bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nutritional Quality of Microwave and Pressure Cooked Rice (Oryza sativa) Varieties
Authors: Khatoon N. , Prakash J.
Published: August 2006

The objective of the study was to determine the nutrient content, soluble and insoluble dietary fibre and in vitro protein and starch digestibility in four different microwave and pressure cooked rice ( Oryza sativa) varieties. The rice varieties selected were Bangara Tegalu (BT, nonaromatic), Gowri sanna(nonaromatic), Jeera (mildly flavoured) and Basmati (aromatic). These were washed and cooked by microwave and pressure cooking methods and analysed for moisture, protein, thiamin, fat, total ash, iron, phosphorus, calcium, starch, dietary fibre and in vitro protein and starch digestibilities along with their raw unwashed controls by using standard techniques. The protein content of raw and cooked rice varieties ranged from 7.5 to 11.6g/100g and 7.4–11.2g/100g, respectively. There was a significant difference ( p 0.05) in the protein content of two varieties of pressure and microwave cooked rice. The fat content of raw samples was 0.5–0.6g/100g. Cooking by both methods brought about a significant ( p 0.01) decrease (20–60%) in the fat content of samples. Between cooking methods there was no significant difference ( p 0.05). The thiamin content of raw rice varieties were between 0.16mg and 0.21mg/100g showing a significant decrease on cooking by 29–63% (pressure cooking) and 38–69% (microwave cooking). The iron content in raw samples ranged from 1.5 to 1.9mg/100g and decreased by 33–50% on cooking. The calcium (9–16mg/100g) and phosphorus (82–165mg/100g) content also showed significant decrease by cooking. The total dietary fibre in all samples was between 2.24 to 3.03g/100g, a large proportion of which was insoluble (1.97–3.00g/100g). The in vitro protein digestibility of the pressure cooked samples (82.1–91.0%) was slightly higher than the microwave cooked samples (80.0–90.8%). The starch digestibility between cooked samples were similar (92.6–93.8%) but significantly higher than raw samples. It can be concluded that cooking as such influenced the nutritional quality of rice but between the two cooking methods there were no significant differences.
Are There Emotional Universals? Evidence from the Native American Language East Cree
Authors: Junker Marie-Odile , Blacksmith Louise
Published: August 2006

In her study on emotions across languages and cultures, Wierzbicka proposed a set of eleven working hypotheses on emotional universals. We test each of these hypotheses against data newly collected from the Native American language East Cree. Eight of these eleven hypotheses are confirmed, thus giving support to their universality. We offer cross-cultural comparison of anger-like, fear-like and shame-like concepts, and discuss the Cree expression of good and bad feelings, cry and smile, and Cree emotive interjections. Our findings indicate that not all languages commonly use figurative bodily images (‘my heart sank’) or bodily sensations (‘when I heard this, my throat went dry’) to describe cognitively based feelings. The Cree data also cast some doubt on a straightforward universal syntax for combining the primes, as proposed in the current Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) framework. However, we conclude that, for researchers interested in avoiding ethnocentric bias, the NSM approach is on the right track as a tool for cross-cultural, cross-linguistic research on emotions.
Review Essay
Authors: Poddiakov Alexander
Published: August 2006

Heinz Werner's (1890–1964) book Comparative Psychology of Mental Developmentis reviewed in the context of the dynamics of values and types of scientific rationality, sciences of complexity, cognitive psychology and cultural studies. The reviewer describes developmental tasks of the orthogenetic law applied to dynamical systems that are far from equilibrium between integration and differentiation, to the role of uncertainty, and to paradoxes of systems thinking, and compares epistemic, social and ethical problems raised by Werner and modern researchers.
Reinterpreting the Inner Self in Global India:‘Malevolent Mothers’, ‘Distant Fathers’ and the Development of Children's Identity
Authors: Bhatia Sunil
Published: August 2006

This essay provides an analysis and review of Dinesh Sharma's edited collection Childhood, Family, and Sociocultural Change in India: Reinterpreting The Inner World. The authors in this book provide a retrospective critique of Sudhir Kakar's grand narrative on Hindu psychology and childhood. While recognizing the tremendous intellectual significance of Kakar's book The Inner World: A Psychoanalytic Study of Childhood and Society in India, the authors in this collected volume make a case for reanalyzing and rereading this classic work within the contemporary cultural context of India. The review essay is organized around three significant themes of this book: (1) re-imagining the self in global India; (2) mothers, fathers and the development of self in Indian children; and (3) colonization, postcolonial identity and Indian psychology.
Cultural Neurophenomenology: Integrating Experience, Culture and Reality Through Fisher Information
Authors: Laughlin Charles D. , Throop C. Jason
Published: August 2006

