bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Salt, salted food intake, and risk of gastric cancer: Epidemiologic evidence
Authors: Tsugane Shoichiro
Published: September 2010

Because gastric cancer is still the most common cancer, its prevention is one of the most important aspects of Japan's cancer control strategy. Observations among Japanese immigrants in the USA and Brazil based on the geographic differences, the trend in cancer incidence with time, and the change in incidence patterns indicate that gastric cancer is closely associated with dietary factors, such as the intake of salt and salted food. In international and intra‐Japanese ecological studies, the average salt excretion level, estimated using randomly selected 24‐h urine samples in each population, was closely correlated with gastric cancer mortality. Several case–control and cohort studies, including the author's recent works, have shown that a higher intake of some traditional salt‐preserved food and salt per se, which was estimated using a validated food‐frequency questionnaire, was associated with a risk of gastric cancer. While salted food intake may increase the risk of Helicobacter pylori infection, it can also act synergistically to promote the development of gastric cancer. Based on substantial evidence about the association between salt and salted food intake and the risk of gastric cancer from ecological, case–control, and cohort studies conducted in Japan and other countries, as well as mechanistic plausibility, dietary modification involving less salt and salted food intake is a practical strategy with which to prevent gastric cancer. (Cancer Sci 2005; 96: 1–6)
Basement controls upon basin development in the Caledonian foreland, NW Scotland
Authors: Stein ALAN M.
Published: September 2010

Abstract The Hebridean basins are part of a compartmentalized half‐graben developed in the hanging wall of the partially reactivated Outer Isles Fault. The importance of geological inheritance in the development of these basins can be demonstrated clearly using the widespread exposure of metamorphic basement around the basin margins. The basement structures have been analysed using thematically mapped Landsat images in conjunction with selective field studies. Results of such studies have been integrated with maps generated from the interpretation of offshore multichannel seismic reflection profiles to produce an architectural framework for basin development.

It can be demonstrated that the principal basement faults originated in the early Proterozoic as mid‐crustal shear zones and that they have subsequently been partially reactivated during post‐Caledonian basin development beginning in the Carboniferous and probably also during an earlier period of basin development in the late Proterozoic (the Torridonian). It is the geometry of the pre‐existing basement structures that has controlled the three‐dimensional shape of the sedimentary basins and the spatial and temporal distribution of the basin fill.
Normal fault zone evolution and fault scarp degradation in the Aegean region
Authors: Stewart IAIN S. , Hancock PAUL L.
Published: September 2010

Abstract The initial stages of rift‐basin evolution are periods of great landform change. Fault scarps are newly created axes of erosion which, along with footwall uplands, act as sediment sources for subsiding hanging wall basins. Scarps formed during neotectonic normal faulting of Mesozoic carbonates in mainland Greece and western Turkey display a varied pattern of degradation related to the history of fault development and variations in fault zone architecture. Alternating zone‐parallel compact breccia sheets and incohesive breccia belts, of contrasting resistance to erosion, underlie scarps. Meso‐scale slip‐plane phenomena, such as corrugations, gutters, comb fractures, and pluck holes, together with geomorphological features, such as subsurface solution pipes, and vegetation result in initial variations in the denudability of erosionally resistant compact breccia sheets. Migration with time of slip‐plane activity within a fault zone into its hanging wall (i.e. intrafault‐zone hanging wall collapse) adds to the structural heterogeneity of fault scarp footwalls. Quaternary talus, whether offset across a fault, banked unconformably against a slip plane, or faulted against a reactivated slip plane, has a dampening effect on degradation. The complexities of fault zone architecture combined with a history of hanging wall collapse lead, in the Aegean region, to non‐uniform degradation and scarps which are commonly stepped and occasionally cavitated.
Syn‐sedimentary structural controls on basin deformation in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece
Authors: Higgs BILL
Published: September 2010

Abstract The Plio‐Quaternary history of the Gulf of Corinth Basin has been controlled by dominantly north‐south extension. The basin has an asymmetric graben geometry that is, at the present time, controlled by a master fault (the Gulf of Corinth Fault) downthrowing to the north and running offshore from the north Peloponnese coast.

Detailed structural interpretation of single‐channel seismic data collected during RRS ‘Shackleton’ cruise 1/82 combined with onshore structural studies indicates that the basin geometry is not controlled simply by the main Gulf of Corinth Fault. The subsidence history for the uppermost 1 km of sediment can be documented using time‐structure contour maps and isochron maps. These indicate that there is a general narrowing in the size of the basin with time, achieved by fault‐controlled subsidence switching to antithetic faults concentrated towards the basin centre. It can also be demonstrated that growth of sediments into topographic lows is not only controlled by sea bed rupture but also by more passive sea bed flexure over ‘blind’ faults at depth.

