bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cultural Response to Environmental Change in the Alpine Lacustrine Regions: The Displacement Model
Authors: Menotti Francesco
Published: November 2003

Summary.  Following an abrupt change in climatic conditions, the Middle Bronze Age northern Alpine lake‐dwellers were forced to abandon their settlements. As a result, the archaeological record shows a gap of occupation from the end of the sixteenth century to the beginning of the twelfth century BC. Where did those groups go during that period? Recent studies show that some Middle Bronze Age sites hitherto regarded as traditional dry‐land dwellings might represent constructions by former lacustrine people. Typological analyses of pottery assemblages and house structure remains found on these sites have made it possible to trace them back to an origin in the lacustrine tradition. The MBA lake‐dwelling occupational hiatus could finally be bridged and the process of cultural continuity reconstructed. The MBA lake‐dwellers certainly did not disappear; they just temporarily adapted to a drier environment until the lake shores became ‘safe’ again for re‐settlement.
The Achaian Vapheio Cup and Its Afterlife in Archaic South Italy
Authors: Papadopoulos John K.
Published: November 2003

Summary. This article publishes an Archaic Greek cup of individual form from the extramural sanctuary of the Achaian colony of Sybaris at Francavilla Marittima in south Italy. The Francavilla cup, which is Achaian or Achaian‐style, is fully discussed and similar Archaic cups from the site of Incoronata, near the Achaianapoikiaof Metapontion, are assembled. These vessels find no immediate parallel among contemporary Greek or indigenous pottery of the seventh and earlier sixth centuries BC, but bear a remarkable similarity to the characteristic cylindrical, so‐called Vapheio cups of the Aegean Bronze Age which are known in metal, clay and stone versions from as early as the Early Minoan III period through the Late Helladic era. It is argued that these cups represent the Archaic creation or re‐creation of a well‐known Bronze Age shape in the Achaianapoikiaiof south Italy.
WHERE DID THE LUSTRE TILES OF THE SIDI OQBA MOSQUE (ad 836–63) IN KAIROUAN COME FROM?*
Authors: Bobin O. , Schvoerer M. , Ney C. , Rammah M. , Daoulatli A. , Pannequin B. , Gayraud R. P.
Published: November 2003

Metallic lustre decoration of glazed ceramics is a very special kind of ornament, because its colours change with the observational conditions. In diffused light, they can be green, brown or ochre–yellow. In specular reflection, they show an associated coloured metallic shine (blue, golden‐yellow or orange). The lustre tiles at the Sidi Oqba Mosque in Kairouan still have no defined origin (possibly Kairouan and/or Mesopotamia). Physicochemical analyses of eight Kairouan lustre tile samples and four Mesopotamian lustre pottery samples show that the Kairouan tiles probably came from Mesopotamia, from a major production centre, possibly Baghdad, Samarra or Basra.
AN EPR AND ISOTOPIC STUDY OF THE MARBLES OF THE TRAJAN's ARCH AT ANCONA: AN EXAMPLE OF ALLEGED HYMETTIAN PROVENANCE*
Authors: Attanasio D. , De Marinis G. , Pallecchi P. , Platania R. , Rocchi P.
Published: November 2003

The provenance of 20 marble samples drawn from the Trajan's arch at Ancona, which is supposed to be made of Greek, Hymettian marble, has been established on the basis of the independent use of EPR and isotopic data. The results of the two methods are in good agreement and unequivocally indicate a Proconnesian provenance. Sixteen samples are assigned to this site, whereas two are classified as untypical Proconnesian samples and the remaining two are assigned an unlikely Parian provenance. No indication exists for a possible Hymettian origin of the marbles. A multi‐method approach, which employs all of the experimental variables simultaneously, demonstrates that the 18 samples identified as Proconnesian belong to several different quarrying areas within the site. This result is taken as an indication that the Proconnesian quarries were run following a highly organized, semi‐industrial production model. The origin of the Hymettian/Proconnesian misunderstanding and the possible misclassification of other Roman monuments in Italy are briefly commented on.
MICROANALYTICAL METAL TECHNOLOGY STUDY OF ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN BRONZES FROM TELL BEYDAR*
Authors: De Ryck I. , Adriaens A. , Adams F.
Published: November 2003

Forty‐six bronze objects have been investigated to assess their composition and microstructure, using SEM–EDX and optical microscopy. The bronzes originate from Tell Beydar, a site in the northeastern part of Syria that was mainly occupied during the third millennium bc. The compositional results of the metals show a clear chronological sequence in the use of the alloying elements arsenic and tin. In addition, the microstructure indicates advancement in the metalworking techniques that were used.
FINGERPRINTING OF ROMAN MINTS USING LASER‐ABLATION MC–ICP–MS LEAD ISOTOPE ANALYSIS*
Authors: Ponting M. , Evans J. A. , Pashley V.
Published: November 2003

In this paper we present data to demonstrate the applicability of laser‐ablation MC–ICP–MS isotope analysis to archaeological artefacts, in this case Roman silver coins. The technique requires no chemical preparation, does minimal damage to the sample and yields external reproducibility that is better than conventional TIMS analysis; 207Pb/206Pb =±0.015% 2σ in comparison with 207Pb/206Pb =±0.04% 2σ, respectively. We show that Pb isotope compositions give isotope fingerprints to mints despite the likely reworking of the metal during coin production.
From scarless fetal wounds to keloids: Molecular studies in wound healing
Authors: Yang George P. , Lim Ivor J. , Phan Toan‐Thang , Lorenz H. Peter , Longaker Michael T.
Published: November 2003

