bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
ROLE OF EXTRACELLULAR Na+, Ca2+‐ACTIVATED Cl‐ CHANNELS AND BK CHANNELS IN THE CONTRACTION OF Ca2+ STORE‐DEPLETED TRACHEAL SMOOTH MUSCLE
Authors: Romero‐Méndez Catalina , Algara‐Suárez Paola , Sánchez‐Armass Sergio , Mandeville Peter B , Meza Ulises , Espinosa‐Tanguma Ricardo 
Published: July 2009

SUMMARY

In the present study, we investigated the series of events involved in the contraction of tracheal smooth muscle induced by the re‐addition of Ca2+ in an in vitro experimental model in which Ca2+ stores had been depleted and their refilling had been blocked by thapsigargin.
Mean (±SEM) contraction was diminished by: (i) inhibitors of store‐operated calcium channels (SOCC), namely 100 µmol/L SKF‐96365 and 100 µmol/L 1‐(2‐trifluoromethylphenyl) imidazole (to 66.3 ± 4.4 and 41.3 ± 5.2% of control, respectively); (ii) inhibitors of voltage‐gated Ca2+ channels CaV1.2 channels, namely 1 µmol/L nifedipine and 10 µmol/L verapamil (to 86.2 ± 3.4 and 76.9 ± 5.9% of control, respectively); and (iii) 20 µmol/L niflumic acid, a non‐selective inhibitor of Ca2+‐dependent Cl− channels (to 41.1 ± 9.8% of control). In contrast, contraction was increased 2.3‐fold by 100 nmol/L iberiotoxin, a blocker of the large‐conductance Ca2+‐activated K+ (BK) channels.
Furthermore, contraction was significantly inhibited when Na+ in the bathing solution was replaced by N‐methyl–d‐glucamine (NMDG+) to 39.9 ± 7.2% of control, but not when it was replaced by Li+ (114.5 ± 24.4% of control). In addition, when Na+ had been replaced by NMDG+, contractions were further inhibited by both nifedipine and niflumic acid (to 3.0 ± 1.8 and 24.4 ± 8.1% of control, respectively). Nifedipine also reduced contractions when Na+ had been replaced by Li+ (to 10.7 ± 3.4% to control), the niflumic acid had no effect (116.0 ± 4.5% of control).
In conclusion, the data of the present study demonstrate the roles of SOCC, BK channels and CaV1.2 channels in the contractions induced by the re‐addition of Ca2+ to the solution bathing guinea‐pig tracheal rings under conditions of Ca2+‐depleted sacroplasmic reticulum and inhibition of sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase. The contractions were highly dependent on extracellular Na+, suggesting a role for SOCC in mediating the Na+ influx.
Elevated fasting plasma C‐peptide occurs in non‐diabetic individuals with fatty liver, irrespective of insulin resistance
Authors: Perseghin G. , Caumo A. , Lattuada G. , De Cobelli F. , Ntali G. , Esposito A. , Belloni E. , Canu T. , Ragogna F. , Scifo P. , Del Maschio A. , Luzi L. 
Published: June 2009

AbstractAims  Studies have pointed to insulin resistance as a pathogenic factor in fatty liver. Although pancreatic B‐cell function is believed to be involved, its role is unclear. This study was undertaken to test whether fasting C‐peptide, an index of fasting B‐cell function, was related to intra‐hepatic fat (IHF) content in non‐diabetic humans.Methods  We assessed, retrospectively, fasting plasma C‐peptide concentration in 31 patients with fatty liver and 62 individuals without fatty liver. The IHF content was measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H‐MRS), while insulin sensitivity was estimated based on fasting plasma glucose and insulin with the homestasis model assessment (HOMA) 2 method.Results  Age, sex and body mass index (BMI) were not different between groups. Patients with fatty liver had higher fasting insulin (P < 0.01), C‐peptide (P < 0.005) and lower insulin sensitivity (HOMA2‐%S). Fasting insulin alone explained 14% of the IHF content variability (P < 0.001); inclusion of fasting C‐peptide in multivariate regression explained up to 32% (P < 0.001). A subgroup analysis was performed by matching 1 : 1 for HOMA2‐%S. These data were analysed by conditional logistic regression which showed that, when HOMA2‐%S was matched between groups, fasting C‐peptide remained the only significant predictor of fatty liver.Conclusions  Non‐diabetic individuals with fatty liver are characterized by increased fasting plasma C‐peptide concentration, irrespective of their insulin resistant state.
Diabetes, healthcare cost and loss of productivity in Sweden 1987 and 2005—a register‐based approach
Authors: Bolin K. , Gip C. , Mörk A.‐C. , Lindgren B. 
Published: June 2009

