bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
School‐based intervention to promote preadolescents’ gingival health: a community trial
Authors: Saied‐Moallemi Z. , Virtanen J.I. , Vehkalahti M.M. , Tehranchi A. , Murtomaa H. 
Published: August 2009

Abstract – Objectives:  Evaluation of the effectiveness of a school‐based oral health promotion intervention on preadolescents’ gingival health.Methods:  A community trial designed for a 3‐month intervention study in a representative sample of 9‐year‐olds (n = 457) in 16 schools in Tehran, Iran. The schools were randomly assigned to three intervention groups and one control group, each group comprising two boys’ and two girls’ schools. The first group of children (n = 115) received intervention via class work, solving a set of puzzles containing oral health messages, under supervision of their health counsellor. The second group (n = 114), intervention via parents, included an oral health education leaflet and a brushing diary for supervising the child’s tooth‐brushing; the third group (n = 111) received a combination of both these interventions. The control group (n = 117) had no intervention. Effects of the intervention were assessed as changes in dental plaque and gingival bleeding. Improvements in gingival health were recorded when half of the index teeth with plaque at baseline became clean (acceptable oral hygiene) or when all index teeth with bleeding at baseline became healthy (healthy gingiva). Statistical analysis included chi square, anova, t‐test, Number Needed to Treat (NNT) and generalized estimating equations (GEE).Results:  At baseline, none of the children were free of plaque and all except for three boys had bleeding. After the trial, acceptable oral hygiene was more frequent in the parental‐aid (P < 0.001) and the combined groups (P < 0.05), and healthy gingiva in both groups (P < 0.001) in comparison with the control group. Outcomes in the class‐work group did not differ from those in the control group. The GEE models confirmed a strong intervention effect on healthy gingiva in both groups where parents were involved: parental‐aid group (OR = 7.7, 95% CI: 2.2–27.7) and combined group (OR = 6.6, 95% CI: 2.0–22.1). In all intervention groups more girls than boys achieved healthy gingiva (OR = 2.5–2.6). Parents’ education showed no impact on the outcome.Conclusions:  When a school‐based oral health intervention involves parents it may result in a significant improvement in the gingival health of preadolescents with poor gingival health at baseline.
Contribution of periodontal disease in pregnant women as a risk factor for low birth weight
Authors: Cruz Simone S. , Costa Maria da Conceição N. , Gomes‐Filho Isaac S. , Rezende Edson J. C. , Barreto Maurício L. , Dos Santos Carlos Antônio S. T. , Vianna Maria Isabel P. , Passos Johelle S. , Cerqueira Eneida M. M. 
Published: August 2009

Abstract –  Starting in the 1990s, several authors sought to investigate the hypothesis that periodontitis during pregnancy may contribute towards the birth of low‐weight children. However, this relationship is still not well established. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether this oral infection is associated with this gestational event.Methods:  This was a case‐control study among 548 puerperae, of whom 164 were the mothers of low‐weight live births (case group) and 384 were the mothers of live births of normal gestational weight (control group). They were selected at two public hospital units in two municipalities in the State of Bahia. From interviews and data gathered using live birth cards or birth certificates, information was obtained regarding age, height, previous diseases, marital status, socioeconomic situation, smoking and alcohol use. Mothers who presented at least four teeth on which one or more sites had a probing depth of greater than or equal to 4 mm, clinical attachment loss of greater than or equal to 3 mm and bleeding on probing, at the same site, were deemed to present periodontal disease. The data were analysed by stratification from logistic regression.Results:  Periodontal disease was diagnosed in 42.7% of the case group and 30% of the control group. A statistically significant association was found between periodontal disease and low birth weight (unadjusted OR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.19–2.54), particularly among mothers with low schooling levels (adjusted OR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.14–4.6).Conclusion:  The findings suggest an association between periodontal disease and low birth weight among mothers with low education levels.