The main conclusion of this study is that the 3D geometry of the Gulf of Corinth Basin changes not only spatially but also temporally. Active growth faulting and, therefore, the position of depocentres can switch across the basin and the relative importance of synthetic and antithetic faults controls the geometry of the basin, forming grabens, asymmetric grabens and half‐grabens throughout the basin history.
Recognition and significance of streamflow‐dominated piedmont facies in extensional basins
Authors: Smith G. A.
Published: September 2010

Alluvial slopes are piedmonts characterized by parallel steam channels rather than alluvial fans. They are common landforms in extensional basins of the south‐western United States but have received little attention from geomorphologists or sedimentologists. Persistence of channellized flow across piedmonts, as opposed to sheetflooding due to loss of flow confinement on alluvial‐fan surfaces, distinguishes alluvial‐slope and alluvial‐fan facies. Miocene strata of the Tesuque Formation (Española basin, New Mexico) and Pliocene strata of the St. David Formation (San Pedro Valley, Arizona) provide examples of extensional basin–piedmont successions constructed by discrete gravel and sand bedload channels and aggrading interfluve floodplains and aeolian sand sheets. Distinction of alluvial‐fan and alluvial‐slope piedmont deposits has several important implications. The contrasting facies geometries associated with the two landforms produce distinctly different aquifer and reservoir properties. It is hypothesized that alluvial slopes are more likely to form than alluvial fans where mountain fronts lack abrupt structural and topographic definition. This circumstance will most likely be met (a) along tectonically inactive and embayed mountain fronts and (b) on the hangingwall ramp side of half grabens.
Implications of fault array evolution for synrift depocentre development: insights from a numerical fault growth model
Authors: Cowie P. A. , Gupta S. , Dawers N. H.
Published: September 2010

We investigate the effects of interaction between growing normal faults on the creation of accommodation in extensional half grabens. Fault evolution is simulated using a numerical model in which we calculate both the stress field around each fault and the changes in stress level on neighbouring faults caused by individual slip events (earthquakes). These stress changes govern the interaction and determine both the direction and rate of lateral fault propagation and the accumulation of displacement. The spatial distribution of subsidence resulting from fault growth is examined parallel and transverse to strike to document the three‐dimensional evolution of accommodation creation. The numerical experiment permits analysis of the geometry, inception and growth history of individual fault‐controlled depocentres during development of a linked normal fault array. Model results indicate that the pattern of fault‐controlled subsidence, and hence hangingwall accommodation creation, is spatially and temporally variable as the timing and rates of fault movement vary considerably. In general, there is a progression from many relatively small and isolated subbasins initially, to the development of a larger laterally continuous half graben in the hangingwall to a major through‐going linked fault system. Many smaller faults initially active in footwall and hangingwall areas become inactive as the extension localizes onto the major structure. This switching‐off of some faults, combined with focusing of the extensional deformation, leads to an increase in the rate of displacement accumulation on the remaining active fault. As dip‐slip displacement is a proxy for hangingwall subsidence, we interpret this prominent rate change in terms of the ‘rift‐initiation’ to ‘rift‐climax’ transition, previously recognized in synrift stratigraphy. A general picture of depocentre development relative to timing of linkage emerges from the simulated fault evolution that provides some simple conceptual models to be tested. However, the important result of this paper is that it shows the degree to which fault activity can vary in space and time both along the same fault zone and also across strike. We briefly discuss the implications of model results for stratigraphic architecture in rift basins. Our conclusion is that some of the stratigraphic complexity of rifts previously ascribed to other controls (e.g. sediment supply, eustasy, etc.) may be tectonically controlled and that with improved three‐dimensional imaging of rift basins these effects may be recognized.
Structural style and stratigraphic architecture of fault propagation folding in extensional settings: a seismic example from the Smørbukk area, Halten Terrace, Mid‐Norway
Authors: Corfield S. , Sharp I. R.
Published: September 2010

A number of recent papers have stressed the importance of lateral and vertical fault propagation on sediment geometries in active rift settings. However, the majority of these studies have been based on outcrop data. This contribution addresses the evolution of a single, major normal fault and its interaction with adjacent active faults using high‐resolution 3D seismic data from the Smørbukk and Smørbukk South hydrocarbon fields, Halten Terrace, Mid‐Norway. The major fault dividing the two fields, the Trestakk–Smørbukk fault, evolves from a southern segment with a well‐defined set of rift wedges in its hangingwall to a northern segment where the fault tip is buried and a fault‐tip fold is developed. Isochore maps of three Jurassic intervals illustrate a south to north evolution where, initially, Early Jurassic fault activity is limited to the southern part of the study area. Middle to Upper Jurassic intervals display a northwards migration in activity and linkage with two other major faults in the study area. This northwards migration had a profound effect on sediment geometries and depocentres in an area where previously only Late Jurassic rift activity has been recognized.
A two‐diffusion model of fluvial stratigraphy in closed depositional basins
Authors: Marr J. G. , Swenson J. B. , Paola C. , Voller V. R.
Published: September 2010