AbstractAim  The aim of this study was to estimate healthcare cost and productivity losses as a result of diabetes and diabetes‐related chronic complications in Sweden in 1987 and 2005.Research design and methods  Published estimates on relative risks and Swedish age‐specific diabetes‐prevalence rates were used to calculate the proportions of diabetes‐related chronic complications that are attributable to diabetes. These attributable risks were applied to cost estimates for diabetes‐related chronic complications based on data from Swedish population registers.Results  The estimated total costs for Sweden in 1987 and 2005 were EUR439m and EUR920m, respectively. The increase of 110% was as a result of a 69% increase in the estimated prevalence from 150 000 (1.8% of the population) to 254 000 (2.8%) and of an increase in the estimated annual cost per person diagnosed with diabetes by 24%. Healthcare accounted for 45% of the estimated cost in 1987 and for 37% in 2005. The estimated diabetes‐related healthcare cost accounted for approximately 1.0% of total healthcare cost in Sweden in 1987 and for 1.4% in 2005. Diabetes per se accounted for 57% of the healthcare cost in 1987 and for 50% in 2005. The most important chronic complication was cardiovascular disease.Conclusions  The cost of diabetes is substantial and increasing even in a fairly low‐prevalence country such as Sweden. Measures to curb the increase in prevalence and to improve individual control of his or her diabetes seem to be the most important challenges.
Morphological comparison of small nerve fibres in gastric mucosa in non‐diabetic and Type 2 diabetic subjects
Authors: Jin H. Y. , Kang Y. M. , Kim C. Y. , Kim S. H. , Liu W. J. , Piao M. H. , Park J. H. , Baek H. S. , Park T. S. 
Published: June 2009

AbstractAim  To determine changes in small nerve fibres in gastric mucosa in patients with Type 2 diabetes by morphological observation.Methods  In twenty‐five non‐diabetic and 21 Type 2 diabetic participants, gastric mucosal biopsy under endoscopy was performed. Innervation in gastric mucosa was detected using immunohistochemical staining. Anti‐protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 positive nerves underwent morphological observation and quantitative analysis.Results  Small nerve fibres in gastric mucosa were shortened in the diabetic subjects. The ratio of gastric mucosal protrusions maintaining nerve fibres between gastric pits to total observed protrusions was lower in patients with Type 2 diabetes compared with the non‐diabetic subjects (ratio of innervated protrusion/total protrusion: 0.49 ± 0.12 vs. 0.89 ± 0.06, P < 0.05).Conclusions  This study sets the scene for further research to investigate the relationship between gastric mucosal nerves and autonomic neuropathy or diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide: an independent marker for coronary artery disease in asymptomatic diabetic patients
Authors: Cosson E. , Nguyen M. T. , Pham I. , Pontet M. , Nitenberg A. , Valensi P. 
Published: June 2009

