bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sialic Acid Modification of Adiponectin Is Not Required for Multimerization or Secretion but Determines Half-Life in Circulation
Authors: Richards Ayanthi A. , Colgrave Michelle L. , Zhang Jialiang , Webster Julie , Simpson Fiona , Preston Elaine , Wilks Donna , Hoehn Kyle L. , Stephenson Matthew , Macdonald Graeme A. , Prins John B. , Cooney Gregory J. , Xu Aimin , Whitehead Jonathan P. 
Published: October 2009

AbstractAdiponectin is an adipocyte-secreted, insulin-sensitizing hormone the circulating levels of which are reduced in conditions of insulin resistance and diabetes. Previous work has demonstrated the importance of posttranslational modifications, such as proline hydroxylation and lysine hydroxylation/glycosylation, in adiponectin oligomerization, secretion, and function. Here we describe the first functional characterization of adiponectin sialylation. Using a variety of biochemical approaches we demonstrated that sialylation occurs on previously unidentified O-linked glycans on Thr residues of the variable domain in human adiponectin. Enzymatic removal of sialic acid or its underlying O-linked sugars did not affect adiponectin multimer composition. Expression of mutant forms of adiponectin (lacking the modified Thr residues) or of wild-type adiponectin in cells defective in sialylation did not compromise multimer formation or secretion, arguing against a structural role for this modification. Activity of desialylated adiponectin was comparable to control adiponectin in L6 myotubes and acute assays in adiponectin−/− mice. In contrast, plasma clearance of desialylated adiponectin was accelerated compared with that of control adiponectin, implicating a role for this modification in determining the half-life of circulating adiponectin. Uptake of desialylated adiponectin by isolated primary rat hepatocytes was also accelerated, suggesting a role for the hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor. Finally, after chronic administration in adiponectin−/− mice steady-state levels of desialylated adiponectin were lower than control adiponectin and failed to recapitulate the improvements in glucose and insulin tolerance tests observed with control adiponectin. These data suggest an important role for sialic acid content in the regulation of circulating adiponectin levels and highlight the importance of understanding mechanisms regulating adiponectin sialylation/desialylation.
Assessment of cognitive abilities in multiethnic countries: The case of the Wolof and Mandinka in the Gambia
Authors: Jukes Matthew C. H. , Grigorenko Elena L. 
Published: October 2009

BackgroundThe use of cognitive tests is increasing in Africa but little is known about how such tests are affected by the great ethnic and linguistic diversity on the continent.AimTo assess ethnic and linguistic group differences in cognitive test performance in the West African country of the Gambia and to investigate the sources of these differences.SamplesStudy 1 included 579 participants aged 14–19 years from the Wolof and Mandinka ethnic groups of the Gambia. Study 2 included 41 participants aged 12–18 years from the two ethnic groups.MethodsStudy 1 assessed performance on six cognitive tests. Participants were also asked about their history of education, residence in the city, parental education, and family socio‐economic status. Study 2 assessed performance on two versions of the digit span test. Recall of the numbers 1–5 were compared with recall of numbers 1–9 for both the Wolof (who count in base 5) and the Mandinka (who count in base 10).ResultsStudy 1 established that Wolof performance was lower than that of the Mandinka on five out of six cognitive tests. In four of these tests, group differences were partially mediated by participation in primary school and migration to the city. Group differences were substantial for the digit span test and were not attenuated by mediating variables. Study 2 found that digit span among the Wolof was shorter than that of the Mandinka for numbers 1–9 but not for numbers 1–5.ConclusionsSeveral suggestions are made on how to consider the ethnicity, language, education, and residence (urban vs. rural) of groups when conducting comparative cognitive assessments or collecting normative data.
Understanding words, understanding numbers: An exploration of the mathematical profiles of poor comprehenders
Authors: Pimperton Hannah. , Nation Kate. 
Published: October 2009