Fundamental to interpreting the stratigraphic architecture within a basin is understanding the relationship between a basin’s external conditions and its stratigraphic response. Here we present a model of fluvial basin filling that is based on two field observations. Firstly, natural fluvial systems commonly have an upstream region dominated by gravel transport and a downstream region dominated by sand transport with the transition between the two being relatively abrupt. Second, gravel bed and sand bed systems operate at nearly constant but different mean Shields stresses. Our model is based on a single, linear diffusion equation but is unique in that we use distinct transport (diffusion) coefficients for the two dominant fluvial regimes: a proximal gravel region and a distal sand region. This problem is complicated by the existence of two moving boundaries: the position of the distal fluvial toe and the position of the gravel–sand transition. We present a rigorous numerical treatment of both of these moving boundaries and verify our numerical formulation by comparing the model results to a semi‐analytical solution technique.

We use the model to examine the stratigraphic response to perturbations in four external boundary conditions: sediment supply, water supply, rate of subsidence and gravel fraction. The response is analysed in terms of the phase relation between forcing and the position of the gravel front, the position of the fluvial toe, proximal accumulation rate and distal accumulation rate. The model supports the results of earlier single‐diffusion models suggesting that the form of the response is dependent on the period of the perturbation relative to the intrinsic basin response time. For forcing periods less than the intrinsic basin response time, basin response is nearly constant and independent of the forcing period, suggesting that the transport system controls basin response. For forcing periods greater than the intrinsic response time of the basin the response time of the basin increases directly with the forcing period, suggesting that the transport system plays no role in limiting basin response. For gravel–sand systems we show that the intrinsic response time is a function of the ratio of gravel to sand entering the basin. Forcing of the above external boundaries, both slowly and rapidly relative to the basin response time, produces both distal and proximal unconformities. We present a nondimensional ‘unconformity number’ that constrains the amplitude and period of forcing necessary to generate proximal unconformities.
Sediment flux from an uplifting fault block
Authors: Allen Philip A. , Densmore A. L.
Published: September 2010

The stratigraphy of rift basins is a direct result of sediment liberation and transport through catchment–fan systems whose dynamics are controlled by both external and internal factors. We investigate the response of catchment–fan systems established across an active normal fault to variations in both tectonic and climatic boundary conditions. Numerical experiments show that the ratio of fan area to catchment area provides a sensitive indicator of tectonic activity. A step decrease in fault slip rate results in a delayed response by the catchment–fan systems; the response time is ∼50 kyr for a variety of parameter values. Decreased slip rate also gives rise to an abrupt but transient pulse in sediment discharge from the fans due to a drop in the hangingwall subsidence rate. In contrast, variations in climatic activity, using precipitation rate as a proxy, produce extremely rapid responses throughout the catchment–fan system. Thus, high‐frequency climatic changes will overprint lower frequency tectonic variations in the stratigraphic record of fan deposits. Finally, we map out possible combinations of fault geometry, fault slip rate and precipitation rate that allow fan progradation and high rates of sediment discharge from the system.
Investigating the surface process response to fault interaction and linkage using a numerical modelling approach
Authors: Cowie P.A. , Attal M. , Tucker G. E. , Whittaker A. C. , Naylor M. , Ganas A. , Roberts G. P.
Published: September 2010

In order to better understand the evolution of rift‐related topography and sedimentation, we present the results of a numerical modelling study in which elevation changes generated by extensional fault propagation, interaction and linkage are used to drive a landscape evolution model. Drainage network development, landsliding and sediment accumulation in response to faulting are calculated using CASCADE, a numerical model developed by Braun and Sambridge, and the results are compared with field examples. We first show theoretically how the ‘fluvial length scale’,Lf, in the fluvial incision algorithm can be related to the erodibility of the substrate and can be varied to mimic a range of river behaviour between detachment‐limited (DL) and transport‐limited (TL) end‐member models for river incision. We also present new hydraulic geometry data from an extensional setting which show that channel width does not scale with drainage area where a channel incises through an area of active footwall uplift. We include this information in the coupled model, initially for a single value ofLf, and use it to demonstrate how fault interaction controls the location of the main drainage divide and thus the size of the footwall catchments that develop along an evolving basin‐bounding normal fault. We show how erosion by landsliding and fluvial incision varies as the footwall area grows and quantify the volume, source area, and timing of sediment input to the hanging‐wall basin through time. We also demonstrate how fault growth imposes a geometrical control on the scaling of river discharge with downstream distance within the footwall catchments, thus influencing the incision rate of rivers that drain into the hanging‐wall basin. Whether these rivers continue to flow into the basin after the basin‐bounding fault becomes fully linked strongly depends on the value ofLf. We show that such rivers are more likely to maintain their course if they are close to the TL end member (smallLf); as a river becomes progressively more under supplied, i.e. the DL end member (largeLf), it is more likely to be deflected or dammed by the growing fault. These model results are compared quantitatively with real drainage networks from mainland Greece, the Italian Apennines and eastern California. Finally, we infer the calibre of sediments entering the hanging‐wall basin by integrating measurements of erosion rate across the growing footwall with the variation in surface processes in space and time. Combining this information with the observed structural control of sediment entry points into individual hanging‐wall depocentres we develop a greater understanding of facies changes associated with the rift‐initiation to rift‐climax transition previously recognised in syn‐rift stratigraphy.
BIOCHEMISTRY OF THE CELL CYCLE: A REVIEW
Authors: Baserga Renato
Published: September 2010

