bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Imatinib mesylate improves insulin sensitivity and glucose disposal rates in rats fed a high-fat diet
Authors: Hägerkvist Robert , Jansson Leif , Welsh Nils 
Published: November 2007

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether imatinib affects insulin sensitivity and glucose disposal in HF (high-fat)-fed rats. Sprague–Dawley rats were fed either a standard pelleted rat food (low-fat diet) or an HF diet (60% fat) for 8 weeks. During the last 10 days of the HF diet regime, rats received saline alone or imatinib (50 or 100 mg/kg of body weight) daily by gavage. The higher dose of imatinib resulted in a decreased psoas fat pad weight in the HF-treated rats. Under euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp conditions, HF-fed rats exhibited increased insulin concentrations and decreased glucose disposal. The lower (50 mg/kg of body weight), but not the higher (100 mg/kg of body weight), dose of imatinib normalized insulin sensitivity and glucose disposal without affecting glucose metabolism in low-fat-fed rats. Hepatic glucose production at both fasting and hyperinsulinaemic conditions was only weakly affected by imatinib. We conclude that a moderate dose of imatinib efficiently counteracts HF-induced peripheral insulin resistance, and that further studies on the mechanisms by which imatinib increases insulin action in muscle and fat tissues might generate novel strategies for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.
Improved insulin sensitivity after a single bout of exercise is curvilinearly related to exercise energy expenditure
Authors: Magkos Faidon , Tsekouras Yannis , Kavouras Stavros A. , Mittendorfer Bettina , Sidossis Labros S. 
Published: November 2007

A single bout of moderate-intensity exercise increases whole-body insulin sensitivity for 12–48 h post-exercise; however, the relationship between exercise energy expenditure and the improvement in insulin sensitivity is not known. We hypothesized that the exercise-induced increase in whole-body insulin sensitivity, assessed with HOMAIR (homoeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance), is directly related to the energy expended during exercise. We studied 30 recreationally active non-obese men (age, 27±5 years; body mass index, 24±2 kg/m2) in the post-absorptive state on two separate occasions: once after exercising at 60% of V̇O22peak (peak oxygen consumption) for 30–120 min on the preceding afternoon (expending a total of 1.28–5.76 MJ) and once after an equivalent period of rest. Blood samples were obtained the following morning. Exercise-induced changes in HOMAIR were curvilinearly related to exercise energy expenditure (r=−0.666, P=0.001) with a threshold of approx. 3.77 MJ (900 kcal) for improvements in HOMAIR to be manifested. In particular, HOMAIR was reduced by 32±24% (P=0.003) in subjects who expended more than 3.77 MJ during exercise, but did not change for those who expended fewer than 3.77 MJ (−2±21%; P=0.301). Furthermore, the magnitude of change in HOMAIR after exercise was directly associated with baseline (i.e. resting) HOMAIR (r=−0.508, P=0.004); this relationship persisted in multivariate analysis. We conclude that improved whole-body insulin resistance after a single bout of exercise is curvilinearly related to exercise energy expenditure, and requires unfeasible amounts of exercise for most sedentary individuals.
Analysis and Control in Children With SLI
Authors: Lum Jarrad A. G. , Bavin Edith L. 
Published: November 2007

PurposeE. Bialystok and E. B. Ryan (1985) have outlined two operations, analysis and control, which are required for grammaticality judgments. In this model, analysis is involved in determining the grammaticality of a sentence, and control is required so that irrelevant information is ignored. This study examined these processes in specific language impairment (SLI).MethodSixteen children with SLI and 20 typically developing (TD) children between 8;6 (years;months) and 10;6 were presented with a grammatical judgment task. Analysis was measured by recording children’s decision times in determining grammaticality. Control was assessed by examining accuracy for judgments made for semantically odd sentences.ResultsRelative to the TD group, it was found that the children with SLI took longer in judging sentences associated with the process of analysis. Children with SLI were also found to have more difficulty, in terms of accuracy, with items requiring control (e.g., semantically odd sentences) than did the TD group.ConclusionIt is argued that the longer time required for children with SLI to respond to semantically normal sentences reflects a degree of difficulty with completing analysis. The SLI group’s lower level of accuracy on semantically odd sentences reflects a problem with a control and is consistent with previously reported problems with cognitive inhibition in SLI.
An efficient strategy for extensive integration of diverse biological data for protein function prediction
Authors: Chua Hon Nian , Sung Wing-Kin , Wong Limsoon 
Published: November 2007

