bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Polymorphisms of selected Xenobiotic Genes contribute to the development of Papillary Thyroid Cancer susceptibility in Middle Eastern population
Authors: Siraj Abdul K , Ibrahim Muna , Al-Rasheed Maha , Abubaker Jehad , Bu Rong , Siddiqui Shakaib U , Al-Dayel Fouad , Al-Sanea Osama , Al-Nuaim Abdulrahman , Uddin Shahab , Al-Kuraya Khawla
Published: July 2008

Background

The xenobiotic enzyme system that enables us to detoxify carcinogens exhibits identifiable genetic polymorphisms that are highly race specific. We hypothesized that polymorphisms of these genes may be associated with risk of thyroid cancer. To evaluate the role of genetic polymorphisms of xenobiotic genes in thyroid cancer, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study in Saudi population.

Methods

223 incident papillary thyroid cancer cases and 513 controls recruited from Saudi Arabian population were analyzed for the association between polymorphisms in genes encoding folic acid metabolizing enzymes MTHFR and six xenobiotics-metabolizing enzymes including CYP1A1 T3801C, C4887A, GSTP1 A1578G, C2293T, GSTM1, GSTT1, NAT2 G590A, NQO*1 C609T, using PCR-RELP.

Results

Among selected genes, CYP1A1 C4887A genotypes CA, AA and variant allele A demonstrated significant differences and greater risk of developing thyroid cancer comparing to wild type genotype CC (CA vs. CC; p < 0.0001, OR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.36–2.70, AA vs. CC; p < 0.001, OR = 3.48, 95% CI = 1.74–6.96 and CA+AA vs. CC; p < 0.0001, OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.49–2.88). GSTT1 null showed 3.48 times higher risk of developing thyroid cancer (p < 0.0001, 95% CI = 2.48–4.88) while GSTM1 null showed protective effect (p < 0.05, OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.52–0.99). Remaining loci demonstrated no significance with risk.

Conclusion

Of the 9 polymorphisms screened, we identified GST, GSTM1 and CYP1A1 C4887A, may be of importance to disease process and may be associated with papillary thyroid cancer risk in Saudi Arabian population.
Role of carotid duplex imaging in carotid screening programmes – an overview
Authors: Saleem Muhammad A , Sadat Umar , Walsh Stewart R , Young Victoria E , Gillard Jonathan H , Cooper David G , Gaunt Michael E
Published: July 2008

Background

Stroke is the third most common cause of death in the UK and the largest single cause of severe disability. Each year more than 110,000 people in England suffer from a stroke which costs the National Health Service (NHS) over GBP2.8 billion. Thus, it is imperative that patients at risk be screened for underlying carotid artery atherosclerosis.

Aim

To assess the role of carotid ultrasound in different carotid screening programmes.

Methods

A literature overview was carried out by using PubMed search engine, to identify different carotid screening programmes that had used ultrasound scan as a screening tool.

Results

It appears that the carotid ultrasound is an effective method for screening carotid artery disease in community as it effectively predicts the presence of stenosis with high accuracy. There is a need for primary care to recommend high risk patients for regular screening, to reduce stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) related morbidity and mortality.

Conclusion

Screening programmes using carotid ultrasonography contribute to public health awareness and promotion which in long term could potentially benefit in disease prevention and essentially promote better standards of healthcare.
Prognostic factors for lymph node metastasis from advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the skin of the trunk and extremities
Authors: de Lima Vazquez Vinicius , Sachetto Teoclito , Perpetuo Natalia Martins , Carvalho Andre Lopes
Published: July 2008

Background

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin of the trunk and extremities may present lymph node metastasis with difficult disease control and poor survival. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for lymph node metastasis and outcome.

Patients/Methods

Retrospective review of 57 patients with locally advanced SCC of the trunk and extremities was performed and several clinical variables including age, gender, ethnicity, previously injured skin (burns, scars, ulcers and others), patient origin (rural or urban), anatomic site and treatment were studied.

Results

Fifteen patients presented with previous skin lesions. Thirty-six were classified as T3 tumors and 21 as T4; 46 were N0, and 11, N1. Eleven N0 patients presented lymph node metastasis during follow up. Univariate analysis identified previous skin lesions (ulcers and scars) as risk factor for lymph node metastasis (p = 0.047). Better survival was demonstrated for T3 (p = 0.018) classification. N0 patients who presented lymph node metastasis during follow up (submitted to lymphadenectomy) had similar survival to patients without lymph node recurrence (p = 0.219).

Conclusion

Local advanced tumors are at risk of lymph node metastasis. Increased risk is associated to previous lesions at tumor site. T4 classification have worse prognosis. Lymph node recurrences in N0 patients, once treated, did not affect survival. For these patients, we propose close follow up and prompt treatment of lymph node metastasis. These results do not support indication for elective lymphadenectomy or sentinel node mapping. Further prospective studies must address this issue.
Helicobacter pylori and gastroesophageal reflux disease
Authors: Grande Michele , Cadeddu Federica , Villa Massimo , Attinà Grazia Maria , Muzi Marco Gallinella , Nigro Casimiro , Rulli Francesco , Farinon Attilio M
Published: July 2008

Background

The nature of the relationship betweenHelicobacter pyloriand reflux oesophagitis is still not clear. To investigate the correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and GERD taking into account endoscopic, pH-metric and histopathological data.

