bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Oligoclonal bands and cerebrospinal fluid markers in multiple sclerosis: associations with disease course and progression
Authors: Lourenco Pedro , Shirani Afsaneh , Saeedi Jameelah , Oger Joel , Schreiber William E , Tremlett Helen
Published: September 2012

Background:

The use of oligoclonal bands (OCBs) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters are established in the diagnosis of MS, but poorly as markers of disease.

Objective:

To investigate the role of OCBs in disease course and progression.

Methods:

CSF data for 1120 patients with MS were analyzed for associations between OCBs and CSF parameters and clinical data (disease course [relapsing-onset MS (ROMS) vs primary-progressive MS (PPMS)]), disability progression (proportion reaching Expanded Disability Status Scale 6 within 10 years of onset and progression index) and ethnicity.

Results:

Of patients with MS, 72.5% had detectable OCBs. For patients with detectable OCBs, 84.6% had ROMS and 15.4% PPMS versus 89.7% and 10.3%, respectively for those without detectable OCBs ( p=0.04). Total CSF IgG and protein levels were higher in PPMS compared with ROMS ( p<0.001). Disease progression appeared independent of OCB status. Patients with CSF (vs without) data were more likely to be male, older at onset, have PPMS and lack optic neuropathy at onset ( p<0.001).

Conclusions:

OCB positivity and elevated total CSF IgG and protein were moderately associated with a PPMS disease course, but not disease progression. Patients with atypical clinical presentations were more likely to have had CSF work-up, suggesting a testing bias.
Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency is not more prevalent in patients with mild multiple sclerosis: a sonographer-blinded, case-control ultrasound study
Authors: Chambers Brian , Chambers Jayne , Cameron Heather , Macdonell Richard
Published: September 2012

Objectives:

We designed a prospective case-control study of patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and Relapsing–Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) with an Expanded Disability Status Score (EDSS) of ≤2, compared with age-and-sex-matched healthy controls, to test the hypothesis that chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) is more prevalent in patients with CIS or mild MS.

Methods:

All subjects were examined using a Siemens Antares duplex ultrasound machine. The internal jugular, vertebral and intracranial veins were studied in subjects in both supine and sitting postures. The sonographer was blind to the subject’s clinical status. Measures included the criteria proposed by Zamboni and volume flow. Presence of CCSVI was defined as ≥2 Zamboni criteria.

Results:

Seventy patient-control pairs were recruited, with 11 males and 59 females in each group. Only one subject, a control, satisfied the Zamboni definition of CCSVI; however, 19 patients and 13 controls had abnormalities as defined by Zamboni, the difference largely caused by a higher prevalence in patients of internal jugular vein (IJV) stenosis, defined as a cross-sectional area ≤0.3cm2. This difference disappeared with a more rigorous stenosis definition. Further analysis revealed there was IJV valve variation in seven patients and one control.

Conclusions:

Our findings indicate that CCSVI, as defined by the Zamboni ultrasound criteria, is not present in CIS and mild RRMS (EDSS ≤2), providing further evidence that CCSVI does not have a causal role in MS; however, we found an apparent increase in IJV variation in patients with CIS or mild MS that would warrant further investigation.
Bodies of knowledge: Nature, holism and women’s plural health practices
Authors: Meurk Carla , Broom Alex , Adams Jon , Sibbritt David
Published: September 2012

The proliferation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and women’s high level of engagement with these practices, has presented sociology with a range of questions regarding gender, embodiment and identity work in the context of contemporary medical pluralism. The current study, drawing on 60 qualitative interviews with women from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH), examines how a group of Australian women negotiate CAM and biomedicine in a range of health and illness contexts. Selected from the mid-aged cohort of this national study, here we explore their accounts of engagement with CAM and biomedicine, unpacking their logics underpinning, and rhetorical practices surrounding, their therapeutic engagement. The results provide significant insight into: the importance of ideas about nature, holism and strengthening; perceptions of the harshness and softness of medicines for women’s bodies; and, the relative importance of scientific proof vis-a-vis individual subjectivities. Ultimately, their accounts illustrate gendered and embodied strategies of strategic integration, and importantly, border crossing. We conclude that while women’s engagement with CAM and biomedicine may be indeed be gendered in character, we suggest a rethinking of gender-based resistance (to biomedicine) or gender-alignment (to CAM) arguments; the notion of women as designers would more adequately capture the landscapes of contemporary medical pluralism.
Party organizational change and ICTs: The growth of a virtual grassroots?
Authors: Gibson Rachel K. , Gillan Kevin , Greffet Fabienne , Lee Benjamin J. , Ward Stephen
Published: September 2012

