bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Plasma orexin‐A levels in postmenopausal women: possible interaction with estrogen and correlation with cardiovascular risk status
Authors: El‐Sedeek MShEA , Korish AA , Deef MM 
Published: January 2010

Please cite this paper as: El‐Sedeek M, Korish A, Deef M. Plasma orexin‐A levels in postmenopausal women: possible interaction with estrogen and correlation with cardiovascular risk status. BJOG 2010;117:488–492.Objective  To assess plasma orexin‐A levels in a group of postmenopausal women not receiving estrogen‐replacement therapy (ERT), and to compare the values with a group on ERT and a group of reproductive‐age women, and to correlate the findings with some cardiovascular risk factors.Design  Observational cohort study.Setting  Alexandria University Hospital.Population  Ninety women, in three groups: a control group of 30 healthy, reproductive‐age women, 30 healthy postmenopausal women not receiving ERT, and 30 healthy postmenopausal women on ERT for 6 months.Methods  Quantitative clinical assessment as well as laboratory investigations.Main outcome measures  Orexin‐A levels, serum estradiol, cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting glucose are the main laboratory outcome measures, whereas blood pressure and weight are the main clinical outcome measures.Results  Postmenopausal women not receiving ERT had the highest levels of plasma orexin A (705.61 ± 165.62 μg/dl). Postmenopausal women on ERT had orexin‐A levels that were comparable with the control group (233.90 ± 54.26 versus 243.81 ± 68.88 μg/dl). Plasma orexin‐A levels were directly correlated with blood glucose lipid profile, arterial blood pressure, and body mass index.Conclusions  Higher orexin‐A levels are associated with hypoestrogenism, and are partially reversed by ERT. A possible inhibitory effect of estrogen on orexin might partially account for its cardioprotective effect.
A clinical review of borderline glandular cells reported on liquid‐based cervical cytology
Authors: Patel A , Thampy N , Hemming D , Naik R 
Published: January 2010

Please cite this paper as: Patel A, Thampy N, Hemming D, Naik R. A clinical review of borderline glandular cells reported on liquid‐based cervical cytology. BJOG 2010;117:1051–1059.Objective  To review the clinical outcome of women presenting with borderline glandular cells on liquid‐based cervical cytology (LBC).Design  Retrospective review.Population and setting  Women seen at a colposcopy clinic over a 26‐month period referred with borderline glandular cells on LBC.Methods  Review of the case notes and cytology, pathology and colposcopy databases of all women referred with borderline glandular cells on LBC between June 2006 and August 2008.Main outcome measures  Final histological diagnosis.Results  Sixty‐nine women were identified (0.19% of all smears). Twenty‐seven women (39.1%) had premalignant or malignant lesions, five (7.2%) had cancers and 22 (31.9%) had intraepithelial neoplasia, 19 (27.5%) of which were cervical squamous intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and three (4.3%) of which were cervical glandular intraepithelial neoplasia (CGIN). No women under 35 years of age with normal and satisfactory colposcopy had premalignant or malignant lesions. Despite normal and satisfactory colposcopy, three women over 35 years had significant lesions: one high‐grade CIN, one CGIN and one squamous cell carcinoma.Conclusions  On the basis of our results, it would be considered acceptable to manage women under 35 years of age with normal and satisfactory colposcopy conservatively. In women above 35 years of age, we would recommend a diagnostic ‘large loop excision of the transformation zone’ procedure, irrespective of the colposcopic findings.
Influence of fluorophore and linker composition on the pharmacology of fluorescent adenosine A1 receptor ligands
Authors: Baker Jillian G , Middleton Richard , Adams Luke , May Lauren T , Briddon Stephen J , Kellam Barrie , Hill Stephen J 
Published: January 2010

