bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Gastrointestinal protective effect of dietary spices during ethanol-induced oxidant stress in experimental rats
Authors: Prakash Usha N.S. , Srinivasan Krishnapura 
Published: April 2010

Spices are traditionally known to have digestive stimulant action and to cure digestive disorders. In this study, the protective effect of dietary spices with respect to activities of antioxidant enzymes in gastric and intestinal mucosa was examined. Groups of Wistar rats were fed for 8 weeks with diets containing black pepper (0.5%), piperine (0.02%), red pepper (3.0%), capsaicin (0.01%), and ginger (0.05%). All these spices significantly enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes — superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione-S-transferase — in both gastric and intestinal mucosa, suggesting a gastrointestinal protective role for these spices. In a separate study, these dietary spices were found to alleviate the diminished activities of antioxidant enzymes in gastric and intestinal mucosa under conditions of ethanol-induced oxidative stress. The gastroprotective effect of the spices was also reflected in their positive effect on mucosal glycoproteins, thereby lowering mucosal injury. The amelioration of the ethanol-induced decrease in the activities of antioxidant enzymes in gastric and intestinal mucosa by dietary spices suggests their beneficial gastrointestinal protective role. This is the first report on the gastrointestinal protective potential of dietary spices.
Little change in markers of protein breakdown and oxidative stress in humans in immobilization-induced skeletal muscle atrophy
Authors: Glover Elisa I. , Yasuda Nobuo , Tarnopolsky Mark A. , Abadi Arkan , Phillips Stuart M. 
Published: April 2010

A number of studies in rodents suggest that disuse atrophy results from a large increase in proteolysis affected by, or accompanying, increased oxidative stress. Little information is available, however, about the effects of immobilization on markers of muscle protein breakdown and oxidative stress in humans. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to measure markers of breakdown or oxidative stress in subjects who underwent 14 days of knee-brace-mediated immobilization. Vastus lateralis samples taken from 21 young subjects before, and 2 days and 14 days after, single leg immobilization were measured for ubiquitin-protein conjugates, caspase 3/7 activity, the 14-kDa caspase-3 cleaved actin fragment, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) adducts, and protein carbonyls. Quadriceps cross-sectional area decreased by 5.7% ± 1.1% (p < 0.0001) following immobilization. Ubiquitin-protein conjugates were elevated at 2 days of immobilization (12%, p < 0.05) but were not different from baseline at 14 days. Levels of the 14-kDa actin fragment and caspase 3/7 activity did not change over the immobilization period. The oxidative stress markers, 4-HNE adducts and protein carbonyls, did not change at any time point. These static measures of breakdown and oxidative modification suggest that a small increase in protein ubiquitination occurs early (2 days), but elevations in ubiquitinated or oxidatively modified proteins are not sustained during the later phase (14 days) of uncomplicated disuse atrophy in humans, suggesting that these pathways are not playing a major role in simple disuse-induced atrophic loss of protein mass.
Postexercise heart rate recovery in children: relationship with power output, blood pH, and lactate
Authors: Buchheit Martin , Duché Pascale , Laursen Paul B. , Ratel Sébastien 
Published: April 2010

The aim of the present study was to determine whether differences in age-related heart rate recovery (HRR) kinetics were associated with differences in power output, blood lactate concentration ([La]b), and acidosis among children, adolescents, and adults. Ten prepubertal boys (aged 9.6 ± 0.7 years), 6 pubertal boys (aged 15.2 ± 0.8 years), and 7 men (aged 20.4 ± 1.0 years) performed 10 repeated 10-s all-out cycling sprints, interspersed with 5-min passive recovery intervals. Mean power output (MPO) was measured during each sprint, and HRR, [La]b, and acidosis (pHb) were determined immediately after each sprint. Children displayed a shorter time constant of the primary component of HRR than adolescents and adults (17.5 ± 4.1 vs. 38.0 ± 5.3 and 36.9 ± 4.9 s, p < 0.001 for both), but no difference was observed between adolescents and adults (p = 1.00). MPO, [La]b, and pHb were also lower in children compared with the other 2 groups (p < 0.001 for both). When data were pooled, HRR was significantly correlated with MPO (r = 0.48, p < 0.001), [La]b (r = 0.58, p < 0.001), and pHb (r = –0.60, p < 0.001). Covarying for MPO, [La]b, or pHb abolished the between-group differences in HRR (p = 0.42, p = 0.19, and p = 0.16, respectively). Anaerobic glycolytic contribution and power output explained a significant portion of the HRR variance following high-intensity intermittent exercise. The faster HRR kinetic observed in children appears to be related, at least in part, to their lower work rate and inherent lack of anaerobic metabolic capacity.
MicroRNAs Are Necessary for Vascular Smooth Muscle Growth, Differentiation, and Function
Authors: Albinsson Sebastian , Suarez Yajaira , Skoura Athanasia , Offermanns Stefan , Miano Joseph M. , Sessa William C. 
Published: April 2010

