bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
HEPATOCYTE GROWTH FACTOR PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE REGULATION OF CYTOKINE PRODUCTION AND INDUCTION OF ENDOTHELIAL PROGENITOR CELL MOBILIZATION: A PILOT GENE THERAPY STUDY IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY HEART DISEASE
Authors: Yang Zhi‐Jian , Xu Shun‐Lin , Chen Bo , Zhang Shu‐Lan , Zhang You‐Long , Wei Wang , Ma Dong‐Chao , Wang Lian‐Sheng , Zhu Tie‐Bing , Li Chun‐Jian , Wang Hui , Cao Ke‐Jiang , Gao Wei , Huang Jun , Ma Wen‐Zhu , Wu Zu‐Ze
Published: February 2009

There is growing evidence of the beneficial effects of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in myocardial infarction, heart failure and occlusive peripheral arterial disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of intracoronary administration of an adenovirus vector encoding the human HGF gene (Ad‐HGF) on serum levels of cytokines and mobilization of CD34+ and CD117+ cells in patients with coronary heart disease.

Twenty‐one patients with severe coronary artery disease were recruited to the study: 11 patients received both a stent and administration of Ad‐HGF; the remaining 10 patients received a stent alone and served as the control group. Blood samples were obtained from the femoral vein before and then 6 and 24 h, 3 and 6 days and 2 weeks after treatment for the isolation of serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Intracoronary administration of Ad‐HGF in patients with coronary heart disease resulted in high levels of HGF gene expression, as well as its receptor c‐met, compared with the control group, as demonstrated by real‐time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. In addition, serum levels of HGF, vascular endothelial growth factor, monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 and interleukin (IL)‐10 were increased and serum levels of IL‐8 were decreased in patients administered Ad‐HGF compared with the control group. The percentage of CD34+ and CD117+ cells in the peripheral blood increased in patients administered Ad‐HGF.

In conclusion, HGF gene therapy may play an important role in the regulation of cytokines and the induction of endothelial progenitor cell mobilization in patients with coronary heart disease.
AMELIORATIVE EFFECTS OF HISTAMINE ON SPATIAL MEMORY DEFICITS INDUCED BY SCOPOLAMINE INFUSION INTO BILATERAL DORSAL OR VENTRAL HIPPOCAMPUS AS EVALUATED BY THE RADIAL ARM MAZE TASK
Authors: Xu Li‐Sha , Fan Yan‐Ying , He Ping , Zhang Wei‐Ping , Hu Wei‐Wei , Chen Zhong
Published: February 2009

The present study examined the role of the hippocampal histaminergic system in the regulation of spatial memory deficit in rats using the radial arm maze task after scopolamine injection into the bilateral dorsal (DH) or ventral (VH) hippocampus.

Bilateral injection of scopolamine (5 µg/site) into both the DH and VH impaired spatial memory in the retrieval memory process. Injection of histamine (50 or 100 ng/site) in the DH and intraperitoneal injection of histidine (100 mg/kg) markedly improved working memory and reference memory deficits induced by scopolamine injection into the DH. The histamine H1receptor antagonist pyrilamine (1 µg/site) abolished the ameliorative effects of histidine on working memory deficits, whereas both pyrilamine and the H2receptor antagonist cimetidine (0.5 µg/site) abolished the effect of histidine on reference memory.

Local injection of histamine (25 or 50 ng/site) into the VH and systemic injection of histidine (50 or 100 mg/kg) markedly improved working memory deficits induced by scopolamine injection into the VH, but did not improve the deficits in reference memory. Injection of both pyrilamine (0.2, 0.5 and 1 µg/site) and cimetidine (0.1 and 0.5 µg/site) into the VH reversed the effects of histidine.

The results of the present study indicate that histamine has different actions on cholinergic‐related memory in the the DH and VH. Histamine in the DH ameliorates spatial working memory deficits by acting on histamine H1receptors and reference memory deficits through both H1and H2receptors. However, histamine in the VH ameliorates working memory deficits via an action on both H1and H2receptors.
INHIBITION OF BRAIN RENIN–ANGIOTENSIN SYSTEM IMPROVES DIASTOLIC CARDIAC FUNCTION FOLLOWING MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION IN RATS
Authors: Araujo IG , Trindade DC , Mecawi AS , Sonoda‐Côrtes Rafael , Werneck‐de‐Castro JPS , Costa‐e‐Sousa RH , Reis LC , Olivares EL
Published: February 2009

Recently, we demonstrated that oral captopril treatment improved diastolic function and attenuated cardiac remodelling after myocardial infarction (MI) in rats. Considering the feasible role of the brain renin–angiotensin system (RAS) in heart failure, in the present study we investigated the role of the captopril injected intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) on the progression of cardiac dysfunction.

Male Wistar rats underwent experimental MI or sham operation. Infarcted animals received daily i.c.v. injections of captopril (approximately 200 mg/kg; MI + Cap) or saline (MI) from 11 to 18 days after infarction. Electro‐ and echocardiogram assessments were performed before and after i.c.v. treatment (10 and 18 days after MI, respectively). Water and hypertonic saline ingestion were determined daily between 12 and 16 days after MI.