Trends of oral and pharyngeal cancer in Israel, by gender, age, ethnic group, and country of origin: 1970–2006
Authors: Zini Avraham , Czerninski Rakefet , Vered Yuval , Livny Alon , Sgan‐Cohen Harold D 
Published: August 2009

AbstractBackground:  Oral and pharyngeal cancer is one of the few life‐threatening oral diseases. Israel is recognized as a developed country, characterized by a heterogeneous population, a high level of sun exposure, and a large proportion of faired skinned inhabitants. The purpose of this study was to describe trends in incidence and survival rates of oral and pharyngeal cancer between 1970 and 2006.Methods:  The incidence and survival data were derived from the Israel National Cancer Registry between 1970 and 2006. Oral and pharyngeal cancer included cancers of the lips, tongue, oral mucosa, floor of the mouth, major salivary glands and pharynx. Results indicated trends, survival rates and associations by ethnicity, country of origin, age, and gender.Results:  The average age‐world‐standardized incidence rate, ASR(W), per 100 000, in 2001–2006 was 5.77 and 3.75 for Jews, and 5.99 and 2.30 for Arabs (males and females, respectively). The lip was the most common oral cancer site (36.8%). Over time, the rate (per 100 total cancer cases) decreased from 3.1 to 2.0, and male:female ratio decreased from 1.7 to 1.3. Kaplan–Meier survival plots demonstrated that patients under the age of 20 years had almost half the survival rate of older groups and lip cancer had almost twice the survival rate than other sites.Conclusions:  Israel represents a developed country with relatively low percentage of alcohol consumption and high sun exposure. Data from this region demonstrated dissimilar distributions in comparison with other ‘Westernized’ countries. Public health programs need to utilize the present data in order to implement preventive strategies. Potential focus on specific high‐risk populations should be investigated.
Bax distribution into mitochondrial detergent‐resistant microdomains is related to ceramide and cholesterol content in postischemic hearts
Authors: Martínez‐Abundis Eduardo , Correa Francisco , Pavón Natalia , Zazueta Cecilia 
Published: August 2009

Diverse changes have been described in mitochondria of apoptotic cells: the phospholipid content is modified, ceramide and GD3 concentrations increase, the cristae structure is modified, and nonresident proteins are recruited into the mitochondrial membranes. In particular, Bax, a Bcl‐2 family member protein, moves from the cytosol to the mitochondria, inducing cytochrome c release. Modifications of the content and distribution of specific lipids in the mitochondrial membranes, along with the well‐known participation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in triggering apoptosis, led us to propose that lipid microdomains in mitochondria could coexist as structural elements with some of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore‐forming proteins and with members of the Bcl‐2 family. In this work, we demonstrated that Bax was associated preferentially with mitochondrial detergent‐resistant membranes (mDRMs) in reperfused rat hearts, a well‐known apoptotic model. Bax insertion into mDRMs correlated with cytochrome c release from such mitochondria. Bax location in mDRMs was associated with both the voltage‐dependent anion channel and the adenine nucleotide translocator, two mitochondrial permeability transition pore‐forming proteins. Interestingly, the voltage‐dependent anion channel was more abundant in the mDRM fraction than in the Triton X‐100‐soluble fraction. Ceramide and cholesterol contents were higher in mDRMs from reperfused hearts. Our results suggest that membrane microenvironments enriched in cholesterol and ceramide in mitochondria favor Bax translocation to this organelle, fostering propagation of the apoptotic cascade.Structured digital abstract
MINT‐7233017: Vdac (uniprotkb:Q9Z2L0) and Bax (uniprotkb:Q63690) colocalize (MI:0403) by cosedimentation through density gradients (MI:0029)
Dietary Structural Change in China's Cities: Empirical Fact or Urban Legend?
