bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Short‐term folic acid supplementation induces variable and paradoxical changes in plasma homocyst(e)ine concentrations
Authors: Malinow M. René , Duell P. Barton , Williams Michelle A. , Kruger Warren D. , Evans Alison A. , Anderson Peter H. , Block Peter C. , Hess David L. , Upson Barbara M. , Graf Eric E. , Irvin‐Jones Andrea , Wang Liqun 
Published: November 2006

AbstractFolic acid is presently the mainstay of treatment for most subjects with elevated plasma homocyst(e)ine concentrations [Plasma or serum homocyst(e)ine, or total homocysteine, refers to the sum of the sulfhydryl amino acid homocysteine and the homocysteinyl moieties of the disulfides homocystine and homocystein‐cysteine, whether free or bound to plasma proteins.] Changes in homocyst(e)ine in response to folic acid supplementation are characterized by considerable interindividual variation. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that contribute to heterogeneity in short‐term responses to folic acid supplementation. The effects of folic acid supplementation (1 or 2 mg per day) for 3 wk on plasma homocyst(e)ine concentrations were assessed in 304 men and women. Overall, folic acid supplementation increased mean plasma folate 31.5±98.0 nmol/L and decreased mean plasma homocyst(e)ine concentrations 1.2±2.4 μmol/L. There was evidence of substantial interindividual variation in the homocyst(e)ine response from −18.5 to +7.1 μmol/L, including an increase in homocyst(e)ine in 20% of subjects (mean increase 1.5±1.4 μmol/L). Basal homocyst(e)ine, age, male gender, cigarette smoking, use of multivitamins, methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase, and cystathionine β‐synthase polymorphisms accounted for 47.6% of the interindividual variability in the change in homocyst(e)ine after folic acid supplementation, but about 50% of variability in response to folic acid was not explained by the variables we studied.
The oxidant stress hypothesis of atherogenesis
Authors: Iuliano Luigi 
Published: November 2006

AbstractAtherosclerosis is the commonest lesion of blood vessels and is responsible for life‐threatening events such as myocardial infarction and stroke. In the last two decades a series of excellent studies unraveled biochemical mechanisms that provided the background for a theory of atherogenesis. This theory is centered on foam cells and on free radical‐mediated modification of low density lipoprotein (LDL). Foam cells are the main cell type of atherosclerotic lesions and originate from monocytes migrated from blood and from smooth muscle cells of the arterial wall. Foam cells are engulfed of lipids taken from LDL. Paradoxically, accumulation of LDL in developing foam cells does not occur via the classic LDL receptor. Incubation of macrophages with even very high concentrations of LDL does not appreciably increase cholesterol content. Chemically modified LDL easily enter the cells of atherosclerotic plaque via an unregulated receptor, the scavenger receptor. The most studied chemical modification of LDL is that induced by free radicals.
The role of antioxidants in the mediterranean diet
Authors: Visioli Francesco , Galli Claudio 
Published: November 2006

AbstractTraditional Mediterranean diets, as opposed to North European and American diets, include a significantly large amount of plant foods; this notable difference between the two eating styles, despite the similarities among other classic risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) such as high plasma cholesterol levels, has been associated with a lower risk of developing the CHD and certain cancers. The involvement of excessive free radical production and the great number of epidemiologic studies linking antioxidant intake with a reduced incidence of the above‐mentioned diseases indicate that dietary antioxidants likely play a protective role. Because diets in the Mediterranean are (or better yet, were) characterized by abundant plant foods (fruits, vegetables, breads, nuts, seeds; wine and olive oil), this article includes a review of the potential activities of dietary antioxidants, which are plentiful in Mediterranean diets, and wine as related to human disease.
Antioxidant vitamins and prevention of cardiovascular disease: Epidemiological and clinical trial data
Authors: Marchioli Roberto , Schweiger Carlo , Levantesi Giacomo , Tavazzi Luigi , Valagussa Franco 
Published: November 2006

