bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Health Status of Long-term Cancer Survivors: Results from an Australian Population-Based Sample
Authors: Eakin Elizabeth G. , Youlden Danny R. , Baade Peter D. , Lawler Sheleigh P. , Reeves Marina M. , Heyworth Jane S. , Fritschi Lin 
Published: October 2006

Abstract
Background: Despite considerable knowledge about the effect of cancer during the early stages of treatment and survivorship, understanding the longer-term effect of cancer has only recently become a priority. This study investigated the health implications of longer-term cancer survivorship in an Australian, population-based sample.
Methods: Using the Australian National Health Survey, 968 longer-term cancer survivors were identified, along with 5,808 age- and sex-matched respondents without a history of cancer. Four measures of health effect were compared (quality of life, health status, days out of role, and mental well-being), using polytomous and logistic regression analyses controlling for other selected chronic conditions. These models were applied across both groups overall, across groups stratified by presence/absence of cancer, and other chronic conditions, as well as by tumor site.
Results: Compared with matched respondents without cancer, longer-term cancer survivors reported significant decrements in health status, days out of role, and mental well-being (all P &lt; 0.02), but not in quality of life. The likelihood of poor health outcomes (including quality of life) was much higher among survivors who also reported comorbid chronic conditions. Despite mixed results across tumor site, melanoma and prostate cancer survivors fared better across most outcomes.
Conclusions: Clear evidence of excess morbidity among Australian longer-term cancer survivors seems to be further exacerbated by the presence of comorbid chronic conditions. Consistent with recent U.S. studies, these results further support the importance of ongoing surveillance of the growing number of cancer survivors worldwide along with increased attention to interventions to improve long-term health outcomes. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(10):1969–76)
Marijuana Use and the Risk of Lung and Upper Aerodigestive Tract Cancers: Results of a Population-Based Case-Control Study
Authors: Hashibe Mia , Morgenstern Hal , Cui Yan , Tashkin Donald P. , Zhang Zuo-Feng , Cozen Wendy , Mack Thomas M. , Greenland Sander 
Published: October 2006

