bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of liraglutide therapy in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients insufficiently controlled with basal‐supported oral therapy
Authors: Takahara Mitsuyoshi , Shiraiwa Toshihiko , Ohtoshi Kentaro , Kaneto Hideaki , Katakami Naoto , Matsuoka Taka‐aki , Shimomura Iichiro 
Published: June 2012

Abstract
(J Diabetes Invest, doi: 10.1111/j.2040‐1124.2012.00223.x, 2012)
Aims/Introduction:  We assessed the efficacy of liraglutide therapy in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients insufficiently controlled with basal‐supported oral therapy (BOT).Materials and Methods:  We retrospectively analyzed the data of 37 patients who had postprandial hyperglycemia (≥10.0 mmol/L) with BOT (long‐acting insulin plus glimepiride) with their insulin titrated enough to keep preprandial glycemia <7.2 mmol/L, and who had their treatment changed to liraglutide monotherapy, with the subsequent addition of glimepiride, when required. Those who achieved the glycemic target at all points (preprandial glycemia <7.2 mmol/L and postprandial glycemia <10.0 mmol/L) were regarded as responders and the efficacy of liraglutide therapy was assessed. We also explored the predictive clinical characteristics associated with its efficacy.Results:  Daily doses of insulin and glimepiride with BOT were 14 ± 9 units and 1.5 ± 0.9 mg, respectively. After the change to liraglutide therapy, 37% of the patients appeared to be responders to the therapy, whereas 12% had their glycemic control rather deteriorated. Efficacy of liraglutide therapy was significantly associated with baseline insulin dosage and post‐breakfast glycemia with BOT. The C‐statistic of the model was calculated to be 0.90.Conclusions:  There were responders and non‐responders to liraglutide therapy in Japanese BOT failures. It is likely that baseline insulin dosage and post‐breakfast glycemia with BOT are clinically useful indicators for the efficacy of liraglutide therapy.
Introduction of glycated albumin measurement for all blood donors and the prevalence of a high glycated albumin level in Japan
Authors: Araki Takeshi , Ishikawa Yoshihide , Okazaki Hitoshi , Tani Yoshihiko , Toyooka Shigetake , Satake Masahiro , Miwa Umeo , Tadokoro Kenji ,   for the Japanese Red Cross GA Research Group
Published: June 2012

Abstract
(J Diabetes Invest, doi: 10.1111/j.2040‐1124.2012.00224.x, 2012)
Aims/Introduction:  The Japanese Red Cross Society introduced measurement of glycated albumin (GA) for all blood donors as a glycemic control marker. The GA levels were examined by sex and age.Materials and Methods:  GA was measured in 3.14 million blood donors who donated between April 2009 and March 2010. For the reference range for GA, values that were three times the reference range for glycated hemoglobin (Japan Diabetes Society value) were used. All donors were notified of their GA levels. For repeat donors, a comparison was made between the GA levels at the first and second donations to verify the GA change after notification.Results:  The mean GA was significantly lower in males than in females in donors aged <60 years. The mean GAs of both sexes increased with age and reached the same level of 14.8% in their 60s. The percentage of donors with prediabetes/diabetes (GA ≥16.5%) was 2.8% in males and 2.3% in females. In the normal high group (15.6% ≤ GA < 16.5%), the mean GA at the second donation was lower by 0.20% than at the first donation. In 42.4% of these donors, GA decreased to the normal range at the second donation.Conclusions:  Overall, 2.7% of otherwise healthy Japanese blood donors had a high GA (GA ≥16.5%). Donor blood screening for GA represents an effective measure to identify people at risk of diabetes. The decrease in the GA level after GA notification might indicate the potential usefulness of this strategy to improve glycemic control among people with high GA.
No Meal without Ugali? Social Significance of Food and Consumption in a Tanzanian Village
Authors: Ohna Ingrid , Kaarhus Randi , Kinabo Joyce 
Published: June 2012

