bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
International tourism hub
Authors: Meng Fang , Zou Tongqian , Li Hengyun , Ren Yaqing , Zhang Pei
Published: January 2017

This study investigates the functions of international tourism hubs, namely, the gathering and distributing function, transferring function, and management and service function. An assessment index of 49 indicators is developed measuring these functions based on the literature review and a survey of expert panel. Analytical hierarchy process method was applied to determine the importance weight of the indicators. Two cities in China, Beijing and Shanghai, were selected to empirically test the assessment index and compared with the tourism hub functions. The results indicate that Beijing has stronger functions on gathering and distributing tourists, as well as management and services, while Shanghai exceeded on transferring function due to its tourist distribution center. Strategic and managerial implications and suggestions are provided based on the study results.
Efficiency analysis of Japanese Ryokans
Authors: Ohe Yasuo , Peypoch Nicolas
Published: January 2017

This study evaluated the efficiency of Japanese ryokans during the period 2005–2012. The number of ryokans has been decreasing due to the inability of operators to respond to structural changes in demand. Thus, we investigated the cause of that decrease. Based on literature examining efficiency and productivity applied to tourism and hospitality, ryokans are analyzed both at the size and regional levels. The findings confirmed quantitatively the empirical literature and showed that large-scale ryokans are relatively more efficient than smaller operations, which is commonly observed in the accommodation industry. Managerial recommendations were derived from the results for small ryokans.
Service quality improving effects and recreational benefits for sports tourism—A case study
Authors: Yeh Chun-Chu , Hua Kuo-Ting , Huang Chin-Huang
Published: January 2017

Service quality is one of many crucial items for sport event participants. Using Sun Moon Lake Swimming Carnival Event as an example, this study measures the perception of service quality for various participant groups and their associated recreational benefits from the demand model. Three service quality clusters, interaction and information, physical facility improving, and program and outcome, were extracted. Later, the contingent behavior method was used to measure the hypothetical benefits from service quality improvements. This study’s findings discover that the amenity of Sun Moon Lake and its surroundings at current status is not sufficient to make participants come back. Findings show that an improvement in the service quality of sports program and the outcome will result in an NT$85.78 million consumer surplus gain, with the facility improvement producing a gain of NT$72.90 million arising simply from the event in each year. Therefore, recreation managers may find it justifiable to improve an event’s service quality in this regard.
Anthropology, brokerage, and collaboration in the development of a Tongan public psychiatry: Local lessons for global mental health
Authors: Poltorak Mike
Published: January 2017

The Global Mental Health (GMH) movement has raised questions of the translatability of psychiatric concepts and the challenges of community engagement. In Tonga, the local psychiatrist Dr Puloka successfully established a publicly accessible psychiatry that has improved admission rates for serious mental illnesses and addressed some of the stigma attached to diagnosis. On the basis of historical analysis and ethnographic fieldwork with healers, doctors, and patients since 1998, this article offers an ethnographic contextualization of the development and reception of Puloka’s three key interventions during the 1990s: (a) collaboration with traditional healers; (b) translation of psychiatric diagnoses into local cultural concepts; and (c) encouraging freedom of movement and legal appeal to involuntary admission. Dr Puloka’s use of medical anthropological and transcultural psychiatry research informed a community-engaged brokerage between the implications of psychiatric nosologies and local needs that can address some of the challenges of the Global Mental Health movement.
The Global Mental Health movement and its impact on traditional healing in India: A case study of the Balaji temple in Rajasthan
Authors: Sood Anubha
Published: January 2017

This article considers the impact of the global mental health discourse on India's traditional healing systems. Folk mental health traditions, based in religious lifeways and etiologies of supernatural affliction, are overwhelmingly sought by Indians in times of mental ill-health. This is despite the fact that the postcolonial Indian state has historically considered the popularity of these indigenous treatments regressive, and claimed Western psychiatry as the only mental health system befitting the country's aspirations as a modern nation-state. In the last decade however, as global mental health concerns for scaling up psychiatric interventions and instituting bioethical practices in mental health services begin to shape India's mental health policy formulations, the state's disapproving stance towards traditional healing has turned to vehement condemnation. In present-day India, traditional treatments are denounced for being antithetical to global mental health tenets and harmful for the population, while biomedical psychiatry is espoused as the only legitimate form of mental health care. Based on ethnographic research in the Hindu healing temple of Balaji, Rajasthan, and analysis of India's mental health policy environment, I demonstrate how the tenor of the global mental health agenda is negatively impacting the functioning of the country's traditional healing sites. I argue that crucial changes in the therapeutic culture of the Balaji temple, including the disappearance of a number of key healing rituals, are consequences of global mental health-inspired policy in India which is reducing the plural mental health landscape.
Economization, moralization, and the changing moral economies of ‘capitalism’ and ‘communism’ among Cuban migrants in Spain
Authors: Simoni Valerio
Published: January 2017