Methods

Between January 2001 and January 2003 a prospective study was performed in 146 patients with GERD in order to determine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection at gastric mucosa; further the value of the De Meester score endoscopic, manometric and pH-metric parameters, i.e. reflux episodes, pathological reflux episodes and extent of oesophageal acid exposure, of the patients with and withoutHelicobacter pyloriinfection were studied and statistically compared. Finally, univariate analysis of the above mentioned data were performed in order to evaluate the statistical correlation with reflux esophagitis.

Results

There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups, HP infected and HP negative patients, regarding age, gender and type of symptoms. There was no statistical difference between the two groups regarding severity of symptoms and manometric parameters. The value of the De Meester score and the ph-metric parameters were similar in both groups. On univariate analysis, we observed that hiatal hernia (p = 0,01), LES size (p = 0,05), oesophageal wave length (p = 0,01) and pathological reflux number (p = 0,05) were significantly related to the presence of reflux oesophagitis.

Conclusion

Based on these findings, it seems that there is no significant evidence for an important role forH. pyloriinfection in the development of GERD and erosive esophagitis. Nevertheless, current data do not provide sufficient evidence to define the relationship between HP and GERD. Further assessments in prospective large studies are warranted.
Next Generation of Immunotherapy for Melanoma
Authors: Kirkwood John M. , Tarhini Ahmad A. , Panelli Monica C. , Moschos Stergios J. , Zarour Hassane M. , Butterfield Lisa H. , Gogas Helen J.
Published: July 2008

Purpose

Immunotherapy has a long history with striking but limited success in patients with melanoma. To date, interleukin-2 and interferon-alfa2b are the only approved immunotherapeutic agents for melanoma in the United States.

Design

Tumor evasion of host immune responses, and strategies for overcoming tumor-induced immunosuppression are reviewed. Several novel immunotherapies currently in worldwide phase III clinical testing for melanoma are discussed.

Results

The limitations of immunotherapy for melanoma stem from tumor-induced mechanisms of immune evasion that render the host tolerant of tumor antigens. For example, melanoma inhibits the maturation of antigen-presenting cells, preventing full T-cell activation and downregulating the effector antitumor immune response. New immunotherapies targeting critical regulatory elements of the immune system may overcome tolerance and promote a more effective antitumor immune response. These include monoclonal antibodies that block the cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA4) and toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonists. Blockade of CTLA4 prevents inhibitory signals that downregulate T-cell activation. TLR9 agonists stimulate dendritic cell maturation and ultimately induce a more effective immune response. These approaches have been shown to stimulate acute immune activation with concomitant appearance of transient adverse events mediated by the immune system. The pattern and duration of immune responses associated with these new modalities differ from those associated with cytokines and cytotoxic agents. In addition, vaccines are being developed that may ultimately target melanoma either alone or in combination with these immunomodulatory therapies.

Conclusion

The successes of cytokine and interferon therapy of melanoma, coupled with an array of new approaches, are generating new enthusiasm for the immunotherapy of melanoma.
The Extracellular Domain of the Growth Hormone Receptor Interacts with Coactivator Activator to Promote Cell Proliferation
Authors: Conway-Campbell Becky L. , Brooks Andrew J. , Robinson Philip J. , Perani Michela , Waters Michael J.
Published: July 2008

The presence of GH receptor (GHR) in the cell nucleus correlates with cell division, and targeting the GHR to the nucleus results in constitutive proliferation and transformation because of increased sensitivity to autocrine GH. Here we have sought additional mechanisms that might account for the enhanced proliferation seen with nuclear GHR, commencing with a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screen for interactors with the extracellular domain of the GHR [GH-binding protein (GHBP)]. We find that the GHBP is a transcriptional activator in yeast and mammalian cells, and this activity resides in the lower cytokine receptor module. Activity is dependent on S226, the conserved serine of the cytokine receptor consensus WSXWS box. By using parallel GHBP affinity columns and tandem mass spectrometry of tryptic digests of proteins bound to wild-type GHBP and S226A columns, we identified proteins that bind to the transcriptionally active GHBP. These include a nucleoporin and two transcriptional regulators, notably the coactivator activator (CoAA), which is also an RNA binding splicing protein. Binding of CoAA to the GHBP was confirmed by glutathione S-transferase pulldown and coimmunoprecipitation, and shown to be GH dependent in pro-B Ba/F3 cells. Importantly, stable expression of CoAA in Ba/F3 cells resulted in an increased maximum proliferation in response to GH, but not IL-3. Because CoAA overexpression has been identified in many cancers and its stable expression promotes cell proliferation and cell transformation in NIH-3T3 cells, we suggest CoAA contributes to the proliferative actions of nuclear GHR by the hormone-dependent recruitment of this powerful coactivator to the GHR.
Smoking cessation support in community pharmacies: is the association of smoking and eye disease an additional tool to increase uptake?
Authors: Thornton Judith , Torun Perihan , Edwards Richard , Harrison Annie , Kelly Simon P , Harrison Roger A , Verma Arpana
Published: July 2008

Objective

Community pharmacists have a central role in provision of smoking-cessation support. Evidence is growing that tobacco smoking is associated with development and progression of several potentially blinding eye diseases. As part of an ongoing programme of raising awareness of this link, we investigated whether community pharmacists are aware of this association and incorporate relevant advice into their smoking-cessation guidance.

