bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nicotine Administration in the Cholinergic Basal Forebrain Increases Alcohol Consumption in C57BL/6J Mice
Authors: Sharma Rishi , Sahota Pradeep , Thakkar Mahesh M. 
Published: February 2014

BackgroundAlcohol and nicotine are the most commonly abused drugs. The frequent co‐morbidity of alcohol and nicotine addiction has led to the hypothesis that they may act via a common substrate: the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) especially α4β2 and α7 subtypes, the most prevalent nAChRs in the brain. Compelling evidence suggests that alcohol enhances the function of α4β2 subtype. The FDA approved smoking cessation drug, varenicline (“Chantix”), a partial agonist of α4β2 nAChR subtype, reduces alcohol self‐administration and alcohol craving in humans and rodents. The cholinergic basal forebrain (BF) controls various functions including arousal, attention, and cognition, and there is a predominance of α4β2 and α7 subtypes. We have shown that the BF has an important role in mediating the effects of alcohol and local infusion of nicotine in the BF activates nucleus accumbens. Does BF have any role in mediating the effect of nicotine on alcohol consumption? This study was designed to address this question.MethodsUnder standard surgical procedure, C57BL/6J mice were stereotaxically implanted with bilateral stainless steel guide cannula above the BF. Following post operative recovery and habituation, the animals were exposed to the “drinking‐in‐the‐dark” paradigm whereby alcohol (20%) was presented for 2 hours daily for 3 days. On the fourth day, nicotine or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) was microinjected bilaterally in the BF. After 1 hour, mice were exposed to alcohol and allowed to self‐administer for 4 hours. The effect of BF nicotine infusion on sucrose consumption was also examined. On completion, mice were euthanized, brain removed and processed to localize the BF injection sites.ResultsAs compared with the ACSF, bilateral nicotine injections into the BF significantly (p < 0.05; n = 5/group) increased alcohol consumption. Sucrose consumption remained unaffected.ConclusionsBased on our results, we believe that the BF may have an important role in nicotine–alcohol co‐use.
Chronic Ethanol Feeding Induces Subset Loss and Hyporesponsiveness in Skin T Cells
Authors: Parlet Corey P. , Waldschmidt Thomas J. , Schlueter Annette J. 
Published: February 2014

BackgroundChronic alcoholism is associated with increased incidence and severity of cutaneous infection. Skin‐resident T cells orchestrate numerous immunological functions that are critically involved in both tissue homeostasis and cutaneous immunity. The impact of chronic ethanol (EtOH) exposure on skin T cells has not previously been examined; given their important role in maintaining the immune barrier function of the skin further study is warranted.MethodsMice were administered EtOH in the drinking water for 12 to 16 weeks. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate impact of EtOH feeding on skin T cell numbers, rates of proliferation, and apoptosis as well as activation marker expression and cytokine production after ex vivo stimulation.ResultsChronic EtOH feeding caused a baseline reduction in dendritic epidermal T cell (DETC) numbers that corresponded with reduced expression of the activation marker JAML following phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate (PMA)/ionomycin stimulation. Chronic EtOH feeding did not alter total numbers of dermal T cells, but specific subset loss was observed in Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) as well as CD3hi, Vγ3+ and CD3int, Vγ3− dermal γδ T cells. EtOH‐induced dysfunction in the latter population, which represents prototypical interleukin‐17 (IL‐17)‐producing dermal γδT17s, was made evident by diminished IL‐17 production following anti‐CD3 stimulation. Additionally, the capacity of lymph node γδ T cells to produce IL‐17 following anti‐CD3 and PMA/ionomycin stimulation was impaired by chronic EtOH feeding.ConclusionsChronic EtOH feeding induced defects in both numbers and function of multiple skin T cell subsets. The decreased density and poor responsiveness of DETCs and γδT17 cells in particular would be expected to compromise immune effector mechanisms necessary to maintain a protective barrier and restrict pathogen invasion. These findings demonstrate the sensitivity of skin T cells to EtOH and provide new mechanisms to help explain the propensity of alcoholics to suffer skin infection.
What was learned: studies by the consortium for research inECT(CORE) 1997–2011
Authors: Fink M. 
Published: February 2014

