bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Localization of tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), membrane type‐1 matrix metalloproteinases (MT1‐MMP) and macrophages during early endochondral bone formation
Authors: Blumer Michael J. F. , Longato Stefano , Fritsch Helga 
Published: July 2008

AbstractEndochondral bone formation, the process by which most parts of our skeleton evolve, leads to the establishment of the diaphyseal primary (POC) and epiphyseal secondary ossification centre (SOC) in long bones. An essential event for the development of the SOC is the early generation of vascularized cartilage canals that requires the proteolytic cleavage of the cartilaginous matrix. This in turn will allow the canals to grow into the epiphysis. In the present study we therefore initially investigated which enzymes and types of cells are involved in this process. We have chosen the mouse as an animal model and focused our studies on the distal part of the femur during early stages after birth. The formation of the cartilage canals was promoted by tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and membrane type‐1 matrix metalloproteinases (MT1‐MMP). In addition, macrophages and cells containing numerous lysosomes contributed to the establishment of the canals and enabled their further advancement into the epiphysis. As development continued, the SOC was formed, and in mice aged 10 days a distinct layer of type I collagen (= osteoid) was laid down onto the cartilage scaffold. The events leading to the establishment of the SOC were compared with those of the POC. Basically these processes were quite similar, and in both ossification centers, TRAP‐positive chondroclasts resorbed the cartilage matrix. However, occasionally co‐expression of TRAP and MT1‐MMP was noted in a small subpopulation of this cell type. Furthermore, numerous osteoblasts expressed MT1‐MMP from the start of endochondral ossification, whereas others did not. In osteocytogenesis, MT1‐MMP has been shown to be critical for the establishment of the cytoplasmic processes mediating the communication between osteocytes and bone‐lining cells. Considering the well‐known fact that not all osteoblasts transform into osteocytes, and in accordance with the present data, we suggest that MT1‐MMP is needed at the very beginning of osteocytogenesis and may additionally determine whether an osteoblast further differentiates into an osteocyte.
Neuron‐microglia crosstalk up‐regulates neuronal FGF‐2 expression which mediates neuroprotection against excitotoxicity via JNK1/2
Authors: Figueiredo Catarina , Pais Teresa F. , Gomes João R. , Chatterjee Sukalyan 
Published: July 2008

AbstractGlial cells and neurons are in constant reciprocal signalling both under physiological and neuropathological conditions. Microglial activation is often associated with neuronal death during inflammation of the CNS, although microglial cells are also known to exert a neuroprotective role. In this work, we investigated the interplay between cerebellar granule neurons (CGN) and microglia in the perspective of CGN survival to an excitotoxic stimulus, quinolinic acid (QA), a catabolite of the tryptophan degradation pathway. We observed that CGN succumb to QA challenge via extracellular signal regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK) activation. Our data with transgenic mice expressing the natural inhibitor of calpains, calpastatin, indicate that together with cathepsins they mediate QA‐induced toxicity acting downstream of the mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase‐ERK pathway. Microglial cells are not only resistant to QA but can rescue neurons from QA‐mediated toxicity when they are mixed in culture with neurons or by using mixed culture‐conditioned medium (MCCM). This effect is mediated via fibroblast growth factor‐2 (FGF‐2) present in MCCM. FGF‐2 is transcriptionally up‐regulated in neurons and secreted in the MCCM as a result of neuron‐microglia crosstalk. The neuroprotection is associated with the retention of cathepsins in the lysosomes and with transactivation of inducible heat‐shock protein 70 downstream of FGF‐2. Furthermore, FGF‐2 upon release by neurons activates c‐junN‐terminal kinase 1 and 2 pathway which also contributes to neuronal survival. We suggest that FGF‐2 plays a pivotal role in neuroprotection against QA as an outcome of neuron‐microglia interaction.
UNDERSTANDING INFORMED CONSENT FOR PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL HEALTH RESEARCH
Authors: JEGEDE AYODELE S. 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTTo participate in health research, there is a need for well‐administered informed consent. Understanding of informed consent, especially in international health research, is influenced by the participants’ understanding of information and the meaning attached to the information communicated to them regarding the purpose and procedure of the research. Incorrect information and the power differential between researcher and participants may lead to participants becoming victims of harmful research procedures. Meningitis epidemics in Kano in early 1996 led to a response from drug companies, especially Pfizer, as well as humanitarian workers from Médecins Sans Frontiers, which resulted in an unethical trial. Pfizer's drug trial during the epidemics has left a lasting controversy, which has yet to be resolved. This paper examines the key issues surrounding the controversy, discusses the context of informed decision‐making, the ethical issues and implications of the incident, and concludes with some recommendations. Relevant texts, journals, Internet materials, newspaper articles and documentary materials on the conduct of the Pfizer's Trovan trial have been consulted. Four types of action (act intuitively, act rationally, act ignorantly, and act contextually – based on information provided) are identified as possible options for decision making. Participants most likely acted in ignorance due to poor understanding of the information contained in the verbal informed consent administered, thereby raising ethical issues. It is concluded that health research ethics committees have an important role to play nationally and locally in overseeing research, and in avoiding future occurrences.
Ventricular Expansion in Wild‐Type Wistar Rats After Alcohol Exposure by Vapor Chamber
Authors: Pfefferbaum Adolf , Zahr Natalie M. , Mayer Dirk , Vinco Shara , Orduna Juan , Rohlfing Torsten , Sullivan Edith V. 
Published: July 2008