Anthropologists and psychologists have long debated the relative importance of nature and nurture in human affairs. By and large anthropologists have opted for what might be called the ‘naïve culturological position’ that when our species developed culture, it left its biological roots behind. Psychologists, on the other hand, until relatively recently, have largely ignored the impact of culture upon the processes and functioning of the human mind. In their attempt to approximate the rigors of scientific methods practiced in the so-called ‘hard’ sciences, it is often a naïve scientism that drives theorizing and research in the discipline. The single most decisive impediment to the emergence of a mature anthropology and psychology is the mind–body schism. We will argue that bridging the mind–body schism requires a language by means of which we can refer to individual experience, culture and extramental reality simultaneously. Our approach is that of a cultural neurophenomenology that allows us to speak about the social and biological factors that produce, potentiate and limit human experience. We show that one key concept in unifying the languages of these different domains is ‘information’. We trace the history of the concept of information, and demonstrate that from the perspective of Fisher information one may more easily conceive of the interactions among experience, culture and reality in commensurable terms. Fisher information also allows us to model the relationship between knowledge and reality, and to suggest some of the mechanisms by which the individual psyche and a society's culture remain ‘trued-up’ relative to the reality of the world and the individual's own being.
Commentary
Authors: Clegg Joshua W.
Published: August 2006

In this article, I explore the limitations inherent in any attempt to create the kind of rapproachment between phenomenology and neuroscience attempted by Charles Laughlin and C. Jason Throop in this issue. A review of Edmund Husserl's disaffection with natural scientific explanations of consciousness, focusing specifically on Husserl's critique of psychologism, reveals the theoretical problems inherent in a neuroscience blind to the insights of phenomenology. A natural scientific foundation for consciousness entails the skepticism and relativism of psychologism, and, from the phenomenological point of view, such can be avoided only if the categories of natural science are radically founded in the phenomenological life-world. Under such a phenomenological founding, the illumination of human experience, both personal and interpersonal, becomes the most basic philosophic and scientific task.
Family change and community life
Authors: Hughes Jody , Stone Wendy
Published: August 2006

According to the decline thesis, the changes that have occurred within family life have undermined community life. Using data from a national random survey of Australian adults we explore this claim in the Australian context. We develop a series of hierarchical regression models to examine how non-traditional family forms and values relate to community life, measured through community group membership, trust and reciprocity. Our findings provide some support for the decline thesis for men. For women, we find more evidence that family change is unrelated, or positively related, to community life. As a counterpoint, we find that non-traditional attitudes to family roles and relationships are related to high levels of community engagement, trust and reciprocity, for men and women.
Shopping malls in Australia
Authors: Voyce Malcolm
Published: August 2006

This article reflects on the issue of the privatization of public space in relation to the recent development of a shopping mall in Sydney. The article argues that the development in Hornsby does not coincide with the need for an open and ‘democratic’ public space. Rather, what has developed is a privatized space, which reduces and controls diversity. This new type of physical space creates a discursive ‘rupture’ with older accounts of public space, which were based on equality and open access. It is argued that the older discourses of public space have been displaced by three new discourses. The three discourses reflect, first, notions associated with the traditional ideas of property and suburban order; second, ideas of neoliberalism and self-sufficiency; third, the notion that new public space is coterminous with safety and particular discourses on consumption. It follows that any activity detrimental to consumption must be limited and that all disruptive potentialities, real or imagined, should be removed.
Autonomous activism and the global justice movement
Authors: Deslandes Ann , King Debra
Published: August 2006

In constructing new ways of engaging with society and new visions of how society might be, social activists need to negotiate numerous social, political, philosophical and personal contradictions and tensions. Utilizing data from a discourse analysis conducted on web-based texts, this article focuses on three such tensions experienced by autonomous activists: autonomy versus collective, operationalization versus institutionalization and evasion of versus subjection to mainstream authorities. We examine how autonomous activists negotiate these tensions and argue that the way in which they ‘live with the tensions’ can be theorized using Lash and Urry’s concept of ‘aesthetic reflexivity’. This particular form of reflexivity augments cognitive and emotional reflexivity within autonomous activism, and provides further insight into how autonomous activists succeed in reconstituting their practice in ways that reaffirm their principles.
On-board Strain Measurement of a Cryogenic Composite Tank Mounted on a Reusable Rocket using FBG Sensors
Authors: Mizutani Tadahito , Takeda Nobuo , Takeya Hajime
Published: August 2006

This article presents the real-time strain measurement of a composite liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors. The tank was composed of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), and an aluminum liner was fabricated by the filament winding method and mounted on a reusable rocket. This rocket (vertical takeoff and landing) is called a reusable rocket vehicle test (RVT) and was developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA). Considering the high operational pressure and the iterative use of the tank, its structural integrity must be guaranteed. Thus, the authors have attempted a real-time strain measurement of the composite LH2 tank using FBG sensors during rocket operations. First, the adhesive properties of the FBG sensors were investigated at cryogenic temperatures. As a result, UV-coated FBG sensors and polyurethane adhesives were adopted. An onboard FBG demodulator was then developed to be mounted on the rocket and its performance was assessed. Finally, the strain measurement was attempted during the flight experiments of the RVT using the onboard FBG demodulator. FBG sensors were glued on the surface of the composite LH2 tank and connected to the onboard FBG demodulator. During these rocket operations, the output of the onboard FBG demodulator was continuously monitored via a telemetry system. The results obtained by the demodulator agreed well with those of the conventional foil strain gage.
Performance of Vibration-based Techniques for the Identification of Structural Damage
Authors: Humar Jag , Bagchi Ashutosh , Xu Hongpo
Published: August 2006