This article aims to establish a dialogue between approaches in economic anthropology and the anthropology of ethics and morality, assessing the complementarity and the possible points of juncture between these two theoretical lines of enquiry, their analytical potential, as well as their limits. It highlights the importance, for research on moral economies, of uncovering what counts as ‘economic’ and as ‘moral’ in a given empirical context, and proposes the analytical lenses of economization and moralization as a productive way to address such question. The theoretical contribution is grounded in ethnographic research in Spain that examines how Cuban migrants seeking to improve their lives and livelihoods navigate different political-economic systems and changing material conditions. While discussing their trajectories, future projects, and the expectation they associate with ‘capitalism’, ‘communism’ and their respective changes and crises, people are led to articulate different moral economies that delineate conflicting regimes of value and evaluations of what makes for a good life, and what ought to be the place of the economic in it. The analysis of the empirical material enables us to consider various instantiations of the moral economy, to explore the different realities the term can cover, and to clarify the scope and applicability of this notion.
Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua: ‘I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past’
Authors: Rameka Lesley
Published: January 2017

This whakataukī or ‘proverb’ speaks to Māori perspectives of time, where the past, the present and the future are viewed as intertwined, and life as a continuous cosmic process. Within this continuous cosmic movement, time has no restrictions – it is both past and present. The past is central to and shapes both present and future identity. From this perspective, the individual carries their past into the future. The strength of carrying one’s past into the future is that ancestors are ever present, existing both within the spiritual realm and in the physical, alongside the living as well as within the living. This article explores Māori perspectives of the past and the models and inspiration they offer. In this way, it provides a critique of the practices in early childhood education, highlighting the importance of cultural concepts and practices, and discusses implications for both teaching and academic practice.
Timing childhoods: An alternative reading of children’s development through philosophy of time, temporality, place and space
Authors: Tesar Marek
Published: January 2017

This article argues that the denial of development can be a productive space and a liberating time for children in the current outcomes-driven times. The author offers an alternative reading of childhood, considering children’s development differently through various philosophical theorizations of events, which emerge through utilizing philosophy and theory as a method. This approach allows a merging of analyses of childhood, philosophical concepts of time and temporality, place, space and popular culture, in order to outline how the development of a child may be resisted through the notion of ‘time and temporality’. The idea of working with the temporality of ‘timing childhoods’ can mimic the notion of a ticking clock. Positioned against the background of the story of Peter Pan, this article challenges established ways of thinking of/about childhood and development, arguing that they perpetuate inequalities, homogenize children and essentialize childhoods. It thinks divergently with theories and philosophies about how childhoods are conceptualized and dissected, distinguished and ‘timed’. The denial of development could be a very power-disrupting, and therefore liberating and exhilarating, experience for children and their childhoods, as the different theoretical and philosophical frameworks analysed in this article point out, through time, temporality and space.
Decision-making behavior, gender differences, and cultural context variables
Authors: Horak Sven
Published: January 2017

Following the recent call for a deeper contextualization of cross-cultural research in international management studies, this study explores differences in the decision-making behavior of men and women in Korea and Germany exposed to cultural context variables (CCVs) specific to the Korean cultural context. A two-stage research approach was designed and applied, consisting of semi-structured interviews, and used to identify cultural variables that have an important influence on decision-making in Korea (first stage), followed using these contextual variables in a series of behavioral experiments (second stage). The findings reveal that Korean men responded strongly to the contextual variables, showing either egoistic offer behavior and even rejecting advantageous offers. Surprisingly, Korean women, like German men and women, altered their decision-making behavior very little when exposed to the contextual variables. The results reveal significant gender differences in response to culture-specific contextual factors that have not previously been reported and open up new avenues for future research based on the identification and testing of specific high-impact CCVs.
Whom to blame and whom to praise
Authors: Kaspar Kai , Newen Albert , Dratsch Thomas , de Bruin Leon , Al-Issa Ahmad , Bente Gary
Published: January 2017

Increasing a company’s short-term profit seems to be still the primary responsibility of business leaders, but profit-oriented decision strategies may also elicit long-term side effects. While positive side effects might be considered as an additional benefit, negative side effects are a crucial problem calling for social responsibility. One central question is how the public evaluates managerial decisions based on an indifferent attitude toward potential side effects. This topical question becomes even more salient when focusing on multinational companies and cross-cultural differences in judgment tendencies. Thus, we explored effects of the boss–employee relationship on attributions of intentionality as well as blame and praise in the case of positive and negative side effects that derive from a solely profit-oriented measure of a company decided by its boss. With participants from Germany and the United Arab Emirates, we investigated whether the social role (boss vs. employee) influences these attributions and whether cross-cultural differences in the perception of social hierarchy moderate the effects. We used an adapted version of a paradigm developed by Knobe (2003), who discovered an asymmetry in the attribution of intentionality: While negative side effects are perceived as intentional and blameworthy, positive side effects do not cause the same intentionality attributions and do not appear as particularly praiseworthy. Across two studies, we were able to replicate the typical asymmetric attribution of blame/praise and intentionality for the boss in both cultures. Moreover, we also demonstrate moderating effects of the social role and the cultural background on these attributions. Overall, the results show that the boss–employee relationship is differently evaluated in different cultures, and this might explain some of the variance in perceived accountability within companies. Moreover, an indifferent attitude toward potential side effects leads to less lenient evaluations of managers and their subordinated employees. We discuss practical and theoretical implications.
Functional Expression of Human Heme Oxygenase-1 Gene in Renal Structure of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
Authors: Goodman Alvin I. , Quan Shou , Yang Liming , Synghal Arika , Abraham Nader G.
Published: January 2017