ObjectiveTo review the findings of the four‐hospital collaborative studies of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in unipolar depressed patients known asCOREbetween 1997 and 2011. Unipolar depressed patients were treated with bilateralECT, and on remission were randomly assigned to a fixed schedule continuationECTor to combined lithium and nortriptyline for 6 months. A second study compared three electrode placements in unipolar and bipolar depressed patients.MethodNineteen published reports were reviewed. The findings are compared with those of a parallel multi‐hospital study ofECTled by a Columbia University Collaboration (CUC) team that studied right unilateralECTin a similar population with similar inclusion/exclusion and remission criteria. SuccessfulECTwas followed by placebo, nortriptyline alone, or combined lithium, and nortriptyline.ResultsRelapse rates after remission were similar with fixed scheduleECTas with medications. Predictors of outcome (psychosis, suicide risk, polarity, melancholia, atypical depression, age) and technical aspects (electrode placement, seizure threshold, speed of response) are discussed,ConclusionThe findings offer criteria to optimize the selection of patients, the technique, and outcome ofECTfor unipolar and bipolar depressed patients. ContinuationECTis an effective alternative to continuation treatment with lithium and nortriptyline. Bilateral electrode placement is more efficient than alternative placements.ECTrelieves both bipolar and unipolar depression.
Computerized versus in‐person brief intervention for drug misuse: a randomized clinical trial
Authors: Schwartz Robert P. , Gryczynski Jan , Mitchell Shannon Gwin , Gonzales Arturo , Moseley Ana , Peterson Thomas R. , Ondersma Steven J. , O'Grady Kevin E. 
Published: February 2014

AbstractBackground and AimsSeveral studies have found that brief interventions (BIs) for drug misuse have superior effectiveness to no‐treatment controls. However, many health centers do not provide BIs for drug use consistently due to insufficient behavioral health staff capacity. Computerized BIs for drug use are a promising approach, but their effectiveness compared with in‐person BIs has not been established. This study compared the effectiveness of a computerized brief intervention (CBI) to an in‐person brief intervention (IBI) delivered by a behavioral health counselor.MethodsTwo‐arm randomized clinical trial, conducted in two health centers in New Mexico, United States. Participants were 360 adult primary care patients with moderate‐risk drug scores on the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) who were randomly assigned on a 1 : 1 basis to a computerized brief intervention (CBI) or to an in‐person brief intervention (IBI) delivered by a behavioral health counselor. Assessments were conducted at baseline and 3‐month follow‐up, and included the ASSIST and drug testing on hair samples.ResultsThe IBI and CBI conditions did not differ at 3 months on global ASSIST drug scores [b = −1.79; 95% confidence interval (CI) = −4.37, 0.80] or drug‐positive hair tests [odds ratio (OR) = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.47, 2.02]. There was a statistically significant advantage of CBI over IBI in substance‐specific ASSIST scores for marijuana (b = −1.73; 95% CI = −2.91, −0.55; Cohen's d = 0.26; P = 0.004) and cocaine (b = −4.48; 95% CI = −8.26, −0.71; Cohen's d = 0.50; P = 0.021) at 3 months.ConclusionsComputerized brief intervention can be an effective alternative to in‐person brief intervention for addressing moderate drug use in primary care.
Tobacco use among Norwegian adolescents: from cigarettes to snus
Authors: Pedersen Willy , von Soest Tilmann 
Published: February 2014

AbstractAimsTo: (i) investigate the development of smoking and snus use among Norwegian adolescents, and (ii) describe the users in each group.DesignTwo population‐based surveys with identical procedures in 2002 (response rate 91.0%) and 2010 (response rate 84.3%).SettingNorway.ParticipantsA total of 6217 respondents, aged 16–17 years.MeasurementsData were collected on smoking and snus use, socio‐demographic factors, school adjustment, social network, sport activities, alcohol and cannabis use and depression symptoms.FindingsPrevalence of daily smoking fell from 23.6% in 2002 to 6.8% in 2010 (P < 0.001), while the prevalence of daily snus use increased from 4.3 to 11.9% (P < 0.001). Dual daily use of cigarettes and snus remained at 1%. The relative proportion of non‐daily smokers using snus increased steeply. Both snus users and smokers reported more adverse socio‐economic backgrounds, less favourable school adjustment and higher levels of alcohol intoxication and cannabis use than non‐users of tobacco. However, snus users were better adjusted to school and used cannabis less often than smokers.ConclusionsAdolescent smoking prevalence has fallen dramatically in Norway, accompanied by a smaller increase in snus use. Young snus users in Norway have many of the same risk factors as smokers, but to a lesser degree.
Hypoxic blackwater event severely impacts Murray crayfish (Euastacus armatus) populations in the Murray River, Australia
Authors: McCarthy Bernard , Zukowski Sylvia , Whiterod Nick , Vilizzi Lorenzo , Beesley Leah , King Alison 
Published: February 2014