AbstractBackground: Despite several lines of evidence suggesting the biological plausibility of marijuana being carcinogenic, epidemiologic findings are inconsistent. We conducted a population-based case-control study of the association between marijuana use and the risk of lung and upper aerodigestive tract cancers in Los Angeles.Methods: Our study included 1,212 incident cancer cases and 1,040 cancer-free controls matched to cases on age, gender, and neighborhood. Subjects were interviewed with a standardized questionnaire. The cumulative use of marijuana was expressed in joint-years, where 1 joint-year is equivalent to smoking one joint per day for 1 year.Results: Although using marijuana for ≥30 joint-years was positively associated in the crude analyses with each cancer type (except pharyngeal cancer), no positive associations were observed when adjusting for several confounders including cigarette smoking. The adjusted odds ratio estimate (and 95% confidence limits) for ≥60 versus 0 joint-years was 1.1 (0.56, 2.1) for oral cancer, 0.84 (0.28, 2.5) for laryngeal cancer, and 0.62 (0.32, 1.2) for lung cancer; the adjusted odds ratio estimate for ≥30 versus 0 joint-years was 0.57 (0.20, 1.6) for pharyngeal cancer, and 0.53 (0.22, 1.3) for esophageal cancer. No association was consistently monotonic across exposure categories, and restriction to subjects who never smoked cigarettes yielded similar findings.Conclusions: Our results may have been affected by selection bias or error in measuring lifetime exposure and confounder histories; but they suggest that the association of these cancers with marijuana, even long-term or heavy use, is not strong and may be below practically detectable limits. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(10):1829–34)
The P2X7 Receptor: A Novel Biomarker of Uterine Epithelial Cancers
Authors: Li Xin , Zhou Lingying , Feng Ying-Hong , Abdul-Karim Fadi W. , Gorodeski George I. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractObjective: To determine expression of the P2X7 receptor in normal and in cancer uterine tissues. The rationale was that the receptor P2X7 regulates constitutive apoptosis in uterine epithelial cells, and previous studies showed diminished P2X7-mediated apoptosis in cancer uterine cells compared with normal cells.Methods: A clinical, experimental feasibility study. Normal (n = 42) and cancer uterine tissues (n = 47) were obtained from a total of 72 women ages 25 to 75. End points for P2X7 mRNA were quantitative PCR and in situ hybridization, and end points for P2X7 protein were Western blots and immunostaining using anti-P2X7 antibody.Results: (a) In normal uteri, P2X7 mRNA and protein were expressed predominantly in the epithelial (endometrial, endocervical, and ectocervical) cells. (b) Expression of the P2X7 mRNA and protein was absent from endometrial and endocervical adenocarcinoma tissues and from cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues. (c) In cervical dysplasia, P2X7 protein was absent in the dysplastic lesions. (d) Semiquantitative analysis using P2X7 mRNA (normalized in each tissue to the constitutive glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) and P2X7 protein levels (normalized in each tissue to the constitutive tubulin) revealed that P2X7 mRNA and/or protein levels can distinguish uterine normal from cancer tissues at high degrees of sensitivity (92%, 100%) and specificity (100%, 90%).Summary and Conclusions: (a) Levels of the P2X7 are lower in uterine epithelial cancer tissues than in the corresponding normal tissues. (b) The data suggest that tissue P2X7 mRNA and protein levels could be used as a novel biomarker to differentiate normal and cancer uterine epithelial tissues. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(10):1906–13)
Cotinine Concentration in Smokers from Different Countries: Relationship with Amount Smoked and Cigarette Type
Authors: Blackford Amanda L. , Yang Gonghuan , Hernandez-Avila Mauricio , Przewozniak Krzysztof , Zatonski Witold , Figueiredo Valeska , Avila-Tang Erika , Ma Jiemin , Benowitz Neal L. , Samet Jonathan M. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis four-country study examined salivary cotinine as a marker for nicotine intake and addiction among smokers in relation to numbers and types of cigarettes smoked. Smoking characteristics of cigarette smokers in Brazil, China, Mexico, and Poland were identified using a standard questionnaire. Cotinine concentration was measured using a saliva sample from each participant; its relationship with numbers and types of cigarettes smoked was quantified by applying regression techniques. The main outcome measure was salivary cotinine level measured by gas chromatography. In all four countries, cotinine concentration increased linearly with cigarettes smoked up to 20 per day [11.3 ng/mL (95% confidence interval, 10.5-12.2)] and then stabilized as the number of cigarettes exceeded 20 [6.8 ng/mL per cigarette (95% confidence interval, 6.3-7.4) for up to 40 cigarettes]. On average, smokers of regular cigarettes consumed more cigarettes and had higher cotinine levels than light cigarette smokers. Cotinine concentration per cigarette smoked did not differ between regular and light cigarette smokers. Results suggest a saturation point for daily nicotine intake and minimal or no reduction in nicotine intake by smoking light cigarettes. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(10):1799–804)
Obesity, Diabetes, and Risk of Prostate Cancer: Results from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial
Authors: Gong Zhihong , Neuhouser Marian L. , Goodman Phyllis J. , Albanes Demetrius , Chi Chen , Hsing Ann W. , Lippman Scott M. , Platz Elizabeth A. , Pollak Michael N. , Thompson Ian M. , Kristal Alan R. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractStudies on the relationship between obesity and prostate cancer incidence are inconsistent. In part, this inconsistency may be due to a differential effect of obesity on low-grade and high-grade cancer or confounding of the association of obesity with prostate cancer risk by diabetes. We investigated the associations of obesity and diabetes with low-grade and high-grade prostate cancer risk. Data were from 10,258 participants (1,936 prostate cancers) in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial who all had cancer presence or absence determined by prostate biopsy. Multiple logistic regression was used to model the risk of total prostate cancer, and polytomous logistic regression was used to model the risk of low-grade and high-grade prostate cancer. Compared with men with body mass index &lt; 25, obese men (body mass index ≥30) had an 18% [odds ratio (OR), 0.82; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.69-0.98] decreased risk of low-grade prostate cancer (Gleason &lt;7) and a 29% (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.01-1.67) increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer (Gleason ≥7) or, alternatively, a 78% (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.10-2.87) increased risk defining high-grade cancer as Gleason sum 8 to 10. Diabetes was associated with a 47% (OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.34-0.83) reduced risk of low-grade prostate cancer and a 28% (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.55-0.94) reduced risk of high-grade prostate cancer. Associations of obesity or diabetes with cancer risk were not substantially changed by mutually statistical controlling for each other. Obesity increases the risk of high-grade but decreases the risk of low-grade prostate cancer, and this relationship is independent of the lower risk for prostate cancer among men with diabetes. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(10):1977–83)
Kin biased investment in wild chimpanzees
Authors: Boesch Christophe , Lehmann Julia , Fickenscher Gisela 
Published: October 2006

