR2) and recruitment of FYN.
Neuropharmacology, 2018

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is associated with peripheral fluid homeostasis and cardiovascular function, but recent evidence also suggests a functional role in the brain. RAS regulates physiological and behavioral parameters related to the stress response, including depressive symptoms. Apparently, RAS can modulate levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and TRKB, which are important in the neurobiology of depression and antidepressant action. However, the interaction between the BDNF/TRKB system and RAS in depression has not been investigated before. Accordingly, in the forced swimming test, we observed an antidepressant-like effect of systemic losartan but not with captopril or enalapril treatment. Moreover, infusion of losartan into the ventral hippocampus (vHC) and prelimbic prefrontal cortex (PL) mimicked the consequences of systemically injected losartan, whereas K252a (a blocker of TRK) infused into these brain areas impaired such effect. PD123319, an antagonist of AT2 receptor (AGTR2), also prevented the systemic losartan effect when infused into PL but not into vHC. Cultured cortical cells of rat embryos revealed that angiotensin II (ANG2), possibly through AGTR2, increased the surface levels of TRKB and its coupling to FYN, a SRC family kinase. Higher Agtr2 levels in cortical cells were reduced after stimulation with glutamate, and only under this condition an interaction between losartan and ANG2 was achieved. TRKB/AGTR2 heterodimers were also observed, in MG87 cells GFP-tagged AGTR2 co-immunoprecipitated with TRKB. Therefore, the antidepressant-like effect of losartan is proposed to occur through a shift of ANG2 towards AGTR2, followed by coupling of TRK/FYN and putative TRKB transactivation. Thus, the blockade of AGTR1 has therapeutic potential as a novel antidepressant therapy.
Designer Palmitoylation Motif-Based Self-Localizing Ligand for Sustained Control of Protein Localization in Living Cells and 
ACS chemical biology, 2020

Inducing protein translocation to the plasma membrane (PM) is an important approach for manipulating diverse signaling molecules/pathways in living cells. We previously devised a new chemogenetic system, in which a protein fused to
High-fidelity evoked potential for mapping the rat tail in thalamus.
Neuroscience, 2008

The technique of field potentials (FPs) provides a macroscopic view for exploring brain function, and is supplementary to single-unit recording, a microscopic view that investigates each neuron in great detail. Mapping the rat tail in the ventroposterolateral (VPL) nucleus of the thalamus was carried out by analyzing the current source density (CSD) of the evoked FPs. The results showed a clear somatotopic organization of the tail in the VPL nucleus. Also, to obtain high-fidelity FPs, two recording parameters were determined. Based upon cross-correlation coefficient (rho), the cycles of FPs needed to be averaged should not be less than 50 and the distance between the two recording sites should be no longer than 50 mum in each direction (mediolateral, anteroposterior and ventrodorsal). Under these conditions, the representation (or reproducibility) of an FP can be >95%. The procedures used to determine these parameters can serve as a guide to obtain FPs with high signal-to-noise ratio and without spatial aliasing error.
Salivary Gland Extract from 
Cells, 2018

Sepsis is a systemic disease with life-threatening potential and is characterized by a dysregulated immune response from the host to an infection. The organic dysfunction in sepsis is associated with the production of inflammatory cascades and oxidative stress. Previous studies showed that
Fifteen years of NESDA Neuroimaging: An overview of results related to clinical profile and bio-social risk factors of major depressive disorder and common anxiety disorders.
Journal of affective disorders, 2021

The longitudinal Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) Neuroimaging study was set up in 2003 to investigate whether neuroanatomical and functional abnormalities during tasks of primary emotional processing, executive planning and memory formation, and intrinsic brain connectivity are i) shared by individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and common anxiety disorders; and ii) characterized by symptomatology-specific abnormalities. Furthermore, questions related to individual variations in vulnerability for onset, comorbidity, and longitudinal course could be investigated. Between 2005 and 2007, 233 individuals fulfilling a diagnosis of MDD, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and/or generalized anxiety disorder and 68 healthy controls aging between 18 and 57 were invited from the NESDA main sample (n = 2981). An emotional faces processing task, an emotional word-encoding task, and an executive planning task were administered during 3T BOLD-fMRI acquisitions. In addition, resting state BOLD-fMRI was acquired and T1-weighted structural imaging was performed. All participants were invited to participate in the two-year and nine-year follow-up MRI measurement. Fifteen years of NESDA Neuroimaging demonstrated common morphological and neurocognitive abnormalities across individuals with depression and anxiety disorders. It however provided limited support for the idea of more extensive abnormalities in patients suffering from both depression and anxiety, despite their worse prognosis. Risk factors including childhood maltreatment and specific risk genes had an emotion processing modulating effect, apparently stronger than effects of diagnostic labels. Furthermore, brain imaging data, especially during emotion processing seemed valuable for predicting the long-term course of affective disorders, outperforming prediction based on clinical information alone.