Electrocardiograms from the MI and MI + Cap groups showed signs that resembled large MI before and after i.c.v. treatment. However, despite similar systolic dysfunction observed in both groups, only captopril‐treated rats exhibited reduced left ventricular (LV) dilatation and improved LV filling, as assessed by echocardiograms, and low levels of water ingestion compared with the saline‐treated control group.

The results of the present study suggest that the brain RAS may participate in the development of cardiac dysfunction induced by ischaemia and that inhibition of the brain RAS may provide a new strategy for the prevention of diastolic dysfunction.
Inherited understandings: the breast as object
Authors: McBride‐Henry Karen , White Gillian , Benn Cheryl
Published: February 2009

This paper discusses findings from a research study that investigated the experience of being a breastfeeding woman in New Zealand. The study was motivated by a desire to better understand why the majority of New Zealand women wean their infants before 6 months of age, despite the benefits of prolonged breastfeeding being well accepted. Nineteen women, who were breastfeeding or had recently breastfed, were engaged in unstructured interviews about their experience, and the results were examined using a reflective lifeworld research methodology. The findings presented here demonstrate that women often employ an interpretive framework that is aligned with the philosophical tradition of Descartes’ mind–body split, also know as Cartesian dualism. This leads to a widely held perception of the breast as an object, which emerged in the participants’ narratives and is explored using Heidegger's philosophical interpretation of equipment. We conclude that the objectification of the breast in our society fails to provide women with language that describes the breastfeeding experience in a meaningful way, thus undermining women's ability to articulate and reconcile their embodied breastfeeding experiences.
The experience of contemporary peacekeepers healing from trauma
Authors: Ray Susan L
Published: February 2009

This research study was an interpretive inquiry into the experience of contemporary peacekeepers healing from trauma. Ten contemporary peacekeepers were interviewed who have sought treatment from trauma resulting from deployments to Somalia, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia. A thematic analysis of the text was undertaken, in which themes emerged to document and understand the ways in which contemporary peacekeepers heal from trauma. Narratives from the transcribed interviews were reviewed with the participants and reflective journaling by the researcher provided further clarification of the data to understand the experience. The peacekeepers’ descriptions of the situations of their bodies in time, space and relation provided a fresh way into understanding the embodied nature of healing from trauma. Three overarching themes: the centrality of brotherhood and grieving loss in the military family; the centrality of time and the body in healing from trauma; and the military response as betrayal and creating trauma from within emerged from the inquiry which will contribute to more effective practice guidelines for the care of contemporary peacekeepers healing from trauma.
Distanciation in Ricoeur's theory of interpretation: narrations in a study of life experiences of living with chronic illness and home mechanical ventilation
Authors: Dreyer Pia Sander , Pedersen Birthe D
Published: February 2009

Within the caring science paradigm, variations of a method of interpretation inspired by the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur's theory of interpretation are used. This method consists of several levels of interpretation: a naïve reading, a structural analysis, and a critical analysis and discussion. Within this paradigm, the aim of this article is to present and discuss a means of creating distance in the interpretation and the text structure by using narration in a poetic language linked to the meaning of the text. Ricoeur's ‘Hermeneutical function of distanciation’ will be introduced, and this concept of distanciation will be illustrated with reference to narrations from a study of patient's life experiences living with chronic illness and home mechanical ventilation in Denmark. Distanciation in the interpretation objectifies the text, and narration in a poetic language creates a particular kind of mediation in the interpretation. That narration represents an interpreted understanding of the whole, which facilitates an appropriate and evocative presentation of the interpreted data. This way of objectifying the text through narration can contribute yet another perspective to Ricoeur's rich and varied theory of interpretation.
Reflecting on the ongoing aftermath of heart transplantation: Jean‐Luc Nancy's L’intrus
Authors: Wynn Francine
Published: February 2009

This paper explores Jean‐Luc Nancy's philosophical reflection on surviving his own heart transplant. In ‘The Intruder’, he raises central questions concerning the relations between what he refers to as a ‘proper’ life, that is, a life that is thought to be one's own singular ‘lived experience’, and medical techniques, shaped at this particular historical juncture by cyclosporine or immuno‐suppresssion. He describes the temporal nature of an ever‐increasing sense of strangeness and fragmentation which accompanies his heart transplant. In doing so, Nancy opens up the concealed of transplantation in terms of the problematic ‘gift’ of a ‘foreign’ organ, the unremitting suffering intrusiveness of the treatment regimen, and the living of life as ‘bare life’. He uncovers and exposes the relentless uncanniness that pervades the post‐transplant experience, which for him is an example of our humanistic, never‐ending impulse, to alter ourselves. Nevertheless, Nancy offers no answer to this dilemma, but instead calls us to think about the meaning or ‘sense’ of the prolonging of life and deferring of death, which currently drives our medical interventions.
Implementation of a government policy programme on Operation Kvinnofrid
Authors: Häggblom Anette ME , Möller Anders R
Published: February 2009

Today, intimate partner violence is addressed by most government authorities, including the government of Åland. In Åland the government required the official organizations to implement an Operation Kvinnofrid Programme. In this study, a descriptive case study design was used to explore the impact of the government's recommendations to the organizations to implement the programme. The organizations responses were limited. They used a top‐down approach and almost no resources were allocated to the issue.
Surgical practices for urological tumors: A nation‐wide survey in Japan in 2005
Authors: Kawakami Satoru , Kihara Kazunori
Published: February 2009

Objective:  To clarify how popularly the minimally invasive surgeries for urological tumors are currently conducted in Japan and to predict future trends.