This paper examines the relationship between unofficial party blogs and official party sources in the UK using a mixed-method approach. Specifically we combine interview data with content analysis, user surveys and usage data, and finally hyperlink analysis to profile the emergence, popularity, audience and online prominence of four major party blogs since 2005. The core question posed is how far the blogs are challenging parties as the focal point for member activism and offering an alternative public ‘voice’. The findings show blogs occupy an important alternative critical space for party debate, particularly outside elections. They are not mobilizing tools, however, being used by the grassroots largely for information-gathering and discussion purposes.
Influence of high velocity oxy-fuel parameters on the corrosion resistance of NiCr coatings
Authors: Farahpour P , Edris H , Kheirikhah MM , Mirrahimi AH
Published: September 2012

In the present study, the corrosion behavior of Nickel-base coatings on carbon steel as a substrate was analyzed. The samples were coated using a high velocity oxy-fuel thermal spray technique. In order to investigate the effects of spray variables on coating quality as compared with corrosion behavior of NiCr alloy in NaCl 3.5% solution, six design experiments were considered. The NiCr powder alloy contained 20% Cr. The sprays variables were fuel: oxygen, 1.07 and 1.25 both in reduction condition and also the powder feed rate 18, 27 and 36 g/min were selected. The high velocity oxy-fuel coated samples were corrosion tested using the potentiostatic polarization tester. Analyzing the polarization graph allowed the selection of the optimum operating conditions to achieve the desired specifications of the high velocity oxy-fuel coatings for their best corrosion resistance in the chosen environment. The samples structures were characterized by a scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis and X-ray diffraction. The analysis of the results indicated that the fuel/oxygen and the powder feed rate have a significant effect on the porosity and corrosion resistance of these coatings. Corrosion behavior of the sample coated by fuel: oxygen 1.25 and powder feed rate 18 g/min was the best.
Scales of attention in fieldwork: Global connections and local concerns in the Arctic
Authors: Hastrup Kirsten
Published: September 2012

The social sciences face a set of complex challenges in an era of intensifying global connections that seem to undermine their constitutive object. Cultures, nations and even societies are not what they used to be, and the ‘methodological nationalism’ that once qualified the social sciences is no longer self-evident. One of the manifest perforations of local communities comes with the experience of dramatic climate change. Based on fieldwork in northwest Greenland, this article addresses the question of scaling through discussions of conversations, connections and concerns surfacing in the field, yet vastly transcending the local. This enables a new understanding of the inherent complexity of scaling and of the field itself as a plastic space, where the fieldworker’s attention may stretch and bend according to situation and perspective.
The yard face: The contributions of inmate interpersonal violence to the carceral habitus
Authors: Caputo-Levine Deirdre D
Published: September 2012

Based on three years of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in an agency that provides services to formerly incarcerated individuals, it is argued that the ways that formerly incarcerated men come to embody the interpersonal violence that structures the carceral habitus complicate the reintegration process. There is a dissociation between the embodied strategies and responses and the world which the formerly incarcerated person is attempting to navigate. Elements of the carceral habitus that are related to interpersonal violence are detailed along with the ways that the carceral habitus impacts the process of reintegration.
Beyond disbelief: A confession of religion, technology and academic conceit
Authors: Dressman Mark
Published: September 2012

My professional life has been built on taking a position of apostasy, or the rejection of belief, toward many if not all of the major articles of faith within the fields of literacy studies, teacher education, and instructional technology. I justified my stance and my research practices through my reading of Pierre Bourdieu’s analysis of the relation between belief and practice, and was successful for many years in getting published in top academic journals. My disbelief was shaken, however, after a trip to a university in Morocco and subsequent efforts to bring students in the US and myself into direct exchange with Arab/Islamic culture. These experiences provide the basis for re-examining the efficacy of apostasy as an epistemological stance, and through the critique of Jacques Rancière speak to the power of intimacy, empathy, and redefined forms of believing and belonging as paths of insight into one’s own and others’ cultures.
Working between two worlds: Gang intervention and street liminality
Authors: Lopez-Aguado Patrick
Published: September 2012

This article analyzes ethnographic data collected from a gang intervention program to examine how former gang members use their experience to influence youth still involved in gang life. I argue that the interventionists possess a ‘street liminality’ that is constructed by their experiences living along the margins of both the street and conventional society. This street liminality enables the interventionists to exploit the connections they have to these two social realms, making resources accessible to barrio youth and helping them navigate criminalizing social institutions. However, they must constantly balance the interests of the youth they serve against those of the civil leaders they depend on for funding to ensure that they do not facilitate these youth’s criminalization. By illustrating the processes of how street liminalty is embodied, used, and negotiated, this article discusses how we can expand our understanding of liminality and recognize its potential for working around hierarchical boundaries.
Urban hybrid space and the homeless
Authors: Perry Samuel L
Published: September 2012