Early detection of damage is of special concern for civil engineering structures. If not identified in time, damage may have serious consequences, both safety related and economic. The traditional methods of damage detection include visual inspection or instrumental evaluation. A comparatively recent development in the health monitoring of civil engineering structures is vibration-based damage detection. Vibration characteristics of a structure, that is, its frequencies, mode shapes, and damping are directly affected by the physical characteristics of the structure including its mass and stiffness. Damage reduces the stiffness of the structure and alters its vibration characteristics. Therefore, measurement and monitoring of vibration characteristics should theoretically permit the detection of both the location and severity of damage. However, in practice, a number of difficulties persist in vibration-based damage identification. As a result, most of the damage identification algorithms fail when applied to practical civil engineering structures. This article presents a survey of some of the more commonly used algorithms and describes the conditions under which they may or may not work. The success of individual algorithms is measured through computer simulation studies. It may, however, be noted that additional practical difficulties that cannot entirely be reproduced through computer simulation exist, which makes vibration-based damage identification a challenging field with many unanswered questions.
Structural Health Monitoring of Fiber-reinforced Composite Plates for Low-velocity Impact Damage using Ultrasonic Lamb Wave Tomography
Authors: Sekhar B. V. Soma , Balasubramaniam Krishnan , Krishnamurthy C. V.
Published: August 2006

The feasibility of imaging low-velocity impact damage in thin multi-layered composite plates using Lamb wave tomography is explored. Low-velocity impact damages (6-20 J) are induced by the drop-weight method on graphite fiber epoxy matrix composite laminates of cross-ply and quasi-isotropic lay-up and the damage assessment is carried out by conventional C-scans and ultrasonic Lamb wave tomography. Lamb wave based tomography based on modified cross-hole sensor configuration is used to image the damage as a function of impact energy for graphite composite plates. The reconstructed tomograms are able to capture the lateral extent of the damage even for impact energies as low as 11 J in a 2 mm graphite epoxy quasi-isotropic lay-up sample that can be classified as barely visible impact damage.
Wavelet Transform for Structural Health Monitoring: A Compendium of Uses and Features
Authors: Taha M. M. Reda , Noureldin A. , Lucero J. L. , Baca T. J.
Published: August 2006

The strategic and monetary value of the civil infrastructure worldwide necessitates the development of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems that can accurately monitor structural response due to real-time loading conditions, detect damage in the structure, and report the location and nature of this damage. In the last decade, extensive research has been carried out for developing vibration-based damage detection algorithms that can relate structural dynamics changes to damage occurrence in a structure. In the mean time, the wavelet transform (WT), a signal processing technique based on a windowing approach of dilated ‘scaled’ and shifted wavelets, is being applied to a broad range of engineering applications. Wavelet transform has proven its ability to overcome many of the limitations of the widely used Fourier transform (FT); hence, it has gained popularity as an efficient means of signal processing in SHM systems. This increasing interest in WT for SHM in diverse applications motivates the authors to write an exposition on the current WT technologies.

This article presents a utilitarian view of WT and its technologies. By reviewing the state-of-the-art in WT for SHM, the article discusses specific needs of SHM addressed by WT, classifies WT for damage detection into various fields, and describes features unique to WT that lends itself to SHM. The ultimate intent of this article is to provide the readers with a background on the various aspects of WT that might appeal to their need and sector of interest in SHM. Additionally, the comprehensive literature review that comprises this study will provide the interested reader a focused search to investigate using wavelets in SHM.
Coping and positive perceptions in Irish mothers of children with intellectual disabilities
Authors: Greer Felicity A. , Grey Ian M. , McClean Brian
Published: August 2006

Thirty-six mothers of children aged between 5 and 8 years with intellectual disabilities completed five self-report questionnaires measuring variables related to behavioural and emotional difficulties, levels of care demand, family supports, coping and positive perceptions.The relationships among these variables were investigated using a working model proposed by Hastings and Taunt (2002). Child behavioural and emotional problems in the non-clinical range predicted low levels of care demand. Formal social support was an effective form of support for mothers; helpfulness of formal social support predicted mobilizing the family to acquire and accept help in the community; and mobilizing the family predicted levels of strength and family closeness.The majority of respondents rated agreement with statements that their child was: a source of happiness or fulfilment; a source of strength and family closeness; and a source of personal growth and maturity.The theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed.
An analysis of key principles in Valuing People
Authors: Forbat Liz
Published: August 2006

This article reports an analysis of practitioner and policy implementers' views on implementing the strategy document Valuing People. It is based on empirical data generated from the first phase of a research project that seeks to develop best practice in supporting people with an intellectual disability and dementia.The analysis focuses on how Valuing People's four key principles (choice, independence, rights and inclusion) were drawn on and talked about spontaneously by participants. Each of these four principles has important implications for the provision of services for people with intellectual disabilities and dementia. This article adds to the growing dialogue on service provision for this group.
The cholinergic system in Down's syndrome
Authors: Fodale Vincenzo , Mafrica Federica , Caminiti Vincenzo , Grasso Giovanni
Published: August 2006

