bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Expanding the definition of hypothalamic obesity
Authors: Hochberg I. , Hochberg Z. 
Published: March 2010

SummaryHypothalamic obesity (HyOb) was first defined as the significant polyphagia and weight gain that occurs after extensive suprasellar operations for excision of hypothalamic tumours. However, polyphagia and weight gain complicate other disorders related to the hypothalamus, including those that cause structural damage to the hypothalamus like tumours, trauma, radiotherapy; genetic disorders such as Prader–Willi syndrome; side effects of psychotropic drugs; and mutations in several genes involved in hypothalamic satiety signalling. Moreover, ‘simple’ obesity is associated with polymorphisms in several genes involved in hypothalamic weight‐regulating pathways. Thus, understanding HyOb may enhance our understanding of ‘simple’ obesity. This review will claim that HyOb is a far wider phenomenon than hitherto understood by the narrow definition of post‐surgical weight gain. It will emphasize the similarity in clinical characteristics and therapeutic approaches for HyOb, as well as its mechanisms. HyOb, regardless of its aetiology, is a result of impairment in hypothalamic regulatory centres of body weight and energy expenditure. The pathophysiology includes loss of sensitivity to afferent peripheral humoral signals, such as, leptin on the one hand and dysfunctional afferent signals, on the other hand. The most important afferent signals deranged are energy regulation by the sympathetic nervous system and regulation of insulin secretion. Dys‐regulation of 11β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β‐HSD1) activity and melatonin may also have a role in the development of HyOb. The complexity of the syndrome requires simultaneous targeting of several mechanisms that are deranged in the HyOb patient. We review the studies evaluating possible treatment strategies, including sympathomimetics, somatostatin analogues, triiodothyronine, sibutramine, and surgery.
A Copula‐Based BRDF Model
Authors: Öztürk Aydın , Kurt Murat , Bilgili Ahmet 
Published: March 2010

Abstract In this paper, we introduce a novel approach for modeling surface reflection. We focus on using a family of probability distributions called Archimedean copulas as BRDF models. The Archimedean representation has an attractive property in that the multivariate distributions are characterized by their marginal distributions through a single univariate function only. It is shown that the proposed model meets the reciprocity property of reflection. Based on measured BRDF data, we demonstrate that the proposed approach provides a good approximation to BRDF. Empirical comparisons are made with some classically used BRDF models.
The Role of Britain in the Berlin Airlift
Authors: PEPLOW EMMA 
Published: March 2010

AbstractSince the opening of the Foreign Office archives covering the post‐Second World War period, historians have argued that the British government played a strong and decisive role in the Berlin blockade. Determined to stay in Berlin in defiance of the Soviets, the British government acted decisively to initiate the airlift and thereafter wielded significant influence over western policy due to their close relationship with the Americans and their own contribution to the airlift itself. This article will demonstrate, however, that this interpretation fails to take into consideration both British economic weakness and the attitudes of British officials in Germany who organized and supervised the airlift. Whilst the British did indeed have a strong commitment to defending Berlin, they were less confident than their American allies about the success of the airlift and more concerned about the adverse effect the blockade would have on German resilience. Analysis of British policy at this level reveals significant differences between British and American attitudes in Berlin, and shows that the British had less influence over policy than has been previously suggested.
Association of Genetic Variants, Ethnicity and Preterm Birth with Amniotic Fluid Cytokine Concentrations
Authors: Menon Ramkumar , Fortunato Stephen J. , Velez Edwards Digna R. , Williams Scott M. 
Published: March 2010