Heme oxygenase (HO), by catabolizing heme to bile pigments, regulates the levels and activity of cellular hemoprotein and HO activity. We examined the effect of delivery of the human HO-1 gene on cellular heme in renal tissue using a retroviral vector. We used a single intracardiac injection of the concentrated infectious viral particles in 5-day-old spontaneously hypertensive rats; 25 were transduced with empty vector and 25 were transduced with the human HO-1 gene. Functional expression of human and rat HO-1 was measured after 2 and 4 weeks. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction showed that human HO-1 mRNA was expressed as early as 2 weeks, with the highest levels in the kidney. Western blot analysis showed distribution of human HO-1 protein in rat kidney structures, predominantly in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle as well as in proximal tubules and preglomerular arterioles. These areas also demonstrated higher HO activity as measured by increased conversion of heme to bilirubin and carbon monoxide. Functional expression of the human HO-1 gene was associated with a decrease in blood pressure in 4- and 8-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats. Compared with nontransduced rats, human HO-1 gene overexpression in transduced rats was associated with a 35% decrease in urinary 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, a potent vasoconstrictor and an inhibitor of tubular Na+transport, which may be related to the decrease in blood pressure.
Repression of Heme Oxygenase-1 Expression as a Defense Strategy in Humans
Authors: Shibahara Shigeki , Nakayama Masaharu , Kitamuro Tomomi , Udono-Fujimori Reiko , Takahashi Kazuhiro
Published: January 2017

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is an essential enzyme in heme catabolism and is characterized by its inducibility in response to various environmental factors, including its substrate heme. The induction of HO-1 has been established as the defense mechanism against oxidative stress. However, striking interspecies or inter-tissue differences are noted in the regulation of HO-1 expression under hypoxia or heat shock, each of which represses HO-1 expression in many types of human cells but rather induces it in rodent cells. The downregulation of HO-1 expression may reduce energy expenditure and local production of carbon monoxide, iron, and bilirubin and transiently increase intracellular heme pool. Here, we discuss the repression of HO-1 expression as a potential defense strategy in humans by highlighting a regulatory role of HO-1 in its own expression.
Participation of Heme Oxygenase-1 in a Model of Acute Inflammation
Authors: Vicente Ana María , Guillín María Isabel , Alcaraz María Josí
Published: January 2017

In this study, the role of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in the inflammatory response elicited by zymosan in the mouse air pouch model has been examined. This response is characterized by a time-dependent increase in HO-1 expression in the leukocytes migrating into the exudates. At 24–48 h maximal HO-1 expression was accompanied by reduced cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nitric oxide synthase-2 (NOS-2) expression as well as low levels of inflammatory mediators. Hemin administration into the air pouch caused an elevation of HO-1 protein and bilirubin levels induced by zymosan with inhibition of COX-2 expression. In mouse peritoneal macrophages from hemin-injected mice, we also observed an increased expression of HO-1 with inhibition of COX-2 expression and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels. Our data suggest an anti-inflammatory role for HO-1 in the response induced by this phagocytic stimulus.
Influence of Heme and Heme Oxygenase-1 Transfection of Pulmonary Microvascular Endothelium on Oxidant Generation and cGMP
Authors: Mingone Christopher J. , Gupte Sachin A. , Quan Shuo , Abraham Nader G. , Wolin Michael S.
Published: January 2017

Heme is a co-factor required for the stimulation of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) by nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide, and sGC activation by these agents is inhibited by superoxide. Because heme promotes oxidant generation, we examined the influence of rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMECs) with a stable human heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) transfection and heme on oxidant generation and cGMP. Culture of PMEC with low serum heme decreased cGMP and the detection of peroxide with 10 μM 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin diacetate and increased HO-1 further decreased cGMP without altering the peroxide detection under these conditions. Under conditions where heme (30 μM) has been shown to stimulate cGMP production in PMECsby mechanisms involving NO and CO, heme increased the detection of peroxide in a PMEC-dependent manner and HO-1 transfection did not markedly alter the effects heme on peroxide detection. The addition of 1 μM catalase markedly inhibited the effects of heme on peroxide detection whereas increasing (0.1 mM ebselen) or decreasing (depleting glutathione with 7 mM diethylmaleate) rates of intracellular peroxide metabolism or inhibiting the biosynthesis of oxidants (with 10 μM diphenyliodonium or 0.1 mM nitro-L-arginine) had only modest effects. The detection of superoxide by 10 μM dihydroethidium from PMECs was not increased by exposure to heme. These actions of oxidant probes suggest that intracellular oxidants have a minimal influence on the response to heme. Thus, exposure of PMECs to heme causes a complex response involving an extracellular generation of peroxide-derived oxidant species, which do not appear to originate from increases in intracellular superoxide or peroxide. This enables heme and HO to regulate sGC through mechanisms involving NO and CO, which are normally inhibited by superoxide.
Donor Lung Pretreatment with Surfactant in Experimental Transplantation Preserves Graft Hemodynamics and Alveolar Morphology
Authors: Koletsis E. , Chatzimichalis A. , Fotopoulos V. , Kokkinis K. , Papadimitriou E. , Tiniakos D. , Marinos E. , Bellenis I. , Dougenis D.
Published: January 2017