AbstractProlonged flooding in 2010/11 ended a decade of drought and produced a large‐scale hypoxic blackwater event across the southern Murray‐Darling Basin, Australia. The hypoxic conditions caused fish kills and Murray crayfish Euastacus armatus to emerge from the water onto the river banks to avoid the poor water quality. This study examined the medium‐term impact of this blackwater event on Murray crayfish populations in the Murray River, where approximately 1800 km of the main channel were affected by hypoxia. Murray crayfish populations were surveyed in July 2012, along a 1100‐km section of the Murray River at 10 sites affected by hypoxic blackwater and six sites that were not affected, and data were compared with surveys of the same sites undertaken in July 2010, four months before the hypoxic blackwater event (before‐after‐control‐impact experimental design). Murray crayfish abundance in 2012 (post‐blackwater) was significantly lower at blackwater affected sites (81% reduction from 2010), but not at non‐affected sites. The hypoxic blackwater impacted Murray crayfish of both sexes and all size‐classes in a similar manner. The results demonstrate that prolonged periods of hypoxia can markedly impact populations of the long‐lived and slow‐growing Murray crayfish despite the species ability to emerge from hypoxic water. The findings highlight important challenges for the management of both the recreational fishery for this species and riverine flows in relation to hypoxic blackwater events.
Buffering against food availability? The physical environment has little influence on breeding performance of fairy prions (Pachyptila turtur)
Authors: Manno Katharina , Loh Graeme , Van Heezik Yolanda 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThe breeding performance of seabirds is constrained by the availability of marine‐based prey, which may be influenced by competition with other seabirds, and environmental conditions. Fairy prion (Pachyptila turtur) populations have declined substantially in New Zealand since the introduction of mammalian predators; remaining small populations provide an opportunity to examine the effect of environmental factors on reproductive success in the absence of competition. Using 11 years of nest monitoring data and eight years of chick measurements we investigated (i) the link between physical environmental factors, breeding success rates and chick fledging size, and (ii) the relationship between chick fledging size and likelihood of natal‐colony recapture. Despite annual variations in the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and sea surface temperatures (SST), breeding success and chick fledging weights remained similar throughout the entire period, possibly due to the use of behavioural buffering mechanisms by parents. Fledgling wing lengths differed among years, and were predicted by early winter and early spring values of the SOI and late spring and summer SSTs. In years of high SOI and high SST, fairy prions fledged with longer wings, possibly due to increased availability of the euphausiid Nyctiphanes australis, their main prey. River flows and rainfall were unrelated to breeding success or chick measurements: the influence of freshwater on the marine system at this locality acts at smaller timescales than those studied here. Using the 2004 and 2005 cohorts, there was no link between fledging size and likelihood of recapture, except for the 2005 cohort which had unusually low 6‐year recapture rates, and shorter‐than‐average wing lengths. A combination of low sea temperatures and an El Niño event in 2005 may have led to a reduction in euphausiid availability, ultimately affecting post‐fledging survival.
Introduction of a university‐based counselling service for older adults
Authors: Bhar Sunil S. , Silver Mark 
Published: February 2014