Objective—Regulation of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) proliferation and contractile differentiation is an important factor in vascular development and subsequent cardiovascular diseases. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to regulate fundamental cellular processes in a number of cell types, but the integrated role of miRNAs in VSM in blood vessels is unknown. Here, we investigated the role of miRNAs in VSM by deleting the rate-limiting enzyme in miRNA synthesis, Dicer.Methods and Results—Deletion of Dicer in VSM results in late embryonic lethality at embryonic day 16 to 17, associated with extensive internal hemorrhage. The loss of VSM Dicer results in dilated, thin-walled blood vessels caused by a reduction in cellular proliferation. In addition, blood vessels from VSM-deleted Dicer mice exhibited impaired contractility because of a loss of contractile protein markers. We found this effect to be associated with a loss of actin stress fibers and partly rescued by overexpression of microRNA (miR)-145 or myocardin.Conclusion—Dicer-dependent miRNAs are important for VSM development and function by regulating proliferation and contractile differentiation.
Working towards men’s health: Findings from the Sefton men’s health project
Authors: Robinson Mark , Robertson Steve , McCullagh Jo , Hacking Sue 
Published: April 2010

Objective: To evaluate a health improvement initiative aimed at enhancing the health of men in deprived areas. Design: A healthy lifestyle programme was undertaken with men to increase their health knowledge, and encourage behaviour modification and access to health improvement services. A peer mentoring programme was implemented and a training programme delivered to community and public sector staff. Setting: The programme was delivered in the most deprived wards in Sefton (Liverpool, UK). Method: Qualitative interviews were conducted with men in the lifestyle and peer mentoring programme five months into the programme ( n = 6). Further telephone interviews with men took place towards the project’s end ( n = 14). Interviews with community staff and health professionals who attended the training were completed ( n = 5), fully transcribed and analysed thematically to meet the evaluation aims. Results: The key themes emerging were issues related to influences on participation (including settings and social networks), experiences of participation (including, for men, issues around control and physical activity) and for staff, the opportunity for reflection. Outcomes for men included: changed bio-medical body condition; increased functional capacity; and improved emotional and experiential well-being. Outcomes for staff included: planned change around individual practice; and networking and organizational change. Conclusion: Men liked the convenient settings for the healthy lifestyle programme and its activities, although peer mentoring involves challenges over recruitment and support, and staff also benefited. Men made recommendations for acceptable locations, support for marginalized men, and appropriate incentives.
Emergency contraception education for health and human service professionals: An evaluation of knowledge and attitudes
Authors: Colarossi Lisa , Billowitz Marissa , Breitbart Vicki 
Published: April 2010

Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitudes of health care providers, health educators, and social service providers before and after a training session on emergency contraceptive pills. Design: A survey study using pre—post training measurements. Setting: Two hundred and twenty-three medical, social service, and health education providers in receiving a 2.5-hour training session at their work site. Methods: Human subjects approval was obtained from an Internal Review Board. Anonymous surveys were administered a few weeks prior to the training session and at completion of the training session. The training programme was free and not conditional on survey completion. No incentives were offered for research participation. Results: A single training session was associated with increased knowledge about the timing, efficacy, and safety of emergency contraceptive pills as well as with more positive attitudes about use of emergency contraceptive pills. This was true for health care workers, health educators, and social service providers. Social service providers had the least amount of knowledge prior to the training session, but had the same amount of knowledge as the other two groups after the training session. Social service providers also had the least positive attitudes about emergency contraception before and after the training session, when compared with the other two groups; however, positive attitudes of social service workers did significantly increase after the training session, which resulted in smaller differences between the groups at post-test. Conclusion: Among other educational and motivational tools to increase use of emergency contraception, training of human service professionals can increase the knowledge and attitudes necessary for informing their numerous clients about how to access emergency contraceptive pills as well as their safety and efficacy.
A Systematic Review of Scales That Measure Attitudes Toward Suicide
Authors: Kodaka Manami , Poštuvan Vita , Inagaki Masatoshi , Yamada Mitsuhiko 
Published: April 2010

