bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Self‐rated health, psychosocial functioning, and health‐related behavior among Thai adolescents
Authors: Page Randy M. , Suwanteerangkul Jiraporn 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBackground:  Despite the popularity of self‐rated health (SRH) in Western countries as a useful public health tool, it has only rarely been used in Asian countries. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether measures of psychosocial functioning and health‐related factors differ according to SRH in a school‐based sample of Thai adolescents.Methods:  The survey was given to 2519 adolescents attending 10 coeducational secondary high schools in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand and included measures of psychosocial functioning (loneliness, hopelessness, shyness, perceptions of social status, self‐rated happiness, and perception of physical attractiveness) and certain health‐related factors (height/weight, physical activity, eating breakfast, sleep).Results:  The proportion of boys (5.1%) reporting that they were not healthy was similar to the proportion of girls (4.6%) making the same rating. These adolescents showed a pattern of overall poor health risk. Compared to adolescent peers who rated their health as healthy or very healthy, they were less physically active, got less sleep, were more likely to be overweight, and scored lower on loneliness, shyness, hopelessness, and self‐rated happiness.Conclusions:  The present pattern of poor health risk warrants attention and supports the merit of using SRH in adolescent health assessment. SRH is easy to obtain and simple to assess and single‐item assessments of SRH appear to be valid measures of health status in adults and adolescent. Interventions, such as health counseling, mental health counseling, and health education, can target adolescents who rate themselves as ‘not healthy’ or report poor health status.
Anti‐oxidant enzymes and related elements in term and preterm newborns
Authors: Nassi Niccolò , Ponziani Vanessa , Becatti Matteo , Galvan Paola , Donzelli Gianpaolo 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBackground:  Although oxidative stress‐related diseases mostly affect neonates with extremely low birthweight, healthy preterm newborns might also be at risk of oxidative damages. The aim of the present study was to verify this possibility.Methods:  Urinary 8‐hydroxy‐2′‐deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG), erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), plasma and erythrocyte concentrations of selenium, zinc and copper were measured until 100 days of life in 30 preterm infants with mean ± SD birthweight and gestational age of 1605 ± 122 g and 34.5 ± 0.5 weeks. The control group included 30 term infants with birthweight 3123 158 g and gestational age 39.6 0.7 weeks.Results:  Throughout the study period urinary 8‐OHdG, taken as a marker of oxidative stress, was significantly higher in the preterm than in the term group. Up until 20 days of life, GSHPx activity was significantly lower in the preterm than in the term infants but this was not associated with any apparent selenium deficiency. Conversely, up until 100 days, preterm infants had significantly reduced SOD levels that appeared to reflect a shortage of the elements needed for this enzyme’s activity, notably copper, the plasma concentrations of which were constantly and significantly below the control values.Conclusion:  The nutritional status of the elements related to the anti‐oxidant enzymes, especially zinc and copper, should be carefully assessed in preterm infants, even if their birthweight is not extremely low.
High incidence of meropenem resistance among α‐hemolytic streptococci in children with cancer
Authors: Abe Masako , Kamijo Takehiko , Matsuzawa Shigeyuki , Miki Jun , Nakazawa Yozo , Sakashita Kazuo , Okabe Tadashi , Honda Takayuki , Mitsuyama Jun‐ichi , Koike Kenichi 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBackground:  Infections caused by antibiotics‐resistant Gram‐positive bacteria have been reported from many pediatric hematology–oncology centers.Methods:  The susceptibility profiles to meropenem, piperacillin, and vancomycin among oral flora isolates of α‐hemolytic streptococci (AHS) obtained from six children with cancer who received several empirical therapies (ET) against febrile neutropenia, were investigated.Results:  Meropenem minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of AHS isolated from ET patients was 2.167 ± 0.258 μg/mL (mean ± SD), which was significantly higher than the MIC of AHS isolated from control groups. Intriguingly, AHS isolated approximately 6 months after hospital discharge indicated recovery of susceptibility to meropenem.Conclusions:  AHS isolates from neutropenic children with cancer should be checked for antibiotic susceptibility, even against carbapenems.