Methods:  A nation‐wide survey was performed by the Japanese Association for Minimum‐Incision Endoscopic Surgery under the support of the Japanese Urological Association (JUA). A questionnaire was sent to 1186 JUA‐certified educational institutions asking about surgical practices for representative urological tumors performed in 2005 and those to be performed in the near future. Surgical modalities were categorized into open, laparoscopic and minimized‐incision surgeries, defined as that the operator considers the incision to be minimal and including minimum‐incision endoscopic surgery but not limited.

Results:  506 of the 1186 institutions (43%) responded and 20 193 surgical procedures were reported with radical prostatectomy being most frequently performed. Overall 20% and 6% of the procedures were performed with laparoscopic and minimized‐incision surgeries, respectively. More than 20% of the respondents performed open surgery with reduced incision size than before. Surgical procedures without inserting fingers or hand were reported in 5–11% of the open surgeries and 33–45% of the minimized‐incision surgeries. Endoscopy was utilized in 4–14% of the open surgeries and 24–59% of the minimized‐incision surgeries. There was no difference in the incidence of complications among the surgical modalities. 40% and 27% of the respondents are aiming at laparoscopic surgery and at minimized‐incision surgery, respectively.

Conclusions:  The results of this nation‐wide survey indicate that minimally invasive surgeries, currently performed in 26% of urological tumor surgeries, are aimed at by the majority of the survey respondents.
Sulfate‐reducing bacteria in marine sediment (Aarhus Bay, Denmark): abundance and diversity related to geochemical zonation
Authors: Leloup Julie , Fossing Henrik , Kohls Katharina , Holmkvist Lars , Borowski Christian , Jørgensen Bo Barker
Published: February 2009

In order to better understand the main factors that influence the distribution of sulfate‐reducing bacteria (SRB), their population size and their metabolic activity in high‐ and low‐sulfate zones, we studied the SRB diversity in 3‐ to 5‐m‐deep sediment cores, which comprised the entire sulfate reduction zone and the upper methanogenic zone. By combining EMA (ethidium monoazide that can only enter damaged/dead cells and may also bind to free DNA) treatment with real‐time PCR, we determined the distributions of total intact bacteria (16S rDNA genes) and intact SRB (dsrAB gene), their relative population sizes, and the proportion of dead cells or free DNA with depth. The abundance of SRB corresponded in average to 13% of the total bacterial community in the sulfate zone, 22% in the sulfate–methane transition zone and 8% in the methane zone. Compared with the total bacterial community, there were relatively less dead/damaged cells and free DNA present than among the SRB and this fraction did not change systematically with depth. By DGGE analysis, based on the amplification of the dsrA gene (400 bp), we found that the richness of SRB did not change with depth through the geochemical zones; but the clustering was related to the chemical zonation. A full‐length clone library of the dsrAB gene (1900 bp) was constructed from four different depths (20, 110, 280 and 500 cm), and showed that the dsrAB genes in the near‐surface sediment (20 cm) was mainly composed of sequences close to the Desulfobacteraceae, including marine complete and incomplete oxidizers such as Desulfosarcina, Desulfobacterium and Desulfococcus. The three other libraries were predominantly composed of Gram‐positive SRB.
Brenneria salicis, the bacterium causing watermark disease in willow, resides as an endophyte in wood
Authors: Maes Martine , Huvenne Hanneke , Messens Eric
Published: February 2009

Brenneria salicis has been studied in willow wood only in relation to watermark disease. In this pathogenic condition, the bacterium occurs at high concentrations. Pathogenicity of B. salicis is still uncontrollable and the disease unpredictable because the plant–bacteria interaction is not understood. Thanks to molecular techniques B. salicis can be detected at low concentrations, which are found in most non‐pathogenic interactions. Brenneria salicis was identified and traced with a new specific three‐primer polymerase chain reaction and its identity and relative concentration in biological samples confirmed through denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiling. Brenneria salicis was found in symptomless willows sampled randomly in Flanders agricultural areas, in young nursery willows, and also in poplar (Populus) and alder (Alnus). It harboured the nitrogenase reductase gene NifH and promoted growth and chlorophyll in willow. Inoculated luminescence‐marked B. salicis circulated through the whole plant without inducing disease and exuded at the leaf margins. Other willow endophytes identified were Rahnella, Sphingomonas and Methylobacterium. In conclusion, because endophytic B. salicis is generally observed in willow, disease must not be dependent on infection. Leaf‐to‐leaf spread is proposed as an important mechanism for spread of B. salicis.
Phylogeny of Syllidae (Polychaeta) based on morphological data
Authors: Aguado M. Teresa , Martín Guillermo San
Published: February 2009

