bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Innate immune defence mechanisms of tench, Tinca tinca (L.), naturally infected with the tapeworm Monobothrium wageneri
Authors: DEZFULI B. S. , LUI A. , GIARI L. , CASTALDELLI G. , SHINN A. P. , LORENZONI M. 
Published: June 2012

SummaryA histochemical and ultrastructural investigation of the cellular inflammatory response within the intestines of tench Tinca tinca L. naturally infected with the caryophyllidean cestode Monobothrium wageneri was conducted and the data obtained compared to those in uninfected counterparts. Cestode infections within the intestines were evident through the appearance of raised inflammatory swellings induced by the deep penetration of their scolices into the intestinal wall. Cestodes typically attached in tight clusters, inducing a massive hyperplastic granulocyte response of mast cells and neutrophils, which were significantly more numerous (P < 0·01) in the intestines of infected (n = 14) than of uninfected (n = 9) tench. Neutrophils were more abundant than mast cells (P < 0·01) in host tissues in close proximity to the parasite tegument. In transmission electron microscopy sections, mast cells and neutrophils were frequently observed in contact with or inside capillaries, and in close proximity to the cestode. Degranulation of both cell types was seen in the submucosa and lamina muscularis, notably in the immediate tissues surrounding the scolex of M. wageneri. No tegumental secretions were seen at the host–parasite interface. Occasional rodlet cells were encountered in the submucosa of infected fish.
Supplement of L‐Arg improves protective immunity during early‐stage Plasmodium yoelii 17XL infection
Authors: ZHU X. , PAN Y. , LI Y. , CUI L. , CAO Y. 
Published: June 2012

SummaryL‐arginine (L‐Arg), the precursor of nitric oxide (NO), plays multiple important roles in nutrient metabolism and immune regulation. L‐Arg supplement serves as a potential adjunctive therapy for severe malaria, because it improves NO bioavailability and reverses endothelial dysfunction in severe malaria patients. In this study, we investigated the effect of dietary L‐Arg supplement on host immune responses during subsequent malaria infection using the Plasmodium yoelii 17XL – BALB/c mouse model. We have shown that pretreatment of mice with L‐Arg significantly decreased parasitemia and prolonged the survival time of mice after infection. L‐Arg supplement led to significant increases in activated CD4+T‐bet+IFN‐γ+ T cells and F4/80+CD36+ macrophages during early‐stage infection, which were accompanied by enhanced synthesis of IFN‐γ, TNF‐α and NO by spleen cells. Moreover, L‐Arg‐pretreated mice developed more splenic myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cells with up‐regulated expression of MHC II, CD86 and TLR9. In comparison, L‐Arg treatment did not change the number of regulatory T cells and the level of anti‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐10. Taken together, our results showed that L‐Arg pretreatment could improve the protective immune response in experimental malaria infection in mice, which underlines potential importance of L‐Arg supplement in malaria‐endemic human populations.
Quantitative levels of Deficiens and Globosa during late petal development show a complex transcriptional network topology of B function
Authors: Manchado‐Rojo María , Delgado‐Benarroch Luciana , Roca María J. , Weiss Julia , Egea‐Cortines Marcos 
Published: June 2012

SummaryThe transcriptional network topology of B function in Antirrhinum, required for petal and stamen development, is thought to rely on initial activation of transcription of DEFICIENS (DEF) and GLOBOSA (GLO), followed by a positive autoregulatory loop maintaining gene expression levels. Here, we show that the mutant compacta (co), whose vegetative growth and petal size are affected, plays a role in B function. Late events in petal morphogenesis such as development of conical cell area and scent emissions were reduced in co and def nicotianoides (def nic), and absent in co def nic double mutants, suggesting a role for CO in petal identity. Expression of DEF was down‐regulated in co but surprisingly GLO was not affected. We investigated the levels of DEF and GLO at late stages of petal development in the co, def nic and glo‐1 mutants, and established a reliable transformation protocol that yielded RNAi‐DEF lines. We show that the threshold levels of DEF or GLO required to obtain petal tissue are approximately 11% of wild‐type. The relationship between DEF and GLO transcripts is not equal or constant and changes during development. Furthermore, down‐regulation of DEF or GLO does not cause parallel down‐regulation of the partner. Our results demonstrate that, at late stages of petal development, the B function transcriptional network topology is not based on positive autoregulation, and has additional components of transcriptional maintenance. Our results suggest changes in network topology that may allow changes in protein complexes that would explain the fact that not all petal traits appear early in development.
Photographical History, Everyday Life, and Memory: Wang Anyi as a Storyteller
Authors: WANG BAN 
Published: June 2012