Metagenomic and stable isotopic analyses of modern freshwater microbialites in Cuatro Ciénegas, Mexico
Authors: Breitbart Mya , Hoare Ana , Nitti Anthony , Siefert Janet , Haynes Matthew , Dinsdale Elizabeth , Edwards Robert , Souza Valeria , Rohwer Forest , Hollander David 
Published: September 2008

SummaryAncient biologically mediated sedimentary carbonate deposits, including stromatolites and other microbialites, provide insight into environmental conditions on early Earth. The primary limitation to interpreting these records is our lack of understanding regarding microbial processes and the preservation of geochemical signatures in contemporary microbialite systems. Using a combination of metagenomic sequencing and isotopic analyses, this study describes the identity, metabolic potential and chemical processes of microbial communities from living microbialites from Cuatro Ciénegas, Mexico. Metagenomic sequencing revealed a diverse, redox‐dependent microbial community associated with the microbialites. The microbialite community is distinct from other marine and freshwater microbial communities, and demonstrates extensive environmental adaptation. The microbialite metagenomes contain a large number of genes involved in the production of exopolymeric substances and the formation of biofilms, creating a complex, spatially structured environment. In addition to the spatial complexity of the biofilm, microbial activity is tightly controlled by sensory and regulatory systems, which allow for coordination of autotrophic and heterotrophic processes. Isotopic measurements of the intracrystalline organic matter demonstrate the importance of heterotrophic respiration of photoautotrophic biomass in the precipitation of calcium carbonate. The genomic and stable isotopic data presented here significantly enhance our evolving knowledge of contemporary biomineralization processes, and are directly applicable to studies of ancient microbialites.
Multiple bacterial symbionts in two species of co‐occurring gutless oligochaete worms from Mediterranean sea grass sediments
Authors: Ruehland Caroline , Blazejak Anna , Lott Christian , Loy Alexander , Erséus Christer , Dubilier Nicole 
Published: September 2008

SummaryGutless oligochaete worms are found worldwide in the pore waters of marine sediments and live in symbiosis with chemoautotrophic sulfur‐oxidizing bacteria. In the Mediterranean, two species of gutless oligochaete worms, Olavius algarvensis and O. ilvae, co‐occur in sediments around sea grass beds. These sediments have extremely low sulfide concentrations (< 1 μM), raising the question if O. ilvae, as shown previously for O. algarvensis, also harbours sulfate‐reducing symbionts that provide its sulfur‐oxidizing symbionts with reduced sulfur compounds. In this study, we used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and comparative sequence analysis of genes for 16S rRNA, sulfur metabolism (aprA and dsrAB), and autotrophic carbon fixation (cbbL) to examine the microbial community of O. ilvae and re‐examine the O. algarvensis symbiosis. In addition to the four previously described symbionts of O. algarvensis, in this study a fifth symbiont belonging to the Spirochaetes was found in these hosts. The symbiotic community of O. ilvae was similar to that of O. algarvensis and also included two gammaproteobacterial sulfur oxidizers and two deltaproteobacterial sulfate reducers, but not a spirochete. The phylogenetic and metabolic similarity of the symbiotic communities in these two co‐occurring host species that are not closely related to each other indicates that syntrophic sulfur cycling provides a strong selective advantage to these worms in their sulfide‐poor environment.