AbstractAims  To determine whether plasma N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP) levels, a marker for cardiac failure and potentially for the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD), predicts silent myocardial ischaemia (SMI) and silent CAD in asymptomatic high‐risk diabetic patients.Methods  Five hundred and seventeen asymptomatic diabetic patients with ≥ 1 additional cardiovascular risk factor but without heart failure were prospectively screened between 1998 and 2008 for SMI, defined as an abnormal stress myocardial scintigraphy, and subsequently for significant (> 70%) angiographic CAD. The 323 patients with interpretable echocardiography and for whom NT‐proBNP was measured were included in this analysis.Results  SMI was found in 108 (33.4%) patients, 39 of whom had CAD. NT‐proBNP was higher in the patients with CAD than in the patients without CAD [45.0 (1–3199) vs. 20.0 (1–1640) pg/ml; P < 0.0001 median (range)], even after adjustment for confounding factors: age, gender, body mass index, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), retinopathy, nephropathy, hypertension, echocardiographic parameters (P < 0.05). NT‐proBNP in the third tertile (≥ 38 pg/ml) predicted CAD with a sensitivity of 59% and a specificity of 67%. In a multiple logistic regression analysis including NT‐proBNP ≥ 38 pg/ml, age, body mass index, gender, HbA1c, hypertension, retinopathy, nephropathy, peripheral occlusive arterial disease, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, dilatation and hypertrophy and Type 1 transmitral flow, NT‐proBNP ≥ 38 pg/ml was the only significant independent predictor of silent CAD [odds ratio (OR) 3.1 (95% confidence interval 1.3–7.6), P = 0.015].Conclusions  NT‐proBNP measurement helps to better define asymptomatic diabetic patients with an increased likelihood for CAD, independently of cardiac function and structure.
Stabilizing effect of exenatide in a patient with C‐peptide‐negative diabetes mellitus
Authors: Paisley A. N. , Savage M. W. , Wiles P. G. 
Published: June 2009

AbstractBackground  Exenatide is an incretin mimetic licensed for treatment of Type 2 diabetes poorly controlled despite maximally tolerated doses of oral therapy. Similar in structure to the natural incretin hormone glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1), it helps restore underlying pathophysiological abnormalities.Case report  We report the successful use of exenatide, combined with insulin, in a 66‐year‐old woman initially diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 1989 but now exhibiting a Type 1 phenotype. Diet, lifestyle advice and oral glucose‐lowering agents were commenced but persisting poor control necessitated insulin therapy in 2005. She later presented twice in diabetic ketoacidosis, suggesting conversion to a Type 1 phenotype (postprandial C‐peptide < 94 pmol/l). Despite differing insulin regimens, control remained poor with frequent hyperglycaemic and hypoglycaemic excursions, severely impairing quality of life. Whilst an inpatient in 2007 [glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) 10.2%, body mass index (BMI) 31.5 kg/m2] exenatide was commenced in an attempt to stabilize glycaemic control. Dramatic improvements were seen and continued. Eight months later, HbA1c had fallen by 2% with an 8‐kg weight loss and 10‐unit reduction in daily insulin dose. Quality of life dramatically improved. C‐peptide remains undetectable.Conclusions  This patient with features of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes benefited greatly from exenatide with insulin therapy. The improvement seen in glycaemic control could not be attributable to enhanced insulin secretion but could be as a result of a combination of the other incretin effects (postprandial glucagon suppression, delayed gastric emptying and weight loss secondary to increased satiety) all improving insulin sensitivity, reducing insulin dose and smoothing control.
Risk factors associated with the dramatic increase in the prevalence of diabetes in the adult Chinese population in Qingdao, China
Authors: Ning F. , Pang Z. C. , Dong Y. H. , Gao W. G. , Nan H. R. , Wang S. J. , Zhang L. , Ren J. , Tuomilehto J. , Hammar N. , Malmberg K. , Andersson S. W. , Qiao Q. ,   for the Qingdao Diabetes Survey Group
Published: June 2009