SUMMARYWe examined the association of 166 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cytokines and cytokine related genes with cytokine concentrations (IL‐1β, IL‐8, and IL‐10) in the amniotic fluid (AF). These cytokines have been associated with spontaneous preterm birth (PTB) and their genetic regulation may play a role in disease risk. These associations were studied in both PTB and term births in African Americans and Caucasians; maternal and fetal genotypes were studied separately. Analyses modeled genotype, pregnancy status, and marker by pregnancy status (case/control) interaction with cytokine concentration as outcome. Our results indicate that AF cytokines (IL‐1β and IL‐10) were associated with interactions between pregnancy status and both maternal and fetal SNPs, with the most significant interactions being observed for African Americans with IL‐1β concentration (maternal at IL1RAP rs1024941 p < 10−3, fetal IL1RAP rs3773953 p < 10−3). AF IL‐10 concentrations also showed evidence for association with SNPs in both ethnicities with the most significant interaction in Caucasian maternal samples (IL10 rs1800896 p < 10−3). Our data indicate that the genetic regulation of cytokine concentrations in PTB likely differs by ethnicity. AF cytokine concentrations were associated with interactions between genotype and PTB in African Americans, but less so in Caucasians.
Molecular and cellular characterization of Neuregulin‐1 type IV isoforms
Authors: Shamir Alon , Buonanno Andres 
Published: March 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 113, 1163–1176.AbstractNumerous genetic studies associated the Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) Icelandic haplotype (HAPice), and its single nucleotide polymorphism SNP8NRG243177 [T/T], with schizophrenia. Because SNP8NRG243177 [T/T] has characteristics of a functional polymorphism that maps close to NRG1 type IV coding sequences, our initial goal was to map precisely the human type IV transcription initiation site. We determined that the initiation site is 23 bp upstream of the previously reported type IV exon, and that no other transcripts map to the SNP8NRG243177 region. Because NRG1 type IV transcripts are specific to human, we isolated full‐length NRG1 type IV cDNAs from human hippocampi and expressed them in non‐neural cells and dissociated rat hippocampal neurons to study protein expression, processing and function. Using an antiserum we generated against the NRG1 type IV‐specific N‐terminus, we found that the protein is targeted to the cell surface where PKC activation promotes its cleavage and release of the extracellular domain. Conditioned medium derived from type IV expressing cells stimulates ErbB receptor phosphorylation, as well as downstream Akt and Erk signaling, demonstrating that NRG1 type IV possesses biological activity similar to other releasable NRG1 isoforms. To study the subcellular targeting of distinct isoforms, neurons were transfected with the Ig‐domain‐containing NRG1 types I and IV, or the cysteine‐rich domain type III isoform. Three dimensional confocal images from transfected neurons indicate that, whereas all isoforms are expressed on somato‐dendritic membranes, only the type III‐cysteine‐rich domain isoform is detectable in distal axons. These results suggest that NRG1 type IV expression levels associated with SNP8NRG243177 [T/T] can selectively modify signaling of NRG1 released from somato‐dendritic compartments, in contrast to the type III NRG1 that is also associated with axons.
Youth‐friendly reproductive health services in Jordan from the perspective of the youth: a descriptive qualitative study
Authors: Khalaf Inaam , Moghli Fathieh Abu , Froelicher Erika Sivarajan 
Published: March 2010

Scand J Caring Sci; 2010; 24; 321–331

Youth‐friendly reproductive health services in Jordan from the perspective of the youth: a descriptive qualitative study Purpose:  This study aims at describing the needs for reproductive health services among Jordanian youth, identifying problems youth encounter when using reproductive health services, and identifying youths’ perceptions of the characteristics of youth‐friendly reproductive health services.Methods:  A qualitative study using focus groups was conducted on a convenience sample of 60 young men (n = 33) and women (n = 27) (age 12–18 years) selected from the three regions of Jordan. The focus groups were audio taped, and content analysis was used to analyse the data.Results:  The results revealed that the participants’ knowledge about aspects of reproductive health was limited or inadequate. The participants indicated their need for reproductive health information and quality services. The major barriers to using reproductive health services were unpleasant facilities, unprofessional conduct and ill‐informed professionals. Youth expressed many ideas about how services could be improved to be more ‘youth friendly’.Conclusions:  The findings of this study can be useful to health services planners and healthcare providers to improve services and start youth‐friendly reproductive health services in Jordan and to develop educational programmes that may improve healthcare professionals’ knowledge and attitudes and advance their interpersonal skills for working with youth.
Individual and organizational risk factors of work‐related violence in the Danish elder care
Authors: Sharipova M. , Hogh A. , Borg V. 
Published: March 2010