AbstractPostmodernists view all reality as representation and visual spectacle. This essay challenges this claim through film analysis of third world cinema and by tracing the tension between photography and history to the earlier debate of modernity in Siegfried Kracauer's work. The essay goes on to show the possibility of historically grounded visual images. By looking at the Chinese novelist Wang Anyi's photo narratives, the essay argues for a photographical image capable of fostering a sense of history deeply rooted in everyday life, communal practice, and social reality. Instead of being the inauthentic mirror of consumer culture, the photographical image is integral to historical imagination, narratives of everyday practice, and cultural memory.
Class, Power and Inequality in Rural Areas: Beyond Social Exclusion?
Authors: Shucksmith Mark 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThis article reviews approaches to the study of poverty, inequality and social exclusion in rural areas and seeks to relate these to new directions in class analysis and to ideas of place and hyper‐mobility. The article is primarily conceptual, drawing on Bourdievian approaches to class analysis and suggesting a new research agenda on class and inequality in rural areas. Specifically, the article argues that there is a need to research not only the ways in which those in similar social positions construct place and rurality, but also how these discursive and symbolic constructions are enlisted in class formation and domination. How does rurality itself become a vehicle for increasing and storing inequality and thence for its intergenerational transmission?
The First Rotavirus Vaccine and the Politics of Acceptable Risk
Authors: SCHWARTZ JASON L. 
Published: June 2012

Context:Vaccination in the United States is a frequent source of controversy, with critics alleging failures by public health officials to adequately identify, monitor, and respond to risks associated with vaccines. In response to these charges, the case of RotaShield, a vaccine withdrawn in 1999 following confirmation of a serious adverse event associated with its use, is regularly invoked as evidence of the effectiveness of current vaccine safety activities.Methods:This article examines the history of RotaShield, with particular attention paid to decision making regarding its use in the United States and internationally. I reviewed and analyzed federal advisory committee meeting transcripts, international conference reports, government and scientific publications, media coverage, and other primary and secondary source materials. I also conducted six semistructured interviews with former senior officials and advisory committee members at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who participated in decisions regarding the vaccine.Findings:Decision making regarding RotaShield, including the ultimate withdrawal of its recommendation for use, was shaped significantly by government health officials’ concern for preserving public confidence in overall U.S. vaccination efforts amid several unrelated vaccine risk controversies ongoing at that time. This attention to public perception and external pressures occurred in tandem with the evaluation of the quantitative evidence regarding the magnitude and severity of the risk associated with the vaccine. The decisions made in the United States resulted in foreseen but unintended consequences for international use of the vaccine, including in nations where the profile of risks and potential benefits was dramatically different.Conclusions:As enthusiasm for evidence‐based decision making grows throughout medicine and public health, greater explicit attention should be directed to the processes by which decision makers and their expert advisers evaluate such evidence and translate it into regulation and policy by means of qualitative judgments.
The Work of the Trinity and the Knowledge of God in Augustine's De Trinitate
Authors: Westerholm Martin 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThis article seeks to set forth the contribution that book 8 of Augustine's De Trinitate makes to our understanding of Augustine's way of knowing and the structure of the De Trinitate. With regards to Augustine's way of knowing, I argue that, in contrast to the results to which the epistemological Christocentrism of Barthian theology can lead, Augustine is able to present an account of the knowledge of God that remains faithful to the witness of Scripture by building his account around the work of each person of the Trinity. With regards to the structure of the De Trinitate, I propose that Augustine's concern in De Trinitate 8 with vain mental images shows that the search for the true image of God in the second half of the De Trinitate is motivated by a concern for the way in which the imagination responds to teaching about the Trinity.
Prevention of postpartum haemorrhage with sublingual misoprostol or oxytocin: a double‐blind randomised controlled trial
Authors: Bellad MB , Tara D , Ganachari MS , Mallapur MD , Goudar SS , Kodkany BS , Sloan NL , Derman R 
Published: June 2012