The cholinergic system is one of the most important modulatory neurotransmitter systems in the brain. Alterations of the transmission communicators are accompanied by reduction of the cortical activity, which is associated with a learning and memory deficit. Down's syndrome is a pathological condition characterized by a high number of abnormalities that involve the brain.The cholinergic system is involved in alterations of the neurological system such as severe learning difficulties.To explain these alterations, important results are obtained from studies about murine trisomy 16 (animal model of Down's syndrome).The results obtained provide useful elements in the improvement of knowledge about the neurological and neurotransmissional alterations that are responsible for the neurobiological characteristics of Down's syndrome.These data potentially justify, in these patients, the therapeutic use of drugs that are principally administered to improve the severe learning difficulties of people with Alzheimer's disease, and suggest a trend which generates a hypothesis worthy of further exploration.
A murine specific expansion of the Rhox cluster involved in embryonic stem cell biology is under natural selection
Authors: Jackson Melany , Watt Alistair J , Gautier Philippe , Gilchrist Derek , Driehaus Johanna , Graham Gerard J , Keebler Jon , Prugnolle Franck , Awadalla Philip , Forrester Lesley M
Published: August 2006

Background

The rodent specific reproductive homeobox (Rhox) gene cluster on the X chromosome has been reported to contain twelve homeobox-containing genes,Rhox1-12.

Results

We have identified a 40 kb genomic region within theRhoxcluster that is duplicated eight times in tandem resulting in the presence of eight paralogues ofRhox2andRhox3and seven paralogues ofRhox4. Transcripts have been identified for the majority of these paralogues and all but three are predicted to produce full-length proteins with functional potential. We predict that there are a total of thirty-twoRhoxgenes at this genomic location, making it the most gene-rich homoeobox cluster identified in any species. From the 95% sequence similarity between the eight duplicated genomic regions and the synonymous substitution rate of theRhox2,3and4paralogues we predict that the duplications occurred after divergence of mouse and rat and represent the youngest homoeobox cluster identified to date. Molecular evolutionary analysis reveals that this cluster is an actively evolving region withRhox2and4paralogues under diversifying selection andRhox3evolving neutrally. The biological importance of this duplication is emphasised by the identification of an important role forRhox2andRhox4in regulating the initial stages of embryonic stem (ES) cell differentiation.

Conclusion

The gene richRhoxcluster provides the mouse with significant biological novelty that we predict could provide a substrate for speciation. Moreover, this unique cluster may explain species differences in ES cell derivation and maintenance between mouse, rat and human.
Strand bias in complementary single-nucleotide polymorphisms of transcribed human sequences: evidence for functional effects of synonymous polymorphisms
Authors: Qu Hui-Qi , Lawrence Steve G , Guo Fan , Majewski Jacek , Polychronakos Constantin
Published: August 2006

Background

Complementary single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may not be distributed equally between two DNA strands if the strands are functionally distinct, such as in transcribed genes. In introns, an excess of A↔G over the complementary C↔T substitutions had previously been found and attributed to transcription-coupled repair (TCR), demonstrating the valuable functional clues that can be obtained by studying such asymmetry. Here we studied asymmetry of human synonymous SNPs (sSNPs) in the fourfold degenerate (FFD) sites as compared to intronic SNPs (iSNPs).

Results

The identities of the ancestral bases and the direction of mutations were inferred from human-chimpanzee genomic alignment. After correction for background nucleotide composition, excess of A→G over the complementary T→C polymorphisms, which was observed previously and can be explained by TCR, was confirmed in FFD SNPs and iSNPs. However, when SNPs were separately examined according to whether they mapped to a CpG dinucleotide or not, an excess of C→T over G→A polymorphisms was found in non-CpG site FFD SNPs but was absent from iSNPs and CpG site FFD SNPs.

Conclusion

The genome-wide discrepancy of human FFD SNPs provides novel evidence for widespread selective pressure due to functional effects of sSNPs. The similar asymmetry pattern of FFD SNPs and iSNPs that map to a CpG can be explained by transcription-coupled mechanisms, including TCR and transcription-coupled mutation. Because of the hypermutability of CpG sites, more CpG site FFD SNPs are relatively younger and have confronted less selection effect than non-CpG FFD SNPs, which can explain the asymmetric discrepancy of CpG site FFD SNPs vs. non-CpG site FFD SNPs.
Regulation of gene expression by photosynthetic signals triggered through modified CO2availability
Authors: Wormuth Dennis , Baier Margarete , Kandlbinder Andrea , Scheibe Renate , Hartung Wolfram , Dietz Karl-Josef
Published: August 2006

Background

To coordinate metabolite fluxes and energy availability, plants adjust metabolism and gene expression to environmental changes through employment of interacting signalling pathways.