In experimental lung transplantation, the reduction of endogenous surfactant properties occurs after graft preservation and transplant reperfusion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of donor lung pretreatment with exogenous surfactant on graft damage after ischemia and reperfusion. Fourteen (control group A, n = 8; study group B, n= 6) young female white pigs (mean weight 27 ± 3.5 kg) were used in a newly developed autotransplantation model with in situcold ischemia. In study group B, before thoracotomy, 1.5 ml/kg surfactant apoprotein-A-free surfactant was administrated into the left main bronchus via flexible bronchoscopy. Belzer UW solution was used for lung preservation. Cold ischemia was achieved for 3 hr with interlobar lung parenchyma temperature at 8 ± 1.3°C, and central temperature maintained at 37.20 ± 0.5°C. Animals were sacrificed after 3 hr of graft reperfusion. At the end of reperfusion, pulmonary vascular resistance index (was 447.80 dyn/sec.cm5.m2(±66.8) in group A vs 249.51 in group B ( P< 0.001) and serum nitric oxide was adequately preserved. The mean alveolar surface area estimated by computerized morphometry was 5280.84 (4991.1) μm2(group A) vs 3997.89 (3284.70) μm2(group B; P< 0.005). Histology revealed milder macrophage and lymphocyte infiltration in group B at the end of reperfusion. Pretreatment of donor lung with an surfactant apoprotein-A -free surfactant agent appears to be beneficial in terms of maintaining serum NO and reducing hemodynamic disturbances. Furthermore, alveolar histology and stereomorphology are better preserved.
Heme Oxygenase-1 and the Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in the Rat Heart
Authors: Masini Emanuela , Vannacci A. , Marzocca C. , Pierpaoli S. , Giannini L. , Fantappié O. , Mazzanti R. , Mannaioni P. F.
Published: January 2017

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a signaling gas produced intracellularly by heme oxygenase (HO) enzymes using heme as a substrate. During heme breakdown, HO-1 and HO-2 release CO, biliverdin, and Fe2+. In this study, we investigated the effects of manipulation of the HO-1 system in an in vivo model of focal ischemia–reperfusion (FIR) in the rat heart. Male Wistar albino rats, under general anesthesia and artificial ventilation, underwent thoracotomy, the pericardium was opened, and a silk suture was placed around the left descending coronary artery; ischemia was induced by tightening the suture and was monitored for 30 min. Subsequently, the ligature was released to allow reperfusion lasting for 60 min. The first group of rats was sham operated and injected intraperitoneally (ip) with saline. The second group underwent FIR. The third group was treated ip 18 hr before FIR with hemin (4 mg/kg). The fourth group was pretreated ip 24 hr before FIR and 6 hr before hemin with zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP-IX, 50 μg/kg). Specimens of the left ventricle were taken for determination of HO expression and activity, infarct size, malonyldialdehyde (MDA) production, and tissue calcium content. FIR led to a significant increase in the generation of MDA and notably raised tissue calcium levels. Induction of HO-1 by hemin significantly decreased infarct size, incidence of reperfusion arrhythmias, MDA generation, and calcium overload induced by FIR. These effects were prevented by the HO-1 inhibitor ZnPP-IX. The present experiments show that the concerted actions of CO, iron, and biliverdin/bilirubin modulate the FIR-induced myocardial injury.
Heme Oxygenase-1 Production by Peripheral Blood Monocytes During Acute Inflammatory Illnesses of Children
Authors: Yachie Akihiro , Toma Tomoko , Mizuno Kazunori , Okamoto Hiroyuki , Shimura Shoetsu , Ohta Kazuhide , Kasahara Yoshihito , Koizumi Shoichi
Published: January 2017