AbstractEmploying diet and cuisine as analytical concepts, this article focuses on cultural categories and social meanings of food in Malinzanga village in southern Tanzania. Through analyses of access to foodstuffs, sequence of meals, and methods of preparation, the article shows how key elements in a basic meal structure are used locally to characterize and classify people—both in terms of ethnic group membership and in terms of respectable social status versus “disgraceful” poverty as perceived locally. The population in Malinzanga includes four ethnic groups: two pastoralist groups, Mang'ati and Masai, and two agriculturalist groups, Hehe and Bena. It is argued that patterns of food consumption among the people in Malinzanga cannot be attributed to access to resources and purchasing power alone. Food consumption can also be seen as a means of expression of what Malinzanga villagers think about own identities, status, and social distinctions.
Basket Cases and Breadbaskets: Sacred Rice and Agricultural Development in PostcolonialAfrica
Authors: Davidson Joanna 
Published: June 2012

AbstractBased on ethnographic research among ruralDiola inGuinea‐Bissau, I provide a broad view of the history and interpenetration of rice in social, political, religious, and ecological domains, while chronicling the current difficulties of residents in this region who are no longer able to grow enough of it. These farmers' experiences are unfolding at a time of revitalized attention to agricultural development inAfrica, particularly under the auspices of theNewGreenRevolution forAfrica. I examine the premises that constitute the resuscitated effort to address the plight ofAfrican farmers. I argue that the totalizing quality of rice inDiola and other rice‐cultivating societies requires a development approach that takes into account dimensions of agrarian life not encapsulated by the high‐modernist and antipolitical orientation of theNewGreenRevolution forAfrica.
Playing the Market: How the Cashew “Commodityscape” Is Redefining Guinea‐Bissau's Countryside
Authors: Lundy Brandon D. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractGuinea‐Bissau's political ecology of the 1980s led to cashews overtaking all other exports as a generator of national revenue. Through ethnographic methodology, this paper examines the cashew commodityscape illustrated through an examination of several villages in southern Guinea‐Bissau. This research addresses how household livelihood strategies are fashioned as a result of necessity, opportunity, and negotiations with local, regional, and global economies. A majority of the local population in the research site was involved in cashew pomiculture in 2007 when the global demand and purchase price was low. By 2010, the price paid by Indian wholesalers rebounded with even further integration of this commodity into the natural and cultural landscape. This paper finds that cashews are playing a significant role in the environmental, economic, and cultural spheres. This local articulation of a global phenomenon demonstrates the potential pitfalls and benefits of meeting very specific global needs.
Perceptions of Climate Variability and Pest–Disease Incidence on Crops and Adaptive Forest–Agricultural Practices
Authors: Mala William A. , Geldenhuys Coert J. , Prabhu Ravi 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThe article examines the influence of local perceptions of climate variability and pest–disease incidence on crops and its management and on adaptive forest–agricultural practices. The study was conducted in the humid forest of Southern Cameroon along a resource use intensification and population gradient using a semi‐structured questionnaire administrated to farmers. The results showed that the level of severity of crops–pests incidence was perceived as high, with an increase over the past 15 years. A high incidence of pests–diseases was perceived on yield/income of cocoa, cassava, and groundnuts. The results indicated that each crop has its management practices of pests–diseases both at the crop and land use level. The farmers respond positively to their perception of climate variability by anticipating cropping practices, by harvesting earlier or later, and by adapting strategies of pests–diseases with crops and land use practices that affect the sustainability of forest–agriculture.
“You Can't Eat Money When You Are Hungry”: Campesinos, Manatee Hunting, and Environmental Regret in Veracruz, Mexico
Authors: Smith‐Cavros Eileen M. , Duluc‐Silva Sylvia , Rodriguez Maria del Carmen , Ortiz Ponciano , Keith Edward O. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractSelf‐identified campesinos were interviewed in rural Veracruz, Mexico as part of this qualitative research study. Participants had firsthand historical knowledge about hunting the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) or about preparing the manatee for human consumption. The lagoon ecosystem that surrounds the area is greatly degraded and its contemporary inhabitants speak of the past with a great deal of wistfulness and a sense of loss characterized as “environmental regret.” The study examines the evolving local environmental and cultural practices, attitudes, and circumstances.
Development, Land Use, and Collective Trauma: The Marcellus Shale Gas Boom in Rural Pennsylvania
Authors: Perry Simona L. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThis article describes a place and people undergoing rapid transition using some of the preliminary findings from two years of ongoing ethnographic field work. Through exploring what ethnographic evidence is revealing concerning the impacts of Marcellus shale gas development in Bradford County, in Northeastern Pennsylvania, I illustrate the ways that rapid social and economic change processes are impacting daily lives and community dynamics in one traditionally agricultural and rural place. I provide a broad overview of the social history and current social dynamics in order to understand the significance of the short‐term changes agricultural landowners and other local residents have witnessed and experienced. I discuss some of the most significant short‐term changes in quality of life as seen by a small group of agricultural landowners, in relation to the cultural significance of place, home, and family, and what this tells us about the sociocultural and psychological impacts of rapid energy development. Finally, I comment on what my ethnographic data show so far with regard to the short‐ and long‐term individual and collective impacts being experienced in this one community.
Pulmonary vascular distensibility predicts aerobic capacity in healthy individuals
Authors: Lalande Sophie , Yerly Patrick , Faoro Vitalie , Naeije Robert 
Published: June 2012

