bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Obesity increases initial rate of fibrin formation during blood coagulation in domestic shorthaired cats
Authors: Bjornvad C. R. , Wiinberg B. , Kristensen A. T. 
Published: September 2011

SummaryObesity predisposes to a prothrombotic state in humans, but whether a similar state occurs in obese animals is unknown. The objective of the current study was to examine the effect of body fat percentage (BF) on haemostatic parameters including thromboelastography with tissue factor as activator (TF‐TEG) in client owned indoor‐confined physically inactive cats. Seventy‐two cats were included following an initial thorough health examination, and a complete blood count, biochemistry panel, conventional coagulation panel and a TF‐TEG analysis were performed with tissue factor (1:50 000) as activator. The cats were anaesthetized, and BF was measured using Dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry. Significant difference between lean (BF < 35%, n = 26), overweight (35% < BF < 45%, n = 28) and obese (BF > 45%, n = 18) cats was identified usinganova. The correlation between BF, serum leptin and total adiponectin, respectively, with individual TEG and conventional coagulation parameters was evaluated. Obese cats showed a faster rate of fibrin formation (TF‐TEG(R), p < 0.05), and TF‐TEG(R) was positively correlated with plasma leptin levels. Increasing BF did not affect other conventional coagulation or TF‐TEG parameters. In conclusion, this study indicates a connection between body fat content and altered haemostasis, also in cats. Whether feline obesity causes a hypercoagulable state of clinical relevance should be further investigated.
Translocation of Active Mitochondria During Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Oocytes In vitro Maturation, Fertilization and Preimplantation Embryo Development
Authors: Zhuang X‐J , Huang Y , Duan Y‐P , Zhang M , Lu Y‐Q , Lu K‐H 
Published: September 2011

ContentsMitochondria are energy‐supplying organelles, whose distribution and functional integrity are necessary for cell survival and development. In this study, the mitochondrial distribution pattern and activity during buffalo oocyte in vitro maturation, fertilization and preimplantation embryo development were revealed using a fluorescent dye and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Distribution of active mitochondria changed during buffalo oocyte in vitro maturation. Active mitochondria were transferred from the outer to inner and perinuclear cytoplasm as oocytes matured in vitro and aggregated around the pronuclei in the fertilized eggs. Active mitochondria were also observed in preimplantation embryos. In the two‐cell stage, they were distributed throughout the cytoplasm. From four‐cell to the spherical embryonic stages, active mitochondria translocated to the perinuclear and the periphery of the cytoplasm. These results confirm that mitochondria play an important role in oocyte and embryo. The distribution of active mitochondria might be a marked feature of buffalo oocyte maturation, fertilization and preimplantation embryo development in vitro.
Immune response of 23‐valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccinated elderly and its relation to frailty indices, nutritional status, and serum zinc levels
Authors: Hamza Sarah A , Mousa Shereen M , Taha Shereen E , Adel Lamiaa A , Samaha Hanan E , Hussein Dalia A 
Published: September 2011

Aim:  To detect the immunoglobulin M memory B cell population response following vaccination with the 23‐valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine and determine its relation to frailty indices, nutritional status, and serum zinc levels.Methods:  A cross‐sectional study was carried out in the outpatient geriatric clinic, Ain Shams University Hospital. It included 80 community‐dwelling elderly, 32 male and 48 female. Each participant underwent vaccination with the 23‐valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, comprehensive geriatric assessment, nutritional assessment with the DETERMINE check list, frailty indices assessment, and serum zinc level measurement. The percentage of immunoglobulin M memory B cells was evaluated before and 4 weeks after vaccination. Immune response was calculated as the difference between cell percentage before and after vaccination.Results:  Before the vaccination, the immunoglobulin M memory B cell percentage was significantly lower among those eating fewer than two meals a day and taking three or more drugs a day; after vaccination significance was observed among those with tooth or mouth problems that make eating difficult. Immune response was significantly lower among those with tooth or mouth problems (P < 0.001), weight loss (P < 0.001), shrinking (P = 0.001), poor endurance (P = 0.04), multiple comorbidities (P = 0.013), and cognitive impairment (P = 0.001). Participants with immune response ≥10% showed significantly higher serum zinc levels compared to those with immune response <10% of increase in cell percentage.Conclusion:  Poor nutritional status, frailty and a lower zinc level impair the immunological response of elderly individuals. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2012; 12: 223–229.
Complete genome of Candidatus Chloracidobacterium thermophilum, a chlorophyll‐based photoheterotroph belonging to the phylum Acidobacteria
Authors: Garcia Costas Amaya M. , Liu Zhenfeng , Tomsho Lynn P. , Schuster Stephan C. , Ward David M. , Bryant Donald A. 
Published: September 2011