Monocytes play key roles both in innate and adaptive antigen-specific immunity and they constitute critical components of the immune responses. Although most of the monocyte-derived cytokines exhibit proinflammatory functions in vivo, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an inducible heme-degrading enzyme, exerts potent anti-inflammatory effect through production of carbon monoxide and bilirubin. We compared HO-1 production by monocytes in vivo in various acute inflammatory illnesses and in normal controls. Freshly isolated monocytes produced little HO-1 as detected by immunohistochemistry, but it was rapidly induced in vitro upon stimulation. HO-1 production by monocytes was selective because it was not induced in other leukocyte populations, including granulocytes and lymphocytes. Monocytes from acute inflammatory illnesses, such as Kawasaki disease and acute infectious diseases, viral or bacterial, produced significant levels of HO-1, as detected by flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Quantitative analysis of HO-1 mRNA expression by real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that monocytes from controls exhibited low, but significant levels of HO-1 mRNA, indicating that circulating monocytes produce HO-1 constantly, in response to basal level of oxidative stress encountered daily. Significantly elevated HO-1 mRNA levels seen in acute inflammatory illnesses suggest that monocyte HO-1 production serve as potent anti-inflammatory agent to control excessive cell or tissue injury in the presence of oxidative stress and cytokinemia.
11,12-Epoxyeicosatrienoic Acid Attenuates Synthesis of Prostaglandin E2in Rat Monocytes Stimulated with Lipopolysaccharide
Authors: Kozak Wieslaw , Aronoff David M. , Boutaud Olivier , Kozak Anna
Published: January 2017

Cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase (epoxygenase)-derived arachidonic acid (AA) metabolites, including 11,12-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (11,12-EET), possess anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties. Prostaglandin E2(PGE2), a cyclooxygenase (COX)-derived metabolite of AA, is a well-defined mediator of fever and inflammation. We have tested the hypothesis that 11,12-EET attenuates synthesis of PGE2in monocytes, which are the cells that are indispensable for induction of fever and initiation of inflammation. Monocytes isolated from freshly collected rat blood were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 100 ng/2 × 105cells) to induce COX-2 and stimulate generation of PGE2. SKF-525A, an inhibitor of epoxygenases, significantly augmented the lipopolysaccharide-provoked synthesis of PGE2in cell culture in a concentration-dependent manner. It did not affect, however, elevation of the expression of COX-2 protein in monocytes stimulated with LPS. 11,12-EET also did not affect the induction of COX-2 in monocytes incubated with lipopolysaccharide. However, 11,12-EET suppressed, in a concentration-dependent fashion, the generation of PGE2in incubates. Preincubation of a murine COX-2 preparation for 0–5 min with three concentrations of 11,12-EET (1, 5, and 10 μM) inhibited the oxygenation of [14C]-labeled AA by the enzyme. The inhibitory effect of 11,12-EET on COX-2 was time-and-concentration-dependent, suggesting a mechanism-based inhibition. Based on these data, we conclude that 11,12-EET suppresses generation of PGE2in monocytes via modulating the activity of COX-2. These data support the hypothesis that epoxygenasederived AA metabolites constitute a negative feedback on the enhanced synthesis of prostaglandins upon inflammation.
Differential Effects of Fatty Acids and Exercise on Body Weight Regulation and Metabolism in Female Wistar Rats
Authors: Jen K-L. Catherine , Buison Anne , Pellizzon Michael , Ordiz Frank , Santa Ana Lardo , Brown Jordana
Published: January 2017

High-fat diets made with different fats may have distinct effects on body weight regulation and metabolism. In the present study, the metabolic effects of high-fat (HF) diets made with fish oil, palm oil, and soybean oil were compared with a low-fat diet in female Wistar rats that were either exercised (EX, swimming) or that remained sedentary as controls. Each adult rat was exposed to the same diet that their dams consumed during pregnancy and lactation. When they were 9 weeks old, rats began an EX regimen that lasted for 6 weeks. Twenty-four hours after the last EX bout, rats were sacrificed in a fasted state. It was observed that HF feeding of soybean oil induced more body weight and fat gain, as well as insulin resistance, as indicated by insulin/glucose ratios, than other oils. Female rats fed a HF diet made with fish oil had body weight and insulin sensitivity not different from that observed in low fat fed control rats. For rats fed HF diets made with soybean oil or palm oil, EX also exerted beneficial effects by reducing body fat %, blood insulin, triglyceride and leptin levels, as well as improving insulin sensitivity.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: An Overview with Emphasis on Changes in Brain and Behavior
Authors: Riley Edward P. , McGee Christie L.
Published: January 2017

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders constitute a major public health problem. This article presents an overview of important issues that surround these disorders and emphasizes the structural and neurobehavioral consequences associated with prenatal exposure to alcohol. Diagnostic criteria are discussed, and possible moderating factors for the range of outcomes are mentioned. In addition, the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders is described, and estimates of the financial impact of these disorders are given. Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure can severely affect the physical and neurobehavioral development of a child. Autopsy and brain imaging studies indicate reductions and abnormalities in overall brain size and shape, specifically in structures such as the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and corpus callosum. A wide range of neuropsychological deficits have been found in children prenatally exposed to alcohol, including deficits in visuospatial functioning, verbal and nonverbal learning, attention, and executive functioning. These children also exhibit a variety of behavioral problems that can further affect their daily functioning. Children exposed to alcohol prenatally, with and without the physical features of fetal alcohol syndrome, display qualitatively similar deficits. Determining the behavioral phenotypes that result from heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is critical, because the identification of these children is crucial for early interventions. In addition, knowing which brain areas are involved might enable the development of better intervention strategies. However, intervention needs to go beyond the affected individual to prevent future cases. As evidenced by the staggering financial impact these disorders have on society, prevention efforts need to be aimed at high-risk groups, and this issue needs to be made a high priority in terms of public health.
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Fetal Programming: Effects on Neuroendocrine and Immune Function
Authors: Zhang Xingqi , Sliwowska Joanna H. , Weinberg Joanne
Published: January 2017