This study draws upon ethnographic data from a group of homeless persons residing in a 24-hour donut shop that doubles nightly as an ersatz shelter. This article examines the role of ‘urban hybrid spaces’ – spaces that serve dual roles as legitimate business establishment and homeless habitation or hangout – in facilitating the construction and enactment of more dignified identities for the unhoused. Ethnographic data depict the strategies by which unhoused individuals utilize an urban hybrid space to verbally, symbolically, and performatively assert and maintain a ‘patron identity’ – understood as someone who is housed, employed, autonomous, occupies the donut shop legitimately, and associates with other such people. I argue that this identity is uniquely facilitated by the social and physical context provided by the donut shop qua private business.
Qualifying the Game Uncertainty Effect
Authors: Tainsky Scott , Xu Jie , Zhou Yilun
Published: September 2012

Much of the past empirical analysis of the Uncertainty of Outcome Hypothesis (UOH) has gauged the responsiveness of attendance to uncertainty in either the Major League Baseball or European football regular season. This study diverges from those studies by examining broadcast ratings for National Football League playoff games and testing the UOH in teams’ local markets as well as outside of the local markets of the competing teams. The research does not support that game uncertainty is related to ratings in local markets, but, consistent with the UOH, finds a fan preference for evenly matched teams outside of the local markets.
How Funny Can Islam Controversies Be? Comedians Defending Their Faiths on YouTube
Authors: Hirzalla Fadi , van Zoonen Liesbet , Müller Floris
Published: September 2012

We analyze whether humor can release some of the tension in Islam controversies and open up new directions for dialogue. We do so in the context of Dahlgren’s civic cultures framework, asking whether humor can be a civic practice and how it is articulated with value conflicts. We examine the features of the humor performed in two comic vlogs on YouTube and the sentiments these vlogs evoked among their viewers. In one vlog, the comedy calls for interreligious acceptance, while in the other vlog comedy is used to “other” Muslims. The comments on both vlogs, however, comprise negative and positive sentiment in the same patterns, often expressed in an antagonistic style. These findings call for caution when contemplating the potential of humor to alleviate interreligious tensions and the prospect of the Internet to form a space for meaningful democratic deliberation, especially when dealing with topics as controversial as Islam.
Katy French
Authors: Sexton Anne
Published: September 2012

In 2007, model Katy French was arguably the most talked about and photographed woman in Ireland. Rising to prominence via tabloid scandal and reality TV, French experienced a sharply pitched fame trajectory that culminated in her death that same year, which was attributed to a drug overdose and created a national media and political furor over cocaine use. Building on the work of scholars working within British or American contexts, I scrutinize French as a tabloid and reality star in Ireland. Both lauded and castigated as an icon of the so-called “Celtic Tiger,” French, I argue, acted as nexus point for hot-button social issues related to sexuality, femininity, consumerism, multiculturalism, and national values. My examination highlights the workings of postfeminism in a neoliberal Ireland and reveals the persistence of conservative patriarchal ideologies distinctly at odds with the national self-image during a boom period of unprecedented economic growth.
Metabolic Changes in the Spinal Cord After Brachial Plexus Root Re-implantation
Authors: Kachramanoglou Carolina , De Vita Enrico , Thomas David L. , Wheeler-Kingshott Claudia A. M. , Balteau Evelyne , Carlstedt Thomas , Choi David , Thompson Alan J. , Ciccarelli Olga
Published: September 2012

Objective. To investigate metabolic changes within the spinal cord using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) and determine their relationship with clinical function in patients with complete brachial plexus avulsion who underwent reimplantation of the ventral roots. Methods. Single-voxel 1H-MRS of the cord between C1 and C3 was performed in 10 patients with normal spinal cord on MRI, who underwent reimplantation of C5 to T1 ventral roots on average 5.5 years earlier, and 19 healthy controls. The ratios of the concentrations of the following main metabolites, with respect to total creatine levels, were obtained: total N-acetyl-aspartate, choline-containing compounds, creatine and phosphocreatine (Cr), and myo-inositol (m-Ins). Patient disability was assessed using upper limb scales. Differences in metabolite concentration ratios and their correlations with disability were investigated. Results. Patients showed increased m-Ins/Cr ratio compared with controls, which was associated with the level of function of the affected arm and time from injury. Conclusions. The finding of increased m-Ins/Cr in patients suggests that reactive gliosis, perhaps in response to the degeneration of avulsed fibers, may occur in the spinal cord above the site of injury and be relevant to motor dysfunction. However, this pathological process appears to diminish with time. These insights underline the need to integrate metabolic imaging with structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging to obtain a complete view of spinal cord plasticity. Last, this study provides the first steps toward identifying markers to serve as outcome measures for trials comparing strategies of plexus repair following avulsion injury.
Mothers’ knowledge and practices of managing minor illnesses of children under five years
Authors: Abu-Baker Nesrin N. , Gharaibeh Huda F. , Al-Zoubi Haya M. , Savage Christine , Gharaibeh Muntaha K.
Published: September 2012