SummaryCandidatus Chloracidobacterium thermophilum, which naturally inhabits microbial mats of alkaline siliceous hot springs in Yellowstone National Park, is the only known chlorophototroph in the phylum Acidobacteria. The Ca. C. thermophilum genome was composed of two chromosomes (2 683 362 bp and 1 012 010 bp), and both encoded essential genes. The genome included genes to produce chlorosomes, the Fenna‐Matthews‐Olson protein, bacteriochlorophylls a and c as principal pigments, and type‐1, homodimeric reaction centres. Ca. C. thermophilum is an aerobic photoheterotroph that lacks the ability to synthesize several essential nutrients. Key genes of all known carbon fixation pathways were absent, as were genes for assimilatory nitrate and sulfate reduction and vitamin B12 synthesis. Genes for the synthesis of branched‐chain amino acids (valine, isoleucine and leucine) were also absent, but genes for catabolism of these compounds were present. This observation suggested that Ca. C. thermophilum may synthesize branched‐chain amino acids from an intermediate(s) of the catabolic pathway by reversing these reactions. The genome encoded an aerobic respiratory electron transport chain that included NADH dehydrogenase, alternative complex III and cytochrome oxidase. The chromosomes of the laboratory isolate were compared with assembled, metagenomic scaffolds from the major Ca. C. thermophilum population in hot‐spring mats. The larger chromosomes of the two populations were highly syntenous but significantly divergent (∼13%) in sequence. In contrast, the smaller chromosomes have undergone numerous rearrangements, contained many transposases, and might be less constrained by purifying selection than the large chromosomes. Some transposases were homologous to those of mat community members from other phyla.
Association of β‐cell function and insulin sensitivity with fasting and 2‐h plasma glucose in a large Chinese population
Authors: Bi Y. , Zeng L. , Zhu D. , Yan J. , Zhang Y. , Tong G. , Mu P. , Shen S. , Hu Y. , Yu Q. , Liang H. , Weng J. 
Published: September 2011

Aim: Our aim was to provide a quantitative analysis of the changes in the principal determinants of insulin sensitivity and secretion in relation to fasting plasma glucose (FPG) or 2‐h plasma glucose (2h PG) in a Chinese population with a wide range of glucose tolerance.Methods: A total of 5728 adults spanning the entire range of glucose tolerance were included. Insulin sensitivity was measured by Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (ISIM) and homeostasis model assessment of 1/homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR). β‐Cell function adjusted by insulin sensitivity was assessed from disposition index (DI) at early‐phase DI30 and total DI120. The exponential curve was established as the best fit for the relationship between insulin sensitivity or β‐cell function and FPG or 2h PG.Results: Relative to the trend classified as increasing 2h PG, hepatic insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion showed a decreasing trend to a substantial degree as FPG increased. A 1 mmol/l increase in FPG and 2h PG concentration was associated with a −22 and −21% decline in ISIM, −16 and −4% in 1/HOMA‐IR, −38 and −35% in DI30 and −36 and −26% in DI120. The decay constant of ISIM and DI30 in IFG or ISIM, 1/HOMA‐IR, DI30 and DI120 in IGT was lower than that in normal glucose tolerance. Significant interactions between sex and glucose levels determining DI were found.Conclusions: We conclude that impairment of insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion contributes to both FPG or 2h PG hyperglycaemia in a Chinese population, but that the decline in insulin secretion is more pronounced with increasing fasting than 2h PG.
Pioglitazone induces regression and stabilization of coronary atherosclerotic plaques in patients with impaired glucose tolerance
Authors: Yang H.‐B. , Zhao X.‐Y. , Zhang J.‐Y. , Du Y.‐Y. , Wang X.‐F. 
Published: September 2011

