bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An overview of chronic severe asthma
Authors: Polosa R.
Published: November 2007

Most asthmatic patients with moderate to severe disease can be satisfactorily managed with a combination of inhaled corticosteroids and β2‐agonists. However, there are a few with persistent symptoms, impaired quality of life and excessive health‐care utilization, despite this management regimen. These patients often require frequent and even occasionally regular oral corticosteroid use. Chronic, severe asthma is a heterogeneous disease and a systematic diagnostic work‐up may help to guide treatment and may even provide information about prognosis. Optimal treatment of chronic severe asthma (CSA) should achieve the best possible asthma control and quality of life with the least dose of systemic corticosteroids. The choice and formulation of therapeutic agent is dictated by the severity of disease and includes conventional, immunosuppressive/immunomodulating and biologic therapies. Unfortunately, current asthma management guidelines offer little contribution to the care of the challenging patient with CSA. In this review, a diagnostic and therapeutic overview of CSA is provided for the benefit of those who have a specific interest in this problematic condition.
First direct landscape‐scale measurement of tropical rain forest Leaf Area Index, a key driver of global primary productivity
Authors: Clark David B. , Olivas Paulo C. , Oberbauer Steven F. , Clark Deborah A. , Ryan Michael G.
Published: November 2007

Leaf Area Index (leaf area per unit ground area, LAI) is a key driver of forest productivity but has never previously been measured directly at the landscape scale in tropical rain forest (TRF). We used a modular tower and stratified random sampling to harvest all foliage from forest floor to canopy top in 55 vertical transects (4.6 m2) across 500 ha of old growth in Costa Rica. Landscape LAI was 6.00 ± 0.32 SEM. Trees, palms and lianas accounted for 89% of the total, and trees and lianas were 95% of the upper canopy. All vertical transects were organized into quantitatively defined strata, partially resolving the long‐standing controversy over canopy stratification in TRF. Total LAI was strongly correlated with forest height up to 21 m, while the number of canopy strata increased with forest height across the full height range. These data are a benchmark for understanding the structure and functional composition of TRF canopies at landscape scales, and also provide insights for improving ecosystem models and remote sensing validation.
Loss of Cells—Loss of Self
Authors: Levenson Robert W. , Miller Bruce L.
Published: November 2007

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a devastating disease that profoundly changes emotion, self, and personality while initially sparing many aspects of cognitive functioning. This article reviews research that applies methods from basic affective science to obtain a more precise view of FTLD's impact on emotional functioning. This research indicates that simple forms of emotional reactivity are relatively preserved in the early stages of the disease. In contrast, more complex emotional processes, such as those involved with self-conscious emotions (e.g., embarrassment), emotion regulation, and recognizing emotions in others, are severely impaired. FTLD provides rich opportunities for increasing our understanding of the nature of emotion and of the emotional and social brain.
Identification of Genes Influencing a Spectrum of Externalizing Psychopathology
Authors: Dick Danielle M.
Published: November 2007

Alcohol dependence, drug dependence, childhood conduct disorder, and adult antisocial behavior commonly occur in combination. Data from multiple literatures, including twin/family studies and electrophysiological studies, suggest that the overlap of these disorders is largely due to a shared genetic liability that contributes to a spectrum of externalizing psychopathology. These findings suggest that some genes will not be specific to any one externalizing disorder but will predispose individuals broadly to a spectrum of externalizing psychopathology. Here we review evidence for specific, identified genes, GABRA2 and CHRM2, that follow this pattern and confer risk for a spectrum of externalizing disorders. These findings confirm the etiological structure of psychopathology suggested by psychological research and suggest exciting new roles that psychologists can play in understanding the pathways underlying associations between genes and behavior.
Child-Care History, Classroom Composition, and Children's Functioning in Kindergarten
Authors: Dmitrieva Julia , Steinberg Laurence , Belsky Jay
Published: November 2007

Previous research indicates that exposure to nonparental child care at an earlier age and for more hours predicts, at the individual level, more aggressive and disobedient behavior and greater school preparedness. The present study extended child-care research by investigating classroom-composition effects, that is, effects of the combined child-care histories of all the children in the classroom. Analyses showed that effects at the individual level aggregate at the classroom level: Kindergarten children with limited or no child-care history exhibited more externalizing behavior (e.g., fighting and arguing) and higher academic achievement when schooled in classrooms with more peers who had extensive child-care histories.
Subliminal Smells can Guide Social Preferences
Authors: Li Wen , Moallem Isabel , Paller Ken A. , Gottfried Jay A.
Published: November 2007

It is widely accepted that unconscious processes can modulate judgments and behavior, but do such influences affect one's daily interactions with other people? Given that olfactory information has relatively direct access to cortical and subcortical emotional circuits, we tested whether the affective content of subliminal odors alters social preferences. Participants rated the likeability of neutral faces after smelling pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant odors delivered below detection thresholds. Odor affect significantly shifted likeability ratings only for those participants lacking conscious awareness of the smells, as verified by chance-level trial-by-trial performance on an odor-detection task. Across participants, the magnitude of this priming effect decreased as sensitivity for odor detection increased. In contrast, heart rate responses tracked odor valence independently of odor awareness. These results indicate that social preferences are subject to influences from odors that escape awareness, whereas the availability of conscious odor information may disrupt such effects.
When Gains Loom Larger Than Losses
Authors: Harinck Fieke , Van Dijk Eric , Van Beest Ilja , Mersmann Paul
Published: November 2007

