bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cyclosporine monitoring in renal transplant recipients with induction therapy: C2 levels in patients monitored on C0
Authors: Loichot Cécile , Bentue‐Ferrer Danièle , Bernard Nicole , Bonardet Andrée , Boulieu Roselyne , Kergueris Marie‐France , Paintaud Gilles , Peytavin Gilles , Simon Nicolas , Marquet Pierre ,   the therapeutic drug monitoring group of the French Pharmacological Society
Published: December 2005

AbstractThe aim of this retrospective study was to compare the cyclosporine C2 blood levels in renal transplant recipients with induction therapy, monitored on C0 levels during the early and long‐term post‐transplantation periods in different French transplantation centres, to the target values recommended by the International Consensus on Neoral® and used in the Mo2art study. A retrospective study was conducted by the therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) committee of the French Pharmacological Society. Cyclosporine C0 and C2 concentrations from 168 renal transplant recipients were collected at different post‐transplantation periods by six TDM laboratories of transplantation centres from April 2001 to April 2002. Cyclosporine blood levels were determined by fluorescence polarization immunoassay (mFPIA, AxSYM, Abbott) or enzyme immunoassay (EMIT, Dade Behring). Most patients had C0 values in the recommended target ranges, with C2 levels below the targets used in the Mo2art study or proposed by the International Consensus Conference, both during the early and long‐term post‐transplantation periods. Sixty‐eight per cent of patients had C2 below 1500 μg/L ± 20% in the first 2 months post‐transplantation and 55% had C2 below 800 μg/L ± 20% in the late post‐transplantation period (>1 year). Cyclosporine dose should be increased by 40% on average during the first week post‐transplantation period and by 50% during the maintenance period to achieve the C2 targets. In France, most renal transplant recipients receiving induction agents monitored on C0 had C2 levels below the targets recommended by the International Consensus Conference. In clinical practice, the optimal therapeutic windows for CsA monitoring based on C2 needs to be more precisely defined, both during the early and long‐term post‐transplantation periods in renal transplant recipients receiving induction agents.
Adenosine receptors: promising targets for the development of novel therapeutics and diagnostics for asthma
Authors: Russo Cristina , Arcidiacono Giuseppe , Polosa Riccardo 
Published: December 2005

AbstractInterest in the role of adenosine in asthma has escalated considerably since the early observation of its powerful bronchoconstrictor effects in asthmatic but not normal airways. A growing body of evidence has emerged in support of a proinflammatory and immunomodulatory role for the purine nucleoside adenosine in the pathogenic mechanisms of chronic inflammatory disorders of the airways such as asthma. The fact that adenosine enhances mast cell allergen‐dependent activation, that elevated levels of adenosine are present in chronically inflamed airways, and that adenosine given by inhalation cause dose‐dependent bronchoconstriction in subjects with asthma emphasizes the importance of adenosine in the initiation, persistence and progression of these common inflammatory disorders of the airways. These distinctive features of adenosine have been recently exploited in the clinical and research setting to identify innovative diagnostic applications for asthma. In addition, because adenosine exerts its multiple biological activities by interacting with four adenosine receptor subtypes, selective activation or blockade of these receptors may lead to the development of novel therapies for asthma.
Clinical and prognostic role of plasma coagulation factor XIII activity for bleeding disorders and 6‐year survival in patients with chronic liver disease
Authors: Tacke Frank , Fiedler Kai , von Depka Mario , Luedde Tom , Hecker Hartmut , Manns Michael P. , Ganser Arnold , Trautwein Christian 
Published: December 2005