AbstractObjective  To investigate the major risk factors and their association with the dramatic increase in the prevalence of diabetes from 2001–2002 to 2006 in Qingdao, China.Methods  Population‐based cross‐sectional studies on diabetes were performed in 4598 men and 7026 women aged 35–74 years. The 2006 World Health Organization diagnostic criteria for diabetes were used.Results  The crude prevalence of diabetes was 11.3% in both men and women in urban areas and 5.3% and 8.9% in rural areas in 2001–2002. This increased to 19.2% and 16.1% in urban areas and 14.2% and 13.8% in rural areas in 2006 for men and women, respectively. The increase in diabetes prevalence from 2001–2002 to 2006 was paralleled by an increased body mass index in rural areas but not in urban areas. The major risk factors associated with diabetes were age, family history of diabetes, obesity, hypertension and high triglycerides. The multivariate adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for diabetes corresponding to a one standard deviation increase in waist circumference was 1.81 (1.47, 2.23) in urban men, 1.64 (1.26, 2.13) in rural men, 1.98 (1.66, 2.37) in urban women and 2.02 (1.63, 2.51) in rural women. Low socio‐economic classes had a higher risk for diabetes in urban areas but a lower risk in rural areas, both associated with increased waist circumference.Conclusion  Established risk factors are of great importance for the prevalence of diabetes in the urban and rural Chinese populations and changes in these factors could explain the recent dramatic increase in diabetes prevalence, particularly in rural areas. Considering the high prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity, intervention is urgently required in China.
Governance regulatory changes, International Financial Reporting Standards adoption, and New Zealand audit and non‐audit fees: empirical evidence
Authors: Griffin Paul A. , Lont David H. , Sun Yuan 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThis study examines the association between overseas and New Zealand governance regulatory reforms and New Zealand companies’ audit and non‐audit fees. Our models use temporal and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) indicator variables to relate the timing of the fee changes to the incidence of the overseas and local reforms. We find that audit fees increased in New Zealand over 2002–2006. Such increases associate reliably with the transition to and adoption of NZ IFRS and not with earlier overseas governance reforms. Our study also documents a decrease in non‐audit fees over the same period, but we find no IFRS effect for non‐audit fees.
Private placements of convertible securities: stock returns, operating performance and abnormal accruals
Authors: Williams Jan L. , Tang Alex P. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThis study examines long‐run stock returns, operating performance and abnormal accruals of private placements of convertible securities. We investigate the effects surrounding private placements to test and differentiate the implications of several competing hypotheses. While the monitoring and certification hypotheses suggest positive effects, the managerial entrenchment, overvaluation and windows‐of‐opportunity hypotheses suggest the opposite. We find that placing firms generally experience positive effects in the pre‐periods and negative effects in the post‐periods. Our overall findings are more consistent with the predictions of the overvaluation and windows‐of‐opportunity hypotheses while our post‐placement evidence is also consistent with the predictions of the managerial entrenchment hypothesis.
Efficacy of weight loss drugs on obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in obese adolescents: a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Czernichow S. , Lee C. M. Y. , Barzi F. , Greenfield J. R. , Baur L. A. , Chalmers J. , Woodward M. , Huxley R. R. 
Published: July 2009

SummaryWeight loss drugs have been developed to reduce the comorbidities associated with excess weight. We conducted a meta‐analysis of the efficacy of orlistat and sibutramine on weight, body mass index, waist circumference and cardiovascular risk factors in overweight adolescents. MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant articles using MESH terms and keywords. Studies were included if they had reported quantitative estimates and standard deviations of the association between each weight loss drug and weight, with information on at least one cardiovascular risk factor. A total of eight trials (three orlistat and five sibutramine) with information on 1391 individuals was included in the present analysis. The mean decrease in weight between the intervention and control groups was 5.25 kg (95% confidence interval: 3.03–7.48) after a minimum follow‐up of 6 months. There was evidence of statistical heterogeneity between the studies (I2 = 76%) that was no longer apparent after exclusion of trials of orlistat (mean weight decrease = 5.32 kg; I2 = 38%). There was little evidence that treatment was associated with adverse effects on cardiovascular risk factors but this requires verification from future large trials with longer study follow‐up.
Capacity and Solidarity: Foundational Elements in the Unionization Strategy for Immigrant Day Labourers
Authors: Camou Michelle 
Published: July 2009