Previous research has generally shown that people are loss averse; that is, they weigh losses more heavily than gains. In a series of three experiments, we found that for small outcomes, this pattern is reversed, and gains loom larger than losses. We explain this reversal on the basis of (a) the hedonic principle, which states that individuals are motivated to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain, and (b) the assumption that small losses are more easily discounted cognitively than large losses are.
Emotion as Motion
Authors: Maxwell Jeffrey S. , Davidson Richard J.
Published: November 2007

To emote literally means to move or prepare for action. A large body of research indicates that flexor and extensor movements are conditionally associated with approach- and avoidance-related motivations. It has also been widely argued that approach and avoidant motivations are asymmetrically instantiated in the left and right hemispheres, respectively. Nevertheless, to date, these literatures remain largely separate. In the present investigation, flexor and extensor movements that were visuospatially contextualized as being directed toward the self and away from the self were observed to be asymmetrically represented in the “approach” and “avoidance” hemispheres. Moreover, this pattern of hemispheric specialization was manifested to a greater degree the higher participants' self-reported level of daily positive affect and the lower their self-reported level of dispositional anxiety. Collectively, these findings have direct implications for models of embodied emotional and perceptual processing, as well as for investigations of individual differences in emotional disposition.
Emergence of Life
Authors: Weber Bruce H.
Published: November 2007

Discussions of the origin of life usually assume that there is a specific event, however improbable, by which dead matter became a living entity. Naturalistic accounts, although in seeming opposition to theistic explanations of the apparent design of even the simplest cells, often share the assumption that there is a specific line to be crossed. If the problem is recast as one of a process of emergence of biochemistry from protobiochemistry, which in turn emerged from the organic chemistry and geochemistry of primitive earth, the resources of the new sciences of complex systems dynamics can provide a more robust conceptual framework within which to explore the possible pathways of chemical complexification leading to life. In such a view the emergence of life is the result of deep natural laws (the outlines of which we are only beginning to perceive) and reflects a degree of holism in those systems that led to life. Further, there is the possibility of developing a more general theory of biology and of natural organization from such an approach. The emergence of life may thus be seen as an instance of the broader innate creativity of nature and consistent with a possible natural teleology.
The Emergence of Sex
Authors: Goodenough Ursula
Published: November 2007

Biological traits, the foci of natural selection, are by definition emergent from the genes, proteins, and other “nothing‐buts” that constitute them. Moreover, and with the exception of recently emergent “spandrels,” each can be accorded a teleological dimension—each is “for” some purpose conducive to an organism's continuation. Sex, which is “for” the generation of recombinant genomes, may be one of the most ancient and ubiquitous traits in biology. In the course of its evolution, many additional traits, such as gender and nurture, have emerged. Patterns of sexual exchange are the basis for patterns of biological evolution and are central to the process of eukaryotic speciation. Human sexuality is central to our selves.
Science, Religious Naturalism, and Biblical Theology: Ground for the Emergence of Sustainable Living
Authors: Fisher George W. , Van Utt Gretchen
Published: November 2007

During this century, humans must learn to live in ways that are sustainable, both ecologically and morally. The global community already consumes more ecological resources than Earth can generate; population growth and increasing development are widening that gap. We suggest that paths to sustainability can be found by mindful reflection on meanings discerned in the convergence of a scientific understanding of nature, religious naturalism, and biblical understandings of creation. The patterns of ecological sustainability observed in natural systems and the wise ways of relating to the land discerned in the Hebrew Bible suggest that sustainability must be grounded in social and ecological justice and that just ways of living can emerge from a deep sense of the ways in which nature and all of humanity are interdependent. We conclude that the twentieth‐century emphasis on individual control of our future must make room for the emergence of a new understanding of mutuality. There can be no flourishing apart from mutual flourishing.
Emergence, Naturally!
Authors: Ulanowicz Robert E.
Published: November 2007

The prevailing common assumptions about how nature behaves have their origins in the early Enlightenment. The notion of emergence does not sit comfortably within this framework. Emergence appears virtually impossible within a world determined by ineluctable and unwavering natural laws. But the variety and combinations inherent in living systems render physical laws indeterminate. The study of ecological dynamics suggests that processes rather than laws are what accounts for most order seen in the living realm. As a consequence, there are aspects of ecological dynamics that violate each of the Newtonian postulates. The dynamics of ecosystems suggest a smaller set of rational assumptions through which to view nature—an “ecological metaphysic.” Emergence appears as a rare but wholly natural phenomenon within the new rational platform. In addition, several apparent conflicts between science and theism that arose under the Newtonian framework simply vanish under the new perspective.
Plumbing the Depths: A Recovery of Natural Law and Natural Wisdom in the Context of Debates about Evolutionary Purpose
Authors: Deane‐Drummond Celia
Published: November 2007