Setting

Two-thousand and eighty community pharmacists in north west England, UK.

Method

A postal self-completion questionnaire asked pharmacists about their current practice with regard to smoking habits of their clients. Data were extracted and entered onto a database for statistical analyses.

Key findings

The response rate was 50.5%; 685 (65.2%) pharmacists asked clients about smoking habits; the most common situation was when clients complained of respiratory symptoms. Of these pharmacists, 52.7% always/usually recommended that smokers should stop and 37.2% always/usually assessed motivation to succeed. Help provided by pharmacists included brief advice on smoking cessation, leaflets, more structured support, referral to smoking-cessation services, and nicotine replacement therapies. The most common reason why pharmacists did not ask about smoking was lack of time (83.1%); 52.0% were aware of the causal association of smoking with eye disease, and 19.8% of those who asked about smoking habits mentioned this association when discussing smoking cessation.

Conclusion

Our study shows that community pharmacists are actively involved in smoking cessation. Many pharmacists are aware of the causal association between smoking and eye disease, but few are actively counselling patients about the eye heath risks of smoking. Community pharmacists could include this information in their advice to clients who smoke, as an additional means to promote smoking cessation.
A role for Q/N-rich aggregation-prone regions in P-body localization
Authors: Reijns Martin A. M. , Alexander Ross D. , Spiller Michael P. , Beggs Jean D.
Published: July 2008

P-bodies are cytoplasmic foci that are sites of mRNA degradation and translational repression. It is not known what causes the accumulation of RNA-degradation factors in P-bodies, although RNA is required. The yeast Lsm1-7p complex (comprising Lsm1p to Lsm7p) is recruited to P-bodies under certain stress conditions. It is required for efficient decapping and degradation of mRNAs, but not for the assembly of P-bodies. Here we show that the Lsm4p subunit and its asparagine-rich C-terminus are prone to aggregation, and that this tendency to aggregate promotes efficient accumulation of Lsm1-7p in P-bodies. The presence of glutamine- and/or asparagine-rich (Q/N-rich) regions in other P-body components suggests a more general role for aggregation-prone residues in P-body localization and assembly. This is supported by reduced P-body accumulation of Ccr4p, Pop2p and Dhh1p after deletion of these domains, and by the observed aggregation of the Q/N-rich region from Ccr4p.
The Endurance of Ash: Melancholia and the Persistance of the Material in Charlotte Salomon's Leben? Oder Theater?
Authors: Austin Carolyn F.
Published: July 2008

This essay examines Charlotte Salomon's Leben? oder Theater? , a roman à clef made up of nearly eight hundred paintings with textual annotations. This complex interrelation of visual and verbal elements refuses to acknowledge the usual distinction between painting's visuality and materiality and language's purely symbolic signification. In fact, Salomon is preoccupied with the materiality of signification—with the shapes and colors with which signifi ers are made. The essay draws on Judith Butler's and Julia Kristeva's psychoanalytic examinations of how melancholic art preserves the lost maternal/material Thing in the letter-shapes and sounds that make signification possible. Such a project would have appealed to Salomon, who inherited melancholic tendencies towards suicide from her maternal family. Salomon is particularly troubled by her mother's and grandmother's suicides, and depicts their mangled bodies after they have thrown themselves to their deaths. However, Salomon reclaims those bodies in her signature, an intertwined C and S, which mimics the outlines of her mother's and grandmother's bodies. Salomon's signatory mark, which refers to the name of the father, also preserves the body of the mother, and asserts the necessary relation between material symbol and immaterial signification.
Intimate Pasts Resurrected and Released: Sex, Death, and Faith in the Art of José Legaspi
Authors: Antoinette Michelle
Published: July 2008

José Legaspi is one of the few openly gay visual artists in the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic society that generally still has much difficulty accepting the idea and practice of homosexuality. Often autobiographical in nature, Legaspi's contemporary art installations, sculptures, and drawings bring together image, text, and materiality to bear witness to dark personal life-narratives relating to his homosexuality and Catholicism in the Philippines. His "auto-graphic" reflections record explicit depictions of his own sexuality, sardonic critiques of religious repression, and anguished and often violent reflections on the life and death of those most dear and hateful to his heart.
Autography's Biography, 1972–2007
Authors: Gardner Jared
Published: July 2008

This essay studies the development of the autobiographic comic, beginning in 1972 with the pioneering work of Justin Green, Aline Kominsky, Harvey Pekar, and Art Spiegelman, and culminating in the contemporary work of graphic autobiographers such as Alison Bechdel, Phoebe Gloeckner, and Lynda Barry.
Self-Regarding Art
Authors: Whitlock Gillian , Poletti Anna
Published: July 2008

