bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Berberine promotes recovery of colitis and inhibits inflammatory responses in colonic macrophages and epithelial cells in DSS-treated mice
Authors: Yan Fang , Wang Lihong , Shi Yan , Cao Hanwei , Liu Liping , Washington M. Kay , Chaturvedi Rupesh , Israel Dawn A. , Cao Hailong , Wang Bangmao , Peek Richard M. , Wilson Keith T. , Polk D. Brent
Published: December 2011

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) results from dysregulation of intestinal mucosal immune responses to microflora in genetically susceptible hosts. A major challenge for IBD research is to develop new strategies for treating this disease. Berberine, an alkaloid derived from plants, is an alternative medicine for treating bacterial diarrhea and intestinal parasite infections. Recent studies suggest that berberine exerts several other beneficial effects, including inducing anti-inflammatory responses. This study determined the effect of berberine on treating dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced intestinal injury and colitis in mice. Berberine was administered through gavage to mice with established DSS-induced intestinal injury and colitis. Clinical parameters, intestinal integrity, proinflammatory cytokine production, and signaling pathways in colonic macrophages and epithelial cells were determined. Berberine ameliorated DSS-induced body weight loss, myeloperoxidase activity, shortening of the colon, injury, and inflammation scores. DSS-upregulated proinflammatory cytokine levels in the colon, including TNF, IFN-γ, KC, and IL-17 were reduced by berberine. Berberine decreased DSS-induced disruption of barrier function and apoptosis in the colon epithelium. Furthermore, berberine inhibited proinflammatory cytokine production in colonic macrophages and epithelial cells in DSS-treated mice and promoted apoptosis of colonic macrophages. Activation of signaling pathways involved in stimulation of proinflammatory cytokine production, including MAPK and NF-κB, in colonic macrophages and epithelial cells from DSS-treated mice was decreased by berberine. In summary, berberine promotes recovery of DSS-induced colitis and exerts inhibitory effects on proinflammatory responses in colonic macrophages and epithelial cells. Thus berberine may represent a new therapeutic approach for treating gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders.
Automated detection of the phase III slope during inert gas washout testing
Authors: Stuart-Andrews Christopher R. , Kelly Vanessa J. , Sands Scott A. , Lewis Angela J. , Ellis Matthew J. , Thompson Bruce R.
Published: December 2011

We describe a method to determine the phase III slope for the purpose of calculating indexes of ventilation heterogeneity, Sacin and Scond, from the multiple breath nitrogen washout test (MBNW). Our automated method applies a recursive, segmented linear regression technique to each breath of the MBNW test and determines the best point of transition, or breakpoint, between each phase of the washout. A sample set of 50 MBNW tests (controls, asthma, and COPD) was used to establish the conditions in which the phase III slope obtained from the automated technique best matched that obtained by two manual interpreters. We then applied our technique to a test set of 30 subjects (with an even number of subjects in each of the above groups) and compared these results against the manual analysis of a third independent manual interpreter. Indexes of ventilation heterogeneity were determined using both methods and compared. The phase III slopes determined by the automatic technique best matched the manual interpreter when the phase III slope was calculated from the phase II-III transition point plus the addition of 50% of the phase II volume to the end of the expiration. Calculation of the indexes Sacin and Scond showed no overall difference between analysis methods in either Sacin ( P = 0.14) or Scond ( P = 0.59) when the set threshold was applied to our automated analysis. Our analysis method provides an alternate means for rapid quantification of the MBNW test, removing operator dependence without alteration in either Sacin or Scond.
Genome-Wide CpG Island Profiling of Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms of the Pancreas
Authors: Hong Seung-Mo , Omura Noriyuki , Vincent Audrey , Li Ang , Knight Spencer , Yu Jun , Hruban Ralph H. , Goggins Michael
Published: December 2011

Purpose: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) are precursors to infiltrating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas. Widespread epigenetic alterations are characteristic of many cancers, yet few studies have systematically analyzed epigenetic alterations of neoplastic precursors. Our goal was to conduct genome-wide CpG island methylation profiling to identify aberrantly methylated loci in IPMNs.

Experimental Design: We compared the CpG island methylation profiles of six IPMNs to normal primary pancreatic duct samples using methylation CpG island amplification (MCA) and Agilent CpG island microarray (MCAM) analysis. When selected 13 genes identified as differentially methylated by MCAM for methylation-specific PCR (MSP) analysis in an independent set of IPMNs and normal pancreas samples and conducted expression analysis of selected genes.

Results: We identified 2,259 loci as differentially methylated in at least one of six IPMNs including 245 genes hypermethylated in IPMNs with high-grade dysplasia compared with normal pancreatic duct samples. Eleven of 13 genes evaluated by MSP were more commonly methylated in 61 IPMNs than in 43 normal pancreas samples. Several genes (BNIP3, PTCHD2, SOX17, NXPH1, EBF3) were significantly more likely to be methylated in IPMNs with high-grade than with low-grade dysplasia. One gene, SOX17, showed loss of protein expression by immunohistochemistry in 22% (19 of 88) of IPMNs. The most specific marker, BNIP3, was not methylated in any IPMNs with low-grade dysplasia or in normal pancreas samples.