Background: Studies on attitudes toward suicide are of great interest to researchers worldwide. Although various instruments have been developed to measure attitudes toward suicide, psychometric properties of these instruments have not been systematically reviewed and organized. Aim: We aimed to identify valid, reliable and feasible attitudinal scales by systematically reviewing published articles on scale development and validation studies. In particular, this study focused on scales used for a wide range of populations to measure multidimensional attitudes toward suicide and related issues. Methods: Electronic searches of two databases, PubMed and PsychInfo, were performed. Scales with unique names were identified and listed after reviewing selected publications, and then evaluated for psychometric properties, multidimensionality and appropriateness for a wide range of populations. Results: A total of 2,210 publications were identified by the first electronic search. In the final review process of the selected publications, three scales — the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire (SOQ), Suicide Attitude Questionnaire (SUIATT) and Attitudes Toward Suicide (ATTS) — were identified. Conclusion: Each of these scales has its own characteristics and should be used in accordance with research purposes.
Psychological Distress Among Immigrants and Visible Minorities in Canada: a Contextual Analysis
Authors: Stafford Mai , Newbold Bruce K. , Ross Nancy A. 
Published: April 2010

Background: Immigrants to Canada are less likely to report depression compared with the non-immigrant population. This healthy migrant effect has not so far been explained by demographic and socioeconomic determinants of health. Aim: The present study examined whether the psychological health advantage of immigrants varied across Canadian health regions and investigated the hypothesis of immigrant density as a determinant of immigrant mental health advantage. Methods: Data from the 2000—2001 Canadian Community Health Survey were used to build multi-level models estimating variation in depression within and between health regions by immigrant/visible minority status. Results: Immigrant and visible minority residents were less likely to experience depression compared with the general population. Depression varied across health regions and the extent of variation was greater for visible minorities. The likelihood of depression decreased with increasing percentage of immigrants in the region among visible minority participants but not among whites. Conclusions: The protection against depression afforded by immigrant and visible minority status in Canada appears to depend on contextual factors, notably the percentage of immigrants in the region. Future work should seek to better characterize the experiences of visible minorities in different settings.
A UK validation of the Stages of Recovery Instrument
Authors: Weeks Gavin , Slade Mike , Hayward Mark 
Published: April 2010

Objective: There is considerable interest in the concept of recovery from psychosis. Consumers describe recovery as a process as opposed to a clinical outcome. However, measures of recovery have an important role in the development of recovery-based mental health services. This study sought to investigate the validity and reliability of the Stages of Recovery Instrument (STORI) (Andresen et al., 2006). This is an Australian instrument chosen as a promising measure of recovery developed from the perspectives of consumer accounts. Method: A questionnaire design was used to investigate the following aspects of validity: face validity and feasibility; concurrent validity; construct validity; and test-retest reliability. Fifty (50) people from the caseloads of three specialist mental health teams in a London borough completed the STORI, the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS) (Corrigan et al., 1999) and a feedback questionnaire. Twenty two (22) people completed the STORI a second time for the purposes of test-retest reliability exploration. Results: Participants’ responses to the feedback questionnaire were mainly positive. This was seen as evidence of face validity and feasibility. Correlations between the STORI and the RAS provided evidence of concurrent validity. Cluster analysis revealed that the STORI items formed three clusters rather than five. Strong correlations between the first and second STORI administrations provided initial evidence for the test-retest reliability. Conclusions: The STORI can be used to measure recovery concepts in the UK. However, it does not measure the five-stage model on which it was based. A three-stage model of recovery might best form the basis of future recovery research.
Analysis of multiple candidate genes in association with phenotypes of multiple sclerosis
Authors: Sombekke Madeleine H , Arteta David , van de Wiel Mark A , Crusius J Bart A , Tejedor Diego , Killestein Joep , Martínez Antonio , Peña A. Salvador , Polman Chris H , Uitdehaag Bernard MJ 
Published: April 2010

Multiple sclerosis is a heterogeneous neurological disease with varying degrees of severity. The common hypothesis is that susceptibility to multiple sclerosis and its phenotype are caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. The genetic part exerts its effect through several genes, each having modest effects. We evaluated whether disease severity could be predicted by a model based on clinical data and data from a DNA chip. The DNA chip was designed containing several single nucleotide polymorphisms in 44 genes, previously described to be associated with multiple sclerosis. A total of 605 patients with multiple sclerosis were included in this analysis, using gender, onset type and age at onset as clinical covariates. We correlated 80 single nucleotide polymorphisms to the degree of disease severity using the following three outcome measures: linear Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score, dichotomous Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (using a cut-off point of 2.5) and time to reach Expanded Disability Status Scale score 6. Sixty-nine single nucleotide polymorphisms were included in the analysis. No individual single nucleotide polymorphism showed a significant association; however, a combination of single nucleotide polymorphisms significantly improved the prediction of disease severity in addition to the clinical variables. In all three models the Interleukin 2 gene was included, confirming a previously reported modest effect on disease severity. The highest power was obtained using the dichotomized Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score as outcome. Several single nucleotide polymorphisms showed their added predictive value over the clinical data in the predictive models. These results support our hypothesis that disease severity is determined by clinical variables and genetic influences (through several genes with small effects) in concert.
Left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction in children with sickle cell disease are related to asleep and waking oxygen desaturation
Authors: Johnson Mark C. , Kirkham Fenella J. , Redline Susan , Rosen Carol L. , Yan Yan , Roberts Irene , Gruenwald Jeanine , Marek Jan , DeBaun Michael R. 
Published: April 2010