Assessing mothers’ knowledge and practices in managing minor illness is very important in order to ensure safe and effective ways of managing minor illnesses and decrease complications and hospitalisation. The aims of this study were to explore mothers' knowledge and practices of managing minor illnesses of children under the age of five and the association between socio-demographic variables of the mothers and their knowledge and practices of managing minor illnesses. This study used a cross-sectional survey design. The survey included true or false knowledge questions related to management of minor illness and related symptoms in children including fever (12 questions), upper respiratory tract infection (seven questions) and diarrhoea (nine questions). Data were analysed by calculating frequencies, distribution, and where appropriate running bivariate correlations and t-tests to determine if significant associations existed between maternal demographic variables and level of knowledge. Findings: A total of 348 mothers who visited the comprehensive health centres in Irbid, Jordan agreed to participate in the study. The mean number of questions answered correctly about fever management was 8.6 (SD = 1.7). The mean score for management of URTI was 4.9 (SD = 1.4) and for diarrhoea was 6.4 (SD = 1.2). There was a significant positive association between the mother’s age, household income, mother’s level of education, and number of children, with knowledge and practices of fever and/or upper respiratory tract infection, p < .05. Nurses and other health care providers could play a significant role in educating women in how to manage their children's minor illnesses.
Standing between intransient history and transient memories: The statue of MacArthur in South Korea
Authors: Choi Suhi
Published: September 2012

Since its inception in 1957, the statue of General Douglas MacArthur at Incheon City in South Korea has been a robust signifier of the American rescuing mission during the Korean War that originally was meant to evoke gratitude among the South Koreans. Yet, South Korean activists in 2005 took iconoclastic actions against the statue, calling the public’s critical attention to both MacArthur’s actions and to the role of the United States during the Korean War. This case study of MacArthur’s statue reveals two processes at work: first, how a statue, in a time of transition, transforms itself from a mere signifier of intransigent history into a reflexive medium of transient memories of a past event and second, how a statue, in its surrounding space, can embrace the conflicting gestures that audiences from two different generational and ideological positions simultaneously perform. I conclude that a statue, reconfigured in time and space, has a strong potential to become a dissenting medium that effectively reemerges subversive memories to confront consensual notions of a past event.
Possible Mechanisms Explaining the Association Between Physical Activity and Mental Health
Authors: Monshouwer Karin , ten Have Margreet , van Poppel Mireille , Kemper Han , Vollebergh Wilma
Published: September 2012

More physical activity is associated with fewer mental health problems among adolescents, but the underlying mechanisms are not clear. The aim of this article is to investigate whether the association between physical activity and mental health is mediated by body-weight perception (self-image) or the social aspects of participation in organized sports (social interaction). Data from 7,304 adolescents were drawn from the Dutch Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey. Logistic regression analyses showed that, compared with respondents who were physically active, inactive respondents were at higher risk for both internalizing (odds ratio [OR] = 1.52, p < .001) and externalizing (OR = 1.34, p < .05) problems. The inclusion of body-weight perception and sports-club membership variables reduced the strength of the association to an OR of 1.35 ( p < .05) for internalizing problems and an OR of 1.20 ( p = .132) for externalizing problems. This study found some support for the self-image and social interaction hypotheses and thereby confirms the importance of the psychological and sociological aspects of physical activity.
Enhancing Autobiographical Memory Specificity Through Cognitive Training
Authors: Neshat-Doost Hamid Taher , Dalgleish Tim , Yule William , Kalantari Mehrdad , Ahmadi Sayed Jafar , Dyregrov Atle , Jobson Laura
Published: September 2012

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of memory specificity training (MEST) on autobiographical memory recall and depression. Afghan adolescents with depression were randomly assigned to a MEST group or to a control group. At baseline, both groups completed Persian versions of the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) and the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ). The MEST group then had five weekly group sessions of MEST. The control group had no additional contact. The AMT and MFQ were then readministered to all participants, and the MFQ was readministered at 2-month follow-up. The MEST group retrieved a higher proportion of specific memories following training and had lower levels of depression at 2-month follow-up than did the control group. Change in memory specificity predicted follow-up depression over and above baseline depression and mediated the relationship between receipt of MEST and reduction in later depression. The results suggest that MEST can improve autobiographical memory performance and drive subsequent reduction in depression symptoms.
Prenatal Sonographic Diagnosis of Iniencephaly
Authors: Popli Manju Bala , Popli Vineet
Published: September 2012

Iniencephaly is a rare defect caused by improper closure of the neural tube. The incidence is 0.1-10 per 10,000 live births. The head is disproportionately large as compared to the body and displays excessive retroflexion. The neck is absent with the face directed upward. Prenatal sonography is an accurate means of identifying this anomaly.
Combined Aneurysm and Infrahepatic Stenosis of the Inferior Vena Cava
Authors: Araújo Nordeval Cavalcante , Junqueira Carla Salgado
Published: September 2012

