bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Neue Entwicklungen in der Psoriasisgenetik
Authors: Hüffmeier U. , Reis A. 
Published: November 2009

Zusammenfassung
Psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) ist eine chronische, entzündliche Hauterkrankung mit einer multifaktoriellen Vererbung. Nachdem der stärkste genetische Risikofaktor, das HLA-Cw0602-Allel (bzw. ein Allel in starkem Kopplungsungleichgewicht), insbesondere für die frühere Manifestationsform (<40. Lebensjahr), schon seit langem bekannt ist, konnten innerhalb der letzten beiden Jahre durch genomweite Assoziationsstudien sowie Untersuchungen von Kopienzahlveränderungen zahlreiche weitere Suszeptibilitätsfaktoren identifiziert werden. Zu den am besten replizierten Befunden zählen Varianten in 3 Genen des Interleukin-23-Rezeptor-Signalwegs. Außerdem konnten mehrere Gene des NFκB-Signalwegs (nukleärer Faktor κB) sowie ein Gen, dessen Produkt immunmodulatorisch in der TH2-Zell-vermittelten (TH-Zelle: T-Helfer-Zelle) Antwort wirkt, identifiziert werden. Neben dieser Bestätigung von PsV als einer immunologisch bedingten Erkrankung weisen mit PsV assoziierte Kopienzahlveränderungen auf eine zusätzliche zugrunde liegende Barrierestörung hin. Dies sind zum einen eine reduzierte Kopienzahl zweier epidermal exprimierter Gene des Clusters der Late-cornified-Envelope-Gene auf Chromosom 1q und zum anderen eine erhöhte Kopienzahl eines β-Defensin-Clusters auf Chromosom 8p.
CONSANGUINITY IN QATAR: KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE IN A POPULATION BORN BETWEEN 1946 AND 1991
Authors: SANDRIDGE A. L. , TAKEDDIN J. , AL-KAABI E. , FRANCES Y. 
Published: November 2009

SummaryFrom March 2007 to March 2008 a cross-sectional study was conducted in Qatar to estimate the prevalence of consanguinity among Qataris and to assess their knowledge of the risks and their attitudes towards the practice. A secondary objective was to test the acceptability of sixteen Likert-style questions within the Qatari population. Face-to-face interviews using a 70-item structured questionnaire were conducted by three native Arabic-speaking medical students with 362 Qatari employees. Where consanguinity existed between the employee's parents, a diagram of the consanguinal relationship (phylogram) was completed. The response rate was 93%. By phylogram, 22% of participants reported a cousin relationship between their parents (consanguinal relationship) and another 15% reported that their parents were from the same tribe (affinal relationship). With respect to their own marital decision, 68% of the respondents had been married at least once. By phylogram, 35% of these reported a consanguineous relationship (first marriage), 9% reported only an affinal relationship and 56% reported that they were not married to a blood relative. Results on the sixteen Likert-style attitude questions were stratified by consanguinity status of parents and of self. In the stratification by consanguinity status of parents the top five attitudes differed by group but there appeared to be more similarity between the consanguinal and only tribal groups. Attitudinal results were stratified by sex. Results showed that the males had a stronger belief in several of the attitudes than females with the exception of causation of genetic abnormalities and health problems. The phylogram was shown to collect more detailed and explicit data than hard-coding. With respect to knowledge, the results showed that knowledge was imperfect with high proportions of participants not knowing that consanguinity has been implicated in autosomal recessive diseases such as thalassaemia, inborn errors of metabolism, deafness, anomalies of the extremities and specific congenital heart defects. Additionally, a sizeable proportion of the participants did not know that a more distant cousin marriage (e.g. third cousin) theoretically could be a less genetically risky choice to potential offspring than a closer cousin marriage (half-first cousin). These results indicate that more effort needs to be made in developing public health strategies to improve the population's understanding of the cost-benefit analysis involved in contracting consanguineous marriages given the goal of healthy offspring.
BARRIERS TO PREVENTION OF MOTHER-TO-CHILD TRANSMISSION OF HIV SERVICES IN UGANDA
Authors: MBONYE A. K. , HANSEN K. S. , WAMONO F. , MAGNUSSEN P. 
Published: November 2009