BackgroundPoor comprehenders are children who show significant deficits in their reading comprehension performance, despite average, or above‐average word reading ability. To date, there have been no in‐depth studies of the mathematical performance profiles of such children.AimsThis study aimed to explore the mathematical profiles of poor comprehenders. Given that language impairment is associated with difficulties with mathematics, and that poor comprehenders tend to have oral language weaknesses, we hypothesized that poor comprehenders would show relative weaknesses in aspects of mathematical performance.SampleFrom a sample of 109 children aged 7–8 years, we selected 14 poor comprehenders and 14 controls with age‐appropriate reading comprehension ability. The groups were matched on non‐verbal ability, multiple measures of reading accuracy, and chronological age.MethodsWe compared the performance of the group of poor comprehenders with that of the matched controls on two standardized measures of mathematical ability, one measuring procedural arithmetic prowess and the other tapping higher‐level mathematical reasoning.ResultsAlthough there were no group differences in performance on the arithmetic measure, the poor comprehenders showed significantly lower scores than the controls on the mathematical reasoning task. The poor comprehenders exhibited impaired verbal ability relative to controls, with these differences in verbal ability associated with the group differences found on the test of mathematical reasoning.ConclusionsPoor comprehenders' deficits are not limited to the domain of literacy; their underlying profile of impairments also seems to selectively impact on certain components of mathematical ability.
Physically active patients with coronary artery disease: A longitudinal investigation of the processes of exercise behaviour change
Authors: Kanning Martina 
Published: October 2009

Objectives. Although regular exercise is important for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), most CAD patients are not sufficiently active. The transtheoretical model offers a framework for the process of exercise behaviour change. But until today, it is not clear which processes of exercise behaviour change (POC) support CAD patients in maintaining exercise after discharge.Design. A longitudinal study with baseline measure and 6‐month follow‐up has been conducted. German CAD patients were mailed at home after discharge. POC and exercise were self‐reported.Methods. A total of 204 CAD patients were selected from five rehabilitation centres. A total of 108 CAD patients, which were in the post‐action stages, provided data at baseline and follow‐up. Two different analyses were carried out. Firstly, structural equation modelling with baseline data (N =147) was used to test the hierarchical order of the POC in experiential and behavioural processes. Secondly, cross‐lagged panel analysis was used to investigate whether POC lead to exercise or vice versa and which POC support CAD patients in maintaining exercise.Results. Comparative analysis indicates that the two hierarchical‐factor model fits the data significantly better than the one hierarchical‐factor model (χ2diff (1)=19.04, p <.001), even though experiential and behavioural processes are highly correlated (r =.98, p <.001). Standardized effects of the antecedent cross‐lags are significant for consciousness raising (β=0.27), reinforcement management (β=0.28), self‐liberation (β=0.28), and stimulus control (β=0.33) indicating that these POC are predictive for CAD patients maintaining exercise.Conclusion. Although some POC support the exercise behaviour change process and the hierarchical structure is apparent, it may be beneficial to adapt the POC to give a more precise understanding of the change processes.
Structural Correlates of Preterm Birth in the Adolescent Brain
Authors: Nagy Zoltan , Ashburner John , Andersson Jesper , Jbabdi Saad , Draganski Bogdan , Skare Stefan , Böhm Birgitta , Smedler Ann-Charlotte , Forssberg Hans , Lagercrantz Hugo 
Published: October 2009

OBJECTIVE: The Stockholm Neonatal Project involves a prospective, cross-sectional, population-based, cohort monitored for 12 to 17 years after birth; it was started with the aim of investigating the long-term structural correlates of preterm birth and comparing findings with reports on similar cohorts.
METHODS: High-resolution anatomic and diffusion tensor imaging data measuring diffusion in 30 directions were collected by using a 1.5-T MRI scanner. A total of 143 adolescents (12.18–17.7 years of age) participated in the study, including 74 formerly preterm infants with birth weights of ≤1500 g (range: 645–1486 g) and 69 term control subjects. The 2 groups were well matched with respect to demographic and socioeconomic data. The anatomic MRI data were used for calculation of total brain volumes and voxelwise comparison of gray matter (GM) volumes. The diffusion tensor imaging data were used for voxelwise comparison of white matter (WM) microstructural integrity.
RESULTS: The formerly preterm individuals possessed 8.8% smaller GM volume and 9.4% smaller WM volume. The GM and WM volumes of individuals depended on gestational age and birth weight. The reduction in GM could be attributed bilaterally to the temporal lobes, central, prefrontal, orbitofrontal, and parietal cortices, caudate nuclei, hippocampi, and thalami. Lower fractional anisotropy was observed in the posterior corpus callosum, fornix, and external capsules.
CONCLUSIONS: Although preterm birth was found to be a risk factor regarding long-term structural brain development, the outcome was milder than in previous reports. This may be attributable to differences in social structure and neonatal care practices.
Using BMI to Determine Cardiovascular Risk in Childhood: How Do the BMI Cutoffs Fare?
Authors: Skinner Asheley Cockrell , Mayer Michelle L. , Flower Kori , Perrin Eliana M. , Weinberger Morris 
Published: October 2009

