bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Circulating omentin concentration increases after weight loss
Authors: Moreno-Navarrete José María , Catalán Victoria , Ortega Francisco , Gómez-Ambrosi Javier , Ricart Wifredo , Frühbeck Gema , Fernández-Real José Manuel 
Published: April 2010

Abstract

Background
Omentin-1 is a novel adipokine expressed in visceral adipose tissue and negatively associated with insulin resistance and obesity. We aimed to study the effects of weight loss-induced improved insulin sensitivity on circulating omentin concentrations.

Methods
Circulating omentin-1 (ELISA) concentration in association with metabolic variables was measured in 35 obese subjects (18 men, 17 women) before and after hypocaloric weight loss.

Results
Baseline circulating omentin-1 concentrations correlated negatively with BMI (r = -0.58, p < 0.001), body weight (r = -0.35, p = 0.045), fat mass (r = -0.67, p < 0.001), circulating leptin (r = -0.7, p < 0.001) and fasting insulin (r = -0.37, p = 0.03). Circulating omentin-1 concentration increased significantly after weight loss (from 44.9 ± 9.02 to 53.41 ± 8.8 ng/ml, p < 0.001). This increase in circulating omentin after weight loss was associated with improved insulin sensitivity (negatively associated with HOMA value and fasting insulin, r = -0.42, p = 0.02 and r = -0.45, p = 0.01, respectively) and decreased BMI (r = -0.54, p = 0.001).

Conclusion
As previously described with adiponectin, circulating omentin-1 concentrations increase after weight loss-induced improvement of insulin sensitivity.
Type-specific incidence, clearance and predictors of cervical human papillomavirus infections (HPV) among young women: a prospective study in Uganda
Authors: Banura Cecily , Sandin Sven , van Doorn Leen-Jan , Quint Wim , Kleter Bernhard , Wabwire-Mangen Fred , Mbidde Edward K , Weiderpass Elisabete 
Published: April 2010

Abstract

Background
While infections with human papillomavirus (HPV) are highly prevalent among sexually active young women in Uganda, information on incidence, clearance and their associated risk factors is sparse. To estimate the incidence, prevalence and determinants of HPV infections, we conducted a prospective follow-up study among 1,275 women aged 12-24 years at the time of recruitment. Women answered a questionnaire and underwent a pelvic examination at each visit to collect exfoliated cervical cells. The presence of 42 HPV types was evaluated in exfoliated cervical cells by a polymerase chain based (PCR) assay (SPF10-DEIA LiPA).

Results
Three hundred and eighty (380) of 1,275 (29.8%) women were followed up for a median time of 18.5 months (inter-quartile range 9.7-26.6). Sixty-nine (69) women had incident HPV infections during 226 person-years of follow-up reflecting an incidence rate of 30.5 per 100 person-years. Incident HPV infections were marginally associated with HIV positivity (RR = 2.8, 95% CI: 0.9 - 8.3). Clearance for HPV type-specific infections was frequent ranging between 42.3% and 100.0% for high- and 50% and 100% for low-risk types. Only 31.2% of women cleared all their infections. Clearance was associated with HIV negativity (Adjusted clearance = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1 - 0.7) but not with age at study entry, lifetime number of sexual partners and multiplicity of infections. The prevalence of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs) was 53/365 (14.5%). None of the women had a high-grade cervical lesion (HSIL) or cancer. Twenty-two (22) of 150 (14.7%) HPV negative women at baseline developed incident LSIL during follow-up. The risk for LSIL appeared to be elevated among women with HPV 18-related types compared to women not infected with those types (RR = 3.5, 95% CI: 1.0 - 11.8).

Conclusions
Incident HPV infections and type-specific HPV clearance were frequent among our study population of young women. These results underscore the need to vaccinate pre-adolescent girls before initiation of sexual activity.
Platelet-derived growth factor and transforming growth factor beta synergistically potentiate inflammatory mediator synthesis by fibroblast-like synoviocytes
Authors: Rosengren Sanna , Corr Maripat , Boyle David L 
Published: April 2010