The phylogeny of Syllidae is assessed in two parsimony analyses of 107 morphological characters. The first analysis included one species of each of the 71 genera of the Syllidae, as well as members of other close families. In the second analysis, 23 poorly known genera were excluded. Character information is based on the examination of available types, additional non‐types and newly collected material. Syllidae, except Bollandia Glasby, 1994 is monophyletic. Both analyses supported three of the four traditional subfamilies (Exogoninae, Syllinae and Autolytinae) as monophyletic, whereas Eusyllinae was clearly a polyphyletic group. The genera Anoplosyllis Claparède, 1868, Astreptosyllis Kudenov & Dorsey, 1982, Streptosyllis Webster & Benedict, 1884, Streptospinigera Kudenov, 1983 and SyllidesÖrsted, 1845 comprise a well‐supported monophyletic group, which we classified as a new subfamily: Anoplosyllinae n. subfam. Our results indicated high levels of homoplasy in the morphological characteristics that traditionally used to differentiate groups, such as the fusion of palps and the presence of nuchal epaulettes. Considering the reproductive modes, schizogamy has appeared twice in the family as the derived condition evolving from epigamy, and Exogoninae may be divided into two monophyletic groups based on the brood system.
Lymphatic spread in squamous cell carcinoma of the penis is independent of elevated lymph vessel density
Authors: Naumann Carsten Maik , Al‐Najar Amr , Alkatout Ibrahim , Hegele Axel , Korda Joanna Beate , Bolenz Christian , Kalthoff Holger , Sipos Bence , Juenemann Klaus‐Peter , Van Der Horst Christof
Published: February 2009

OBJECTIVE

To examine the potential effect of tumour‐induced lymphangiogenesis in squamous cell carcinoma of the penis as a possible mechanism responsible for lymphatic spread.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Specimens from 65 patients with invasive tumours (31 with and 34 without metastases) were evaluated for lymphatic vessel density (LVD) by the ‘hot‐spot’ method as the density of lymphatic endothelium hyaluronan receptor (LYVE‐1)‐positive lymphatic vessels per unit area of tissue. LVD was examined in peritumoral, intratumoral and normal tissue areas. The LVD of each tumour in these locations was calculated as the mean of the three highest lymph vessel counts in three to five hot‐spots. The nodal status was based on histopathological examination or an uneventful follow‐up of ≥2 years.

RESULTS

In all patients the mean (sd) peritumoral LVD of 8.05 (3.14)/0.75 mm2 was significantly higher than for intratumoral and normal tissue, of 4.67 (2.58) and 5.20 (1.87), respectively (P < 0.001). The slightly lower intratumoral LVD than in normal tissue was not significant. The peritumoral LVD was 8.07 (3.29) in metastatic and 8.03 (3.03) in non‐metastatic carcinomas. The intratumoral LVD was 5.13 (3.01) in node‐positive carcinomas and 4.28 (2.15) in tumours with no lymphatic node metastasis (LNM). Comparing tumours with and without LNM, there was no statistically significant difference between intra‐ and peritumoral LVD.

CONCLUSION

Increased LVD does not significantly affect the lymphatic spread in penile carcinomas, indicating that there must be alternative mechanisms that selectively enable tumour cells to invade lymph vessels and to metastasize into the lymph nodes.
A multicolour fluorescence in situ hybridization test predicts recurrence in patients with high‐risk superficial bladder tumours undergoing intravesical therapy
Authors: Whitson Jared , Berry Anna , Carroll Peter , Konety Badrinath
Published: February 2009

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether a multicolour fluorescence in situ hybridization test (UroVysionTM, Abbott Molecular Inc., Des Plaines, IL, USA) in patients with high‐risk superficial bladder tumours maintains its predictive ability in a multivariate model for recurrence and progression, incorporating clinical and pathological predictors of outcome.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The charts of patients with superficial bladder cancer treated with induction or maintenance intravesical therapy (IVT) were reviewed retrospectively. UroVysion testing was used at the beginning and end of each IVT cycle, and cytology and cystoscopy 6 weeks after completing each cycle. Kaplan‐Meier actuarial survival was analysed, stratified by the UroVysion result after IVT. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify significant predictors of recurrence.

RESULTS

In all, 42 patients had induction IVT with bacille Calmette‐Guérin (BCG), BCG + interferon, or mitomycin. The median follow‐up was 21 months. Recurrent disease was detected in 18 patients. In a univariate analysis, chronic renal insufficiency (hazard ratio 12.1, P = 0.03), positive cytology after IVT (2.7, P = 0.05), and a positive UroVysion test after IVT (8.3, P < 0.01) were predictive of failure. In the multivariate analysis, high grade disease (5.3, P = 0.05), a risk score of >6 (4.7, P = 0.02) and a positive UroVysion test after IVT (6.7, P < 0.01) were significant predictors of recurrence.