I argue that the theological traditions of natural law and wisdom offer helpful meeting points in discussions about evolutionary “purpose” and contingency in relation to theological purpose, and serve to form the basis for a theology of nature. Natural law offers a way of describing the ordered action of God toward complexity in a contingent world without using the language of either “design” or “progress.” The theological tradition of wisdom as implicit in the natural world, learned in the human community, and received as gift of grace offers a further means of interconnecting biological reality with spiritual experience, while retaining distinctions. Wisdom and natural law intersect inasmuch as natural law is participation in Eternal Wisdom, although the latter makes sense only from the prior perspective of faith.
Odysseans of the Twenty‐First Century
Authors: Bradley James T.
Published: November 2007

In his book Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies—and What It Means to Be Human (2005), author‐journalist Joel Garreau identifies four technologies whose synergistic activity may transform humankind into a state transcending present human nature: genetic, robotic, information, and nano (GRIN) technologies. If the GRIN technologies follow Moore's Law, as information technology has done for the past four decades, Homo sapiens and human society may be unimaginably different before the middle of this century. But among scientists, futurists, and other pundits there is no agreement on the nature and ramifications of this transformation. Based on dozens of interviews, Garreau sees three possible scenarios for our species. The Heaven Scenario foresees enhanced bodies and minds in a disease‐free world, perhaps even immortality; the Hell Scenario warns of losing our identity as a biological entity and perhaps the demise of liberal democracy; the Prevail Scenario predicts that we will muddle through the GRIN technology revolution basically intact, as we have prevailed during past technological upheavals. In this review, these scenarios are examined in the context of Kuhn's “normal” versus “extraordinary” science and in the context of current understanding about gene function.
Is it simply getting worse? Agriculture and Swedish greenhouse gas emissions over 200 years1
Authors: KANDER ASTRID
Published: November 2007

This paper challenges the idea that emissions of greenhouse gases simply increase over time with income. It adopts a 200‐year perspective and includes the important flows of greenhouse gases related to agriculture, not just the CO2 from fossil fuels. The result is that the pattern of Swedish total greenhouse gas emissions over time resembles an N. In contrast, when only emissions from fossil fuels are counted, the pattern over time resembles an inverted U. Among the most important factors generating emissions in agriculture, forest management was especially important, but in addition, draining of wetlands for agriculture played a substantial role.
Benchmarking medieval economic development: England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, c.12901
Authors: CAMPBELL BRUCE M. S.
Published: November 2007

Estimates are assembled for England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, and for Britain and Ireland as a whole, of the numbers of religious houses, regular clergy, parishes, towns of more than 2,000 inhabitants, and townspeople, and the value of dutiable exports and volume of currency at the watershed date ofc.1290. Absolute and relative levels of economic development are then compared. A range of possible population estimates are considered and corresponding set of per capita estimates thereby derived. The results highlight significant differences in the pattern of economic development between and within these four countries.
Information Opacity, Credit Risk, and the Design of Loan Contracts for Private Firms
Authors: Ackert Lucy F. , Huang Rongbing , Ramírez Gabriel G.
Published: November 2007

This paper examines the structure and cost of a large sample of bank loans to private firms. Compared to public firms, private firms are more informationally opaque and riskier. The results suggest that the design of a loan to a private firm is significantly different from that to a public firm. Bank loans to private firms are more likely to be by a sole lender, collateralized, and have sweep covenants than loans to public firms. The cost of borrowing is higher for a private firm than for a public firm, even after holding constant firm and loan characteristics.
Fractionated aminolevulinic acid–photodynamic therapy provides additional evidence for the use of PDT for non‐melanoma skin cancer
Authors: De Haas ERM , De Vijlder HC , Sterenborg HJCM , Neumann HAM , Robinson DJ
Published: November 2007

Background  Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an accepted treatment for superficial basal cel carcinoma (sBCC) and Bowens disease. In Rotterdam, extensive preclinical research has lead to an optimized twofold illumination scheme for aminolevulinic acid–PDT (ALA‐PDT).

Objective  To provide additional evidence of ALA‐PDT for sBCC, Bowens disease (BD), nodular BCC (nBCC) and actinic keratosis (AK) using a 2‐fold illumination scheme after a single application of ALA.

Methods  Five hundred fifty‐two lesions (430 sBCC, 20 nBCC, 32 BD, 70 AK) were treated with ALA‐PDT using a twofold illumination scheme. ALA was applied topically for 4 h. Lesions were treated with two light fractions of 20 and 80 J/cm2 separated by a 2‐h dark interval.

Results  After a minimum follow‐up of 12 months, in average follow‐up of 2 years, an overall complete response of 95% was seen for all lesions. For sBCC, the complete response at 2 years was 97% (for AK 98%, for BD 84% and for nBCC 80% after 2 years). A sub‐analysis of the results of lesions larger than 2 cm showed CR at 2 years of 89% for all lesions (n = 57). Cosmetic outcome was good to excellent in 95% of the treated lesions.

