rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
Psychological and neural responses to architectural interiors.
Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior, 2020

People spend considerable time within built environments. In this study, we tested two hypotheses about the relationship between people and built environments. First, aesthetic responses to architectural interiors reduce to a few key psychological dimensions that are sensitive to design features. Second, these psychological dimensions evoke specific neural signatures. In Experiment 1, participants (n = 798) rated 200 images of architectural interiors on 16 aesthetic response measures. Using Psychometric Network Analysis (PNA) and Principal Components Analysis (PCA), we identified three components that explained 90% of the variance in ratings: coherence (ease with which one organizes and comprehends a scene), fascination (a scene's informational richness and generated interest), and hominess (extent to which a scene reflects a personal space). Whereas coherence and fascination are well-established dimensions in response to natural scenes and visual art, hominess emerged as a new dimension related to architectural interiors. In Experiment 2 (n = 614), the PCA results were replicated in an independent sample, indicating the robustness of these three dimensions. In Experiment 3, we reanalyzed data from an fMRI study in which participants (n = 18) made beauty judgments and approach-avoidance decisions when viewing the same images. Parametric analyses demonstrated that, regardless of task, the degree of fascination covaried with neural activity in the right lingual gyrus. In contrast, coherence covaried with neural activity in the left inferior occipital gyrus only when participants judged beauty, whereas hominess covaried with neural activity in the left cuneus only when they made approach-avoidance decisions. Importantly, this neural activation did not covary in relation to global image properties including self-similarity and complexity scores. These results suggest that the visual brain harbors sensitivities to psychological dimensions of coherence, fascination, and hominess in the context of architectural interiors. Furthermore, valuation of architectural processing in visual cortices varies by dimension and task.
A novel mechanism for nicotinic potentiation of glutamatergic synapses.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2014

Selective strengthening of specific glutamatergic synapses in the mammalian hippocampus is critical for encoding new memories. This is most commonly achieved by input-specific Hebbian-type plasticity involving glutamate-dependent coincident presynaptic and postsynaptic depolarization. Our results demonstrate a novel mechanism by which nicotinic signaling, independently of coincident fast glutamatergic transmission, increases synaptic strength in the hippocampus. Electrophysiological recordings from rat hippocampal neurons in culture revealed that 1-3 h of exposure to 1 μm nicotine, even with action potentials being blocked, produced increases in both the frequency and amplitude of miniature EPSCs. Possible mechanisms were analyzed both in mouse organotypic slice culture and in rat cell culture by inducing the cells to express super-ecliptic pHluorin-tagged GluA1-containing AMPA receptors, which fluoresce only on the cell surface. Pharmacological and genetic manipulation of the cells, in combination with fluorescence-recovery-after-photobleaching experiments, revealed that nicotine, acting through α7-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on the postsynaptic neuron, induces the stabilization and accumulation of GluA1-containing AMPA receptors on dendritic spines. The process relies on intracellular calcium signaling, PDZ [postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95)/Discs large (Dlg)/zona occludens-1 (ZO-1)] interactions with members of the PSD-95 family, and lateral diffusion of the GluA1 receptors on the cell surface. These findings define a new avenue by which nicotinic signaling modulates synaptic mechanisms thought to subserve learning and memory.
Link between statistical equilibrium fidelity and forecasting skill for complex systems with model error.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2011

Understanding and improving the predictive skill of imperfect models for complex systems in their response to external forcing is a crucial issue in diverse applications such as for example climate change science. Equilibrium statistical fidelity of the imperfect model on suitable coarse-grained variables is a necessary but not sufficient condition for this predictive skill, and elementary examples are given here demonstrating this. Here, with equilibrium statistical fidelity of the imperfect model, a direct link is developed between the predictive fidelity of specific test problems in the training phase where the perfect natural system is observed and the predictive skill for the forced response of the imperfect model by combining appropriate concepts from information theory with other concepts based on the fluctuation dissipation theorem. Here a suite of mathematically tractable models with nontrivial eddy diffusivity, variance, and intermittent non-Gaussian statistics mimicking crucial features of atmospheric tracers together with stochastically forced standard eddy diffusivity approximation with model error are utilized to illustrate this link.
Towards Molecular Classification of Meningioma: Evolving Treatment and Diagnostic Paradigms.
World neurosurgery, 2018

Meningioma, a common primary brain tumor in adults, is graded based on World Health Organization criteria that rely on histology alone. This approach is unable to determine conclusively which tumors, especially benign or atypical, will recur. Molecular characterization of meningioma has identified genetic biomarkers that can predict tumor behavior. Only a few genetic changes are known to classify >85% of all meningioma and clinical trials using targeted therapy to genetic subtypes of meningioma are under way. Immunotherapy is also being trialed in treating high-grade and recurrent meningioma. This review summarizes recent developments characterizing meningioma using genetic and immunologic biomarkers and how these molecular tools may be integrated into existing care together with current World Health Organization grading to improve diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy.
Increased susceptibility of airway epithelial cells from ataxia-telangiectasia to S. pneumoniae infection due to oxidative damage and impaired innate immunity.
Scientific reports, 2019