Background:  Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reveals widespread brain damage manifest as tissue shrinkage and complementary ventriculomegaly in human alcoholism. For an animal model to parallel the human condition, high alcohol exposure should produce similar radiologically detectable neuropathology. Our previous structural MRI study demonstrated only modest brain dysmorphology of the alcohol‐preferring (P) rat with average blood alcohol levels (BALs) of 125 mg/dl achieved with voluntary consumption. Here, we tested the hypothesis that wild‐type Wistar rats, exposed to vaporized alcohol ensuring higher BALs than typically achieved with voluntary consumption in rodents, would model MRI findings in the brains of humans with chronic alcoholism.Methods:  The longitudinal effects of vaporized alcohol exposure on the brains of 10 wild‐type Wistar rats compared with 10 sibling controls were investigated with structural MRI, conducted before (MRI 1) and after (MRI 2) 16 of alcohol exposure and after an additional 8 weeks at a higher concentration of alcohol (MRI 3).Results:  Two rats in the alcohol group died prior to MRI 2. The remaining vapor‐exposed rats (n = 8) achieved BALs of 293 mg/dl by MRI 2 and 445 mg/dl by MRI 3. Whereas the controls gained 17% of their body weight from MRI 1 to MRI 3, the alcohol‐exposed group lost 6%. MRI, quantified with atlas‐based parcellation, revealed a profile of significant ventricular expansion, after alcohol vapor exposure, in 9 contiguous slices, extending from the dorsolateral to ventrolateral ventricles. In particular, from MRI 1 to MRI 2, this ventricular volume expanded by an average of 6.5% in the controls and by 27.1% in the alcohol‐exposed rats but only an additional 1.5% in controls and 2.4% in alcohol‐exposed rats from MRI 2 to MRI 3. The midsagittal volume of the full anterior‐to‐posterior extent of the corpus callosum grew between the first 2 MRIs in both groups followed by regression in the alcohol group by MRI 3. Although group differences were statistically significant, among animals there was substantial variability of the effects of alcohol exposure on brain morphology; some animals showed profound effects, whereas others were essentially unaffected.Conclusions:  The ventricular dilatation and callosal shrinkage produced in wild‐type rats following involuntary alcohol exposure yielded a modestly successful model of neurodysmorphology phenotypes of human alcoholism. As is the case for the human condition, however, in which some individuals express greater alcoholism‐related neuropathology than others, some rats may be more susceptible than others to extreme alcohol exposure.
Prevention of Unintentional Weight Loss in Nursing Home Residents: A Controlled Trial of Feeding Assistance
Authors: Simmons Sandra F. , Keeler Emmett , Zhuo Xiaohui , Hickey Kelly A. , Sato Hui‐wen , Schnelle John F. 
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects of a feeding assistance intervention on food and fluid intake and body weight.DESIGN: Crossover controlled trial.SETTING: Four skilled nursing homes (NHs).PARTICIPANTS: Seventy‐six long‐stay NH residents at risk for unintentional weight loss.INTERVENTION: Research staff provided feeding assistance twice per day during or between meals, 5 days per week for 24 weeks.MEASUREMENTS: Research staff independently weighed residents at baseline and monthly during a 24‐week intervention and 24‐week control period. Residents' food and fluid intake and the amount of staff time spent providing assistance to eat was assessed for 2 days at baseline and 3 and 6 months during each 24‐week period.RESULTS: The intervention group showed a significant increase in estimated total daily caloric intake and maintained or gained weight, whereas the control group showed no change in estimated total daily caloric intake and lost weight over 24 weeks. The average amount of staff time required to provide the interventions was 42 minutes per person per meal and 13 minutes per person per between‐meal snack, versus usual care, during which residents received, on average, 5 minutes of assistance per person per meal and less than 1 minute per person per snack.CONCLUSION: Two feeding assistance interventions are efficacious in promoting food and fluid intake and weight gain in residents at risk for weight loss. Both interventions require more staff time than usual NH care. The delivery of snacks between meals requires less time than mealtime assistance and thus may be more practical to implement in daily NH care practice.