Please cite this paper as: Bellad M, Tara D, Ganachari M, Mallapur M, Goudar S, Kodkany B, Sloan N, Derman R. Prevention of postpartum haemorrhage with sublingual misoprostol or oxytocin: a double‐blind randomised controlled trial. BJOG 2012;119:975–986.Objective  Sublingual misoprostol produces a rapid peak concentration, and is more effective than oral administration. We compared the postpartum measured blood loss with 400 μg powdered sublingual misoprostol and after standard care using 10 iu intramuscular (IM) oxytocin.Design  Double‐blind randomised controlled trial.Setting  A teaching hospital: J N Medical College, Belgaum, India.Sample  A cohort of 652 consenting eligible pregnant women admitted to the labour room.Methods  Subjects were assigned to receive the study medications and placebos within 1 minute of clamping and cutting the cord by computer‐generated randomisation. Chi‐square and bootstrapped Student’s t‐tests were used to test categorical and continuous outcomes, respectively.Main outcome measures  Measured mean postpartum blood loss and haemorrhage (PPH, loss ≥500 ml), >10% pre‐ to post‐partum decline in haemoglobin, and reported side effects.Results  The mean blood loss with sublingual misoprostol was 192 ± 124 ml (n = 321) and 366 ± 136 ml with oxytocin IM (n = 331, P ≤ 0.001). The incidence of PPH was 3.1% with misoprostol and 9.1% with oxytocin (P = 0.002). No woman lost ≥1000 ml of blood. We observed that 9.7% and 45.6% of women experienced a haemoglobin decline of >10% after receiving misoprostol and oxytocin, respectively (P ≤ 0.001). Side effects were significantly greater in the misoprostol group than in the oxytocin group.Conclusion  Unlike other studies, this trial found sublingual misoprostol more effective than intramuscular oxytocin in reducing PPH, with only transient side effects being greater in the misoprostol group. The sublingual mode and/or powdered formulation may increase the effectiveness of misoprostol, and render it superior to injectable oxytocin for the prevention of PPH. Further research is needed to confirm these results.
The effect of different alcohol drinking patterns in early to mid pregnancy on the child’s intelligence, attention, and executive function
Authors: Kesmodel US , Bertrand J , Støvring H , Skarpness B , Denny CH , Mortensen EL ,   the Lifestyle During Pregnancy Study Group
Published: June 2012

Please cite this paper as: Kesmodel U, Bertrand J, Støvring H, Skarpness B, Denny C, Mortensen E, the Lifestyle During Pregnancy Study Group. The effect of different alcohol drinking patterns in early to mid pregnancy on the child’s intelligence, attention, and executive function. BJOG 2012;119:1180–1190.Objective  To conduct a combined analysis of the estimated effects of maternal average weekly alcohol consumption, and any binge drinking, in early to mid pregnancy on general intelligence, attention, and executive function in 5‐year‐old children.Design  Follow‐up study.Setting  Neuropsychological testing in four Danish cities 2003–2008.Population  A cohort of 1628 women and their children sampled from the Danish National Birth Cohort.Methods  Participants were sampled based on maternal alcohol consumption during early pregnancy. At age 5 years, the children were tested for general intelligence, attention, and executive function. The three outcomes were analysed together in a multivariate model to obtain joint estimates and P values for the association of alcohol across outcomes. The effects of low to moderate alcohol consumption and binge drinking in early pregnancy were adjusted for a wide range of potential confounding factors.Main outcome measures  Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence—Revised (WPPSI‐R), the Test of Everyday Attention for Children at Five (TEACh‐5), and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (BRIEF) scores.Results  Multivariate analyses showed no statistically significant effects arising from average weekly alcohol consumption or any binge drinking, either individually or in combination. These results replicate findings from separate analyses of each outcome variable.Conclusions  The present study contributes comprehensive methodological and statistical approaches that should be incorporated in future studies of low to moderate alcohol consumption and binge drinking during pregnancy. Furthermore, as no safe level of drinking during pregnancy has been established, the most conservative advice for women is not to drink alcohol during pregnancy. However, the present study suggests that small volumes consumed occasionally may not present serious concern.
DECISION‐MAKING AND MOTIVATION TO PARTICIPATE IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA
Authors: OSAMOR PAULINE E. , KASS NANCY 
Published: June 2012