AbstractMotivation: With the increasing availability of diverse biological information, protein function prediction approaches have converged towards integration of heterogeneous data. Many adapted existing techniques, such as machine-learning and probabilistic methods, which have proven successful on specific data types. However, the impact of these approaches is hindered by a couple of factors. First, there is little comparison between existing approaches. This is in part due to a divergence in the focus adopted by different works, which makes comparison difficult or even fuzzy. Second, there seems to be over-emphasis on the use of computationally demanding machine-learning methods, which runs counter to the surge in biological data. Analogous to the success of BLAST for sequence homology search, we believe that the ability to tap escalating quantity, quality and diversity of biological data is crucial to the success of automated function prediction as a useful instrument for the advancement of proteomic research. We address these problems by: (1) providing useful comparison between some prominent methods; (2) proposing Integrated Weighted Averaging (IWA)—a scalable, efficient and flexible function prediction framework that integrates diverse information using simple weighting strategies and a local prediction method. The simplicity of the approach makes it possible to make predictions based on on-the-fly information fusion.Results: In addition to its greater efficiency, IWA performs exceptionally well against existing approaches. In the presence of cross-genome information, which is overwhelming for existing approaches, IWA makes even better predictions. We also demonstrate the significance of appropriate weighting strategies in data integration.Contact: hnchua@i2r.a-star.edu.sgSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Short-term glucocorticoid intake combined with intense training on performance and hormonal responses
Authors: Collomp K , Arlettaz A , Portier H , Lecoq A-M , Le Panse B , Rieth N , De Ceaurriz J 
Published: November 2007

Objective:To investigate the effects of short-term prednisolone ingestion combined with intense training on exercise performance, hormonal (adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), prolactin, luteinising hormone (LH), growth hormone (GH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), testosterone, insulin) and metabolic parameters (blood glucose, lactate, bicarbonate, pH).Methods:Eight male recreational athletes completed four cycling trials at 70–75% peak O2consumption until exhaustion just before (1) and after (2) either oral placebo or prednisolone (60 mg/day for 1 week) treatment coupled with standardised physical training (2 hours/day), according to a double-blind and randomised protocol. Blood samples were collected at rest, during exercise and passive recovery for the hormonal and metabolic determinations.Results:Time of cycling was not significantly changed after placebo but significantly increased (p<0.05) after prednisolone administration (50.4 (6.2) min for placebo 1, 64.0 (9.1) min for placebo 2, 56.1 (9.1) min for prednisolone 1 and 107.0 (20.7) min for prednisolone 2). There was no significant difference in any measured parameters after the week of training with placebo but a decrease in ACTH, DHEA, PRL, GH, TSH and testosterone was seen with prednisolone treatment during the experiment (p<0.05). No significant change in basal, exercise or recovery LH, insulin, lactate, pH or bicarbonate was found between the two treatment, but blood glucose was significantly higher under prednisolone (p<0.05) at all time points.Conclusion:Short-term glucocorticoid administration induced a marked improvement in endurance performance. Further studies are needed to determine whether these results obtained in recreational male athletes maintaining a rigorous training schedule are gender-dependent and applicable to elite athletes.
Development of genomic microsatellite markers in Coffea canephora and their transferability to other coffee species
Authors: Poncet Valérie , Dufour Magali , Hamon Perla , Hamon Serge , de Kochko Alexandre , Leroy Thierry 
Published: November 2007