Surgical researchers were among the first to describe the different phases of wound healing and the events in tissue repair and regeneration that were taking place during each phase. The understanding of these events has been significantly enhanced in recent years by modern techniques in molecular and cellular biology. In this article, we discuss new findings in scarless fetal repair, angiogenesis in wound healing, and keloid pathogenesis. This serves to highlight the advances that have been made and also how much remains to be understood. (WOUND REP REG 2003;11:411–418)
Arginine physiology and its implication for wound healing
Authors: Witte Maria B. , Barbul Adrian
Published: November 2003

Arginine is a basic amino acid that plays several pivotal roles in cellular physiology. Like any amino acid, it is involved with protein synthesis, but it is also intimately involved with cell signaling through the production of nitric oxide and cell proliferation through its metabolism to ornithine and the other polyamines. Because of these multiple functions, arginine is an essential substrate for wound healing processes. Numerous studies have shown that arginine supplementation can lead to normalization or improvement of healing. This article reviews the basic biochemistry and cell signaling within which arginine performs its functions. In particular, the requirement for this amino acid in tissue repair is highlighted. (WOUND REP REG 2003;11:419–423)
HoxD3 expression and collagen synthesis in diabetic fibroblasts
Authors: Hansen Scott L. , Young David M. , Boudreau Nancy J.
Published: November 2003

Diabetic wound healing is characterized by deficiencies in both growth factor and collagen production. We have observed that expression of homeobox D3 (HoxD3), a collagen‐inducing transcription factor, and expression of collagen are reduced in an established animal model of diabetic wound repair, the leptin‐deficient diabetic (db/db) mouse. We sought to evaluate whether the diminished expression of collagen and HoxD3 would be maintained once fibroblasts were removed from the diabetic wound environment. Fibroblasts were isolated from both wild‐type and diabetic animals and expression of HoxD3 and collagen assessed. We found that when removed from the diabetic wound environment, HoxD3 and type I collagen expression are increased in diabetic fibroblasts when compared to wild‐type fibroblasts. The increase in type I collagen is not related to increased production or activation of transforming growth factor‐β1. However, when the diabetic fibroblasts are cultured in a 3D collagen matrix, expression of type I collagen and HoxD3 is markedly reduced and reflects the pattern of gene expression observed in the in vivo diabetic wound environment. Thus, although diabetic fibroblasts can regain the capacity to express high levels of collagen and HoxD3 once removed from the diabetic wound environment, culturing cells in the presence of a 3D collagen matrix is sufficient to revert these fibroblasts to their previous nonsynthetic state. (WOUND REP REG 2003;11:474–480)
Crossing the bridge: large animal models in translational transplantation research
Authors: Kirk Allan D.
Published: November 2003

Summary:  Many methods for reducing the immunosuppressive requirements of allotransplantation have been proposed based on a growing understanding of physiological and allospecific immunity. As these regimens are developed for clinical application, they require validation in models that are reasonably predictive of their performance in humans. This article provides an overview of the large animal models commonly used to test immunomodulatory organ transplant protocols. The rationale for the use of large animals and the effects of common immunosuppressants in the dog, pig, and non‐human primate are reviewed. Promising methods for the induction of allospecific tolerance are surveyed with references to early human trials where appropriate.
The balance of deletion and regulation in allograft tolerance
Authors: Zheng Xin Xiao , Sanchez‐Fueyo Alberto , Domenig Christoph , Strom Terry B.
Published: November 2003

Summary:  Although the precise mechanisms involved in the establishment and maintenance of peripheral allograft tolerance are still not fully understood, it is now clear that acquisition of transplantation tolerance is an active, highly regulated, multistep process. According to the pool size model of allograft tolerance, the allograft outcome, rejection, or tolerance, often depends on the balance between cytopathic and regulatory T cells (Tregs). Although both deletion and regulation play important roles in allograft tolerance, our recent studies showed that the quantitative details for each mechanism differ from model to model. Therefore, we hypothesize that there is a delicate balance between deletion and regulation in allograft tolerance. In a model of allograft tolerance in which the deletional mechanism plays a dominant role, e.g. tolerance produced via creation of mixed chimeras, the regulatory mechanism, albeit sometimes present, is far less important. Whilst in a model in which the regulation mechanism plays a critical role, e.g. donor‐specific transfusion plus MR1‐induced allograft tolerance, a deletional mechanism lowers the threshold for effective Treg action.
Molecular mechanisms of cis‐urocanic acid and permethrin‐induced alterations in cutaneous immunity
Authors: Prater M. R. , Blaylock B. L. , Holladay S. D.
Published: November 2003

Background/Purpose: Cutaneous cis‐urocanic acid (cUCA) or ultraviolet B exposure has been shown to cause diminished cutaneous contact hypersensitivity (CH) and to induce systemic tolerance (increased regulatory T lymphocytes) in mice. Permethrin is also a known CH inhibitor, but the molecular mechanisms are currently poorly understood. In this study, CH was evaluated in four strains of mice: an immunosensitive strain (C57BL/6N), an immunoresistant strain (SvImJ), a strain developed from C57BL/6N mice but genetically altered at both the tumor necrosis factor‐alpha receptors (TNFαp55R and p75R), and a strain developed from C57BL/6N but genetically deleted at the interferon‐gamma (IFNγ) locus.