Scand J Caring Sci; 2010; 24; 332–340

Individual and organizational risk factors of work‐related violence in the Danish elder care Aim:  The aim of this study was to explore individual and organizational risk factors of exposure to violence in the Elder Care Sector.Methods:  A questionnaire study conducted among 8134 health‐care workers in the elder care in 36 municipalities was carried out between October 2004 and May 2005. Participation in the study was voluntary and data were treated confidentially.Results:  Individual factors such as low age and seniority seemed to increase the risk of violence. Type of institution (nursing homes), occupation (health care assistants), shift‐work, evening or night work, frequent physical contact with clients, higher emotional demands, a lower level of involvement at the workplace, lower leadership quality, and more role conflicts increased the risk of work‐related violence. On the other hand, the study also demonstrated that the least violence was found at workplaces with high leadership quality, no role conflicts and high involvement in the workplace.Study strengths and limitations:  The strengths of the study are that it is a large representative study consisting of Danish elder care workers in 36 municipalities and has a high response rate. A limitation is that the study is cross‐sectional making it impossible to decide the direction of causal relationships.Conclusion:  The results of the study indicate that there is a possibility of reducing the prevalence of violence towards care‐workers in the elder care if policies and resources to improve the working environment are implemented.
Comparing Methods of Racial and Ethnic Disparities Measurement across Different Settings of Mental Health Care
Authors: Lê Cook Benjamin , McGuire Thomas G. , Lock Kari , Zaslavsky Alan M. 
Published: March 2010

Introduction. The ability to track improvement against racial/ethnic disparities in mental health care is hindered by the varying methods and disparity definitions used in previous research.Data. Nationally representative sample of whites, blacks, and Latinos from the 2002 to 2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Dependent variables are total, outpatient, and prescription drug mental health care expenditure.Methods. Rank‐ and propensity score‐based methods concordant with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) definition of health care disparities were compared with commonly used disparities methods. To implement the IOM definition, we modeled expenditures using a two‐part GLM, adjusted distributions of need variables, and predicted expenditures for each racial/ethnic group.Findings. Racial/ethnic disparities were significant for all expenditure measures. Disparity estimates from the IOM‐concordant methods were similar to one another but greater than a method using the residual effect of race/ethnicity. Black–white and Latino–white disparities were found for any expenditure in each category and Latino–white disparities were significant in expenditure conditional on use.Conclusions. Findings of disparities in access among blacks and disparities in access and expenditures after initiation among Latinos suggest the need for continued policy efforts targeting disparities reduction. In these data, the propensity score‐based method and the rank‐and‐replace method were precise and adequate methods of implementing the IOM definition of disparity.
Case‐Mix Adjustment and the Comparison of Community Health Center Performance on Patient Experience Measures
Authors: Johnson M. Laura , Rodriguez Hector P. , Solorio M. Rosa 
Published: March 2010