Diabet. Med. 29, 359–365 (2012)AbstractAims  To observe the effects of pioglitazone on coronary plaque area, plaque burden, serum high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein, adiponectin and plasma endothelin‐1 levels in patients with impaired glucose tolerance and coronary borderline lesions.Methods  Thirty patients were randomly divided into two groups: a pioglitazone group and a control group. The latter was administered placebo in addition to standard therapy; the former pioglitazone 15 mg/d in addition to standard therapy. Before treatment and 6 months later, left ventricular ejection fraction, serum lipid profile, high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein, adiponectin and plasma endothelin‐1 levels were detected. Coronary plaque area and plaque burden were examined using intravascular ultrasound.Results  No significant differences were found in left ventricular ejection fraction and serum lipid levels pre‐ and post‐trial. Compared with the control group, 6 months’ treatment with pioglitazone significantly decreased coronary plaque burden (50.7 ± 11.1 vs. 64.1 ± 10.3%, P < 0.05), plaque area (6.22 ± 2.03 vs. 8.31 ± 4.29, P < 0.05), thin‐cap fibroatheroma prevalence (11 vs. 22%, P < 0.05) and percentage of necrotic core area (16 ± 8 vs. 31 ± 7%, P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, serum high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein and plasma endothelin‐1 levels were significantly lower and adiponectin level significantly higher in patients in the pioglitazone group. Serum adiponectin level was negatively correlated with plasma endothelin‐1 level and coronary plaque area (r = 0.739 and –0.431, respectively, both P < 0.05).Conclusions  Pioglitazone may induce regression and stabilization of coronary atherosclerotic plaques. The mechanisms might involve inhibition of inflammation, increase in adiponectin level and improvement in endothelial function.
Obesity and cardiovascular disease risk among Turkish and Moroccan migrant groups in Europe: a systematic review
Authors: Ujcic‐Voortman J. K. , Baan C. A. , Seidell J. C. , Verhoeff A. P. 
Published: September 2011

SummaryMigrants from Turkey and Morocco are among the largest ethnic minority groups in several European countries. In this review, we aimed to systematically search, assess and describe the available literature on cardiovascular disease (CVD), obesity and other endogenous cardiovascular risk factors among these groups. Although the number of publications covering this topic among Turkish and Moroccan migrants has increased in the past decades, studies among these groups, especially the Moroccan, are still limited. There is a particular lack of information on CVD mortality and morbidity rates. Furthermore, studies are often hampered by low participation rates, small sample sizes and self‐reported data. This further complicates drawing sound conclusions on CVD and risk factors among these migrant groups. The results with regard to CVD morbidity and mortality rates are inconclusive. With regard to CVD risk factors, we tentatively conclude that obesity and diabetes are more common among Turkish and Moroccan migrant groups in Europe than the western European population. In the Turkish population there is also a fair amount of evidence for unfavourable high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. However, more research on this topic among these major ethnic minorities is of high importance.
Association study of functional polymorphisms in serotonin transporter gene with temporal lobe epilepsy in Han Chinese population
Authors: Li J. , Lin H. , Zhu X. , Li L. , Wang X. , Sun W. , Wu X. , Liu A. , Niu F. , Wang Y. , Liu Y. 
Published: September 2011

Background and purpose:  Serotoninergic dysfunction was reported to be involved in aetiology of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Serotonin (5‐HT) is actively cleared from synaptic cleft by serotonin transporter (5‐HTT). We investigated the association between three common polymorphisms of 5‐HTT gene, which may influence gene expression or function, and risk for TLE.Methods:  Three hundred and thirty‐four patients with TLE and four hundred and eighty‐seven non‐epileptic control subjects from Han Chinese origin were enrolled for the present study. Polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) method was used for genotyping.Results:  10‐repeat allele frequency of 17 bp variable number of tandem repeats in the second intron (5‐HTTVNTR) was moderately higher in patients with TLE than in controls (9.1% vs. 6.1%, P = 0.0187, OR = 1.55, 95%CI = 1.07–2.26).Conclusion:  Our study suggested 10‐repeat allele of 5‐HTTVNTR may be associated with TLE susceptibility.
Helpful citizens and caring families: Patterns of informal help and caregiving in Sweden in a 17‐year perspective
Authors: Jegermalm Magnus , Grassman Eva Jeppsson 
Published: September 2011

