bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Waist circumference predicts cardiovascular risk in young Australian children
Authors: Watts Katie , Bell Lana M , Byrne Susan M , Jones Timothy W , Davis Elizabeth A 
Published: December 2008

Aim:  It has been shown that compared with healthyweight children, overweight and obese primary school‐aged children have a higher incidence of hyperinsulinism, dyslipidaemia and hypertension. It is therefore important to investigate clinically relevant markers of cardiovascular risk in children. Waist circumference is a simple, non‐invasive anthropometric measure, but its association with cardiovascular risk profile in young Australian children is not clear.Methods:  This study presents cross‐sectional data from the Growth and Development Study. The sample included 70 healthy weight children, 50 overweight children and 28 obese children (n = 148, 9.6 ± 1.9 years). All children had a medical assessment which included a physical examination (waist circumference, blood pressure), and investigations including glycated haemoglobin, total cholesterol, high‐density lipoprotein, low‐density lipoprotein, triglycerides, insulin, glucose and total homocysteine levels. An oral glucose tolerance test was performed in a subgroup of children (n = 119). Body mass index (BMI) was determined and BMI Z‐scores calculated.Results:  In a multilevel model, waist circumference was the only significant anthropometric predictor of lipid profile (high‐density lipoprotein β = −0.01, P < 0.05; triglycerides β = 0.01, P < 0.005), systolic blood pressure (β = 0.29, P < 0.05), fasting insulin (β = 0.16, P < 0.005), insulin concentrations throughout the oral glucose tolerance (60 min β = 1.07, P < 0.005; 120 min β = 1.42, P < 0.001) and insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment (HOMA‐IR): β = 0.03, P < 0.05), with increasing waist circumference associated with increasing cardiovascular risk. In contrast, BMI Z‐score was only predictive of 120‐min glucose concentrations during the OGTT (β = 0.34, P < 0.05).Conclusions:  Waist circumference is a better anthropometric indicator than BMI Z‐score of cardiovascular risk in Australian primary school‐aged children. Even in young children, measurement of waist circumference represents a simple, non‐invasive screening tool to identify children with an increased cardiovascular risk profile.
The Fremantle lead study part 2
Authors: Guttinger Robin , Pascoe Elaine , Rossi Enrico , Kotecha Rishi , Willis Frank 
Published: December 2008

Aim:  A 1993 study of blood lead levels (BLLs) in pre‐schoolers living in Fremantle showed 25% had BLLs ≥ 10 µg/dL. This study compares the 1993 BLLs with a sample of contemporary Fremantle pre‐schoolers.Methods:  Pre‐schoolers (0–5 years) living in the Fremantle area were recruited from hospital and community settings during 2005. As in the 1993 study, guardians completed a questionnaire concerning demographic, environmental and behavioural variables. BLLs were determined by the same method used in 1993. Statistical analysis compared the 1993 and 2005 samples according to demographic variables and dichotomised BLL. Multivariate linear regression was used to control for confounding variables, and linear regression was used to identify risk factors in the 2005 sample.Results:  Community (40) and hospital (60) participants provided blood and completed questionnaires; none had BLLs ≥10 µg/dL. Compared with the 1993 sample, 2005 participants were younger, fewer were aboriginal, more had occupied their homes for over 6 months and more had a habit of putting soil in their mouths. After controlling for these variables, the geometric mean BLL in 2005 remained significantly lower than the 1993 value (1.83 and 6.82 µg/dL respectively). As in 1993, aboriginality, presence of participants during home renovation, occupancy of home less than 6 months and living <200 m from a main road were associated with higher mean BLLs.Conclusions:  The reassuring decline in the mean BLL between the1993 and 2005 samples is likely associated with the phasing out of leaded petrol. Future research should concentrate on monitoring groups at higher risk.
Electrical burn injuries in children
Authors: Tomkins Katherine L , Holland Andrew JA 
Published: December 2008