This Introduction to the Biography Special Issue on "Autographics" maps a field of texts and critical practices which are emerging in the rapidly changing visual and textual cultures of autobiography. Beginning with a survey of current thinking about the comics, it argues for autographic criticism as a practice that engages with new modes and media, such as graffiti and online social networking, where autobiographical narrative proliferates through fusions of the visual and the textual.
Autographic Disclosures and Genealogies of Desire in Alison Bechdel's Fun Home
Authors: Watson Julia
Published: July 2008

Fun Home is an autographic narrative about memoirs, memory, and acts of
autobiographical storytelling that mingles irony and pathos in the comingout/
coming of age story of young Alison in an “artistic, autistic” family who
run a funeral home. Its multimodal text interweaves allusions to Modernist
literary texts and feminist manifestoes with drawn photographs and diverse
cartooning styles. This essay explores Bechdel’s graphing of subjectivity at
multiple interfaces, and examines her use of ambiguous “evidence” for a
father-daughter coming-out story that is both indictment and posthumous
homage.
Multimodal Constructions of Self: Autobiographical Comics and the Case of Joe Matt's Peepshow
Authors: Jacobs Dale
Published: July 2008

As we think about autobiography, it becomes necessary to broaden our ways of thinking about texts. In order to do so, we need to consider how creators of autobiographical comics use words and images to produce meanings at the intersection of multiple modal systems—meanings unavailable in either pictures or words alone. Working through the theoretical and practical connections between multimodality and theories of autobiography, this article explores the ways in which questions of autobiography are addressed in the comics form through an examination of Joe Matt's Peepshow , an autobiographical comic that has been published at varying intervals since 1992.
Auto/Assemblage: Reading the Zine
Authors: Poletti Anna
Published: July 2008

This article investigates the zine as a compelling example of autographics, theorizing the dynamics of self-representation in these handmade texts. Reading the intersection of text, layout, and production as a complex site of self-representation, the materiality of the zine form is examined as a meta-critical refl ection on the form of the book and the potential of the photocopier as a means of production.
The Presidential Newspaper as an Engine of Early American Political Development: The Case of Thomas Jefferson and the Election of 1800
Authors: Laracey Mel
Published: July 2008

Presidential newspapers, a form of the political newspapers that dominated mass communications for many decades in nineteenth-century America, played a crucial role in the articulation and promotion of key principles in American political thought and practice, while also promoting the political interests and strategies of their presidential sponsors. These points are illustrated in a study of how the first presidential newspaper, the Washington, D.C., National Intelligencer, was used in 1800–1801 to promote Thomas Jefferson’s election and the principles of Jeffersonian Republicanism.
On Trial: Conflicting Versions of Emma Goldman’s Address to the Jury
Authors: Palmer Kathryn , Lucas Stephen E.
Published: July 2008

Little attention has been given to the fact that there is no known stenographic account of Emma Goldman’s July 9, 1917, address to the jury. Nor have scholars recognized the extent of the differences between the two printed versions of the speech, one in the July 1917 issue of Goldman’s magazine Mother Earth , the other in an October 1917 pamphlet. This essay argues that the two versions of Goldman’s address are best seen not as slightly modified representations of the same speech, but as different, albeit consanguineous, rhetorical acts with their own audiences and purposes.
Can Patriotism Be Carved In Stone?: A Critical Analysis of Mt. Rushmore’s Orientation Films
Authors: Bergman Teresa
Published: July 2008

This essay examines the three orientation films that have been shown at the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial since 1965, and analyzes how these films interpret the memorial as a patriotic symbol. Although the site was originally conceived to celebrate U.S. imperialism, each film moves away from that interpretation. This analysis tracks how these films’ interpretations of this patriotic icon have evolved to suit contemporary political exigencies rather than a fixed definition of Mt. Rushmore. I draw on memory studies, rhetoric, historical theory, and documentary film theory to examine the changing representations of nationalism and patriotism in these films.
Symbolic Frames: Identity and Legitimacy in Iraqi Islamist Discourse
Authors: Ahram Ariel I.
Published: July 2008

This essay uses discourse and rhetoric as lenses to understand the development of the Sunni Islamist movement in Iraq after 2003. It compares letters written by different Sunni groups addressed to the United Nations’ representative for Iraq, detailing their objections to the American occupation and plans for elections. The essay argues that the process of defining the identity of these new Islamist groups was necessarily interlinked with proffering new definitions of Iraqi national community. Furthermore, it shows how democracy became an inescapable frame for all groups struggling to offer alternative visions of legitimate rule.
Comparison of three systems of classification in predicting the outcome of diabetic foot ulcers in a Brazilian population
Authors: Parisi Maria Cândida R , Zantut-Wittmann Denise E , Pavin Elizabeth J , Machado Helymar , Nery Márcia , Jeffcoate William J
Published: July 2008

Objective

The aim was to compare three ulcer classification systems as predictors of the outcome of diabetic foot ulcers: the Wagner, the University of Texas (UT) and the size (area, depth), sepsis, arteriopathy, denervation system (S(AD)SAD) systems in a specialist clinic in Brazil.

Methods

Ulcer area, depth, appearance, infection and associated ischaemia and neuropathy were recorded in a consecutive series of 94 subjects. A novel score, the S(AD)SAD score, was derived from the sum of individual items of the S(AD)SAD system, and was evaluated. Follow-up was for at least 6 months. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of healing.