Conclusions: IPMNs undergo extensive aberrant CpG island hypermethylation. The detection of genes selectively methylated in high-grade IPMNs such as BNIP3 may have use in the clinical evaluation of IPMNs. Clin Cancer Res; 18(3); 700–12. ©2011 AACR.
Desire Thinking across the Continuum of Drinking Behaviour
Authors: Caselli Gabriele , Ferla Marta , Mezzaluna Clarice , Rovetto Francesco , Spada Marcantonio M.
Published: December 2011

Objective: Desire thinking is a voluntary cognitive process involving verbal and imaginary elaboration of a desired target. Recent research has highlighted the role of desire thinking in predicting addictive behaviours independent of other psychological constructs including negative affect and craving. The goal of this research project was to explore the role of desire thinking across the continuum of drinking behaviour. Methods: A sample of alcohol-dependent drinkers (n = 43), problem drinkers (n = 59), and social drinkers (n = 68) completed self-report instruments of desire thinking, negative affect, craving and drinking behaviour. Results: Analyses revealed that alcohol-dependent drinkers and problem drinkers scored higher than social drinkers on imaginal prefiguration, and that alcohol-dependent drinkers scored higher than problem drinkers who in turn scored higher than social drinkers on verbal perseveration. A multi-group discriminant analysis showed that craving, imaginal prefiguration and verbal perseveration loaded on a first function whilst age loaded on a second function. The variables correctly classified 75.9% of cases. Conclusions: The findings suggest that desire thinking may be a risk factor across the continuum of drinking behaviour and that treatment may benefit from specifically targeting this cognitive process.
Expression of Reversion-Inducing Cysteine-Rich Protein with Kazal Motifs and Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 in Middle Ear Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Liu Xiang , Wang Wuqing , Chen Jianfu , Chen Chongxi , Zhou Jing , Cao Longhe
Published: December 2011

Objective: Reversion-inducing cysteine-rich protein with kazal motifs (RECK) may negatively regulate matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) activity and suppress tumor invasion and metastasis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether RECK and MMP were involved in regulating middle ear carcinoma invasion and metastasis. Methods: RECK and MMP9 were measured in 30 middle ear squamous cell carcinoma tissues and 20 adjacent normal external ear canal skin tissues using immunohistochemical analysis. Results: The positive rate of RECK expression in the middle ear squamous cell carcinoma was much lower than that in the normal external ear canal skin. In contrast, the positive rate of MMP9 expression was higher in middle ear squamous cell carcinoma tissue than that in normal external ear canal skin tissue. The expressions of RECK and MMP9 were correlated with the histological grade and tumor stage, but not with patient age or gender. Conclusions: RECK and MMP9 are involved in middle ear squamous cell carcinoma and may serve as markers to evaluate progression and metastasis.
von Willebrand Factor
Authors: De Meyer Simon F. , Stoll Guido , Wagner Denisa D. , Kleinschnitz Christoph
Published: December 2011

Thrombus formation is of paramount importance in the pathophysiology of acute ischemic stroke. Current antithrombotics used to treat or prevent cerebral ischemia are only moderately effective or bear an increased risk of severe bleeding. von Willebrand factor (VWF) has long been known to be a key player in thrombus formation at sites of vascular damage. While the association between VWF and coronary heart disease has been well studied, knowledge about the role of VWF in stroke is much more limited. However, in recent years, an increasing amount of clinical and preclinical evidence has revealed the critical involvement of VWF in stroke development. This review summarizes the latest insights into the pathophysiologic role of VWF-related processes in ischemic brain injury under experimental conditions and in humans. Potential clinical merits of novel inhibitors of VWF-mediated platelet adhesion and activation as powerful and safe tools to combat thromboembolic disorders including ischemic stroke are discussed. Preclinical and clinical evidence illustrates an important role of VWF in ischemic stroke, suggesting that VWF could become a promising target in stroke therapy.
The Global Distribution of Atmospheric Eddy Length Scales
Authors: Barnes Elizabeth A. , Hartmann Dennis L.
Published: December 2011

The correlation lengths of vorticity anomalies from temporal averages are examined in the 40-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Re-Analysis dataset. It is shown that, in the annual mean, eddies in the Southern Hemisphere are significantly larger than those in the Northern Hemisphere. The eddy vorticity lengths exhibit a strong seasonal cycle, with the largest scales occurring in the winter season. The maximum zonal eddy lengths closely follow the contours of the strong upper-level winds, while the maximum meridional lengths are found in jet exit regions and in the stratosphere.
Moist Dynamics of Extended Monsoon Breaks over South Asia
Authors: Prasanna V. , Annamalai H.
Published: December 2011