Conclusion  ALA‐PDT using a twofold illumination scheme of 20 plus 80 J/cm2 separated by a 2‐h dark interval leads to high complete response rates at 2 years and can be regarded as an evidence‐based treatment modality for superficial growing non‐melanoma skin cancer and the (pre)malignant AK. The Rotterdam fractionated approach should be included in future guidelines.
Effects ofl‐arginine and phosphodiesterase‐5 inhibitor, sildenafil, on inflammation and airway responsiveness of sensitized BP2 mice
Authors: Al Qadi‐Nassar B. , Bichon‐Laurent F. , Portet K. , Tramini P. , Arnoux B. , Michel A.
Published: November 2007

Nitric oxide (NO) levels are elevated in the exhaled breath of asthmatic patients and NO is considered as a biomarker of airway inflammation. However, the functions of NO in the airways are not completely understood.l‐arginine, as the substrate of NO synthases, is the precursor of NO which stimulates guanylate cyclase and leads to the formation of cyclic GMP (cGMP). Sildenafil, a phosphodiestérase‐5 (PDE‐5) inhibitor, prevents the degradation of cGMP. In this study the effects ofl‐arginine and sildenafil treatment, alone or in combination, were evaluated in ovalbumin‐sensitized BP2 mice. These effects concerning the airway responsiveness to inhaled methacholine (MCh) were evaluated by whole‐body plethysmography (WBP), the inflammatory response evaluated by bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) analyses and lung tissue biopsies (eosinophilic inflammation associated with lung remodelling), and NO metabolite measurements (by Griess reaction) in BALF. Ovalbumin sensitization induced: (a) an inflammatory reaction with eosinophil and neutrophil influx in BALF and lung; and (b) an increased bronchial responsiveness to MCh.l‐arginine treatment [50 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.), for 7 days] increased the relative amount of eosinophils and neutrophils in BALF, had a tendency to increase the airway responsiveness to inhaled MCh and increased the NO metabolite level in BAL. Sildenafil treatment (20 mg/kg i.p. for 7 days) did not affect the airway responsiveness to MCh and had a lower effect compared withl‐arginine on inflammatory reactions. The combination of the two treatments resulted in a dramatic enhancement of the airway responsiveness to inhaled MCh. The relative amount of eosinophils was increased and lung histology showed obvious worsened tissular lesions such as epithelial shedding and hypertrophy, hyperplasia of smooth muscle cells, and fibrosis. These findings are consistent with the notion that NO production plays a role in the development of airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness of sensitized mice and highlighted the potential risk of thel‐arginine dietary complement or PDE5 treatment in asthmatic patients.
Influence of tetrahydrocurcumin on tail tendon collagen contents and its properties in rats with streptozotocin–nicotinamide‐induced type 2 diabetes
Authors: Pari Leelavinothan , Murugan Pidaran
Published: November 2007

Changes in the structural and functional properties of collagen caused by advanced glycation might be of importance for the etiology of late‐stage complications in diabetics. Curcumin is the most active component of turmeric. It is believed that curcumin is a potent antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory agent. Tetrahydrocurcumin (THC) is one of the major metabolites of curcumin, exhibiting many of the same physiological and pharmacological activities of curcumin and in some systems may exert greater antioxidant activity than curcumin. In diabetic rats, hydroxyproline and collagen content as well as its degree of cross‐linking were increased, as shown by increased extent of glycation, collagen‐linked fluorescence, neutral salt collagen, and decreased acid and pepsin solubility. Administration of THC for 45 days to diabetic rats significantly reduced the accumulation and cross‐linking of collagen. The effects of THC were comparable with those of curcumin. In conclusion, administration of THC had a positive influence on the content of collagen and its properties in streptozotocin‐ and nicotinamide‐induced diabetic rats. THC was found to be more effective than curcumin.
Operationalising sustainability science for a sustainability directive? Reflecting on three pilot projects
Authors: BLACKSTOCK K L , CARTER C E
Published: November 2007

The implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) will challenge traditional single discipline or single issue approaches to research, requiring instead new forms such as ‘sustainability science’. Sustainability science requires the integration of multiple perspectives to resolve place‐based problems. This paper will illustrate some of the challenges and emergent understandings that were observed during three research projects that could be characterised as attempting to practice sustainability science. The first two projects focused on designing and developing an integrated assessment approach to analyse possible programmes of measures for the WFD. The third project is an evaluation of a European project that piloted specific measures that might be implemented under WFD. The findings highlight the institutional changes required to deliver sustainability science. To summarise, both the ‘rules‐in‐use’ and the ‘play‐of‐the‐game’, to use the language of the institutional analysis and development framework, will have to change to provide sufficient incentives to make the transition from traditional science to sustainability science.
Stress, sex, and satisfaction in marriage
Authors: BODENMANN GUY , LEDERMANN THOMAS , BRADBURY THOMAS N.
Published: November 2007

Using data from 198 couples, this study examines whether associations between stress occurring outside of the dyad and key indicators of relationship functioning are mediated by stress arising within the dyad. Findings suggest that relationship satisfaction and sexual activity are governed by hassles and problems experienced within the dyad that are in turn related to stress arising outside the dyad. Associations between external stress and relationship functioning are stronger for daily hassles than for critical life events. Higher levels of daily stress predicted less sexual activity for maritally dissatisfied women and more sexual activity for maritally dissatisfied men. Self‐reports of stress covaried with self‐reported indexes of satisfaction and sexuality, suggesting that contextual influences are broadly influential in intimate relationships.
Personality goes a long way: The malleability of opposite‐sex physical attractiveness
Authors: LEWANDOWSKI GARY W. , ARON ARTHUR , GEE JULIE
Published: November 2007

