bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Distribution of plasma levels of adiponectin and leptin in an adult Caucasian population
Authors: Marques‐Vidal Pedro , Bochud Murielle , Paccaud Fred , Mooser Vincent , Waeber Gérard , Vollenweider Peter 
Published: May 2009

SummaryObjectives  Little is known regarding the distribution and the determinants of leptin and adiponectin levels in the general population.Design  Cross‐sectional study.Patients  Women (3004) and men (2552) aged 35–74 living in Lausanne, Switzerland.Measurements  Plasma levels of leptin and adiponectin (ELISA measurement).Results  Women had higher leptin and adiponectin levels than men. In both genders, leptin and adiponectin levels increased with age. After adjusting for fat mass, leptin levels were significantly and negatively associated with age in women: 18·1 ± 0·3, 17·1 ± 0·3, 16·7 ± 0·3 and 15·5 ± 0·4 ng/ml (adjusted mean ± SE) for age groups [35–44], [45–54], [55–64] and [65–75], respectively, P < 0·001. A similar but nonsignificant trend was also found in men. Conversely, the age‐related increase of adiponectin was unrelated to body fat in both genders. Post‐menopausal women had higher leptin and adiponectin levels than premenopausal women, independently of hormone replacement therapy. Although body fat mass was associated with leptin and adiponectin, the associations were stronger with body mass index (BMI), waist and hip in both genders. Finally, after adjusting for age and anthropometry, no relationships were found between leptin or adiponectin levels with alcohol, caffeine consumption and physical activity, whereas smoking and diabetes decreased leptin and adiponectin levels in women only.Conclusions  The age‐related increase in leptin levels is attributable to changes in fat mass in women and probably also in men. Leptin and adiponectin levels are more related to BMI than to body fat mass. The effects of smoking and diabetes appear to be gender‐specific.
Absence of activating mutations of CXCR4 in pituitary tumours
Authors: Lee Yong‐ho , Noh Tae Woong , Lee Mi Kyung , Jameson J. Larry , Lee Eun Jig 
Published: May 2009

SummaryObjective  Mutations of the gsp oncogene are responsible for 30–40% of GH‐producing pituitary adenomas and 10% of nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs). However, the pathogenetic mechanism of the remaining pituitary tumours still remains to be identified. Recently, the interaction between the chemokine stromal cell‐derived factor 1 and its receptor CXCR4 was found to play an important role in GH production and cell proliferation in various pituitary adenoma cell lines. As CXCR4 is a Gi‐coupled chemokine receptor, its constitutive activating mutations may be involved in pituitary tumour formation by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)‐independent, ERK‐related pathways.Patients and methods  We investigated whether somatic activating‐mutations of CXCR4 might be a possible tumourigenic mechanism for gsp‐negative GH‐secreting pituitary adenomas and NFPAs. Direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction‐amplified products for coding exons of CXCR4 were performed using genomic deoxyribonucleic acid samples from 37 GH‐producing pituitary tumour tissues that were negative for the gsp mutation and 14 CXCR4 expressing NFPAs.Results  Immunohistochemical analyses and double immunofluorescent staining of sectioned paraffin‐embedded pituitary tissues revealed that CXCR4 is highly expressed in GH‐producing pituitary adenomas and NFPAs. Direct sequencing showed that two synonymous mutations in exon 2 (87 C > T and 414 C > T) were detected in 4 out of 51 pituitary tumours.Conclusion  Our results indicate that an activating mutation of the CXCR4 may not be a common pathogenetic mechanism in GH‐producing pituitary tumours and NFPAs.