Methods: CH was evaluated in each group via oxazolone challenge following a 5‐day exposure to intradermal (ID) cUCA or a single exposure to topical permethrin, or co‐exposure to both chemicals in 5‐week‐old female C57BL/6N, SvImJ, and C57BL/6N mice genetically altered at the TNFα or IFNγ locus.

Results: A 5‐day exposure to ID cUCA or a single exposure to topical permethrin resulted in diminished CH response in C57BL/6N mice, and this effect was exacerbated with concurrent exposure to both chemicals. CH in SvImJ was both cUCA‐ and permethrin‐resistant relative to C57BL/6N mice, as 5‐day cUCA or a single exposure to permethrin did not diminish CH, nor did concurrent exposure to cUCA and permethrin. Mice deleted at both TNFαR loci displayed similar but somewhat blunted diminished CH responses to cUCA or permethrin. This trend became significant with combined chemical exposure. IFNγ knockout mice displayed similar diminished CH responses to cUCA or permethrin alone. Unlike C57BL/6N mice, the IFNγ knockout mice did not show a further reduction in CH with combined chemical exposure.

Conclusions: These results suggest the following:

Mouse strains show variable susceptibility to permethrin‐ and cUCA‐induced immunomodulation.

TNFα may be involved in the immunomodulatory effects of cUCA and permethrin.

IFNγ may be required for the more than additive depression of CH caused by cUCA+permethrin.
Effects of a melanogenic bicyclic monoterpene diol on cell cycle, p53, TNF‐α, and PGE2 are distinct from those of UVB
Authors: Kraus Eliyahu , Galvin Jason W. , Boumakis Stavroula , Boamah Ernest K. , Canning Matthew T. , Yarosh Daniel B. , Brown David A.
Published: November 2003

Purpose: Bicyclic monoterpene (BMT) diols are small‐molecule compounds that mimic ultraviolet radiation (UVR) by inducing melanogenesis. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of 2,2‐dimethyl‐3‐propanyldiol‐norbornane (AGI‐1140), a novel BMT diol, and ultraviolet B (UVB) on additional cellular responses.

Methods: S91 mouse melanoma cells were treated with a range of concentrations of AGI‐1140, and examined for induction of melanogenesis and nitric oxide (NO). The effect of AGI‐1140 on dendrite outgrowth from human melanocytes was examined by quantitative microscopy. The effect of AGI‐1140 and UVB on phosphorylation of p53 serine 15 in human keratinocytes was examined by Western blotting, while the release of tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. The effects of AGI‐1140 and UVB on cell cycle arrest of human melanocytes, keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells were compared using fluorescence‐activated cell sorting.

Results: Similar to UVB, AGI‐1140 induced both melanogenesis and NO in melanoma cells. AGI‐1140 also induced dendrite outgrowth from melanocytes, indicative of differentiation. However, whereas UVB induced G2 cell cycle arrest with phosphorylation of p53 at serine 15, AGI‐1140 induced G1 cell cycle arrest without this phosphorylation. Additionally, unlike UVB, AGI‐1140 did not increase the secretion of TNF‐α or PGE2, mediators of UVB‐induced immunosuppressive and inflammatory responses in the skin that may contribute to carcinogenesis.

Conclusion: This study shows that melanogenesis can be induced by AGI‐1140 without many of the deleterious effects associated with UVB.
Nonholonomic tangent spaces: intrinsic construction and rigid dimensions
Authors: Agrachev A. , Marigo A.
Published: November 2003

A nonholonomic space is a smooth manifold equipped with a bracket generating family of vector fields. Its infinitesimal version is a homogeneous space of a nilpotent Lie group endowed with a dilation which measures the anisotropy of the space. We give an intrinsic construction of these infinitesimal objects and classify all rigid (i.e. not deformable) cases.
Family History of Alcoholism and Response to Sweets
Authors: Kampov‐Polevoy Alexey B. , Garbutt James C. , Khalitov Elena
Published: November 2003

Background: The relationship between a hedonic response to sweet tastes and a propensity to excessive alcohol drinking is supported by both animal and human studies. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the genetic risk for alcoholism as measured by a paternal history of alcoholism in young social drinkers is associated with sweet‐liking, defined as rating the strongest offered sucrose solution (i.e., 0.83 M) as the most palatable during the standard sweet test.

Methods: Participants were 163 subjects (39% male) without a lifetime history of alcohol or drug abuse or dependence. Eighty‐one subjects had a paternal history of alcoholism (FH+), and 82 did not (FH−). Each subject rated a series of sucrose solutions for intensity of sweetness and palatability. Subjects were categorized as sweet‐likers if they rated the highest sucrose concentration as the most pleasurable.

Results: The estimated odds of being a sweet‐liker were 2.5 times higher for FH+ than for FH− subjects. FH+ subjects disliked the tastes of the two weakest offered sucrose concentrations (0.05 and 0.10 M), whereas FH− subjects reported these tastes to be neutral.