In the present research to identify moist processes that initiate and maintain extended monsoon breaks over South Asia moisture and moist static energy (MSE) budgets are performed on the newly available European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim reanalysis (ERA-Interim) and ensemble integrations from a coupled model. The hypothesis that interaction between moist physics and regional circulation and the role of cloud–radiation feedbacks are important is tested. Budget diagnostics show that dry advection is the principal moist process to initiate extended breaks. Its sources are (i) regional anticyclonic circulation anomalies forced by equatorial Indian Ocean negative rainfall anomalies advect low MSE air from north to central India, and (ii) rainfall enhancement over tropical west Pacific forces cyclonic circulation anomalies to its northwest as a Rossby wave response, and the northerlies at the poleward flank of this circulation advect air of low MSE content from north. The dominance of anomalous wind acting on climatological moisture gradient is confirmed from an examination of the moisture advection equation. A partition of various flux terms indicates that over central India, due to an increase in upwelling shortwave and longwave fluxes, radiative cooling increases during extended breaks. Here, enhanced rainfall over the equatorial Indian Ocean promotes anomalous radiative warming due to trapping of upwelling fluxes. The differential radiative heating anchors a local Hadley circulation with descent over central India. A direct implication of this research is that observational efforts are necessary to monitor the three-dimensional moisture distribution and cloud–radiation interaction over the monsoon region that would aid in better understanding, modeling, and predicting extended monsoon breaks.
Do Female Top Managers Help Women to Advance? A Panel Study Using EEO-1 Records
Authors: Kurtulus Fidan Ana , Tomaskovic-Devey Donald
Published: December 2011

The goal of this study is to examine whether women in the highest levels of firms’ management ranks help to reduce barriers to women’s advancement in the workplace. Using a panel of more than twenty thousand firms during 1990 to 2003 from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the authors explore the influence of women in top management on subsequent female representation in lower-level managerial positions in U.S. firms. Key findings show that an increase in the share of female top managers is associated with subsequent increases in the share of women in midlevel management positions within firms, and this result is robust to controlling for firm size, workforce composition, federal contractor status, firm fixed effects, year fixed effects, and industry-specific trends. The authors also find that the positive influence of women in top leadership positions on managerial gender diversity diminishes over time, suggesting that women at the top play a positive but transitory role in women’s career advancement.
Diversity within Reach
Authors: Rivera Lauren A.
Published: December 2011

Despite the popularity of diversity management, there is little consensus on how to design diversity practices that work. In this article, the author provides an inside look into one type of diversity practice: diversity recruitment. Drawing on qualitative evidence from hiring in elite law firms, investment banks, and management consulting firms, the author analyzes what diversity recruitment looks like in these firms in theory and in practice. The author finds that although these firms tend to have the ingredients for success on paper, in practice the presence of structural and status divides between those responsible for overseeing diversity recruitment and those making hiring decisions, alongside widespread cultural beliefs among decision-makers that diversity is not a valid criterion of evaluation, stymies firms’ efforts to diversify. The author’s findings highlight that to be successful in translating diversity programs into results, those charged with overseeing diversity programs need not only formal organizational authority but also sufficient informal power and status to wield influence.
The Gender Gap in Executive Compensation
Authors: Shin Taekjin
Published: December 2011

While many studies have explored the issue of women’s representation among top management, little is known about the gender gap in compensation among those who reached the top. Using data on 7,711 executives at 831 U.S. firms, this study investigates social-psychological factors that explain the gender gap in executive compensation. Consistent with theories on social identity and demographic similarity effects, the gender gap in executive pay is smaller when a greater number of women sit on the compensation committee of the board, which is the group responsible for setting executive compensation. However, the presence of a female chief executive officer (CEO) is not associated with the compensation of female non-CEO executives working under the female boss. The findings highlight the need to study women’s representation on corporate boards.
Checking the Pulse of Diversity among Health Care Professionals
Authors: Skaggs Sheryl L. , Kmec Julie A.
Published: December 2011

What factors are associated with variation in the racial/ethnic composition of hospital health care professionals? Institutional theories suggest that organizations react to external environmental and internal structural pressures for the racial/ethnic integration of workers. Using an institutional framework, we bring to bear new insight into how hospitals respond to such pressure for diversity. Models estimated with original data from 328 U.S. West Coast hospitals provide evidence that establishment size and a hospital’s minority patient base promote diversity among health care professionals. The state legal environment is also associated with the racial/ethnic composition of professional hospital workers, indicating the importance of fair employment laws and court decisions in signaling expectations about workplace diversity. Last, the findings show that factors within hospitals’ competitive and internal environments have positive consequences for diversity among health care professionals. We discuss implications for our findings, especially in the context of health care worker shortages and ongoing health care reform.
Women’s Mobility into Upper-Tier Occupations
Authors: Wilson George
Published: December 2011