AbstractIntroductionThe objective of this study was to model the effects of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), both present in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovia, on the behavior of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) in response to pro-inflammatory cytokine (interleukin (IL)1β, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα)) challenge.MethodsGene and protein expression by fibroblast-like synoviocytesin vitrowas studied by quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR), ELISA and multiplex bead cytokine assays. Intracellular signaling pathway activation was determined by Western blot for phospho-kinases and the use of specific inhibitors.ResultsIn combination, TGF-β and PDGF (2GF) synergistically augmented TNFα- or IL1β-induced matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3), IL6, IL8, and macrophage inflammatory protein 1 alpha (MIP1α) secretion by FLS. Other FLS-derived mediators remained unaffected. Individually, neither growth factor significantly potentiated TNFα or IL1β-induced MMP3 secretion, and only slightly enhanced IL6. The effect of 2GF on TNFα-induced gene expression was transcriptionally mediated; blocked by imatinib mesylate; and occurred even if 2GF was added as much as four hours prior to TNFα. In addition, a 15-minute pulse of 2GF four hours prior to TNFα stimulation yielded a synergistic response. The extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathways were induced for at least four hours by 2GF, as demonstrated by persistently upregulated levels of phospho-Akt and phospho-ERK. However, pharmacologic inhibitor studies demonstrated that the potentiating action of 2GF was dependent on PI3 kinase only, and not on ERK.ConclusionsThe combination of PDGF and TGF-β dramatically potentiates FLS response to cytokines in a receptor-mediated and PI3 kinase-dependent fashion. These data suggest that 2GF contribute to synovitis by directing synovial fibroblasts toward a more aggressive phenotype in response to TNFα. Therefore, inhibition of growth factor signaling may constitute a complementary therapeutic approach to cytokine-targeted treatments for RA.
Nicotine withdrawal and agitation in ventilated critically ill patients
Authors: Lucidarme Olivier , Seguin Amélie , Daubin Cédric , Ramakers Michel , Terzi Nicolas , Beck Patrice , Charbonneau Pierre , du Cheyron Damien 
Published: April 2010

Abstract
Introduction
Smoking is highly addictive, and nicotine abstinence is associated with withdrawal syndrome in hospitalized patients. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of sudden nicotine abstinence on the development of agitation and delirium, and on morbidities and outcomes in critically ill patients who required respiratory support, either noninvasive ventilation or intubation, and mechanical ventilation.

Methods
We conducted a prospective, observational study in two intensive care units (ICUs). The 144 consecutive patients admitted to ICUs and requiring mechanical ventilation for >48 hours were included. Smoking status was assessed at ICU admission by using the Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND). Agitation, with the Sedation-Agitation Scale (SAS), and delirium, with the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC), were tested twice daily during the ICU stay. Agitation and delirium were defined by SAS >4 and ICDSC >4, respectively. Nosocomial complications and outcomes were evaluated.

Results
Smokers (n = 44) were younger and more frequently male and were more likely to have a history of alcoholism and to have septic shock as the reason for ICU admission than were nonsmokers. The incidence of agitation, but not delirium, increased significantly in the smoker group (64% versus 32%; P = 0.0005). Nicotine abstinence was associated with higher incidences of self-removal of tubes and catheters, and with more interventions, including the need for supplemental sedatives, analgesics, neuroleptics, and physical restraints. Sedation-free days, ventilator-free days, length of stay, and mortality in ICUs did not differ between groups. Multivariate analysis identified active smoking (OR, 3.13; 95% CI, 1.45-6.74; P = 0.003) as an independent risk factor for agitation. Based on a subgroup of 56 patients, analysis of 28 pairs of patients (smokers and nonsmokers in a 1:1 ratio) matched for age, gender, and alcoholism status found similar results regarding the role of nicotine withdrawal in increasing the risk of agitation during an ICU stay.

Conclusions
Nicotine withdrawal was associated with agitation and higher morbidities in critically ill patients. These results suggest the need to look specifically at those patients with tobacco dependency by using the FTND in ICU settings. Identifying patients at risk of behavioral disorders may lead to earlier interventions in routine clinical practice.
Do stigma and other perceived barriers to mental health care differ across Armed Forces?
Authors: Gould Matthew , Adler Amy , Zamorski Mark , Castro Carl , Hanily Natalie , Steele Nicole , Kearney Steve , Greenberg Neil 
Published: April 2010