Aneurysms of the major veins are rare, and those involving the inferior vena cava (IVC) are extremely rare. The etiology of IVC aneurysms remains unknown, and they can have variable presentation. Although many aneurysms are found incidentally, others are diagnosed after complications develop. Thrombosis is a frequent presentation, and serious sequelae, such as lethal pulmonary embolism and Budd-Chiari syndrome, may result. Therapeutic alternatives range from watchful waiting to surgical management. Development of complications such as rupture has been described and may require surgery. In this article, we report the discovery of an IVC aneurysm in a patient who had chronic renal failure associated with renal hypoperfusion and severe cardiac insufficiency.
ANCAC: amino acid, nucleotide, and codon analysis of COGs – a tool for sequence bias analysis in microbial orthologs
Authors: Meiler Arno , Klinger Claudia , Kaufmann Michael
Published: September 2012

Background

The COG database is the most popular collection of orthologous proteins from many different completely sequenced microbial genomes. Per definition, a cluster of orthologous groups (COG) within this database exclusively contains proteins that most likely achieve the same cellular function. Recently, the COG database was extended by assigning to every protein both the corresponding amino acid and its encoding nucleotide sequence resulting in the NUCOCOG database. This extended version of the COG database is a valuable resource connecting sequence features with the functionality of the respective proteins.

Results

Here we present ANCAC, a web tool and MySQL database for the analysis of amino acid, nucleotide, and codon frequencies in COGs on the basis of freely definable phylogenetic patterns. We demonstrate the usefulness of ANCAC by analyzing amino acid frequencies, codon usage, and GC-content in a species- or function-specific context. With respect to amino acids we, at least in part, confirm the cognate bias hypothesis by using ANCAC’s NUCOCOG dataset as the largest one available for that purpose thus far.

Conclusions

Using the NUCOCOG datasets, ANCAC connects taxonomic, amino acid, and nucleotide sequence information with the functional classification via COGs and provides a GUI for flexible mining for sequence-bias. Thereby, to our knowledge, it is the only tool for the analysis of sequence composition in the light of physiological roles and phylogenetic context without requirement of substantial programming-skills.
Macrolides decrease the minimal inhibitory concentration of anti-pseudomonal agents against Pseudomonas aeruginosa from cystic fibrosis patients in biofilm
Authors: Lutz Larissa , Pereira Dariane Castro , Paiva Rodrigo Minuto , Zavascki Alexandre Prehn , Barth Afonso Luis
Published: September 2012

Background

Biofilm production is an important mechanism for bacterial survival and its association with antimicrobial resistance represents a challenge for the patient treatment. In this study we evaluated the in vitro action of macrolides in combination with anti-pseudomonal agents on biofilm-grown Pseudomonas aeruginosa recovered from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.

Results

A total of 64 isolates were analysed. The biofilm inhibitory concentration (BIC) results were consistently higher than those obtained by the conventional method, minimal inhibitory concentration, (MIC) for most anti-pseudomonal agents tested (ceftazidime: P = 0.001, tobramycin: P = 0.001, imipenem: P < 0.001, meropenem: P = 0.005). When macrolides were associated with the anti-pseudomonal agents, the BIC values were reduced significantly for ceftazidime (P < 0.001) and tobramycin (P < 0.001), regardless the concentration of macrolides. Strong inhibitory quotient was observed when azithromycin at 8 mg/L was associated with all anti-pseudomonal agents tested in biofilm conditions.

Conclusions

P. aeruginosa from CF patients within biofilms are highly resistant to antibiotics but macrolides proved to augment the in vitro activity of anti-pseudomonal agents.
Nutritional status and dietary intake of urban residents in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Amare Bemnet , Moges Beyene , Moges Feleke , Fantahun Bereket , Admassu Mengesha , Mulu Andargachew , Kassu Afework
Published: September 2012

Background

There is paucity of data on the dietary intake and nutritional status of urban Ethiopians which necessitates comprehensive nutritional assessments. Therefore, the present study was aimed at evaluating the dietary intake and nutritional status of urban residents in Northwest Ethiopia.

Methods

This cross-sectional community based nutrition survey was conducted by involving 356 participants (71.3% female and 28.7% male with mean age of 37.3 years). Subjects were selected by random sampling. Socio demographic data was collected by questionnaire. Height, weight, hip circumference and waist circumference were measured following standard procedures. Dietary intake was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire and 24-h dietary recall. The recommended dietary allowance was taken as the cut-off point for the assessment of the adequacy of individual nutrient intake.

Results

Undernourished, overweight and obese subjects composed 12.9%, 21.3% and 5.9% of the participants, respectively. Men were taller, heavier and had higher waist to hip ratio compared to women (P < 0.05). Fish, fruits and vegetables were consumed less frequently or never at all by a large proportion of the subjects. Oil and butter were eaten daily by most of the participants. Mean energy intakes fell below the estimated energy requirements in women (1929 vs 2031 kcal/day, P = 0.05) while it was significantly higher in men participants (3001 vs 2510 kcal/day, P = 0.007). Protein intake was inadequate (<0.8 g/kg/day) in 11.2% of the participants whereas only 2.8% reported carbohydrate intake below the recommended dietary allowances (130 g/day). Inadequate intakes of calcium, retinol, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid were seen in 90.4%, 100%, 73%, 92.4%, 86.2% and 95.5% of the participants.

