bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Decreased Muscle Acetyl‐Coenzyme A Carboxylase 2 mRNA and Insulin Resistance in Formerly Obese Subjects
Authors: Rosa Giuseppina , Manco Melania , Vega Natalie , Greco Aldo V. , Castagneto Marco , Vidal Hubert , Mingrone Geltrude 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective:A relationship between free fatty acids, intramuscular triglycerides (TGMs), and insulin resistance is widely accepted. The intracellular level of malonyl‐coenzyme A (CoA) was suggested to be the possible link. Acetyl‐CoA carboxylase (ACC) is a key enzyme in fatty acid metabolism, catalyzing the synthesis of malonyl‐CoA, a fatty acid acyl‐chain elongation unit, from acetyl‐CoA. We assessed ACC2 mRNA expression variations in skeletal muscle of subjects who have undergone biliopancreatic diversion (BPD) operation. BPD, in fact inducing a massive lipid malabsorption, leads to a reversion of insulin resistance.Research Methods and Procedures: Twelve obese women (BMI > 40 kg/m2) were enrolled in the study. Body composition, euglycemic‐hyperinsulinemic clamp, and muscle biopsies for lipid analysis and reverse transcription‐competitive polymerase chain reaction were performed before and 3 years after BPD.Results: The average weight loss was around 37%. A significant inverse linear relation was observed between glucose uptake and TGM (y = −5.62x − 142.82, R2 = 0.50, p = 0.01). The reduced amount of ACC2 mRNA directly correlated with both TGM (y = 2.11x +69.85, R2 = 0.70, p = 0.01) and fasting insulin (y = 1.49x + 57.17, R2 = 0.69, p < 0.01) concentrations.Discussion: In conclusion, down‐regulation of ACC2 mRNA, induced by the lowering of plasma insulin concentration, is related to improvement of insulin sensitivity. We hypothesize that reduced amount of malonyl‐CoA, consequent to reduced ACC2 mRNA, enhancing fatty acid oxidation, causes lowering of the intramyocitic triglyceride depot.
Relationship of Adiposity to Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Obese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Hegazi Refaat A.F. , Sutton‐Tyrrell Kim , Evans Robert W. , Kuller Lewis H. , Belle Steven , Yamamoto Monica , Edmundowicz Daniel , Kelley David E. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: There is an increased prevalence of macrovascular disease in type 2 diabetes. The pathogenesis has been related to metabolic risk factors, insulin resistance, and obesity. One of the strongest predictors is the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis. This study was designed to examine the relationship between obesity and regional patterns of adiposity, insulin resistance, and five independent measures of subclinical atherosclerosis.Research Methods and Procedures: Fifty‐two overweight and obese men and women with type 2 diabetes of relatively short known duration were examined. Measures of subclinical vascular disease were assessment of arterial stiffness by pulse wave velocity, ultrasound measurement of the carotid artery intimal‐medial thickness and plaque index, and measurement of the extent of coronary and aortic calcification using electron beam computed tomography. Insulin resistance was measured using the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp. Body composition was measured using DXA and computed tomography.Results: Adiposity was a strong determinant of pulse wave velocity. Carotid intimal‐medial thickness was correlated with age, low‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol, and hyperglycemia, but not with adiposity. Hyperglycemia and plasma activator inhibitor‐1 were significant correlates of the carotid artery plaque index. Coronary calcium scores were significantly correlated with age and interleukin‐6 and significantly and negatively correlated to insulin sensitivity index.Discussion: These findings suggest that obesity may play an important role in the early phase of subclinical macrovascular disease related to vessel stiffness, whereas hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in conjunction with other risk factors have important roles in progression from vessel stiffness to atheroma formation in type 2 diabetes.
Effects of Growth Hormone Administration in Human Obesity
Authors: Shadid Samyah , Jensen Michael D. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: To summarize the reports in the literature regarding the effect of growth hormone (GH) treatment of obesity.Research Methods and Procedures: Clinical trials of GH treatment of obese adults were reviewed and summarized. Specifically, information regarding the effects of GH on body fat and body fat distribution, glucose tolerance/insulin resistance, and adverse consequences of treatment were recorded.Results: GH administered together with hypocaloric diets did not enhance fat loss or preserve lean tissue mass. No studies provided strong evidence for an independent beneficial effect of GH on visceral adiposity. In all but one study, glucose tolerance during GH treatment suffered relative to placebo.Conclusion: The bulk of studies indicate little or no beneficial effects of GH treatment of obesity despite the low serum GH concentrations associated with obesity.
Site‐Specific Changes in the Expression of Fat‐Partitioning Genes in Weanling Rats Exposed to a Low‐Protein Diet in Utero