This study tested the influence of personality information on judgments of physical attractiveness. Employing a within‐subject design, 56 female and 22 male college students rated attractiveness of opposite‐sex photos; participated in a distraction task; viewed each photo again, along with personality information (desirable, undesirable, none); and then rated the photos for physical attractiveness, desirability as a friend, and desirability as a dating partner. Personality information produced significant changes in ratings of physical attractiveness for attractive, neutral, and unattractive targets. The pattern of results is consistent with a model in which desirability of the target’s personality leads to greater desirability as a friend, leading to greater desirability as a dating partner, leading to the target being judged as more physically attractive.
Clonazepam (Rivotril®) and Carbamazepine (Tegretol®) in Psychomotor Epilepsy: A Randomized Multicenter Trial
Authors: Mikkelsen Bent , Berggreen Peter , Joensen Poul , Kristensen Ole , Køhler Ole , Mikkelsen Birgit Ohrt
Published: November 2007

Summary: The antiepileptic properties of carbamazepine (Tegretol®) and clonazepam (Rivotril®) were compared in a double‐blind randomized study comprising 36 patients with newly diagnosed, untreated psychomotor epilepsy (partial seizures with complex symptomatology). No significant differences were found between the two drugs during the 6 months of treatment. Measurements of concentrations in plasma confirmed that the patients exceeded the accepted lower limit for therapeutic range of the drugs.

RESUME

Les propriétés anti‐épileptiques de la carbamazépine (Tégrétol®) et du clonazépam (Rivotril®) ont été comparées en double‐aveugle chez 36 patients présentant une épilepsie psychomotrice nouvellement diagnostiquée et non encore traitée (épilepsie avec crises partielles à sémiologie complexe). Aucune différence significative n'a été trouvée entres les deux médicaments pendant les six mois de traitement. La mesure des concentrations plasmatiques a confirmé que la limite inférieure des taux thérapeutiques était dépassée chez tous les patients pour les deux médicaments.

Se compararon las propiedades anticomiciales de la carbamacepina (Tegretol®) y del clonacepan (Rivotril®) por medio de un estudio doble‐ciego al azar en un grupo de 36 pacientes en los que, en fecha cercana, se había hecho un diagnóstico de epilepsía psicomotora (crisis parciales con sintomatología compleja) y que no habían recibido tratamiento previo. No se encontró ninguna diferencia entre los dos fármacos durante un periodo de tratamiento de 6 meses. Las concentraciones plasmáticas confirmaron que los pacientos toleraron niveles mayores que los que se aceptan como limites inferiores terapéuticos de estos fármacos.

Die antiepileptischen Eigenschaften von Carbamezepin (Tegretol®) Und Clonazepam (Rivotril®) wurden in einer randomisierten Doppelblindstudie untersucht, die 36 Patienten mit frisch diagnostizierter unbehandelter psychomotorischer Epilepsie umfasste (Partialanfälle mit komplexer Symptomatologie). Zwischen den beiden Medikamenten wurden während einer 6‐monatigen Behandlung keine signifikanten Unterschiede gefunden. Messungen der Plasmakonzentrationen bestätigten, daß die Patienten, die angenommene untere Grenze des therapeutischen Bereichs überschritten.
Seizure control in antiepileptic drug‐treated pregnancy
Authors: Vajda Frank J. E. , Hitchcock Alison , Graham Janet , O'Brien Terence , Lander Cecilie , Eadie Mervyn
Published: November 2007

Summary

This brief report covers an analysis of 7 years outcome data from the Australian Register of Antiepileptic Drugs in Pregnancy. In studying the control of antiepileptic drug‐treated epileptic seizures during pregnancy, it was found that pregnancy had little influence on antiepileptic drug‐treated epileptic seizure disorders. Seizures during pregnancy occurred in 49.7% of 841 antiepileptic drug (AED) treated pregnancies in women with epilepsy. Epilepsies that were active in the year before pregnancy tended to increase the risk of intrapartum and postpartum seizures. The risk of seizures during pregnancy was 50–70% less if the prepregnancy year was seizure free, and decreased relatively little more with longer periods of prepregnancy seizure control. Once there had been 1 year's freedom from seizures there seemed relatively little further advantage in deferring pregnancy to avoid seizures returning while pregnant.
Spectrum of epilepsy in terminal 1p36 deletion syndrome
Authors: Bahi‐Buisson Nadia , Guttierrez‐Delicado Eva , Soufflet Christine , Rio Marlène , Cormier Daire Valérie , Lacombe Didier , Héron Delphine , Verloes Alain , Zuberi Sameer , Burglen Lydie , Afenjar Alexandra , Moutard Marie Laure , Edery Patrick , Novelli Antonio , Bernardini Laura , Dulac Olivier , Nabbout Rima , Plouin Perrine , Battaglia Agatino
Published: November 2007

Summary

Purpose:Previous reports have summarized the seizures types occurring in 1p36 deletion syndrome. To better define the spectrum of epilepsy, we studied 91 patients (median age 7.8 years) with confirmed 1p36 deletion.