Results

Comparing the response of Arabidopsis wild-type plants with that of the mutants adg1, pgr1 and vtc1 upon altered CO2-availability, the regulatory role of the cellular energy status, photosynthetic electron transport, the redox state and concentration of ascorbate and glutathione and the assimilatory force was analyzed in relation to the transcript abundance of stress-responsive nuclear encoded genes and psaA and psbA encoding the reaction centre proteins of photosystem I and II, respectively. Transcript abundance of Bap1, Stp1, psaA and psaB was coupled with seven metabolic parameters. Especially for psaA and psaB, the complex analysis demonstrated that the assumed PQ-dependent redox control is subordinate to signals linked to the relative availability of 3-PGA and DHAP, which define the assimilatory force. For the transcripts of sAPx and Csd2 high correlations with the calculated redox state of NADPH were observed in pgr1, but not in wild-type, suggesting that in wild-type plants signals depending on thylakoid acidification overlay a predominant redox-signal. Strongest correlation with the redox state of ascorbate was observed for 2CPA, whose transcript abundance regulation however was almost insensitive to the ascorbate content demonstrating dominance of redox regulation over metabolite sensing.

Conclusion

In the mutants, signalling pathways are partially uncoupled, demonstrating dominance of metabolic control of photoreaction centre expression over sensing the redox state of the PQ-pool. The balance between the cellular redox poise and the energy signature regulates sAPx and Csd2 transcript abundance, while 2CPA expression is primarily redox-controlled.
Genome-wide significance for a modifier of age at neurological onset in Huntington's Disease at 6q23-24: the HD MAPS study
Authors: Li Jian-Liang , Hayden Michael R , Warby Simon C , Durr Alexandra , Morrison Patrick J , Nance Martha , Ross Christopher A , Margolis Russell L , Rosenblatt Adam , Squitieri Ferdinando , Frati Luigi , Gómez-Tortosa Estrella , García Carmen Ayuso , Suchowersky Oksana , Klimek Mary Lou , Trent Ronald JA , McCusker Elizabeth , Novelletto Andrea , Frontali Marina , Paulsen Jane S , Jones Randi , Ashizawa Tetsuo , Lazzarini Alice , Wheeler Vanessa C , Prakash Ranjana , Xu Gang , Djoussé Luc , Mysore Jayalakshmi Srinidhi , Gillis Tammy , Hakky Michael , Cupples L Adrienne , Saint-Hilaire Marie H , Cha Jang-Ho J , Hersch Steven M , Penney John B , Harrison Madaline B , Perlman Susan L , Zanko Andrea , Abramson Ruth K , Lechich Anthony J , Duckett Ayana , Marder Karen , Conneally P Michael , Gusella James F , MacDonald Marcy E , Myers Richard H
Published: August 2006

Background

Age at onset of Huntington's disease (HD) is correlated with the size of the abnormal CAG repeat expansion in the HD gene; however, several studies have indicated that other genetic factors also contribute to the variability in HD age at onset. To identify modifier genes, we recently reported a whole-genome scan in a sample of 629 affected sibling pairs from 295 pedigrees, in which six genomic regions provided suggestive evidence for quantitative trait loci (QTL), modifying age at onset in HD.

Methods

In order to test the replication of this finding, eighteen microsatellite markers, three from each of the six genomic regions, were genotyped in 102 newly recruited sibling pairs from 69 pedigrees, and data were analyzed, using a multipoint linkage variance component method, in the follow-up sample and the combined sample of 352 pedigrees with 753 sibling pairs.

Results

Suggestive evidence for linkage at 6q23-24 in the follow-up sample (LOD = 1.87, p = 0.002) increased to genome-wide significance for linkage in the combined sample (LOD = 4.05, p = 0.00001), while suggestive evidence for linkage was observed at 18q22, in both the follow-up sample (LOD = 0.79, p = 0.03) and the combined sample (LOD = 1.78, p = 0.002). Epistatic analysis indicated that there is no interaction between 6q23-24 and other loci.

Conclusion

In this replication study, linkage for modifier of age at onset in HD was confirmed at 6q23-24. Evidence for linkage was also found at 18q22. The demonstration of statistically significant linkage to a potential modifier locus opens the path to location cloning of a gene capable of altering HD pathogenesis, which could provide a validated target for therapeutic development in the human patient.
Breast cancer screening in women at increased risk according to different family histories: an update of the Modena Study Group experience
Authors: Cortesi Laura , Turchetti Daniela , Marchi Isabella , Fracca Antonella , Canossi Barbara , Battista Rachele , Ruscelli Silvia , Pecchi Anna Rita , Torricelli Pietro , Federico Massimo
Published: August 2006

Background

Breast cancer (BC) detection in women with a genetic susceptibility or strong family history is considered mandatory compared with BC screening in the general population. However, screening modalities depend on the level of risk. Here we present an update of our screening programs based on risk classification.