Authors: Maloney Chris A. , Gosby Alison K. , Phuyal Jenny L. , Denyer Gareth S. , Bryson Janet M. , Caterson Ian D. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: Intrauterine growth restriction is associated with increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in adult life, including increased adiposity. The aim of this study was to investigate if maternal protein energy malnutrition is associated with changes in expression of genes involved in fat partitioning in weanling rats.Research Methods and Procedures: Time‐mated mothers were placed on one of two isocaloric diets, low protein [(LP), 8% protein] or control (20% protein). All mothers remained on the diet throughout pregnancy and lactation. A third group received control for 2 weeks and was switched to LP for the last week of pregnancy and lactation [late low protein (LLP) group]. Offspring were analyzed at weaning for serum glucose, nonesterified fatty acids, triglyceride, and insulin. Expression of the genes acetyl‐coenzyme A carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, and carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 were measured in liver, quadriceps muscle, and subcutaneous white adipose tissue using semiquantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction.Results: LLP and LP offspring were shorter, weighed less, had reduced serum insulin and nonesterified fatty acids, and had increased serum glucose, serum triglycerides, and hepatic triglycerides. Hepatic gene expression of acetyl‐coenzyme A carboxylase and fatty acid synthase was increased 2‐fold in LLP and LP offspring (p < 0.001). These changes were not seen in muscle or subcutaneous white adipose tissue. CPT‐1 gene expression was unaltered in all tissues examined.Discussion: Maternal protein energy malnutrition programs gene expression of lipogenic enzymes in the liver of weanling offspring in a manner favoring fat synthesis that may predispose these offspring to fat accumulation and insulin resistance later in life.
Metabolic Adaptations to Dexamethasone‐Induced Insulin Resistance in Healthy Volunteers
Authors: Nicod Nathalie , Giusti Vittorio , Besse Christine , Tappy Luc 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: Insulin resistance is observed in individuals with normal glucose tolerance. This indicates that increased insulin secretion can compensate for insulin resistance and that additional defects are involved in impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes. The objective of this study was to evaluate a procedure aimed at assessing the compensatory mechanisms to insulin resistance.Research Methods and Procedures: Eight healthy nonobese female patients were studied on two occasions, before and after administration of 2 mg/d dexamethasone for 2 days during a two‐step hyperglycemic clamp. Insulin secretion was assessed from plasma insulin concentrations. Insulin sensitivity was assessed from the ratio of whole‐body glucose use (6, 6 2H2 glucose) to plasma insulin concentrations. This procedure is known to induce a reversible impairment of glucose tolerance and insulin resistance.Results: In all subjects, dexamethasone induced a decrease in insulin sensitivity and a proportionate increase in first‐phase insulin secretion and in insulin concentrations at both steps of glycemia. The resulting hyperinsulinemia allowed the restoration of normal whole‐body glucose uptake and the suppression of plasma free fatty acids and triglycerides. In contrast, the suppression of endogenous glucose production was impaired after dexamethasone (p < 0.01).Discussion: Increased insulin secretion fully compensates dexamethasone‐induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue but not in the liver. This suggests that failure to overcome hepatic insulin resistance can impair glucose tolerance. The compensatory insulin secretion in response to insulin resistance can be assessed by means of a hyperglycemic clamp after a dexamethasone challenge.
Effect of Gastric Banding on Aminoterminal Pro‐brain Natriuretic Peptide in the Morbidly Obese
Authors: Hanusch‐Enserer Ursula , Hermann Katharina Maria , Cauza Edmund , Spak Marita , Mähr Bruno , Dunky Attila , Rosen Harald R. , Köller Ursula , Prager Rudolf 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: Aminoterminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP), like brain natriuretic peptide, might have diagnostic utility in detecting left ventricular hypertrophy and/or left ventricular dysfunction. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between morbid obesity and NT‐proBNP and the effect of weight reduction on this parameter.Research Methods and Procedures: A total of 34 morbidly obese patients underwent laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). NT‐proBNP levels were measured before and 12 months after the surgery.Results: Metabolic features and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly decreased (p < 0.00001 for both) after a cumulative weight loss of 19.55 kg 1 year after LAGB. NT‐proBNP concentration was significantly higher in morbidly obese patients before LAGB than in normal‐weight control subjects (341.15 ± 127.78 fmol/mL vs. 161.68 ± 75.78 fmol/mL; p < 0.00001). After bariatric surgery, NT‐proBNP concentration decreased significantly from 341.15 ± 127.78 fmol/mL to 204.87 ± 59.84 fmol/mL (p < 0.00, 001) and remained statistically significantly elevated (204.88 ± 59.84 fmol/mL vs. 161.68 ± 75.78 fmol/mL; p = 0.04) compared with normal‐weight subjects.Discussion: This investigation demonstrates higher levels of NT‐proBNP in morbidly obese subjects and a significant decrease during weight loss after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. In obesity, NT‐proBNP might be useful as a routine screening method for identifying left ventricular hypertrophy and/or left ventricular dysfunction.
Ethical Issues in Providing Services in Schools to Children With Swallowing and Feeding Disorders
Authors: Huffman Nancy P. , Owre DeAnne W. 
Published: April 2008

