bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Caloric restriction and chronic inflammatory diseases
Authors: González OA , Tobia C , Ebersole JL , Novak MJ 
Published: June 2011

Oral Diseases (2011) 18, 16–31A reduction in calorie intake [caloric restriction (CR)] appears to consistently decrease the biological rate of aging in a variety of organisms as well as protect against age‐associated diseases including chronic inflammatory disorders such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Although the mechanisms behind this observation are not fully understood, identification of the main metabolic pathways affected by CR has generated interest in finding molecular targets that could be modulated by CR mimetics. This review describes the general concepts of CR and CR mimetics as well as discusses evidence related to their effects on inflammation and chronic inflammatory disorders. Additionally, emerging evidence related to the effects of CR on periodontal disease in non‐human primates is presented. While the implementation of this type of dietary intervention appears to be challenging in our modern society where obesity is a major public health problem, CR mimetics could offer a promising alternative to control and perhaps prevent several chronic inflammatory disorders including periodontal disease.
Tropisetron versus metoclopramide for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in the emergency department: A randomized, double‐blinded, clinical trial
Authors: Chae John , McD Taylor David , Frauman Albert G 
Published: June 2011

AbstractAim: We aimed to compare the relative efficacy of tropisetron and metoclopramide in treating nausea/vomiting in undifferentiated ED patients.Methods: We undertook a randomized, double‐blinded, clinical trial. Adult patients requiring treatment for nausea/vomiting were randomly assigned to either tropisetron (5 mg) or metoclopramide (10 mg), by i.v. bolus. The primary end‐point was incidence of vomiting. Secondary end‐points were decrease in nausea score from baseline (0–100 VAS), the requirement of ‘rescue’ anti‐emetics, ongoing nausea over 48 h and side‐effects.Results: Fifty patients were enrolled in each group. The demographic variables, presenting complaints and nausea scores at baseline did not differ (P > 0.05). By 180 min, two (4.0%) and nine (18.0%) patients had vomited in the tropisetron and metoclopramide groups respectively (difference 14.0%, 95% CI 0.1–28.0, P= 0.05). Also, there were two and 20 episodes of vomiting respectively. Vomiting rates were 0.02 and 0.16 episodes/person‐hour (difference 0.14 episodes/person‐hour, 95% CI 0.07–0.21, P < 0.001) respectively. By 60 min and thereafter, the decrease in nausea score from baseline was greater (although not significantly so) in the tropisetron group. At 180 min, the decreases were 47.9 mm and 37.0 mm respectively (difference 10.9 mm, 95% CI −0.7–22.6). Five (10.0%) and 13 (26.0%) patients required a rescue anti‐emetic respectively (difference 16.0%, 95% CI −0.7–32.7, P= 0.07). Of patients followed up, 13/47 (27.7%) and 20/49 (40.8%) had ongoing nausea respectively (difference 13.2%, 95% CI −7.7–34.0, P= 0.25). The tropisetron group had less akathisia.Conclusions: Tropisetron was associated with a significantly lower vomiting rate and shows promise as an alternative anti‐emetic in the ED.
Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Combination Aliskiren/Amlodipine and Amlodipine Monotherapy in African Americans With Stage 2 Hypertension
Authors: Black Henry R. , Weinberger Myron H. , Purkayastha Das , Lee Joleen , Sridharan Kanaka , Israel Marc , Hilkert Robert , Izzo Joseph 
Published: June 2011