Results

Mean age was 57.6 years; 57 (60.6%) were male. Forty-eight ulcers (51.1%) healed without surgery; 11 (12.2%) subjects underwent minor amputation. Significant differences in terms of healing were observed for depth (P=0.002), infection (P=0.006) and denervation (P=0.002) using the S(AD)SAD system, for UT grade (P=0.002) and stage (P=0.032) and for Wagner grades (P=0.002). Ulcers with an S(AD)SAD score of ≤9 (total possible 15) were 7.6 times more likely to heal than scores ≥10 (P<0.001).

Conclusions

All three systems predicted ulcer outcome. The S(AD)SAD score of ulcer severity could represent a useful addition to routine clinical practice. The association between outcome and ulcer depth confirms earlier reports. The association with infection was stronger than that reported from the centres in Europe or North America. The very strong association with neuropathy has only previously been observed in Tanzania. Studies designed to compare the outcome in different countries should adopt systems of classification, which are valid for the populations studied.
Relationships between serum IGF1 levels, blood pressure, and glucose tolerance: an observational, exploratory study in 404 subjects
Authors: Colao Annamaria , Di Somma Carolina , Cascella Teresa , Pivonello Rosario , Vitale Giovanni , Grasso Ludovica F S , Lombardi Gaetano , Savastano Silvia
Published: July 2008

Background

In the general population, low IGF1 has been associated with higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease and mortality.

Objective

To investigate the relationships between IGF1 levels, blood pressure (BP), and glucose tolerance (GT).

Subjects

Four-hundred and four subjects (200 men aged 18–80 years). Exclusion criteria: personal history of pituitary or cardiovascular diseases; previous or current treatments with drugs interfering with BP, GT, or lipids, corticosteroids (>2 weeks), estrogens, or testosterone (>12 weeks); smoking of >15 cigarettes/day and alcohol abuse (>3 glasses of wine/day).

Results

Two hundred and ninety-six had normal BP (73.3%), 86 had mild (21.3%), and 22 had severe (5.4%) hypertension; 322 had normal GT (NGT (79.7%)), 53 had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT (13.1%)), 29 had diabetes mellitus (7.2%). Normotensive subjects had significantly higher IGF1 levels (0.11±0.94 SDS) than those with mild (−0.62±1.16 SDS, P<0.0001) or severe (−1.01±1.07 SDS, P<0.0001) hypertension. IGF1 SDS (t=−3.41, P=0.001) independently predicted systolic and diastolic BP (t=−2.77, P=0.006) values. NGT subjects had significantly higher IGF1 levels (0.13±0.90 SDS) than those with IGT (−0.86±1.14 SDS, P<0.0001) or diabetes mellitus (−1.31±1.13 SDS, P<0.0001). IGF1 SDS independently predicted fasting glucose (t=−3.49, P=0.0005) and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA)-R (t=−2.15, P=0.033) but not insulin (t=−1.92, P=0.055) and HOMA-β (t=−0.19, P=0.85).

Conclusion

IGF1 levels in the low normal range are associated with hypertension and diabetes in subjects without pituitary and cardiovascular diseases.
The usefulness of 99mTc-sestaMIBI thyroid scan in the differential diagnosis and management of amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis
Authors: Piga M , Cocco M C , Serra A , Boi F , Loy M , Mariotti S
Published: July 2008

Background

Amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis (AIT) is caused by excessive hormone synthesis and release (AIT I) or a destructive process (AIT II). This differentiation has important therapeutic implications.

Purpose

To evaluate 99mTc-sestaMIBI (MIBI) thyroid scintigraphy in addition to other diagnostic tools in the diagnosis and management of AIT.

Subjects and methods

Thyroid and 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphies were performed in 20 consecutive AIT patients, along with a series of biochemical and instrumental investigations (measurement of thyrotrophin, free thyroid hormones and thyroid autoantibodies; thyroid colour-flow Doppler sonography (CFDS) and thyroid radioiodine uptake (RAIU)).

Results

On the basis of instrumental and laboratory data (excluding thyroid 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy) and follow-up, AIT patients could be subdivided into six with AIT I, ten with AIT II and four with indefinite forms of AIT (AIT Ind). 99mTc-MIBI uptake results were normal/increased in all the six patients with AIT I and absent in all the ten patients with AIT II. The remaining four patients with AIT Ind showed low, patchy and persistent uptake in two cases and in the other two evident MIBI uptake followed by a rapid washout. MIBI scintigraphy was superior to all other diagnostic tools, including CFDS (suggestive of AIT I in three patients with AIT II and of AIT II in three with AIT Ind) and RAIU, which was measurable in all patients with AIT I, and also in four out of the ten with AIT II.