Respiratory disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) who are prone to recurrent sinopulmonary infections, bronchiectasis, pulmonary fibrosis, and pulmonary failure. Upper airway infections are common in patients and S. pneumoniae is associated with these infections. We demonstrate here that the upper airway microbiome in patients with A-T is different from that to healthy controls, with S. pneumoniae detected largely in patients only. Patient-specific airway epithelial cells and differentiated air-liquid interface cultures derived from these were hypersensitive to infection which was at least in part due to oxidative damage since it was partially reversed by catalase. We also observed increased levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-8 and TNF-α (inflammasome-independent) and a decreased level of the inflammasome-dependent cytokine IL-β in patient cells. Further investigation revealed that the ASC-Caspase 1 signalling pathway was defective in A-T airway epithelial cells. These data suggest that the heightened susceptibility of these cells to S. pneumoniae infection is due to both increased oxidative damage and a defect in inflammasome activation, and has implications for lung disease in these patients.
An external validation of the Candiolo nomogram in a cohort of prostate cancer patients treated by external-beam radiotherapy.
Radiation oncology (London, England), 2021

the aim of this study is to perform an external validation for the Candiolo nomogram, a predictive algorithm of biochemical and clinical recurrences in prostate cancer patients treated by radical Radiotherapy, published in 2016 on the journal "Radiation Oncology".
Sonic hedgehog signaling in astrocytes mediates cell type-specific synaptic organization.
eLife, 2019

Astrocytes have emerged as integral partners with neurons in regulating synapse formation and function, but the mechanisms that mediate these interactions are not well understood. Here, we show that Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling in mature astrocytes is required for establishing structural organization and remodeling of cortical synapses in a cell type-specific manner. In the postnatal cortex, Shh signaling is active in a subpopulation of mature astrocytes localized primarily in deep cortical layers. Selective disruption of Shh signaling in astrocytes produces a dramatic increase in synapse number specifically on layer V apical dendrites that emerges during adolescence and persists into adulthood. Dynamic turnover of dendritic spines is impaired in mutant mice and is accompanied by an increase in neuronal excitability and a reduction of the glial-specific, inward-rectifying K
The relationship between hippocampal volume and static postural sway: results from the GAIT study.
Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands), 2016

The role of the hippocampus in postural control, in particular in maintaining upright stance, has not been fully examined in normal aging. This study aims to examine the association of postural sway with hippocampal volume while maintaining upright stance in healthy older individuals. Seventy healthy individuals (mean age 69.7 ± 3.4 years; 41.4 % women) were recruited in this study based on cross-sectional design. Hippocampal volume (quantified from a three-dimensional T1-weighted MRI using semi-automated software), three center of pressure (COP) motion parameters (sway area, path length of anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) displacement) while maintaining upright stance (eyes open and closed), and the relative difference between open and closed eye conditions were used as outcome measures. Age, sex, body mass index, lower limb proprioception, distance vision, 15-item geriatric depression scale score, total cranial volume, and white matter abnormalities were used as covariates. The sway area decreased from open to closed eye condition but this variation was non-significant (P = 0.244), whereas path length of AP and ML displacement increased significantly (P < 0.003). Increase in sway area from open to closed eyes was associated with greater hippocampal volume (β -18.21; P = 0.044), and a trend for an association of increase in path length of AP displacement (P = 0.075 for open eyes and P = 0.071 for closed eyes) with greater hippocampal volume was reported. The hippocampus is involved in upright postural control in normal aging, such that an increase in sway area of COP motion from open to closed eyes is associated with greater hippocampal volume in healthy older adults.
Diversity and temporal stability of bacterial communities in a model passerine bird, the zebra finch.
Molecular ecology, 2010

The composition and dynamics of the gastrointestinal bacterial communities in birds is determined by both host-specific and environmental exposure factors yet these are poorly understood. We selected the zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata, as the host species to examine the diversity and temporal stability of the faecal microflora in a bird, owing to its importance as a model organism in avian ecology, neuroscience and evolution studies. The stability of the gut bacterial community of individual male and female zebra finches was assessed through repeat faecal sampling via culture and temperature gradient gel electrophoresis and partial sequencing of PCR-amplified eubacterial 16S rRNA gene products. Nineteen bacterial genera were detected across all samples (n = 99), with each bird carrying on average six operational taxonomic units. Using a novel statistical approach, we showed that bacterial assemblages and community richness varied between individual birds but remained stable over time within individuals. Neither the composition nor richness of bacterial communities differed significantly between the sexes. Our results show that zebra finches housed together under controlled conditions show consistent variation between individuals in their gut microflora that is not attributable to differences in host exposure to environmental microbial sources. Future studies could usefully explore the origin of this individual-specific variation and its consequences for host fitness and sexual selection.
The circling ci2 rat mutant revisited: receptor architecture of the motor cortex.
Neuroscience, 2010