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2011;13:571–581. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Initial multiple drug therapy for hypertension achieves greater and quicker reductions and higher blood pressure (BP) control rates than monotherapy. This 8‐week, prospective, multicenter, randomized, double‐blind study compared the efficacy and safety of the initial combination of aliskiren/amlodipine with amlodipine monotherapy in African Americans with stage 2 hypertension. After a 1‐ to 4‐week washout, patients received aliskiren/amlodipine 150/5 mg or amlodipine 5 mg for 1 week and then were force‐titrated to aliskiren/amlodipine 300/10 mg or amlodipine 10 mg for 7 weeks. At week 8, greater reductions in mean sitting systolic BP were obtained with aliskiren/amlodipine (n=220) than with amlodipine (n=223) (least squares mean change [standard error of the mean], −34.1 [1.14] mm Hg vs −28.9 [1.12] mm Hg; P<.001). Ambulatory and central BP measures were consistent with clinic BP findings, although these were conducted in a small subset of patients (n=94 in ambulatory BP monitoring substudy and n=136 for central BP). More patients achieved goal BP (<140/90 mm Hg) with aliskiren/amlodipine than with amlodipine at week 8 (57.3% vs 48.0%; P = .051). Both treatment groups had similar adverse event rates (35.0% and 32.7%, respectively). The most common adverse events were peripheral edema (7.7% with aliskiren/amlodipine and 9.0% with amlodipine), headache, fatigue, and nausea. The combination of aliskiren/amlodipine reduced peripheral, ambulatory, and central BP more than amlodipine alone with similar tolerability in African Americans with stage 2 hypertension.
Analysis of the transcription factor cascade that induces endocrine and exocrine cell lineages from pancreatic progenitor cells using a polyoma‐based episomal vector system
Authors: Yamato Eiji , Bamba Yohei , Kamiya Yukimasa , Yagi Kiyohito , Miyazaki Jun‐ichi 
Published: June 2011

AbstractAims/Introduction:  We recently established a strategy for isolating multipotential duct‐like cells, called pdx‐1‐positive pancreatic cell‐derived (PPPD) cells, from the pancreas. To analyze the molecular mechanisms of pancreatic cell differentiation, we introduced a polyoma‐based episomal vector system into PPPD cells.Materials and Methods:  PPPD cells were stably transfected with a polyoma large T (PLT)‐expressing plasmid vector, which included the polyoma origin of replication, to generate PLT‐PPPD cells. Various cDNA for pancreas‐related transcription factors were subcloned into the expression plasmid pPyCAG, which included the polyoma origin of replication. PLT‐PPPD cells were stably transfected with the resulting plasmid vectors and then subjected to gene and protein expression analyses.Results:  The coexpression of Mafa, Neurod1 and Ipf1 induced Ins1 and Ins2 expression in PLT‐PPPD cells. The forced expression of Pax6 alone induced the expression of glucagon. The coexpression of Neurod1 and Isl1 induced Ins2 and Sst expression. In contrast, the expression of Ptf1a and Foxa2 induced the expression of exocrine markers Cpa1 and Amy2. Transfections with multiple transcription factors showed that Isl1 is required for the differentiation of both insulin‐positive cells and somatostatin‐positive cells. In addition, Foxa2 induced the differentiation of glucagon‐positive cells and inhibited the differentiation of insulin‐positive and somatostatin‐positive cells. PLT‐PPPD cells allow episomal vector‐based gene expression and should be useful for studying the transcription factor cascades involved in the differentiation of pancreatic cell types in vitro.Conclusions:  Our coexpression study showed novel critical roles for Isl1 and Foxa2 in the differentiation of PPPD cells into endocrine cells. (J Diabetes Invest, doi: 10.1111/j.2040‐1124.2011.00136.x, 2012)
Convergent validity and reliability for a measure of perception of control for those with diabetes
Authors: Bunting Brendan P. , Coates Vivien 
Published: June 2011

Objectives. This study assesses the reliability and factor structure of six positive and six negative dimensions of perceived control with people with insulin‐dependent diabetes.Design. The dimensional structure of these six positive and six negative constructs was assessed in terms of six one‐factor models, where positive and negative factors were combined. This solution was compared with one where a separate factor structure was proposed for each of the positive and negative dimensions.Methods. The reported results were based upon a series of confirmatory factor models using weighted least squares.Results. Maintaining a separate factor structure for the positive and negative dimensions was the preferred solution. The reliabilities from these 12 factors ranged from .59 to .74.Conclusions. These results provide evidence for the internal validity and reliability of this particular measure of perceived control among individuals with insulin‐dependent diabetes.
Appraisal and coping in immunologically distinct subgroups of women with rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Stewart Malcolm W. , Knight Robert G. 
Published: June 2011