AbstractRecent scholarship has been reasonably optimistic about unionization as a mechanism of labour justice for immigrant workers in casual and contingent work. This optimism rests on two assumptions: (1) that unions have the capacity to absorb immigrant workers in nonstandard work and (2) that casual, immigrant labourers enjoy the kind of solidarity that underpins collective action. This paper examines these assumptions critically through a case study of construction unions and Latino immigrant day labourers in Denver, Colorado and Baltimore, Maryland. I use participant observation and in‐depth interviews with nine labour unions, 19 Latino immigrant day labourers, and two (non‐union) day labour organizing projects in the cities to examine questions of capacity and solidarity. I find that the existing foundations for unionizing day labourers may be weak in certain cities and communities. Union capacity is undermined by structural fragmentation and specialization in market segments that are inaccessible to day labourers. Strategically, in an age of de‐unionization, unions also face pressures to “add value” for employers by sorting the workforce into high quality and low quality categories. Locals indicate day labourers would likely fall into the latter category, thus precluding membership. The foundations for solidarity are similarly weakened in the cases studied. Culturally, day labourers in Denver and Baltimore emphasize self‐reliance and material well‐being over collective action and the pursuit of justice. To work toward unionization, organizers should be prepared to confront deficits of capacity and solidarity in other cities as well, especially those where homelessness is prevalent among day labourers, where immigrant populations are newly arrived, or where local union cultures are unreformed. I suggest that union collaboration, a cooperative type of occupational unionism, and commitments to training day labourers may help boost union capacity to absorb day labourers, while the creative use of material incentives should figure prominently in organizing strategies.
From Circular Migrants in the Mines to Transnational Polygynists in the Townships: A Century of Transformation in Central Mozambican Male Migration Regimes (1900‐1999)
Authors: Lubkemann Stephen C. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThis article tracks the most significant transformations in the international migration regime between central Mozambique and South Africa throughout the twentieth century as the product of complex and continuous interactions between the broader political‐economic environment and local forms of gendered and inter‐generational social struggle. A century of perspective brings into resolution the complex linkages between forms of migrancy such as labour migration and refugee displacement that are usually treated as categorically distinct, but which are be demonstrated here to significantly inform each other. As a result of its deployment as a strategy for coping with various forms of political duress, seizing new economic opportunity, and negotiating local social relations, the meaning and practice of migration has been transformed throughout the twentieth century from a strategy for ensuring social reproduction back in Mozambique into the indispensable mechanism for enacting transnational lives that presume and pursue simultaneous social and economic investment and involvement in both South Africa and in Mozambique.
Risk management in a globalizing world: An empirical analysis of individual preferences in 26 European countries
Authors: Koster Ferry 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe risks that individuals face in everyday life, such as illness and unemployment, can be covered using market, government, or community mechanisms. The market can function with a lower level of solidarity compared to the other two mechanisms; the government mechanism requires the highest level of compulsory solidarity and communities are associated with voluntary solidarity. Social context affects individual preferences with regard to any one of these mechanisms. This article investigates to what extent these preferences are influenced by globalization: the economic, social and political openness of countries. The dataset used in this study combines data from the European Values Study 1999‐2000 (EVS), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the KOF Index of Globalization, and contains information about 31,554 people living in 26 European countries. The results derived from logistic multilevel analysis show that preferences towards the organization of solidarity are related to the different dimensions of globalization.
J. Cosmet. Sci., 59, 263–289 (July/August 2008) True porosity measurement of hair: A new way to study hair damage mechanisms
Authors: Hessefort Y. Z. , Holland B. T. , Cloud R. W. 
Published: July 2009

Presented at the Annual Scientific Seminar of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Anaheim, CA, May 11, 2007.SynopsisThis study employs a novel method, gas sorption (1), to quantify the porosity characteristics of hair by determining total pore volume, adsorption pore‐size distribution, and the surface area of damaged hair. Damage mechanisms were studied by comparing the different pore volume and surface area resulting from two different types of damage: chemical and UV. Hair color measurement and tensile strength, both reflecting the changes in hair cortex, were also employed in this study. The results suggest that hair damage caused by oxidative bleach and UV oxidation follows different pathways. Chemical damage (oxidative bleach) nearly triples the hair surface area in the first minute of bleaching due to the increase in the number of pores, followed by a sudden drop after 10 min of bleaching from smaller pores breaking down into larger ones. In contrast, UV damage shows an immediate loss in surface area in the first 200 hr of exposure and a gradual increase as exposure time continues.