Methods:Based on clinical charts, we retrospectively analyzed the evolution of both the EEG findings and seizures.

Results:Epilepsy occurred in 53 patients (58.2%), with onset at a median 2.75 months. First seizures were generalized tonic (8 cases), tonic and clonic (6) or myoclonic (12), simple partial (6), or complex partial (14). Thereafter, 20 patients (21.9%) developed infantile spasms with hypsarrhythmia, at a median age of 5 months. High doses of oral steroids were tried in nine cases, with a prompt remission of seizures in six. Among them, five were seizure‐free at the time of evaluation. Conversely, two of three nonresponders to steroids developed severe and refractory epilepsy.

At the time of evaluation, 32 patients were seizure‐free, from a median age of 1.8 years. Nineteen patients (20.9%) had developed refractory epilepsy with polymorphic seizures, including generalized tonic and tonic–clonic seizures (13) combined with myoclonic seizures (11) and atypical absences (3), atonic seizures (2), or complex partial seizures (3). The EEG showed focal, multifocal or generalized spikes, polyspike, and waves, with poverty of the usual background rhythmic activities.

Conclusions:Early epilepsy is a frequent finding in 1p36 deletion syndrome with infantile spasms as of the most common features that can contribute to a poor clinical outcome. Early diagnosis and management of infantile spasm in this condition is mandatory.
Epilepsy and toxocariasis: a case–control study in Italy
Authors: Nicoletti Alessandra , Sofia Vito , Mantella Antonia , Vitale Giuseppina , Contrafatto Donatella , Sorbello Veronica , Biondi Roberto , Preux Pierre‐Marie , Garcia Hector Hugo , Zappia Mario , Bartoloni Alessandro
Published: November 2007

Summary

Purpose: To assess the relationship between epilepsy and toxocariasis in adult subjects by means of a case–control study in Catania, Italy.

Methods: People with epilepsy (PWE) were randomly selected from the database of the center of epilepsy of our department. Epilepsy was diagnosed according to the definition proposed by the International League Against Epilepsy. One healthy control per each case was selected among subjects who went to the central laboratory for a hematological check. Control subjects underwent a complete neurological examination to exclude the presence of neurological disorders. PWE and controls were assessed serologically for antibodies against Toxocara canis (T. canis) by an immunoblotting assay.

Results: Two hundred thirty‐one PWE (110 men and 121 women) and 201 controls (126 men and 75 women) were enrolled in the study. Of the 231 PWE, 152 presented partial seizures. Antibodies anti‐T. canis were found in 38 PWE (16.4%) and in 13 controls (6.6%) giving a crude OR of 2.85 (95% CI 1.47–5.51). Adjusted OR estimated by logistic regression was 3.90 (95% CI 1.91–7.98). This association was mainly due to a significant association between Toxocara antibodies and partial epilepsy (adjusted OR 4.69; 95% CI 2.24–9.80), while a positive, but not significant, association was found with generalized seizures (adjusted OR 1.74; 95% CI 0.60–5.05).

Conclusion: We found a significant association between T. canis seropositivity and epilepsy and a stronger association was found with partial epilepsy. Our finding suggests that toxocariasis may increase the risk of epilepsy.
Molecular and Cellular Events in Alcohol‐Induced Muscle Disease
Authors: Fernandez‐Solà Joaquim , Preedy Victor R. , Lang Charles H. , Gonzalez‐Reimers Emilio , Arno M. , Lin J. C. I. , Wiseman H. , Zhou S. , Emery P. W. , Nakahara T. , Hashimoto K. , Hirano M. , Santolaria‐Fernández F. , González‐Hernández T. , Fatjó Francesc , Sacanella Emilio , Estruch Ramón , Nicolás José M. , Urbano‐Márquez Alvaro
Published: November 2007

Alcohol consumption induces a dose‐dependent noxious effect on skeletal muscle, leading to progressive functional and structural damage of myocytes, with concomitant reductions in lean body mass. Nearly half of high‐dose chronic alcohol consumers develop alcoholic skeletal myopathy. The pathogenic mechanisms that lie between alcohol intake and loss of muscle tissue involve multiple pathways, making the elucidation of the disease somewhat difficult.

This review discusses the recent advances in basic and clinical research on the molecular and cellular events involved in the development of alcohol‐induced muscle disease. The main areas of recent research interest on this field are as follows: (i) molecular mechanisms in alcohol exposed muscle in the rat model; (ii) gene expression changes in alcohol exposed muscle; (iii) the role of trace elements and oxidative stress in alcoholic myopathy; and (iv) the role of apoptosis and preapoptotic pathways in alcoholic myopathy. These aforementioned areas are crucial in understanding the pathogenesis of this disease. For example, there is overwhelming evidence that both chronic alcohol ingestion and acute alcohol intoxication impair the rate of protein synthesis of myofibrillar proteins, in particular, under both postabsorptive and postprandial conditions. Perturbations in gene expression are contributory factors to the development of alcoholic myopathy, as ethanol‐induced alterations are detected in over 400 genes and the protein profile (i.e., the proteome) of muscle is also affected.There is supportive evidence that oxidative damage is involved in the pathogenesis of alcoholic myopathy. Increased lipid peroxidation is related to muscle fibre atrophy, and reduced serum levels of some antioxidants may be related to loss of muscle mass and muscle strength. Finally, ethanol induces skeletal muscle apoptosis and increases both pro‐ and antiapoptotic regulatory mechanisms.
The Effects of Continuous and Intermittent Ethanol Exposure in Adolesence on the Aversive Properties of Ethanol During Adulthood
Authors: Diaz‐Granados Jaime L. , Graham Danielle L.
Published: November 2007