Assessment of serum‐free cortisol levels in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma treated with mitotane: a pilot study
Authors: Alexandraki Krystallenia I. , Kaltsas Gregory A. , Le Roux Carel W. , Fassnacht Martin , Ajodha Sharon , Christ‐Crain Mirjam , Akker Scott A. , Drake William M. , Edwards Ray , Allolio Bruno , Grossman Ashley B. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryObjective  Mitotane treatment in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) results in unreliable measurement of serum total cortisol (TC) levels because of an elevation in corticosteroid‐binding globulin (CBG).Design  The use of a newly‐developed serum‐free cortisol (FC) assay was assessed to investigate the characteristics of a more valid measure of cortisol status.Patients  Sixty‐two serum samples from patients with ACC treated with mitotane were studied. Different subgroups were studied according to mitotane levels (<14, 14–20 and >20 mg/dl), hydrocortisone replacement treatment, presence of Cushing’s syndrome (CS) and adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) levels.Measurements  Serum FC was measured using a newly‐developed assay, TC, CBG and plasma ACTH using conventional laboratory kits; TC‐to‐CBG (Free cortisol index, FCI, nmol/mg) and TC‐to‐FC (TFR) ratios were calculated.Results  CBG levels were elevated and positively correlated to mitotane levels. FC was positively related to TC and FCI in nearly all subgroups studied. Plasma ACTH was negatively related to parameters of cortisol levels in the total samples studied. In the ‘target’ subgroup with normal ACTH levels and mitotane levels 14–20 mg/dl, no correlation of plasma ACTH with any parameter studied was seen, and FC suggested over‐replacement with hydrocortisone treatment in the subgroup with CS.Conclusions  FC measurement may offer additional information in the follow‐up of patients on mitotane, especially when there is a history of CS which invalidates the use of acute changes in plasma ACTH as a parameter of hydrocortisone replacement. These preliminary data suggest that it may prove useful as a biochemical marker when TC or FCI are invalidated by mitotane treatment or plasma ACTH is suppressed by hypercortisolaemia. Larger studies are needed to substantiate the clinical utility of FC measurement in specific groups of patients.
Effect of sex steroid use on cardiovascular risk in transsexual individuals: a systematic review and meta‐analyses
Authors: Elamin Mohamed B. , Garcia Magaly Zumaeta , Murad Mohammad Hassan , Erwin Patricia J. , Montori Victor M. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryObjective  To summarize the available evidence on the cardiovascular effects of cross‐sex steroid use in transsexuals.Methods  We searched relevant electronic databases and sought additional references from experts. Eligible studies reported on cardiovascular events, venous thromboembolism, blood pressure and fasting serum lipids. Data were extracted in duplicate. We used the random‐effects model to estimate the pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results  We found 16 eligible studies, mostly uncontrolled cohorts of varied follow‐up durations (1471 male‐to‐female (MF) and 651 female‐to‐male (FM) individuals). In the MF individuals, cross‐sex hormone use was associated with a statistically significant increase in fasting serum triglycerides without changes in the other parameters (WMD = 23·39 mg/dl; 95% CI = 4·82–41·95). In the FM individuals, there was a similar increase of triglycerides (WMD = 31·35 mg/dl; 95% CI = 7·53–55·17) and a reduction of high density lipoprotein (HDL)‐cholesterol (WMD = −6·09 mg/dl; 95% CI = −11·44 to −0·73). There was a statistically significant but clinically trivial increase in systolic blood pressure (WMD = 1·74 mmHg; 95% CI = 0·21–3·27). Analyses were associated with significant heterogeneity across studies. There were very few reported cardiovascular events (deaths, strokes, myocardial infarctions or venous thromboembolism), more commonly among MF individuals.Conclusions  Very low quality evidence, downgraded due to methodological limitations of included studies, imprecision and heterogeneity, suggests that cross‐sex hormone therapies increase serum triglycerides in MF and FM and have a trivial effect on HDL‐cholesterol and systolic blood pressure in FM. Data about patient important outcomes are sparse and inconclusive.