Conclusion

Thyroid MIBI scintigraphy may be proposed as an easy and highly effective tool for the differential diagnosis of different forms of AIT.
Long-acting octreotide treatment causes a sustained decrease in ghrelin concentrations but does not affect weight, behaviour and appetite in subjects with Prader–Willi syndrome
Authors: De Waele Kathleen , Ishkanian Stacey L , Bogarin Roberto , Miranda Charmaine A , Ghatei Mohammad A , Bloom Stephen R , Pacaud Danièle , Chanoine Jean-Pierre
Published: July 2008

Objective

Ghrelin is secreted primarily by the stomach and circulates as both acylated and desacyl ghrelin. Acylated (but not desacyl) ghrelin stimulates appetite. Both concentrations are elevated in Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS), suggesting that ghrelin may contribute to hyperphagia and overweight in these subjects. We evaluated whether long-acting octreotide (Oct) decreases acylated and desacyl ghrelin concentrations, body mass, appetite and compulsive behaviour towards food in adolescents with PWS.

Design

A 56-week prospective, randomized, cross-over trial.

Methods

Nine subjects with PWS (age 14.6 (10.8–18.9) years, body mass index (BMI) Z-score +1.9 (0.6–3.0)) received either Oct (30 mg) or saline i.m. every 4 weeks for 16 weeks and were switched over to the other treatment after a 24-week washout period.

Results

Eight subjects completed the study. Oct caused a decrease in both acylated (−53%) and desacyl (−54%) fasting ghrelin concentrations (P<0.05) but did not significantly affect BMI. Oct had no significant effect on peptide YY concentrations, appetite or compulsive behaviour towards food. Oct caused a decrease in insulin-like growth factor-I concentrations, an increase in HbA1c and transient elevation of blood glucose in two subjects. Three subjects developed gallstones.

Conclusions

Oct treatment caused a prolonged decrease in ghrelin concentrations in adolescents with PWS but did not improve body mass or appetite. Future intervention studies aiming at clarifying the role of ghrelin in PWS should focus on the administration of specific inhibitors of ghrelin secretion or ghrelin receptor activity that do not interfere with other appetite-regulating peptides.
Família em situação de risco e sua inserção no programa de saúde da família: uma reflexão necessária à prática profissional
Authors: Resta Darielli Gindri , Motta Maria da Graça Corso
Published: July 2008

Este artigo é uma reflexão sobre a inserção da família, nas diferentes situações de risco, uma proposta do Programa de Saúde da Família. Tem como objetivo compreender a família como integrante no processo de construção do novo modelo de saúde, no qual os profissionais visualizem e integrem-se na diversidade e complexidade do mundo familiar. Fez-se uma reflexão teórica que aponta as lacunas no saber/fazer profissional em cuidar da família na sua integralidade, identifica algumas alternativas possíveis para avanços nos modos de cuidar em enfermagem e, para conquistas no que tange ao modelo de saúde. Considera-se a diversidade de estruturações familiares, assim como as várias circunstâncias de risco vividas pelos indivíduos. O Programa de Saúde da Família é uma estratégia promissora para propiciar encontros entre a equipe de saúde e as famílias, buscando aproximações no cuidado que facilitem a evidência das possibilidades de risco vivida pelo grupo familiar.
O materno e a delinqüência
Authors: Benhaim Michèle
Published: July 2008

O período adolescente pode se transformar em desamparo, e a desajuda em errância subjetiva e social. A função materna foi operante? Nesse tempo primeiro, inscrever-se-ia a falha que o ato delinqüente virá preencher. A problemática delinqüente repousaria não sobre uma intolerável desilusão, mas sobre uma falta de ilusão. O desamparo infantil pode se desdobrar em desespero juvenil, no qual nada pode intervir como mediação.
Sex differences in hepatic regulation of cholesterol homeostasis
Authors: De Marinis Elisabetta , Martini Chiara , Trentalance Anna , Pallottini Valentina
Published: July 2008

Physiological sex differences may influence metabolic status and then alter the onset of some diseases. According to recent studies, it is now well established that females are more protected from hypercholesterolemia-related diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases until menopause. Female protection from hypercholesterolemia is mediated by the hypolipidemic properties of estrogens, even if mechanisms underlying this protection remain still debated. Even though the regulatory mechanisms of cholesterol homeostasis maintenance are well known, few data are available on the supposed differences between male and female in these processes. So, the aim of this work was to define, through an in vivo study, the putative sex-dependent regulation of the processes underlying cholesterol homeostasis maintenance. We examined 3-hydroxy 3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase and its regulatory protein network as well as the amount of low-density lipoprotein receptor and cholesterol. The study was conducted in the liver and plasma of male and female rats, on adults and during postnatal development, and on 17-β-estradiol-treated male rats. Our data support that physiological differences in proteins involved in cholesterol balance are present between the sexes and, in particular, 3-hydroxy 3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase shows lower activity and expression in female and 17-β-estradiol-treated male rats than in adult untreated male. Our data suggest that sex differences in enzyme expression depend on variation in regulatory proteins and seem to be related to estrogen presence. This work adds new evidence in the complicated picture of sex-dependent cellular physiology and establishes a new role for reductase regulatory proteins as a link between estrogen protective effects and cholesterol homeostasis.
Briefing: New Olympic innovation initiative championed by ICE London
Authors: Bell Jacki
Published: July 2008

Delivery of London's 2012 Olympics is the catalyst for a new UK technology innovation initiative, the engineering and construction part of which is being championed by the Institution of Civil Engineers. London region director Jacki Bell reports.
Reconnaissance of levee failures after hurricane Katrina
Authors: Nicholson Peter , Silva-Tulla Francisco
Published: July 2008