A Prospective Study of the Effect of Hypertension and Baseline Blood Pressure on Cognitive Decline and Dementia in Postmenopausal Women: The Women's Health Initiative Memory Study
Authors: Johnson Karen C. , Margolis Karen L. , Espeland Mark A. , Colenda Christopher C. , Fillit Howard , Manson JoAnn E. , Masaki Kamal H. , Mouton Charles P. , Prineas Ronald , Robinson Jennifer G. , Wassertheil‐Smoller Sylvia ,   for the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study and Women's Health Initiative Investigators
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between baseline hypertension, blood pressure, and the development of cognitive decline in participants in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS).DESIGN: Prospective analyses.SETTING: Thirty‐nine centers.PARTICIPANTS: Seven thousand one hundred forty‐nine women aged 65 and older.MEASUREMENTS: The Modified Mini‐Mental State Examination (3MS) was used to assess global cognitive functioning. Participants who scored below pre‐established cutpoints were scheduled for more‐extensive neurocognitive assessments. Results from these assessments were centrally adjudicated.RESULTS: The mean age of this group of 7,149 participants at baseline was 71.0 ± 3.8, and the mean 3MS score was 95.2 ± 4.3. During a mean follow‐up period of 4.5 years, women without hypertension tended to have slightly higher 3MS scores than women with hypertension (P=.001), but the difference was not seen after adjustment for covariates (P=.17). Women with hypertension also appeared to be at greater risk for probable dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (hazard ratio=1.35, 95% confidence interval=1.07–1.70, P=.01), although when potential cofounders were accounted for, this association was no longer significant (P=.06).CONCLUSION: Hypertension and high blood pressure at baseline were not independently associated with MCI or probable dementia over time in older, cognitively intact, postmenopausal women enrolled in WHIMS after other potential confounders were taken into account. These analyses should not be viewed as discouraging appropriate medical treatment for hypertension.
Resident‐to‐Resident Aggression in Long‐Term Care Facilities: Insights from Focus Groups of Nursing Home Residents and Staff
Authors: Rosen Tony , Lachs Mark S. , Bharucha Ashok J. , Stevens Scott M. , Teresi Jeanne A. , Nebres Flor , Pillemer Karl 
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVES: To more fully characterize the spectrum of resident‐to‐resident aggression (RRA).DESIGN: A focus group study of nursing home staff members and residents who could reliably self‐report.SETTING: A large, urban, long‐term care facility.PARTICIPANTS: Seven residents and 96 staff members from multiple clinical and nonclinical occupational groups.MEASUREMENTS: Sixteen focus groups were conducted. Content was analyzed using nVivo 7 software for qualitative data.RESULTS: Thirty‐five different types of physical, verbal, and sexual RRA were described, with screaming or yelling being the most common. Calling out and making noise were the most frequent of 29 antecedents identified as instigating episodes of RRA. RRA was most frequent in dining and residents' rooms, and in the afternoon, although it occurred regularly throughout the facility at all times. Although no proven strategies exist to manage RRA, staff described 25 self‐initiated techniques to address the problem.CONCLUSION: RRA is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nursing home settings, with important consequences for affected individuals and facilities. Further epidemiological research is necessary to more fully describe the phenomenon and identify risk factors and preventative strategies.
Epidemiology of hepatitis B in Canadian blood donors
Authors: O'Brien Sheila F. , Xi Guoliang , Fan Wenli , Yi Qi‐Long , Fearon Margaret A. , Scalia Vito , Goldman Mindy 
Published: July 2008