This review describes the metabolic steps that occur in mammalian cells and that are related to the onset of DNA synthesis and mitosis. Two types of cells are considered separately: those continuously dividing and those that are quiescent but can be stimulated to enter DNA synthesis by appropriate stimuli. Despite the scarcity of data, a review of the literature suggests that the genome itself controls its own replication, and that this control is mediated through the synthesis of specific RNA and protein molecules. A similar mechanism is operating in the control of mitosis.
Progressive Increase In Polyamine Levels In 9l Cells in vitro During the Cell Cycle: Comparison Between Cells Isolated By Centrifugal Elutriation and Cells Grown In Synchrony
Authors: Oredsson Stina M. , Gray Joe W. , Marton Laurence J.
Published: September 2010

Centrifugal elutriation was used to separate 9L rat brain tumour cells into fractions enriched in the G1, S, or G2/M phases of the cell cycle. Cells enriched in early G1, phase were recultured, grown in synchrony, and harvested periodically for analysis of their DNA distribution and polyamine content. Mathematical analysis of the DNA distributions indicated that excellent synchrony was obtained with low dissersion throughout the cell cycle. Polyamine accumulation began at the time of seeding, and intracellular levels of putrescine, spermidine, and spermine increased continuously during the cell cycle. In cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, putrescine and spermidine levels were twice as high as in cells in the G1, phase. DNA distribution and polyamine levels were also analysed in cells taken directly from the various elutriation fractions enriched in G1, S, or G2/M. Because we did not obtain pure S or G2/M populations by elutriation or by harvesting synchronized cells, a mathematical procedure—which assumed that the measured polyamine levels for any population were linearly related to the fraction of cells in the G1, S, and G2/M phases times the polyamine levels in these phases and that polyamine levels did not vary within these phases—was used to estimate ‘true’ phase‐specific polyamine levels (levels to be expected if perfect synchrony were achieved). Estimated ‘true’ phase‐specific polyamine levels calculated from the data obtained from cells either sorted by elutriation or obtained from synchronously growing cultures were very similar.
Mirex‐Induced Adaptive Liver Growth: A Corticosterone‐Mediated Response
Authors: Yarbrough James D. , Brown Leslee Dodd , Grimley Jo M.
Published: September 2010

The adaptive liver growth response was investigated in intact and adrenalectomized rats. When adult male rats were given a single oral dose of mirex (100 mg/kg body weight) there was a 72% increase in relative liver weight (RLW) in 72 hr. Based on [3H]‐thymidine ([3H]TdR) incorporation into hepatic DNA, there was also a wave of DNA synthesis which peaked at 48 hr and decreased to essentially control values by 96 hr post mirex dose. In mirex‐dosed adrenalectomised (Adx) animals, the RLW was increased by only 38% and there was sustained DNA synthesis. When mirex‐dosed Adx rats were given corticosterone supplements, the RLW response was similar to the RLW response in intact mirex‐dosed rats. However, the 48‐hr DNA synthesis peak seen in intact mirex‐dosed rats was eliminated.

From these data it is suggested that mirex‐induced adaptive liver growth has two components: a hypertrophic component which is mediated by corticosterone, and a hyperplastic component which is independent of corticosterone.
Abundance of Tubulin Mrna On Poly Somes Following Deciliation and During the Synchronous Cell Cycle of Tetrahymena
Authors: Bird R. C. , Zimmerman A. M.
Published: September 2010