OBJECTIVE: Although adverse health outcomes are increased among children with BMI above the 85th (overweight) and 95th (obese) percentiles, previous studies have not clearly defined the BMI percentile at which adverse health outcomes begin to increase. We examined whether the existing BMI percentile cutoffs are optimal for defining increased risk for dyslipidemia, dysglycemia, and hypertension.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2001 to 2006. Studied were 8216 children aged 6 to 17 years, representative of the US population. BMI was calculated by using measured height and weight and converted to percentiles for age in months and gender. Outcome measures (dyslipidemia, dysglycemia, and hypertension) were based on laboratory and physical examination results; these were analyzed as both continuous and categorical outcomes.
RESULTS: Significant increases for total cholesterol values and prevalence of abnormal cholesterol begin at the 80th percentile. Significant increases in glycohemoglobin values and prevalence of abnormal values begin at the 99th percentile. Consistent significant increases in the prevalence of high or borderline systolic blood pressure begin at the 90th percentile.
CONCLUSIONS: Intervening for overweight children and their health requires clinical interventions that target the right children. On the basis of our data, a judicious approach to screening could include consideration of lipid screening for children beginning at the 80th percentile but for dysglycemia at the 99th percentile. Current definitions of overweight and obese may be more useful for general recognition of potential health problems and discussions with parents and children about the need to address childhood obesity.
A Simulation of the Comparative Long‐term Effectiveness of Liraglutide and Glimepiride Monotherapies in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Sullivan Sean D. , Alfonso‐Cristancho Rafael , Conner Chris , Hammer Mette , Blonde Lawrence 
Published: October 2009

Study Objective. To project and compare long‐term outcomes of morbidity and mortality, and costs of complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus from a randomized controlled trial of patients receiving liraglutide versus glimepiride monotherapy.Design. Mathematic simulation using the validated Center for Outcomes Research (CORE) Diabetes Model, calibrated to baseline patient characteristics from a short‐term, randomized, controlled trial of liraglutide and glimepiride monotherapies (Liraglutide Effect and Action in Diabetes [LEAD]‐3 trial) and using data from long‐term outcomes studies.Setting. Simulated routine clinical practice.Patients. Seven hundred forty‐six patients with type 2 diabetes who participated in the LEAD‐3 trial, and three hypothetical cohorts of 5000 patients each that were based on the baseline characteristics of the patients in the LEAD‐3 trial. The patients in the LEAD‐3 trial were randomly assigned to monotherapy with liraglutide 1.2 mg/day (251 patients), liraglutide 1.8 mg/day (247 patients), or glimepiride 8 mg/day (248 patients).Measurements and Main Results. The impact of the three treatments for type 2 diabetes on survival and cumulative incidence of cardiovascular, ocular, or renal events and costs were estimated at three time periods: 10, 20, and 30 years. Simulations predicted improved survival for liraglutide 1.8 and 1.2 mg at all three time points compared with glimepiride. Survival benefits were greatest after 30 years of follow‐up: 16.5%, 13.6%, and 7.3%, respectively. The frequency of nonfatal renal and ocular events was lower for both liraglutide doses than for glimepiride. The rate of neuropathies leading to first or recurrent amputation was higher for glimepiride compared with both liraglutide doses. The average cumulative cost/patient was higher for glimepiride compared with liraglutide 1.2 mg and liraglutide 1.8 mg.Conclusion. With use of the CORE Diabetes Model and data from the LEAD‐3 trial, long‐term projected survival, diabetes complications, and costs favored liraglutide 1.2‐ and 1.8‐mg monotherapies compared with glimepiride in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Lack of Effect on Prematurity, Birth Weight, and Infant Growth from Exposure to Protease Inhibitors In Utero and After Birth
Authors: Carceller Ana , Ferreira Ema , Alloul Sophie , Lapointe Normand 
Published: October 2009