Conclusions

The overall risk of nutritional inadequacy among the study participants was high along with their poor dietary intake. Hence, more stress should be made on planning and implementing nutritional programmes in urban settings aimed at preventing or correcting micronutrient and some macronutrient deficiencies which may be useful in preventing nutrition related diseases in life.
Association between salivary pH and metabolic syndrome in women: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Tremblay Monique , Brisson Diane , Gaudet Daniel
Published: September 2012

Background

The salivary flow rate is an important determinant of salivary pH. It is influenced by several metabolic syndrome (MetS) components as well as the menopausal status. The cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors that characterizes the MetS could be exacerbated following menopause. The objective of this study was therefore to document the association between salivary pH and MetS expression in women according to the menopausal status.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, unstimulated saliva collection was performed on 198 Caucasian women of French-Canadian origin of which 55 were premenopausal women (PMW) and 143 menopausal women (MW). Student’s t test, ANOVA and correlation analyses were used to assess the association between salivary pH and MetS components.

Results

The salivary pH level was significantly correlated with several MetS covariates, namely triglycerides (TG), apolipoprotein B (apo B) and plasma glucose concentrations as well as waist circumference and the number of MetS components present in the whole sample and PMW only. Mean pH levels decreased as the number of MetS components increased (p = 0.004). The correlations between salivary pH and variables associated with MetS components tended to be stronger in PMW. The proportion of the variance (R2) of salivary pH explained by MetS-related variables in PMW, MW and the whole sample was 23.6% (p = 0.041), 18.1% and 17.0% (p < 0.001) respectively.

Conclusions

The increasing prevalence of obesity calls for the development of new technologies to more easily monitor health status without increasing the burden of healthcare costs. As such, the salivary pH could be an inexpensive screening tool. These exploratory data suggest that salivary pH may be a significant correlate of the expression of MetS components. However, other studies with different populations are needed to confirm these findings before our observations lead to practical use in clinical settings.
A national survey of health service infrastructure and policy impacts on access to computerised CBT in Scotland
Authors: Kenicer David , McClay Carrie-Anne , Williams Christopher
Published: September 2012

Background

NICE recommends computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT) for the treatment of several mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. cCBT may be one way that services can reduce waiting lists and improve capacity and efficiency. However, there is some doubt about the extent to which the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK is embracing this new health technology in practice. This study aimed to investigate Scottish health service infrastructure and policies that promote or impede the implementation of cCBT in the NHS.

Methods

A telephone survey of lead IT staff at all health board areas across Scotland to systematically enquire about the ability of local IT infrastructure and IT policies to support delivery of cCBT.

Results

Overall, most of the health boards possess the required software to use cCBT programmes. However, the majority of NHS health boards reported that they lack dedicated computers for patient use, hence access to cCBT at NHS sites is limited. Additionally, local policy in the majority of boards prevent staff from routinely contacting patients via email, skype or instant messenger, making the delivery of short, efficient support sessions difficult.

Conclusions

Conclusions: Overall most of the infrastructure is in place but is not utilised in ways that allow effective delivery. For cCBT to be successfully delivered within a guided support model, as recommended by national guidelines, dedicated patient computers should be provided to allow access to online interventions. Additionally, policy should allow staff to support patients in convenient ways such as via email or live chat. These measures would increase the likelihood of achieving Scottish health service targets to reduce waiting time for psychological therapies to 18 weeks.
Role of bicarbonate as a pH buffer and electron sink in microbial dechlorination of chloroethenes
Authors: Delgado Anca G , Parameswaran Prathap , Fajardo-Williams Devyn , Halden Rolf U , Krajmalnik-Brown Rosa
Published: September 2012

Background

Buffering to achieve pH control is crucial for successful trichloroethene (TCE) anaerobic bioremediation. Bicarbonate (HCO3−) is the natural buffer in groundwater and the buffer of choice in the laboratory and at contaminated sites undergoing biological treatment with organohalide respiring microorganisms. However, HCO3−also serves as the electron acceptor for hydrogenotrophic methanogens and hydrogenotrophic homoacetogens, two microbial groups competing with organohalide respirers for hydrogen (H2). We studied the effect of HCO3−as a buffering agent and the effect of HCO3−-consuming reactions in a range of concentrations (2.5-30 mM) with an initial pH of 7.5 in H2-fed TCE reductively dechlorinating communities containingDehalococcoides, hydrogenotrophic methanogens, and hydrogenotrophic homoacetogens.

Results

Rate differences in TCE dechlorination were observed as a result of added varying HCO3−concentrations due to H2-fed electrons channeled towards methanogenesis and homoacetogenesis and pH increases (up to 8.7) from biological HCO3−consumption. Significantly faster dechlorination rates were noted at all HCO3−concentrations tested when the pH buffering was improved by providing 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) as an additional buffer. Electron balances and quantitative PCR revealed that methanogenesis was the main electron sink when the initial HCO3−concentrations were 2.5 and 5 mM, while homoacetogenesis was the dominant process and sink when 10 and 30 mM HCO3−were provided initially.