AbstractNaturally occurring antioxidants such as vitamin E, β‐carotene, and vitamin C can inhibit the oxidative modification of low density lipoproteins. This action could positively influence the atherosclerotic process and, as a consequence, the progression of coronary heart disease. A wealth of experimental studies provide a sound biological rationale for the mechanisms of action of antioxidants, whereas epidemiologic studies strongly sustain the “antioxidant hypothesis”. To date, however, clinical trials with β‐carotene supplements have been disappointing, and their use as a preventive intervention for cancer and coronary heart disease should be discouraged. Only scanty data from clinical trials are available for vitamin C. As to vitamin E, discrepant results have been obtained by the Alpha‐Tocopherol, Beta Carotene Cancer Prevention Study with a low‐dose vitamin E supplementation (50 mg/d) and the Cambridge Heart Antioxidant Study (400–800 mg/d). The results of the GISSI‐Prevenzione (300 mg/d) and HOPE (400 mg/d) trials suggest the absence of relevant clinical effects of vitamin E on the risk of cardiovascular events. Currently ongoing are several large‐scale clinical trials that will help in clarifying the role of vitamin E in association with other antioxidants in the prevention of atherosclerotic coronary disease.
The effect of n−3 fatty acids on low density lipoprotein subfractions
Authors: Griffin Bruce A. 
Published: November 2006

AbstractA predominance of small, dense low density lipoprotein (LDL) represents a significant source of increased risk for the development of coronary heart disease in Westernized countries. Dietary long‐chain n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids exert a potent triglyceride‐lowering effect that redistributes LDL subfractions toward larger and lighter particles. These dietary fatty acids thus have a key role to play in providing protection against this particularly atherogenic type of LDL.
The electrophysiologic basis for the antiarrhythmic and anticonvulsant effects of n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: Heart and brain
Authors: Leaf Alexander 
Published: November 2006

AbstractThe n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been shown to be antiarrhythmic in animals and probably in humans. PUFA stabilize the electrical activity of isolated cardiac myocytes by modulating sarcolemmal ion channels, so that a stronger electrical stimulus is required to elicit an action potential and the refractory period is markedly prolonged. Inhibition of voltage‐dependent sodium currents, which initiate action potentials in excitable tissues, and of the L‐type calcium currents, which initiate release of sarcoplasmic calcium stores, thus increasing cytosolic free calcium concentrations and activating the contractile proteins in myocytes, appears at present to be the probable major antiarrhythmic mechanisms of PUFA. Because the ion channels in neurons have channel proteins essentially homologous to those in the heart, the n−3 fatty acids would appear to be likely to affect the electrical activity in the brain in a manner similar to their effects in the heart, and accumulating evidence supports this notion. Evidence of important beneficial neurological effects of dietary n−3 PUFA are emerging with more likely to be discovered.
Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry for analysis of lipids
Authors: Byrdwell William Craig 
Published: November 2006

AbstractAtmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) mass spectrometry (MS) has proven to be a very valuable technique for analysis of lipids from a variety of classes. This instrumental method readily produces useful ions with gentle fragmentation from large neutral molecules such as triacylglycerols and carotenoids, which are often difficult to analyze using other techniques. Molecules that are easily ionized, such as phospholipids, produce molecular ions and diagnostically useful fragment ions that are complementary to those produced by methods such as electrospray ionization MS with collision‐induced dissociation. The simplicity and versatility of APCI‐MS make it an ideal tool for use in solving hitherto very difficult analytical problems.
Nonalcoholic components in wine reduce low density lipoprotein cholesterol in normocholesterolemic rats
Authors: Cascón Esther , Roig Roser , Ardèvol Anna , Salvadó M. Josepa , Arola Lluis , Bladé Cinta 
Published: November 2006

AbstractUsing an experimental model that enables the effects of alcohol to be distinguished from the effects of the nonalcoholic components present in wine, we determined whether wine has effects other than those of alcohol on the metabolism of cholesterol. Male rats were fed a standard diet and had free access to water and either wine or an equivalent alcohol solution for 45 d or 6 mon. Alcohol intake was similar in the two groups of animals. Consumption of the alcohol solution or wine did not influence plasma cholesterol or high density lipoprotein‐cholesterol. At 45 d, the consumption both of wine and of alcohol solution reduced low density lipoprotein (LDL)‐cholesterol and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol. At 6 mon, only the rats that consumed wine had reduced LDL‐cholesterol. After 45 d of consuming alcohol solution, total cholesterol in the aorta was significantly increased mainly as a result of the rise in free cholesterol. In the aorta, the effect of wine consumption was similar to the effect of alcohol solution consumption, although it was less intense. The only clear effect that could be ascribed to the nonalcoholic components in wine was that the LDL‐cholesterol was reduced in the long term, although aortic cholesterol was not.
Fullerene lipids: Synthesis of novel nitrogen‐bridged [60]fullerene fatty ester derivatives
Authors: Lie Ken Jie Marcel S. F. , Cheung Sunny W. H. , Ho Janette C. M. 
Published: November 2006