Conclusions: The results of this study support the hypothesis that sweet‐liking is associated with a genetic vulnerability to alcoholism.
Role of Nitric Oxide in Alcohol Alteration of β‐Endorphin Release From Hypothalamic Cells in Primary Cultures
Authors: Boyadjieva Nadka I. , Chen Cui P. , Sarkar Dipak K.
Published: November 2003

Background: Nitric oxide (NO) mediates many pharmacological actions of ethanol. NO's role in regulating ethanol action on hypothalamic β‐endorphin (β‐EP) neurons is not established.

Methods: In this study, we determined the role of NO in ethanol regulation of β‐EP release from primary cultures of rat fetal mediobasal hypothalamic cells. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction was used for messenger RNA (mRNA) detection; radioimmunoassay was used for hormone measurements.

Results: Acute ethanol treatment for 3 hr increased the release of β‐EP but reduced nitrite levels in the media of hypothalamic cells in primary cultures. In contrast, ethanol exposure for 48 hr reduced the release of β‐EP but increased the release of nitrite from these cells. Alcohol treatments altered the expression of neuronal NO synthase mRNA, but not inducible NO synthase mRNA, in a pattern similar to that of nitrite levels. Alcohol treatments blocked sodium nitroprusside–induced increases in the level of cellular cyclic guanidine monophosphate. The nonspecific NO blocker NG‐nitro‐l‐arginine‐methyl‐esther, but not the inactive isomer N‐nitro‐d‐arginine‐methyl‐esther (d‐NAME), inhibited ethanol inhibitory actions on β‐EP release.

Conclusions: These results suggest that the cyclic guanidine monophosphate/NO pathway is involved in ethanol alteration of hypothalamic β‐EP release.
Leptin and Cellular and Innate Immunity in Abstinent Alcoholics and Controls
Authors: Motivala Sarosh J. , Dang Jeff , Obradovic Tanja , Meadows Gary G. , Butch Anthony W. , Irwin Michael R.
Published: November 2003

Background: Basic studies indicate that in vitro and in vivo doses of leptin modulate cellular immune responses. Given evidence that concentrations of leptin are altered in alcoholics who also show immune abnormalities, this study examined the relationships between circulating levels of leptin and markers of cellular and innate immunity.

Methods: Circulating levels of leptin, natural killer cell (NK) activity, interleukin‐2 (IL‐2)–stimulated NK activity, and concanavalin A–stimulated production of IL‐2, IL‐6, IL‐10, and IL‐12 were compared between abstinent DSM‐IV alcohol‐dependent men (n= 27) and age‐ and gender‐matched controls (n= 34).

Results: As compared with controls, alcoholics showed lower NK activity (p < 0.01) and a trend for lower levels of leptin (p= 0.055). In the total sample, leptin predicted NK activity (β= 0.33; p < 0.05) after controlling for the confounding influence of body mass index, alcohol intake, and smoking. Leptin was not correlated with any of the cytokine measures. To examine whether the effects of leptin were mediated by its direct action on NK, additional studies examined in vitro effects of leptin on NK activity in healthy volunteers (n= 10); leptin doses (0.1, 1, and 10 nM) yielded levels of NK activity comparable to those with media alone.

Conclusions: These data show that circulating levels of leptin are associated with NK activity in humans and suggest that abnormal in vivo concentrations of leptin may contribute to the declines of NK activity in alcoholics who are at risk for infectious diseases.
Specific Alteration of Peripheral Cytotoxic Cell Perforin Expression in Alcoholic Patients: A Possible Role in Alcohol‐Related Diseases
Authors: Perney Pascal , Portalès Pierre , Corbeau Pierre , Roques Valérie , Blanc François , Clot Jacques
Published: November 2003

Background: The association between chronic alcohol consumption and an increasing risk of infectious and neoplastic disease is related to an impairment of cellular immunity. However, studies of the number and activity of lymphocyte subsets show highly variable results. The aim of this study was to assess the expression of perforin, one of the main molecular agents of T and natural killer (NK) cell–mediated cytotoxicity, in alcoholic patients without cirrhosis.

Methods: Eighteen patients with chronic alcoholism were prospectively included and compared with 18 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy volunteers. Signs of hepatic insufficiency or portal hypertension, viral co‐infection, other serious medical illness, and immune‐related medications were exclusion criteria. Lymphocyte phenotype was assessed, and perforin expression was analyzed by flow cytometry in CD3+CD56+ T cells and NK cells. Granzyme synthesis was also evaluated in 11 of the 18 patients and compared with that of 11 age‐ and sex‐matched controls.

Results: The mean number of white blood cells and lymphocytes was not different between the controls and alcoholic patients, whereas the mean number of NK cells was significantly decreased in alcoholic patients (110 ± 79/mm3 versus 271 ± 192/mm3; p < 0.03). Perforin expression in T CD3+/CD56+ and in NK cells was significantly decreased in alcoholic patients compared with controls: 16 ± 3% vs. 36 ± 4% (p < 0.03) and 65 ± 15% vs. 78 ± 9% (p= 0.04), respectively. The percentage of cells expressing granzyme was similar in both groups.