Objectives. Previous research has indicated stronger relationships between stress and disease in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who are seronegative (SNRA) for the autoantibodies called rheumatoid factor compared with seropositive RA patients (SPRA). The study compared women with SNRA and SPRA on measures of appraisal and coping responses to general stressors and pain.Design. A cross‐sectional comparison of the patterns of appraisal, coping and affective responses was undertaken with groups of women with either SNRA or SPRA of less than eight years' duration. Data for some measures were collected at an initial interview, and for other measures 18 months later.Methods. Standardized measures (including the Coping Strategies Questionnaire and the Ways of Coping Checklist) and specially developed measures were completed by a sample of female RA patients.Results. The SNRA group reported more negative future expectancies and a higher level of worry about their disease. No differences in coping strategy use were found. The groups were comparable on a wide range of clinical, functional and demographic variables, and standardized depression and general anxiety scales.Conclusions. These results suggest that appraisal processes may be particularly significant for the SNRA group. This may relate to the stronger stress‐disease relationship seen for the SNRA group. The SNRA group may particularly benefit from psychological intervention to assist them to modify the impact of appraisal processes.
The measurement of exercise motives: Factorial validity and invariance across gender of a revised Exercise Motivations Inventory
Authors: Markland David , Ingledew David K. 
Published: June 2011

Objectives. The aim of this study was to further develop and refine the Exercise Motivations Inventory (EMI), a measure of individuals' reasons for exercising.Design. Confirmatory factor analytic procedures using LISREL were employed to test the hypothesized 14‐factor structure of the revised instrument (the EMI‐2) and the invariance of the factor structure across gender.Methods. Four hundred and twenty‐five civil servants completed the revised instrument. Analyses were conducted in three phases. Phase 1 involved detailed examination of the fit of the 14‐factors separately in order to detect and eliminate poor indicators. In Phase 2 each factor was paired with every other factor in order to detect and eliminate ambiguous items. In Phase 3 factors were grouped with conceptually related factors into five submodels and the fit and factorial invariance across gender of these submodels was tested.Results. Item elimination at Phases 1 and 2 led to the development of a set of internally consistent factors with strong indicators and good discriminant validity. Phase 3 gave further evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity of the items and factors and strong support for the invariance of the factor structure across gender.Conclusions. The EMI‐2 is a factorially valid means of assessing a broad range of exercise participation motives in adult males and females, applicable to both exercisers and non‐exercisers.
The personal experience of chronic benign lower back pain: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
Authors: Osborn Mike , Smith Jonathan A. 
Published: June 2011

Objectives. Chronic low back pain is a major health problem and one where pain, physical impairment and biological pathology are only very loosely correlated). It is considered that the experience of pain, its distress and disability is mediated by its meaning to the sufferer. The intention of this study was to explore the sufferers' personal experience of their pain.Design. Qualitative research is often recommended to complement the quantitative work on chronic pain that has been published to date. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed in an in‐depth study of a small sample of chronic pain patients.Method. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with nine women pain patients. The verbatim transcripts of those interviews served as the data for an interpretative phenomenological analysis.Results. Four themes emerged which are described under the broad headings: searching for an explanation; comparing this self with other selves; not being believed; and withdrawing from others.Conclusions. The participants shared an inability to explain the persistent presence of their pain or to reconstruct any contemporary self‐regard. While they used social comparisons to try and help them make sense of their situation, these comparisons proved equivocal in their outcome. Participants were unable to establish the legitimacy of the chronic nature of their pain and in certain situations felt obliged to appear ill to conform to the expectations of others. By default, participants treated their own pain as a stigma and tended to withdraw from social contact. They felt confused, afraid for their future and vulnerable to shame.
The generation gap in menstrual cycle attributions
Authors: Lawlor S. , Choi P. Y. L. 
Published: June 2011