An association between Type 2 diabetes and α1‐antitrypsin deficiency
Authors: Sandström C. S. , Ohlsson B. , Melander O. , Westin U. , Mahadeva R. , Janciauskiene S. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractAims  α1‐Antitrypsin (AAT) is a serine protease inhibitor which recently has been shown to prevent Type 1 diabetes development, to prolong islet allograft survival and to inhibit pancreatic B‐cell apoptosis in vivo. It has also been reported that Type 1 diabetic patients have significantly lower plasma concentrations of AAT, suggesting the potential role of AAT in the pathogenesis of Type 1 diabetes. We have investigated whether plasma AAT levels are altered in Type 2 diabetes.Methods  The study included patients with Type 2 diabetes (n = 163) and non‐diabetic control subjects matched for age, sex and smoking habits (n = 158) derived from the population‐based Malmö Diet and Cancer study. Plasma samples were analysed for AAT concentration and phenotype and serum glucose, insulin, C‐reactive protein and lipid levels were measured. Glycated haemoglobin was also measured.Results  In the diabetic group, the women had higher mean plasma AAT levels than men (P < 0.05). The mean plasma AAT levels did not differ between diabetic and control subjects. However, the number of individuals with low AAT levels (< 1.0 mg/ml) was 50% higher in the diabetic group (P < 0.05) and the frequency of AAT deficiency genotypes was 50% higher (NS) in diabetic compared with control subjects. In the group of diabetic patients with AAT < 1 mg/ml, AAT directly correlated with systolic blood pressure (P = 0.048) and inversely correlated with waist–hip ratio (P = 0.031).Conclusions  Our results provide evidence that deficiency of AAT may be associated with an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Are symptoms of depression more common in diabetes? Results from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall study
Authors: Icks A. , Kruse J. , Dragano N. , Broecker‐Preuss M. , Slomiany U. , Mann K. , Jöckel K. H. , Erbel R. , Giani G. , Moebus S. ,   on behalf of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study Investigator Group
Published: September 2008

AbstractAims  To estimate the association between depressive symptoms and Type 2 diabetes, as well as previously undetected diabetes, in a large population‐based sample in Germany and to determine associated variables.Methods  We used baseline data on 4595 participants (age 45–75 years, 50.2% women) from the German Heinz Nixdorf Recall study, a population‐based, prospective cohort study which started in 2000. Diabetes mellitus was assessed by self report (physician diagnosis or medication), undiagnosed diabetes based on blood glucose levels. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES‐D) scale short form (cut‐off ≥ 15 points). We fitted multiple logistic regression models.Results  The prevalence of diagnosed and previously undetected diabetes was 9.3% (95% confidence interval 8.2–11.6) and 7.6% (6.6–8.8) in men and 6.0% (5.1–7.1) and 3.2% (2.5–4.0) in women, respectively. Compared with non‐diabetic women, the prevalence of depressive symptoms was not significantly different in diabetic women (age‐adjusted odds ratio, 95% confidence interval 1.48; 0.98–2.24) and women with undiagnosed diabetes (0.67; 0.33–1.36). In men, the prevalence of depressive symptoms tended to be lower in diabetic than in non‐diabetic subjects (0.62; 0.35–1.09), but the depressive symptoms were significantly less frequent in men with undiagnosed diabetes (0.30; 0.13–0.70). The pattern remained after further adjustment. Significant associations with depressive symptoms were found for co‐morbidities and living without a partner in both women and in men, and for body mass index and activity level in women only.Conclusions  After adjustment for relevant covariates, the association between depressive symptoms and Type 2 diabetes was heterogenous in our population‐based study. In subjects with undiagnosed diabetes, however, depressive symptoms were less frequent in men. Co‐morbidities and psychosocial conditions are strongly associated with depressive symptoms.
Charcot neuroarthropathy triggered by osteomyelitis and/or surgery
Authors: Ndip A. , Jude E. B. , Whitehouse R. , Prescott M. , Boulton A. J. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractIntroduction  Charcot neuroarthropathy (CN) is a rare but devastating complication of diabetic neuropathy. Osteomyelitis is also a complication of the diabetic foot and it may be difficult to differentiate from CN.Patients and methods  A patient with Type 1 diabetes and peripheral neuropathy developed a foot ulcer complicated by osteomyelitis of the first proximal phalanx. He was successfully treated with antibiotics and surgical excision of the infected bone. Six months later, he developed a hot, swollen, red foot and X‐ray showed destruction of the second and third metatarsal heads. At the second presentation, it was difficult to determine whether this was a recurrence of osteomyelitis or a new onset of CN. Thus, to obtain a definitive diagnosis, recourse was made to more sophisticated imaging techniques.Results  99mTc methylenediphosphonate (MDP) bone scans and magnetic resonance imaging proved inconclusive to differentiate between osteomyelitis and CN. Subsequently, an indium‐labelled white cell scan confirmed the absence of osteomyelitis and the patient was successfully treated for CN.Discussion  Infection and/or surgery may be predisposing factors in the development of diabetic CN but the combination of the two could accelerate the onset of the Charcot process in people with diabetes and neuropathy.