Data from the 1998 to 2005 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics are used to assess the particularistic mobility thesis, which maintains that among women there is a racialized continuum in the determinants of and timing to mobility into two “upper-tier” occupational categories. Findings support this theory, though racial gaps along the continuum are greater for professional/technical than for managerial/administrative positions. Specifically, the route to mobility for African Americans is relatively narrow and structured by traditional stratification causal factors, including human capital, background status, and job/labor market characteristics. In contrast, the route to mobility for whites is relatively broad and unstructured by the stratification-based causal factors, and they experience mobility the quickest. Along both dimensions, Latinas occupy an intermediate position between African Americans and whites. Implications of the findings for understanding racial inequality among managers, executives, and professionals are discussed.
Framing Politics
Authors: Matthes Jörg
Published: December 2011

As has often been noted, one of the strengths of framing research has been to bridge several research areas in mass communication, such as the origin, journalistic production, content, and effects of news. This article attempts to provide an overview and a review of the cross-disciplinary discourse about framing. Although there are numerous studies on frame construction, frame building, and frame setting, hardly any research has attempted to draw a complete picture of the whole framing process. Based on a definition of frames and framing that can be applied across all stages of the framing process, the design and the methods of an extensive study about a campaign on the naturalization of immigrants are introduced. The merits and insights of such an approach are discussed.
Patterns of Consistence and Constriction
Authors: Gerth Matthias A. , Siegert Gabriele
Published: December 2011

Journalists have the power to enhance the visibility of certain aspects of campaign issues and, thus, are relevant mediators between political actors and citizens. To serve the public interest, news media coverage should include the views of different political camps and should enable citizens to build opinions in an enlightened way. The authors analyze journalists’ framing of the coverage of a 2008 campaign on the naturalization of immigrants. Content analysis was conducted of all campaign coverage by TV stations and major newspaper outlets over a period of 14 weeks. To identify dominant frames, the authors coded all campaign arguments made in news media coverage ( N = 3,570). The results show that media coverage focused on three substantive frames—rule of law, mass naturalization, and people’s final say. The findings reveal that coverage was not balanced but was clearly in favor of the rule of law frame. This framing bias applies to different types of media, including public service TV and elite newspapers. Furthermore, the authors found a striking bias toward institutional actors, who were covered much more often than civil society actors.
Who Fears What? Explaining Far-Right-Wing Preference in Europe by Distinguishing Perceived Cultural and Economic Ethnic Threats
Authors: Lucassen Geertje , Lubbers Marcel
Published: December 2011

This contribution aims, first, to determine whether support for the far right is based on perceptions of cultural or economic threats posed by immigrants in 11 European countries. Second, it seeks to reanalyze the question of whether class is an important explanation for support for the far right using new measures of class and, related to this, to determine the extent to which class interacts with perceived threat to explain support for far-right parties. The study reveals that perceived cultural ethnic threats are a stronger predictor of far-right preferences than are perceived economic ethnic threats. This cultural versus economic distinction is also depicted in social class differences in far-right preference. These are particularly evident between sociocultural specialists and technocrats, as anticipated by the new social class scheme. Sociocultural specialists particularly perceive fewer cultural ethnic threats compared to technocrats and consequently have a smaller likelihood to prefer the far right. On the contextual level, the authors find that higher levels of GDP in a country result in greater far-right preference, whereas higher levels of GDP do result in lower levels of ethnic threats. The effect of proportion of Muslims on far-right preference is nonsignificant. The study shows that the choice of countries in cross-national research can heavily influence the results.
Making Democratic Citizens
Authors: Careja Romana , Emmenegger Patrick
Published: December 2011

This article examines the effects of migration experience on political attitudes in Central and Eastern European countries. The rationale for this quest is the hypothesis that contact with democratic contexts translates into democratic political attitudes, for which evidence is so far inconclusive. In this article, we are interested to see whether migrants returning from Western countries display different political attitudes than their fellow nonmigrant citizens. The analysis of survey data shows that migration experience diversifies the array of political attitudes: Although migrants are more likely to trust EU institutions and to try to convince friends in political discussions, they do not differ from nonmigrants in their attitudes toward domestic institutions. Based on earlier works on determinants of political attitudes, the authors argue that migration experience has a significant effect only when these attitudes are related to objects that are associated with improvements in the migrants’ material and cognitive status.
When War Hits Home
Authors: Althaus Scott L. , Bramlett Brittany H. , Gimpel James G.
Published: December 2011