Key points
Pulmonary transit of agitated contrast (PTAC) occurs during exercise in healthy individuals.
It has been suggested that positive PTAC reflects a greater pulmonary vascular reserve, allowing for the right ventricle to operate at a decreased afterload at high levels of exercise.
In this study, we determined whether individuals with highest maximal aerobic capacity have the greatest pulmonary vascular distensibility, highest PTAC and greatest increase in the capillary blood component of lung diffusing capacity during exercise.
We observed that individuals with highest maximal aerobic capacity have a more distensible pulmonary circulation as observed through greater pulmonary vascular distensibility, greater pulmonary capillary blood volume, and lowest pulmonary vascular resistance at maximal exercise.
Pulmonary vascular distensibility predicts aerobic capacity in healthy individuals.
Abstract  It has been suggested that shallow slopes of mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPPA)–cardiac output () relationships and pulmonary transit of agitated contrast during exercise may be associated with a higher maximal aerobic capacity (). If so, individuals with a higher could also exhibit a higher pulmonary vascular distensibility and increased pulmonary capillary blood volume during exercise. Exercise stress echocardiography was performed with repetitive injections of agitated contrast and measurements of MPPA, and lung diffusing capacities for carbon monoxide (DL,CO) and nitric oxide (DL,NO) in 24 healthy individuals. A pulmonary vascular distensibility coefficient α was mathematically determined from the slight natural curvilinearity of multipoint MPPA– plots. Membrane (Dm) and capillary blood volume (Vc) components of lung diffusing capacity were calculated. Maximal exercise increased MPPA, cardiac index (CI), DL,CO and DL,NO. The slope of the linear best fit of MPPA–CI was 3.2 ± 0.5 mmHg min l−1 m2 and α was 1.1 ± 0.3% mmHg−1. A multivariable analysis showed that higher α and greater Vc independently predicted . All individuals had markedly positive pulmonary transit of agitated contrast at maximal exercise, with increases proportional to increases in pulmonary capillary pressure and Vc. Pulmonary transit of agitated contrast was not related to pulse oximetry arterial oxygen saturation. Therefore, a more distensible pulmonary circulation and a greater pulmonary capillary blood volume are associated with a higher in healthy individuals. Agitated contrast commonly transits through the pulmonary circulation at exercise, in proportion to increased pulmonary capillary pressures.
The hyperaemic response to passive leg movement is dependent on nitric oxide: a new tool to evaluate endothelial nitric oxide function
Authors: Mortensen Stefan P. , Askew Christopher D. , Walker Meegan , Nyberg Michael , Hellsten Ylva 
Published: June 2012