Background:  Alcohol abuse among adolescents is prevalent. Epidemiological studies suggest that alcohol abuse during the adolescent developmental period may result in long‐term changes such as an increased susceptibility to alcohol‐related problems in adulthood. Laboratory findings suggest that alcohol exposure during the adolescent developmental period, as compared with adulthood, may differentially impact subsequent neurobehavioral responses to alcohol. The present study was designed to examine whether ethanol exposure, continuous versus intermittent, during the adolescent developmental period would alter the aversive properties of ethanol in adult C3H mice.

Methods:  Periadolescent (PD28) male C3H mice were exposed to 64 hours of continuous or intermittent ethanol vapor. As a comparison, adult (PD70) C3H mice were also exposed to 64 hours of continuous or intermittent ethanol vapor. Six weeks after ethanol exposure, taste aversion conditioning was carried out on both ethanol pre‐exposed and ethanol‐naive animals using a 1‐trial, 1‐flavor taste‐conditioning procedure.

Results:  Ethanol exposure during the periadolescent period significantly attenuated a subsequent ethanol‐induced conditioned taste aversion, as compared with control animals. Adult animals exposed to chronic ethanol vapor during adolescence showed less of an aversion to an ethanol‐paired flavor than ethanol‐naive adults. Intermittent exposure to ethanol vapor during periadolescence produced a greater attenuation.

Conclusion:  It is suggested that ethanol exposure during the periadolescent period results in long‐term neurobehavioral changes, which lessen a conditioned aversion to ethanol in adulthood. It is suggested that this age‐related effect may underlie the increased susceptibility to alcohol‐related problems which is negatively correlated with the age of onset for alcohol abuse.
Moderators of Naltrexone’s Effects on Drinking, Urge, and Alcohol Effects in Non‐Treatment‐Seeking Heavy Drinkers in the Natural Environment
Authors: Tidey Jennifer W. , Monti Peter M. , Rohsenow Damaris J. , Gwaltney Chad J. , Miranda Robert , McGeary John E. , MacKillop James , Swift Robert M. , Abrams David B. , Shiffman Saul , Paty Jean A.
Published: November 2007

Background:  Naltrexone (NTX) has proven to be effective with alcoholics in treatment, with most controlled clinical trials showing beneficial effects on heavy drinking rates. However, little is known about the behavioral mechanisms underlying the effects of NTX on drinking, or about patient characteristics that may moderate NTX’s effects on drinking. In this study, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) techniques were used to investigate some of the putative mechanisms of naltrexone’s effects on drinking in heavy drinkers who were not seeking treatment for alcohol problems. Polymorphisms in the D4 dopamine receptor (DRD4) gene and the μ‐opiate receptor (OPRM1) gene, family history of alcohol problems, age of onset of alcoholism and gender were explored as potential moderators of NTX’s effects.

Methods:  After a 1‐week placebo lead‐in period, heavy drinkers (n = 180), 63% of whom were alcohol‐dependent, were randomized to 3 weeks of daily naltrexone (50 mg) or placebo. Throughout the study, participants used EMA on palm‐pilot computers to enter, in real time, drink data, urge levels, and subjective effects of alcohol consumption.

Results:  Naltrexone reduced percentage drinking days in all participants and reduced percent heavy drinking days in DRD4‐L individuals; NTX decreased urge levels in participants with younger age of alcoholism onset; NTX increased time between drinks in participants who had more relatives with alcohol problems; and NTX reduced the stimulating effects of alcohol in women. OPRM1 status did not moderate any of NTX’s effects.

Conclusions:  These results confirm earlier findings of NTX’s effects on drinking and related subjective effects, and extend them by describing individual difference variables that moderate these effects in the natural environment, using data collected in real time.
Chronic Alcohol Accentuates Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome‐Associated Wasting
Authors: Molina Patricia E. , Lang Charles H. , McNurlan Margaret , Bagby Gregory J. , Nelson Steve
Published: November 2007

Background:  Survival following human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has improved significantly following the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy. A large percentage of HIV‐infected patients consume and abuse alcohol. Erosion of lean body mass is an important contributing factor to patient morbidity and mortality, and is a common feature of both chronic alcohol (ALC) consumption and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). We hypothesized that alcohol‐induced loss in lean body mass is likely to exacerbate the AIDS wasting syndrome, particularly at the terminal stage of AIDS (SAIDS).