The “proximate casualties” hypothesis holds that popular support for American wars is undermined more by the deaths of American personnel from nearby areas than by the deaths of those from far away. However, no previous research has tested the mechanisms that might produce this effect. This omission contributes to three areas of lingering uncertainty within the war support literature: whether national or local losses have a greater effect on war support, whether the negative effects of war deaths are durable or temporary, and whether the negative effects of war deaths have a greater influence on the most or least attentive citizens. Analysis of Iraq War data shows that local losses have a greater effect on war support than national losses, that these casualty effects decay rapidly, and that citizens who closely follow news at the national and local levels are least affected by new information about war costs. These findings run contrary to the prevailing cost–benefit calculus model of war support.
Expression of Ecto-ATPase NTPDase2 in Human Dental Pulp
Authors: Liu X. , Yu L. , Wang Q. , Pelletier J. , Fausther M. , Sévigny J. , Malmström H.S. , Dirksen R.T. , Ren Y.-F.
Published: December 2011

Dental pulpal nerve fibers express ionotropic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) receptors, suggesting that ATP signaling participates in the process of dental nociception. In this study, we investigated if the principal enzymes responsible for extracellular ATP hydrolysis, namely, nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolases (NTPDases), are present in human dental pulp. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence experiments showed that NTPDase2 was predominantly expressed in pulpal nerve bundles, Raschkow’s nerve plexus, and in the odontoblast layer. NTPDase2 was expressed in pulpal Schwann cells, with processes accompanying the nerve fibers and projecting into the odontoblast layer. Odontoblasts expressed the gap junction protein, connexin43, which can form transmembrane hemichannels for ATP release. NTPDase2 was localized close to connexin43 within the odontoblast layer. These findings provide evidence for the existence of an apparatus for ATP release and degradation in human dental pulp, consistent with the involvement of ATP signaling in the process of dentin sensitivity and dental pain.
Moisture management properties of ski-boot liner materials
Authors: Fauland Gulnara , Hofer Patrick , Nachbauer Werner , Bechtold Thomas
Published: December 2011

Despite the markedly improved comfort of ski shoes, feet remain to be the part of the body most vulnerable to cold. The major insulation of the ski boot is provided by the liner. In this study the insulation properties of the ski-boot liner materials were evaluated. Thermal resistance of the plain material was found to be in the range from 0.235 to 0.289 m2K/W. While possessing good insulation properties and wind resistance in the dry state, these materials cannot maintain comfort in the presence of moisture due to insulation failure. It was shown, that no moisture evaporation occurred through the assemblies which included laminated materials. Analysis of the microclimate, established under experimental conditions, revealed rapid formation of water saturated atmosphere, which can be explained by the barrier function of the laminated materials used. This lack of evaporation through laminated material, along with a very low moisture sorption capacity of polymer padding foam, impairs drastically the moisture management properties of the liners. Besides poor moisture management during performance, overnight drying of such liners is very unlikely. This paper contains a recommendation for improvement of the moisture management of ski liners.
Narratives and Action Explanation
Authors: Uebel Thomas
Published: December 2011

This article discusses an epistemological problem faced by causal explanations of action and a proposed solution. The problem is to justify why one particular reason rather than another is specified as causally efficacious. It is argued that the problem arises independently of one’s preferred conception of singular causal claims, psychological and psychophysical generalizations, and our folk-psychological competence. The proposed fallibilist solution involves the supplementation of the reason given by narratives that contextualize it and provide additional criteria for justifying the causal claim. It is argued that narratives have a distinctive structure that can afford the justification of causal attributions without sui generis powers of narrative explanation having to be invoked.
Influence of SLCO1B1 Polymorphisms on the Drug‐Drug Interaction Between Darunavir/Ritonavir and Pravastatin
Authors: Aquilante Christina L. , Kiser Jennifer J. , Anderson Peter L. , Christians Uwe , Kosmiski Lisa A. , Daily Elizabeth B. , Hoffman Keith L. , Hopley Charles W. , Predhomme Julie A. , Schniedewind Bjorn , Sidhom Maha S.
Published: December 2011

The authors investigated whether SLCO1B1 polymorphisms contribute to variability in pravastatin pharmacokinetics when pravastatin is administered alone versus with darunavir/ritonavir. HIV‐negative healthy participants were prospectively enrolled on the basis of SLCO1B1 diplotype: group 1 (*1A/*1A, n = 9); group 2 (*1A/*1B, n = 10; or *1B/*1B, n = 2); and group 3 (*1A/*15, n = 1; *1B/*15, n = 5; or *1B/*17, n = 1). Participants received pravastatin (40 mg) daily on days 1 through 4, washout on days 5 through 11, darunavir/ritonavir (600/100 mg) twice daily on days 12 through 18, with pravastatin 40 mg added back on days 15 through 18. Pharmacokinetic studies were conducted on day 4 (pravastatin alone) and day 18 (pravastatin + darunavir/ritonavir). Pravastatin area under the plasma concentration‐time curve (AUCtau) was 21% higher during administration with darunavir/ritonavir compared with pravastatin alone; however, this difference was not statistically significant (P = .11). Group 3 variants had 96% higher pravastatin AUCtau on day 4 and 113% higher pravastatin AUCtau on day 18 compared with group 1. The relative change in pravastatin pharmacokinetics was largest in group 3 but did not differ significantly between diplotype groups. In sum, the influence of SLCO1B1 *15 and *17 haplotypes on pravastatin pharmacokinetics was maintained in the presence of darunavir/ritonavir. Because OATP1B1 inhibition would be expected to be greater in carriers of normal or high‐functioning SLCO1B1 haplotypes, these findings suggest that darunavir/ritonavir is not a potent inhibitor of OATP1B1‐mediated pravastatin transport in vivo.
Teaching Clinical Pharmacology Using Team‐Based Learning: A Comparison Between Third‐ and Fourth‐Year Medical Students
Authors: Akl Imad Bou , Ghaddar Fatima , Sabra Ramzi , Parmelee Dean , Simaan Joseph A. , Kanafani Zeina A. , Zgheib Nathalie K.
Published: December 2011