AimDespite the growing number of older adults in Australia, many do not access counselling, partly because of the lack of trained mental health professionals for older people. This paper describes an innovative solution for providing counselling services to older adults, and geropsychology training to postgraduate psychology students.MethodA university‐based counselling clinic for older adults was described – an outreach service for older adults living in the community or in residential aged care facilities in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia.ResultsOver its first 13 months, the clinic provided a total of 266 sessions of counselling to 57 clients (41 living in residential aged care), and involved six postgraduate students.ConclusionThis paper describes the potential benefits of the clinic for clients and students and the resources needed to support this model of service delivery. Thus, it provides a blueprint for other universities for developing similar services for older adults.
Randomized blinded control trial into tourniquet tolerance in awake volunteers
Authors: Lim Eugene , Shukla Lipi , Barker Anthony , Trotter Dean J. 
Published: February 2014

AbstractBackgroundThe ability to tolerate a tourniquet is often the limiting factor to elective and emergent procedures of the upper limb performed under local anaesthesia. This study aims to demonstrate that upper limb tourniquets are more predictably and better tolerated when inflated to 200 mmHg than to the traditional inflation pressure of 250 mmHg in awake, unsedated subjects.MethodsForty healthy volunteers were randomized to have a tourniquet applied at either 200 or 250 mmHg for 20 min. Vital signs and pain scores were measured pre‐test, at intervals throughout the time the tourniquet was inflated and post‐deflation until the parameters normalized. Grip strength was measured pre‐test, immediately post‐deflation of the tourniquet and every 2 min until return of normal strength.ResultsAll subjects were able to tolerate a tourniquet inflated for the allocated 20 min irrespective of the inflation pressure; however, there was a statistically significant lower average pain score in the group where the tourniquet was inflated to 200 mmHg compared with 250 mmHg. There was a quicker return of normal grip strength, although this was not shown to be statistically significant.ConclusionsTourniquets inflated to 200 mmHg are better tolerated in awake, unsedated subjects that would allow predictably short procedures of the hand, wrist and forearm to be performed under local anaesthesia. It represents a pilot study prior to a further clinical study investigating the efficacy of tourniquets inflated to a lower pressure in maintaining an effective bloodless field.
How growth due to infant nutrition influences obesity and later disease risk
Authors: Brands Brigitte , Demmelmair Hans , Koletzko Berthold ,   for the EarlyNutrition Project
Published: February 2014

AbstractInfant nutrition has a major impact on immediate outcomes and long‐term health and later disease risks, such as obesity and related disorders, a phenomenon referred to as ‘metabolic programming’. This review discusses the currently postulated hypotheses and mechanisms investigated by the EarlyNutrition project.ConclusionRapid weight gain in the first 2 years of life, most notably mediated by diary protein, affects the insulin‐like growth factor metabolic pathways. Epigenetic processes seem to play a role.
Dual PDE3/4 and PDE4 Inhibitors: Novel Treatments For COPD and Other Inflammatory Airway Diseases
Authors: Abbott‐Banner Katharine H. , Page Clive P. 
Published: February 2014

AbstractSelective phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 and dual PDE3/4 inhibitors have attracted considerable interest as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of respiratory diseases, largely by virtue of their anti‐inflammatory (PDE4) and bifunctional bronchodilator/anti‐inflammatory (PDE3/4) effects. Many of these agents have, however, failed in early development for various reasons, including dose‐limiting side effects when administered orally and lack of sufficient activity when inhaled. Indeed, only one selective PDE4 inhibitor, the orally active roflumilast‐n‐oxide, has to date received marketing authorization. The majority of the compounds that have failed were, however, orally administered and non‐selective for either PDE3 (A,B) or PDE4 (A,B,C,D) subtypes. Developing an inhaled dual PDE3/4 inhibitor that is rapidly cleared from the systemic circulation, potentially with subtype specificity, may represent one strategy to improve the therapeutic index and also exhibit enhanced efficacy versus inhibition of either PDE3 or PDE4 alone, given the potential positive interactions with regard to anti‐inflammatory and bronchodilator effects that have been observed pre‐clinically with dual inhibition of PDE3 and PDE4 compared with inhibition of either isozyme alone. This MiniReview will summarize recent clinical data obtained with PDE inhibitors and the potential for these drugs to treat COPD and other inflammatory airways diseases such as asthma and cystic fibrosis.
Simplified Acute Physiology Score II/Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and Prediction of the Mortality and Later Development of Complications in Poisoned Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Alizadeh Afshin Mohammad , Hassanian‐Moghaddam Hossein , Shadnia Shahin , Zamani Nasim , Mehrpour Omid 
Published: February 2014