Summary Objectives Military organizations are keen to address barriers to mental health care yet stigma and barriers to care remain little understood, especially potential cultural differences between Armed Forces. The aim of this study was to compare data collected by the US, UK, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian militaries using Hoge et al.'s perceived stigma and barriers to care measure (Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental health problems and barriers to care. New Engl J Med 2004;351:13–22). Design Each member country identified data sources that had enquired about Hoge et al.'s perceived stigma and perceived barriers to care items in the re-deployment or immediate post-deployment period. Five relevant statements were included in the study. Setting US, UK Australian, New Zealand and Canadian Armed Forces. Results Concerns about stigma and barriers to care tended to be more prominent among personnel who met criteria for a mental health problem. The pattern of reported stigma and barriers to care was similar across the Armed Forces of all five nations. Conclusions Barriers to care continue to be a major issue for service personnel within Western military forces. Although there are policy, procedural and cultural differences between Armed Forces, the nations studied appear to share some similarities in terms of perceived stigma and barriers to psychological care. Further research to understand patterns of reporting and subgroup differences is required.
Circulating Immunoreactive Cardiac Troponin Forms Determined by Gel Filtration Chromatography after Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Bates Katharine J , Hall Elizabeth M , Fahie-Wilson Michael N , Kindler Heiko , Bailey Clare , Lythall David , Lamb Edmund J 
Published: April 2010

AbstractBackground: Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and cTnT measurements are used in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Together with troponin C (TnC), the cTnI and cTnT forms make up the ternary cTnT-cTnI-TnC (TIC) complex found within myocardium. Whether cTn occurs in the circulation after AMI as ternary TIC, binary cTnI-TnC (IC) complexes, or free troponin forms has not been thoroughly investigated.Methods: Blood samples from 10 AMI patients were collected at hospital admission and then at 12, 24, and 48 h after onset of chest pain. Serum was subjected to gel filtration chromatography and cTnT (Roche cTnT) and cTnI (Siemens Centaur UltraTnI and Beckman Access AccuTnI) concentrations were measured in the gel filtration chromatography fractions.Results: cTnT was present predominantly as free cTnT and cTnI as binary IC complex. These 2 forms were present at every time point. Lesser quantities of TIC complex (6%–32% of total cTnT and &lt;50% of total cTnI) were detected in 4 patients at varying times. Minor quantities of a high molecular mass form of cTnI were detected occasionally. No free cTnI was found. Both cTnI assays identified a similar pattern of cTnI forms.Conclusions: After AMI, cTnI is present in serum as TIC and IC complexes. cTnT may be present as a combination of TIC and free cTnT or exclusively as free cTnT.
Robust MicroRNA Stability in Degraded RNA Preparations from Human Tissue and Cell Samples
Authors: Jung Monika , Schaefer Annika , Steiner Isabel , Kempkensteffen Carsten , Stephan Carsten , Erbersdobler Andreas , Jung Klaus 
Published: April 2010

AbstractBackground: RNA integrity is the essential factor that determines the accuracy of mRNA transcript measurements obtained with quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR), but evidence is clearly lacking on whether this conclusion also applies to microRNAs (miRNAs). We evaluated this issue by comparative analysis of the dependence of miRNA and mRNA measurements on RNA integrity in renal and prostate samples, under both model and clinical conditions.Methods: Samples of total RNA isolated from human renal tissue and Caki-2 cells, as well as from prostate tissue and LNCaP cells, were incubated at 80 °C for 5–240 min. We subsequently determined the RNA integrity number (RIN) and used RT-qPCR to measure various miRNAs (miR-141, miR-155, miR-200c, and miR-210 in renal samples, and miR-96, miR-130b, miR-149, miR-205, and miR-222 in prostate samples). We similarly measured mRNAs encoded by CDH16 (cadherin 16, KSP-cadherin), PPIA [peptidylprolyl isomerase A (cycophilin A)], and TBP (TATA box binding protein) in renal samples, and HIF1A [hypoxia-inducible factor 1, alpha subunit (basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor)], HPRT1 (hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase 1), and KLK3 (kallikrein-related peptidase 3; also known as PSA) in prostate samples. Additionally, we quantified selected miRNAs and mRNAs in samples of RNAs with different RIN values that we isolated from clinical samples. The effect of RIN on the miRNA and mRNA data was assessed by linear regression analysis and group comparison.Results: The heat-incubation experiments of cell line and tissue RNAs showed that RIN values had negligible or no effect on miRNA results, whereas all mRNAs gradually decreased with decreasing RIN values. These findings were corroborated by our findings with clinical samples.Conclusions: Our results suggest the stability of miRNAs to be generally robust, which makes feasible accurate miRNA measurements with RT-qPCR, even in degraded RNA preparations for which reliable mRNA analyses are commonly inapplicable.
Nested Inversions: Genre and the Bipartite Form of Herman Melville's Pierre
Authors: Crimmins Jonathan 
Published: April 2010