The purpose of this study was to formulate evidence‐based recommendations on whether to deliver the team‐based learning (TBL)‐designed clinical pharmacology course at the American University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine (AUBFM) during the third year instead of the fourth and final year of the medical curriculum. Between June 2010 and May 2011, AUBFM offered the course to both classes simultaneously to compare their performance. The findings of this endeavor supported the introduction of the course during the third year, first because fourth‐year students did not outperform third‐year students despite having the advantage of an additional year of clinical experience, and second, third‐year teams seemed more likely to develop into better functioning teams. The findings also suggested that simultaneous delivery of TBL sessions to both third‐ and fourth‐year teams was less favorably recommended because of the varying learning pace of both student groups.
Dosing Rationale for Liraglutide in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Pharmacometric Assessment
Authors: Ingwersen Steen H. , Khurana Manoj , Madabushi Rajanikanth , Watson Estelle , Jonker Daniël M. , Thi Tu Duyen Le , Jacobsen Lisbeth V. , Tornøe Christoffer W.
Published: December 2011

The glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) receptor agonist liraglutide was approved in 2010 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an adjunct treatment to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This article provides insights into the use of pharmacometric analyses for regulatory review with a focus on the dosing recommendations. The assessment was based on the totality of exploratory and confirmatory analysis of dose‐finding and pivotal clinical data and was structured around a set of key questions in accordance with current FDA review practice. For the pharmacometric review of liraglutide, the key questions focused on exposure‐response relationships for effects on fasting plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, and calcitonin and on variability in exposure across demographic subgroups of patients. The importance of conducting exploratory exposure‐response analysis and population pharmacokinetic studies in clinical drug development to support dosing recommendations is highlighted.
Contexts and Culling
Authors: Law John , Moser Ingunn
Published: December 2011

This article asks how contexts are made in science as well as in social science, and how the making of contexts relates to political agency and intervention. To explore these issues, it traces contexting for foot-and-mouth disease and the strategies used to control the epidemic in the United Kingdom in 2001. It argues that to depict the world is to assemble contexts and to hold them together in a mode that may be descriptive, explanatory, or predictive. In developing this argument, it explores how contexts are assembled in a series of different descriptive and explanatory narratives in epidemiology, policy, critical social science, and (feminist) social studies of science.
Use of Direct Versus Indirect Approaches to Measure Loneliness in Later Life
Authors: Shiovitz-Ezra Sharon , Ayalon Liat
Published: December 2011

The aim of the current investigation was to compare a direct versus an indirect approach for measuring loneliness by comparing the one-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, representing the direct approach, with the shortened version of the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, representing the indirect approach, using approximately 2,000 observations from the 2002 Health and Retirement Study. The authors artificially identified a cut point of ≥6 on the three-item Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale to potentially yield the most similar results to the single-item scale and demonstrate the best sensitivity and specificity. Nonetheless, a high rate of respondents (57%) who reported being lonely on the direct item were classified as not lonely on the indirect scale. Inconsistency between the two approaches was also evident with regard to the associations between loneliness and age, as well as with education. These findings indicate that the different measures of loneliness provide a somewhat different picture of both the prevalence of loneliness and the characteristic of the people who suffer from it.
The Life Course and Cumulative Disadvantage
Authors: Prokos Anastasia H. , Keene Jennifer Reid
Published: December 2011

Using multivariate techniques, the authors investigate how age, family type, and race/ethnicity affect grandmother-headed families’ economic resources. The authors examine four grandmother-headed family types that are classified on the basis of two features: parents’ presence and the caregiving relationship of the grandmother and grandchild. Using data from the 2000 census (Public Use Microdata Sample 5%) to predict grandmother-headed families’ official and relative poverty statuses, analyses indicate that age, race/ethnicity, and family configuration are major explanations for poverty differences. The effects of race/ethnicity on official and relative poverty are greater among older cohorts than among the youngest cohorts. Additionally, the effects of age on poverty vary by family type: the lower chances of poverty that are associated with older cohorts are not as great among two-generation families as they are among three-generation grandmother-headed families. The authors interpret these findings using a life-course perspective and cumulative disadvantage theory and discuss the implications for grandmother-headed families’ economic security.
A Longitudinal Study of Social Status, Perceived Discrimination, and Physical and Emotional Health Among Older Adults
Authors: Luo Ye , Xu Jun , Granberg Ellen , Wentworth William M.
Published: December 2011