Jegermalm M, Grassman EJ. Helpful citizens and caring families: patterns of informal help and caregiving in Sweden in a 17‐year perspectiveThis article reports on an analysis of informal help and caregiving in Sweden with, for the first time, a focus on patterns of change over 17 years regarding scope, type of caregivers and the recipients of help. The discussion is based on results from a national survey repeated four times between 1992 and 2009. In the 1990s, the figures were stable, but from the late 1990s to 2009, there seems to have been a dramatic increase in the extent of informal help giving. Concerning types of helpers, the patterns implied involvement not only from family members, but also from other types of helpers. Two interpretative perspectives were used in the analysis: the first from recent welfare state changes and the substitution argument; the second from the present debate on civil society and its possible and changing role. These perspectives represent two partly complementary approaches to the understanding of the dynamics of informal involvement in contemporary Swedish society.
The Effects of Market Makers and Stock Analysts in Emerging Markets
Authors: Čekauskas Karolis , Gerasimovs Reinis , Liatukas Vytautas , Putniņš Tālis J. 
Published: September 2011

AbstractWe exploit a quasi‐experiment to examine the effects of market makers and stock analysts in three emerging stock markets. We find substantial differences in the effects across markets, and in contrast to existing literature, the effects of market makers are not always positive. Our results suggest that the structure of market makers' agreements and compensation matters for their effects on market quality. Stock analysts, on balance, have marginally positive effects on liquidity and informational efficiency. The benefits of market makers are weaker in the presence of stock analysts, and vice versa, suggesting that market makers and stock analysts are more like substitutes than complements in their effects on market quality.
Hydromechanical effects of continental glaciation on groundwater systems
Authors: NEUZIL C. E. 
Published: September 2011

AbstractHydromechanical effects of continental ice sheets may involve considerably more than the widely recognized direct compression of overridden terrains by ice load. Lithospheric flexure, which lags ice advance and retreat, appears capable of causing comparable or greater stress changes. Together, direct and flexural loading may increase fluid pressures by tens of MPa in geologic units unable to drain. If so, fluid pressures in low‐permeability formations subject to glaciation may have increased and decreased repeatedly during cycles of Pleistocene glaciation and can again in the future. Being asynchronous and normally oriented, direct and flexural loading presumably cause normal and shear stresses to evolve in a complex fashion through much or all of a glacial cycle. Simulations of fractured rock predict permeability might vary by two to three orders of magnitude under similar stress changes as fractures at different orientations are subjected to changing normal and shear stresses and some become critically stressed. Uncertainties surrounding these processes and their interactions, and the confounding influences of surface hydrologic changes, make it challenging to delineate their effects on groundwater flow and pressure regimes with any specificity. To date, evidence for hydromechanical changes caused by the last glaciation is sparse and inconclusive, comprising a few pressure anomalies attributed to the removal of direct ice load. This may change as more data are gathered, and understanding of relevant processes is refined.
Ecological characteristics in habitats of twoAfrican mole‐rat species with different social systems in an area of sympatry: implications for the mole‐rat social evolution
Authors: Lövy M. , Šklíba J. , Burda H. , Chitaukali W. N. , Šumbera R. 
Published: September 2011