A volunteer team of engineers from the American Society of Civil Engineers visited New Orleans shortly after the catastrophic flooding caused by hurricane Katrina on 29 August 2005. Their mission was to make an independent initial assessment of the failed, US Army-engineered levees and floodwalls, as well as to collect perishable data to help provide answers to one of the worst civil engineering disasters in history. This paper reports on their observations and shows that they compared favourably with the findings of later in-depth investigations, to which the team also contributed valuable forensic data. It highlights the vital role engineering institutions can play in helping both the profession and society understand and learn from disasters.
Briefing: ICE to produce best-practice guide for UK construction clients
Authors: Kershaw Sue , Hutchison David
Published: July 2008

The Institution of Civil Engineers has set out to produce a definitive best-practice guide for UK construction clients. Sue Kershaw of the Olympic Delivery Authority and David Hutchison of Parsons Brinckerhoff report.
Exposure to SSRI Antidepressants In Utero Causes Birth Defects, Neonatal Withdrawal Symptoms, and Brain Damage
Authors: Breggin Peter R. , Breggin Ginger
Published: July 2008

Pregnant mothers should avoid taking SSRI antidepressants—they are hazardous to the developing fetus, cause withdrawal symptoms in the newborn baby, and induce biochemical and morphological abnormalities in the brain. If pregnant mothers need help with sad or anxious feelings, they should seek counseling or psychotherapy, especially family therapy involving the child’s father, as well as other sources of emotional support.
Biomechanical analysis of cranial settling after transoral odontoidectomy
Authors: Naderi Sait , Crawford Neil R. , Melton M. Stephen , Sonntag Volker K. H. , Dickman Curtis A.
Published: July 2008

The authors conducted a biomechancial study to determine whether C-1 ring integrity is important in maintaining normal occiput-C-2 separation, specifically when the anterior arch is transected to provide access to the dens during an odontoidectomy procedure.

Six human cadaveric occiput-C3 specimens were loaded under axial compression, and the bilateral horizontal separation of the C-1 lateral masses and the vertical compression of the occiput relative to C-2 were recorded. Specimens were first studied after odontoidectomy without C-1 ring transection, then after C-1 anterior arch transection, and finally after C-1 lamina transection.

With applied compressive load corresponding to three times the weight of the head, the C-1 ring spread horizontally 1.57 ± 0.30 mm more when the anterior arch of C-1 was transected than when left intact, resulting in 0.74 ± 0.44 mm collapse in the occiput-C-2 vertical separation. After laminar transection, the C-1 ring spread 6.55 ± 2.29 mm more than when it was intact. The resultant vertical separation was a 3.37 ± 1.89-mm collapse in the occiput-C-2. All changes in C-1 spreading and the occiput-C-2 collapse were statistically significant (p < 0.05, paired Student's t-tests). The C-1 ring continuity prevents horizontal spreading caused by the wedging of C-1 between the occiput and C-2 and thus prevents cranial settling. Therefore, to prevent the subsequent development of disease related to cranial settling, the authors recommend that the surgeon resect part of C-1 only if necessary during odontoidectomy.
Use of EPR Spectroscopy to Study Macromolecular Structure and Function
Authors: Biswas Roopa , KÜhne Henriette , Brudvig Gary W. , Gopalan Venkat
Published: July 2008

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is now part of the armory available to probe the structural aspects of proteins, nucleic acids and protein–nucleic acid complexes. Since the mobility of a spin label covalently attached to a macromolecule is influenced by its microenvironment, analysis of the EPR spectra of site-specifically incorporated spin labels (probes) provides a powerful tool for investigating structure–function correlates in biological macromolecules. This technique has become readily amenable to address various problems in biology in large measure due to the advent of techniques like site-directed mutagenesis, which enables site-specific substitution of cysteine residues in proteins, and the commercial availability of thiol-specific spin-labeling reagents (Figure 1)1. In addition to the underlying principle and the experimental strategy, several recent applications are discussed in this review.
Gastrointestinal Diseases of Napoleon in Saint Helena: Causes of Death
Authors: Di Costanzo Jacques
Published: July 2008

The fact that Napoleon Ist died from gastric cancer seems to be well established. Arguments for the hypothesis of chronic arsenic poisoning have recently been developed in the literature. This study, focused on the gastrointestinal diseases of Napoleon in Saint Helena, is based on a confrontation between the clinical semiological anamnesis and the anatomical data in the autopsy report by F. Antommarchi. Napoleon presented several gastrointestinal diseases: gall-bladder lithiasis complicated with angio-cholitis, chronic colitis and certainly a gastric cancer. Death was consecutive to perforation of the gastric lesion leading to haemorragic vomitis and multiorgan failure. The description of the gastric lesions during autopsy is consistent with the diagnosis of cancer. The course of the clinical events is closely correlated with the anatomic lesions. There is strong evidence that Napoleon died from an acute complication of his gastric disease.
Kinetic modeling of light limitation and sulfur deprivation effects in the induction of hydrogen production with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: Part I. Model development and parameter identification
Authors: Fouchard Swanny , Pruvost Jérémy , Degrenne Benoit , Titica Mariana , Legrand Jack
Published: July 2008