AbstractReactions of methyl 6‐azido‐hexanoate, 8‐azido‐octanoate, and 12‐azido‐dodecanoate with [60]fullerene (1) gave the corresponding aza‐[60]fullerene ester derivatives (2a‐2c, 22–35% based on the amount of [60]fullerene reacted). The nitrogen atom is bonded to the [60]fullerene cage to yield a “[5,6]‐open” type aza substructure. This was confirmed by the appearance of 30–31 sp2 signals at δC 133–147 in the carbon nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. Reaction of methyl 11‐azido‐7‐undecynoate with [60]fullerene furnished a mixture of aza‐[60]fullerene (2d, 53%) and aziridine‐[60]fullerene (2e, 38%) ester derivatives. Compound 2e was identified as the “[6,6]‐closed” type aziridine‐[60]fullerene derivative, which displayed 10 sp2 signals in the region δC 140–145 and one signal at δC 85.05 for the sp3 carbons of the cage. Refluxing a solution of compound 2d in toluene for 50 h gave about 50% yield of compound 2e, but not vice versa.
Analysis of molecular species of peroxide adducts of triacylglycerols following treatment of corn oil with tert‐butyl hydroperoxide
Authors: Sjövall O. , Kuksis A. , Kallio H. 
Published: November 2006

AbstractWe recently demonstrated that exposure of synthetic mono‐and diunsaturated triacylglycerols to tert‐butylhy‐droperoxide (TBHP) leads to formation of stable adducts of the oxidizing agent and the unsaturated esters (Sjövall, O., Kuksis, A., and Kallio, H., Reversed Phase High‐Performance Liquid Chromatographic Separation of tert‐Butyl Hydroperoxide Oxidation Products of Unsaturated Triacylglycerols. J. Chromatogr. A 905, 119–132, 2001). In the present study we isolated and identified the TBHP adducts of corn oil triacylglycerols. The much wider range of molecular species available in the corn oil permitted us to demonstrate that the yield of the adducts varies with the degree of unsaturation of the triacylglycerol. The highest yields were obtained for the linoleate (20% of linoleoyl‐containing residual triacylglycerols) and the lowest ones for the oleate (5% of oleoyl‐containing residual triacylglycerols) tria‐cylglycerols, whereas the saturated triacylglycerols did not give TBHP adducts in readily detectable amounts. Normal‐phase thin‐layer chromatography along with reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) with electrospray ionization was used to isolate and separate the major molecular species of polyunsaturated triacylglycerols and corresponding TBHP adducts. As an extreme example, the dilinoleoylmonooleoylglycerol was identified as the mono‐, di‐, tri‐, tetra‐, and penta‐TBHP adduct. LC/MS with electrospray ionization at elevated capillary exit voltage (pseudo tandem mass spectrometry) was used to confirm structures of the [M−RCOOH]+ ions and the absence of TBHP adducts of [M−RCOOH]+. It is concluded that stable adduct formation is an unavoidable complication of preparation of oxotriacylglycerols by oxidation with concentrated TBHP solutions and care must be taken to resolve the adducts from the desired oxidation product.
THE ORIGINS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Authors: IMLAY TALBOT C. 
Published: November 2006