Study Objective. To determine whether an association exists between exposure in utero and after birth to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) containing protease inhibitors and prematurity, birth weight, and infant growth parameters.Design. Retrospective cohort study.Setting. Tertiary, university‐affiliated hospital in Montreal, Canada.Patients. Cohort of 206 pairs of mothers who had human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and had been treated with HAART between 1997 and 2005, of whom 176 had regimens containing protease inhibitors, and their infants, as well as a control group of 206 infants born to non‐HIV‐infected mothers and thus not exposed to HAART.Measurements and Main Results. Demographic and clinical characteristics were retrieved from patients' medical records and the hospital's HIV database. Duration of HAART use, rates of prematurity and low birth weight, and infant growth parameters during the first 2 years of the child's life were evaluated. Median duration of HAART use for the women before delivery was 18 weeks (range 4–36 wks) and for infants, started within the first 8–12 hours of life, was 6 weeks (range 2–6 wks). In infants exposed to HAART, the 10.6% rate of prematurity (11.1% with and 7.1% without protease inhibitors) was not significantly higher than that in the control group (7.8%). Moreover, the 9.9% rate for small for gestational age (9.8% with and 10.3% without protease inhibitors) was also not significantly higher than that in the control group (5.3%). The 176 mothers and infants exposed to protease inhibitors had a median follow‐up of 5 years. Stillbirth or death was not observed. At delivery, the weight, length, and head circumference of the 176 infants exposed to protease inhibitors were similar to those of the control group. During the first 2 years of life, premature infants were in the lower percentiles of growth; however, they followed normal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth curves matched for age and sex.Conclusion. Significantly higher rates of prematurity and low birth weight were not demonstrated in infants exposed in utero to HAART with protease inhibitors. Moreover, these children reached normal growth percentiles during the first 2 years of life.
Pharmacokinetic Outcomes of a Simplified, Weight‐Based, Extended‐Interval Gentamicin Dosing Protocol in Critically Ill Neonates
Authors: Hoff David S. , Wilcox Roger A. , Tollefson Lisa M. , Lipnik Polina G. , Commers Amy R. , Liu Meixia 
Published: October 2009

Study Objective. To determine the pharmacokinetic outcomes of a simplified, weight‐based, extended‐interval gentamicin dosing protocol for critically ill neonates.Design. Retrospective medical record review with pharmacokinetic analysis.Setting. Two neonatal intensive care units in a pediatric tertiary care system.Patients. Sequential sample of 644 critically ill neonates less than 7 days old without evidence of renal dysfunction who received gentamicin, dosed by using a simplified, weight‐based, extended‐interval dosing protocol, on the first day of life for suspected sepsis between February 2003 and January 2008, and who had subsequent gentamicin plasma concentrations measured during their first week of life.Measurements and Main Results. Data were collected on birth weight, gestational age at birth, serum creatinine concentration during the first 10 days of life, medical conditions, and concomitant drugs. Gentamicin dosing and its pharmacokinetic parameters were noted for each patient. A mean dose of 3.96 mg/kg/dose of gentamicin was administered intravenously every 48 hours in neonates weighing less than 1250 g at birth and every 24 hours in those weighing 1250 g or more. If the neonate received concurrent indomethacin, however, gentamicin was given every 48 hours. Protocol success was defined as a peak gentamicin plasma concentration of 7–10 mg/L and a trough concentration less than 2 mg/L. Mean gentamicin peak and trough concentrations were 9.38 mg/L (95% confidence interval [CI] 9.24‐9.52 mg/L) and 1.00 mg/L (95% CI 0.96‐1.04 mg/L), respectively. With use of the protocol, 361 neonates (56.1%) achieved gentamicin peak plasma concentrations in the range defined as successful and 610 neonates (94.7%) achieved successful trough concentrations. The mean gentamicin apparent volume of distribution and half‐life were 0.48 L/kg (95% CI 0.47‐0.49 L/kg) and 8.31 hours (95% CI 8.09‐8.52 hrs), respectively.Conclusion. This simplified, weight‐based, extended‐interval gentamicin dosing protocol for critically ill neonates was effective in achieving therapeutic peak plasma concentrations of gentamicin in most of the patients and, as a high proportion of patients had acceptable trough concentrations, may minimize the potential for toxicity.
Melancholia's Meerkat: A Poetic Leap
Authors: Greene Jody 
Published: October 2009