Conclusions: A decrease in perforin expression by cytotoxic cells could be a major factor in explaining the physiopathologic mechanisms of several alcohol‐associated diseases.
I. Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study of Polyenylphosphatidylcholine in Alcoholic Liver Disease: Effects on Drinking Behavior by Nurse/Physician Teams
Authors: Lieber Charles S. , Weiss David G. , Groszmann Roberto , Paronetto Fiorenzo , Schenker Steven ,   for the Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study 391 Group
Published: November 2003

Background: This multicenter prospective, randomized, double‐blind placebo‐controlled trial was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of polyenylphosphatidylcholine against the progression of liver fibrosis toward cirrhosis in alcoholics. Seven hundred eighty‐nine alcoholics with an average intake of 16 drinks per day were enrolled. To control excessive drinking, patients were referred to a standard 12‐step–based alcoholism treatment program, but most patients refused to attend. Accordingly, study follow‐up procedures incorporated the essential features of the brief‐intervention approach. An overall substantial and sustained reduction in drinking was observed. Hepatic histological and other findings are described in a companion article.

Methods: Patients were randomized to receive daily three tablets of either polyenylphosphatidylcholine or placebo. Monthly follow‐up visits included an extensive session with a medical nurse along with brief visits with a study physician (hepatologist or gastroenterologist). A detailed physical examination occurred every 6 months. In addition, telephone consultations with the nurse were readily available. All patients had a liver biopsy before entry; a repeat biopsy was scheduled at 24 and 48 months.

Results: There was a striking decrease in average daily alcohol intake to approximately 2.5 drinks per day. This was sustained over the course of the trial, lasting from 2 to 6 years. The effect was similar both in early dropouts and long‐term patients, i.e., those with a 24‐month biopsy or beyond.

Conclusions: In a treatment trial of alcoholic liver fibrosis, a striking reduction in alcohol consumption from 16 to 2.5 daily drinks was achieved with a brief‐intervention approach, which consisted of a relative economy of therapeutic efforts that relied mainly on treatment sessions with a medical nurse accompanied by shorter reinforcing visits with a physician. This approach deserves generalization to address the heavy drinking problems commonly encountered in primary care and medical specialty practices.
The Effects of Moderate Ethanol Consumption on the Liver of the Monkey, Macaca fascicularis
Authors: Ivester Priscilla , Shively Carol A. , Register Thomas C. , Grant Kathleen A. , Reboussin David M. , Cunningham Carol C.
Published: November 2003

Background: Although evidence has accumulated for the cardioprotective effects of moderate ethanol consumption, little is known about the effects on the liver of consuming the equivalent of two drinks per day. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of moderate ethanol administration on the hepatic content of enzymes involved in ethanol oxidation, on hepatic lipid accumulation, and on serum markers of liver function/damage in the monkey, Macaca fascicularis.

Methods: Ovariectomized, adult monkeys were maintained for 34 months on an atherogenic diet containing cholesterol 1.21 mg/kJ. They were trained to drink ethanol plus vehicle at a dose of 0.5 g/kg body weight, which was administered 5 days a week for 2 years. Blood was collected for ethanol concentrations (1 hr after ethanol administration) and was also assayed for γ‐glutamyltransferase, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities. Liver obtained at necropsy was analyzed for triglyceride and cholesterol contents and for alcohol dehydrogenase, cytochrome P450 2E1, and cytochrome P450 3A4 by Western blots.

Results: The blood ethanol concentrations measured 1 hr after ethanol administration were relatively constant over the 2‐year dosing period. Hepatic levels of alcohol dehydrogenase and the cytochrome P450s were not significantly different between ethanol‐consuming animals and control animals. Ethanol‐associated increases in liver triglyceride were not significant due to high variability in hepatic lipid content in both the controls and ethanol consumers. However, covariance analyses using pretreatment concentrations of plasma cholesterol and apolipoprotein A‐I suggested that the ethanol‐related increase in hepatic free cholesterol was significant. Relative to controls, alcohol consumers had higher levels of serum ALT and a transient increase in ALP at 5 months.

Conclusions: The observations made in this study on primates administered an atherogenic diet suggest that moderate ethanol ingestion has modest effects on the liver, including slightly increased ALT and ALP values. However, additional studies will be required to verify that this level of consumption is hepatotoxic when ingested over extended periods. This is still a concern because some human studies suggest that levels of ethanol considered to be cardioprotective cause liver injury when consumed over a lifetime.
Demographic Characteristics of Hospitalized Patients With Alcoholic Liver Disease and Pancreatitis in Los Angeles County
Authors: Tao Nico , Sussman Steve , Nieto Jose , Tsukamoto Hidekazu , Yuan Jian‐Min
Published: November 2003

Background: This study sought to identify demographic characteristics of hospitalized patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in Los Angeles County for the purpose of implementing new preventive and educational programs. Another specific aim of the study was to characterize demographic and comorbid differences between patients with ALD and patients with pancreatitis, another alcohol‐related disease.

Methods: Analyses were performed on discharge data from all nonfederal short‐stay hospitals within Los Angeles County, released for the year 1999 by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Repeated hospital stays for ALD by the same patients were deleted from the data analysis based on individual identification numbers. For the analysis of medical costs of ALD, repeated hospital stays were included.

Results: Primary diagnosis of ALD accounted for 1.2% of total deaths among hospitalized patients and was the eighth most common cause of death among diseases examined. Moreover, the fatality rate of primary ALD among ALD hospital visits was the second highest, behind septicemia. ALD was most prevalent in the middle‐aged (45–65 years old) and low‐ to middle‐income men. The age‐standardized hospitalization rate of ALD was highest in Hispanic men (61.1 per 100,000 per year), whereas that of chronic pancreatitis, another common complication of alcohol abuse, was most prevalent in African American men.