The protozoan, Tetrahymena pyriformis GL, was used as a model system for studying polysomal mRNA during the cell cycle and during cilia regeneration. Our previous work has shown a substantial induction of tubulin synthesis following deciliation and during G2 of the synchronous cell cycle. In the present study, the abundance of tubulin mRNA on polysomes was examined in order to determine whether more tubulin mRNA was being translated during the periods of peak tubulin synthesis. Polysomes isolated at sequential times following deciliation and during the synchronous cell cycle were translated in a cell‐free translation system derived from wheat germ. the abundance of tubulin mRNA on polysomes was inferred from the amount of tubulin translated in vitro. Following deciliation and prior to the peak period of tubulin synthesis, the abundance of tubulin mRNA (at 140 min post‐deciliation) increases to 25 times the initial value observed (at 20 min post‐deciliation). Since the increase in tubulin mRNA abundance precedes the peak in tubulin synthesis, induction of tubulin synthesis appears to be mRNA‐dependent. A similar analysis of tubulin mRNA abundance on polysomes during the synchronous cell cycle revealed a peak of tubulin mRNA prior to each peak of tubulin synthesis. These studies suggest that the periodic fluctuations in the synthesis of tubulin are dependent upon fluctuating levels of tubulin mRNA on polysomes.
Induction of ID1 expression and apoptosis by the histone deacetylase inhibitor (trichostatin A) in human acute myeloid leukaemic cells
Authors: Yu W.‐P. , Scott S. A. , Dong W.‐F.
Published: September 2010

Abstract.  Introduction: ID1, founding member of the inhibitor of differentiation (ID) family, is involved in cell population growth, apoptosis and tumourigenesis. Methods and Results: We investigated mRNA levels of ID1 in human myeloid leukaemic cell lines and in specimens of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), using semiquantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction, and protein levels of ID1 in human myeloid leukaemic cell lines using Western blot analysis. Six of seven AML cell lines and 12 of 15 AML patient samples were found to have barely detectable ID1 mRNA. All of these cell lines showed the same levels of protein in proportion to levels of mRNA. Two of the AML cell lines with low ID1 expression, KG1 and KG‐1a, were chosen for treatment with either the DNA demethylation reagent, 5‐aza‐2′‐deoxycytidine (DAC), or the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, trichostatin A (TSA). These treatments were alone or in combination, and ID1 expression was induced by both DAC and TSA. No hypermethylated ID1 gene promoter was detected in the majority of the cell lines and patient specimens, by methylation‐specific polymerase chain reaction, suggesting that induction of ID1 in KG1 and KG‐1a was not due to direct demethylation of the ID1 gene promoter. Chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that accumulation of acetyl‐histone H3 and release of HDAC1 were correlated with ID1 induction by these drugs. Flow cytometric assay demonstrated more apoptosis induced by TSA or TSA in combination with DAC, in both KG‐1 and KG‐1a cell lines. Increase of intracellular reactive oxygen species was observed when treated with TSA. Conclusion: Most AML cell lines and human AML samples have very low levels of expression of ID1. TSA or TSA in combination with DAC is able to restore ID1 expression in low ID1‐expressing AML cell lines by re‐activating the aberrantly deacetylated promoter, and this also results in more apoptotic cell death, in which ID1 and the redox pathway may be involved.
Efficient in vitro generation of adult multipotent cells from mobilized peripheral blood CD133+ cells
Authors: Kuçi S. , Kuçi Z. , Schmid S. , Seitz G. , Müller I. , Dufke A. , Leimig T. , Murti G. , Jurecic R. , Schumm M. , Lang P. , Bruchelt G. , Bader P. , Klingebiel T. , Niethammer D. , Handgretinger R.
Published: September 2010

Abstract. Objectives: To generate non‐haematopoietic tissues from mobilized haematopoietic CD133+ stem cells. Materials and methods: Mobilized peripheral blood CD133+ cells from adult healthy donors were used. In vitro ability of highly enriched CD133+ cells from mobilized peripheral blood to generate multipotent cells, and their potential to give rise to cells with characteristics of neuroectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm layers was investigated. Results: We found that a recently identified population of CD45+ adherent cells generated in vitro after culture of highly purified CD133+ cells for 3–5 weeks with Flt3/Flk2 ligand and interleukin‐6 can, in presence of the appropriate microenvironmental cues, differentiate into neural progenitor‐like cells (NPLCs), hepatocyte‐like cells and skeletal muscle‐like cells. We have termed them to be adult multipotent haematopoietic cells (AMHCs). AMHC‐derived NPLCs expressed morphological, phenotypic and molecular markers associated with primary neural progenitor cells. They can differentiate into astrocyte‐like cells, neuronal‐like cells and oligodendrocyte‐like cells. Moreover, AMHC‐derived NPLCs produced 3,4‐dihydrophenylalanine and dopamine and expressed voltage‐activated ion channels, suggesting their functional maturation. In addition, AMHC‐derived hepatocyte‐like cells and skeletal muscle‐like cells, showed typical morphological features and expressed primary tissue‐associated proteins. Conclusion: Our data demonstrate that AMHCs may therefore serve as a novel source of adult multipotent cells for autologous replacement cell therapies.
Thymidine block does not synchronize L1210 mouse leukaemic cells: implications for cell cycle control, cell cycle analysis and whole‐culture synchronization
Authors: Cooper S. , Chen K. Z. , Ravi S.
Published: September 2010