AbstractWe aimed to determine the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II and simplified acute physiology score (SAPS) II in poisoned patients admitted to the poisoning ICU and compare them to see which is a more sensitive and specific system for prognostication of the mortality and complications in these patients. Between February 2013 and July 2013, all patients referring to our centre with any poisoning mandating ICU admission were prospectively included. On ICU arrival, a questionnaire containing the demographic data, parameters of the APACHE II and SAPS II scores, the sum of the scores, complications during the stay and the patients' final outcome (compete recovery versus death) was filled for every single patient. A total of 195 patients were evaluated. Forty‐two patients (21.5%) died. Mean SAPS and APACHE scores were 41 ± 16 and 15 ± 6, respectively. Mean SAPS and APACHE scores were significantly different between the survivors and non‐survivors. Both scores could successfully prognosticate the development of the complications (p = 0.07 and 0.013, respectively). APACHE II was a better score in prediction of both mortality and later complications in the setting of poisoning ICU. APACHE >22 has a good specificity in determining the mortality and development of further complications in poisoned patients admitted to the medical toxicology ICUs. SAPS II score >59 and >43 can predict the risk of mortality and later complications in these patients, as well.
High Antibiotic Consumption: A Characterization of Heavy Users in Spain
Authors: Malo Sara , José Rabanaque María , Feja Cristina , Jesús Lallana María , Aguilar Isabel , Bjerrum Lars 
Published: February 2014

AbstractHeavy antibiotic users are those individuals with the highest exposure to antibiotics. They play an important role as contributors to the increasing risk of antimicrobial resistance. We applied different methods to identify and characterize the group of heavy antibiotic users in Spain as well as their exposure to antibiotics. Data on outpatient prescribing of antimicrobials (ATC J01) in 2010 were obtained from a prescription database covering Aragón (northeastern Spain). The antimicrobial consumption at the individual level was analysed both according to the volume of DDD and the number of packages purchased per year. Heavy antibiotic users were identified according to Lorenz curves and characterized by age, gender, and their antimicrobial prescription profile. Lorenz curves demonstrated substantial differences in the individual use of antimicrobials. Heavy antibiotic users (5% of individuals with highest consumption) were responsible for 21% of the total DDD consumed and received ≥6 packages per year. Elderly adults (≥60 years) and small children (0–9 years) were those exposed to the highest volume of antibiotics and with the most frequent exposure, respectively. Heavy users received a high proportion of antibiotics not recommended as first choice in primary health care. In conclusion, heavy antibiotic users consisted mainly of children and old adults. Inappropriate overuse of antibiotics (high quantity, high frequency, and inappropriate antibiotic choice) leads to a substantial risk of the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria, and interventions to reduce overuse of antibiotics should therefore primarily be targeted children and elderly people.
Evidence of increased centrally enhanced bladder compliance with ageing in a mouse model
Authors: Smith Phillip P. , DeAngelis Anthony , Simon Richard 
Published: February 2014

ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that ageing is associated with increasing neurogenic enhancement of bladder filling compliance.Materials and MethodsFemale B6 mice (aged 2, 12, 22 and 26 months) underwent cystometry while alive and immediately after death. Bladder compliance was calculated from pressure‐time data. Pressure data were transformed using Fast Fourier Transform to obtain power spectra of bladder pressure variations attributable to contractile activity during filling in both alive and dead mice. A cut‐off frequency (CF) was determined for each mouse, above which any power content would be primarily neurogenic. Compliance and power spectra results were compared among age groups, and correlations sought.ResultsA reversible loss of bladder compliance and non‐voiding contractile (NVC) activity followed abolition of voiding reflexes in female colony mice in all age groups. Bladder filling compliance increased with age in urethane‐anaesthetised and post‐mortem conditions, and more so in the former. Power below the CF did not significantly vary with age. Neurogenic power increased with age, and significantly correlated with compliance.ConclusionsAn increase in neurogenic power during filling accompanies increased centrally mediated compliance enhancement with age. A bladder control model in which brain processes related to micturition may compensate for age‐associated changes; thereby preserving voiding function is suggested. Urinary dysfunction could be viewed as the result of homeostatic failure rather than strictly end‐organ pathology.