BACKGROUND: The residual risk of hepatitis B is higher than for other markers such as human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus in nonendemic countries. Evaluating the potential for further risk reduction requires a better understanding of the relationship between donor selection criteria, immigration from endemic countries, and public health vaccination strategies.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Age and sex trends of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)‐positive donors from 1997 to 2006 were analyzed using a Poisson model. All HBsAg‐positive donors in 2005/2006 plus four matched control donors for every HBsAg‐positive donor who participated were invited to participate in a risk factor interview and predictors of HBsAg positivity identified by logistic regression. A survey of 40,000 donors who did not react for all markers asked about vaccination history and country of birth.RESULTS: Most HBsAg‐positive donations were from first‐time donors (86%), have been decreasing in donors under the age of 30 (p < 0.01), and were correlated with geographic regions with more donors from higher‐prevalence countries (p < 0001). Birth in a higher‐prevalence country predicted HBsAg positivity (p < 0.01). Fifty‐six percent of donors reported being vaccinated for hepatitis including approximately 80 percent of donors under age 30 who reported being vaccinated as part of regular school programs.CONCLUSION: HBsAg‐positive donations are decreasing in donors under age 30, those most frequently vaccinated through provincial vaccination programs. HBsAg‐positive donations largely reflect immigration from high‐prevalence countries without other deferrable risk factors, mainly chronic cases that will be detected by current testing. Furthermore, risk of incident infections should decrease with increasing vaccination rates in donors, especially the younger cohort now receiving universal vaccination.
When Western Interests Trump Values
Authors: MAHBUBANI KISHORE 
Published: July 2008