ABSTRACTMotivations and decision‐making styles that influence participation in biomedical research vary across study types, cultures, and countries. While there is a small amount of literature on informed consent in non‐western cultures, few studies have examined how participants make the decision to join research. This study was designed to identify the factors motivating people to participate in biomedical research in a traditional Nigerian community, assess the degree to which participants involve others in the decision‐making process, and examine issues of autonomy in decision‐making for research. A descriptive cross‐sectional study was conducted with 100 adults (50 men, 50 women) in an urban Nigerian community who had participated in a biomedical research study. Subjects were interviewed using a survey instrument.Two‐thirds of the respondents reported participating in the biomedical study to learn more about their illness, while 30% hoped to get some medical care. Over three‐quarters (78%) of participants discussed the enrolment decision with someone else and 39% reported obtaining permission from a spouse or family member to participate in the study. Women were more than twice as likely as men to report obtaining permission from someone else before participating. More specifically, half of the female participants reported seeking permission from a spouse before enrolling. The findings suggest that informed consent in this community is understood and practised as a relational activity that involves others in the decision making process. Further studies are needed in non‐Western countries concerning autonomy, decision‐making, and motivation to participate in research studies.
The age‐related increase in low‐grade systemic inflammation (Inflammaging) is not driven by cytomegalovirus infection
Authors: Bartlett David B. , Firth Charlotte M. , Phillips Anna C. , Moss Paul , Baylis Daniel , Syddall Holly , Sayer Avan A. , Cooper Cyrus , Lord Janet M. 
Published: June 2012

SummaryAging is accompanied by the development of low‐grade systemic inflammation, termed ‘inflammaging’, characterized by raised serum C‐reactive protein (CRP) and pro‐inflammatory cytokines. Importantly, inflammaging is implicated in the pathogenesis of several of the major age‐related diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and dementia and is associated with increased mortality. The incidence of infection with the persistent herpes virus cytomegalovirus (CMV) also increases with age. Cross‐sectional studies have proposed CMV infection as a significant driver of inflammaging, but a definitive case for CMV as a causative agent in inflammaging has not yet been made. We studied longitudinally 249 subjects (153 men, 96 women) who participated in the Hertfordshire Ageing Study at baseline (1993/5, mean age 67·5 years) and at 10 year follow‐up. At both times, anthropometric measurements were made and subjects provided blood samples for analysis of inflammatory status and CMV seropositivity. In the cohort as a whole, serum CRP (P < 0·02) and pro‐inflammatory cytokines TNFα (P < 0·001) and IL‐6 (P < 0·001) were increased between baseline and follow‐up sampling whereas levels of the anti‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐10 were decreased (P < 0·001). These changes to cytokine status over time occurred equally in the 60% of subjects who were seropositive for CMV at baseline and follow‐up, the 8% who were CMV negative at baseline but who became CMV positive by the 10 year follow‐up, and also in the 32% who were CMV seronegative throughout. We conclude that CMV infection is not a primary causative factor in the age‐related increase in systemic inflammation.
Risks and benefits of invasive epilepsy surgery workup with implanted subdural and depth electrodes
Authors: Wellmer Jörg , von der Groeben Ferdinand , Klarmann Ute , Weber Christian , Elger Christian E. , Urbach Horst , Clusmann Hans , von Lehe Marec 
Published: June 2012