Abstract: Background/Aims: Alterations of plasma coagulation factor XIII may contribute to bleeding disorders in patients with liver cirrhosis. As standard clotting tests such as prothrombin time or activated thromboplastin time (aPTT) cannot detect factor XIII deficiency, this may often be overlooked in clinical practice. We aimed to define factor XIII's clinical and prognostic role in chronic liver disease.Patients and methods: Factor XIII activities were assessed among various other parameters in 111 patients with chronic liver diseases during evaluation for liver transplantation in a prospective study.Results: Unlike coagulation factors II, V or VII, factor XIII activity was maintained in the majority of patients with liver cirrhosis. However, although rarely, factor XIII deficiencies (<50%) occurred, especially in Child C cirrhosis. Factor XIII levels correlated with liver's biosynthetic capacity (cholinesterase activity, albumin, total protein) as well as with platelet count, global coagulation tests and other single coagulation factors. Patients reporting a current systemic bleeding tendency at study entry had significantly reduced factor XIII. In a 6‐year follow‐up, patients with factor XIII <50% had a significantly increased risk of severe upper gastrointestinal bleed, and reduced factor XIII (<50%, 50–75% vs. normal) was associated with increased mortality.Conclusions: Factor XIII deficiency is rare in patients with liver cirrhosis, but is associated with a clinical bleeding tendency and an unfavorable prognosis for future hemorrhages and survival.
Intraspecific and interspecific competition for larval nests of the caddisflies Stenopsyche marmorata and Stenopsyche sauteri
Authors: FUNAKOSHI Shintaro 
Published: December 2005

AbstractTwo closely related species of the trichopteran genus Stenopsyche–S. marmorata and S. sauteri– are both widely distributed in Japan, and their larvae often co‐occur in stony stream beds. The larvae make nests by spinning nets in spaces between stones. In this study, I examined the effects of the intruder–resident relationship, bodyweight difference, and species combination on contest outcome in laboratory experiments. In S. marmorata, bodyweight was revealed to be a better predictor of winning a contest than was residency. In S. sauteri, however, there was a prior‐resident effect in the contests, and takeover occurred in a few cases when the intruders were larger than the residents. The duration of agonistic behavior increased as the bodyweight differences between the fighting individuals decreased. In heterospecific contests, outcomes were generally asymmetric: the larvae of S. marmorata (the larger species) rarely intruded into the nest of S. sauteri, while they, in most cases, protected their own nests from intrusion by S. sauteri larvae. In conclusion, the resident wins in both forms of competition when either S. marmorata or S. sauteri is an intruder.
Study of the genetics of female sex pheromone production and male behavioral response in a moth, Ostrinia orientalis
Authors: FU Xiaoyan , TATSUKI Sadahiro , HOSIZAKI Sugihiko , ISHIKAWA Yukio 
Published: December 2005

AbstractInheritance patterns of female sex pheromone production and male behavioral response were studied in Ostrinia orientalis. Results showed that the production of the female sex pheromone in O. orientalis was mainly controlled by a single autosomal factor, while the male behavioral response was controlled by a sex‐linked major gene.
Morphological features and molecular phylogeny of Placochela Rübsaamen (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) with implications for taxonomy and host specificity
Authors: TOKUDA Makoto , HARRIS Keith M. , YUKAWA Junichi 
Published: December 2005

AbstractMorphological studies, combined with phylogenetic analysis based on partial nucleotide sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I region, were used to elucidate the taxonomic status of the genus Placochela Rübsaamen within the tribe Asphondyliini and of two included species. Placochela is confirmed as a distinct genus, separated from Schizomyia Kieffer morphologically and phylogenetically, but its two European species are not separable and are therefore synonymized. Illustrated descriptions of adults and larvae of Placochela nigripes (Löw) on two of its known hosts, Sambucus nigra Linnaeus and Ligustrum vulgare Linnaeus, are provided. Polyphagy has been recorded in the subtribe Asphondyliina, but this is the first record of such polyphagy in the subtribe Schizomyiina.
Detection of West Nile virus in the Mexican blood supply
Authors: Sánchez‐Guerrero Sergio A. , Romero‐Estrella Sagrario , Rodríguez‐Ruiz Antonio , Infante‐Ramírez Lilia , Gómez Angélica , Villanueva‐Vidales Eduardo , García‐Torres Martha , Domínguez Ana MA. , Vázquez Jaime A. , Calderón Eva D. , Valiente‐Banuet Leopoldo , Linnen Jeffrey M. , Broulik Amy , Harel William , Marín y López Rafael A. 
Published: December 2005