Background and purpose:  The introduction of fluorescence‐based techniques, and in particular the development of fluorescent ligands, has allowed the study of G protein‐coupled receptor pharmacology at the single cell and single molecule level. This study evaluated how the physicochemical nature of the linker and the fluorophore affected the pharmacological properties of fluorescent agonists and antagonists.Experimental approach:  Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing the human adenosine A1 receptor and a cyclic 3′,5′ adenosine monophosphate response element‐secreted placental alkaline phosphatase (CRE‐SPAP) reporter gene, together with whole cell [3H]‐8‐cyclopentyl‐1,3‐dipropylxanthine (DPCPX) radioligand binding, were used to evaluate the pharmacological properties of a range of fluorescent ligands based on the antagonist xanthine amine congener (XAC) and the agonist 5′ (N‐ethylcarboxamido) adenosine (NECA).Key results:  Derivatives of NECA and XAC with different fluorophores, but equivalent linker length, showed significant differences in their binding properties to the adenosine A1 receptor. The BODIPY 630/650 derivatives had the highest affinity. Linker length also affected the pharmacological properties, depending on the fluorophore used. Particularly in fluorescent agonists, higher agonist potency could be achieved with large or small linkers for dansyl and BODIPY 630/650 derivatives, respectively.Conclusions and implications:  The pharmacology of a fluorescent ligand was critically influenced by both the fluorophore and the associated linker. Furthermore, our data strongly suggest that the physicochemical properties of the fluorophore/linker pairing determine where in the environment of the target receptor the fluorophore is placed, and this, together with the environmental sensitivity of the resulting fluorescence, may finally decide its utility as a fluorescent probe.This article is part of a themed section on Imaging in Pharmacology. To view the editorial for this themed section visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1476‐5381.2010.00685.x
Ethanol Acutely Inhibits Ionotropic Glutamate Receptor‐Mediated Responses and Long‐Term Potentiation in the Developing CA1 Hippocampus
Authors: Puglia Michael P. , Valenzuela C. Fernando 
Published: January 2010

Background: Developmental ethanol (EtOH) exposure damages the hippocampus, causing long‐lasting alterations in learning and memory. Alterations in glutamatergic synaptic transmission and plasticity may play a role in the mechanism of action of EtOH. This signaling is fundamental for synaptogenesis, which occurs during the third trimester of human pregnancy (first 12 days of life in rats).Methods: Acute coronal brain slices were prepared from 7‐ to 9‐day‐old rats. Extracellular and patch‐clamp electrophysiological recording techniques were used to characterize the acute effects of EtOH on α‐amino‐3‐hydroxyl‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazole‐propionate receptor (AMPAR)‐ andN‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor (NMDAR)‐mediated responses and long‐term potentiation (LTP) in the CA1 hippocampal region.Results: Ethanol (40 and 80 mM) inhibited AMPAR‐ and NMDAR‐mediated field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs). EtOH (80 mM) also reduced AMPAR‐mediated fEPSPs in the presence of an inhibitor of Ca2+permeable AMPARs. The effect of 80 mM EtOH on NMDAR‐mediated fEPSPs was significantly greater in the presence of Mg2+. EtOH (80 mM) neither affected the paired‐pulse ratio of AMPAR‐mediated fEPSPs nor the presynaptic volley. The paired‐pulse ratio of AMPAR‐mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents was not affected either, and the amplitude of these currents was inhibited to a lesser extent than that of fEPSPs. EtOH (80 mM) inhibited LTP of AMPAR‐mediated fEPSPs.Conclusions: Acute EtOH exposure during the third‐trimester equivalent of human pregnancy inhibits hippocampal glutamatergic transmission and LTP induction, which could alter synapse refinement and ultimately contribute to the pathophysiology of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Chronic Mild Stress Differentially Alter Depressive‐ and Anxiety‐Like Behaviors in Male and Female Offspring
Authors: Hellemans Kim G. C. , Verma Pamela , Yoon Esther , Yu Wayne K. , Young Allan H. , Weinberg Joanne 
Published: January 2010