Abstract.  It has been predicted that whole‐culture methods of synchronization cannot synchronize cells. We have tested whether thymidine block, one type of whole‐culture synchronization, can synchronize L1210 cells. We demonstrate experimentally that the thymidine block method cannot produce a synchronized culture. Although thymidine‐treated cells are arrested primarily with an S‐phase amount of DNA, there is no narrowing of the cell size distribution and there is no synchronized division pattern following release from the thymidine block. In contrast to a whole‐culture synchronization method, cells produced by a selective (i.e. non‐whole‐culture) method not only have a specific DNA content, but also have a narrow size distribution and divide synchronously. Generalizing the results to other cell lines, we suggest that these conclusions call into question experimental measurements of gene expression during the division cycle based on thymidine inhibition synchronization.
The therapeutic potential of stem cells in heart disease
Authors: Strauer B. E. , Brehm M. , Schannwell C. M.
Published: September 2010

Abstract.  Coronary heart disease and chronic heart failure are common and have an increasing frequency. Although interventional and conventional drug therapy may delay ventricular remodelling, there is no basic therapeutic regime available for preventing or even reversing this process. Chronic coronary artery disease and heart failure impairs quality of life and are associated with subsequent worsening of the cardiac pump function. Numerous studies within the past few years have been demonstrated, that the intracoronary stem cell therapy has to be considered as a safe therapeutic procedure in heart disease, when destroyed and/or compromised heart muscle must be regenerated. This kind of cell therapy with autologous bone marrow cells is completely justified ethically, except for the small numbers of patients with direct or indirect bone marrow disease (e.g. myeloma, leukaemic infiltration) in whom there would be lesions of mononuclear cells. Several preclinical as well as clinical trials have shown that transplantation of autologous bone marrow cells or precursor cells improved cardiac function after myocardial infarction and in chronic coronary heart disease. The age of infarction seems to be irrelevant to regenerative potency of stem cells, since stem cells therapy in old infarctions (many years old) is almost equally effective in comparison to previous infarcts. Further indications are non‐ischemic cardiomyopathy (dilative cardiomyopathy) and heart failure due to hypertensive heart disease.
Safeguarding young people through confidential advocacy services
Authors: Dalrymple
Published: September 2010

The political agency of children and young people is gaining ascendancy as government agendas prioritize the need to listen to children. Recent guidance on inter‐agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people takes account of new research, experience, and legislation concerning abuse. In the past, children and young people have been failed by the services designed to help them, and many have been silenced through the lack of a safe space where they will be listened to and taken seriously. The development of advocacy services for children and young people has been actively encouraged by recent legislation, but many existing services tend to remain at the passive end of the advocacy continuum – advocatingon behalf ofrather thanenablingthem. This is inevitable as children continue to be marginalized in a powerful adult world. This paper examines the need for advocacy services to have clear policies of confidentiality if they are to be a credible option to young people, when services to safeguard them emphasize the importance of agencies working together and sharing information.
Service users as gatekeepers in Children's Centres
Authors: Sheppard Michael , MacDonald Paula , Welbourne Penelope
Published: September 2010

Children's Centres are the latest in a line of initiatives designed to provide neighbourhood‐based family support. These are part of a spectrum of preventive services from Universalist (primary prevention) to permanence and rehabilitative work (quaternary). High levels of need confronted by tertiary Child Care Social Work and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, mean that the contribution of these centres at secondary level and responsiveness to its higher‐level needs, have become particularly important. At the same time, the involvement and perspectives of service users have become equally important in the evaluation and development of centres. Users, though, can help create the culture and expectations in centres just through the processes of interaction developed over time. However, although users have evaluated services for their openness, we know little about the part played by service users themselves – particularly through their informal interactions and culture – in the responsiveness of centres to higher‐need families for whom secondary level prevention is appropriate. This paper focuses on the part played by service users as gatekeepers showing they can play an important, and sometimes limiting, part in the responsiveness of centres. The theoretical and practical implications of this for prevention are discussed.
Attitudes of Arab and Jewish mothers towards punitive and non‐punitive discipline methods
Authors: Khoury‐Kassabri Mona
Published: September 2010

This study used data from 234 Jewish and Arab mothers in Israel to determine the association between cultural and socioeconomic factors on their views of punitive and non‐punitive discipline behaviours. Mothers highly approved the use of nonpunitive disciplines. For example, all mothers supported to explain to the child what the rules are to try to prevent misbehaviour; however, their support of punitive disciplines was not negligible. For instant, 15.32% approved spank, slap, smack or swat children; one out of 10 mothers endorsed using an object such as a paddle, hairbrush, belt, etc. on children. Mothers with lower levels of education (completing high school or lower) and Arab mothers approved the use of corporal punishment and psychological aggression more than others. More support and training are required for these families.
Ascertaining the prevalence of childhood disability
Authors: Hutchison T. , Gordon D.
Published: September 2010

Objectives  To reapply 1985 Office of Population Census and Surveys (OPCS) disability survey methods, modified as necessary, to a sample of children to ascertain presence of disability. To compare OPCS‐based prevalence with prevalence based on carer's views and medical records.