Adjuvant effect of LPS and killedPropionibacterium acneson the development of experimental gastrointestinal nematode infestation in sheep
Authors: ABEL L. C. J. , CHEN S. , RICCA L. G. , MARTINS M. F. , GARCIA M. , ANANIAS R. Z. , MUSSALEM J. S. , SQUAIELLA C. C. , SHAW R. J. , LONGO‐MAUGÉRI I. M. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryGastrointestinal helminthic infection is an important worldwide sheep disease. The emergence of anthelminthic resistance has led to drives to seek new means of therapeutic control of helminthiasis in sheep. Several data demonstrated the adjuvant effect ofPropionibacterium acneson resistance to infection. Herein, we evaluate the adjuvant effect of the commercial suspension containing LPS andP. acneson experimental helminthiasis. Sheep received three doses of LPS andP. acnescommercial suspension or saline 0·9% (control group). Both groups received orallyHaemonchus contortusinfective larvae on day 0. Parasitological, haematological, lymphoproliferation analysis, IL‐5 and IgE determination were made once a week until 35th day after infection. Our results revealed increase on packed cell volumes on day 14, in LPS + P. acnestreated group. On 21st and 35th days after infection in the same group occurred increase on circulating eosinophils and lymphocytes, and also in the lymphoproliferative response to mitogen. On 35th day, the faecal eggs peak in LPS + P. acnestreated group was significantly lower than control. A negative correlation between faecal eggs counts and circulating eosinophils in the immunostimulant treated group was also observed. Our findings suggest that LPS + P. acnessuspension can be used as a strategy to control helminthiasis in sheep.
A test for Allee effects in the self‐incompatible wasp‐pollinated milkweedGomphocarpus physocarpus
Authors: COOMBS GARETH , PETER CRAIG I. , JOHNSON STEVEN D. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractIt has been suggested that plants that are good colonizers will generally have either an ability to self‐fertilize or a generalist pollination system. This prediction is based on the idea that these reproductive traits should confer resistance to Allee effects in founder populations and was tested usingGomphocarpus physocarpus(Asclepiadoideae: Apocynaceae), a species native to South Africa that is invasive in other parts of the world. We found no significant relationships between the size ofG. physocarpuspopulations and various measures of pollination success (pollen deposition, pollen removal and pollen transfer efficiency) and fruit set. A breeding system experiment showed that plants in a South African population are genetically self‐incompatible and thus obligate outcrossers. Outcrossing is further enhanced by mechanical reconfiguration of removed pollinaria before the pollinia can be deposited. Self‐pollination is reduced when such reconfiguration exceeds the average duration of pollinator visits to a plant. Observations suggest that a wide variety of wasp species in the generaBelonogasterandPolistes(Vespidae) are the primary pollinators. We conclude that efficient pollination of plants in small founding populations, resulting from their generalist wasp‐pollination system, contributes in part to the colonizing success ofG. physocarpus. The presence of similar wasps in other parts of the world has evidently facilitated the expansion of the range of this milkweed.
What is associated with being active in arthritis? Analysis from the Obstacles to Action study
Authors: Hutton I. , Gamble G. , McLean G. , Butcher H. , Gow P. , Dalbeth N. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractBackground: Many adults with arthritis do not achieve physical activity levels recommended for good health. This study aimed to identify factors associated with physical activity participation in people with arthritis.Methods: 1106 out of 8163 adults with self‐reported arthritis were identified from the 2003 Obstacles to Action study. Participants were classified as active if they reported 30 min of moderate activity ≥5 days a week or 20 min of vigorous activity ≥3 days a week (n = 613), or insufficiently active if they did not (n = 438). Sociodemographic factors, attitudes, self‐efficacy, motivators and barriers to being active were analysed.Results: Active people with arthritis had a lower burden of chronic disease than insufficiently active people (18% with three or more chronic medical conditions vs 33%, P < 0.0001). Active participants believed more strongly in the benefits of physical activity, reported higher levels of encouragement from others and had greater overall levels of self‐efficacy when compared with the less active participants (P for all <0.0001). Arthritis, fatigue and discomfort were ranked by both groups as the top three barriers. However, the active participants reported lower impact scores for these barriers than the inactive group (P for all <0.0001). These findings persisted after adjusting for occupational status, body mass index and comorbidities.Conclusion: Active adults with arthritis have lower levels of chronic disease, greater self‐efficacy and fewer psychosocial barriers. Recognition of such barriers and motivators may be useful when designing intervention programmes to help people with arthritis initiate or intensify physical activity participation.