Conclusions: Middle‐aged Hispanic men with low‐ to middle‐income status were identified as a high‐risk group for ALD in Los Angeles County. These data will guide us to develop a new strategy for future preventative and educational programs for ALD.
The Causal Attribution of Injury to Alcohol Consumption: A Cross‐National Meta‐Analysis From the Emergency Room Collaborative Alcohol Analysis Project
Authors: Cherpitel Cheryl J. , Ye Yu , Bond Jason , Borges Guilherme
Published: November 2003

Background: Whereas a substantial literature exists documenting the association of alcohol and injuries, causal associations are less well established.

Methods: The relationship of drinking‐in‐the‐event variables with attributing a causal association of alcohol consumption and the injury event was examined by using meta‐analysis across 13 emergency room studies from 8 countries included in the Emergency Room Collaborative Alcohol Analysis Project.

Results: Pooled odds ratios for both log‐transformed blood alcohol concentration at the time of the emergency room visit and the amount of alcohol consumed in the 6 hr before injury were positively predictive (1.19 and 1.80, respectively) and heterogeneous across studies. Effect size changed little when age and gender were controlled. When stratifying on reporting five or more drinks on an occasion during the last year (5+ yearly drinkers), the amount consumed was positively predictive of reporting a casual association of drinking and injury only for 5+ yearly drinkers. The effect size of feeling drunk at the time of injury, controlling for the amount of alcohol consumed, was positively predictive (2.04) but heterogeneous across studies. Meta‐analysis regression found the level to which alcohol is consumed in a detrimental pattern to be a significant predictor of blood alcohol concentration, and of the amount consumed and feeling drunk at the time of injury, on causal attribution, with a lower detrimental pattern level with a larger effect size.

Conclusions: The association of acute use of alcohol on causal attribution may be affected by chronic use to some extent, but this association is negatively affected by the degree to which a society exhibits harmful drinking patterns.
The Prevalence of DSM‐III‐R Alcohol Dependence in Two American Indian Populations
Authors: Spicer Paul , Beals Janette , Croy Calvin D. , Mitchell Christina M. , Novins Douglas K. , Moore Laurie , Manson Spero M. ,   the American Indian Service Utilization, Psychiatric Epidemiology, Risk and Protective Factors Project Team
Published: November 2003

Background: Evidence suggests that American Indian (AI) populations may be at increased risk for problems with alcohol, but a lack of community‐based research using diagnostic criteria has constrained our ability to draw inferences about the extent of severe alcohol problems, such as dependence, in AI populations.

Methods: This article draws on data collected by the American Indian Service Utilization, Psychiatric Epidemiology, Risk and Protective Factors Project (AI‐SUPERPFP), which involved interviews with 3084 AI people living on or near their reservations. The AI‐SUPERPFP sample was drawn from two culturally distinct tribes, which were designated with geographical descriptions: Northern Plains (NP) and Southwest (SW). Comparisons with data collected by the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) were explored by using shared measures to situate the findings from AI‐SUPERPFP in a national context.

Results: Lifetime rates of DSM‐III‐R alcohol dependence for men in both AI‐SUPERPFP samples were 50% higher than those found in the NCS. Rates of lifetime alcohol dependence for women varied by sample, however; NP women had twice the rate of women in the NCS, but SW women had rates quite similar to those of NCS women. Patterns for 12‐month alcohol dependence in AI‐SUPERPFP were generally more similar to those found in NCS.

Conclusions: The rates of DSM‐III‐R alcohol dependence found in AI‐SUPERPFP were generally higher than US averages and justify continued attention and concern to alcohol problems in AI communities, but they are not nearly as high as those in other reports in the literature that rely on less stringent sampling methods. Furthermore, significant sociocultural influences on the correlates of alcohol dependence in AI communities are evident in these data, underscoring the need to appreciate the complex and varying influences on the patterning of alcohol problems in the diverse cultural contexts of the US.
Chronic Ethanol Reduces Nicotine‐Induced Dopamine Release in PC12 Cells
Authors: Dohrman Douglas P. , Reiter Cindy K.
Published: November 2003

Background: There is a high correlation between alcohol and nicotine use; that is, alcohol use is associated with high levels of smoking. One important aspect of nicotine addiction appears to be the activation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on dopaminergic neurons projecting from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens. The release of dopamine from these neurons is thought to mediate, at least in part, the reward of nicotine consumption. If chronic alcohol consumption affects the amount of dopamine released in response to nicotine, it could contribute to the high level of smoking seen in alcoholics.

Methods: We have used an in vitro model system to study the effects of chronic ethanol exposure on acute nicotine‐induced dopamine release and the withdrawal from ethanol. A pheochromocytoma cell line (PC12 cells) was exposed to ethanol for periods of 3 to 96 hr, followed by a 5 min exposure to nicotine. Dopamine released in response to nicotinic stimulation was measured by high‐pressure liquid chromatography.