Key points
Passive leg movement is associated with a ∼3‐fold increase in blood flow to the leg, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown.
Passive leg movement increased venous levels of metabolites of nitric oxide (NO) in young subjects, whereas they remained unaltered in the muscle interstitial space. Inhibition of NO synthesis lowered the vasodilatory response to passive leg movement by ∼90%.
The increase in leg blood flow was lower in elderly subjects compared to young subjects and leg blood flow did not increase when passive leg movement was performed by elderly with peripheral artery disease.
The results suggest that the hyperaemia induced by passive leg movement is NO dependent. The hyperaemic response to passive leg movement and to ACh was also assessed in elderly subjects and patients with peripheral artery disease.
Abstract  Passive leg movement is associated with a ∼3‐fold increase in blood flow to the leg but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. The objective of the present study was to examine the role of nitric oxide (NO) for the hyperaemia observed during passive leg movement. Leg haemodynamics and metabolites of NO production (nitrite and nitrate; NOx) were measured in plasma and muscle interstitial fluid at rest and during passive leg movement with and without inhibition of NO formation in healthy young males. The hyperaemic response to passive leg movement and to ACh was also assessed in elderly subjects and patients with peripheral artery disease. Passive leg movement (60 r.p.m.) increased leg blood flow from 0.3 ± 0.1 to 0.9 ± 0.1 litre min−1 at 20 s and 0.5 ± 0.1 litre min−1 at 3 min (P < 0.05). Mean arterial pressure remained unchanged during the trial. When passive leg movement was performed during inhibition of NO formation (NG‐mono‐methyl‐l‐arginine; 29–52 mg min−1), leg blood flow and vascular conductance were increased after 20 s (P < 0.05) and then returned to baseline levels, despite an increase in arterial pressure (P < 0.05). Passive leg movement increased the femoral venous NOx levels from 35 ± 5 at baseline to 62 ± 11 μmol l−1 during passive leg movement (P < 0.05), whereas muscle interstitial NOx levels remained unchanged. The hyperaemic response to passive leg movement were correlated with the vasodilatation induced by ACh (r2= 0.704, P < 0.001) and with age (r2= 0.612, P < 0.001). Leg blood flow did not increase during passive leg movement in individuals with peripheral arterial disease. These results suggest that the hypaeremia induced by passive leg movement is NO dependent and that the source of NO is likely to be the endothelium. Passive leg movement could therefore be used as a non‐invasive tool to evaluate NO dependent endothelial function of the lower limb.
P2Y2 receptor activation opens pannexin‐1 channels in rat carotid body type II cells: potential role in amplifying the neurotransmitter ATP
Authors: Zhang Min , Piskuric Nikol A. , Vollmer Cathy , Nurse Colin A. 
Published: June 2012

Key points
Carotid body (CB) chemoreceptor complexes consist of receptor type I cells, intimately associated with glia‐like type II cells whose function is poorly understood.
We show that type II cells in the rat CB express gap junction‐like proteins, pannexin‐1 (Panx‐1) channels, which form non‐selective pores permeable to ions and large molecules such as ATP, a key CB neurotransmitter.
Activation of purinergic P2Y2 receptors on type II cells led to a rise in intracellular Ca2+, and a prolonged membrane depolarization due to opening of Panx‐1 channels.
In a CB co‐culture model, where purinergic P2X2/3‐expressing petrosal neurones served as a reporter or biosensor of ATP release, we show that selective activation of P2Y2 receptors on type II cells can lead to ATP release via Panx‐1 channels.
We propose that type II cells may function as amplifiers of the neurotransmitter ATP during chemotransduction, via the mechanism of ATP‐induced ATP release.
Abstract  Signal processing in the carotid body (CB) is initiated at receptor glomus (or type I) cells which depolarize and release the excitatory neurotransmitter ATP during chemoexcitation by hypoxia and acid hypercapnia. Glomus cell clusters (GCs) occur in intimate association with glia‐like type II cells which express purinergic P2Y2 receptors (P2Y2Rs) but their function is unclear. Here we immunolocalize the gap junction‐like protein channel pannexin‐1 (Panx‐1) in type II cells and show Panx‐1 mRNA expression in the rat CB. As expected, type II cell activation within or near isolated GCs by P2Y2R agonists, ATP and UTP (100 μm), induced a rise in intracellular [Ca2+]. Moreover in perforated‐patch whole cell recordings from type II cells, these agonists caused a prolonged depolarization and a concentration‐dependent, delayed opening of non‐selective ion channels that was prevented by Panx‐1 blockers, carbenoxolone (5 μm) and 4,4′‐diisothiocyano‐2,2′‐stilbenedisulfonic acid (DIDS; 10 μm). Because Panx‐1 channels serve as conduits for ATP release, we hypothesized that paracrine, type II cell P2Y2R activation leads to ATP‐induced ATP release. In proof‐of‐principle experiments we used co‐cultured chemoafferent petrosal neurones (PNs), which express P2X2/3 purinoceptors, as sensitive biosensors of ATP released from type II cells. In several cases, UTP activation of type II cells within or near GCs led to depolarization or increased firing in nearby PNs, and the effect was reversibly abolished by the selective P2X2/3 receptor blocker, pyridoxalphosphate‐6‐azophenyl‐2′,4′‐disulphonic acid (PPADS; 10 μm). We propose that CB type II cells may function as ATP amplifiers during chemotransduction via paracrine activation of P2Y2Rs and Panx‐1 channels.
Heterogeneity and independency of unitary synaptic outputs from hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cells
Authors: Sasaki Takuya , Matsuki Norio , Ikegaya Yuji 
Published: June 2012