International Reserves and Fiscal Policy in Developing Countries
Authors: Zhou Yan 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThis paper investigates empirically the relationship between the pattern of fiscal policy and the demand for international reserves in developing countries, and how this relationship is associated with political risk and conditional access to global capital markets. It finds evidence that for developing countries with low political risk, countercyclical (procyclical) fiscal policies are associated with higher (lower) international reserve holdings in economic downturns. The relationship is stronger when the countries with low political risk rely heavily on external financing. For developing countries with high political risk, the link between reserves holdings and fiscal policy pattern is not clear‐cut.
How Information Quality of Macro Aggregates Affects Sovereign Risk: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Lee Seung Jung 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThis paper looks at the relationship between data quality of macro aggregates and the repayment ratio for debt payments due in a given year after a country defaults. We find empirical evidence that good information of macro aggregates reduces sovereign risk by enhancing the repayment ratio conditional on default, while having an insignificant effect on the default probability. The estimation accounts for selection bias by using a cross‐country panel data of 69 developing countries for 1989–2002. Careful consideration is taken to establish information quality of macro aggregates as an exogenous institutional variable. Results are robust to controlling for various governance factors, income levels, and regional factors, etc. Linking information quality to creditors' bargaining power is more consistent with our findings than linking poor information quality to information asymmetry.
Analysing Wage Differences between the USA and Germany Using Proportional Hazards Models
Authors: Behr Andreas , Pötter Ulrich 
Published: May 2009

AbstractWe analyse differences between the wage distributions in the USA and Germany in 2001 for both women and men. The empirical analysis is based on the decomposition of differences using Cox's marginal (partial) likelihood. The approach based on rank invariant estimators such as Cox's is borrowed from the literature on failure time data. Donald et al. pioneered this approach in 2000. However, they did not use the full power of the semi‐parametric approach. Instead, they argued for using a piecewise constant hazard rate model. We improve on their work by showing that the semi‐parametric features of Cox's marginal likelihood are as appropriate for the analysis of wage decompositions and as easy to interpret. Moreover, we extend their approach by allowing for non‐linear regression effects. We show empirically that this formulation both increases the flexibility of their approach and improves the discriminatory power between wage regimes.
Parkinson's Disease and Low Frequency Alleles Found Together Throughout LRRK2
Authors: Paisán‐Ruiz Coro , Washecka Nicole , Nath Priti , Singleton Andrew B. , Corder Elizabeth H. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryMutations within LRRK2, most notably p.G2019S, cause Parkinson's disease (PD) in rare monogenic families, and sporadic occurrences in diverse populations. We investigated variation throughout LRRK2 (84 SNPs; genotype or diplotype found for 49 LD blocks) for 275 cases (European ancestry, onset at age 60 or older) and 275 neurologically healthy control subjects (NINDS Neurogenetics Repository). Three grade‐of‐membership groups, i.e. genetic risk sets, were identified that exactly matched many subjects (cases: 46, 4, 137; controls: 0, 178, 0), and distinguished 94% of the subjects (i.e. >50% likeness to one set). Set I, affected, carried certain low frequency alleles located in multiple functional domains. Set II was unaffected. Set III, also affected, resembled set II except for slightly elevated frequencies of minor alleles not defining set I. We conclude that certain low frequency alleles distributed throughout LRRK2 are a genetic background to a third of cases, defining a distinct subset.
Patterns of caudal‐autotomy evolution in lizards
Authors: Zani Peter A. 