Authors: Dong Fengxia , Fuller Frank 
Published: August 2009

China's economic reforms, which began in 1978, resulted in remarkable income growth, and urban Chinese consumers have responded by dramatically increasing their consumption of meat, other livestock products and fruits and by decreasing consumption of grain‐based foods. Economic prosperity, a growing openness to international markets, and domestic policy reforms have changed the food marketing environment for Chinese consumers and may have contributed to shifts in consumer food demand. The objective of this paper is to uncover evidence of structural change in food consumption among urban residents in China. Both parametric and nonparametric methods are used to test for structural change in aggregate household data from 1981 to 2004. The tests provided a reasonably clear picture of changing food consumption over the study period. En Chine, les réformes économiques amorcées en 1978 ont entraîné une croissance remarquable du revenu à laquelle les consommateurs urbains chinois ont réagi en augmentant considérablement leur consommation de viande, d'autres produits d'élevage et de fruits et en diminuant leur consommation de produits alimentaires à base de céréales. La prospéritééconomique, une ouverture croissante sur les marchés internationaux et les réformes de la politique intérieure ont modifié l'environnement commercial des produits alimentaires des consommateurs chinois et peuvent avoir contribuéà modifier la demande des consommateurs pour des produits alimentaires. Le présent article visait à recueillir des preuves de changement structurel dans la consommation alimentaire des citadins chinois. Nous avons utilisé des méthodes paramétriques et non paramétriques pour tester les changements structurels à partir de données agrégées sur les foyers de 1981 à 2004. Les tests ont brossé un tableau assez clair de l'évolution de la consommation alimentaire au cours de la période à l'étude.
The Importance of Geographic Wine Appellations: Hedonic Pricing of Burgundy Wines in the British Columbia Wine Market
Authors: Carew Richard , Florkowski Wojciech J. 
Published: August 2009

To examine the buying habits of British Columbia (BC) wine consumers and their appreciation of French wine attributes, we estimate a hedonic price function for Burgundy wines which comprise an array of different appellations, vintages, and alcohol levels. BC ranks among the top three wine‐consuming provinces in Canada and residents' wine preferences are likely linked to an emerging sophistication in tastes. This study uses weekly retail sales data and attributes of Burgundy wines reported by the BC Liquor Distribution Branch. The results confirm the collective reputation effects of the Burgundy wine region and show that the implicit values differ between white and red Burgundy wines with village designation and vintage having a relatively larger effect on white wine prices than in the case of red wines. Burgundy white wines, such as Aloxe‐Corton, Chassagne‐Montrachet Premier Cru, Meursault Premier Cru, and Chablis Grand Cru, were associated with larger price premia. Afin d'examiner les habitudes d'achat des consommateurs de vin de la Colombie−Britannique et leur appréciation des caractéristiques des vins français, nous avons estimé une fonction de prix hédoniste des vins de Bourgogne d'appellations, de millésimes et de degrés d'alcool variés. La Colombie−Britannique figure parmi les trois provinces canadiennes où l'on consomme le plus de vin, et les préférences des consommateurs de vin découlent probablement d'un raffinement des goûts. Dans la présente étude, nous avons utilisé les données des ventes au détail hebdomadaires et les caractéristiques des vins de Bourgogne fournies par la Société des alcools de la Colombie‐Britannique (BC Liquor Distribution Branch). Les résultats confirment les effets de la réputation de la région viticole de la Bourgogne et montrent que les valeurs implicites diffèrent entre les vins de Bourgogne blancs et rouges, et que l'appellation «village» et le millésime influent davantage sur les prix des vins blancs que sur ceux des vins rouges. Les prix des vins de Bourgogne blancs, tels que Aloxe‐Corton, Chassagne‐Montrachet Premier Cru, Meursault Premier Cru et Chablis Grand Cru, ont présenté des primes plus élevées.