Anticipating total war: the German and American experiences, 1871–1914. By Manfred Boemeke, Roger Chickering, and Stig Förster. New York and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp. ix+506. ISBN 0-521-62294-8. £55.00.German strategy and the path to Verdun: Erich von Falkenhayn and the development of attrition, 1870–1916. By Robert T. Foley. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Pp. xiv+316. ISBN 0-521-84193-3. £45.00.Europe's last summer: who started the Great War in 1914? By David Fromkin. New York: Knopf, 2004. Pp. xiii+368. ISBN 0-375-41156-9. £26.95.The origins of World War I. Edited by Richard F. Hamilton and Holger H. Herwig. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Pp. xiii+552. ISBN 0-521-81735-8. £35.00.Geheime Diplomatie und öffentliche Meinung: Die Parlamente in Frankreich, Deutschland und Grossbritanien und die erste Marokkokrise, 1904–1906. By Martin Mayer. Düsseldorf: Droste, 2002. Pp. 382. ISBN 3-7700-5242-0. £44.80.Helmuth von Moltke and the origins of the First World War. By Annika Mombauer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Pp. xvi+344. ISBN 0-521-79101-4. £48.00.The origins of the First World War: controversies and consensus. By Annika Mombauer. London: Pearson Education, 2002. Pp. ix+256. ISBN 0-582-41872-0. £15.99.Inventing the Schlieffen plan: German war planning, 1871–1914. By Terence Zuber. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Pp. xi+340. ISBN 0-19-925016-2. £52.50.As Richard Hamilton and Holger Herwig remark in the introduction to their edited collection of essays on the origins of the First World War, thousands of books (and countless articles) have been written on the subject, a veritable flood that began with the outbreak of the conflict in 1914 and continues to this day. This enduring interest is understandable: the First World War was, in George Kennan’s still apt phrase, the ‘great seminal catastrophe’ of the twentieth century. Marking the end of the long nineteenth century and the beginning of the short twentieth century, the war amounted to an earthquake whose seismic shocks and after-shocks resonated decades afterwards both inside and outside of the belligerent countries. The Bolshevik Revolution, the growth of fascist and Nazi movements, the accelerated emergence of the United States as a leading great power, the economic depression of the 1930s – these and other developments all have their roots in the tempest of war during 1914–18. Given the momentous nature of the conflict, it is little wonder that scholars continue to investigate – and to argue about – its origins. At the same time, as Hamilton and Herwig suggest, the sheer number of existing studies places the onus on scholars themselves to justify their decision to add to this historiographical mountain. This being so, in assessing the need for a new work on the origins of the war, one might usefully ask whether it fulfills one of several functions.
PATTERNS OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE IN AUSTRALIA: ANALYSIS OF THE 2001 NATIONAL HEALTH SURVEY
Authors: YUSUF FARHAT , SIEDLECKY STEFANIA 
Published: November 2006

SummaryThe purpose of this paper is to review the patterns of contraceptive use in Australia, using data from a nationally representative sample of 5872 women aged 18 to 49. This survey was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2001 as part of the National Health Survey. Results of the analysis indicate that the oral contraceptive pill and condom were the two most frequently used methods. More than 76% of the respondents reported having ever used the pill. Over 23% of women were currently using condoms; of these 80% of the condom users used them for contraception – this included 36% who used condoms for both protection against infection and for contraception – and the remainder used them only for protection. Withdrawal was the third most popular non-surgical method up to age 40. Few women used IUDs, injections or diaphragms. Just over 3% of the respondents were using natural methods with the highest rate reported among those in their 30s. The ‘morning-after pill’ was reported mostly by women aged 18–24; however, there was no evidence to suggest that it was being used as a primary method of birth control. Contraceptive use declined in older women who turned to sterilization for themselves and/or their partners. Use of the contraceptive pill was somewhat higher among better-educated women, but lower among less-educated women and those from non-English-speaking backgrounds.
Advancement in post-meningitic lateral semicircular canal labyrinthitis ossificans
Authors: Chan C C , Saunders D E , Chong W K , Hartley B E , Raglan E , Rajput K 
Published: November 2006

Objective: To assess whether lateral semicircular canal (LSCC) ossification is more advanced than that in the cochlear basal turn, in order to judge the value of the former as a predictor.Methods: Retrospective review of 33 paediatric patients from our cochlear implant programme, with profound sensorineural hearing loss after bacterial meningitis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) scans and operative findings were reviewed.Results: On CT, LSCC ossification scores were more advanced than those for the cochlear basal turn in 69.9 per cent of implanted ears. Forty-five per cent (15/33) of children had ossification at surgery. In predicting this, the sensitivity of CT LSCC ossification was 90 per cent and that of MRI LSCC ossification was 83.3 per cent.Conclusions: The more advanced ossification found in the LSCC, compared with that in the cochlear basal turn, adds to previous findings of LSCC pathology predicting cochlear ossification. Surprisingly, CT of the LSCC appears to be no less valuable than MRI in pre-operative cochlear implant assessment of post-meningitic children.
Role of ossiculoplasty in canal wall down tympanoplasty for middle-ear cholesteatoma: hearing results
Authors: Corso E De , Marchese M R , Sergi B , Rigante M , Paludetti G 
Published: November 2006