Results: Exposure of PC12 cells to chronic ethanol resulted in a time‐ and dose‐dependent inhibition of nicotine‐induced dopamine release. A moderate dose of ethanol (50 mM) resulted in a significant reduction in as little as 3 hr. The cells demonstrated a form of cross‐tolerance in that they showed diminished response to nicotine even though they had never been exposed to nicotine. After ethanol was withdrawn from the cells after a chronic exposure (96 hr), dopamine release slowly returned to normal levels but demonstrated a significant period of “overshoot” or hyperresponsiveness between 24 and 48 hr after withdrawal.

Conclusions: These results show that chronic ethanol exposure decreases nicotine‐induced dopamine release and demonstrate a period of hyperresponsiveness during withdrawal from ethanol. These studies suggest potential interactions between chronic ethanol and nicotine that may provide insight into such phenomena as cross‐tolerance and increased use of nicotine by alcoholics.
The behavioural and demographic contexts of white bread consumption
Authors: Worsley Anthony
Published: November 2003

The aim of this study was to examine the demographic, health habits and personal values associations of white bread use. A total of 474 randomly selected consumers completed a questionnaire about bread consumption, health habits and personal values. The findings showed that compared with non‐consumers white bread users were younger, less educated, more likely to have children and to be smokers. They were less likely to follow vegetarian, low fat or special diets or use alternative therapies. Non‐consumers were more likely to hold pro‐nature universalistic values. This suggests that the use of this staple food is associated with demographic, behavioural and ideological domains. Their causal inter‐relationships require further investigation.
What is the ideal public house licensee?
Authors: Pratten J.D.
Published: November 2003

For many years, breweries made profits from producing beer and selling it to public houses which they owned, thus making further profits through retail sales. The government decided that this monopoly should cease, and in the 1990s most brewing and pub‐owning companies became separate entities. This, together with increasingly competitive conditions, led to a far greater emphasis on customer satisfaction, and so the training of licensees became an issue. However, the basic role of licensees has always been to ensure that the customer is treated well enough to return to their pub. This raises the question of the skills and attitudes needed by a successful licensee. Can training offer enough, or is there something else which separates the competent from the really good? This study attempts to identify the characteristics needed for success.
Total quality as a new global competitive strategy
Authors: Mehra Satish , Agrawal Surendra P.
Published: November 2003

Total quality has been acclaimed as an organizational philosophy to enhance global competitiveness. However, changing paradigms in global business operations require that quality concepts like TQM be revised to reflect the changing nature of global competitiveness. This paper, using the existing literature and interactions with the real world managers, presents a conceptual quality framework that can be deployed to enhance the competitiveness of businesses operating in global environments. Specifically, this paper details those quality elements that can affect quality improvement efforts through a variety of cultural differences that one may encounter while managing global operations. Also, proposed are managerial guidelines for implementing quality in the global arena.
Optimal selection of the most reliable design whose degradation path satisfies a Wiener process
Authors: Yu Hong‐Fwu
Published: November 2003

At the research and development stage of a product, the manufacturer usually faces the problem of selecting the most reliable design among several competing ones for some parts (or components) of the product in order to enhance the product's quality. It is a great challenge for the manufacturer if these completing designs are highly reliable, since there are few (or even no) failures can be obtained by using traditional life tests or accelerated life tests. In such cases, if there exist product characteristics whose degradation over time can be related to reliability, then collecting “degradation data” can provide information about product reliability. This paper proposes a systematic approach to the selection problem where the products' degradation paths satisfy Wiener processes. First, an intuitively appealing selection rule is proposed and, then, the optimal test plan is derived by using the criterion of minimizing the total experimental cost. The sample size, inspection frequency, and termination time needed by the selection rule for each of competing designs are computed by solving a nonlinear integer programming problem with a minimum probability of correct selection. Finally, an example is provided to illustrate the proposed method.
The Architecture of Cognitive Control in the Human Prefrontal Cortex
Authors: Koechlin Etienne , Ody Chrystèle , Kouneiher Frédérique
Published: November 2003

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) subserves cognitive control: the ability to coordinate thoughts or actions in relation with internal goals. Its functional architecture, however, remains poorly understood. Using brain imaging in humans, we showed that the lateral PFC is organized as a cascade of executive processes from premotor to anterior PFC regions that control behavior according to stimuli, the present perceptual context, and the temporal episode in which stimuli occur, respectively. The results support an unified modular model of cognitive control that describes the overall functional organization of the human lateral PFC and has basic methodological and theoretical implications.
Human Population: The Next Half Century
Authors: Cohen Joel E.
Published: November 2003

By 2050, the human population will probably be larger by 2 to 4 billion people, more slowly growing (declining in the more developed regions), more urban, especially in less developed regions, and older than in the 20th century. Two major demographic uncertainties in the next 50 years concern international migration and the structure of families. Economies, nonhuman environments, and cultures (including values, religions, and politics) strongly influence demographic changes. Hence, human choices, individual and collective, will have demographic effects, intentional or otherwise.
Prospects for Biodiversity
Authors: Jenkins Martin
Published: November 2003

Assuming no radical transformation in human behavior, we can expect important changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services by 2050. A considerable number of species extinctions will have taken place. Existing large blocks of tropical forest will be much reduced and fragmented, but temperate forests and some tropical forests will be stable or increasing in area, although the latter will be biotically impoverished. Marine ecosystems will be very different from today's, with few large marine predators, and freshwater biodiversity will be severely reduced almost everywhere. These changes will not, in themselves, threaten the survival of humans as a species.
Detection of a Human Influence on North American Climate
Authors: Karoly David J. , Braganza Karl , Stott Peter A. , Arblaster Julie M. , Meehl Gerald A. , Broccoli Anthony J. , Dixon Keith W.
Published: November 2003