Objectives. To replicate research from the 1980s that consistently found people to attribute negative moods experienced in the premenstrual phase to the menstrual cycle but positive moods to other factors such as work and to extend the research to examine community samples of different age groups.Methods. Four groups of women: under 18 years, 18–34 years, 35–54 years and over 55s were presented with four vignettes of a woman in either a positive or negative mood and in either the premenstrual phase or the middle of her cycle.Results. Two‐way split plot MANOVA and subsequent post hoc analyses revealed findings consistent with earlier studies but group differences emerged. The under 18s did not differ in their mood attributions and between‐group analyses revealed that they were significantly more likely to attribute premenstrual positive moods to the menstrual cycle than the other groups.Conclusions. These findings suggest that the younger generation of British women today may hold more positive attitudes towards the menstrual cycle.
Rich and Equal in the Eyes of Almighty God! Creflo Dollar and the Gospel of Racial Reconciliation
Authors: Mumford Debra J. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractProsperity preachers are generally critiqued by outsiders because of their contention that God wants all believers to be rich. They take the money of sincere parishioners and live lavish lifestyles while many of their hearers continue to live in poverty. However, there is another danger inherit in prosperity preaching: the denial of the relevance of race to the social existence of all Christians. This essay examines the writings and sermons of Creflo Dollar, Jr. to explore his teachings about race. Though Dollar presents his theology as antiracist in theory, I seek to delineate and disclose the perils of his teachings on racial identity and racial reconciliation in order to demonstrate how he, in fact, sabotages the potential of true racial reconciliation for his adherents. True racial reconciliation acknowledges the existence of not only individual sin but also systemic sin that negatively impacts the lives of all people.
In Search of the ‘Song Of Zion’: Abraham Portaleone on Music in the Ancient Temple
Authors: Harrán Don 
Published: June 2011

AbstractAbraham Portaleone’s massive disquisition on the Ancient Temple (Sefer shiltei ha-gibborim, 1612) stands alone among Hebrew writings of the early seventeenth century. Of its ninety chapters, ten along with comments in various appendices present his views on the so-called ‘Song of Zion’ (Psalms 137:3), or music sung and played by the Levites for worship in the Temple. Portaleone takes off from the premise that its components, thought to have gradually been forgotten by the Hebrews in their wanderings after 70 CE, were, from earliest times, imitated and preserved by Christians in their art music. He thus described it after the example, however historically incongruous, of late sixteenth-century Italian polyphony (music for two or more voices). But he also spoke of the cantillation of Scriptures in connection with Temple services, even though cantillation—as we know it—evolved mainly in the medieval synagogue. Realizing the contingency of his remarks, he predicted that both polyphony and cantillation will be eclipsed in future times by a return to the original ‘Song’ in its “intrinsic perfection.” By examining Portaleone’s treatise along with writings of his contemporaries, it is possible to unravel some of the difficulties in defining music as practiced or thought to have been practiced in the First and Second Temples.
Law and Architecture: The Pollution Crisis in the Italian Ghetto
Authors: Malkiel David 
Published: June 2011

AbstractMuch has been written about the establishment of ghettos in Italy and some attention has been paid to social structures and cultural forms that emerged during the ghetto period, but there is a great deal more to be learned about how living in a ghetto affected the Jewish family, society and culture. The present study sheds light on the ghetto’s physical presence, specifically on the impact on religious life of the architecture and urban development of this uniquely Jewish space.Rabbinic responsa published in the Pahad Yitzhak, an encyclopedia of Jewish law published by Isaac Lampronti of Ferrara in the mid-eighteenth century, represent an eruption of anxiety, expressed in a flurry of intense literary activity, about the ostensible impossibility of escaping “tent pollution,” contracted by anyone present under the same roof as someone deceased. The pollution seemed inescapable because the architecture and urban layout seemed to allow for it to pass from building to building across the entire ghetto. The tent pollution material is thus an instance of the interplay of architecture, urban development and Jewish law.Tent pollution particularly exercised the Jews of early modern Italy. Jews living both before and after the age of the Italian ghetto evinced virtually no interest in the tent pollution problems posed by urban development. There is a smattering of writing on the subject from northern Europe and the Ottoman Empire, which only underscores that this was a particularly Italian problem.The present study spotlights this moment in early modern Jewish life, which stands out for the agitation it aroused among Italy’s Jews, and explores its implications for the social and cultural concerns of Jews in the early modern era. Lampronti’s encyclopedia affords us entrée, serving as a kind of seismograph to draw attention to areas which were the focus of heightened concern and activity in his historical setting.
Connait-on des voyelles longues fermées en cyrénéen? À propos de αρΕς, χΕν, ετυχΕν et δωρΕσαι
Authors: Izquierdo Enrique Nieto 
Published: June 2011