BACKGROUND: West Nile virus (WNV) is the etiologic agent of an emerging disease in the Western Hemisphere that can be transmitted to humans by blood transfusion. WNV first appeared in the United States in 1999, in Canada in 2001, and in Mexico in 2002. The aim of this nationwide study was to determine the prevalence of WNV in blood donors in Mexico as a first step in preventing its transfusion‐associated transmission.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In July and August 2004, a total of 3856 fresh plasma specimens collected from each state's center for blood transfusion in 29 of 31 Mexican states were screened with an investigational WNV assay (Procleix,® Gen‐Probe Inc. and Chiron Corp.), a nucleic acid test based on transcription‐mediated amplification (TMA). Reactive specimens were confirmed with a second TMA‐based test, the alternative WNV assay (Gen‐Probe), and with WNV capture enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies. In addition, 3714 frozen plasma samples collected in 2002 and 2003 were similarly tested.RESULTS: One of 3856 fresh samples from an asymptomatic donor from Chihuahua was reactive by both TMA‐based tests and IgM ELISA, suggesting a recently acquired infection. The observed percentage of viremic donors blood donors was 0.03 percent. Results from frozen samples were not included in the prevalence calculation and none were TMA‐reactive for WNV.CONCLUSIONS: WNV is present in the Mexican blood supply and measures should be taken to reduce the risk of transfusion transmission.
Prospective investigations of the prodromal state of schizophrenia: assessment instruments
Authors: Olsen K. A. , Rosenbaum B. 
Published: December 2005

Objective:  To review assessment instruments used for detection of prodromal or at‐risk mental states, and discuss their role in current research.Method:  A systematic electronic literature search was conducted and supplemented by a manual search. All relevant scales were selected for the purpose of the review.Results:  Six interviews and four screening instruments were found. Two main traditions are prevailing: the Attenuated Positive Symptoms approach and the Basic Symptoms approach. Reports of psychometric properties of the interviews are preliminary.Conclusion:  The instruments detect individuals with an increased risk of psychosis in clinical populations, but predictive validity and measures of reliability is insufficiently evaluated. Studies including instruments from both traditions should be conducted, in order to obtain an empirical basis of hypothesized relations between instruments. Instruments elucidating phenomenological aspects of anomalies in self‐experience may contribute with valuable data on the pre‐onset phase of psychosis.
Patients with schizophrenia treated with aripiprazole, a multicentre naturalistic study
Authors: Christensen A. F. , Poulsen J. , Nielsen C. T. , Bork B. , Christensen A. , Christensen M. 
Published: December 2005