Methods

We defined different risk categories and surveillance strategies to identify early BC in 1325 healthy women recruited by the Modena Study Group for familial breast and ovarian cancer. Four BC risk categories included BRCA1/2 carriers, increased, intermediate, and slightly increased risk. Women who developed BC from January 1, 1994, through December 31, 2005 (N = 44) were compared with the number of expected cases matched for age and period. BRCA1/2 carriers were identified by mutational analysis. Other risk groups were defined by different levels of family history for breast or ovarian cancer (OC). The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was used to evaluate the observed and expected ratio among groups. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results

After a median follow-up of 55 months, there was a statistically significant difference between observed and expected incidence [SIR = 4.9; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.6 to 7.6; p < 0.001]. The incidence observed among BRCA carriers (SIR = 20.3; 95% CI = 3.1 to 83.9;P< 0.001), women at increased (SIR = 4.5; 95% CI = 1.5 to 8.3;P< 0.001) or intermediate risk (SIR = 7.0, 95% CI = 2.0 to 17.1;P= 0.0018) was higher than expected, while the difference between observed and expected among women at slightly increased risk was not statistically significant (SIR = 2.4, 95% CI = 0.9 to 8.3;P= .74).

Conclusion

The rate of cancers detected in women at high risk according to BRCA status or strong family history, as defined according to our operational criteria, was significantly higher than expected in an age-matched general population. However, we failed to identify a greater incidence of BC in the slightly increased risk group. These results support the effectiveness of the proposed program to identify and monitor individuals at high risk, whereas prospective trials are needed for women belonging to families with sporadic BC or OC.
A survey of the clinical acceptability of screening for postnatal depression in depressed and non-depressed women
Authors: Gemmill Alan W , Leigh Bronwyn , Ericksen Jennifer , Milgrom Jeannette
Published: August 2006

Background

Information on clinical acceptability is needed when making cost-utility decisions about health screening implementation. Despite being in use for two decades, most data on the clinical acceptability of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) come from qualitative reports, or include relatively small samples of depressed women. This study aimed to measure acceptability in a survey of a relatively large, community sample with a high representation of clinically depressed women.

Methods

Using mail, telephone and face-to-face interview, 920 postnatal women were approached to take part in a survey on the acceptability of the EPDS, including 601 women who had screened positive for depression and 245 who had received DSM-IV diagnoses of depression. Acceptability was measured on a 5-point Likert scale of comfort ranging from "Not Comfortable", through "Comfortable" to "Very Comfortable".

Results

The response rate was just over half for postal surveys (52%) and was 100% for telephone and face-to-face surveys (432, 21 and 26 respondents for postal, telephone and face-to-face surveys respectively) making 479 respondents in total. Of these, 81.2% indicated that screening with the EPDS had been in the range of "Comfortable" to "Very Comfortable". The other 18.8 % rated screening below the "Comfortable" point, including a small fraction (4.3%) who rated answering questions on the EPDS as "Not Comfortable" at the extreme end of the scale. Comfort was inversely related to EPDS score, but the absolute size of this effect was small. Almost all respondents (97%) felt that screening was desirable.

Conclusion

The EPDS had good acceptability in this study for depressed and non-depressed women. Women's views on the desirability of postnatal depression screening appear to be largely independent of personal level of comfort with screening. These results should be useful to policy-makers and are broadly supportive of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as a suitable tool for universal perinatal depression screening.
Albinism in Africa as a public health issue
Authors: Hong Esther S , Zeeb Hajo , Repacholi Michael H
Published: August 2006

Background

Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is a genetically inherited autosomal recessive condition and OCA2, tyrosine-positive albinism, is the most prevalent type found throughout Africa. Due to the lack of melanin, people with albinism are more susceptible to the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation exposure. This population must deal with issues such as photophobia, decreased visual acuity, extreme sun sensitivity and skin cancer. People with albinism also face social discrimination as a result of their difference in appearance. The World Health Organization is currently investigating the issues concerning this vulnerable population.

Methods

Systematic electronic search of articles in PubMed concerning albinism in Africa. Furthermore, a World Health Organization (WHO) pilot survey of albinism was drafted in English, French and Portuguese, and distributed to African countries through WHO African Regional Offices (AFRO) in an attempt to gather further information on albinism.

Results

Epidemiologic data on albinism, such as prevalence, were available for South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Nigeria. Prevalences as high as 1 in 1,000 were reported for selected populations in Zimbabwe and other specific ethnic groups in Southern Africa. An overall estimate of albinism prevalences ranges from 1/5,000 – 1/15,000. In addition, both the literature review and the survey underscored the medical and social issues facing people with albinism.

Conclusion

The estimated prevalence of albinism suggests the existence of tens of thousands of people living with albinism in Africa. This finding reiterates the need for increased awareness of and public health interventions for albinism in order to better address the medical, psychological and social needs of this vulnerable population.
The devil is in the details: trends in avoidable hospitalization rates by geography in British Columbia, 1990–2000
Authors: Cloutier-Fisher Denise , Penning Margaret J , Zheng Chi , Druyts Eric-Bené F
Published: August 2006

Background

Researchers and policy makers have focussed on the development of indicators to help monitor the success of regionalization, primary care reform and other health sector restructuring initiatives. Certain indicators are useful in examining issues of equity in service provision, especially among older populations, regardless of where they live. AHRs are used as an indicator of primary care system efficiency and thus reveal information about access to general practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to examine trends in avoidable hospitalization rates (AHRs) during a period of time characterized by several waves of health sector restructuring and regionalization in British Columbia. AHRs are examined in relation to non-avoidable and total hospitalization rates as well as by urban and rural geography across the province.