AbstractIn her work on the Cyrenaean dialect, C. Dobias-Lalou concluded that the dialect of Cyrene had in the fourth century BC a dissymmetric system of long vowels, with one /:/ but /ε:/ and /e:/. This new theory is motivated by some anomalous forms with <E> instead of expected <H> from e + e contraction. In this paper I firstly bring arguments against D.-L.’s interpretation in order to prove that the Cyrenaean of the fourth century had only one /e:/. Secondly I try to explain otherwise the anomalous forms with <E> for <H>.
Commercial Diplomats in the Context of International Business
Authors: Naray Olivier 
Published: June 2011

AbstractDrawing on literature from various disciplines that directly address commercial diplomacy (diplomacy, political economy and international marketing) as well as empirical research, this article brings to commercial diplomacy the approach of management and organizational science. Methods used include qualitative case study research from in-depth semi-structured interviews with numerous commercial diplomats and related stakeholders, such as concerned business firms. A large share of the data was gathered in Switzerland. Naray analyses the roles of commercial diplomats by creating a framework composed of three main groups of roles — facilitation (F), advisory (A) and representation (R) — or ‘FAR’. These three roles cut across activity areas such as trade promotion, investments, ‘made-in’ and corporate image, cooperation in science and technology, and the protection of intellectual property. Two key dimensions of factors that shape the nature of commercial diplomacy are identified: organizational (such as arrangements between ministries and trade-promotion organizations, etc.); and individual (education, background and motivation). Implications arising from the organizational dimension concern organizational design, seeking effective arrangements between the commercial diplomat’s organizational unit and the headquarters. The individual dimension implies rethinking recruitment and talent management. If governments are to reorganize their commercial diplomacy, these two dimensions should be considered and acted upon.
God as the Equilibrium of the Hobbesian Political Philosophical System
Authors: Di Leo Razuk Andrés 
Published: June 2011

AbstractIn this work we will try to demonstrate the presence and the role that God has in Thomas Hobbes's political philosophy. We consider that this religious belief, that it is the system's equilibrium, guaranties that the Hobbesian political project does not fall into revolutionary or totalitarian excesses. Thus, we shall analyse the arguments of the existence of God that are introduced by the philosopher Malmesbury with the objective of proving that reason does not necessarily lead to atheism, but that such faculty requires the Revelation intervention to be able to channel it into a peaceful and lasting life.
Odi et Amo? Hobbes on the State of Nature
Authors: Rosler Andrés 
Published: June 2011

AbstractVery few—if any—will doubt Hobbes's aversion to the state of nature and sympathy for civil society. On the other hand, it is not quite news that it would be inaccurate to claim that Hobbes rejected the state of nature entirely. Indeed, he embraced or at the very least tolerated the state of nature at the international level in order to escape from the individual state of nature. Hobbes's recommended exchange of an individual state of nature for an international one does seem to have a smack of contradiction, arguably first noted by Rousseau. There is yet another charge of contradiction lurking around Hobbes's account of the state of nature. Hobbes's political thought would still reflect an ambivalent attitude towards a third instantiation of the state of nature, i.e. civil war. This is one of the main reasons why the political allegiance of Thomas Hobbes has been an issue ever since the publication of De Cive at the very least. This paper deals with Hobbes's differential treatment of the original and the international states of nature and discusses the source of Hobbes's somewhat ambivalent attitude towards civil war. It is here argued that Hobbes can fairly hold his ground vis-à-vis Rousseau's criticism, in spite of the normative resemblance between the international state of nature and the initial state of nature, and that Hobbes ambivalent attitude of attraction and repulsion towards civil war is actually due not so much to opportunism on his part as to the normative autonomy he has granted to the state of nature.