Published: May 2009

Using comparative techniques to account for phylogenetic effects, I examined patterns of evolution of caudal autotomy and foraging in 39 lizard species to test the hypothesis that caudal autotomy has co‐evolved with morphology, locomotor performance, and foraging behaviour. There were significant positive associations between evolution of the point on the tail (distance from cloaca) at which tail loss occurs (an indirect measure of caudal autotomy) and evolution of each of the following: tail length,caudifemoralis longus(CFL) muscle length, and jump distance. The correlation with the evolution of sprint speed approached significance. These relationships primarily were due to the influence of tail‐length evolution on autotomy‐point evolution. With the effect of tail‐length evolution removed, autotomy‐point evolution was negatively correlated with the evolution of tail‐loss frequency. The CFL restricts tail loss to portions of the tail posterior to the most distal point of its insertion in the tail. In addition, with the effect of tail‐length evolution removed, CFL length co‐evolved with sprint speed. These results indicate that tail morphology has co‐evolved with caudal autotomy such that the evolution of the CFL has reduced caudal autotomy in certain groups of lizards.Ambush foraging, the ability to lose the tail, intermediate CFL length, and low locomotor performance (i.e. slow sprint speed and short jump distance) are hypothesized to be the ancestral conditions in lizards using outgroup rooting. The diversification of lizard taxa has resulted in some lineages moving away from ancestral character states (i.e. family Teiidae, superfamily Varanoidea), while others are very similar or identical to their ancestors (i.e. superfamily Iguania).
The social structure and dominance hierarchy of the Mashona mole‐rat, Cryptomys darlingi (Rodentia: Bathyergidae) from Zimbabwe
Authors: Gabathuler U. , Bennett N. C. , Jarvis J. U. M. 
Published: May 2009

Cryptomys darlingi is a social subterranean rodent mole which inhabits the mesic regions of south‐eastern and central Africa. Mashona mole‐rats live in small colonies (5‐9 animals) in which reproduction is normally restricted to the largest male and female in the colony. The non‐reproductive members in a mature colony cannot be placed into clearly defined work‐related groups based on body mass.The dominance hierarchy of a young colony was found to be linear, with a value of 1.00 calculated from Landau's linearity index, while that of a mature colony of nine mole‐rats was almost linear (0.77). Dominance was found to be related to gender in the mature colony, with males more dominant than females, and to age in the young colony. The reproductive mole‐rats are the dominant animals within their respective genders. Dominance appears to correlate positively with body mass (rs = 0.77 in the mature colony and rs = 0.93 in the young colony).Popularity studies show that smaller animals and females tend to be more popular than the larger massed individuals or males. In the mature colony which contained predominantly adult animals, the reproductive pair was among the least popular. While in the young colony, composed predominantly of sub‐adult and juvenile animals, the reproductive pair was the most popular.Social organization within Mashona mole‐rat colonies is compared with other southern African Cryptomys species.
Arm joint articulations in the ophiuran brittlestars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea): a morphometric analysis of ontogenetic, serial, and interspecific variation
Authors: LeClair Elizabeth E. 
Published: May 2009

The ophiuroid arm contains a series of vertebral ossicles that form an articulated internal skeleton. Ontogenetic, serial, and interspecific variation in these skeletal elements are investigated using morphometric data from 35 species of brittle‐stars (Order Ophiurae). Multiple ossicles were sampled from each individual and several individuals were sampled from each species to reconstruct serial and ontogenetic changes in vertebral morphology. Within species, ontogenetic and serial allometries are not statistically different. These data support ‘Jackson's law of localized stages’ (Jackson, 1899; Clark, 1914), which proposes that serial variation along the arm reflects ontogenetic stages of ossicle growth.A multivariate analysis of interspecific variation shows two major vertebral forms: ossicles with a proximal depression and distal keel, and ossicles lacking these features. Variation within these groups is largely continuous, but individual species show distinct shape differences and unique allometric patterns of serial variation. These results suggest that vertebral ossicle variation among species can be described by: 1) variation in initial shape; and 2) variation in the allometric trajectory along the proximal‐distal axis.In all species, the most proximal ossicles within the disk show a non‐keeled morphology. In species with keeled arm ossicles, however, there is an abrupt transition within the disk between non‐keeled and keeled vertebral forms. A single ossicle, having features of both vertebral types, occurs at this site. The taxonomic distribution of the two vertebral forms and the anatomical transition between forms is discussed with reference to current classification systems and recent phylogenetic schemes for the Ophiuroidea.