Purpose
This article is a commentary and discussion of ethical issues in dysphagia services as related to school-based practice in speech-language pathology.

Method
A review of the literature on ethical issues in the provision of speech-language pathology services to individuals with dysphagia was conducted, with particular emphasis on students receiving school-based services.

Results
Issues in dysphagia management that were identified in the literature review are discussed from the perspective of biomedical ethics, professional ethics, and professional practice issues pertinent to the school setting.

Conclusion
Considerations, suggestions, and resources for ethically responsive action on the part of the school-based speech-language pathologist are provided.
Training and Self-Reported Confidence for Dysphagia Management Among Speech-Language Pathologists in the Schools
Authors: O’Donoghue Cynthia R. , Dean-Claytor Ashli 
Published: April 2008

Purpose
The number of children requiring dysphagia management in the schools is increasing. This article reports survey findings relative to speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') training and self-rated confidence to treat children with swallowing and feeding disorders in the schools.

Method
Surveys were completed by 222 SLPs representing Virginia and its contiguous states. Queries on dysphagia training targeted formal education, on-the-job experiences, and current caseload information. In addition, participants self-rated their confidence to treat dysphagia.

Results
Statistically significant relationships between training and self-confidence levels were demonstrated. Specifically, participation in continuing education and currency of educational activities revealed significant and moderately strong correlations to self-reported confidence to treat children with dysphagia in the school setting.

Conclusion
Findings support continuing education as a correlate to self-reported confidence to treat dysphagia in the school setting among SLPs in Virginia and its contiguous states. Further research is merited to ascertain if these findings reflect national trends. Quantifiable, cost-effective, and evidenced-based dysphagia training, consultancy, and management models are needed if school-based SLPs are to meet the increasing challenges of their diverse caseloads.
Family Perceptions of Facilitators and Inhibitors of Effective School-Based Dysphagia Management
Authors: Angell Maureen E. , Bailey Rita L. , Stoner Julia B. 
Published: April 2008

Purpose
This qualitative study focused on the perceptions of family members of children with dysphagia by asking what the family-identified factors are that facilitate or inhibit effective school-based management of pediatric dysphagia.

Method
Semistructured interviews of 7 family members of 6 children with dysphagia, ages 2 through 11 years, were conducted. Collective case study and cross-case analyses were conducted. The findings were confirmed through triangulation, respondent validation, and member checking.

Results
Interviewees identified 5 facilitating factors that enhance school-based dysphagia programs: (a) setting, (b) therapist and/or program, (c) capitalizing on positive child characteristics, (d) home–school interactions, and (e) external supports. Four factors that inhibit effectiveness also emerged: (a) setting, (b) therapist and/or program, (c) limiting child characteristics, and (d) home–school interactions.