Of the 103 accepted Coffea species, 70% are threatened with extinction but only a few of them have been studied. A set of 40 polymorphic microsatellite markers was developed using a GA/GT-enriched Coffea canephora genomic library. Amplification of these markers was tested in accessions of C. heterocalyx (a Critically Endangered species) and C. pseudozanguebariae (a Vulnerable species) belonging to different African geographical clades. All microsatellites were polymorphic in C. canephora, with a mean allele number per polymorphic locus of more than 3 (at least 9 genotypes were tested). Observed and expected heterozygosities calculated for C. canephora and C. pseudozanguebariae varied from 0.10 to 0.91 and from 0.20 to 0.77, respectively. In total, 38 primer pairs (95%) were amplified in C. heterocalyx and C. pseudozanguebariae, indicating their high level of transferability across the genus Coffea. This large marker set will be useful for more extensive genetic studies of threatened Coffea species.
Differences in efficiency between trained and recreational cyclists
Authors: Hopker James G. , Coleman Damian A. , Wiles Jonathan D. 
Published: November 2007

Controversy still exists in the literature as to whether cycling experience affects gross mechanical efficiency (GME). The aim of this study was to identify differences in efficiency between trained and untrained cyclists. Thirty-two participants, 16 trained (mean ± SD: age, 33 ± 4 y; height, 1.76 ± 0.05 m; mass 75 ± 10 kg; Wmax, 421 ± 38 W; maximal oxygen uptake, 62.6 ± 7.30 mL·kg–1·min–1) and 16 untrained (22 ± 3 y, 175 ± 0.06 m, 76 ± 10 kg, 292 ± 34 W, 42.6 ± 7.80 mL·kg–1·min–1), performed two tests of cycling efficiency. One was at the relative workloads of 50% and 60% Wmax and the other was at a fixed workload of 150 W using an electrically braked cycle ergometer. Cadence was maintained at the cyclist’s preferred rate throughout. All workloads lasted 10 min with data sampling in the final 3 min. GME was calculated from the gas data. GME was found to be significantly higher in the trained cyclists across all workloads (+1.4%; p = 0.03). At workloads of 60% Wmax GME was significantly lower than work at 150 W (–0.8%; p = 0.04), but not significantly different from 50%Wmax. These results show that differences do exist between trained and untrained cyclists, illustrating that training experience is a factor that warrants further investigation.
Exercise, aging, and cancer
Authors: Courneya Kerry S. , Karvinen Kristina H. 
Published: November 2007

Cancer is a common disease that affects over 150 000 Canadians every year. About 78% of all cancers are diagnosed in adults aged 60 years and older. Improved survival rates for cancer survivors have brought lifestyle and quality of life issues to the forefront. In other chronic disease populations, exercise is considered a foundational health behavior; however, the benefits of exercise in cancer survivors are only beginning to be described. Moreover, what little is known about exercise in cancer survivors has been derived largely from research on middle-aged survivors. In the present article, we review the literature on exercise, aging, and cancer. Our review shows that very few studies have examined exercise in older cancer survivors or have approached the topic from an aging perspective. The limited research that is available suggests that, compared with middle-aged cancer survivors, older cancer survivors: (i) derive similar benefits from exercise, (ii) have lower exercise participation rates, (iii) have more difficulty adhering to an exercise program, and (iv) have different determinants of exercise motivation and behavior. We end by offering some future research directions that may help generate important new exercise knowledge in this underserved cancer survivor population.
Evidence-informed physical activity guidelines for Canadian adultsThis article is part of a supplement entitled Advancing physical activity measurement and guidelines in Canada: a scientific review and evidence-based foundation for the future of Canadian physical activity guidelines co-published by Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism and the Canadian Journal of Public Health. It may be cited as Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 32(Suppl. 2E) or as Can. J. Public Health 98(Suppl. 2).
Authors: Warburton Darren E.R. , Katzmarzyk Peter T. , Rhodes Ryan E. , Shephard Roy J. 
Published: November 2007