Ecohydrologic Process Modeling of Mountain Block Groundwater Recharge
Authors: Magruder Ian A. , Woessner William W. , Running Steve W. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractRegional mountain block recharge (MBR) is a key component of alluvial basin aquifer systems typical of the western United States. Yet neither water scientists nor resource managers have a commonly available and reasonably invoked quantitative method to constrain MBR rates. Recent advances in landscape‐scale ecohydrologic process modeling offer the possibility that meteorological data and land surface physical and vegetative conditions can be used to generate estimates of MBR. A water balance was generated for a temperate 24,600‐ha mountain watershed, elevation 1565 to 3207 m, using the ecosystem process model Biome‐BGC (BioGeochemical Cycles) (Running and Hunt 1993). Input data included remotely sensed landscape information and climate data generated with the Mountain Climate Simulator (MT‐CLIM) (Running et al. 1987). Estimated mean annual MBR flux into the crystalline bedrock terrain is 99,000 m3/d, or approximately 19% of annual precipitation for the 2003 water year. Controls on MBR predictions include evapotranspiration (radiation limited in wet years and moisture limited in dry years), soil properties, vegetative ecotones (significant at lower elevations), and snowmelt (dominant recharge process). The ecohydrologic model is also used to investigate how climatic and vegetative controls influence recharge dynamics within three elevation zones. The ecohydrologic model proves useful for investigating controls on recharge to mountain blocks as a function of climate and vegetation. Future efforts will need to investigate the uncertainty in the modeled water balance by incorporating an advanced understanding of mountain recharge processes, an ability to simulate those processes at varying scales, and independent approaches to calibrating MBR estimates.
Powerless Evaluation L’impuissance de l’évaluation Schwache Evaluierung
Authors: Bergschmidt Angela 
Published: August 2009

SummaryPowerless EvaluationMy experience as an evaluator for the Farm Investment Support Measure of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) in Germany is that evaluation may not have the power to bring about ‘policies that perform better’. Its recommendations are often ignored by national as well as the European administration, either because evaluations are low in scientific quality or because managing authorities are accustomed to adapting measures mainly for fiscal or political reasons. The Commission’s approach to improving evaluation quality has been focused on advancing the indicators of the Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and on building capacity. Although these measures can contribute to an upgrading of RDP evaluation they will neither be sufficient to achieve satisfactory quality nor substantially increase the use of evaluation in policymaking. These effects could potentially be achieved through quality control and enforcement, and an obligation for policy to react to evaluation results. The Commission is already using a standardised quality control grid in the evaluations of the CAP’s first pillar and should apply this instrument to RDP evaluations. Additionally, the consideration of evaluation recommendations in policymaking should be encouraged through the introduction of a ‘fiche contradictoire’. This is the formal and explicit mechanism used in EU development policy for follow‐up on the use of evaluations.
Cyclic Opioid Peptide Agonists and Antagonists Obtained Via Ring‐Closing Metathesis
Authors: Berezowska Irena , Lemieux Carole , Chung Nga N. , Wilkes Brian C. , Schiller Peter W. 
Published: August 2009

The opioid peptide H‐Tyr‐c[D‐Cys‐Phe‐Phe‐Cys]NH2 cyclized via a methylene dithiother is a potent and selective μ opioid agonist (Przydial M.J. et al., J Peptide Res, 66, 2005, 255). Dicarba analogues of this peptide with Tyr, 2′,6′‐dimethyltyrosine (Dmt), 3‐[2,6‐dimethyl‐4‐hydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid (Dhp) or (2S)‐2‐methyl‐3‐(2,6‐dimethyl‐4‐hydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid [(2S)‐Mdp] in the 1‐position were prepared. The peptides were synthesized on solid‐phase by substituting d‐allylglycine and (2S)‐2‐amino‐5‐hexenoic acid in position 2 and 5, respectively, followed by ring‐closing metathesis. Mixtures of cis and trans isomers of the resulting olefinic peptides were obtained, and catalytic hydrogenation yielded the saturated –CH2–CH2– bridged peptides. All six Tyr1‐ and Dmt1‐dicarba analogues retained high μ and δ opioid agonist potency and showed only slight or no preference for μ over δ receptors. As expected, the six Dhp1‐ and (2S)‐Mdp1‐dicarba analogues turned out to be μ opioid antagonists but, surprisingly, displayed a range of different efficacies (agonism, partial agonism or antagonism) at the δ receptor. The obtained results indicate that the μ versus δ receptor selectivity and the efficacy at the δ receptor of these cyclic peptides depend on distinct conformational characteristics of the 15‐membered peptide ring structure, which may affect the spatial positioning of the exocyclic residue and of the Phe3 and Phe4 side chains.