Circling behaviour of the ci2 rat mutant has been associated with an abnormal laterality concerning nigrostriatal and vestibular dopamine content and densities of several neurotransmitter receptors. Since not only subcortical, but also cortical activity subserve behavioural asymmetry, we applied quantitative in vitro receptor autoradiography to determine the densities of twenty neurotransmitter receptors in three areas of the motor cortex (Fr1, Fr2, Fr3) of the left and right hemispheres in adult male circling mutant rats (ci2/ci2), non-circling littermates (ci2/+) and aged-matched rats from the background strain (LEW/Ztm, wild type). Rats had previously been monitored for motor behaviour and swimming abilities. Wild type and ci2/+ rats did not differ from the behavioural point of view, whereas ci2/ci2 animals were characterized by pronounced lateralized circling behaviour and were not able to perform the swimming test correctly. Left Fr2 of wild type rats contained significantly lower NMDA receptor densities than its right counterpart. No interhemispheric differences were found in the motor cortex of ci2/+ or ci2/ci2 animals. All three areas of wild type rats contain higher GABA(A) and adenosine A(1) receptor densities than those of ci2/+ and ci2/ci2 animals, respectively. Serotonin 5-HT(2) receptor densities were significantly lower in the motor cortex of ci2/ci2 animals than in that of their heterozygous littermates. Thus, since the ci2 rat mutant presents a wide range of behavioural and neurochemical lateralization anomalies, in addition to representing a model of Usher syndrome type 1, it may prove useful to understand the mechanisms underlying abnormal rotational behaviour and its relevance as a model of disturbances in cerebral asymmetry and their consequences.
Meta-analysis of admission hyperglycaemia in acute myocardial infarction patients treated with primary angioplasty: a cause or a marker of mortality?
European heart journal. Cardiovascular pharmacotherapy, 2015

Admission hyperglycaemia (AH) has been associated with worse outcomes in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In the current review, we evaluated the impact of primary angioplasty (pPCI) on mortality in AMI patients with AH. Our second aim was to evaluate if AH is a marker of baseline risk or an independent predictor of mortality.
ALK5-dependent TGF-β signaling is a major determinant of late-stage adult neurogenesis.
Nature neuroscience, 2014

The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway serves critical functions in CNS development, but, apart from its proposed neuroprotective actions, its physiological role in the adult brain is unclear. We observed a prominent activation of TGF-β signaling in the adult dentate gyrus and expression of downstream Smad proteins in this neurogenic zone. Consistent with a function of TGF-β signaling in adult neurogenesis, genetic deletion of the TGF-β receptor ALK5 reduced the number, migration and dendritic arborization of newborn neurons. Conversely, constitutive activation of neuronal ALK5 in forebrain caused a marked increase in these aspects of neurogenesis and was associated with higher expression of c-Fos in newborn neurons and with stronger memory function. Our findings describe an unexpected role for ALK5-dependent TGF-β signaling as a regulator of the late stages of adult hippocampal neurogenesis, which may have implications for changes in neurogenesis during aging and disease.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging Assessment of Regional White Matter Changes in the Cervical and Thoracic Spinal Cord in Pediatric Subjects.
Journal of neurotrauma, 2019

There are no studies to date,describing changes in the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics of the white matter (WM) regions of the entire cervical and thoracic spinal cord (SC) remote from the lesion in pediatric spinal cord injury (SCI) subjects. The purpose of this study was to determine whether DTI at sites cephalad and caudal to a lesion provides measures of cord abnormalities in children with chronic SCI. A retrospective study included 10 typically developing subjects (TD) and 10 subjects with chronic SCI who underwent SC imaging in 2014-2017. Axial diffusion tensor images using an inner field of view DTI sequence were acquired to cover the entire cervical and thoracic SC. Regions of interest were drawn on the SC WM: right and left lateral (motor), ventral (motor), and dorsal (sensory) tracts. To detect differences in DTI metrics between TD and SCI of the cord, a one way analysis of variance with pooled t test was performed. A stepwise regression analysis was performed to assess the correlation between DTI metrics and clinical scores. In motor and sensory tracts, fractional anisotropy (FA) and axial diffusivity (AD) were significantly decreased in the proximal segments of the caudal cord. In motor tracts cephalad to the lesion, FA was significantly decreased whereas AD was significantly increased in the proximal segment; however, AD was decreased in the distal and middle segments. International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) total score was significantly correlated with FA and AD of the motor and sensory tracts cephalad to the lesion. This study demonstrates that FA and AD have the potential to be sensitive biomarkers of the full extent of cord injury and might be useful in detecting remote injuries to the SC and in guiding new treatments.
Non-Vitamin K Oral Anticoagulants (NOAC) Versus Vitamin K Antagonists (VKA) for Atrial Fibrillation with Elective or Urgent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Meta-Analysis with a Particular Focus on Combination Type.
Journal of clinical medicine, 2020