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a green microalga capable of turning its metabolism towards H2 production under specific conditions. However this H2 production, narrowly linked to the photosynthetic process, results from complex metabolic reactions highly dependent on the environmental conditions of the cells. A kinetic model has been developed to relate culture evolution from standard photosynthetic growth to H2 producing cells. It represents transition in sulfur‐deprived conditions, known to lead to H2 production in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and the two main processes then induced which are an over‐accumulation of intracellular starch and a progressive reduction of PSII activity for anoxia achievement. Because these phenomena are directly linked to the photosynthetic growth, two kinetic models were associated, the first (one) introducing light dependency (Haldane type model associated to a radiative light transfer model), the second (one) making growth a function of available sulfur amount under extracellular and intracellular forms (Droop formulation). The model parameters identification was realized from experimental data obtained with especially designed experiments and a sensitivity analysis of the model to its parameters was also conducted. Model behavior was finally studied showing interdependency between light transfer conditions, photosynthetic growth, sulfate uptake, photosynthetic activity and O2 release, during transition from oxygenic growth to anoxic H2 production conditions. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009;102: 232–245. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Dipeptide‐Based Low‐Molecular‐Weight Efficient Organogelators and Their Application in Water Purification
Authors: Debnath Sisir , Shome Anshupriya , Dutta Sounak , Das Prasanta Kumar
Published: July 2008

The development of new low‐molecular‐weight gelators for organic solvents is motivated by several potential applications of gels as advanced functional materials. In the present study, we developed simple dipeptide‐based organogelators with a minimum gelation concentration (MGC) of 6–0.15 %, w/v in aromatic solvents. The organogelators were synthesized using different L‐amino acids with nonpolar aliphatic/aromatic residues and by varying alkyl‐chain length (C‐12 to C‐16). The self‐aggregation behavior of these thermoreversible organogels was investigated through several spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. A balanced participation of the hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions is crucial for efficient organogelation, which can be largely modulated by the structural modification at the hydrogen‐bonding unit as well as by varying the alkyl‐chain length in both sides of the hydrophilic residue. Interestingly, these organogelators could selectively gelate aromatic solvents from their mixtures with water. Furthermore, the xerogels prepared from the organogels showed a striking property of adsorbing dyes such as crystal violet, rhodamine 6G from water. This dye‐adsorption ability of gelators can be utilized in water purification by removing toxic dyes from wastewater.
Structure–Property Relationships for Self‐Assembled Zinc Chlorin Light‐Harvesting Dye Aggregates
Authors: Huber Valerie , Sengupta Sanchita , Würthner Frank
Published: July 2008

A series of zinc 31‐hydroxymethyl chlorins 10 a–e and zinc 31‐hydroxyethyl chlorins 17 with varied structural features were synthesized by modifying naturally occurring chlorophyll a. Solvent‐, temperature‐, and concentration‐dependent UV/Vis and CD spectroscopic methods as well as microscopic investigations were performed to explore the importance of particular functional groups and steric effects on the self‐assembly behavior of these zinc chlorins. Semisynthetic zinc chlorins 10 a–e possess the three functional units relevant for self‐assembly found in their natural bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) counterparts, namely, the 31‐OH group, a central metal ion, and the 131 CO moiety along the Qy axis, and they contain various 172‐substituents. Depending on whether the zinc chlorins have 172‐hydrophobic or hydrophilic side chains, they self‐assemble in nonpolar organic solvents or in aqueous media, respectively. Zinc chlorins possessing at least two long side chains provide soluble self‐aggregates that are stable in solution for a prolonged time, thus facilitating elucidation of their properties by optical spectroscopy. The morphology of the zinc chlorin aggregates was elucidated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies, revealing well‐defined nanoscale rod structures for zinc chlorin 10 b with a height of about 6 nm. It is worth noting that this size is in good accordance with a tubular arrangement of the dyes similar to that observed in their natural BChl counterparts in the light‐harvesting chlorosomes of green bacteria. Furthermore, for the epimeric 31‐hydroxyethyl zinc chlorins 17 with hydrophobic side chains, the influence of the chirality center at the 31‐position on the aggregation behavior was studied in detail by UV/Vis and CD spectroscopy. Unlike zinc chlorins 10, the 31‐hydroxyethyl zinc chlorins 17 formed only small oligomers and not higher rod aggregate structures, which can be attributed to the steric effect imposed by the additional methyl group at the 31‐position.
Organocatalytic Three‐Component Reactions of Pyruvate, Aldehyde and Aniline by Hydrogen‐Bonding Catalysts
Authors: Li Xin , Deng Hui , Luo Sanzhong , Cheng Jin‐Pei
Published: July 2008

Hydrogen‐bonding catalysts have been found to catalyze one‐pot three‐component reactions of pyruvate, anilines and aldehydes to afford versatile 3‐amino‐1,5‐dihydro‐2H‐pyrrol‐2‐ones in high yields. Both, thioureas and phosphoric acids are viable catalysts for these reactions and have comparable activity. The corresponding chiral thioureas and phosphoric acids have also been used in these three‐component reactions to give pyrrol‐2‐ones in high yields and with moderate enantioselectivities.(© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008)