Methods

Analyses draw on linked administrative health data from the province of British Columbia for 1990 through 2000 for the population aged 50 and over. Joinpoint regression analyses and t-tests are used to detect and describe trends in the data.

Results

Generally speaking, non-avoidable hospitalizations constitute the vast majority of hospitalizations in a given year (i.e. around 95%) with AHRs constituting the remaining 5% of hospitalizations. Comparing rural areas and urban areas reveals that standardized rates of avoidable, non-avoidable and total hospitalizations are consistently higher in rural areas. Joinpoint regression results show significantly decreasing trends overall; lines are parallel in the case of avoidable hospitalizations, and lines are diverging for non-avoidable and total hospitalizations, with the gap between rural and urban areas being wider at the end of the time interval than at the beginning.

Conclusion

These data suggest that access to effective primary care in rural communities remains problematic in BC given that rural areas did not make any gains in AHRs relative to urban areas under recent health sector restructuring initiatives. It remains important to continue to monitor the discrepancy between them as a reflection of inequity in service provision. In addition, it is important to consider alternative explanations for the observed trends paying particular attention to the needs of rural and urban populations and the factors influencing local service provision.
Is there a role of statins in the prevention of aortic biological prostheses degeneration
Authors: Antonini-Canterin Francesco , Zuppiroli Alfredo , Baldessin Ferdinando , Popescu Bogdan A , Nicolosi Gian Luigi
Published: August 2006

It has been recently observed that statins might slow the progression of aortic stenosis or sclerosis. Preliminary reports suggested a similar positive effect in reducing the degeneration of aortic valve bioprostheses even though this hypothesis should be further proven and supported by new data. In this review the present evidences of the possible effects of statins in this field are discussed.
An update on prevention of venous thromboembolism in hospitalized acutely ill medical patients
Authors: Samama Meyer Michel , Kleber Franz-Xaver
Published: August 2006

Both the recently updated consensus guidelines published by the American College of Chest Physicians, and the International Union of Angiology recommend thromboprophylaxis with either low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) or unfractionated heparin (UFH) in medical patients at risk of VTE. However, no guidance is given regarding the appropriate dosing regimens that should be used for thromboprophylaxis in this patient group. LMWH (enoxaparin and dalteparin) and UFH have been shown to be effective for thromboprophylaxis in at-risk hospitalized medical patients. Although LMWH once daily (o.d.) has been shown to be as effective as UFH three times daily (t.i.d.) for thromboprophylaxis in at-risk medical patients, there are no data to show that UFH twice daily (b.i.d) is as effective as either LMWH o.d. or UFH t.i.d. On the basis of currently available evidence, the LMWHs enoxaparin and dalteparin are more attractive alternatives to UFH for the prevention of VTE in hospitalized medical patients because of their convenient once-daily administration and better safety profile, demonstrated in terms of reduced bleeding, HIT, and other adverse events.
The roles of calcium signaling and ERK1/2 phosphorylation in a Pax6
+/-mouse model of epithelial wound-healing delay
Authors: Leiper Lucy J , Walczysko Petr , Kucerova Romana , Ou Jingxing , Shanley Lynne J , Lawson Diane , Forrester John V , McCaig Colin D , Zhao Min , Collinson J Martin
Published: August 2006

Background

Congenital aniridia caused by heterozygousity at the PAX6 locus is associated with ocular surface disease including keratopathy. It is not clear whether the keratopathy is a direct result of reduced PAX6 gene dosage in the cornea itself, or due to recurrent corneal trauma secondary to defects such as dry eye caused by loss of PAX6 in other tissues. We investigated the hypothesis that reducing Pax6 gene dosage leads to corneal wound-healing defects. and assayed the immediate molecular responses to wounding in wild-type and mutant corneal epithelial cells.

Results

Pax6
+/- mouse corneal epithelia exhibited a 2-hour delay in their response to wounding, but subsequently the cells migrated normally to repair the wound. Both Pax6
+/+ and Pax6
+/- epithelia activated immediate wound-induced waves of intracellular calcium signaling. However, the intensity and speed of propagation of the calcium wave, mediated by release from intracellular stores, was reduced in Pax6
+/- cells. Initiation and propagation of the calcium wave could be largely decoupled, and both phases of the calcium wave responses were required for wound healing. Wounded cells phosphorylated the extracellular signal-related kinases 1/2 (phospho-ERK1/2). ERK1/2 activation was shown to be required for rapid initiation of wound healing, but had only a minor effect on the rate of cell migration in a healing epithelial sheet. Addition of exogenous epidermal growth factor (EGF) to wounded Pax6
+/- cells restored the calcium wave, increased ERK1/2 activation and restored the immediate healing response to wild-type levels.

