Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Massive Increase (massive + increase)
Selected AbstractsRole of differential changes in sympathetic nerve activity in the preparatory adjustments of cardiovascular functions during freezing behaviour in ratsEXPERIMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Kenju Miki Freezing behaviour is associated with a distinct pattern of changes in cardiovascular function, which has been considered as a preparatory reflex for ,fight or flight' behaviour. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying preparatory cardiovascular adjustments and their physiological implications have received less attention. We studied responses in renal and lumbar sympathetic nerve activity and cardiovascular function during freezing behaviour in conscious rats, which was induced by exposure to loud white noise. Freezing behaviour was associated with regionally specific alterations in sympathetic nerve activity, in that renal sympathetic nerve activity increased while lumbar sympathetic nerve activity did not change. Moreover, freezing behaviour was associated with differential shifts in baroreflex control of sympathetic outflows, which could help to explain the selective responses in renal and lumbar sympathetic nerve activity during freezing behaviour. These differential changes in sympathetic outflows would result in a visceral vasoconstriction without having any impact on the skeletal muscle vasculature. These cardiovascular adjustments during freezing behaviour may help to explain the immediate and massive increase in muscular blood flow that occurs at the onset of fight or flight behaviour. It is hypothesized that central command originating from the defence area could somehow modulate separate baroreflex pathways, causing differential changes in sympathetic nerve activity to generate the preparatory cardiovascular adjustments during the freezing behaviour. [source] Anti-disialosyl antibodies mediate selective neuronal or Schwann cell injury at mouse neuromuscular junctionsGLIA, Issue 3 2005Susan K. Halstead Abstract The human paralytic neuropathy, Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) is associated with autoantibodies specific for disialosyl epitopes on gangliosides GQ1b, GT1a, and GD3. Since these gangliosides are enriched in synaptic membranes, anti-ganglioside antibodies may target neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), thereby contributing to disease symptoms. We have shown previously that at murine NMJs, anti-disialosyl antibodies induce an ,-latrotoxin-like effect, electrophysiologically characterized by transient massive increase of spontaneous neurotransmitter release followed by block of evoked release, resulting in paralysis of the muscle preparation. Morphologically, motor nerve terminal damage, as well as perisynaptic Schwann cell (pSC) death is observed. The relative contributions of neuronal and pSC injury to the paralytic effect and subsequent repair are unknown. In this study, we have examined the ability of subsets of anti-disialosyl antibodies to discriminate between the neuronal and glial elements of the NMJ and thereby induce either neuronal injury or pSC death. Most antibodies reactive with GD3 induced pSC death, whereas antibody reactivity with GT1a correlated with the extent of nerve terminal injury. Motor nerve terminal injury resulted in massive uncontrolled exocytosis with paralysis. However, pSC ablation induced no acute (within 1 h) electrophysiological or morphological changes to the underlying nerve terminal. These data suggest that at mammalian NMJs, acute pSC injury or ablation has no major deleterious influence on synapse function. Our studies provide evidence for highly selective targeting of mammalian NMJ membranes, based on ganglioside composition, that can be exploited for examining axonal,glial interactions both in disease states and in normal NMJ homeostasis. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Affording Universal Higher EducationHIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2002Lauchlan Chipman Can we achieve universal or near,universal higher education within the next two decades, without a massive increase in government investment in higher education? It is argued that the answer is yes, with greater involvement of the private, for,profit sector, or by encouraging existing not,for,profit universities to open for,profit campuses, at which the emphasis is on high,quality and convenient undergraduate teaching, with little or no research, and a concentration on high,demand, low,cost disciplines. This position requires us to recognise that research engagement is not conceptually essential for an institution to count as a university, understood both historically and through international comparison. Rather, this assumption operates as a significant entry barrier to new, low,cost entrants. This paper provides a case study of the ways in which Central Queensland University has extended its operations by developing surplus,generating campuses through joint,venture operations with the private sector, and argues such an operation could just as easily be developed as a free,standing, for,profit mode of university degree delivery , provided that present, artificial, protectionist limitations on the use of the name ,university' are