I think we learn to be worldly from grappling with, rather than generalizing from, the ordinary.—Donna HarawayThe question that preoccupies me in the light of recent global violence is, Who counts as human? Whose lives count as lives? And, finally, What makes for a grievable life?—Judith ButlerIn a New York Times editorial piece published in May 2007 about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Nicholas Kristof lamented, not for the first time, that people “aren't moved by genocide.” “The human conscience just isn't pricked by mass suffering,” Kristof continues, and yet, as both anecdotal evidence and scientific research have repeatedly shown, “an individual child (or puppy) in distress causes our hearts to flutter.” He recounts a series of psychological and sociological experiments that have borne out what he calls “the limits of rationality,” including the fact that people who hear narratives or see images that “prime the emotions” by focusing on the plight of an individual suffering creature—say, a baby or “a soulful dog in peril”—respond more vigorously to that suffering than those who have had their “rational side” primed by performing math problems. Perhaps, Kristof proposes in disgust, what the Darfur situation needs in order to achieve the public recognition it deserves—let alone to effect actual change—is not statistics of mass genocide but a very photogenic, if appropriately sad-eyed, poster child, “a suffering puppy with big eyes and floppy ears.” “If President Bush and the global public alike are unmoved by the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of fellow humans,” he despairingly concludes, “maybe our last, best hope is that we can be galvanized by a puppy in distress.”
Public Domain
Authors: Eltit Diamela 
Published: October 2009

Violence as a public and private practice is a constant. Furthermore, it belongs in the political axis since political institutions measure, plan, and distribute it, inscribing and administering it according to their productive and programmatic interests.Violence is adaptable and acquires different forms and formats, which range from the most concrete corporeal reality to the infliction of punishment on the symbolic and emotional registers of the subject. It is mobile but enduring, adjusting to the emergence of new social subjects. The enduring struggle against violence resituates and changes it, bringing about the penalization of practices considered abusive, such as long workdays, certain school regulations, or the beating of women.
Theater of Atrocities: Toward a Disreality Principle
Authors: Jakovljevic Branislav 
Published: October 2009

In October 1992, the united nations security council requested the secretary-general to appoint an impartial commission to examine and record the atrocities committed in the wars in the former Yugoslavia. Two years later, this commission produced its final report. Some of the goriest pages in this catalogue of infamy are dedicated to the explosion on the Markale open-air market in central Sarajevo that took place around noon on Saturday, 5 February 1994. The report describes it as “the worst attack on civilians during the siege” of Sarajevo, citing that it killed at least 66 persons and wounded 197 (781). This explosion can be said to represent the turning point in the Bosnian war, which by that point had lasted some twenty-two months without any reasonable resolution in sight. David Binder, a New York Times reporter and the author of the most detailed account of this atrocity to date, writes that itprovoked the first engagement of NATO in European hostilities since it was founded four decades earlier and the first involvement of U.S. forces in combat in Europe since the beginning of the Cold War. Within days it also drew Russia into the hapless circle of Balkan problem-solvers, along with a unit of Russian peacekeeping troops—the first entry of Russia into the former Yugoslavia since Joseph Stalin's break-up with Josip Broz Tito in 1948. (70)