Conclusion

The study links Pax6 deficiency to a previously overlooked wound-healing delay. It demonstrates that defective calcium signaling in Pax6
+/- cells underlies this delay, and shows that it can be pharmacologically corrected. ERK1/2 phosphorylation is required for the rapid initiation of wound healing. A model is presented whereby minor abrasions, which are quickly healed in normal corneas, transiently persist in aniridic patients, compromising the corneal stroma.
Predicting AIDS-related events using CD4 percentage or CD4 absolute counts
Authors: Pirzada Yasmin , Khuder Sadik , Donabedian Haig
Published: August 2006

Background

The extent of immunosuppression and the probability of developing an AIDS-related complication in HIV-infected people is usually measured by the absolute number of CD4 positive T-cells. The percentage of CD4 positive cells is a more easily measured and less variable number. We analyzed sequential CD4 and CD8 numbers, percentages and ratios in 218 of our HIV infected patients to determine the most reliable predictor of an AIDS-related event.

Results

The CD4 percentage was an unsurpassed predictor of the occurrence of AIDS-related events when all subsets of patients are considered. The CD4 absolute count was the next most reliable, followed by the ratio of CD4/CD8 percentages. The value of CD4 percentage over the CD4 absolute count was seen even after the introduction of highly effective HIV therapy.

Conclusion

The CD4 percentage is unsurpassed as a parameter for predicting the onset of HIV-related diseases. The extra time and expense of measuring the CD4 absolute count may be unnecessary.
Nociceptors in Cardiovascular Functions: Complex Interplay as a Result of Cyclooxygenase Inhibition
Authors: Premkumar Louis S , Raisinghani Manish
Published: August 2006

Prostaglandins (PGs) are requisite components of inflammatory pain as indicated by the efficacy of cyclooxygenase 1/2 (COX1/2) inhibitors. PGs do not activate nociceptive ion channels directly, but sensitize them by downstream mechanisms linked to G-protein coupled receptors. Antiinflammatory effects are purported to arise from inhibition of synthesis and/or release of proinflammatory agents. Release of these agents from peripheral and central terminals of sensory neurons modulates nociceptive input from the periphery and synaptic transmission at the first sensory synapse, respectively. Heart and blood vessels are densely innervated by sensory nerve endings that express chemo-, mechano-, and thermo-sensitive receptors. Activation of these receptors mediates synthesis and/or release of vasoactive agents by virtue of their Ca2+permeability. In this article, we discuss that inhibition of COX2 reduces PG synthesis and renders beneficial effects by preventing sensitization of nociceptors, but at the same time, it might contribute to deleterious cardiovascular effects by compromising the synthesis and/or release of vasoactive agents.
E2F1 activation is responsible for pituitary adenomas induced by HMGA2 gene overexpression
Authors: Fedele Monica , Pierantoni Giovanna Maria , Visone Rosa , Fusco Alfredo
Published: August 2006

The High Mobility Group protein HMGA2 is a nuclear architectural factor that plays a critical role in a wide range of biological processes including regulation of gene expression, embryogenesis and neoplastic transformation. Several studies are trying to identify the mechanisms by which HMGA2 protein is involved in each of these activities, and only recently some new significant insights are emerging from the study of transgenic and knock-out mice. Overexpression of HMGA2 gene leads to the onset of prolactin and GH-hormone induced pituitary adenomas in mice, suggesting a critical role of this protein in pituitary tumorigenesis. This was also confirmed in the human pathology by the finding that HMGA2 amplification and/or overexpression is present in human prolactinomas. This review focuses on recent data that explain the mechanism by which HMGA2 induces the development of pituitary adenomas in mice. This mechanism entails the activation of the E2F1 protein by the HMGA2-mediated displacement of HDAC1 from pRB protein.
Transcriptional and structural impact of TATA-initiation site spacing in mammalian core promoters
Authors: Ponjavic Jasmina , Lenhard Boris , Kai Chikatoshi , Kawai Jun , Carninci Piero , Hayashizaki Yoshihide , Sandelin Albin
Published: August 2006

Background

The TATA box, one of the most well studied core promoter elements, is associated with induced, context-specific expression. The lack of precise transcription start site (TSS) locations linked with expression information has impeded genome-wide characterization of the interaction between TATA and the pre-initiation complex.

Results

Using a comprehensive set of 5.66 × 106 sequenced 5' cDNA ends from diverse tissues mapped to the mouse genome, we found that the TATA-TSS distance is correlated with the tissue specificity of the downstream transcript. To achieve tissue-specific regulation, the TATA box position relative to the TSS is constrained to a narrow window (-32 to -29), where positions -31 and -30 are the optimal positions for achieving high tissue specificity. Slightly larger spacings can be accommodated only when there is no optimally spaced initiation signal; in contrast, the TATA box like motifs found downstream of position -28 are generally nonfunctional. The strength of the TATA binding protein-DNA interaction plays a subordinate role to spacing in terms of tissue specificity. Furthermore, promoters with different TATA-TSS spacings have distinct features in terms of consensus sequence around the initiation site and distribution of alternative TSSs. Unexpectedly, promoters that have two dominant, consecutive TSSs are TATA depleted and have a novel GGG initiation site consensus.

Conclusion

In this report we present the most comprehensive characterization of TATA-TSS spacing and functionality to date. The coupling of spacing to tissue specificity at the transcriptome level provides important clues as to the function of core promoters and the choice of TSS by the pre-initiation complex.