Alcohol abuse is known to result in clinical abnormalities of endocrine function and neuroendocrine regulation. However, most studies have been conducted on males. Only recently have studies begun to investigate the influence of alcohol on endocrine function in females and, more specifically, endocrine function during pregnancy. Alcohol-induced endocrine imbalances may contribute to the etiology of fetal alcohol syndrome. Alcohol crosses the placenta and can directly affect developing fetal cells and tissues. Alcohol-induced changes in maternal endocrine function can disrupt maternal-fetal hormonal interactions and affect the female’s ability to maintain a successful pregnancy, thus indirectly affecting the fetus.

In this review, we focus on the adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on neuroendocrine and immune function, with particular emphasis on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the concept of fetal programming. The HPA axis is highly susceptible to programming during fetal development. Early environmental experiences, including exposure to alcohol, can reprogram the HPA axis such that HPA tone is increased throughout life. We present data that demonstrate that maternal alcohol consumption increases HPA activity in both the maternal female and the offspring. Increased exposure to endogenous glucocorticoids throughout the lifespan can alter behavioral and physiologic responsiveness and increase vulnerability to illnesses or disorders later in life. Alterations in immune function may be one of the long-term consequences of fetal HPA programming. We discuss studies that demonstrate the adverse effects of alcohol on immune competence and the increased vulnerability of ethanol-exposed offspring to the immunosuppressive effects of stress. Fetal programming of HPA activity may underlie some of the long-term behavioral, cognitive, and immune deficits that are observed following prenatal alcohol exposure.
Propofol Is Cardioprotective in a Clinically Relevant Model of Normothermic Blood Cardioplegic Arrest and Cardiopulmonary Bypass
Authors: Lim Kelvin H. H. , Halestrap Andrew P. , Angelini Gianni D. , Suleiman M.-Saadeh
Published: January 2017

The general anesthetic propofol has been shown to be cardioprotective. However, its benefits when used in cardioplegia during cardiac surgery have not been demonstrated. In this study, we investigated the effects of propofol on metabolic stress, cardiac function, and injury in a clinically relevant model of normothermic cardioplegic arrest and cardiopulmonary bypass. Twenty anesthetized pigs, randomized to propofol treatment ( n = 8) and control ( n =12) groups, were surgically prepared for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and cardioplegic arrest. Doses of warm blood cardioplegia were delivered at 15-min intervals during a 60-min aortic cross-clamped period. Propofol was continuously infused for the duration of CPB and was therefore present in blood cardioplegia. Myocardial biopsies were collected before, at the end of cardioplegic arrest, and 20 mins after the release of the aortic cross-clamp. Hemodynamic parameters were monitored and blood samples collected for cardiac troponin I measurements. Propofol infusion during CPB and before ischemia did not alter cardiac function or myocardial metabolism. Propofol treatment attenuated the changes in myocardial tissue levels of adenine nucleotides, lactate, and amino acids during ischemia and reduced cardiac troponin I release on reperfusion. Propofol treatment reduced measurable hemodynamic dysfunction after cardioplegic arrest when compared to untreated controls. In conclusion, propofol protects the heart from ischemia-reperfusion injury in a clinically relevant experimental model. Propofol may therefore be a useful adjunct to cardioplegic solutions as well as being an appropriate anesthetic for cardiac surgery.
Tomato Sauce Supplementation and Prostate Cancer: Lycopene Accumulation and Modulation of Biomarkers of Carcinogenesis
Authors: Bowen Phyllis , Chen Longwen , Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis Maria , Duncan Claudine , Sharifi Roohollah , Ghosh Luna , Kim Hyung-Sook , Christov-Tzelkov Konstantin , Breemen Richard Van
Published: January 2017

As part of a randomized placebo-controlled study to evaluate the effect of lycopene supplementation on DNA damage in men with prostate cancer, a nonrandomized 5th arm using tomato sauce was included and reported here. Thirty-two patients with localized prostate adenocarcinoma consumed tomato sauce-based pasta dishes for 3 weeks (30 mg of lycopene/day) before their scheduled radical prostatectomy. Prostate tissue was obtained as biopsies at baseline and as resected tissue at the time of the prostatectomy. Serum and prostate lycopene, serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) concentrations, and leukocyte DNA 8-OH-deoxyguanosine/deoxyguanosine (80HdG) were measured at baseline and at the end of the intervention. Cancer cells in paraffin sections of prostate biopsies and postintervention resected tissue were compared for 80HdG staining and for apoptosis. Adherence to the daily consumption of tomato-based entrees was 81.6% of the intended dose, and serum and prostate lycopene concentrations increased 1.97- and 2.92-fold (P< 0.001), respectively. Mean serum PSA concentrations decreased by 17.5% (P< 0.002) and leukocyte 80HdG decreased by 21.3% (P< 0.005) after tomato sauce consumption. Resected tissues from tomato sauce-supplemented patients had 28.3% lower prostate 80HdG compared with the nonstudy control group (P < 0.03). Cancer cell 80HdG staining of Gleason Score-matched resected prostate sections was reduced by 40.5% in mean nuclear density (P < 0.005) and by 36.4% in mean area (P < 0.018) compared with the presupplementation biopsy. Apoptotic index was higher in hyperplastic and neoplastic cells in the resected tissue after supplementation. These data taken as a whole indicate significant uptake of lycopene into prostate tissue and a reduction in DNA damage in both leukocyte and prostate tissue. Whether reduction in DNA. damage to prostate cancer cells is beneficial awaits further research, although reduction in serum PSA concentrations is promising.
Lycopene and Tomato Products in Health Promotion
Authors: Weisburger John H.
Published: January 2017