Methods:  This study examined the impact of chronic, intra‐gastric ALC (5 h/d × 4 d/wk; blood alcohol levels = 55 mM to 60 mM) administration on body composition and muscle mass in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)‐infected male Rhesus macaques in contrast to SIV‐infected isocaloric (22 kcal/kg/d) sucrose (SUC)‐infused control animals at the terminal stage of SIV infection.

Results:  At terminal stage, ALC/SIV+ animals had significantly lower body weight, body mass index, and limb muscle area than SUC/SIV+ animals. Both ALC/SIV+ and SUC/SIV+ animals had suppressed expression of insulin‐like growth factor‐I and increased expression of the ubiquitin ligase muscle‐specific RING finger‐1 mRNA. ALC increased mRNA expression of atrogin‐1 (pre‐SIV and at SAIDS) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α (SAIDS). These changes were not associated with significant differences in fractional rates of muscle protein synthesis or in overall survival rate. These data show that chronic ALC exacerbated the loss of muscle mass at terminal SAIDS.

Conclusion:  Our findings suggest the involvement of TNF‐α and increased muscle proteolysis via atrogin‐1 for the greater erosion of lean body mass at terminal SAIDS in ALC‐treated Rhesus macaques.
Chronic Ethanol Ingestion Increases Aortic Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Expression and Nitric Oxide Production in the Rat
Authors: Kleinhenz Dean J. , Sutliff Roy L. , Polikandriotis John A. , Walp Erik R. , Dikalov Sergey I. , Guidot David M. , Hart C. Michael
Published: November 2007

Background:  Chronic alcohol consumption perturbs cellular function in a variety of organ systems. Previous studies have suggested that moderate alcohol consumption reduces vascular disease, whereas heavier alcohol consumption may worsen it. The mechanisms for these vascular effects of chronic alcohol ingestion continue to be defined and constitute the focus of this study.

Methods:  Male Sprague Dawley rats were fed an isocaloric, Lieber‐Decarli liquid diet containing either ethanol (36% calories) or Maltose–Dextrin (substituted for ethanol) for 6 weeks. Telemetric blood pressure measurements were taken before and after ethanol feeding. After the rats were killed, the aortas were analyzed for endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase expression and NO production.

Results:  Chronic ethanol ingestion decreased mean arterial pressure and increased aortic NO production as demonstrated by direct ex vivo measurements using iron diethyldithio‐carbamic acid as well as analysis of nitrosyl‐hemoglobin (NO‐Hb) levels. Consistent with these assays of vascular NO production, endothelium‐dependent relaxation responses to acetycholine (Ach) were enhanced in ethanol‐fed animals. Aortic endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression was also increased by chronic ethanol ingestion.

Conclusions:  These findings demonstrate that a regimen of chronic alcohol ingestion in the rat produced generally salutary effects in the systemic vasculature following a 6‐week treatment regimen. These findings extend previous in vitro studies to demonstrate that alcohol has potent effects on vascular endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression, NO production, and vascular function. Consistent with previous reports, these findings confirm that alcohol‐induced alterations in the production of reactive nitrogen species play an important role in the pathogenesis of alcohol‐mediated tissue effects.
Geriatric Pain Measure Short Form: Development and Initial Evaluation
Authors: Blozik Eva , Stuck Andreas E. , Niemann Steffen , Ferrell Bruce A. , Harari Danielle , Renteln‐Kruse Wolfgang von , Gillmann Gerhard , Beck John C. , Clough‐Gorr Kerri M.
Published: November 2007

OBJECTIVES: To develop and evaluate a short form of the 24‐item Geriatric Pain Measure (GPM) for use in community‐dwelling older adults.

DESIGN: Derivation and validation of a 12‐item version of the GPM in a European and an independent U.S. sample of community‐dwelling older adults.

SETTING: Three community‐dwelling sites in London, United Kingdom; Hamburg, Germany; Solothurn, Switzerland; and two ambulatory geriatrics clinics in Los Angeles, California.

PARTICIPANTS: European sample: 1,059 community‐dwelling older persons from three sites (London, UK; Hamburg, Germany; Solothurn, Switzerland); validation sample: 50 persons from Los Angeles, California, ambulatory geriatric clinics.

MEASUREMENTS: Multidimensional questionnaire including self‐reported demographic and clinical information.

RESULTS: Based on item‐to–total scale correlations in the European sample, 11 of 24 GPM items were selected for inclusion in the short form. One additional item (pain‐related sleep problems) was included based on clinical relevance. In the validation sample, the Cronbach alpha of GPM‐12 was 0.92 (individual subscale range 0.77–0.92), and the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between GPM‐12 and the original GPM was 0.98. The correlation between the GPM‐12 and the McGill Pain Questionnaire was 0.63 (P<.001), similar to the correlation between the original GPM and the McGill Pain Questionnaire (Pearson r=0.63; P<.001). Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the GPM‐12 covers three subfactors (pain intensity, pain with ambulation, disengagement because of pain).

CONCLUSION: The GPM‐12 demonstrated good validity and reliability in these European and U.S. populations of older adults. Despite its brevity, the GPM‐12 captures the multidimensional nature of pain in three subscales. The self‐administered GPM‐12 may be useful in the clinical assessment process and management of pain and in pain‐related research in older persons.