CONCLUSION

In patients with high‐risk superficial bladder tumours undergoing IVT, a positive UroVysion test after treatment is highly predictive of recurrence, even in a multivariate model. Additional adjuvant therapy might be necessary in these patients to improve the outcome.
Global pattern of NPP to GPP ratio derived from MODIS data: effects of ecosystem type, geographical location and climate
Authors: Zhang Yangjian , Xu Ming , Chen Hua , Adams Jonathan
Published: February 2009

Aim To examine the global pattern of the net primary production (NPP)/gross primary production (GPP) ratio of the Earth's land area along geographical and climatic gradients.

Location The global planetary ecosystem.

Methods The 4‐year average annual NPP/GPP ratio of the Earth's land area was calculated using 2000–03 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. The global pattern of the NPP/GPP ratio was investigated by comparing it among each typical terrestrial ecosystem and plotting it along a geographical and climatic gradient, including latitude, altitude, temperature and precipitation.

Results The global terrestrial ecosystem had an average NPP/GPP ratio value of 0.52 with minor variation from 2000 to 2003. However, the NPP/GPP ratio showed considerable spatial variation associated with ecosystem type, geographical location and climate. Densely vegetated ecosystems had a lower NPP/GPP ratio than sparsely vegetated ecosystems. Forest ecosystems had a lower NPP/GPP ratio than shrub and herbaceous ecosystems. Geographically, the NPP/GPP ratio increased with altitude. In the Southern Hemisphere, the NPP/GPP ratio decreased along latitude from 30° to 10° and it exhibited high fluctuation in the Northern Hemisphere. Climatically, the NPP/GPP ratio exhibited a decreasing trend along enhanced precipitation when it was less than 2300 mm year−1and a static trend when the annual precipitation was over 2300 mm. The NPP/GPP ratio showed a decreasing trend along temperature when it was between –20 °C and 10 °C, and showed an increasing trend along rising temperature when it was between –10 °C and 20 °C. Within each ecosystem, the NPP/GPP ratio revealed a similar trend to the global trend along temperature and precipitation.

Conclusions The NPP/GPP ratio exhibited a pattern depending on the main climatic characteristics such as temperature and precipitation and geographical factors such as latitude and altitude. The findings of this research challenge the widely held assumption that the NPP/GPP ratio is consistent regardless of ecosystem type.
Invasion success of alien plants: do habitat affinities in the native distribution range matter?
Authors: Hejda Martin , Pyšek Petr , Pergl Jan , Sádlo Jiří , Chytrý Milan , Jarošík Vojtěch
Published: February 2009

Aim  To assess how habitat affinities in the native distribution range influence the invasion success of 282 central European neophytes (alien plants introduced after ad 1500).

Location  Czech Republic.

Methods  Classification trees were used to determine which native habitats donate the most alien species, the correspondence between habitats occupied by species in their native and invaded distribution ranges, and invasion success of species originating from different habitats.

Results  The species most likely to naturalize in Central Europe are those associated with thermophile woodland fringes in their native range (81%), cultivated areas of gardens and parks (75%) and broad‐leaved deciduous woodlands (72%). The largest proportions of invasive species recruit from those that occur on riverine terraces and eroded slopes, or grow in both deciduous woodland and riverine scrub. When the relative role of habitats in the native range is assessed as a determinant of the probability that a species will become invasive in concert with other factors (the species’ residence time, life history, region of origin), the direct effect of habitat is negligible. However, the effect of native habitats on patterns of invasions observed in central Europe is manifested by large differences in the numbers of species they supply to the invaded region. More than 50 neophytes were recruited from each of the following habitats: dry grasslands, ruderal habitats, deciduous woodland, inland cliffs, rock pavements and outcrops, and tall‐herb fringes and meadows.

Main conclusions  Casual species recruit from a wider range of habitats in their native range than they occupy in the invaded range; naturalized but not invasive species inhabit a comparable spectrum of habitats in both ranges, and successful invaders occupy a wider range of habitats in the invaded than in the native range. This supports the idea that the invasive phase of the process is associated with changes in biological features that allow for extension of the spectrum of habitats invaded.
An investigation of the effectiveness of ready‐to‐eat breakfast cereals in weight loss: comparison between single and mixed varieties
Authors: Lightowler H. J. , Henry C. J. K.
Published: February 2009