AbstractKin selection theory predicts that recognition and preferences for kin can be highly beneficial. However, evidence of recognition of offspring by fathers in mammals has accumulated very slowly. Especially, in multi-male groups with a promiscuous mating system, like the chimpanzee, where offspring survival does not seem to depend on paternal care, paternal kin recognition has not yet been observed. In this study, we examined whether adult males of a wild chimpanzee community show recognition of their offspring (as determined genetically) and whether infants prefer to interact with kin rather than with unrelated peers. Our analysis utilises up to 14 years of observational data to investigate if adult males associate more frequently and behave less aggressively with females that carry their offspring. Furthermore, we use grooming and play behaviour to establish whether adult males and youngsters show preferences for kin versus non-kin. We found that, adult males did not associate preferentially with females with which they had offspring, but they were generally less aggressive towards any given female when she had a new born infant. Interestingly, however, fathers maintained these low rates of aggression long after the aggression rates of the non-sires had returned to their basal levels. Furthermore, fathers spent significantly more time playing with their own offspring. Thus, our data show for the first time that wild chimpanzee males can recognise their own offspring. Infants preferred to groom and tended to play more with their maternal siblings, but showed only a weak preference for playing with their paternal siblings when given the choice between similarly aged related and unrelated interaction partners. Despite the fact that paternal care does not play an obvious role in chimpanzee survival, kin recognition is observed in different aspects of the life of adult males and youngsters.
Male leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) can discriminate between two familiar females
Authors: Ferkin Michael H. , LaDage Lara D. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractMuch is known about the abilities of various taxa concerning discrimination of species, sex, familiarity-based discrimination and individual discrimination. However, literature pertaining to the precision of discrimination within lizard taxa assumes that discrimination between familiar and unfamiliar individuals can be extrapolated to include individual discrimination between two familiar individuals. The present study had two aims. First, we determined that male leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) can concurrently become familiar with two different females and discriminate those females from a novel female. Second, we investigated the ability of male leopard geckos to distinguish between two familiar females using a habituation-dishabituation paradigm. Males habituated to the presence of the first female, exhibited by decreased typical courtship behaviours directed towards that female. Male courtship behaviours, however, were reinstated upon introduction of the second familiar female. These results indicate that males possess the ability to discriminate between two familiar females and adjust their courtship efforts appropriately.
Brain Drain and Its Impact on Ethiopia's Higher Learning Institutions: Medical Establishments and the Military Academies Between 1970s and 2000
Authors: Getahun Solomon 
Published: October 2006