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hearing results of ossiculoplasty in canal wall down tympanoplasty in one stage middle-ear cholesteatoma surgery.We carried out a retrospective review of a consecutive series of 142 cases which had undergone type two or three canal wall down tympanoplasty with ossicular reconstruction, between January 1995 and December 2002, due to chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma.Pre-operative audiometric testing revealed a mean air conduction pure tone average (PTA) of 50.97 dB and a mean bone conduction PTA of 22.14 dB. The mean post-operative result for air conduction PTA was 37.62 and for bone conduction PTA was 23.37 dB. The mean pre- and post-operative air–bone gaps (ABGs) were 28.83 and 13.94 dB, respectively, with a gain of 14.89 dB. Almost 62.67 per cent of patients closed their ABGs to within 20 dB.Our functional results are comparable with those of other authors. In the present study, we show that hearing improvement is possible following cholesteatoma surgery with canal wall down tympanoplasty and ossicular chain reconstruction.
Increased rainfall is associated with increased risk for legionellosis
Authors: HICKS L. A. , ROSE C. E. , FIELDS B. S. , DREES M. L. , ENGEL J. P. , JENKINS P. R. , ROUSE B. S. , BLYTHE D. , KHALIFAH A. P. , FEIKIN D. R. , WHITNEY C. G. 
Published: November 2006

SUMMARYLegionnaires' disease (LD) is caused by Legionella species, most of which live in water. The Mid-Atlantic region experienced a sharp rise in LD in 2003 coinciding with a period of record-breaking rainfall. To investigate a possible relationship, we analysed the association between monthly legionellosis incidence and monthly rainfall totals from January 1990 to December 2003 in five Mid-Atlantic states. Using negative binomial model a 1-cm increase in rainfall was associated with a 2·6% (RR 1·026, 95% CI 1·012–1·040) increase in legionellosis incidence. The average monthly rainfall from May to September 1990–2002 was 10·4 cm compared to 15·7 cm from May to September 2003. This change in rainfall corresponds to an increased risk for legionellosis of approximately 14·6% (RR 1·146, 95% CI 1·067–1·231). Legionellosis incidence increased during periods of increased rainfall; identification of mechanisms that increase exposure and transmission of Legionella during rainfall might lead to opportunities for prevention.
Meteoroids: a landing capsule for panspermia
Authors: Coulson S.G. 
Published: November 2006

Viable, organic material has been discovered at altitudes of around 40 km above the Earth (Wainwright et al. (2004). Int J. Astrobiol. 3(1), 13–15). Assuming an extraterrestrial origin, this raises the question of how the material survived air breaking in the atmosphere from hypervelocity speeds. The Earth is under constant bombardment from interplanetary and interstellar dust particles, with a daily influx of over 60 tonnes of material incident upon the upper atmosphere. The majority of this material is in the form of micro-meteoroids with typical radii ranging from 0.01 μm to a peak of around 200 μm (Ceplecha et al. (1998). Space Sci. Rev. 84, 327–471).Classical work on meteoroid ablation suggests that these particles should be annihilated by atmospheric deceleration. Recent work suggests that molecular sputtering of surface molecules may provide an alternative way to decelerate, without such intense heating. In general, the mathematics of atmospheric entry are complex; here we review some of the main parameters (particle size, initial velocity, entry angle and composition) that contribute to the heating of meteoroids during their descent. Comparing the heating profiles for meteoroids descending from inside and outside of the Earth's shadow, it is found that the maximum temperatures reached by 10 μm meteoroids can be 10–15% lower if the meteoroid descends from within the shadow of the Earth, compared to those decelerating during daylight. The possibility that micrometre-sized particles can decelerate subject to maximum temperatures ~300 K offers a mechanism for the survivability of the recovered organic material.