Objective. To assess the effect of case‐mix adjustment on community health center (CHC) performance on patient experience measures.Data Sources. A Medicaid‐managed care plan in Washington State collected patient survey data from 33 CHCs over three fiscal quarters during 2007–2008. The survey included three composite patient experience measures (6‐month reports) and two overall ratings of care. The analytic sample includes 2,247 adult patients and 2,859 adults reporting for child patients.Study Design. We compared the relative importance of patient case‐mix adjusters by calculating each adjuster's predictive power and variability across CHCs. We then evaluated the impact of case‐mix adjustment on the relative ranking of CHCs.Principal Findings. Important case‐mix adjusters included adult self‐reported health status or parent‐reported child health status, adult age, and educational attainment. The effects of case‐mix adjustment on patient reports and ratings were different in the adult and child samples. Adjusting for race/ethnicity and language had a greater impact on parent reports than adult reports, but it impacted ratings similarly across the samples. The impact of adjustment on composites and ratings was modest, but it affected the relative ranking of CHCs.Conclusions. To ensure equitable comparison of CHC performance on patient experience measures, reports and ratings should be adjusted for adult self‐reported health status or parent‐reported child health status, adult age, education, race/ethnicity, and survey language. Because of the differential impact of case‐mix adjusters for child and adult surveys, initiatives should consider measuring and reporting adult and child scores separately.
Activation of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase is essential for mitochondrial membrane potential change and apoptosis induced by doxycycline in melanoma cells
Authors: Shieh Jiunn‐Min , Huang Tur‐Fu , Hung Chi‐Feng , Chou Kuan‐Hsien , Tsai Yih‐Jeng , Wu Wen‐Bin 
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose:  Tetracyclines were recently found to induce tumour cell death, but the early processes involved in this cytotoxic effect remain unclear.Experimental approach:  Viability of human and mouse melanoma cells was determined by MTT assay and flow cytometry. Kinase/protein/caspase activation was measured by Western blotting and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) was analyzed by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry.Key results:  Human and mouse melanoma cells were treated with doxycycline or minocycline but only doxycycline was cytotoxic. This cell death (apoptosis) in A2058 cells involved activation of caspase‐3, ‐7 and ‐9 and contributed to inhibition, by doxycycline, of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and migration of these cells. Doxycycline induced intra‐cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, apoptosis signal‐regulated kinase 1 (ASK1), c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation at an early stage of treatment and induced mitochondrial cytochrome c release into cytosol and ΔΨm change during apoptosis. The JNK inhibitor/small interference RNA inhibited doxycycline‐induced JNK activation, ΔΨm change and apoptosis, but did not affect ASK1 activation, suggesting a role of ASK1 for JNK activation in melanoma cell apoptosis. Two ROS scavengers reduced doxycycline‐induced JNK and caspase activation, and apoptosis. Taken together, the results suggest the involvement of a ROS‐ASK1‐JNK pathway in doxycycline‐induced melanoma cell apoptosis.Conclusions and implications:  We have shown a promising cytotoxic effect of doxycycline on melanoma cells, have identified ROS and ASK1 as the possible initiators and have demonstrated that JNK activation is necessary for doxycycline‐induced melanoma cell apoptosis.
Trajectories of Multiculturalism in Germany, the Netherlands and Canada: In Search of Common Patterns
Authors: Winter Elke 
Published: March 2010

AbstractIn the mid-1990s, Canadian scholarship introduced an important distinction between historically incorporated national minorities and ethnic groups emerging from recent immigration. While the former may be accommodated through federal or multinational arrangements, multiculturalism has come to describe a normative framework of immigrant integration. The distinction between these analytically different types of movements is crucial for Taylor's and Kymlicka's influential theories, but the relations between different types of national and ethnic struggles for rights and recognition have remained unexplored in much of the subsequent scholarly literature. This article starts from a theoretical position where different types of diversity are viewed as highly interdependent in practice. Tracing the trajectories of multiculturalism in three different countries, the article aims to identify common patterns of how changing relations between traditionally incorporated groups affect public perceptions of and state responses to more recent immigration-induced diversity. More specifically, it asks the following question: to what extent does the absence (in Germany), discontinuation (in the Netherlands) and exacerbation (in Canada) of claims on ethnocultural grounds by traditionally incorporated groups influence the willingness of the national majority/ies to grant multicultural rights to immigrants?
Differential Effects of Acute and Chronic Ethanol Exposure on Orexin Expression in the Perifornical Lateral Hypothalamus
Authors: Morganstern Irene , Chang Guo‐Q , Barson Jessica R. , Ye Zhiyu , Karatayev Olga , Leibowitz Sarah F. 
Published: March 2010