Conclusion
Practitioners may consider addressing the factors that were identified as facilitators of effective programs. More research is needed concerning (a) factors promoting effective parent–professional relationships, (b) methods for increasing professional preparation in pediatric dysphagia, and (c) the efficacy of school-based pediatric dysphagia management programs.
Managing Dysphagia in the Schools
Authors: McNeilly Lemmietta G. , Sheppard Justine J. 
Published: April 2008

Purpose
This epilogue summarizes the contribution of the articles in the clinical forum, “Managing Dysphagia in the Schools” and discusses future trends in pediatric dysphagia and the need for clinical practice and research.

Method
The contribution of each of the 10 articles that make up the forum is summarized briefly.

Conclusion
This clinical forum provides a discussion of numerous issues that need to be considered by clinicians working with children who exhibit swallowing and feeding problems and their families in school settings. Current and future challenges exist for clinicians, children, and families dealing with dysphagia. Discussion of current issues and strategies for successful treatment outcomes are provided.
ADOWA AND THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF ITALIAN COLONIALISM
Authors: Finaldi Giuseppe 
Published: April 2008

Report on the Convegno internazionale di studi nel centenario della battaglia di Adua, Piacenza, 10–12 April 1996, now published as, Angeld Del Boca (ed.), Adua. Le ragioni di una sconfitta, Laterza, Rome - Bari, 1997, 468 pp., ISBN 88–420–5196–9, 45,000 Lire.In April 1987, I turned up at Trento's Centro Santa Chiara expecting to see a screening of Mustapha Akkad's The Lion of the Desert and discovered instead, due to a forced entry into the auditorium and confiscation of the reels by the Digos, that Italy faced its colonial past with real anxiety. This film recounts the life of Omar al-Mukhtar, the man who made Italy's conquest of Libya a vicious and bloody war of attrition complete with the whole set up that empirebuilding required for its cheerful accomplishment: concentration camps, mass deportations, massacres of civilians, carpet bombing of villages, etc. Omar al-Mukhtar was hanged, of course, and for Gheddafi Libyan patriotism was born, hence his pleasure in pouring enough oil money into the film to attract big names like Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas. But in Italy the film was banned because considered ‘damaging to the army's honour’. It is strange, but perhaps not altogether without logic, that the Italian army should feel threatened by people being able to see soldiers of Fascist Italy behaving as the soldiers of Fascist Italy behaved, when taking into consideration that the Italian Republic was born, like Libya, out of the Resistance. As in Germany (or so goes the story), the army remained impervious to the excesses of fascist ideology and, of course, played an important part in countering it. But if there was a project that the Italian army (before and during Fascism) made very much its own it was the colonization of Africa.
The sacred synthesis: the ideological cohesion of Fascist cultural policy
Authors: Griffin Roger 
Published: April 2008

SummaryThis article challenges commonly held preconceptions about the absence of a cohesive cultural policy by arguing that, while many rival aesthetic creeds were accommodated under Mussolini's regime, they can all be seen as permutations of a common vision of the central role to be played by a culture in the regeneration of the national community and the creation of a new Italy. It points to a profound relationship between Fascism's cultural policy and its core mobilizing myth of palingenetic ultra-nationalism, which similarly spawned a wide variety of surface ideologies similarly doomed to failure by the irreducibly pluralistic nature of modern society.
Accurate approximation method for prediction of class I MHC affinities for peptides of length 8, 10 and 11 using prediction tools trained on 9mers
Authors: Lundegaard Claus , Lund Ole , Nielsen Morten 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
Summary: Several accurate prediction systems have been developed for prediction of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC):peptide binding. Most of these are trained on binding affinity data of primarily 9mer peptides. Here, we show how prediction methods trained on 9mer data can be used for accurate binding affinity prediction of peptides of length 8, 10 and 11. The method gives the opportunity to predict peptides with a different length than nine for MHC alleles where no such peptides have been measured. As validation, the performance of this approach is compared to predictors trained on peptides of the peptide length in question. In this validation, the approximation method has an accuracy that is comparable to or better than methods trained on a peptide length identical to the predicted peptides.
Availablility: The algorithm has been implemented in the web-accessible servers NetMHC-3.0: http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/NetMHC-3.0, and NetMHCpan-1.1: http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/NetMHCpan-1.1
Contact: lunde@cbs.dtu.dk
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online
Coordinate suppression of Sdpr and Fhl1 expression in tumors of the breast, kidney, and prostate
Authors: Li Xun , Jia Zhenyu , Shen Yongquan , Ichikawa Hitoshi , Jarvik Jonathan , Nagele Robert G. , Goldberg Gary S. 
Published: April 2008