Our study aims to perform a meta-analysis of benefits and risks associated with the use of non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOAC) versus vitamin K antagonists (VKA) in patients with a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with a particular focus on the combination type: dual vs. dual antithrombotic therapy (DAT: NOAC + single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) vs. DAT: VKA + SAPT), dual vs. triple antithrombotic therapy (DAT: NOAC + SAPT vs. TAT: VKA + dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT)) or triple vs. triple antithrombotic therapy (TAT: NOAC+DAPT vs. TAT: VKA+DAPT).
Incretin mimetics as pharmacologic tools to elucidate and as a new drug strategy to treat traumatic brain injury.
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2014

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), either as an isolated injury or in conjunction with other injuries, is an increasingly common event. An estimated 1.7 million injuries occur within the USA each year and 10 million people are affected annually worldwide. Indeed, nearly one third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the USA are associated with TBI, which will soon outpace many common diseases as the major cause of death and disability. Associated with a high morbidity and mortality and no specific therapeutic treatment, TBI has become a pressing public health and medical problem. The highest incidence of TBI occurs in young adults (15-24 years age) and in the elderly (≥75 years of age). Older individuals are particularly vulnerable to these types of injury, often associated with falls, and have shown increased mortality and worse functional outcome after lower initial injury severity. In addition, a new and growing form of TBI, blast injury, associated with the detonation of improvised explosive devices in the war theaters of Iraq and Afghanistan, are inflicting a wave of unique casualties of immediate impact to both military personnel and civilians, for which long-term consequences remain unknown and may potentially be catastrophic. The neuropathology underpinning head injury is becoming increasingly better understood. Depending on severity, TBI induces immediate neuropathologic effects that, for the mildest form, may be transient; however, with increasing severity, these injuries cause cumulative neural damage and degeneration. Even with mild TBI, which represents the majority of cases, a broad spectrum of neurologic deficits, including cognitive impairments, can manifest that may significantly influence quality of life. Further, TBI can act as a conduit to longer term neurodegenerative disorders. Prior studies of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonists have demonstrated neurotrophic/neuroprotective activities across a broad spectrum of cellular and animal models of chronic neurodegenerative (Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases) and acute cerebrovascular (stroke) disorders. In view of the mechanisms underpinning these disorders as well as TBI, we review the literature and recent studies assessing GLP-1 receptor agonists as a potential treatment strategy for mild to moderate TBI.
Subunit- and pathway-specific localization of NMDA receptors and scaffolding proteins at ganglion cell synapses in rat retina.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2009

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) receive excitatory glutamatergic input from ON and OFF bipolar cells in distinct sublaminae of the inner plexiform layer (IPL). AMPA and NMDA receptors (AMPARs and NMDARs) mediate excitatory inputs in both synaptic layers, but specific roles for NMDARs at RGC synapses remain unclear. NMDARs comprise NR1 and NR2 subunits and are anchored by membrane-associated guanylate kinases (MAGUKs), but it is unknown whether particular NR2 subunits associate preferentially with particular NR1 splice variants and MAGUKs. Here, we used postembedding immunogold electron microscopy techniques to examine the subsynaptic localization of NMDAR subunits and MAGUKs at ON and OFF synapses onto rat RGCs. We found that the NR2A subunit, the NR1C2' splice variant, and MAGUKs PSD-95 and PSD-93 are localized to the postsynaptic density (PSD), preferentially at OFF synapses, whereas the NR2B subunit, the NR1C2 splice variant, and the MAGUK SAP102 are localized perisynaptically, with NR2B exhibiting a preference for ON synapses. Consistent with these anatomical data, spontaneous EPSCs (sEPSCs) recorded from OFF cells exhibited an NMDAR component that was insensitive to the NR2B antagonist Ro 25-6981. In ON cells, sEPSCs expressed an NMDAR component, partially sensitive to Ro 25-6981, only when glutamate transport was inhibited, indicating perisynaptic expression of NR2B NMDARs. These results provide the first evidence for preferential association of particular NR1 splice variants, NR2 subunits, and MAGUKs at central synapses and suggest that different NMDAR subtypes may play specific roles at functionally distinct synapses in the retinal circuitry.