The present study investigated the effectiveness of ready‐to‐eat cereals eaten daily for breakfast for six weeks and as a substitute for lunch for two of these six weeks in achieving weight loss. Forty‐one overweight and obese subjects (body mass index 25–35 kg/m2) were randomised to either a single cereal (SC) or a variety cereal (VC) group. All subjects consumed their allocated cereal(s) for breakfast and lunch for two weeks followed by ad libitum intake for the rest of the day. For weeks 3–6, subjects continued with their allocated cereal(s) for breakfast only and ate ad libitum for lunch and dinner. Mean weight loss at weeks two and six was −1.1 kg and −1.4 kg, respectively. At the end of week two, 85% of subjects had lost weight, and at the end of the study period (week six), 73% of subjects had achieved weight loss. Greater weight loss was observed in the VC compared with the SC group at weeks two and six. Ready‐to‐eat cereals eaten daily for breakfast for six weeks and used as a substitute for lunch for the first two weeks resulted in significant weight loss at week two that was sustained at week six. This study has shown that ready‐to‐eat breakfast cereals eaten daily for breakfast and used as a meal substitute, in particular the provision of a variety of cereals, are an effective method of achieving weight loss.
Saturated fatty acid consumption: outlining the scale of the problem and assessing the solutions
Authors: Mason P. , Porter S. C. , Berry S. E. , Stillman P. , Steele C. , Kirby A. , Griffin B. A. , Minihane A. M.
Published: February 2009

The proportion of energy from saturated fatty acids (SFA) has fallen markedly over the past 20 years and now accounts for 13% of dietary energy. However, values still remain above the recommended 11% target. An elevated SFA intake is associated with raised plasma total and low density lipoprotein (LDL)‐cholesterol and increased risk of coronary heart disease. Replacing SFA with cis‐unsaturated fatty acids results in a favourable change in total/high density lipoprotein‐cholesterol but there is no significant change when SFA are replaced by carbohydrate. In order to achieve the target intake in the UK, the Food Standards Agency has launched its ‘saturated fat and energy campaign’. Lessons from other countries demonstrate the effectiveness of similar campaigns in improving their nation's health. The food industry is identified as playing a key role in achieving a population SFA reduction by the reformulation of products and relabelling of foods to provide and guide individuals towards healthier choices. This review outlines the current intakes and main dietary sources of SFA in the UK. It highlights the health implications of a SFA‐rich diet and identifies what strategies can be implemented to reduce average population SFA intakes.
Dialectical Thinking and Coping Flexibility: A Multimethod Approach
Authors: Cheng Cecilia
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT
Coping flexibility refers to the formulation of flexible coping strategies that meet distinct demands under changing circumstances. Dialectical thinking was proposed to be related to flexible coping across situations. The hypothesized link between dialectical thinking and coping flexibility was explored by a multimethod approach. In Study 1, the association between dialectical thinking and coping flexibility was examined using a cross‐sectional design. In Study 2, the hypothesized link was tested using an experimental paradigm in which dialectical thinking was manipulated by priming procedures. Participants' responses to different hypothetical stressful situations were assessed after priming. Study 3 adopted a prospective design in which dialectical thinking assessed at an initial phase was a predictor of changes in coping flexibility and state anxiety over a 12‐month period. Results from the three studies consistently revealed a positive relationship between dialectical thinking and coping flexibility.
Maltreated Children's Representations of Mother and an Additional Caregiver: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Manashko Shany , Besser Avi , Priel Beatriz
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT
In the current longitudinal investigation, we explored the continuity of and changes in the mental representations of the mother and an additional caregiver among forty‐five 9‐ to 11‐year‐old children who had been severely maltreated and subsequently placed in long‐term residential care as well as the relationships between the content and structure of these representations and teacher's assessments of the child's externalizing and internalizing symptoms. At Time 1, a nonmaltreated comparison group was assessed concomitantly. Compared to nonmaltreated children, maltreated children scored higher for externalizing and internalizing symptoms, and their maternal representations were found to be significantly less benevolent and integrated and more punitive. In addition, among the maltreated children, the additional caregiver representations were found to be more benevolent and integrated, and less punitive, than the maternal representations. After 30 months, the maltreated children's levels of externalizing and internalizing symptoms diminished, their maternal representations become more benevolent and less punitive, and the additional caregiver representations became less benevolent. Moreover, the Benevolence of the additional caregiver representation was found to predict these children's changes in externalizing symptoms beyond the effects of their symptomatology and its associations with the Benevolence of these representations at Time 1.
Identification of a rice Actin2 gene regulatory region for high‐level expression of transgenes in monocots‡
Authors: He Chengkun , Lin Zhihong , McElroy David , Wu Ray
Published: February 2009

We have isolated and characterized the 5′ region of the rice actin2 gene (OsAct2), which contains 793 bp of sequence upstream of the OsAct2 transcription initiation site, 58 bp of the first non‐coding exon, 1736 bp of the 5′ intron and the first 8 bp (non‐coding sequence) of the second exon. It was found that the 5′ region of OsAct2 is an efficient gene regulatory region for driving the constitutive expression of foreign genes in transgenic rice. In situ histochemical results indicated that OsAct2::GUS (GUS, β‐glucuronidase) gene expression in transgenic rice plants is high in sporophytic and gametophytic tissues. It was demonstrated that a 2.6‐kb upstream sequence of the OsAct2 translation initiation codon contains all of the 5′ regulatory elements necessary for high‐level gus expression in transgenic rice tissues. OsAct2 promoter activity was significantly enhanced by the deletion of a 1590‐bp segment from the central region of the first intron. The +96 to +274 region of the intron negatively regulates gus expression in leaves. To identify regulatory elements within the OsAct2 promoter, nested truncations of the promoter region were made and fused to gus. The results showed that the region from –1 to –376 was sufficient for promoter activity. In addition, two OsAct2‐based expression vectors for use in monocot transformation were developed to promote the high‐level expression of foreign genes.
Social Protection in the ‘Real World’: Issues, Models and Challenges
Authors: Gentilini Ugo
Published: February 2009