Background: Recent reports support the involvement of hypothalamic orexigenic peptides in stimulating ethanol intake. Our previous studies have examined the effects of ethanol on hypothalamic peptide systems of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and identified a positive feedback loop in which PVN peptides, such as enkephalin and galanin, stimulate ethanol intake and ethanol, in turn, stimulates the expression of these peptides. Recently, orexin (OX), a peptide produced mainly by cells in the perifornical lateral hypothalamus (PFLH), has been shown to play an important role in mediating the rewarding aspects of ethanol intake. However, there is little evidence showing the effects that ethanol itself may have on the OX peptide system. In order to understand the feedback relationship between ethanol and the OX system, the current investigation was designed to measure OX gene expression in the PFLH following acute as well as chronic ethanol intake.Methods: In the first experiment, Sprague–Dawley rats were trained to voluntarily consume a 2 or 9% concentration of ethanol, and the expression of OX mRNA in the PFLH was measured using quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR). The second set of experiments tested the impact of acute oral gavage of 0.75 and 2.5 g/kg ethanol solution on OX expression in the PFLH using qRT‐PCR, as well as radiolabeled in situ hybridization. Further tests using digoxigenin‐labeled in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence histochemistry allowed us to more clearly distinguish the effects of acute ethanol on OX cells in the lateral hypothalamic (LH) versus perifornical (PF) regions.Results: The results showed chronic consumption of ethanol versus water to dose‐dependently reduce OX mRNA in the PFLH, with a larger effect observed in rats consuming 2.5 g/kg/d (−70%) or 1.0 g/kg/d (−50%) compared to animals consuming 0.75 g/kg/d (−40%). In contrast to chronic intake, acute oral ethanol compared to water significantly enhanced OX expression in the PFLH, and this effect occurred at the lower (0.75 g/kg) but not higher (2.5 g/kg) dose of ethanol. Additional analyses of the OX cells in the LH versus PF regions identified the former as the primary site of ethanol’s stimulatory effect on the OX system. In the LH but not the PF, acute ethanol increased the density of OX‐expressing and OX‐immunoreactive neurons. The increase in gene expression was detected only at the lower dose of ethanol (0.75 g/kg), whereas the increase in OX peptide was seen only at the higher dose of ethanol (2.5 g/kg).Conclusion: These results lead us to propose that OX neurons, while responsive to negative feedback signals from chronic ethanol consumption, are stimulated by acute ethanol administration, most potently in the LH where OX may trigger central reward mechanisms that promote further ethanol consumption.
Adrenocortical and Pituitary Glucocorticoid Feedback in Abstinent Alcohol‐Dependent Women
Authors: Adinoff Bryon , Best Susan E. , Ye Wen , Williams Mark J. , Iranmenesh Ali 
Published: March 2010

Background:  The long‐term ingestion of alcohol diminishes hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity in alcohol‐dependent men, potentially altering future relapse risk. Although sex differences in HPA axis functioning are apparent in healthy controls, disruptions in this system have received little attention in alcohol‐dependent women. In this study, we assessed the basal secretory profile of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol, adrenocortical sensitivity in both the presence and absence of endogenous corticotropic pituitary activation, and feedback pituitary glucocorticoid sensitivity to dexamethasone.Methods:  Seven women 4‐ to 8‐week abstinent alcohol‐only dependent subjects and 10 age‐matched female healthy controls were studied. All subjects were between 30 and 50 years old, not taking oral contraceptives, and were studied during the early follicular phase of their menstrual cycle. Circulating concentrations of ACTH and cortisol were measured in blood samples collected at frequent intervals from 2000 to 0800 hour. A submaximal dose of cosyntropin (0.01 μg/kg), a synthetic ACTH (1–24), was administered at 0800 hour to assess adrenocortical sensitivity. In a separate session, low‐dose cosyntropin was also administered following high‐dose dexamethasone (8 mg intravenous) to assess adrenocortical sensitivity in the relative absence of endogenous ACTH. In addition, the ACTH response to dexamethasone was measured to determine the pituitary glucocorticoid negative feedback. Sessions were 5 days apart, and blood draws were obtained every 5 to 10 minutes.Results:  Mean concentrations and pulsatile characteristics of ACTH and cortisol over 12 hours were not statistically different between the 2 groups. Healthy controls had a somewhat higher (p < 0.08) net peak, but not net integrated, cortisol response to cosyntropin relative to the alcohol‐dependent women. There were no significant group differences in either the ACTH or cortisol response to dexamethasone nor in the net cortisol response to cosyntropin following dexamethasone.Conclusion:  Significant differences in pituitary–adrenal function were not apparent between alcohol‐dependent women and matched controls. Despite the small n, it appears that alcohol‐dependent women do not show the same disruptions in HPA activity as alcohol‐dependent men. These findings may have relevance for gender‐specific treatment effectiveness.