SummaryPurpose:  In patients with pharmacoresistant focal‐onset seizures, invasive presurgical workup can identify epilepsy surgery options when noninvasive workup has failed. Yet, the potential benefit must be balanced with procedure‐related risks. This study examines risks associated with the implantation of subdural strip and grid, and intracerebral depth electrodes. Benefit of invasive monitoring is measured by seizure outcomes. Diagnostic procedures made possible by electrode implantation are described.Methods:  Retrospective evaluation of invasive workups in 242 epilepsy surgery candidates and additional 18 patients with primary brain tumors implanted for mapping only. Complications are scaled in five grades of severity. A regression analysis identifies risk factors for complications. Outcome is classified according to Engel’s classification.Key Findings:  Complications of any type were documented in 23% of patients, and complications requiring surgical revision in 9%. We did not find permanent morbidity or mortality. Major risk factor for complications was the implantation of grids and the implantation of electrode assemblies comprising strip and grid electrodes. Depth electrodes were significantly correlated with a lower risk. Tumors were not correlated with higher complication rates. Chronic invasive monitoring of 3–40 days allowed seizure detection in 99.2% of patients with epilepsy and additional extensive mapping procedures. Patients with epilepsy with follow‐up >24 months (n = 165) had an Engel class 1a outcome in 49.7% if epilepsy surgery was performed, but only 6.3% when surgery was rejected.Significance:  The benefit of chronic invasive workup outweighs its risks, but complexity of implantations should be kept to a minimum.
Long‐term cardiac rhythm and repolarization abnormalities in refractory focal and generalized epilepsy
Authors: Nei Maromi , Sperling Michael R. , Mintzer Scott , Ho Reginald T. 
Published: June 2012

SummaryThis prospective study evaluated 19 individuals with refractory focal or generalized epilepsy utilizing an implantable cardiac loop recorder. Recording averaged 15 months (range 12–19 months) in 18 patients and 1.5 months in one patient. A median of 37 seizures per patient (range 3–657) occurred, with 1,477 seizures total. Cardiac arrhythmias and repolarization abnormalities occurred frequently (in 42% of patients) in refractory epilepsy, particularly during generalized tonic–clonic and tonic seizures. Patients with Lennox‐Gastaut syndrome may be at high risk for cardiac abnormalities.
Exercise and physical activity in the prevention of pre‐eclampsia: systematic review
Authors: KASAWARA KARINA TAMY , NASCIMENTO SIMONY LIRA DO , COSTA MARIA LAURA , SURITA FERNANDA GARANHANI , E SILVA JOÃO LUIZ PINTO 
Published: June 2012

AbstractExercise and physical activity have been studied and suggested as a way to reduce or minimize the effects of pre‐eclampsia. Our aim was to evaluate the association between exercise and/or physical activity and occurrence of pre‐eclampsia. We conducted electronic searches without year of publication and language limitations. This was a systematic review designed according to PRISMA. Different databases accessed were as follows: PubMed®; Latin‐American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS); Scientific Electronic Library On‐line (SciELO); Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro); and ISI web of KnowledgeSM. The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) were as follows: (“exercise” OR “motor activity” OR “physical activity”) AND (“pre‐eclampsia” OR “eclampsia” OR “hypertension, pregnancy‐induced”). Inclusion criteria were studies conducted in adults who were engaged in some physical activity. The selection and methodological evaluation were carried out by two independent reviewers. Risk assessment was made by the odds ratio (OR) and incidence of pre‐eclampsia in the population who performed physical activity/exercise. A total of 231 articles were found, 214 of which were excluded based on title and full‐text, so that 17 remained. Comparison of six case–control studies showed that physical activity had a protective effect on the development of pre‐eclampsia [OR 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.64–0.91, p < 0.01]. The 10 prospective cohort studies showed no significant difference (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.93–1.05, p= 0.81). The only randomized clinical trial showed a protective effect on the development of pre‐eclampsia in the stretching group (OR 6.34, 95% CI 0.72–55.37, p= 0.09). This systematic review indicates a trend toward a protective effect of physical activity in the prevention of pre‐eclampsia.