SummaryUnderstanding care-seeking practices and barriers to prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV is necessary in designing effective programmes to address the high disease burden due to HIV/AIDS in Uganda. This study explored perceptions, care-seeking practices and barriers to PMTCT among young and HIV-positive women. A household survey (10,706 women aged 14–49 years), twelve focus group discussions and 66 key informant interviews were carried out between January and April 2009 in Wakiso district, central Uganda. Results show that access to PMTCT services (family planning, HIV counselling and testing and delivery at health units) was poor. Decision making was an important factor in accessing PMTCT services. Socioeconomic factors (wealth quintile, age, education level) and institutional practices also influenced access to PMTCT. Overall, having had an HIV test was highest when both men and women made decisions together or when women were empowered to make their own decisions. This was significant across wealth quintiles (p=0.0001), age groups (p=0.0001) and education levels (p=0.0001). The least level of HIV testing was when men made decisions for their spouses; and this was the case with family planning and deliveries at health units. Other barriers to PMTCT were fear of women and male spouses to have an HIV test and the perception that HIV testing is compulsory in antenatal clinics. In conclusion, to increase access to PMTCT among women, especially the young, poor and least educated, there is a need to empower them to make decisions on health seeking, and also to empower men to support their spouses to make good decisions. Other barriers like fear of having an HIV test should be addressed through appropriate counselling of clients.
Localization of white-matter lesions and effect of vascular risk factors in late-onset major depression
Authors: Dalby R. B. , Chakravarty M. M. , Ahdidan J. , Sørensen L. , Frandsen J. , Jonsdottir K. Y. , Tehrani E. , Rosenberg R. , Østergaard L. , Videbech P. 
Published: November 2009

BackgroundSeveral studies suggest that patients with late-onset major depression (MD) have an increased load of cerebral white-matter lesions (WMLs) compared with age-matched controls. Vascular risk factors such as hypertension and smoking may confound such findings. Our aim was to investigate the association between the localization and load of WMLs in late-onset MD with respect to vascular risk factors.MethodWe examined 22 consecutive patients with late-onset first-episode MD and 22 age- and gender-matched controls using whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The localization, number and volume of WMLs were compared between patients and controls, while testing the effect of vascular risk factors.ResultsAmong subjects with one or more WMLs, patients displayed a significantly higher WML density in two white-matter tracts: the left superior longitudinal fasciculus and the right frontal projections of the corpus callosum. These tracts are part of circuitries essential for cognitive and emotional functions. Analyses revealed no significant difference in the total number and volume of WMLs between groups. Patients and controls showed no difference in vascular risk factors, except for smoking. Lesion load was highly correlated with smoking.ConclusionsOur results indicate that lesion localization rather than lesion load differs between patients with late-onset MD and controls. Increased lesion density in regions associated with cognitive and emotional functions may be crucial in late-onset MD, and vascular risk factors such as smoking may play an important role in the pathophysiology of late-onset MD, consistent with the vascular depression hypothesis.
Increased fusiform area activation in schizophrenia during processing of spatial frequency-degraded faces, as revealed by fMRI
Authors: Silverstein S. M. , All S. D. , Kasi R. , Berten S. , Essex B. , Lathrop K. L. , Little D. M. 
Published: November 2009