International research through epidemiological techniques has provided information on risk factors and preventive approaches in chronic disease. Causation complementing this base of knowledge with laboratory research on associated markers for each disease has outlined the possible mechanisms whereby risk factors and preventive conditions operate. Furthermore, laboratory research in animal models and cell cultures has expanded the appropriate elements associated with each condition. Individuals in the Mediterranean area present with a lower risk of several important chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease and a number of types of cancer associated with nutritional traditions, such as breast, colon, and prostate cancer. Vegetables and fruits in general and cooked tomatoes, together with olive oil, appear to be the nutritional traditions that account for this lower risk. These results lead to public health recommendations to consume more vegetables and, especially, cooked tomatoes with olive oil.
The Effects of Dietary n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Delivered in Chylomicron Remnants on the Transcription of Genes Regulating Synthesis and Secretion of Very-Low-Density Lipoprotein by the Liver: Modulation by Cellular Oxidative State
Authors: Botham Kathleen M. , Zheng Xiaozhong , Napolitano Mariarosaria , Avella Michael , Cavallari Claudio , Rivabene Roberto , Bravo Elena
Published: January 2017

The influence of chylomicron remnants enriched in n-3 or n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (derived from fish or corn oil, respectively) on the expression of mRNA for four genes Involved in the regulation of the synthesis, assembly, and secretion of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) in the liver was investigated in normal rat hepatocytes and after manipulation of the cellular oxidative state by incubation with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) or CuSO4. The four genes investigated were those encoding apolipoprotein B (apoB), the microsomal triacylglycerol transfer protein (MTP), and the enzymes acyl coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) and acyl coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase 2 (ACAT2), which play a role in the regulation of triacylglycerol and cholesteryl ester synthesis, respectively. mRNA levels for apoB, MTP, and DGAT were unaffected by either fish or corn oil chylomicron remnants, but the amount of ACAT2 mRNA was significantly reduced after Incubation of the hepatocytes with fish oil remnants as compared with corn oil remnants or without remnants. These findings indicate that the delivery of dietary n-3 PUFA to hepatocytes in chylomicron remnants downregulates the expression of mRNA for ACAT2, and this may play a role in their inhibition of VLDL secretion. However, when the cells were shifted into a prooxidizing or pro-reducing state by pretreatment with CuSO4(1 mM) or NAC (5 mM) for 24 hr, levels of mRNA for MTP were increased by about 2- or 4-fold, respectively, by fish oil remnants, whereas corn oil remnants had no significant effect. Fish oil remnants also caused a smaller increase in apoB mRNA in comparison with com oil remnants in NAC-treated cells (+38%). These changes would be expected to lead to increased VLDL secretion rather than the decrease associated with dietary n-3 PUFA in normal conditions. These findings suggest that relatively minor changes in cellular redox levels can have a major influence on important liver functions such as VLDL synthesis and secretion.
Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Improves Growth and Reproductive Performance in Mice Fed Chemically Defined Diets
Authors: Steinberg Francene , Stites Tracy E. , Anderson Peter , Storms David , Chan Ivan , Eghbali Sheila , Rucker Robert
Published: January 2017

Growth, reproductive performance, and indices of collagen maturation and expression were investigated in Balb/c mice fed chemically defined, amino acid-based diets with or without the addition 6 <M pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ)/kg diet. The diets were fed to virgin mice for 8 weeks before breeding. At weaning, the pups from successful pregnancies were fed the same diet as their respective dams. Reproductive performance was compromised in mice fed diets devoid of PQQ, and their offspring grew at slower rates than offspring from mice fed diets supplemented with PQQ. Successful mating (confirmed vaginal plugs) was not affected by the presence or absence of PQQ; however, pup viability (number of pups at parturition/number of pups at Day 4 of lactation) was decreased in PQQ-deprived mice. Conception (percentage of females giving live births) and fertility (percentage of births) were also decreased in PQQ-deprived mice. The slower rates of growth in offspring from PQQ-deprived mice were associated with decreased steady-state mRNA levels for Type I procollagen α1-chains in skin and lungs from neonatal mice. Values for lysyl oxidase accumulation as protein in PQQ-deficient mice also tended to be lower than corresponding values from PQQ-supplemented or -replete mice. Skin collagen solubility was increased in PQQ-deprived mice. These results indicate that PQQ supplementation can improve reproductive performance, growth, and may modulate Indices of neonatal extracellular matrix production and maturation in mice fed chemically defined, but otherwise nutritionally complete diets.
Phytosterols Affect Endocrinology and Metabolism of the Field Vole (Microtus agrestis)
Authors: Nieminen Petteri , Mustonen Anne-Mari , Lindström-Seppä Pirjo , Kärkkäinen Virve , Mussalo-Rauhamaa Helena , Kukkonen Jussi V.K.
Published: January 2017