Social protection has evolved rapidly both conceptually and in practice, and is now a key policy issue in humanitarian and development debates. However, debates have sometimes been misled by approaches that pay inadequate attention to context‐specific factors, do not fully consider the sequence of interventions, and are too instrument‐centred. This article presents a conceptual framework to tailor social‐protection policy and implementation more closely to country contexts. Four stylised models of social protection are identified, corresponding to scenarios where social‐protection systems are absent, where elements of such systems exist, and where systems are emerging or have been consolidated. Each model is shown to lead to different challenges, implications and areas for further research.
National AIDS Commissions in Africa: Performance and Emerging Challenges
Authors: Morah Erasmus , Ihalainen Mira
Published: February 2009

This article consolidates and expands on evidence on how National AIDS Commissions (NACs) in sub‐Saharan Africa are measuring up to expectations that drove their rapid adoption across the continent. While their overall performance seems reasonably good, most NACs still lack adequate power and incentive structures to hold line ministries accountable, a key requirement for co‐ordinating activities and mainstreaming HIV‐AIDS across the public sector. Second‐generation African NACs urgently need the authority and institutional stature to effectively co‐ordinate the channelling of the larger funds now available through government bureaucracy. The evolution of the epidemic also imposes requirements different from those when the current NAC architecture was crafted.
The World Bank's Use of Country Systems for Procurement: A Good Idea Gone Bad?
Authors: Pallas Christopher L. , Wood Jonathan
Published: February 2009

The World Bank's newest country‐systems policy, adopted in 2008, allows borrowers to use their national systems to conduct procurement and manage finances for Bank‐funded projects. In principle, it will incentivise institutional reform, increase local ownership, and facilitate donor harmonisation. In practice, its content and the handling of stakeholder input seem to indicate that the Bank's dominant desire has been to preserve its market share. This article demonstrates (i) how deficiencies in the policy may reverse the Bank's work on governance and undercut aid efficiency, and (ii) how its handling of public consultations on the policy ignored the Bank's best practices. It concludes with steps for improving the policy, including re‐opening dialogue with key stakeholders.
Brainstem transcription of speech is disrupted in children with autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Russo Nicole , Nicol Trent , Trommer Barbara , Zecker Steve , Kraus Nina
Published: February 2009

Language impairment is a hallmark of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The origin of the deficit is poorly understood although deficiencies in auditory processing have been detected in both perception and cortical encoding of speech sounds. Little is known about the processing and transcription of speech sounds at earlier (brainstem) levels or about how background noise may impact this transcription process. Unlike cortical encoding of sounds, brainstem representation preserves stimulus features with a degree of fidelity that enables a direct link between acoustic components of the speech syllable (e.g. onsets) to specific aspects of neural encoding (e.g. waves V and A). We measured brainstem responses to the syllable /da/, in quiet and background noise, in children with and without ASD. Children with ASD exhibited deficits in both the neural synchrony (timing) and phase locking (frequency encoding) of speech sounds, despite normal click‐evoked brainstem responses. They also exhibited reduced magnitude and fidelity of speech‐evoked responses and inordinate degradation of responses by background noise in comparison to typically developing controls. Neural synchrony in noise was significantly related to measures of core and receptive language ability. These data support the idea that abnormalities in the brainstem processing of speech contribute to the language impairment in ASD. Because it is both passively elicited and malleable, the speech‐evoked brainstem response may serve as a clinical tool to assess auditory processing as well as the effects of auditory training in the ASD population.
Face processing at birth: a Thatcher illusion study
Authors: Leo Irene , Simion Francesca
Published: February 2009

The present study was aimed at exploring newborns’ ability to recognize configural changes within real face images by testing newborns’ sensitivity to the Thatcher illusion. Using the habituation procedure, newborns’ ability to discriminate between an unaltered face image and the same face with the eyes and the mouth 180° rotated (i.e. thatcherized) was investigated. Newborns were able to discriminate an unaltered from the thatcherized version of the same face when stimuli were presented in the canonical upright orientation (Experiment 1), but failed to discriminate the same stimuli when they were presented upside‐down (Experiment 2). The results indicate that sensitivity to fine spatial information (defined as second‐order relational information) in processing upright faces is already present at birth.
Choosing your informant: weighing familiarity and recent accuracy
Authors: Corriveau Kathleen , Harris Paul L.
Published: February 2009