This review of the literature provides an update on the scientific biological and psychosocial bases for Canada’s physical activity guide for healthy active living, with particular reference to the effect of physical activity on the health of adults aged 20–55 years. Existing physical activity guidelines for adults from around the world are summarized briefly and compared with the Canadian guidelines. The descriptive epidemiology of physical activity and inactivity in Canada is presented, and the strength of the relationship between physical activity and specific health outcomes is evaluated, with particular emphasis on minimal and optimal physical activity requirements. Finally, areas requiring further investigation are highlighted. Summarizing the findings, Canadian and most international physical activity guidelines advocate moderate-intensity physical activity on most days of the week. Physical activity appears to reduce the risk for over 25 chronic conditions, in particular coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, breast cancer, colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis. Current literature suggests that if the entire Canadian population followed current physical activity guidelines, approximately one third of deaths related to coronary heart disease, one quarter of deaths related to stroke and osteoporosis, 20% of deaths related to colon cancer, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes, and 14% of deaths related to breast cancer could be prevented. It also appears that the prevention of weight gain and the maintenance of weight loss require greater physical activity levels than current recommendations.
See No Evil: Morality and Methodology in Ibn Al-qattān al-Fāsī's Ahkām al-nazar bi-Hāssat al-Basar
Authors: Maghen Ze'ev 
Published: November 2007

AbstractThis essay examines the worldviews underlying, and discursive techniques informing, the jurisprudence of a scholastically unaffiliated and highly original Muslim jurist. It attempts to elucidate the argumentation of a dense and often difficult work, specifically in connection with the twin Qurānic injunctions to "lower one's eyes" (ghadd al-basar) and "guard one's modesty" (hifz al-farj). At the same time, it uses this text as a test case for a preliminary theory of Islamic morality.
"Adversus Infideles": Some Notes On the Cavalier's Tour, the Fleet of the Order of St. John, and the Maltese Corsairs
Authors: Freller Thomas 
Published: November 2007

AbstractOriginally a charitable monastic institution devoted to the care of Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land, the Hospitallers of St. John became a military order during the twelfth century. The arrival of the Order of St. John in Malta in 1530 brought this island to the attention of European leaders and their subjects; indeed, the number of visitors who wrote about their sojourns on the island in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is remarkable. At this time private military tours to Malta came to be integrated into what was called the Cavalier's Tour. The famous caravans of the fleet of the Order of St. John played a special role in this development, since participation in the caravans-usually involving naval engagements against the infidel-was considered an integral part of a gentleman's education. The survival of the chivalric Order of St. John seems to testify to the spiritual and cultural continuity of the Crusades up through the period of the Counter Reformation. But closer examination of individual European travelers suggests a rather pragmatic and quite "tolerant" approach to the foreign world. This essay concentratcs on Northern European sources, as it was mainly the Northerners who made the Cavalier's Tour a regular ritual, often entailing the compilation of a detailed travel diary. The accounts of the travelers from Prussia, the Scandinavian countries and central and south Germany show that both Catholics and Protestants alike came to Malta, mainly for reasons of fame, career and the acquisition of military and nautical experience. By the middle of the eighteenth century the Order and its fleet had degenerated to an ornamental show. This decline coincided with the end of the phenomenon dealt with here. In the so-called "Grand Tour" of the second half of the eighteenth century-mostly undertaken by rich Englishmen-there was no space for a trip "adversus infideles." This new type of tour was meant for private pleasure and cultural education. The Ottoman empire was no longer seen as a threat. In contrast to the old emnity, there was a new vogue for things "oriental." The island of Malta and the state of the Knights became an object of curiosity and romantic chivalry.
Pilgrims' Progress: Narratives of Penitence and Reconciliation in the Dutch Reformed Church
Authors: Parker Charles 
Published: November 2007

AbstractHistorians over the past twenty years have utilized consistory records to analyze long-term patterns of illicit behavior and church punishment in Reformed congregations across Europe. Despite the value of these studies, a narrative approach to consistory records offers an opportunity to penetrate the assumptions of local church leaders and to discover real men and women in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Using examples from the pivotal moments in the discipline process in the Dutch Reformed Church at Delft, this article reconstructs the narrative framework of discipline there. The author argues that consistory secretaries recorded discipline cases as ongoing stories of penitence and reconciliation in the lives of all sorts of church members.
'The Armies of the Lord': Christianity, Rebels and the State in Northern Uganda, 1986-1999
Authors: Ward Kevin 
Published: November 2007