BackgroundPeople with schizophrenia demonstrate perceptual organization impairments, and these are thought to contribute to their face processing difficulties.MethodWe examined the neural substrates of emotionally neutral face processing in schizophrenia by investigating neural activity under three stimulus conditions: faces characterized by the full spectrum of spatial frequencies, faces with low spatial frequency information removed [high spatial frequency (HSF) condition], and faces with high spatial frequency information removed [low spatial frequency (LSF) condition]. Face perception in the HSF condition is more reliant on local feature processing whereas perception in the LSF condition requires greater reliance on global form processing. Past studies of perceptual organization in schizophrenia indicate that patients perform relatively more poorly with degraded stimuli but also that, when global information is absent, patients may perform better than controls because of their relatively increased ability to initially process individual features. Therefore, we hypothesized that people with schizophrenia (n=14) would demonstrate greater face processing difficulties than controls (n=13) in the LSF condition, whereas they would demonstrate a smaller difference or superior performance in the HSF condition.ResultsIn a gender-discrimination task, behavioral data indicated high levels of accuracy for both groups, with a trend toward an interaction involving higher patient performance in the HSF condition and poorer patient performance in the LSF condition. Patients demonstrated greater activity in the fusiform gyrus compared to controls in both degraded conditions.ConclusionsThese data suggest that impairments in basic integration abilities may be compensated for by relatively increased activity in this region.
A HISTORICAL ATLAS OF OBJECTIVITY
Authors: KIM MI GYUNG 
Published: November 2009

The mythical scientist in early twentieth-century America cut a lone figure, “impersonal as the chill northeast wind” and “oblivious of everything save his experiment.” He toiled through the night in his laboratory, “a place unimpressive and unmagical save for the constant-temperature bath with its tricky thermometer and electric bulbs,” as if working in the lab were a prayer that promised illumination—“alone, absorbed, [and] contemptuous of academic success and of popular classes,” he knew all about material forces, but he was blind to the vital force that created all others. Accustomed to the “beautiful dullness of long labors,” he remained “illimitably ignorant” of literature, art, and music. He believed that unerring techniques in experimentation, impartial observations, and exquisitely minute calculations would bring progress—a steady march toward the truth. He chose the highest calling in the world because he was “intensely religious—so religious that he will not accept quarter-truths, because they are an insult to his faith.” He was “so devoted to Pure Science . . . that he would rather have people die by the right therapy than be cured by the wrong. Having built a shrine for humanity, he wanted to kick out of it all mere human beings.” This autocratic figure, brilliantly insane and tyrannically honest, embodied the cult of science and objectivity.
Nanotoxicity Assessment toward the Applications of Carbon Nanotubes as a Small Biomolecule Carrier in Drug Delivery Systems
Authors: Sharma Rakesh , Kwon Soonjo , Baktur R , Sharma Avdhesh 
Published: November 2009

AbstractCarbon Nanotube (CNT) materials have superior properties in electric current carrying capacity, thermal conductivity, and thermal stability. Due to their structure with high aspect ratio, they have structural unusual toxicity and complicate safety issue in a target tissue. In optimized quantities with limited functionality, special type of CNT assembly such as “buckyball” can be used as a potential drug carrier of bioactive molecules and display with increased circulating time and acceptable functionality. We analyzed cytoxicity and inflammatory response following exposure of different size, mass, shape, and functionality of CNTs. We monitored the transport across skin, physiological perturbation of transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) during the exposure of different concentrations of CNTs. The mechanisms of CNTs’ toxicity are closely related to their structure, functional group, and surface charge on the molecule. We established the nanoscale toxicity of fullerenes of CNTs.
Newer Methods of Nanoparticle Synthesis: Nitroimidazole properties with Nanometal oxides in Polymer Cages as Drug-Biomarker Monitors
Authors: Sharma Rakesh 
Published: November 2009

AbstractNitroimidazoles are radiosensitizers and hypoxia detecting chemosensitizers. Intially nitroimidazoles were single dose antibiotic drugs. Recently, nitroimidazole derivatives have emerged as multifunctional “drug-biomarker monitors” chemical compounds with importance in treatment of tumors, monitoring hypoxia and safer imaging contrast agents to monitor the therapeutic progress. Additionally, the number of nitroimidazole derivatives is growing and identified their importance as multifunctional nanoparticles. The nanoparticle synthesis scheme of nitroimidazole was proposed as nitroimidazole caged with paramagnetic metal oxide inside polymer coating and labeled with marker radiolebels or biomolecules. We report the step by step user-friendly new co-precipitation schemes of nitroimidazole carrier nanoparticles with their mechanisms of drug controlled release behavior across polymer cage, metal oxide sensitivity to imaging modalities and polymer coating chemistry developed at our lab. The multifunctional nitroimidazole nanoparticles were useful in detection and monitoring of hypoxia, cancer chemotherapy and soft tissue infections. In conclusion, nitroimidazoles are potential multifunctional molecules useful in chemotherapy, antiparasitic and monitoring hypoxia with greater possibility of simultaneous use of radiolabeled 2’nitroimidazoles as radiosensitizers, MRI-PET-US contrast imaging agents.
In Vitro Bactericidal Activities of Extracts From Ripe and Unripe Fruit of 'Noni'
Authors: Swaminathan Rajarajan , Sabari Shanthi , John Nisha K 
Published: November 2009