This study examines the relationships between social status, perceived discrimination, and physical and emotional health using a nationally representative sample of 6,377 older adults from the 2006 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. About 63% of older adults reported at least one type of everyday discrimination and 31% reported at least one major discriminatory event during lifetime. Blacks, those separated, divorced, or widowed, and those with lower household assets have higher levels of perceived discrimination than Whites, the married or partnered, and those with more assets. Perceived discrimination is negatively associated with changes in health over 2 years, and everyday discrimination has stronger effects than major discriminatory events, especially on emotional health. The effects of perceived everyday discrimination on changes in depressive symptoms and self-rated health are independent of general stress. Efforts to reduce discrimination, including perceptions of discrimination, can be beneficial for health in old age.
Is it time to consider comorbid substance abuse as a new indication for antipsychotic drug development?
Authors: Awad A George
Published: December 2011

Comorbid drug abuse in schizophrenia has been consistently reported as high, with estimates ranging between 10–70%. Comorbid addictive states in schizophrenia are possibly multifactorial, yet recent research assigns a significant neurobiological role in its genesis. Abnormalities in hippocampal/cortical function in schizophrenia which mediate reward and reinforcement behavior are identified as central to the development and maintenance of comorbid addictive states. Preliminary data suggest that the vulnerability of patients with schizophrenia to substance use disorders may be a primary disease symptom. The management of comorbid substance abuse in schizophrenia relies on the use of antipsychotic medications. Recent data raise the concern about whether first-generation antipsychotics in long-term use can conversely lead to enhancement of the abused substance’s reinforcing properties. Some recent reports have assigned a favorable outcome to clozapine and second-generation antipsychotics, pointing to a possible differential role for various antipsychotics. In view of the high prevalence of comorbid drug abuse in schizophrenia, its impact on outcome of treatment and the recent emerging neurobiological information, it is my contention that comorbid drug abuse constitutes a dimension by itself and deserves to receive an indication in the development of new antipsychotics similar to negative symptoms or cognitive deficits.
Wind Turbine Infra and Low-Frequency Sound
Authors: James Richard R.
Published: December 2011

Industrial wind turbines are frequently thought of as benign. However, the literature is reporting adverse health effects associated with the implementation of industrial-scale wind developments. This article explores the historical evidence about what was known regarding infra and low-frequency sound from wind turbines and other noise sources during the period from the 1970s through the end of the 1990s. This exploration has been accomplished through references, personal interviews and communications, and other available documentation. The application of past knowledge could improve the current siting of industrial wind turbines and avoid potential risks to health.
Cool and Safe
Authors: Penders Bart
Published: December 2011

This article presents the making of a safe innovation: the application of ice structuring protein (ISP) in edible ices. It argues that safety is not the absence of risk but is an active accomplishment; innovations are not made safe afterward but safe innovations are made. Furthermore, there are multiple safeties to be accomplished in the innovation process. These are financial, public, scientific, and regulatory safety. The negotiations between these safeties determine the material and labeling characteristics of what ISP has become. Not just laboratory researchers but experts from various parts of Unilever, the corporation that produces ISP, participate in accomplishing safety. The safeties they make, interact, overlap, are occasionally in conflict with one another, and continuously connect to outside actors.
Corporate Disguises in Medical Science
Authors: Sismondo Sergio
Published: December 2011

Roughly 40% of the sizeable medical research and literature on recently approved drugs is “ghost managed” by the pharmaceutical industry and its agents. Research is performed and articles are written by companies and their agents, though apparently independent academics serve as authors on the publications. Similarly, the industry hires academic scientists, termed key opinion leaders, to serve as its speakers and to deliver its continuing medical education courses. In the ghost management of knowledge, and its dissemination through key opinion leaders, we see the pharmaceutical industry attempting to hide or disguise the interests behind its research and education.
Musical taste and the representativeness heuristic
Authors: Lonsdale Adam J. , North Adrian C.
Published: December 2011

The present research investigated how people judge the musical taste of others. In Study 1, participants were asked to judge the likely musical taste of 10 fictional individuals. Participants’ judgements of musical taste exhibited a common bias in keeping with stereotypes of musical taste; this bias was believed to stem from the use of the representativeness heuristic. Study 2 confirmed this, showing that an individual’s similarity to stereotypical music fans, rather than base-rate estimates of musical taste, was significantly related to predictions of their likely musical taste. This suggests that an individual’s relative similarity to stereotypical music fans might act as a heuristic ‘rule of thumb’ used by people to quickly and economically judge their likely musical taste.
Neuropsychological functioning in migraine: Clinical and research implications
Authors: Suhr Julie A , Seng Elizabeth K
Published: December 2011

Aim: We review the research literature examining neuropsychological performance in migraine. Findings were organized by neuropsychological construct assessed and results were reported using effect size conventions. Factors considered in explaining results included sample characteristics, migraine factors, and control for non-migraine variables.