removed. Degree programmes of such institutions should, of course, be subject to the same quality assurance standards as apply to existing universities. [source] Active Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis can be specifically diagnosed and monitored based on the biostructure of the fecal floraINFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, Issue 2 2008Alexander Swidsinski MD Abstract Background: The intestinal microflora is important in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The impact of its spatial organization on health and disease is unknown. Methods: We investigated sections of paraffin-embedded punched fecal cylinders. Fluctuations in spatial distribution of 11 bacterial groups were monitored in healthy subjects (n = 32), patients with IBD (n = 204), and other gastrointestinal diseases (n = 186) using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Results: The microbial structure differed in patients with Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and healthy and disease controls. The profiles of CD and UC were distinctly opposite in 6 of 11 FISH probes used. Most prominent were a depletion of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (Fprau<1 × 109/mL) with a normal leukocyte count in CD and a massive increase of leukocytes in the fecal-mucus transition zone (>30 leukocytes/104,m2) with high Fprau in patients with UC. These 2 features alone enabled the recognition of active CD (Crohn's Disease Activity Index [CDAI] >150) or UC (Clinical Activity Index [CAI] >3) with 79%/80% sensitivity and 98%/100% specificity. The mismatch in the sensitivity was mainly due to overlap between single IBD entities, and the specificity was exclusively due to the similarity of Crohn's and celiac disease. When inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients were pooled the sensitivity was 100% for severe disease, 84% for moderate activity, 72% for IBD with ,12 months remission, and 24% for IBD with >12 months remission. Conclusions: The fecal flora is highly structured and spatially organized. Diagnosing IBD and monitoring disease activity can be performed based on analysis of punched fecal cylinders independent from the patient's complaints. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2007) [source] Bush encroachment under three contrasting land-use practices in a mesic South African savannaAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2009B. J. Wigley Abstract This study determined the effects of land-use practice had on the rate and extent of bush encroachment in a mesic savanna in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Changes in woody cover were measured for 1 km2 sites in areas under communal, commercial and conservation land-use systems for the period between 1937 and 2000. Land users from each area were interviewed to gain the histories of each area and to determine how the changes in woody cover had impacted them and whether anything was being done to counteract the spread of trees and shrubs on their land. Bush encroachment occurred across all three of the land-use types in the 67-year period between 1937 and 2000. The results showed that land-use practice had enormous impacts on the process of bush encroachment. The communal site showed a decrease in grass (21%) and tree (5%) cover and an increase in shrub cover (13%). At the commercial site, there was a considerable decrease in grass cover (46%) and moderate increase in shrub cover (10%) and a massive increase in tree cover (36%). The area under conservation showed a substantial decrease in grass cover (47%), a slight decrease in shrub cover (19%) and a massive increase in tree cover (66%). The perceived causes of these changes were fairly similar amongst the different land users. The changes were mostly not perceived to be a problem for the communal land users. The main advantages mentioned were increased woody resources for building and firewood and increased browse availability. The commercial and conservation land users perceived the changes to have significant negative connotations including the loss of grazing land and biodiversity and secondary invasion of encroached areas by alien plant species. Despite these perceptions, very little has been done to combat bush encroachment in the commercial and conservation land use systems. [source] Maternal and neonatal outcomes in the Torres Strait Islands with a sixfold increase in type 2 diabetes in pregnancy over six yearsAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Henrik FALHAMMAR Background:, Torres Strait Islander population has a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Aims:, To review pregnancy data of women and their newborns living in the Torres Strait area. Methods:, All medical charts of mothers and their neonates delivered in two one-year periods (1999 and 2005/2006) were reviewed. The initial screening test for diabetes in pregnancy (DIP) was a random blood glucose level followed by an oral glucose challenge test in 1999 and from 2000 an oral glucose tolerance test. Results:, Diabetes in pregnancy increased by 4.3,13.3% and T2DM by 0.8,4.6%. During the two periods, 258 and 196 mothers delivered respectively 84,92% by midwives/general practitioners at the local hospital and 7,16% by midwives/obstetricians at the regional hospital; in 2005/2006, 