AbstractIn an era of nutraceuticular research, ‘Noni’ fruit is considered as a panacea because of the profound claim on its medicinal uses in treating many diseases inclusive of infections of microbial origin. Hence, the present study was done to know the antibacterial activity of aqueous extracts from ripe and unripe fruits of ‘Noni’ Morinda citrifolia L on gastroenteritic and pyogenic bacteria. The study was done for eight gastroenteritic bacteria and six pyogenic bacteria. The estimation of antibacterial activity of the ripe fruit & unripe fruit extract were carried out by serial two fold tube dilution techniques. Minimum Bactericidal Concentration of the ripe as well as unripe fruit extracts for the susceptible bacteria were estimated by Recovery plate method. Both the Unripe and ripe fruit extracts exhibited nearly equal and effective activity. As the unripe fruit is devoid of unpleasant odour, the unripe fruit is preferable over the ripe fruit extract
Modulation of tumorigenesis and oestrogen receptor‐α expression by cell culture conditions in a stem cell‐derived breast epithelial cell line
Authors: Wang Kai‐Hung , Kao An‐Pei , Chang Chia‐Cheng , Lee Jau‐Nan , Chai Chee‐Yin , Hou Ming‐Feng , Liu Cheng‐Min , Tsai Eing‐Mei 
Published: November 2009

Background information. The common phenotypes of cancer and stem cells suggest that cancers arise from stem cells. Oestrogen is one of the few most important determinants of breast cancer, as shown by several lines of convincing evidence. We have previously reported a human breast epithelial cell type (Type 1 HBEC) with stem cell characteristics and ERα (oestrogen receptor α) expression. A tumorigenic cell line, M13SV1R2, was developed from this cell type after SV40 (simian virus 40) large T‐antigen transfection and X‐ray irradiation. The cell line, however, was not responsive to oestrogen for cell growth or tumour development. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that deprivation of growth factors and hormones may change the tumorigenicity and oestrogen response of this cell line.Results. The M13SV1R2 cells lost their tumorigenicity after culturing in a growth factor/hormone‐deprived medium for >10 passages (referred to as R2d cells) concomitant with the expression of two tumour suppressor genes, namely those coding for maspin and α6 integrin. However, these cells acquired oestrogen responsiveness in cell growth and tumour development. By immunocytochemistry, Western blotting and flow cytometry analysis, oestrogen treatment of R2d cells was found to induce many important effects related to breast carcinogenesis, namely: (i) the emergence of a subpopulation of cells expressing CD44+/high/CD24−/low breast tumour stem cell markers; (ii) the induction of EMT (epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition); (iii) the acquisition of metastatic ability; and (iv) the expression of COX‐2 (cyclo‐oxygenase‐2) through a CD44‐mediated mechanism.Conclusion. An oestrogen‐responsive cell line with ERα and CD44+/CD24−/low expression can be derived from breast epithelial stem cells. The tumorigenicity and oestrogen response of these cells could depend on the cell culture conditions. The findings of this study have implications in regard to the origins of (1) ERα‐positive breast cancers, (2) CD44+/CD24−/low breast tumour stem cells and (3) the metastatic ability of breast cancer.
Relative Susceptibility of Selected Apple Cultivars to Cedar Apple Rust and Quince Rust
Authors: Biggs Alan R. , Rosenberger David A. , Yoder Keith S. , Kiyomoto Richard K. , Cooley Daniel R. , Sutton Turner B. 
Published: November 2009