Histamine‐1 receptor is not required as a downstream effector of orexin‐2 receptor in maintenance of basal sleep/wake states
Authors: Hondo M. , Nagai K. , Ohno K. , Kisanuki Y. , Willie J. T. , Watanabe T. , Yanagisawa M. , Sakurai T. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractAim:  The effect of orexin on wakefulness has been suggested to be largely mediated by activation of histaminergic neurones in the tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN) via orexin receptor‐2 (OX2R). However, orexin receptors in other regions of the brain might also play important roles in maintenance of wakefulness. To dissect the role of the histaminergic system as a downstream mediator of the orexin system in the regulation of sleep/wake states without compensation by the orexin receptor‐1 (OX1R) mediated pathways, we analysed the phenotype of Histamine‐1 receptor (H1R) and OX1R double‐deficient (H1R−/−;OX1R−/−) mice. These mice lack OX1R‐mediated pathways in addition to deficiency of H1R, which is thought to be the most important system in downstream of OX2R.Methods:  We used H1R deficient (H1R−/−) mice, H1R−/−;OX1R−/− mice, OX1R and OX2R double‐deficient (OX1R−/−;OX2R−/−) mice, and wild type controls. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, non‐REM (NREM) sleep and awake states were determined by polygraphic electroencephalographic/electromyographic recording.Results:  No abnormality in sleep/wake states was observed in H1R−/− mice, consistent with previous studies. H1R−/−;OX1R−/− mice also showed a sleep/wake phenotype comparable to that of wild type mice, while OX1R−/−; OX2R−/− mice showed severe fragmentation of sleep/wake states.Conclusion:  Our observations showed that regulation of the sleep/wake states is completely achieved by OX2R‐expressing neurones without involving H1R‐mediated pathways. The maintenance of basal physiological sleep/wake states is fully achieved without both H1 and OX1 receptors. Downstream pathways of OX2R other than the histaminergic system might play an important role in the maintenance of sleep/wake states.
Oestrogen receptor‐alpha activation augments post‐exercise myoblast proliferation
Authors: Thomas A. , Bunyan K. , Tiidus P. M. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractAim:  Our laboratory has shown that oestrogen acts to augment myoblast (satellite cell) activation, proliferation and total number and that this may occur through an oestrogen receptor (OR)‐mediated mechanism. The purpose of this study was to further investigate the mechanism of oestrogen influence on augmentation of post‐exercise myoblast numbers through use of a specific OR‐α agonist, propyl pyrazole triol (PPT).Methods:  Ovariectomized rats were used (n = 64) and separated into four groups: sham, oestrogen supplemented, agonist supplemented, and a combined oestrogen and agonist supplemented group. These groups were further subdivided into control (unexercised) and exercise groups. Surgical removal of white vastus and soleus muscles was performed 72 h post‐exercise. Muscle samples were immunostained for the myoblast markers Pax7 and MyoD.Results:  A significant increase in total (Pax7‐positive) and activated (MyoD‐positive) myoblasts was found in all groups post‐exercise. A further significant augmentation of total and activated myoblasts occurred in oestrogen supplemented, agonist supplemented and the combined oestrogen and agonist supplemented groups post‐exercise in white vastus and soleus muscles relative to unsupplemented animals.Conclusion:  These results demonstrate that both oestrogen and the specific OR‐α receptor agonist, PPT, can significantly and to similar degrees augment myoblast number and activation following exercise‐induced muscle damage. This suggests that oestrogen acts through an OR‐mediated mechanism to stimulate myoblast proliferation following exercise, with OR‐α playing a primary role.
Recent Research on Latinos in the USA and Canada, Part 1: Language Maintenance and Shift and English Varieties1
Authors: Bayley Robert , Bonnici Lisa M. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractThis article examines two of the main areas of sociolinguistic research on Latinos in the USA and Canada, language maintenance and shift and Latino varieties of English, with emphasis on work that has been accomplished in the past decade. Despite the considerable amount of foundational research that has been accomplished in recent years, we suggest that a great deal remains to be done, particularly on maintenance and shift in emerging Latino communities in the USA and Canada and on Latino varieties of English.