AbstractThe accession to power of the National Resistance Movement in Uganda in 1986 was intended to inaugurate a new beginning for Uganda, an end to the political, ethnic and religious divisions that had characterised the country's violent history since the 1960s. Although peace, stability and the strengthening of democratic structures have brought substantial progress to many parts of the country, the Acholi of Northern Uganda have felt largely excluded from these benefits. Violence and insecurity have characterised the districts of Gulu and Kitgum since 1986. It is not simply the failure of development that has been so distressing for the inhabitants, but the collapse of the moral framework and the institutions that gave society coherence. Religion has played a considerable part in articulating the sense of loss and anger at this state of affairs. Traditional Acholi and Christian religious sentiments have helped to shape and sustain rebel movements against the central government, and to inform Acholi responses to the violence inflicted by rebels and government. The article, based on field work conducted in 1999, examines ways in which the main Churches, Catholic and Protestant (Anglican), have historically been bound up with the political divisions of Acholi. It examines the painful adjustments which loss of access to power has necessitated, particularly for the Anglican Church. Since 1986 the Churches have had a vital role in conflict resolution and in envisioning new futures for Acholi. The majority of the population, required to live in 'protected villages', have few material and spiritual resources. The importance of Christian faith and practice for Acholi living in such situations of prolonged conflict, with few signs of speedy resolution, is assessed.
Obadyah the Proselyte and the Roman Liturgy
Authors: Büchler Alfred 
Published: November 2007

AbstractIn his Hebrew autobiography, written probably in the 1120s, the Norman proselyte Obadyah cites in Hebrew transcription the Latin version of a verse taken from the prophet Joel (Masoretic Text: Joel 3:4, Vulgate: Joel 2:31). The verse appears in the first Old Testament reading of the mass of the Saturday after Pentecost, one of the five days of the Roman liturgical year on which the ordination of priests and deacons could take place. It was probably the appearance of Joel's prophecy in this context which imprinted the Latin version in the memory of Obadyah, who had been educated as a cleric, and which made him recall it some twenty years or more after his conversion.
The Golden Mirror in the Imperial Court of the Qianlong Emperor, 1739-1742
Authors: Hanson Marta 
Published: November 2007

AbstractIn the last month of 1739, the third of the Manchu rulers, the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736-1795), ordered the compilation of a treatise on medicine "to rectify medical knowledge" throughout the empire. By the end of 1742, eighty participants chosen from several offices within the palace bureaucracy based in Beijing completed the Golden Mirror of the Orthodox Lineage of Medicine, the only imperially commissioned medical text the Qing government's Imperial Printing Office published. The Golden Mirror represents both the limitations in the power of the Qianlong emperor and the dominance in the Manchu court of Chinese scholarship from the Jiangnan region during the first decade of his reign. Chinese scholars participating in the compilation of the Golden Mirror fashioned a medical orthodoxy for the empire in the mid-eighteenth century from regional trends in scholarship on history and the classics centered in the Jiangnan region since the sixteenth century. The Golden Mirror is an illuminating example of how medical scholars participated in the formation of evidential scholarship in early-modern China and why Manchu patronage, southern Chinese scholarship, and medical orthodoxy coalesced in the imperial court of the Qianlong emperor.
Creating the Future: Apocalyptic Rhetoric in 1 Thessalonians
Authors: Hester James D. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractRecent studies of apocalyptic literature have brought better definitions of the genre and its worldviews, but have largely ignored issues of argumentation and the nature of apocalyptic discourse. Modern theories of rhetorical criticism help the critic to analyse how that discourse helped the early church to talk about their experiences of persecution and marginality, and how those experiences were to be understood in light of the gospel, which promised that believers were to be with the Lord. In effect apocalyptic discourse helped describe the ethical principles to be followed in daily life and create visions of the future that motivated the believers to practise those principles.