Background:  Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is associated with numerous neurobehavioral alterations, as well as disabilities in a number of domains, including a high incidence of depression and anxiety disorders. Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) also alters hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) function, resulting in increased responsiveness to stressors and HPA dysregulation in adulthood. Interestingly, data suggest that pre‐existing HPA abnormalities may be a major contributory factor to some forms of depression, particularly when an individual is exposed to stressors later in life. We tested the hypothesis that exposure to stressors in adulthood may unmask an increased vulnerability to depressive‐ and anxiety‐like behaviors in PAE animals.Methods:  Male and female offspring from prenatal alcohol (PAE), pair‐fed (PF), and ad libitum‐fed control (C) treatment groups were tested in adulthood. Animals were exposed to 10 consecutive days of chronic mild stress (CMS), and assessed in a battery of well‐validated tasks sensitive to differences in depressive‐ and/or anxiety‐like behaviors.Results:  We report here that the combination of PAE and CMS in adulthood increases depressive‐ and anxiety‐like behaviors in a sexually dimorphic manner. PAE males showed impaired hedonic responsivity (sucrose contrast test), locomotor hyperactivity (open field), and alterations in affiliative and nonaffiliative social behaviors (social interaction test) compared to control males. By contrast, PAE and, to a lesser extent, PF, females showed greater levels of “behavioral despair” in the forced swim test, and PAE females showed altered behavior in the final 5 minutes of the social interaction test compared to control females.Conclusions:  These data support the possibility that stress may be a mediating or contributing factor in the psychopathologies reported in FASD populations.
Social and Financial Resources and High‐Risk Alcohol Consumption Among Older Adults
Authors: Moos Rudolf H. , Brennan Penny L. , Schutte Kathleen K. , Moos Bernice S. 
Published: January 2010

Background:  This study examined long‐term mutual predictive associations between social and financial resources and high‐risk alcohol consumption in later life.Method:  A sample of 55‐ to 65‐year‐old older adults (n = 719) was surveyed at baseline and 10 years and 20 years later. At each contact point, participants completed an inventory that assessed social and financial resources and alcohol consumption.Results:  Over the 20‐year interval, there was evidence of both social causation and social selection processes in relation to high‐risk alcohol consumption. In support of a social causation perspective, higher levels of some social resources, such as participation in social activities, friends’ approval of drinking, quality of relationship with spouse, and financial resources, were associated with a subsequent increased likelihood of high‐risk alcohol consumption. Conversely, indicating the presence of social selection, high‐risk alcohol consumption was associated with subsequent higher levels of friends’ approval of drinking and quality of the spousal relationship, but lower quality of relationships with extended family members.Conclusions:  These findings reflect mutual influence processes in which older adults’ social resources and high‐risk alcohol consumption can alter each other. Older adults may benefit from information about how social factors can affect their drinking habits; accordingly, information about social causation effects could be used to guide effective prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing the risk that late‐life social factors may amplify their excessive alcohol consumption.
Improving Anticoagulation Control in Hospitalized Elderly Patients on Warfarin
Authors: Gouin‐Thibault Isabelle , Levy Camille , Pautas Eric , Cambus Jean‐Pierre , Drouet Ludovic , Mahé Isabelle , Bal dit Sollier Claire , Horellou Marie‐Hélène , Golmard Jean‐Louis , Siguret Virginie 
Published: January 2010