The Src tyrosine kinase associates with the focal adhesion adaptor protein Cas (Crk‐associated substrate) to suppress the expression of potential tumor suppressor genes. For example, Src utilizes Cas to suppress the expression of the LIM‐only protein Fhl1 (four and a half LIM domains 1), in order to promote non‐anchored tumor‐cell growth and migration. Here, we report that the promoter region of the Fhl1 gene was methylated more in Src‐transformed cells than non‐transformed cells. In addition, global expression analysis indicates that Fhl1 induced expression of serum deprivation response factor (Sdpr) in Src‐transformed cells. Moreover, Fhl1 and Sdpr was expressed in approximately 87% and 40% of samples obtained from non‐transformed breast, 100% of samples obtained from non‐transformed kidney, and over 60% of samples obtained from non‐transformed prostate. In contrast, Fhl1 and Sdpr was detected in approximately 40% and 7% of matched samples from mammary carcinoma, less than 11% of matched samples from kidney carcinoma, and in less than 22% of matched samples from prostate carcinoma. These data indicate that Fhl1 and Sdpr expression was significantly reduced in tumors of the breast (P < 0.02 and P < 0.001), kidney (P < 0.01), and prostate (P < 0.05). In addition, although Src can activate mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) to promote tumor‐cell growth, our data indicate that Src did not rely on MAPK activity to suppress the expression of Fhl1 and Sdpr in transformed cells. Thus, Src induced methylation of the promoter region of the Fhl1 gene; Src suppressed Fhl1 and Sdpr expression independent of mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity; Fhl1 induced the expression of Sdpr in Src‐transformed cells; and Fhl1 and Sdpr expression was suppressed in tumors of the breast, kidney, and prostate. (Cancer Sci 2008; 99: 1326–1333)
Individual tumorigenesis pathways of sporadic colorectal adenocarcinomas are associated with the biological behavior of tumors
Authors: Kim Jin C. , Cho Young K. , Roh Seon A. , Yu Chang S. , Gong Gyungyub , Jang Se J. , Kim Seon Y. , Kim Yong S. 
Published: April 2008

Clinicopathologic features of sporadic colorectal adenocarcinomas were compared using integrated data from 244 patients subjected to curative resection. Individual steps in the tumorigenesis pathway, that is, adenomatosis polyposis coli (APC), Wnt‐activated, base excision repair mutations, mismatch repair defects, RAF‐mediated, transforming growth factor (TGF)‐b‐suppressed, bone morphogenic protein (BMP)‐suppressed, and p53 alterations, were examined in terms of genetic and epigenetic changes, as well as protein expression. Genetic and molecular alterations of right colon cancers were distinct from those of left colon and rectal cancers. Rectal cancers showed the attenuated phenotype of left colon cancers. Tumors most frequently displayed either TGF‐b‐ or BMP‐suppressed alterations (81.2%), followed by RAF‐mediated alterations (78.6%), and mismatch repair defects (38.4%), constituting a total of 24 integrated pathways. Tumors lacking APC mutations or carrying the RAF alteration (V600E) were frequently associated with lymphovascular invasion and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). Poorly differentiated or mucinous adenocarcinomas were generally associated with high level microsatellite instability, Axin2 suppression, TGF‐b1 or BMPR1A suppression, loss of heterozygosity of D18S46 or D18S474, and absence of base excision repair mutations (P < 0.0001–0.05). Early tumor recurrence was significantly correlated with lack of APC mutations (P = 0.036). Moreover, tumors that concurrently displayed APC/Wnt‐activated, TGF‐b/BMP‐suppressed, and p53 alterations were significantly predisposed to early recurrence (P = 0.026). Our data clearly indicate that particular steps or pathways of colorectal tumorigenesis are closely associated with characteristic clinicopathologic features that, in turn, determine biological behavior, such as tumor growth, invasion, and recurrence. (Cancer Sci 2008; 99: 1348–1354)