AbstractAfrica is beset with problems that range from natural calamities to civil wars and epidemics such as HIV-AIDS. Ironically, countries like Ethiopia, which badly need trained manpower, continued to lose highly skilled professionals, both military and civilian, to Western Europe and the United States. Ethiopia, for instance, loses more than a third of all its students who were sent for further education to Europe and the U.S. This is in addition to those who leave the country for various reasons but refuse to return home and those educated Ethiopians who became refugees in African countries. One of the consequences of the outflow of highly educated Ethiopians is that today there are more Ethiopian professionals, including MDs, working in the U.S. than in Ethiopia. However, not all Ethiopian professionals are successful in practicing their profession. Among these professionals, highly trained military officers constituted the largest group. They end up being taxi drivers and security guards; they represent the worst case of brain drain—brain hemorrhage. My paper will examine the causes and processes of migration of highly educated Ethiopians to the U.S. and its impact on higher education, both military and civilian, and health institutions in Ethiopia—a country with the least developed higher education establishments, even by African standards, and one of the worst HIV-AIDS affected areas in the world.
Biodiversity Management: A Current Trace of the African Diaspora
Authors: Moreno-Zapata Paula 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study investigates an aspect of the African Diaspora that to date, has received scant attention. Environmental affairs of African Colombians have been woefully understudied and largely undocumented in major international scholarship. This is surprising since Colombia has the second largest Africandescendant population in Latin America, and the AfricanColombian territory in the Pacific coast is one of the most biologically diverse regions on the entire planet. The potential economic advantages of this could be enormous for African Colombians and has affected their models of development. However, African Colombians are like other African Diasporas— they are presently disproportionately poor, uneducated, and powerless in their respective societies. A principal objective of this study is to discuss the political-economic and environmental aspects inherent to high biodiversity presence in the African Colombians' territories, identifying the advantages and obstacles standing in the way of realizing the real dimension of these natural endowments.
Examining Exercise Dependence Symptomatology from a Self-determination Perspective
Authors: Edmunds Jemma , Ntoumanis Nikos , Duda Joan L. 
Published: October 2006

Background Pulling from Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985), this study examined whether individuals classified as ‘nondependent-symptomatic’ and ‘nondependent-asymptomatic’ for exercise dependence differed in terms of reported levels of exercise-related psychological need satisfaction, self-determined versus controlling motivation and exercise behavior. In addition, we examined the type of motivational regulations predicting exercise behavior among these different groups, and their role as mediators between psychological need satisfaction and behavioral outcomes. Methods Participants ( N = 339) completed measures of exercise-specific psychological need satisfaction, motivational regulations, exercise behavior and exercise dependence. Results Nondependent-symptomatic individuals reported higher levels of competence need satisfaction and all forms of motivational regulation, compared to nondependent-asymptomatic individuals. Introjected regulation approached significance as a positive predictor of strenuous exercise behavior for symptomatic individuals. Identified regulation was a positive predictor of strenuous exercise, and completely mediated the relationship between competence need satisfaction and strenuous exercise behavior, for asymptomatic individuals. Conclusions The findings reinforce the applicability of SDT to understanding the quantity and quality of engagement in exercise.
Pf4-Cre transgenic mice allow the generation of lineage-restricted gene knockouts for studying megakaryocyte and platelet function in vivo
Authors: Tiedt Ralph , Schomber Tibor , Hao-Shen Hui , Skoda Radek C. 
Published: October 2006

Abstract
To generate transgenic mice that express Cre-recombinase exclusively in the megakaryocytic lineage, we modified a mouse bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clone by homologous recombination and replaced the first exon of the platelet factor 4 (Pf4), also called CXCL4, with a codon-improved Cre cDNA. Several strains expressing the transgene were obtained and one strain, Q3, was studied in detail. Crossing Q3 mice with the ROSA26-lacZ reporter strain showed that Cre-recombinase activity was confined to megakaryocytes. These results were further verified by crossing the Q3 mice with a strain containing loxP-flanked integrin β1. Excision of this conditional allele in megakaryocytes was complete at the DNA level, and platelets were virtually devoid of the integrin β1 protein. The Pf4-Cre transgenic strain will be a valuable tool to study megakaryopoiesis, platelet formation, and platelet function.
GSK-3 mediates differentiation and activation of proinflammatory dendritic cells
Authors: Rodionova Elena , Conzelmann Michael , Maraskovsky Eugene , Hess Michael , Kirsch Michael , Giese Thomas , Ho Anthony D. , Zöller Margot , Dreger Peter , Luft Thomas 
Published: October 2006