AbstractAfrican mole‐rats (Bathyergidae) are subterranean rodents with diverse social systems, which range from solitary to highly cooperative. The social systems are thought to reflect ecological conditions. We examined ecological characteristics in habitats occupied by two mole‐rat species with different social systems in an area of sympatry in theNyikaPlateau,Malawi. Whereas the solitary silvery mole‐ratHeliophobius argenteocinereusoccurs there in the afromontane grasslands, the socialWhyte's mole‐ratFukomys whyteiis bound to theMiombo woodlands. The habitat ofF. whyteiwas characterized by a lower food supply and harder soil. We suppose that the niche segregation of the two species in theNyikaPlateau is due to the inability of the solitary species to survive under the harsh ecological conditions. Absence ofF. whyteiin higher altitudes may be due to its less effective thermoregulation, competitive exclusion byH. argenteocinereus, or other unknown factors. Analysis of available data on food supply and precipitation from different mole‐rat localities revealed that there is no clear separation of the localities inhabited by solitary, social and so‐called eusocial species.
Does HIV Services Decentralization Protect against the Risk of Catastrophic Health Expenditures? Some Lessons from Cameroon
Authors: Boyer Sylvie , Abu‐Zaineh Mohammad , Blanche Jérôme , Loubière Sandrine , Bonono Renée‐Cécile , Moatti Jean‐Paul , Ventelou Bruno 
Published: September 2011

ObjectiveScaling up antiretroviral treatment (ART) through decentralization of HIV care is increasingly recommended as a strategy toward ensuring equitable access to treatment. However, there have been hitherto few attempts to empirically examine the performance of this policy, and particularly its role in protecting against the risk of catastrophic health expenditures (CHE). This article therefore seeks to assess whether HIV care decentralization has a protective effect against the risk of CHE associated with HIV infection.Data Source and Study DesignWe use primary data from the cross‐sectional EVAL‐ANRS 12‐116 survey, conducted in 2006–2007 among a random sample of 3,151 HIV‐infected outpatients followed up in 27 hospitals in Cameroon.Data Collection and MethodsData collected contain sociodemographic, economic, and clinical information on patients as well as health care supply‐related characteristics. We assess the determinants of CHE among the ART‐treated patients using a hierarchical logistic model (n = 2,412), designed to adequately investigate the separate effects of patients and supply‐related characteristics.Principal FindingsExpenditures for HIV care exceed 17 percent of household income for 50 percent of the study population. After adjusting for individual characteristics and technological level, decentralization of HIV services emerges as the main health system factor explaining interclass variance, with a protective effect on the risk of CHE.ConclusionThe findings suggest that HIV care decentralization is likely to enhance equity in access to ART. Decentralization appears, however, to be a necessary but insufficient condition to fully remove the risk of CHE, unless other innovative reforms in health financing are introduced.
Sulphide quinone reductase contributes to hydrogen sulphide metabolism in murine peripheral tissues but not in the CNS
Authors: Linden DR , Furne J , Stoltz GJ , Abdel‐Rehim MS , Levitt MD , Szurszewski JH 
Published: September 2011

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is gaining acceptance as a gaseous signal molecule. However, mechanisms regarding signal termination are not understood. We used stigmatellin and antimycin A, inhibitors of sulphide quinone reductase (SQR), to test the hypothesis that the catabolism of H2S involves SQR.EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH H2S production and consumption were determined in living and intact mouse brain, liver and colonic muscularis externa using gas chromatography and HPLC. Expressions of SQR, ethylmalonic encephalopathy 1 (Ethe1) and thiosulphate transferase (TST; rhodanese) were determined by RT‐PCR and immunohistochemistry.KEY RESULTS In the colonic muscularis externa, H235S was catabolized to [35S]‐thiosulphate and [35S]‐sulphate, and stigmatellin reduced both the consumption of H235S and formation of [35S]‐thiosulphate. Stigmatellin also enhanced H2S release by the colonic muscularis externa. In the brain, catabolism of H235S to [35S]‐thiosulphate and [35S]‐sulphate, which was stigmatellin‐insensitive, partially accounted for H235S consumption, while the remainder was captured as unidentified 35S that was probably bound to proteins. Levels of mRNA encoding SQR were higher in the colonic muscularis externa and the liver than in the brain.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS These data support the concept that termination of endogenous H2S signalling in the colonic muscularis externa occurs via catabolism to thiosulphate and sulphate partially via a mechanism involving SQR. In the brain, it appears that H2S signal termination occurs partially through protein sequestration and partially through catabolism not involving SQR. As H2S has beneficial effects in animal models of human disease, we suggest that selective inhibition of SQR is an attractive target for pharmaceutical development.