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of patient characteristics and of specific guidelines that were developed for managing warfarin therapy in older adults and included in an in‐house computer program on anticoagulation quality.DESIGN: Thirteen‐month observational study.SETTING: Acute care, extended care, and rehabilitation geriatric wards of a teaching hospital in Paris, France.PARTICIPANTS: Hospitalized patients (N=307, mean age 86.1 ± 6.1) treated with warfarin with a therapeutic international normalized ratio range of 2.0 to 3.0.INTERVENTION: Patients were assigned according to care unit to the computer‐generated dosing group (CGD) or the standard management group (SM; usual physician‐based care).MEASUREMENTS: Relationships between anticoagulation quality criteria and covariates (age, sex, warfarin indication, treatment phase, follow‐up duration, model of care).RESULTS: According to multivariate analysis, only model of care and follow‐up duration independently influenced anticoagulation control; the proportion of time within therapeutic INR range 2.0 to 3.0 was significantly greater in the CGD group than in the SM group (59% vs 48%, P=.004). When a wider INR range was analyzed (1.8–3.2), the proportion of time within range was 73% versus 64% (P=.006). Use of the computer was associated with fewer days with INRs greater than 3, a smaller percentage of INRs of 4 or greater, a longer time to the first INR of 4.0 or greater, and a smaller mean number of INRs per month than SM (all P<.01).CONCLUSION: Initiation regimen and long‐term rules that have specifically been developed and included in a computerized dosage program improve quality of anticoagulation in elderly inpatients, allowing them to benefit from a quality of care as high as that of younger ambulatory patients.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Volume of the Angular Gyri Predicts Financial Skill Deficits in People with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Griffith H. Randall , Stewart Christopher C. , Stoeckel Luke E. , Okonkwo Ozioma C. , den Hollander Jan A. , Martin Roy C. , Belue Katherine , Copeland Jacquelynn N. , Harrell Lindy E. , Brockington John C. , Clark David G. , Marson Daniel C. 
Published: January 2010

OBJECTIVES: To better understand how brain atrophy in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) volumetrics could affect instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) such as financial abilities.DESIGN: Controlled, matched‐sample, cross‐sectional analysis regressing MRI volumetrics with financial performance measures.SETTING: University medical and research center.PARTICIPANTS: Thirty‐eight people with MCI and 28 older adult controls.MEASUREMENTS: MRI volumetric measurement of the hippocampi, angular gyri, precunei, and medial frontal lobes. Participants also completed neuropsychological tests and the Financial Capacity Instrument (FCI).RESULTS: Correlations were performed between FCI scores and MRI volumes in the group with MCI. People with MCI performed significantly below controls on the FCI and had significantly smaller hippocampi. Among people with MCI, performance on the FCI was moderately correlated with angular gyri and precunei volumes. Regression models demonstrated that angular gyrus volumes were predictive of FCI scores. Tests of mediation showed that measures of arithmetic and possibly attention partially mediated the relationship between angular gyrus volume and FCI score.CONCLUSION: Impaired financial abilities in amnestic MCI correspond with volume of the angular gyri as mediated by arithmetic knowledge. The findings suggest that early neuropathology within the lateral parietal region in MCI leads to a breakdown of cognitive abilities that affect everyday financial skills. The findings have implications for diagnosis and clinical care of people with MCI and AD.
Prevalence of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Their Association with Functional Limitations in Older Adults in the United States: The Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study
Authors: Okura Toru , Plassman Brenda L. , Steffens David C. , Llewellyn David J. , Potter Guy G. , Langa Kenneth M. 
Published: January 2010

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms and examine their association with functional limitations.DESIGN: Cross‐sectional analysis.SETTING: The Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS).PARTICIPANTS: A sample of adults aged 71 and older (N=856) drawn from Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative cohort of U.S. adults aged 51 and older.MEASUREMENTS: The presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, agitation, depression, apathy, elation, anxiety, disinhibition, irritation, and aberrant motor behaviors) was identified using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. A consensus panel in the ADAMS assigned a cognitive category (normal cognition; cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND); mild, moderate, or severe dementia). Functional limitations, chronic medical conditions, and sociodemographic information were obtained from the HRS and ADAMS.RESULTS: Forty‐three percent of individuals with CIND and 58% of those with dementia exhibited at least one neuropsychiatric symptom. Depression was the most common individual symptom in those with normal cognition (12%), CIND (30%), and mild dementia (25%), whereas apathy (42%) and agitation (41%) were most common in those with severe dementia. Individuals with three or more symptoms and one or more clinically significant symptoms had significantly higher odds of having functional limitations. Those with clinically significant depression had higher odds of activity of daily living limitations, and those with clinically significant depression, anxiety, or aberrant motor behaviors had significantly higher odds of instrumental activity of daily living limitations.CONCLUSION: Neuropsychiatric symptoms are highly prevalent in older adults with CIND and dementia. Of those with cognitive impairment, a greater number of total neuropsychiatric symptoms and some specific individual symptoms are strongly associated with functional limitations.
Practitioner Perceptions of the A3 Method for Process Improvement in Health Care
Authors: Visich John K. , Wicks Angela M. , Zalila Faiza 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTThe focus of this article is to present students' perceptions of the recently developed A3 method, a structured problem‐solving approach based on lean concepts and tools that have been adapted to the health care environment. The students were all employees of a large health care provider and were enrolled in a customized health care executive MBA Program. Each student was required to complete an individual A3 Project in order to improve a process at the department for which they worked. At the end of the semester the students presented their A3 projects to their peers who voted on the best projects. A survey measuring perceptions of the A3 method for problem solving in health care was administered and from it we present propositions for A3 implementation. These propositions are applicable both to health care practitioners and to academic researchers.
Recalling the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Authors: BUSH GEORGE H.W. , THATCHER MARGARET , GORBACHEV MIKHAIL , MITTERRAND FRANÇOIS 
Published: January 2010