Effect of cranberry extracts on lipid profiles in subjects with Type 2 diabetes
Authors: Lee I. T. , Chan Y. C. , Lin C. W. , Lee W. J. , Sheu W. H‐H. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractAim  To examine the effect of cranberry ingestion on lipid profiles in Type 2 diabetic patients taking oral glucose‐lowering drugs.Methods  Thirty Type 2 diabetic subjects (16 males and 14 females; mean age 65 ± 1 years) who were taking oral glucose‐lowering medication regularly were enrolled in this randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind study. Changes in lipid profiles, oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (ox‐LDL), glycaemic control, components of the metabolic syndrome, C‐reactive protein (CRP) and urinary albumin excretion (UAE) were assessed after cranberry or placebo treatment for 12 weeks.Results  Low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol decreased significantly in the cranberry group (from 3.3 ± 0.2 to 2.9 ± 0.2 mmol/l, P = 0.005) and the decrease was significantly greater than that in the placebo group (–0.4 ± 0.1 vs. 0.2 ± 0.1 mmol/l, P < 0.001). Total cholesterol and total : high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio also decreased significantly (P = 0.020 and 0.044, respectively) in the cranberry group and the reductions were significantly different from those in the placebo group (P < 0.001 and P = 0.032, respectively). However, ox‐LDL levels did not change significantly in response to cranberry consumption. Neither fasting glucose nor glycated haemoglobin improved in either group. Changes in components of the metabolic syndrome, UAE and CRP were not significantly different between groups.Conclusions  Cranberry supplements are effective in reducing atherosclerotic cholesterol profiles, including LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels, as well as total : HDL cholesterol ratio, and have a neutral effect on glycaemic control in Type 2 diabetic subjects taking oral glucose‐lowering agents.
Constitutive histamine H2receptor activity regulates serotonin release in the substantia nigra
Authors: Threlfell Sarah , Exley Richard , Cragg Stephanie J. , Greenfield Susan A. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractThe substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) forms a principal output from the basal ganglia. It also receives significant histamine (HA) input from the tuberomammillary nucleus whose functions in SNr remain poorly understood. One identified role is the regulation of serotonin (5‐HT) neurotransmission via the HA‐H3receptor. Here we have explored regulation by another HA receptor expressed in SNr, the H2‐receptor (H2R), by monitoring electrically evoked 5‐HT release with fast‐scan cyclic voltammetry at carbon‐fiber microelectrodes in SNr in rat brain slices. Selective H2R antagonists (inverse agonists) ranitidine and tiotidine enhanced 5‐HT release while the agonist amthamine suppressed release. The ‘neutral’ competitive antagonist burimamide alone was without effect but prevented ranitidine actions indicating that inverse agonist effects result from constitutive H2R activity independent of HA tone. H2R control of 5‐HT release was most apparent (from inverse agonist effects) at lower frequencies of depolarization (≤ 20 Hz), and prevailed in the presence of antagonists of GABA, glutamate or H3‐HA receptors. These data reveal that H2Rs in SNr are constitutively active and inhibit 5‐HT release through H2Rs on 5‐HT axons. These data may have therapeutic implications for Parkinson’s disease, when SNr HA levels increase, and for neuropsychiatric disorders in which 5‐HT is pivotal.
Induction of sulfiredoxin expression and reduction of peroxiredoxin hyperoxidation by the neuroprotective Nrf2 activator 3H‐1,2‐dithiole‐3‐thione
Authors: Soriano Francesc X. , Léveillé Frédéric , Papadia Sofia , Higgins Larry G. , Varley James , Baxter Paul , Hayes John D. , Hardingham Giles E. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractPeroxiredoxins are an important family of cysteine‐based antioxidant enzymes that exert a neuroprotective effect in several models of neurodegeneration. However, under oxidative stress they are vulnerable to inactivation through hyperoxidation of their active site cysteine residues. We show that in cortical neurons, the chemopreventive inducer 3H‐1,2‐dithiole‐3‐thione (D3T), that activates the transcription factor Nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor (Nrf2), inhibits the formation of inactivated, hyperoxidized peroxiredoxins following oxidative trauma, and protects neurons against oxidative stress. In both neurons and glia, Nrf2 expression and treatment with chemopreventive Nrf2 activators, including D3T and sulforaphane, up‐regulates sulfiredoxin, an enzyme responsible for reducing hyperoxidized peroxiredoxins. Induction of sulfiredoxin expression is mediated by Nrf2, acting via a cis‐acting antioxidant response element (ARE) in its promoter. The ARE element in Srxn1 contains an embedded activator protein‐1 (AP‐1) site which directs induction of Srxn1 by synaptic activity. Thus, raising Nrf2 activity in neurons prevents peroxiredoxin hyperoxidation and induces a new member of the ARE‐gene family, whose enzymatic function of reducing hyperoxidized peroxiredoxins may contribute to the neuroprotective effects of Nrf2 activators.