Abstract
The key components of the intracellular molecular network required for the expression of a specific function of dendritic cells (DCs) are as yet undefined. Using an in vitro model of human monocyte-derived DC differentiation, this study investigates the role of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3), a multifunctional enzyme critical for cellular differentiation, apoptosis, self-renewal, and motility, in this context. We demonstrate that GSK-3 (1) inhibits macrophage development during differentiation of DCs, (2) is constitutively active in immature DCs and suppresses spontaneous maturation, and (3) acquires a proinflammatory functional status mediating high levels of IL-12, IL-6, and TNF-α secretion, and partially inhibits IL-10 in the context of DC activation. In particular, GSK-3 enhances IL-12p35 mRNA expression and thus the production of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-12p70 by integrating the activities of other kinases priming GSK-3 targets and the inhibitory effects of Akt-1. GSK-3 may therefore act as a key integrator of activating and inhibitory pathways involved in proinflammatory DC differentiation and activation.
MCP-1 mediates TGF-β–induced angiogenesis by stimulating vascular smooth muscle cell migration
Authors: Ma Jing , Wang Qiang , Fei Teng , Han Jing-Dong Jackie , Chen Ye-Guang 
Published: October 2006

AbstractTransforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and its signaling mediators play crucial roles in vascular formation. Our previous microarray analysis identified monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) as a TGF-β target gene in endothelial cells (ECs). Here, we report that MCP-1 mediates the angiogenic effect of TGF-β by recruiting vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and mesenchymal cells toward ECs. By using a chick chorioallantoic membrane assay, we show that TGF-β promotes the formation of new blood vessels and this promotion is attenuated when MCP-1 activity is blocked by its neutralizing antibody. Wound healing and transwell assays established that MCP-1 functions as a chemoattractant to stimulate migration of VSMCs and mesenchymal 10T1/2 cells toward ECs. Furthermore, the conditioned media from TGF-β–treated ECs stimulate VSMC migration, and inhibition of MCP-1 activity attenuates TGF-β–induced VSMC migration toward ECs. Finally, we found that MCP-1 is a direct gene target of TGF-β via Smad3/4. Taken together, our findings suggest that MCP-1 mediates TGF-β–stimulated angiogenesis by enhancing migration of mural cells toward ECs and thus promoting the maturation of new blood vessels.
Donor-derived thymic-dependent T cells cause chronic graft-versus-host disease
Authors: Sakoda Yukimi , Hashimoto Daigo , Asakura Shoji , Takeuchi Kengo , Harada Mine , Tanimoto Mitsune , Teshima Takanori 
Published: October 2006

AbstractChronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the most common cause of poor long-term outcomes after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT), but the pathophysiology of chronic GVHD still remains poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that the impaired thymic negative selection of the recipients will permit the emergence of pathogenic T cells that cause chronic GVHD. Lethally irradiated C3H/HeN (H-2k) recipients were reconstituted with T-cell–depleted bone marrow cells from major histocompatibility complex [MHC] class II–deficient (H2-Ab1−/−) B6 (H-2b) mice. These mice developed diseases that showed all of the clinical and histopathological features of human chronic GVHD. Thymectomy prevented chronic GVHD, thus confirming the causal association of the thymus. CD4+ T cells isolated from chronic GVHD mice were primarily donor reactive, and adoptive transfer of CD4+ T cells generated in these mice caused chronic GVHD in C3H/HeN mice in the presence of B6-derived antigen-presenting cells. Our results demonstrate for the first time that T cells that escape from negative thymic selection could cause chronic GVHD after allogeneic BMT. These results also suggest that self-reactivity of donor T cells plays a role in this chronic GVHD, and improvement in the thymic function may have a potential to decrease chronic GVHD.
Age‐related changes in oral sensation
Authors: Calhoun Karen H. , Gibson Brian , Hartley Leila , Minton John , Hokanson James A. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractOral sensation (including two‐point discrimination, oral stereognosis, vibrotactile detection, somesthetic sensitivity, proprioception, and thermal sensitivity) was studied in 60 healthy adults in five age categories: 20 to 34, 35 to 49, 50 to 64, 65 to 79, and 80 years and above. Thermal and somesthetic sensitivity as well as proprioception did not change with age. Ability to differentiate tactile and vibratory sensation on the lip decreased after age 80 (P<.01), but vibration detection on the soft palate did not change. Stereognostic ability remained good up to age 80, and then declined for four of the nine shapes tested (P<.01). Two‐point discrimination deteriorated on the upper lip (P<.01), on the cheeks (P<.02), and on the lower lip (P<.06). Two‐point discrimination on the tongue and palate did not change. It was noted that oral sensation remained good with aging, showing only a slight decline in function after age 80.