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the triumphant celebrations of the West, a new chapter of history has opened featuring the rising powers of Asia, led by China. Though embracing free markets, China has looked to its Confucian traditions instead of liberal democracy as the best route to good governance.Will China manage to achieve high growth and a harmonious society through a strong state and long‐range planning that puts messy Western democracy and its short‐term mindset to shame? Or, in the end, will the weak rule of law and absence of political accountability in a one‐party state undermine its promise?Francis Fukuyama and Kishore Mahbubani, the Singaporean thinker who has become the apostle of non‐Western modernity, debate these issues.In this section we also republish a collective memoir by George H.W. Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher and François Mitterrand, recalling their fears and hopes two decades ago as they brought the Cold War to an end.
Japan: Shifting Away from American‐led Globalization
Authors: HATOYAMA YUKIO 
Published: January 2010

Thanks to the draining effects of the Iraq war and the financial meltdown emanating from Wall Street, a powershift away from American dominance is taking place. Caught between a rising China and an America in relative decline, the new leadership in Japan is recalibrating its post‐World War II relationships. The G‐20 has usurped the role once played by the G‐8 as the governing committee of globalization. And the symbiotic coupling of “Chimerica”, born out of the credit bubble built up over the past two decades, is being put to the test.In this section, the new prime minister of Japan, the president of the European Union, the president of Brazil and a leading economic historian assess these shifts.
I Support Ayatollah Khomeini's Republicanism
Authors: KARROUBI MEHDI 
Published: January 2010

As the confrontation between the West and Iran over uranium enrichment comes to a head, the internal confrontation in Iran between the partisans of divine sovereignty, allied with the Revolutionary Guard, and popular sovereignty continues to simmer.In this section, the first president of the Islamic Republic, a leading cleric of the opposition, the Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi and a former British intelligence agent ponder what lies ahead.
The Real Issue Is Iran's Emergence as a Regional Power
Authors: CROOKE ALASTAIR 
Published: January 2010

As the confrontation between the West and Iran over uranium enrichment comes to a head, the internal confrontation in Iran between the partisans of divine sovereignty, allied with the Revolutionary Guard, and popular sovereignty continues to simmer.In this section, the first president of the Islamic Republic, a leading cleric of the opposition, the Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi and a former British intelligence agent ponder what lies ahead.
Measurement of Microvascular Transport Parameters of Macromolecules in Tissues and Organs of Intact Animals
Authors: RENKIN EUGENE M. , TUCKER VICKY L. 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTA critical analysis is presented of two widely used approaches to measurement of microvascular transport of large molecules in intact animals: (1) measurement of lymph flow and macromolecular solute concentration relative to plasma, and (2) tissue accumulation of tracer macromolecules. To demonstrate the advantages and limitations of each method, experimental results which permit direct comparison of the two methodologies are reviewed and analyzed, and sources or error in each pointed out. It is concluded that both approaches are valid under the appropriate conditions: steady state for lymph, initial transient state for tissue uptake. These conditions are mutually exclusive, but complementary. When the requirements for neither lymph collection or tissue accumulation alone can be satisfied experimentally, a combination of the two approaches can yield valid results.