Findings: There is weak evidence for deficits in processing speed, attention, verbal memory, verbal skills, working memory, sustained attention, and inhibition in migraine relative to healthy controls. There are mixed results regarding deficits in visual memory, motor dexterity, visuospatial/constructional skills, visual reasoning, and mental flexibility in migraine relative to healthy controls. Mixed findings do not seem to be consistently related to study characteristics or presence of aura; other important migraine factors (such as migraine severity or presence of neuroradiological findings) remain understudied. Relative to non-healthy control groups, however, there is weak evidence for an effect of migraine in any cognitive domain. Longitudinal studies provide little evidence that neuropsychological functioning worsens over time in migraine or that migraine is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.

Research implications: It remains possible that cognitive dysfunction is seen in only a subset of migraine sufferers, perhaps those with more severe illness or neurological involvement; however, more research is needed to examine this issue. Non-migraine differences among migraine sufferers, including medical and psychiatric comorbidities and variables associated with treatment seeking, may partially account for inconsistent findings and should be evaluated for in future research.

Clinical implications: Clinicians should refer migraine patients for comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation only when there is sufficient evidence for concern. Such evaluations should include consideration of other psychological, neurological, and medical contributors to both migraine and cognitive status.
Simple models and optimization of compression resin transfer molding process
Authors: Mamoune Adil , Saouab Abdelghani , Ouahbi Tariq , Park Chung Hae
Published: December 2011

The optimization of the couplings between LCM processes and structural performances by repeated numerical simulations is expensive in terms of the computational cost. In order to overcome this difficulty, we propose a semi-analytical modeling of RTM and CRTM processes. Various processing routes of CRTM are considered according to the combinations of different stages of resin injection and reinforcement compression. This article is composed of two parts. First, we present analytical and semi-analytical models concerning the CRTM process with an imposed compression speed, in order to explain the methodology of resolution for the other CRTM manufacturing routes by an imposed compression force. The problems related to different constraints imposed on the CRTM process (imposed fiber volume fraction, feasibility criteria of process, and mold strength) are analyzed and formulated, so that they can be taken into account a numerical optimization. In the second part, a new numerical modeling of CRTM process with reinforcement compression under a force was developed and a comparison with semi-analytical model carried out. Recent work in the literature [Merotte J, Simacek P and Advani SG. Flow analysis during compression of partially impregnated fiber perform under controlled force. Compos Sci Technol 2010; 70: 725–733.] about the analysis of resin flow during compression of partially impregnated fiber preform under controlled force, allowed us to explore another alternative of comparison. Finally, this approach is used to control the RTM and CRTM processes and it is applied to a series of parametric studies, considering the effects of part size and fiber volume fraction on the mold filling time. This study not only contributes to the optimization of the couplings between manufacturing processes and structure, but also provides a tool for the control of the CRTM and RTM processes.
Impact of aqueous doash extract on urinary mutagenicity in rats exposed to heterocyclic amines
Authors: Khan Jehan A , Jalal Jalaluddin A , Ioanndes C , Moselhy Said S
Published: December 2011

Doash ( Origanum majorana) is an herbaceous plant found commonly in Saudi Arabia. It is used as a food flavor and a folk remedy to treat a number of diseases. The 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f] quinoline (IQ) and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5- b]pyridine (PhIP) are the most abundant of the heterocyclic amine carcinogens present in cooked food. In the present study, the potential of doash tea to influence carcinogen metabolism was investigated indirectly using heterocyclic amines as model mutagens, IQ and PhIP. Results obtained showed that doash tea had no influence on body weight in both the studies. Rats were treated with different doses of IQ (1, 3, 5 and 10 mg/kg) or PhIP (1, 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg). The selected dosage was 5 mg/kg for both heterocyclic amines. Results obtained revealed that rats treated with doash tea and given a single dose of the heterocyclic amines, whether for 1 day (short-term) or for 1 month (long term), showed a statistically significant decrease in their excretion of indirect mutagens (IQ or PhIP). Following treatment of the rats with a single oral dose of IQ or PhIP, the highest mutagenic activity determined in the presence of an activation system was excreted in the urine after 24 h, with much lower levels of mutagencity being excreted during subsequent elimination from the body. No mutagenicity was observed in the absence of an activation system that is direct-acting mutagenicity using (IQ and PhIP). Statistical analysis revealed that, in comparison with the control group, the aqueous doash extract significantly reduced the mutagenic response after 24 h. It was concluded that doash extract significantly decreased the excretion of mutagens in comparison with the control group (water only).