Jonathan Crimmins, "Nested Inversions: Genre and the Bipartite Form of Herman Melville's Pierre" (pp. 437–464)
In this essay I suggest that Herman Melville constructed Pierre (1852) as a diptych, an early example of the form that he later employed in his stories for Harper's and Putnam's magazines. He characterized Pierre's two halves by their settings, countryside and city, and used the locales allegorically to represent the ideological value systems associated with the mode of production of each. Further, I argue that Melville constrained the scope of the mixed form, more freely practiced in Mardi (1849) and Moby-Dick (1851), by carefully aligning the generic elements of Pierre with its bipartite structure: the sentimental and the Gothic with the first half of the novel, the urban and romantic with the second half. subordinating the generic elements to the structure, Melville built a novel in which each half operates according to different laws, each as its own separate stage, enacting the drama of its treasured beliefs and the inescapable hypocrisies of those beliefs. Each half of Pierre presents the justice of its values as natural and the logic of its values as complete. And yet, set side-by-side as a diptych so as to suggest equal measure, the competing claims to totality collapse; while each ideological stage acts as if its value systems are unified and whole, side-by-side they are seen as inverted schematics, as two halves of a single crisis. Melville shows the contradictory dependence of capitalism's ideology of historical contingency and feudalism's faith in an idealist grounding of the historical, offering up the insolubility of the crisis as the empty indicator of a real solution.
Inherited Emotions: George Eliot and the Politics of Heirlooms
Authors: Osborne Katherine Dunagan 
Published: April 2010

Katherine Dunagan Osborne, "Inherited Emotions: George Eliot and the Politics of Heirlooms" (pp. 465–493)
This essay removes George Eliot's heroines from heterosexual dyads to focus on the roles that things play in women's autonomous moral and sexual development. Because Eliot's female protagonists can adapt heirlooms for their own private and emotional purposes, they can replace traditional inheritance based on bloodlines with a non-familial, emotional inheritance, thus illustrating the subtlety of Eliot's family and gender politics. This reading of Eliot contextualizes specific heirlooms in Middlemarch (1871–72) and Daniel Deronda (1876)—including miniature portraits, emeralds, turquoises, and diamonds—to reveal the surprising politics embedded in Eliot's heirlooms that her nineteenth-century readers would certainly have recognized.
Glucocorticoid replacement therapy and vertebral fractures in hypopituitary adult males with GH deficiency
Authors: Mazziotti G , Porcelli T , Bianchi A , Cimino V , Patelli I , Mejia C , Fusco A , Giampietro A , De Marinis L , Giustina A 
Published: April 2010

ObjectiveGH deficiency (GHD) and glucocorticoid excess are associated with increased risk of fragility fractures. We aimed to evaluate whether the prevalence of vertebral fractures may be influenced by glucocorticoid over-replacement in hypopituitary males with GHD.DesignCross-sectional study.MethodsFifty-one adult hypopituitary patients (all males; mean age 55 years, range: 23–81) with severe adult-onset GHD (replaced in 21 patients and untreated in 30 patients) and glucocorticoid deficiency on replacement treatment were studied for vertebral fractures using a radiological and morphometric approach.ResultsVertebral fractures were observed in 31 patients (60.8%) in correlation with untreated GHD, urinary cortisol values, and cortisone doses. Patients were stratified according to treatment of GHD, and current and cumulative cortisone doses. In untreated GHD, vertebral fractures occurred more frequently in patients who had received higher (greater than median) cumulative and current doses of cortisone compared with patients who had received lower (less than median) drug doses (95.2 vs 50.0%, P=0.009 and 90.5 vs 55.6%, P=0.04 respectively). In untreated GHD, fractured patients had significantly higher urinary cortisol values compared with patients without vertebral fractures (84 μg/24 h, range: 24–135 vs 49 μg/24 h, range: 30–96; P=0.04). In treated GHD patients, by contrast, the prevalence of vertebral fractures was not influenced by cumulative and current cortisone doses and urinary cortisol values.ConclusionsGlucocorticoid over-replacement may increase the prevalence of vertebral fractures in patients with untreated GHD. However, treatment of GHD seems to protect the skeleton from the deleterious effects of glucocorticoid overtreatment in hypopituitary patients.
The Contribution of Work and Non‐work Factors to the Onset of Psychological Distress: An Eight‐year Prospective Study of a Representative Sample of Employees in Canada
Authors: Marchand Alain , Blanc Marie‐Eve 
Published: April 2010