Objective:  The purpose was to carry out a naturalistic study on efficacy, safety and tolerability of aripiprazole during treatment of schizophrenia. Fifty‐one patients with an ICD‐10 diagnosis of schizophrenia and partial responders to prior antipsychotic medication were offered treatment with aripiprazole as monotherapy or in combination their prior medication. Inclusion criteria were lack of therapeutic effect or adverse events on former antipsychotic treatment.Method:  Six‐month open multicentre naturalistic study with prospective assessments including Body Mass Index (BMI), Clinical Global Impression – Severity (CGI‐S), Clinical Global Impression – Improvment, Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF) and adverse events.Results:  A statistically significant improvement in the different measures of psychopathology and global functioning (CGI‐S reduction 34.7%; GAF improvement 14%) was shown in combination with a statistically significant reduction in BMI of 2.9%. Nine patients (17.6%) did not complete the 6‐month treatment.Conclusion:  In an open multicentre naturalistic study, aripiprazole showed to improve the severity of psychotic symptoms and the global level of functioning. However, many of the patients (47%) were also given another antipsychotic drug at the same time. Also, high compliance and few side effects were reported. However, because of the study design, the results must be interpreted conservatively.
Renal endothelin system and excretory function in Wistar–Kyoto and Long–Evans rats
Authors: Girchev R. , Bäcker A. , Markova P. , Kramer H. J. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractAim:  The role of the kidney endothelin system in the renal regulation of fluid and electrolyte excretion was investigated in Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) and Long–Evans (LE) rats in which we found previously marked differences in the renal excretory responses to endothelin A receptor blockade.Methods:  The selective endothelin A and B receptor antagonists BQ‐123 (16.4 nmol kg−1 min−1) and BQ‐788 (25 nmol kg−1 min−1) were infused i.v. for 50 min in conscious chronically instrumented WKY and LE rats and their renal function and renal endothelin system were studied.Results:  Without effects on glomerular filtration rate or renal blood flow, BQ‐123 and BQ‐788 decreased by more than 50% (P < 0.01) both urine flow rate and electrolyte excretion in WKY rats but only urine flow rate (P < 0.05) in LE rats. Endothelin‐1 content, preproET‐1/GPDH mRNA ratio, Bmax and Kd of total endothelin receptors in renal cortex did not differ between the two strains. In contrast, plasma endothelin‐1 concentration (0.58 ± 0.04 vs. 1.05 ± 0.01 femtomol mL−1; P < 0.01), renal papillary ET‐1 concentration (68 ± 5 vs. 478 ± 62 fmol mg−1 protein; P < 0.01) and preproET‐1/GPDH mRNA ratio (0.65 ± 0.09 vs. 0.88 ± 0.05; P < 0.05) as well as total endothelin receptor number in renal papilla (Bmax 5.3 ± 0.4 vs. and 9.0 ± 1.2 pmol mg−1 protein; P < 0.05) were markedly lower in LE than in WKY rats. In vitro studies showed that in both strains ETB receptors on renal cortical membranes amounted between 65% and 67% and on papillary membranes between 85% and 88%.Conclusion:  The present data show that the selective ETA or ETB receptor blockade differentially affects tubular water and salt handling, which becomes apparent in conditions of low renal papillary endothelin receptor number and tissue endothelin‐1 concentration.
The role of adipokines as regulators of skeletal muscle fatty acid metabolism and insulin sensitivity
Authors: Dyck D. J. , Heigenhauser G. J. F. , Bruce C. R. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractSeveral adipose‐derived cytokines (adipokines) have been suggested to act as a link between accumulated fat mass and altered insulin sensitivity. Resistin and tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) have been implicated in impairing insulin sensitivity in rodents; conversely, two other adipokines, leptin and adiponectin, increase insulin sensitivity in lean and obese rodents. Currently, there is considerable focus on the concept that lipid accumulation in skeletal muscle leads to the development of insulin resistance. Adiponectin and leptin have each been demonstrated to increase rates of fatty acid (FA) oxidation and decrease muscle lipid content, which may in part be the underlying mechanism to their insulin sensitizing effect. These effects on FA metabolism appear to be mediated in part through the activation of AMP‐activated protein kinase. Evidence derived from animal and human studies suggests that the ability of leptin and adiponectin to stimulate FA oxidation in muscle is impaired in the obese condition. Thus, leptin and adiponectin resistance may be an initiating factor in the accumulation of intramuscular lipids, such as diacylglyerol and ceramide, and the ensuing development of insulin resistance. Lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise are able to restore the sensitivity of muscle to leptin. The actual physiological roles of resistin and TNF‐α in altering muscle lipid metabolism are more controversial, but each has been shown to directly impair insulin signalling and consequently, insulin stimulated glucose uptake in muscle. However, the possibility that resistin and TNF‐α reduces insulin sensitivity in muscle by directly impairing FA metabolism in this tissue leading to lipid accumulation, has been virtually unexamined. Thus, the contribution of various adipokines to the development of insulin resistance is complex and not fully understood. Finally, the effects of these adipokines on metabolism and insulin sensitivity are generally studied in isolation, making it difficult to predict the interactive effects and the net impact on insulin sensitivity.