In two experiments, children aged 3, 4 and 5 years (N= 61) were given conflicting information about the names and functions of novel objects by two informants, one a familiar teacher, the other an unfamiliar teacher. On pre‐test trials, all three age groups invested more trust in the familiar teacher. They preferred to ask for information and to endorse the information that she supplied. In a subsequent phase, children watched as the two teachers differed in the accuracy with which they named a set of familiar objects. Half the children saw the familiar teacher name the objects accurately and the unfamiliar teacher name them inaccurately. The remaining half saw the reverse arrangement. In post‐test trials, the selective trust initially displayed by 3‐year‐olds was minimally affected by this intervening experience of differential accuracy. By contrast, the selective trust of 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds was affected. If the familiar teacher had been the more accurate, selective trust in her was intensified. If, on the other hand, the familiar teacher had been the less accurate, it was undermined, particularly among 5‐year‐olds. Thus, by 4 years of age, children trust familiar informants but moderate that trust depending on the informants’ recent history of accuracy or inaccuracy.
A competitive nonverbal false belief task for children and apes
Authors: Krachun Carla , Carpenter Malinda , Call Josep , Tomasello Michael
Published: February 2009

A nonverbal false belief task was administered to children (mean age 5 years) and two great ape species: chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus). Because apes typically perform poorly in cooperative contexts, our task was competitive. Two versions were run: in both, a human competitor witnessed an experimenter hide a reward in one of two containers. When the competitor then left the room (version A) or turned around (version B), the experimenter switched the locations of the containers. The competitor returned and reached with effort, but unsuccessfully, towards the incorrect container. Children displayed an understanding of the competitor's false belief by correctly choosing theothercontainer to find the reward. Apes did not. However, in version A (but not version B), apes looked more often at the unchosen container in false belief trials than in true belief control trials, possibly indicating some implicit or uncertain understanding that needs to be investigated further.
Slow echo: facial EMG evidence for the delay of spontaneous, but not voluntary, emotional mimicry in children with autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Oberman Lindsay M. , Winkielman Piotr , Ramachandran Vilayanur S.
Published: February 2009

Spontaneous mimicry, including that of emotional facial expressions, is important for socio‐emotional skills such as empathy and communication. Those skills are often impacted in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Successful mimicry requires not only the activation of the response, but also its appropriate speed. Yet, previous studies examined ASD differences in only response magnitude. The current study investigated timing and magnitude of spontaneous and voluntary mimicry in ASD children and matched controls using facial electromyography (EMG). First, participants viewed and recognized happy, sad, fear, anger, disgust and neutral expressions presented at different durations. Later, participants voluntarily mimicked the expressions. There were no group differences on emotion recognition and amplitude of expression‐appropriate EMG activity. However, ASD participants’ spontaneous, but not voluntary, mimicry activity was delayed by about 160 ms. This delay occurred across different expressions and presentation durations. We relate these findings to the literature on mirroring and temporal dynamics of social interaction.
Consumption of sugars and body weight
Authors: Van Baak M. A. , Astrup A.
Published: February 2009

The role of dietary sugars in the current obesity epidemic is much debated and opposing views can be found in the lay as well as scientific literature. Here we have reviewed the recent scientific literature on consumption of sugars and body weight. Main focus was on three questions: (i) What is the evidence that intake of dietary sugars is associated with higher body weight than intake of non‐sugar carbohydrates? (ii) What is the evidence that sugars in liquid form are associated with higher body weight than sugars in solid form? (iii) What is the evidence that diets with a low glycaemic index (GI) or glycaemic load (GL) are associated with lower body weight than diets high in GI or GL? We conclude that (i) there is insufficient evidence that an exchange of sugar for non‐sugar carbohydrates in the context of a reduced‐fat ad libitum diet or energy‐restricted diet results in lower body weights; (ii) observational studies suggest a possible relationship between consumption of sugar‐sweetened beverages and body weight, but there is currently insufficient supporting evidence from randomized controlled trials of sufficient size and duration; (iii) at this moment there is insufficient evidence to support a difference between liquid and solid sugar intake in body‐weight control and (iv) there is some, although not consistent, evidence for a lower body weight on diets with a lower GL, but the effect is likely to be small. There is currently no convincing evidence for a role of GI independent of GL.
Diabetes, insulin resistance and sugars
Authors: Laville M. , Nazare J.‐A.
Published: February 2009

Insulin resistance is associated with type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease and the dietary factors involved in these metabolic disorders are still misunderstood. In animal studies, sugars, particularly sucrose and fructose, have been shown to decrease insulin sensitivity, with potential association with an induced hypertriglyceridemia. But in humans, the effects of sugars on insulin sensitivity are still debated.

The present work first gives an overview of the metabolic pathways that could be implicated in the development of insulin resistance by sugars. Then, a review of the studies (intervention, prospective and cross‐sectional) on the relationship between sugars, insulin resistance and diabetes is made in order to determine the level of proof concerning the association of sugars consumption and diabetes.

All these studies failed to demonstrate an obvious relationship between the intake of total simple carbohydrates and glycaemic control or risk to develop a type 2 diabetes and particularly specific evidence is missing in terms of sucrose effect on diabetes.

Concerning fructose, there are still discrepancies between studies' conclusions about the long‐term deleterious effect on diabetes development. But its effect on lipogenesis and triglyceridemia has to be taken into account, considering the growing use of fructose in food industry and sugar‐sweetened drinks.