Phytosterols or plant sterols (PS) enter the ecosystem via pulp mill effluents. They are also consumed by the general population of developed countries in natural remedies and margarines to lower elevated serum cholesterol levels. This study screened the endocrine and enzymatic parameters of the field vole (Microtus agrestis) for the effects of subchronic PS exposure at three doses (0, 5, or 50 mg of PS kg-1day-1). PS at 5 or 50 mg kg-1day-1decreased the relative liver weight of the voles. The kidney glycogen phosphorylase activity decreased at 5 or 50 mg kg-1day-1, but the liver glycogen Phosphorylase activity increased at 5 mg kg-1day-1. The plasma estradiol and testosterone concentrations of males were higher due to PS supplement at 5 mg kg-1day-1. This can be due to increased sex steroid synthesis from PS precursors. Biotransformation enzyme activities were not affected. PS caused multiple, previously unreported effects that were more pronounced at a low dose. As 5 mg PS kg-1day-1is the recommended dose for various health products, a thorough risk assessment of the effects and interactions of PS is warranted.
Cardiac Norepinephrine Release: Modulation by Ovariectomy and Estrogen
Authors: Eskin Bernard A. , Snyder David L. , Roberts Jay , Aloyo Vincent J.
Published: January 2017

Previously, we have demonstrated that in contrast to male rats, female rats do not show an age-related reduction of depolarization-elicited norepinephrine (NE) release from cardiac synaptosomes (resealed nerve terminals). These results suggest that sex hormones such as estrogen may modulate NE release from cardiac synaptosomes prepared from female rats. The present study was designed to test the hypotheses that long-term estrogen depletion, resulting from ovariectomy, and estrogen replacement alters depolarization-elicited NE release from cardiac synaptosomes. Female F344 rats were divided into two groups, one of which underwent bilateral ovariectomy, whereas the other underwent a sham operation. Three ovariectomized subgroups received daily injections of conjugated equine estrogens, Δ8,9-dehydroestrone or 17α-dihydroequilenin. Another ovariectomized control subgroup and the sham-operated animals received daily injections of vehicle. After 90 or 270 days of treatment, the animals were sacrificed. Cardiac synaptosomes were prepared from each heart, incubated with [3H]-NE, and used to evaluate NE release capacity by exposure to 50 mM K+. The effectiveness of the ovariectomy and the estrogenic actions of the test compounds was confirmed by evaluating vaginal smears, determining uterine weights, and measuring serum luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations. Ovariectomy (after both 90 and 270 days) significantly increased depolarization-induced NE release compared with sham-operated rats. Treatment with all three estrogenic preparations reduced NE release in ovariectomized rats to values similar to those observed in sham-operated animals. Interestingly, NE release rates from rats treated with conjugated estrogens for 270 but not 90 days were significantly below that observed in age-matched sham animals. These results demonstrate that estrogen modulates depolarization-elicited NE release from cardiac nerve terminals. Such modulation may represent a protective action by estrogen at the cardiac synapse.
Posttraumatic Inflammation is a Complex Response Based on the Pathological Expression of the Nervous, Immune, and Endocrine Functional Systems
Authors: Aller M. A. , Arias J. L. , Nava M. P. , Arias J.
Published: January 2017

The successive phases that make up both the local and systemic posttraumatic acute inflammatory response could represent the expression of three concatenated pathological or “primitive” functional systems with trophic properties: the nervous, immune, and endocrine ones. The nervous functional system would play an important role in the phenomenon of ischemia-reperfusion, which would be represented by nutrition by diffusion that is either anaerobic (ischemia) or with defective use of oxygen (reperfusion) and, thus, with a limited energy requirement. The immune functional system would be represented by the infiltration of the tissues by inflammatory cells and bacteria, which would become mediators in providing nutrition to the injured tissues. Although the use of oxygen would still be defective, hypermetabolism and fever would occur. In these inflammatory response phases, the lymphatic is the most important circulation. The endocrine functional system would be the most specialized and would have high energy requirements because it would be represented by the blood capillary-mediated nutrition. Highly specialized epithelial cells would already possess a perfected oxidative metabolism. The successive expression of these three functional systems during embryonic development and also during the evolutionary development of our species could explain why the inflammatory responses a ubiquitous mechanism that is common to multiple diseases, because it is an integrator of the ontogeny and phytogeny.