The Contribution of Work and Non‐work Factors to the Onset of Psychological Distress: An Eight‐year Prospective Study of a Representative Sample of Employees in Canada: Alain Marchand, et al. School of Industrial Relations, University of Montreal, CanadaObjectivesThis study examined how occupation and work organization conditions contributed, over 8 yr, to the onset of psychological distress after adjusting for non‐work and individual characteristics.MethodsThe data came from the five cycles (Cycle 1=1994–1995, Cycle 5=2002–2003) of Statistics Canada's National Population Health Survey. A sample of 5,270 workers nested in 1,122 neighborhoods and aged 15 to 55 yr with no psychological distress at baseline was analyzed with discrete time survival multilevel regression models.ResultsThe onset of psychological distress decreased over time. Occupation was not significant, whereas social support at work decreased the risk. Substantial effects for non‐work and individual factors were found, including neighborhood, social support outside the workplace, demographics, physical health, personality traits, and life habits.ConclusionsThis study found that work characteristics made a limited contribution to the onset of psychological distress, but social support in the workplace clearly proved to be an important protective factor. Enterprises must pay special attention to how colleagues and supervisors act to help workers complete tasks.
Single Crystal Boron-Doped Diamond Synthesis
Authors: Grotjohn Timothy , Nicley Shannon , Tran Dzung , Reinhard Donnie K. , Becker Michael , Asmussen Jes 
Published: April 2010

AbstractThe electrical characteristics of high quality single crystal boron-doped diamond are studied. Samples are synthesized in a high power-density microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor at pressures of 130-160 Torr. The boron-doped diamond films are grown using diborane in the feedgas at concentrations of 1 to 50 ppm. The boron acceptor concentration is investigated using infrared absorption and a four point probe is used to study the conductivity. The temperature dependent conductivity is analyzed to determine the boron dopant activation energy.
Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Growth using Al2Ox Buffer Layer at Low Temperature by Alcohol Gas Source Method
Authors: Sato Kuninori , Maruyama Takahiro , Naritsuka Shigeya 
Published: April 2010

AbstractAluminum oxide (Al2Ox) buffer layers were employed to grow single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) at 400°C using an alcohol gas source and a Co catalyst. By optimizing the thickness of the aluminum oxide layer, the SWNT yield was enhanced by a factor of several times. In addition, SWNT growth at 350°C was realized on the Al2Ox buffer layer by this method. Raman measurements at various excitation wavelengths suggest that a Al2Ox buffer layer preferentially enhances the growth of SWNTs with larger diameters (>1 nm).
Red-Green-Blue MOSLED Made by PECVD Grown SiOx with Detuning RF Plasma Power
Authors: Cheng Chih-Hsien , Lai Bo-Han , Lin Gong-Ru 
Published: April 2010

AbstractSi quantum dot (Si-QD) based multi-color metal oxide semiconductor lighting emission diodes (MOSLEDs) made on Si-rich SiOx grown by detuning RF plasma power in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system are demonstrated. With the RF plasma powers increasing from 50 to 70 W at 10 W increment, the turn-on voltage and maximum electroluminescence (EL) power red-, green- and blue-color MOSLEDs increase from 70, 90 and 99 V and 7, 26 and 55 nW, respectively. The power-current slope of 0.51, 3.24 and 53.82 mW/A are obtained for these MOSLEDs with corresponding power conversion ratio (PCR) of 5.13×10-6, 2.52×10-5 and 2.47×10-4. Both the turn-on voltage and power slope linearly increase with enhancing thickness of the Si-QD based MOSLED.