Design  Analytical study.

Setting  Community Child Health Department in UK.

Participants  Principal carers of 100 children aged 5–15, selected from a district special needs register.

Main outcome measures  Comparable information about disability from three sources and diagnosis from carers and medical records.

Results  Medical records of 46% contained a diagnosis. Carers were always aware of this, although a single question did not always elicit their knowledge. OPCS‐derived threshold disability criteria in categories of Hand function, Personal care, Consciousness and Continence gave prevalence results similar to medical records and carers. OPCS criteria yielded higher prevalence of disability in the areas of Locomotion (8%), Communication (14%) and Hearing (18%). Carers, OPCS and medical records disagreed markedly about prevalence of disabilities of Vision, probably because of the use of differing definitions. OPCS learning criteria were judged unsuitable and standard attainment targets (SATs) were substituted. These provided similar prevalence figures to carers and medical records. OPCS behaviour criteria were also unsuitable and were replaced by the General Health and Behaviour Questionnaire (GHBQ). This found an increased prevalence of problems compared with carers and doctors.

Conclusions  Diagnostic labels have limited use when collecting data about disabled children. Doubt is cast on the validity of some of the 1985 OPCS threshold criteria, and reassessment is suggested before their future use. Further work is needed on the use of SATs and GHBQ in the benchmarking of disability. To collect population data it would be easier and at least equally effective (with caution in the case of Vision) to ask carers directly rather than applying descriptive thresholds and external judgements. Similar information could be obtained from medical records, however, they are likely to be out of date.
Parents’ perceptions of the value of the Webster‐Stratton Parenting Programme: a qualitative study of a general practice based initiative
Authors: Patterson J. , Mockford C. , Stewart‐Brown S.
Published: September 2010

Background  Parenting styles and parent–child relationships are a determinant of emotional and behavioural problems in children. Controlled trials of parenting programmes have been shown to be effective in helping parents of children with clinical levels of behaviour problems, but there is little research on the impact of such programmes in families where children's development falls in the ‘normal’ range. Also, such trials do not shed light on why or how programmes do, or do not, work, or how they might be improved.

Methods  A qualitative study of the impact of the Webster‐Stratton ‘Parents and Children Series’ programme on participants in a controlled trial of this programme, whose children's behaviour was below average, but, for the majority, in the normal range. Data were gathered in interviews, open‐ended questions on a questionnaire and tape recordings of group leader supervision sessions.

Results  Parents reported increased confidence, better relationships with their children, successful use of new behaviour management techniques and improvements in their children's behaviour as a result of the programme. One parent found the programme unsuitable because she was already using the techniques that were taught, and another parent felt the programme was designed for parents of younger children. Many parents reported that additional sessions would have been useful to consolidate what they had learnt, and some parents felt the course would have been more effective if their partners had attended.

Conclusions  The Webster‐Stratton Parenting Programme is useful for parents of  ‘normal’ children as well as for parents of children whose behaviour is in the clinical range. Follow‐up sessions and attendance by both parents might increase effectiveness. The findings of this study suggest greater benefits to parents and children than were apparent in the controlled trial.
Caesarean section and gastrointestinal symptoms, atopic dermatitis, and sensitization during the first year of life
Authors: Reading Richard
Published: September 2010

Aims  To investigate the effect of Caesarean section on gastrointestinal symptoms, atopic dermatitis and sensitization to nutritional allergens in infants.

Methods  A total of 865 healthy full‐term neonates with parental history of allergy participating in the prospective German Infant Nutritional Intervention Program (GINI) were exclusively breastfed during the first four months of life and had a one year follow‐up. Data were obtained by follow‐up visits at age 1, 4, 8, and 12 months, weekly diaries for the first six months, and measurement of total and specific IgE at birth and 12 months.

Results  Infants born by Caesarean section (147/865, 17%) had a greater risk of diarrhoea (ORadj 1.46, 95% CI 1.022–2.10) and sensitization to food allergens, both in adjusted (ORadj 2.06, 95% CI 1.123–3.80) and stratified analyses (by cord blood IgE). Caesarean delivery was not associated with colicky pain and atopic dermatitis.

Conclusion  Caesarean delivery might be a risk factor for diarrhoea and sensitization in infants with family history of allergy. Further research in this area seems warranted as choosing Caesarean section becomes increasingly popular.
Area socioeconomic status and childhood injury morbidity in New South Wales, Australia
Authors: Reading Richard
Published: September 2010

.
 
Poulos R.,
Hayen A.,
Finch C. &
Zwi A.
(
2007
)

,
13
,
322
–
327
.
 
DOI: 10.1136/ip.2007.015693.

Objective  To explore the relationship between child injury morbidity and socioeconomic status.