Conclusions

Our study reveals that HCO3−is an important variable for bioremediation of chloroethenes as it has a prominent role as an electron acceptor for methanogenesis and homoacetogenesis. It also illustrates the changes in rates and extent of reductive dechlorination resulting from the combined effect of electron donor competition stimulated by HCO3−and the changes in pH exerted by methanogens and homoacetogens.
Social determinants of sex differences in disability among older adults: a multi-country decomposition analysis using the World Health Survey
Authors: Hosseinpoor Ahmad Reza , Stewart Williams Jennifer , Jann Ben , Kowal Paul , Officer Alana , Posarac Aleksandra , Chatterji Somnath
Published: September 2012

Introduction

Women represent a growing proportion of older people and experience increasing disability in their longer lives. Using a universally agreed definition of disability based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, this paper examines how, apart from age, social and economic factors contribute to disability differences between older men and women.

Methods

World Health Survey data were analyzed from 57 countries drawn from all income groups defined by the World Bank. The final sample comprises 63638 respondents aged 50 and older (28568 males and 35070 females). Item Response Theory was applied to derive a measure of disability which ensured cross country comparability. Individuals with scores at or above a threshold score were those who experienced significant difficulty in their everyday lives, irrespective of the underlying etiology. The population was then divided into “disabled” vs. “not disabled”. We firstly computed disability prevalence for males and females by socio-demographic factors, secondly used multiple logistic regression to estimate the adjusted effects of each social determinant on disability for males and females, and thirdly used a variant of the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique to partition the measured inequality in disability between males and females into the “explained” part that arises because of differences between males and females in terms of age and social and economic characteristics, and an “unexplained” part attributed to the differential effects of these characteristics.

Results

Prevalence of disability among women compared with men aged 50+ years was 40.1% vs. 23.8%. Lower levels of education and economic status are associated with disability in women and men. Approximately 45% of the sex inequality in disability can be attributed to differences in the distribution of socio-demographic factors. Approximately 55% of the inequality results from differences in the effects of the determinants.

Conclusions

There is an urgent need for data and methodologies that can identify how social, biological and other factors separately contribute to the health decrements facing men and women as they age. This study highlights the need for action to address social structures and institutional practices that impact unfairly on the health of older men and women.
Rice UBC13, a candidate housekeeping gene, is required for K63-linked polyubiquitination and tolerance to DNA damage
Authors: Zang Yuepeng , Wang Qian , Xue Chenyu , Li Mengnan , Wen Rui , Xiao Wei
Published: September 2012

While plant growth and reproduction is dependent on sunlight, UV irradiation from sunlight is one of the major genotoxic stresses that threaten plant survival and genome stability. In addition, many environmental chemicals can also damage the plant genome. In yeast and mammalian cells protection against the above genome instability is provided by an error-free DNA-damage tolerance (DDT) pathway, which is dependent on Ubc13-mediated K63-linked polyubiquitination of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). In this study, we isolated the UBC13 gene from rice and characterized its functions. Expression of OsUBC13 can protect a yeast ubc13 null mutant against spontaneous and environmental DNA damage. Furthermore, OsUbc13 physically interacts with human Ubc13 partners Mms2 and Uev1A, and catalyzes K63 polyubiquitination in vitro. These observations collectively suggest that the K63 polyubiquitination is conserved in rice, and that OsUBC13 may be involved in DDT and other cellular processes. In addition, OsUBC13 is constitutively expressed at a high level even under various stress conditions, suggesting that it is a housekeeping gene.
Fetal Glucocorticoid Synthesis Is Required for Development of Fetal Adrenal Medulla and Hypothalamus Feedback Suppression
Authors: Huang Chen-Che Jeff , Shih Meng-Chun Monica , Hsu Nai-Chi , Chien Yu , Chung Bon-chu
Published: September 2012

During pregnancy, fetal glucocorticoid is derived from both maternal supply and fetal secretion. We have created mice with a disruption of the Cyp11a1 gene resulting in loss of fetal steroid secretion but preserving the maternal supply. Cyp11a1null embryos have appreciable although lower amounts of circulating corticosterone, the major mouse glucocorticoid, suggesting that transplacental corticosterone is a major source of corticosterone in fetal circulation. These embryos thus provide a means to examine the effect of fetal glucocorticoids. The adrenal in Cyp11a1 null embryos was disorganized with abnormal mitochondria and oil accumulation. The adrenal medullary cells did not express phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase and synthesized no epinephrine. Cyp11a1 null embryos had decreased diencephalon Hsd11b1, increased diencephalon Crh, and increased pituitary Pomc expression, leading to higher adrenocorticotropin level in the plasma. These data indicate blunted feedback suppression despite reasonable amounts of circulating corticosterone. Thus, the corticosterone synthesized in situ by the fetus is required for negative feedback suppression of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and for catecholamine synthesis in adrenal medulla.
Vitamin D Receptor Activation Induces Peptide YY Transcription in Pancreatic Islets
Authors: Choi Mihwa , Ozeki Jun , Hashizume Masami , Kato Shigeaki , Ishihara Hisamitsu , Makishima Makoto
Published: September 2012