Endogenous signalling system involved in parotid gland adenosine A1receptor‐amylase release
Authors: Finkelberg A. , Busch L. , Reina S. , Sterin‐Borda L. , Borda E. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractAim: In this study, we have determined signalling pathways involved in adenosine A1receptor (A1receptor)‐dependent stimulation of amylase release in rat parotid gland.Methods: Amylase release, binding and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) assays, inositol phosphates (IPs) production and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity in the presence of cyclopentyl‐1,3‐dipropylxanthine (CPA) alone or in the presence of different inhibitory drugs were performed.Results: The binding parameters of specific A1antagonist [3H]‐cyclopentyl 1,3‐dipropilxanthine ([3H]‐DPCPX) in parotid gland membranes show a population of high affinity sites withKd(nm) 0.53 ± 0.06 andBmax(fmol mg−1protein) 122.6 ± 10.2. CPA stimulation of A1receptor exerts an increase in amylase release, IPs accumulation, cAMP production and NOS activity. All these A1agonist effects were blocked by the A1receptor antagonist DPCPX. Inhibitors of phospholipase C (PLC), calcium/calmodulin (CaM), protein kinase C (PKC), and adenylate cyclase, but not NOS, activities attenuated the CPA stimulatory effect on amylase release. The effect of CPA on amylase release significantly correlated with its action either on cAMP or on IPs accumulation.Conclusion: These results suggest that CPA activation of parotid gland A1receptor induces a stimulatory effect on amylase release associated with increased production of cAMP and IPs accumulation. The mechanism appears to occur secondarily to stimulation of phosphoinositide turnover via PLC activation. This, in turn, triggers cascade reactions involving CaM and PKC. The CPA stimulation of NOS does not appear to participate in amylase release.
Human skeletal muscle myosin function at physiological and non‐physiological temperatures
Authors: Lionikas A. , Li M. , Larsson L. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractAim:  The aim of the study was to assess the function of human skeletal muscle myosin across a wide range of temperatures, including physiological.Methods:  We used a single fibre in vitro motility assay. The in vitro motility speed of actin filaments propelled by myosin extracted from fibres expressing type I myosin heavy chain (MyHC; n = 9), IIa MyHC (n = 6), IIax MyHC (n = 4) and I/IIa MyHC (n = 1) was measured at 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 °C.Results:  The motility speed between groups of fibres expressing different MyHC differed significantly (P ≪ 0.001). The increase in motility speed with an increase in temperature was statistically significant (P ≪ 0.001) between all temperatures. The relative difference in motility speed between the slow type I and the fast IIax MyHC fibres decreased with increasing temperature, i.e. a 7.5‐fold difference at 15 °C was reduced to twofold at 35 °C. Furthermore, the twofold difference in motility speed between type IIa and IIax MyHC at 15 °C disappeared completely at 35 °C. The activation energy, EA, and temperature coefficient, Q10, over the 15–35 °C temperature range was higher for type I MyHC, 54.47 ± 4.37 kJ mol−1 and 2.09 ± 0.12, respectively, than for type IIa MyHC, 45.41 ± 3.12 kJ mol−1 (P < 0.001) and 1.85 ± 0.08 (P < 0.001), or IIax MyHC, 34.71 ± 1.75 kJ mol−1 (P ≪ 0.001) and 1.60 ± 0.04 (P ≪ 0.001).Conclusion:  The present results suggest a significantly reduced difference in shortening velocity between different human muscle fibre types at physiological temperature than previously reported at lower temperatures (12 or 15 °C) with implications for human in vivo muscle function.
Brief report on the experience of using proxy consent for incapacitated adults
Authors: Mason S , Barrow H , Phillips A , Eddison G , Nelson A , Cullum N , Nixon J 
Published: December 2005

The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004, which came into force in the UK in May 2004, cover the conduct of clinical trials on medicinal products. They allow a legal representative (a person not connected with the conduct of the trial) to consent to the participation of incompetent adults in medical research. Currently, very little is known about how such representatives will make their decisions.We have experience with proxy consent for older adults in a large, national trial. From 2445 potentially eligible but incapacitated patients, proxy, relative assent resulted in trial participation of only 87 (3.6%) patients. The reasons for this were that a large number of incapacitated patients had no relative available for assent (2286), but also a high proportion of relatives approached refused to provide assent (72/159, 45.3%). In comparison, 17.7% of patients declined participation in the trial.Proxy consent allowed only a small increase in trial recruitment of incapacitated patients. The fact that a greater proportion of relatives than patients refused to provide assent implies that they were more cautious than the patients themselves, or perhaps used different criteria, when making their decision.In future research involving incapacitated older patients there is likely to be heavy reliance on proxy consent provision by legal representatives. Our findings imply that consent decisions of legal representatives will not necessarily reflect those of patients themselves.