AbstractPremature death and cardiac abnormalities are described in individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD), but the mechanisms are not well characterized. We tested the hypothesis that cardiac abnormalities in children with SCD are related to sleep-disordered breathing. We enrolled 44 children with SCD (mean age, 10.1 years; range, 4-18 years) in an observational study. Standard and tissue Doppler echocardiography, waking oxygen saturation averaged over 5 minutes, and overnight polysomnography were obtained in participants, each within 7 days. Eccentric left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy was present in 46% of our cohort. After multivariable adjustment, LV mass index was inversely related to average asleep and waking oxygen saturation. For every 1% drop in the average asleep oxygen saturation, there was a 2.1 g/m2.7 increase in LV mass index. LV diastolic dysfunction, as measured by the E/E′ ratio, was present in our subjects and was also associated with low oxygen saturation (sleep or waking). Elevated tricuspid regurgitant velocity (≥ 2.5 m/sec), a measure of pulmonary hypertension, was not predicted by either oxygen saturation or sleep variables with multivariable logistic regression analysis. These data provide evidence that low asleep and waking oxygen saturations are associated with LV abnormalities in children with SCD.
Coexpression of the T-cell receptor constant α domain triggers tumor reactivity of single-chain TCR-transduced human T cells
Authors: Voss Ralf-Holger , Thomas Simone , Pfirschke Christina , Hauptrock Beate , Klobuch Sebastian , Kuball Jürgen , Grabowski Margarete , Engel Renate , Guillaume Philippe , Romero Pedro , Huber Christoph , Beckhove Philipp , Theobald Matthias 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
Transfer of tumor antigen–specific T-cell receptors (TCRs) into human T cells aims at redirecting their cytotoxicity toward tumors. Efficacy and safety may be affected by pairing of natural and introduced TCRα/β chains potentially leading to autoimmunity. We hypothesized that a novel single-chain (sc)TCR framework relying on the coexpression of the TCRα constant α (Cα) domain would prevent undesired pairing while preserving structural and functional similarity to a fully assembled double-chain (dc)TCR/CD3 complex. We confirmed this hypothesis for a murine p53-specific scTCR. Substantial effector function was observed only in the presence of a murine Cα domain preceded by a TCRα signal peptide for shuttling to the cell membrane. The generalization to a human gp100-specific TCR required the murinization of both C domains. Structural and functional T-cell avidities of an accessory disulfide-linked scTCR gp100/Cα were higher than those of a dcTCR. Antigen-dependent phosphorylation of the proximal effector ζ-chain–associated protein kinase 70 at tyrosine 319 was not impaired, reflecting its molecular integrity in signaling. In melanoma-engrafted nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice, adoptive transfer of scTCR gp100/Cα transduced T cells conferred superior delay in tumor growth among primary and long-term secondary tumor challenges. We conclude that the novel scTCR constitutes a reliable means to immunotherapeutically target hematologic malignancies.
Sex-related differences in COPD in five Latin American cities: the PLATINO study
Authors: Lopez Varela M.V. , Montes de Oca M. , Halbert R.J. , Muiño A. , Perez-Padilla R. , Tálamo C. , Jardim J.R.B. , Valdivia G. , Pertuzé J. , Moreno D. , Menezes A.M.B. 
Published: April 2010

There is evidence to suggest sex differences exists in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) clinical expression. We investigated sex differences in health status perception, dyspnoea and physical activity, and factors that explain these differences using an epidemiological sample of subjects with and without COPD.PLATINO is a cross-sectional, population-based study. We defined COPD as post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity ratio <0.70, and evaluated health status perception (Short Form (SF)-12 questionnaire) and dyspnoea (Medical Research Council scale).Among 5,314 subjects, 759 (362 females) had COPD and 4,555 (2,850 females) did not. In general, females reported more dyspnoea and physical limitation than males. 54% of females without COPD reported a dyspnoea score ≥2versus35% of males. A similar trend was observed in females with COPD (63%versus44%). In the entire study population, female sex was a factor explaining dyspnoea (OR 1.60, 95%CI 1.40–1.84) and SF-12 physical score (OR -1.13, 95%CI -1.56– -0.71). 40% of femalesversus28% of males without COPD reported their general health status as fair-to-poor. Females with COPD showed a similar trend (41%versus34%). Distribution of COPD severity was similar between sexes, but currently smoking females had more severe COPD than currently smoking males.There are important sex differences in the impact that COPD has on the perception of dyspnoea, health status and physical activity limitation.