Key points
Excitatory neurotransmission in the cortex is a local event that occurs at chemical synaptic junctions, but it has not been experimentally addressed at the large network scale.
Here we show that trial‐to‐trial variability in the synaptic transmission at hippocampal synapses is attributable to fluctuations in calcium elevations in axonal boutons, rather than to changes in the action potential waveform in axons.
Multiple patch‐clamp recordings from synaptically connected neural circuits revealed no correlation between synaptic outputs to two different postsynaptic cells from a common presynaptic cell.
This independency of synapses was likely to arise from unique calcium dynamics within presynaptic terminals.
Abstract  The variation of individual synaptic transmission impacts the dynamics of complex neural circuits. We performed whole‐cell recordings from monosynaptically connected hippocampal neurons in rat organotypic slice cultures using a synapse mapping method. The amplitude of unitary excitatory postsynaptic current (uEPSC) varied from trial to trial and was independent of the physical distance between cell pairs. To investigate the source of the transmission variability, we obtained patch‐clamp recordings from intact axons. Axonal action potentials (APs) were reliably transmitted throughout the axonal arbour and showed modest changes in width. In contrast, calcium imaging from presynaptic boutons revealed that the amplitude of AP‐evoked calcium transients exhibited large variations both among different boutons at a given trial and among trials in a given bouton. These results suggest that a factor contributing to the uEPSC fluctuations is the variability in calcium dynamics at presynaptic terminals. Finally, we acquired triple whole‐cell recordings from divergent circuit motifs with one presynaptic neuron projecting to two postsynaptic neurons. Consistent with the independency of calcium dynamics among axonal boutons, a series of uEPSC fluctuations was not correlated between the two postsynaptic cells, indicating that different synapses even from the same neuron act independently. We conclude that the intra‐bouton and inter‐bouton variability in AP‐induced calcium dynamics determine the heterogeneity and independency of uEPSCs.
Using computerised decision support to improve compliance of cancer multidisciplinary meetings with evidence-based guidance
Authors: Patkar Vivek , Acosta Dionisio , Davidson Tim , Jones Alison , Fox John , Keshtgar Mohammed 
Published: June 2012

ObjectivesThe cancer multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting (MDM) is regarded as the best platform to reduce unwarranted variation in cancer care through evidence-compliant management. However, MDMs are often overburdened with many different agendas and hence struggle to achieve their full potential. The authors developed an interactive clinical decision support system called MATE (Multidisciplinary meeting Assistant and Treatment sElector) to facilitate explicit evidence-based decision making in the breast MDMs.DesignAudit study and a questionnaire survey.SettingBreast multidisciplinary unit in a large secondary care teaching hospital.ParticipantsAll members of the breast MDT at the Royal Free Hospital, London, were consulted during the process of MATE development and implementation. The emphasis was on acknowledging the clinical needs and practical constraints of the MDT and fitting the system around the team's workflow rather than the other way around. Delegates, who attended MATE workshop at the England Cancer Networks' Development Programme conference in March 2010, participated in the questionnaire survey.Outcome measuresThe measures included evidence-compliant care, measured by adherence to clinical practice guidelines, and promoting research, measured by the patient identification rate for ongoing clinical trials.ResultsMATE identified 61% more patients who were potentially eligible for recruitment into clinical trials than the MDT, and MATE recommendations demonstrated better concordance with clinical practice guideline than MDT recommendations (97% of MATE vs 93.2% of MDT; N=984). MATE is in routine use in breast MDMs at the Royal Free Hospital, London, and wider evaluations are being considered.ConclusionsSophisticated decision support systems can enhance the conduct of MDMs in a way that is acceptable to and valued by the clinical team. Further rigorous evaluations are required to examine cost-effectiveness and measure the impact on patient outcomes. The decision support technology used in MATE is generic and if found useful can be applied across medicine.