Design  A cross‐sectional analysis of routinely collected hospital separation data for unintentional injury for the period 1999/2000–2004/2005.

Setting  All statistical local areas of New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

Subjects  110 549 unintentional injury‐related hospital separations for NSW children aged 0–14 years.

Main outcome measure  Adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for hospital separations for unintentional injury (for all injury and by individual injury mechanisms) by quintile of socioeconomic disadvantage for children aged 0–14 years.

Results  There was no clear relationship between socioeconomic status and injury when all injury mechanisms were combined. However, children in the more disadvantaged quintiles were more likely to be hospitalized than children in the least disadvantaged quintile for the following injury mechanisms: motor cycle (point estimates for IRRs across the socioeconomic status quintiles ranged from 2.95 to 4.02 relative to the least disadvantaged quintile), motor‐vehicle occupant (IRR range 1.33–2.27), pedestrian (IRR range 1.43–2.54 for ages 0–4 years), pedal cyclist (IRR range 1.30–1.50), fire and burns (IRR range 1.37–2.00), and poisoning (IRR range 1.32–1.91). Similarly, hospital separation rates for foreign body, other transport, and pedestrian (aged 5–9 years) injuries were also greater, but the differences were not statistically significant across all quintiles. These injury mechanisms accounted for about 25% of the hospital separations.

Conclusions  The relationship between relative socioeconomic disadvantage and injury risk in NSW children is strongest for transport‐related injuries, fires and burns, and poisoning. Interventions that address these specific injury mechanisms may help to reduce the disparity between high and lower socioeconomic groups.
Decision making about pre‐medication to children
Authors: Proczkowska‐Björklund M. , Runeson I. , Gustafsson P. A. , Svedin C. G.
Published: September 2010

Background  Inviting the child to participate in medical decisions regarding common medical procedures might influence the child's behaviour during the procedures. We wanted to study nurse decision‐making communication regarding pre‐medication before ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery.

Method  In total, 102 children (3–6 years) signed for ENT surgery were video‐filmed during the pre‐medication process. The nurse decision‐making communication was identified, transcribed and grouped in six main categories dependent on the level of participation (self‐determination, compromise, negotiation, questioning, information, lack of communication). Associations between child factors (age, gender, verbal communication and non‐verbal communication) and different nurse decision‐making communication were studied. Associations between the decision‐making communication and verbal hesitation and/or the child's compliance in taking pre‐medication were also studied.

Results  Totally, information was the most frequently used category of decision making communication followed by negotiation and questioning. To the children showing signs of shyness, the nurse used more negotiation, questions and self‐determination communication and less information. The nurse used more compromise, negotiation and gave less information to children with less compliance. No specific type of nurse decision‐making communication was associated with verbal hesitation. The most important predictors for verbal hesitation were none or hesitant eye contact with nurse (OR = 4.5) and placement nearby or in parent's lap (OR = 4.7). Predictors for less compliance in taking pre‐medication were verbal hesitation from the child (OR = 22.7) and children who did not give any verbal answer to nurse initial questions (OR = 5.5).

Conclusion  Decision‐making communication could not predict the child's compliance during pre‐medication. Although negotiation, questioning and self‐determination communication were associated with more unwillingness to take pre‐medication. More knowledge is needed about communication to children in medical settings and how it influences the child's behaviours.
Perceived competence and school adjustment of hearing impaired children in mainstream primary school settings
Authors: Hatamizadeh N. , Ghasemi M. , Saeedi A. , Kazemnejad A.
Published: September 2010

Background  Although educational main streaming of children with special needs formally began in Iran since 1992 there is little information whether hearing impaired children feel competent in regular schools.

Methods  To determine the perceived competence and school adjustment of hearing impaired children in mainstream primary school settings, the self‐perception profile was administered to 60 mainstreamed hard of hearing children and 60 classmates with normal hearing matched for gender by a single interviewer. The instrument comprised 28 items, 23 of which were similar to those of ‘adapted test Image for children with cochlear implants' asking children about their feelings about their own cognitive, physical, socio‐emotional and communication competence and school adjustment. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the instrument was 0.93.

Results  Hard of hearing children rated their competence significantly poorer than their hearing classmates for all domains. Mean differences for the five domains ranged from 0.48 (for physical competence) to 0.90 (for school adjustment) on a scale of 1–4. There were no significant differences between girls' and boys' competence, in either the hearing or the hearing impaired groups. Classifying overall scores for perceived competence into four groups (‘poor competence’, ‘low competence’, ‘moderate competence’ and ‘high competence’), 23.4% of hearing impaired children but none of the hearing classmates rated themselves as having low or poor competence. On the other hand 85% of hearing children and only 18.3% of hearing impaired children rated themselves as highly competent.

Conclusion  We suggest that periodical assessments of mainstreamed children might help to identify those children who are having difficulty adapting to their environment.