Serotonin 1A receptors in human and monkey prefrontal cortex are mainly expressed in pyramidal neurons and in a GABAergic interneuron subpopulation: implications for schizophrenia and its treatment
Authors: de Almeida Julián , Mengod Guadalupe 
Published: August 2008

AbstractSerotonin 1A (5‐HT1A) receptors are found in high densities in prefrontal cortex. However, their distribution within cortical cell populations is unknown in both humans and primates. We used double in situ hybridization histochemistry to quantify the percentage of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons expressing 5‐HT1A receptors in human and monkey prefrontal cortex. Moreover, in the case of the monkey, we also quantified the parvalbumin and calbindin GABAergic subpopulations expressing this receptor. 5‐HT1A receptor mRNAs were expressed in about 80% of glutamatergic neurons in external layers II and upper III, and in around 50% in layer VI; they were also present in approximately 20% of GABAergic neurons in both species. Although they were found in up to 43% of the calbindin cell subpopulation they were rarely present in parvalbumin cells in monkey prefrontal cortex. The knowledge of the phenotype of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) cells expressing 5‐HT1A will help understanding serotonin actions in PFC.
Basal and stimulated lactate fluxes in primary cultures of astrocytes are differentially controlled by distinct proteins
Authors: Maekawa Fumihiko , Minehira Kaori , Kadomatsu Kenji , Pellerin Luc 
Published: August 2008

AbstractLactate release by astrocytes is postulated to be of importance for neuroenergetics but its regulation is poorly understood. Basigin, a chaperone protein for specific monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs), represents a putatively important regulatory element for lactate fluxes. Indeed, basigin knockdown by RNA interference in primary cultures of astrocytes partially reduced both proton‐driven lactate influx and efflux. But more strikingly, enhancement of lactate efflux induced by glutamate was prevented while the effect of sodium azide was significantly reduced by treatment of cultured astrocytes with anti‐basigin small interfering RNA. Enhancement of glucose utilization was unaffected under the same conditions. Basal lactate uptake and release were significantly reduced by MCT1 knockdown, even more so than with basigin knockdown, whereas glutamate‐driven or sodium azide‐induced enhancement of lactate release was not inhibited by either MCT1, 2, or 4 small interfering RNAs. In conclusion, MCT1 plays a pivotal role in the control of basal proton‐driven lactate flux in astrocytes while basigin is only partly involved, most likely via its interaction with MCT1. In contrast, basigin appears to critically regulate the enhancement of lactate release caused by glutamate (or sodium azide) but via an effect on another unidentified transporter at least present in astrocytes in vitro.
Modelling Parkinson‐like neurodegeneration via osmotic minipump delivery of MPTP and probenecid
Authors: Alvarez‐Fischer Daniel , Guerreiro Serge , Hunot Stéphane , Saurini Françoise , Marien Marc , Sokoloff Pierre , Hirsch Etienne C. , Hartmann Andreas , Michel Patrick P. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractMouse models of MPTP intoxication have been used extensively to explore the molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease. However, these models present some limitations since; (i) Dopaminergic (DA) cell death occurs rapidly in contrast to the presumably slow evolution of the disease process. (ii) Some of the key histological features of the disease such as Lewy body like inclusions and long‐term inflammatory changes are lacking. Fornai et al. [Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 102 (2005), 3413] suggested that continuous delivery of MPTP with Alzet osmotic minipumps may possibly circumvent these problems. Our results show, however, that MPTP infusion via Alzet osmotic minipumps (40 mg/kg/day) produces only a transient depletion in striatal dopamine (DA) without causing dopaminergic cell loss in the substantia nigra. Neuronal cell loss occurred, however, if MPTP was infused concomitantly with probenecid, an uricosuric agent which potentiates the effects of the toxin injected via the i.p. route. Even under these conditions, dopaminergic cell loss was moderate (−25%) and other neurodegenerative changes characteristic of Parkinson’s disease remained undetectable.