58% of women with DIP delivered at the regional hospital. Screening increased from 89.2 to 99.5%. DIP mothers were older and heavier with more hypertension and previous miscarriages. Parity decreased in the DIP mother during the two periods. Caesarean section was five times more common for DIP in 2005/2006 versus non-DIP, while in 1999, there was no difference. In 1999, the DIP infants were heavier, longer (P = 0.053) and had a larger head circumference not seen 2005/2006. There was more neonatal trauma, hypoglycaemia and IV dextrose in the DIP infants. Breastfeeding numbers increased in DIP. In 2005/2006, follow-up of gestational diabetes occurred in 47% (all normal). Conclusion:, A massive increase in DIP was seen. The neonatal outcomes improved slightly. There is need for improvement in follow-up of gestational diabetes. [source] Policy Autonomy and the History of British Aid to AfricaDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 6 2005Tony Killick This article utilises historical information to throw light on the forces shaping British aid policies towards Africa. It outlines key long-term policy developments, summarises the influences shaping these policies and comments on the present juncture of UK policies. It shows that, while there have been many influences, governments have enjoyed considerable policy autonomy, being largely unconstrained in pursuing their preferences in a top-down manner. This autonomy has mainly been used for the pursuit of long-term development, as against the promotion of the UK's national interest. The present thrust of UK policies to achieve massive increases in aid to Africa is a prime example of this policy autonomy. [source] Creating Securities Markets in Developing Countries: A New Approach for the Age of Automated TradingINTERNATIONAL FINANCE, Issue 2 2001Benn Steil The past decade has been one of enormous change in the securities trading industry. Automation of trading systems, led by the continental European exchanges and US ,electronic communications networks' (ECNs), has resulted in significant declines in trading costs, massive increases in turnover, internationalization of trading and settlement system operations, and major reforms in exchange governance. Yet the policy advice given to developing country governments looking to create or expand securitized finance in their markets has been largely unaffected by these developments. This is unfortunate, as developing countries now have the opportunity to leapfrog the evolving infrastructure of the mature markets and to define the global efficient frontier in trading technology, exchange governance, investor access and market structure regulation. This paper analyses the technological and economic forces driving change in the securities trading industry, and examines the implications for developing markets. [source] Demography, Education, and Democracy: Global Trends and the Case of IranPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 2 2010Wolfgang Lutz Reconstructions and projections of populations by age, sex, and educational attainment for 120 countries since 1970 are used to assess the global relationship between improvements in human capital and democracy. Democracy is measured by the Freedom House indicator of political rights. Similar to an earlier study on the effects of improving educational attainment on economic growth, the greater age detail of this new dataset resolves earlier ambiguities about the effect of improving education as assessed using a global set of national time series. The results show consistently strong effects of improving overall levels of educational attainment, of a narrowing gender gap in education, and of fertility declines and the subsequent changes in age structure on improvements in the democracy indicator. This global relationship is then applied to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Over the past two decades Iran has experienced the world's most rapid fertility decline associated with massive increases in female education. The results show that based on the experience of 120 countries since 1970, Iran has a high chance of significant movement toward more democracy over the following two decades. [source] Late Marriage and Less Marriage in JapanPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 1 2001Robert D. Retherford Between 1975 and 1995, the singulate mean age at marriage in Japan increased from 24.5 to 27.7 years for women and from 27.6 to 30.7 years for men, making Japan one of the latest-marrying populations in the world. Over the same period, the proportion of women who will never marry, calculated from age-specific first-marriage probabilities pertaining to a particular calendar year, increased from 5 to 15 percent for women and from 6 to 22 percent for men,behaviors sharply different from those characterizing the universal-marriage society of earlier years. This article investigates how and why these changes have come about. The reasons are bound up with rapid educational gains by women, massive increases in the proportion of women who work for pay outside the home, major changes in the structure and functioning of the marriage market, extraordinary increases in the prevalence of premarital sex, and far-reaching changes in values relating to marriage and family life. [source] | ||||||||||||||||