Incidences of cedar apple rust and quince rust, caused by Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae and G. clavipes, were collected over several years from 1995 (23 entries) and 1999 (22 entries) planting groups of new apple cultivars and selections established at multiple locations. Cultivar Golden Delicious was the standard. Incidence of cedar apple rust on leaves and fruit and quince rust on fruit were analyzed. Only two analyses had significant cultivar × location interactions, suggesting differences within the cedar apple rust fungus. Cedar apple rust on fruit did not vary by location. Incidence of quince rust on fruit varied among cultivars by location. Incidences of cedar apple rust and quince rust on fruit were not related. Accepted for publication 16 August 2009. Published 14 October 2009.
Urine tested positive for ethyl glucuronide after trace amounts of ethanol
Authors: Thierauf Annette , Halter Claudia C. , Rana Sumandeep , Auwaerter Volker , Wohlfarth Ariane , Wurst Friedrich M. , Weinmann Wolfgang 
Published: November 2009

ABSTRACTAim  Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is used commonly as a marker for the detection of non‐compliance of patients in alcohol withdrawal therapy in psychiatric hospitals in Europe and in work‐place monitoring programmes in the United States. With the increased use of this new marker, questions related to an unintentional uptake of ethanol resulting in detectable EtG concentrations have been discussed.The aim of this study was to determine the concentration ranges of EtG and ethyl sulphate (EtS) after the consumption of very small amounts of ethanol (1 and 3 g), which are more likely to be incidental than intended.Methods  Drinking experiments with ethanol amounts of 1 and 3 g, respectively, were performed on a total of 31 volunteers. EtG and EtS analysis in urine was performed by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐ESI‐MS/MS), and creatinine concentration was determined using the Jaffé reaction. Furthermore, data obtained from this experimentation were then compared to data from literature.Results and conclusions  The maximum concentration of EtG normalized to creatinine after the uptake of 1 g and 3 g of ethanol was found to be 0.32 mg/l and 1.53 mg/l, respectively, and 0.15 mg/l and 1.17 mg/l for EtS; these peak concentrations are considered to be positive by many laboratories testing urine for ethanol conjugates in work‐place testing progammes.
Randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness and safety of intranasal and intramuscular naloxone for the treatment of suspected heroin overdose
Authors: Kerr Debra , Kelly Anne‐Maree , Dietze Paul , Jolley Damien , Barger Bill 
Published: November 2009

ABSTRACTAims  Traditionally, the opiate antagonist naloxone has been administered parenterally; however, intranasal (i.n.) administration has the potential to reduce the risk of needlestick injury. This is important when working with populations known to have a high prevalence of blood‐borne viruses. Preliminary research suggests that i.n. administration might be effective, but suboptimal naloxone solutions were used. This study compared the effectiveness of concentrated (2 mg/ml) i.n. naloxone to intramuscular (i.m.) naloxone for suspected opiate overdose.Methods  This randomized controlled trial included patients treated for suspected opiate overdose in the pre‐hospital setting. Patients received 2 mg of either i.n. or i.m. naloxone. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who responded within 10 minutes of naloxone treatment. Secondary outcomes included time to adequate response and requirement for supplementary naloxone. Data were analysed using multivariate statistical techniques.Results  A total of 172 patients were enrolled into the study. Median age was 29 years and 74% were male. Rates of response within 10 minutes were similar: i.n. naloxone (60/83, 72.3%) compared with i.m. naloxone (69/89, 77.5%) [difference: −5.2%, 95% confidence interval (CI) −18.2 to 7.7]. No difference was observed in mean response time (i.n.: 8.0, i.m.: 7.9 minutes; difference 0.1, 95% CI −1.3 to 1.5). Supplementary naloxone was administered to fewer patients who received i.m. naloxone (i.n.: 18.1%; i.m.: 4.5%) (difference: 13.6%, 95% CI 4.2–22.9).Conclusions  Concentrated intranasal naloxone reversed heroin overdose successfully in 82% of patients. Time to adequate response was the same for both routes, suggesting that the i.n. route of administration is of similar effectiveness to the i.m. route as a first‐line treatment for heroin overdose.