Several indices of large-scale patterns of surface temperature variation were used to investigate climate change in North America over the 20th century. The observed variability of these indices was simulated well by a number of climate models. Comparison of index trends in observations and model simulations shows that North American temperature changes from 1950 to 1999 were unlikely to be due to natural climate variation alone. Observed trends over this period are consistent with simulations that include anthropogenic forcing from increasing atmospheric greenhouse gases and sulfate aerosols. However, most of the observed warming from 1900 to 1949 was likely due to natural climate variation.
A Tale Meant to Inform, Not to Amuse
Authors: Squier Susan M.
Published: November 2003

Oryx and Crake
A Novel. by Margaret Atwood. Nan A. Talese (Doubleday), New York, 2003. 393 pp. $26. ISBN 0-385-50385-7.

Set in an indeterminate future devastated by a virulent plague, Atwood's most recent novel presents a dystopia that arose through unintended consequences of bioengineering, cloning, and agricultural hybridization.
Effects of green pruning on growth of Pinus radiata
Authors: Neilsen W A , Pinkard E A
Published: November 2003

Pruning of plantation trees is completed to produce knot-free timber and veneer logs, thus increasing the value of the plantation. A long-term study (11 years) was established to investigate the effects of selective pruning on radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) stem growth. The 175 stems selected for the experiment had been pruned to 2.4 m at 6 years of age. At ages 8 and 10, the trees were pruned to 45%, 60%, or 75% of tree height and growth was compared with a control (first lift pruned only). Pruning to 45% of tree height had no effect on growth to age 13 years. Responses to the other treatments were apparent soon after pruning and continued until measurements ceased at 17 years of age. Pruning to 60% or 75% of tree height at second lift reduced diameter increment, and increment decreased as pruning severity increased. There was a further separation of the growth curves following third-lift pruning to 60% or 75% of tree height. The results suggested that maintaining a live crown ratio of 55% would minimize effects of pruning on diameter growth. The effect of severe pruning on diameter increment was greater for subdominant trees than for dominant stems. Pruning had less effect on height than diameter increment, but all treatments involving pruning to 75% of height at third lift resulted in trees that were approximately 10% shorter than unpruned trees at 13 years of age. More severe second-lift pruning resulted in smaller diameter over stubs at the time of third-lift pruning. Second-lift pruning to 60% of total height produced acceptable diameter over stubs. Implications for management are discussed.
Seasonal variation in physiological characteristics of two silver birch clones in the field
Authors: Riikonen Johanna , Oksanen Elina , Peltonen Petri , Holopainen Toini , Vapaavuori Elina
Published: November 2003

Seasonal changes in growth, photosynthesis, and related biochemical properties and leaf structure were determined for two clones (4 and 80, 20 trees per clone) of 7-year-old Betula pendula Roth trees during the growing season of 1998. Differences between the two genotypes were determined to characterize the physiological traits that might affect growth and productivity and that might differ between the genotypes. Net photosynthesis of the short shoot leaves varied between 11 and 15 µmol·m2·s1 and decreased only slightly towards the end of the summer. However, our results showed more marked decreases in the amount of Rubisco (ribulose biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) and leaf N and increases in the total leaf, palisade and spongy layer thickness, chloroplast and starch grain size, and diameter of plastoglobuli in both clones in response to leaf ageing and changes in growth environment. Height and biomass were greater in clone 80 than in clone 4. This was related to slightly more efficient net photosynthesis and higher stomatal conductance and density as well as higher activity of Rubisco and content of foliar nutrients (other than N). We conclude that clone 80 is characterized by faster gas exchange, higher Rubisco activity, stomatal conductance, and density, and earlier leaf ageing, which may be related to the higher ozone sensitivity determined previously in pot experiments with younger saplings.
Composition and ecology of macrofungal and myxomycete communities on oak woody debris in a mixed-oak forest of Ohio
Authors: Rubino Darrin L , McCarthy Brian C
Published: November 2003

Woody debris is recognized as an important structural component in forests, but little is known about the epixylic communities that it supports in many forest types. The goal of this study was to identify the macrofungal (asco mycetes and basidiomycetes) and myxomycete communities found on woody debris in the topographically dissected mixed-oak forests of southern Ohio and identify environmental parameters that influence species richness and species distributions. Fifty oak (Quercus spp. L.) logs were selected across slope aspects and slope positions throughout the landscape to maximize microsite variability. Over a 2-year period, 130 epixylic species were collected (28 ascomy cetes, 72 basidiomycetes, and 30 myxomycetes). Log surface area explained a significant amount of variation in species richness (R2 = 0.51, P < 0.001). Richness was significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with volume of woody debris in the plot (+) and with study log volume (+), lichen cover (), and surface structural characteristics (amount of bark (+), solid wood (), and fragmented wood (+)). Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that slope aspect, bark cover, percent slope, and woody stem density influenced individual epixylic species distributions. Because of their influence on epixylic communities, various environmental parameters must be accounted for in regional epixylic studies.