Peptide YY (PYY) is a peptide hormone secreted from L cells in the intestine after food intake and regulates appetite and intestinal function. PYY is also expressed in the pancreas, but the mechanisms of regulation of pancreatic PYY expression have not been elucidated. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a nuclear receptor for the active form of vitamin D3 and regulates numerous physiological processes. Because VDR is expressed in the pancreas, we investigated the role of pancreatic VDR activation and found that Pyy is a VDR target gene in the mouse pancreas. Treatment of mice with 1α-hydroxyvitamin D3 increased plasma PYY levels. VDR activation increased mRNA and protein expression of PYY in the pancreatic islets of mice and pancreatic endocrine cell lines but did not change intestinal PYY expression. 1α-Hydroxyvitamin D3-dependent induction of pancreatic and plasma PYY was abolished in VDR-null mice. We identified a functional vitamin D-responsive element in the mouse Pyy promoter using chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, EMSA, and luciferase promoter assay. Thus, Pyy is a tissue-specific VDR target gene. The pancreatic VDR-PYY pathway may mediate a regulatory function of vitamin D in the neuroendocrine system.
17β-Estradiol and Progesterone Regulate Expression of β-Amyloid Clearance Factors in Primary Neuron Cultures and Female Rat Brain
Authors: Jayaraman Anusha , Carroll Jenna C. , Morgan Todd E. , Lin Sharon , Zhao Liqin , Arimoto Jason M. , Murphy M. Paul , Beckett Tina L. , Finch Caleb E. , Brinton Roberta Diaz , Pike Christian J.
Published: September 2012

The accumulation of β-amyloid protein (Aβ) is a key risk factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease. The ovarian sex steroid hormones 17β-estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) have been shown to regulate Aβ accumulation, although the underlying mechanism(s) remain to be fully elucidated. In this study, we investigate the effects of E2 and P4 treatment on the expression levels of Aβ clearance factors including insulin-degrading enzyme, neprilysin, endothelin-converting enzyme 1 and 2, angiotensin-converting enzyme, and transthyretin, both in primary neuron cultures and female rat brains. Our results show that E2 and P4 affect the expression levels of several Aβ clearance factors in dose- and time-dependent manners. Most notably, expression of insulin-degrading enzyme is significantly increased by both hormones in cultured neurons and in vivo and is inversely associated with the soluble Aβ levels in vivo. These findings further define sex steroid hormone actions involved in regulation of Aβ, a relationship potentially important to therapeutic approaches aimed at reducing risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Ghrelin Receptor Expression and Colocalization with Anterior Pituitary Hormones Using a GHSR-GFP Mouse Line
Authors: Reichenbach Alex , Steyn Frederik J. , Sleeman Mark W. , Andrews Zane B.
Published: September 2012

Ghrelin is the endogenous ligand for the GH secretagogue receptor (GHSR) and robustly stimulates GH release from the anterior pituitary gland. Ghrelin also regulates the secretion of anterior pituitary hormones including TSH, LH, prolactin (PRL), and ACTH. However, the relative contribution of a direct action at the GHSR in the anterior pituitary gland vs. an indirect action at the GHSR in the hypothalamus remains undefined. We used a novel GHSR-enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter mouse to quantify GHSR coexpression with GH, TSH, LH, PRL, and ACTH anterior pituitary cells in males vs. females and in chow-fed or calorie-restricted (CR) mice. GHSR-eGFP-expressing cells were only observed in anterior pituitary. The number of GHSR-eGFP-expressing cells was higher in male compared with females, and CR did not affect the GHSR-eGFP cell number. Double staining revealed 77% of somatotrophs expressed GHSR-eGFP in both males and females. Nineteen percent and 12.6% of corticotrophs, 21% and 9% of lactotrophs, 18% and 19% of gonadotrophs, and 3% and 9% of males and females, respectively, expressed GHSR-eGFP. CR increased the number of TSH cells, but suppressed the number of lactotrophs and gonadotrophs, expressing GHSR-eGFP compared with controls. These studies support a robust stimulatory action of ghrelin via the GHSR on GH secretion and identify a previously unknown sexual dimorphism in the GHSR expression in the anterior pituitary. CR affects GHSR-eGFP expression on lactotrophs, gonadotrophs, and thyrotrophs, which may mediate reproductive function and energy metabolism during periods of negative energy balance. The low to moderate expression of GHSR-eGFP suggests that ghrelin plays a minor direct role on remaining anterior pituitary cells.