American‐led globalization has enabled the third great powershift of the last five hundred years—the “rise of the rest” following on the rise of the West and then the rise of the US as the dominant power in the West.When China, India, Brazil, Turkey and the rest sit at the table of global power with the West what will the world order look like? Will it be post‐American? Will it be culturally non‐Western, but play by the same rules of an open international order laid down by the American's after World War II?In the following pages, leading American and Asian intellectuals ponder these questions.
A Civil Society Emerges From the Earthquake Rubble
Authors: YANG GUOBIN 
Published: July 2008

Will China's authoritarian leaders succeed in building a future by erasing the past? Can the ideology of “nationalist consumerism” obliterate memory altogether? Will the Olympic applause drown out the weak and exiled witnesses of the Tiananmen crackdown?In this section we listen to a key Tiananmen student leader two decades on as well as check in with today's young elites in Beijing. A political leader from the reformist regime in 1989 calls for justice from house arrest and a young Chinese novelist wonders what kind of identity is possible without memory.
Pulpits Versus Ivory Towers: Socializing Agents and Evolution Attitudes*
Authors: Haider‐Markel Donald P. , Joslyn Mark R. 
Published: July 2008

Objective. Although debate concerning the theory of evolution is part of an ongoing U.S. dialogue over the proper role of religion in society, academics have provided little in the way of systematic understanding of public opinion on this issue. Important questions, such as the relative influence of socializing agents—religion and education—in shaping attitudes on evolution remain unanswered. Building on socialization and cognitive accessibility theories, we offer a framework for predicting public opinion on human origins and the teaching of evolution in public schools.Methods. We model attitudes on evolution and related policy through analysis of data from a 2005 national survey of U.S. adults.Results. Our analysis suggests that religion and education are key predictors of opinion, but that gender, partisanship, and ideology also play an important role.Conclusion. The socializing agent of religion outweighs the effect of education on attitudes related to evolution.
Running Against a Woman: Do Female Opponents Shape Male Candidate Behaviors?*
Authors: Dolan Kathleen 
Published: July 2008

Objective. The male‐dominated nature of U.S. politics still means that the vast majority of women who run for office face a male opponent. As a result, one dramatic change in U.S. politics—the increase in women candidates—may contribute to another change, that being the experience of men who run for office. The research reported here begins to consider how running against a woman might have influenced the behavior of male candidates for Congress in 2002 and 2006. Past research suggests that men who run against women feel that they need to take steps to appeal to women voters by giving attention to issues of concern to women in their campaigns.Methods. To test the hypothesis that men will alter their attention to women's issues in the face of a woman candidate, I use campaign websites to examine the issue priorities of men who ran against women and compare them to a sample of men who ran against other men.Results. Counter to expectations, I find no evidence that men “play” to women voters through their attention to women's issues and instead demonstrate the relatively limited visibility that men give to these issues when they run against a woman.Conclusions. Running against a woman may have some limited impact on male candidate behaviors, but does not appear to be a significant influence.
What Does it Take for a Canadian Political Scientist to be Cited?*
Authors: Montpetit Éric , Blais André , Foucault Martial 
Published: July 2008

Objectives. The article examines the factors that influence the frequency whereby scholarly articles published by Canadian political scientists are cited.Method. We collected data on 1,860 journal articles published between 1985 and 2005 by 758 Canadian political scientists and listed in the Social Science Citation Index. Using these data, we performed OLS and tobit estimations to identify factors influencing citation frequency.Results. The regressions show that the reputation of the journal in which the article is published, though important, does not explain everything. The gender of the author(s), the number of authors, the geographical focus of the article, the field, and the methodology also matter.Conclusion. An article is more likely to be widely cited if it is published in a prestigious journal, if it is written by several authors, if it applies quantitative methods, if it compares countries, and if it deals with administration and public policy or elections and political parties. Faculty members who belong to larger departments and those who are women are more cited.
Characterization of tumour necrosis factor‐alpha genetic variants and mRNA expression in patients with severe sepsis
Authors: O'Dwyer M. J. , Mankan A. K. , Ryan A. W. , Lawless M. W. , Stordeur P. , Kelleher D. , McManus R. , Ryan T. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryTumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNFα) has been implicated in the pathogenicity of severe sepsis by both genetic association studies and animal models. Conflicting functional data have emerged in relation to genetic variants and TNFα protein production. Therefore, we assessed the functionality of TNFα genetic variants in terms of mRNA production and their potential influence on outcome in the setting of severe sepsis. Sixty‐two Irish Caucasian patients presenting with severe sepsis were recruited and TNFα mRNA and protein levels were quantified. Patient DNA was analysed for the presence of common promoter polymorphisms and haplotypes were inferred. An A allele at position –863 was associated with more TNFα mRNA on day 1 compared to C homozygotes (P = 0.037). There was a trend for G homozygotes at position –308 to produce more TNFα mRNA on day 1 than those carrying an A allele (P = 0.059). The presence of an A allele at –863 was associated with greater levels of TNFα mRNA in comparison with patients carrying the A allele at –308 on day 1 (P = 0.02). Patients homozygous for the A allele at position –308 had a higher mortality than those carrying the G allele (P = 0.01). Our data are consistent with recent reports suggesting that a deficient proinflammatory response may be harmful in human sepsis. This deficient inflammatory response may be mediated in part by polymorphisms in the TNFα promoter.