Aim:  Electrical burns account for up to 10% of burns admissions worldwide. Although a potentially serious mechanism of injury in children, there exists limited Australian data. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology, presentation, management and complications of electrical burn injuries in children.Methods:  We performed a retrospective case note review of all children under 16 years of age with electrical burns admitted to the New South Wales Paediatric Burns Centre over an 8‐year, 2‐month study period between November 1995 and December 2003.Results:  Twenty‐two cases were identified. The mean age at presentation was 7.6 years (range 8 months to 14.3 years). Eighty‐six percent of cases were sustained from a Low Voltage (<1000 W) power source and 55% occurred in males. The total body surface area burnt ranged from 0.5% to 35% with an average of 4%. Fourteen children had their burns managed non‐operatively, but eight required various surgical procedures ranging from local debridement and primary closure to full‐thickness skin grafting. The average length of hospital stay was 6 days (range 1–58 days). Complications occurred in 4 of the 22 patients (18%) and included wound infections, acute renal failure because of myoglobinuria, permanent electrocardiogram changes and long‐term paraesthesia. Three patients (14%) suffered continued morbidity because of scarring, amputation and psychological disturbance. There was no mortality.Conclusions:  Electrical injury was an infrequent but potentially serious cause of injury in children. Minor injuries were successfully managed non‐operatively. Neurological sequelae, cardiac arrhythmias and renal failure remain serious complications in up to 20% of cases.
MECHANISM OF THE FORMATION OF MEGAMITOCHONDRIA INDUCED BY COPPER‐CHELATING AGENTS. III. FORMATION AND SOME BIOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MEGAMITOCHONDRIA INDUCED BY DIETHYLDITHIOCARBAMATE (DDC)
Authors: Asano Masahisa , Wakabayashi Takashi , Kurono Chieko , Ozawa Takayuki 
Published: December 2008

Sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC), a copper‐chelating agent, has induced megamitochondria in mouse hepatocytes simply by feeding the animal with a diet containing the noxious agent.Megamitochondria have been isolated from the liver, specified above, in a medium containing albumin. Phosphorylating capacities of such megamitochondria have revealed that they are tightly coupled. Biochemical properties of megamitochondria, such as cytochrome contents, activities of copper‐containing enzymes. and contents of Cu2+, strongly suggest that copper‐chelating action of the agent may not be related to the formation of megamitochondria just as in the case of cuprizone‐induced megamitochondria. Moreover, contents of divalent metals such as Ca2+ and Mg2+ were drastically decreased in the mitochondrial preparation specified above. Similarities in biochemical aspects of DDC‐induced megamitochondria to those of cuprizone‐induced megamitochondria together with ultra structural changes in the her and clinical appearances of the mouse treated with the agent would strongly suggest that the mechanism of the formation of megamitochondria induced either by DDC or by cuprizone may be the same.
DISSECTING ANEURYSMS OF THE CORONARY ARTERIES
Authors: Shin Phyjou , Minamino Takazo , Onishi Shunzo , Kitamura Hajime 
Published: December 2008

This paper reports two cases of coronary dissecting aneurysms of the heart. These were found among 45 consecutive autopsy cases with cardiac diseases from January, 1978 to April, 1981. The first case, a 60‐year‐old woman, revealed dissecting aneurysm involving the aorta and three main coronary arteries in association with cystic medial necrosis. The second case, a 55‐year‐old man, revealed dissecting hematoma limited to the right coronary artery without any presumptive causal lesion to the dissection. The dissections could not be identified by either clinically or even macroscopic examinations of the autopsy materials.It is likely that the dissecting coronary aneurysm is not so uncommon nor fatal lesion as previously thought. Considerable number of the cases would be concealed in those of sudden death not autopsied or carelessly autopsied, or in those survived myocardial infarction not angiographied.
The Rise and Fall and Resurgence of Thromboangiitis Obliterans (Buerger's Disease)
Authors: Lie J.T. 
Published: December 2008

Thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO; or Buerger's disease) is a nonarteriosclerotic, segmental, occlusive inflammatory disease of medium‐sized and small arteries and veins of unknown cause, occurring predominantly in young male habitual tobacco users. Less than 2% of the patients with TAO are women or elderly persons. TAO is a treatable disease when diagnosed early and if strict abstinence from tobacco is observed. Otherwise progression and exacerbation of limb ischemia may lead to multiple and repeated amputations, and rarely visceral or cerebral ischemia.Over a 40‐year period, 1947 to 1986, the prevalence rate of the diagnosis of TAO has declined steadily from 104/ 100,000 in 1947 to 13/100,000 in 1986 (an 8‐fold decrease) where clinical and pathologic criteria for the diagnosis of TAO have remained unchanged. A similar pattern of decline was observed in two other major medical centers. Twelve women and 97 men with TAO were identified in the 5‐year period 1981–1985. The 11% (12 of 109) incidence of female TAO was 10‐fold that was previously reported. All 12 women were heavy smokers; 8 (67%) had thrombophlebitis and 6 (50%) had upper limb ischemia. Nine (75%) of 12 women required amputations; delay in diagnosis contributed to additional amputations in 2 patients. The increased prevalence of TAO in women may be attributed to the smoking habit in young women overall, which has increased significantly rather than decreased (as in males) since 1965
Re‐evaluation of a case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy previously diagnosed as simian virus 40 (SV40) etiology
Authors: Eizuru Yoshito , Sakihama Kuniharu , Minamishima Yoichi , Hayashi Tohru , Sumiyoshi Akinobu 
Published: December 2008

A case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) reported previously to be of simian virus (SV40) etiology was re‐evaluated. The supernatant from a 10% homogenate of brain material was inoculated into African green monkey kidney cells and BSC‐1 cells which are permissive for SV40. However no cytopathic effect (CPE) developed and no virus was isolated. The brain supernatant agglutinated human group O erythrocytes and contained 5120 units/mL.The Hirt supernatant from the brain contained three DNA bands corresponding to forms I, II and III of circular double‐stranded viral DNA. Restriction endonuclease cleavage analysis revealed that this viral DNA was different from SV40 DNA, but similar to JC virus DNA. After cloning of this viral DNA into pBR322 at the BamHI site, DNA homology of this virus and of SV40 was investigated. The cloned DNA hybridized with all four HpaI/EcoRI fragments of SV40 genome at the effective temperature (Tm) of −50°C. At Tm −28°C, however, the cloned DNA hybridized with only HpaI/EcoRI fragment B of the SV40 genome. In contrast to this, JC virus DNA hybridized with all five EcoRI/BamHI/HindIII fragments of cloned DNA even at Tm −28°C. Therefore, the causative agent of this PML case was not SV40 but JC virus.
Intractable diseases and bone marrow transplantation
Authors: Ikehara Susumu 
Published: December 2008

Intractable diseases are defined as diseases of unknown etiopathogenesis, and for which therapeutic strategies remain to be established. They are therefore likely to cause various sequelae. Of the 86 intractable diseases recognized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan, half are thought to be curable by bone marrow transplantation (BMT).This report shows which diseases are curable by BMT and provides evidence that autoimmune diseases are stem cell disorders.
Extinction of morphine‐dependent conditioned behavior is associated with increased phosphorylation of the GluR1 subunit of AMPA receptors at hippocampal synapses
Authors: Billa Sophie K. , Sinha Namita , Rudrabhatla Sri Rajyalakshmi , Morón Jose A. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractIn abstinent opiate addicts, relapse can be triggered by exposure to environmental cues associated with drug use; thus, the disruption of these learned associations may be an effective approach for reducing relapse. Interestingly, glutamatergic systems are thought to be involved in opiate‐induced behavioral plasticity. In this study, changes in expression and phosphorylation levels of α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) glutamate receptor subunits (GluR1, GluR2) in the hippocampus were investigated in rats showing a conditioned response (CR) to an opiate‐paired environment as well as in animals in which this conditioned behavior was extinguished. Additionally, another set of animals went through a drug‐unpaired paradigm (without conditioning) in order to examine the effects of the pharmacology of the drug itself. Subcellular fractionation techniques were used to analyse the local distribution of AMPA glutamate subunits within the synapse, especially at the postsynaptic density (PSD). Results showed that morphine‐dependent CRs did not alter expression or redistribution of GluR1 or GluR2; however, the unpaired administration of morphine resulted in an increase in the phosphorylation of the GluR1 subunit at extrasynaptic sites. Interestingly, the extinction of the CR significantly increased phosphorylation of the GluR1 subunit at the PSD. Therefore we propose that, within the synapse, the phosphorylation of the GluR1 subunit at the PSD may be a key mechanism in the extinction of opiate‐associated CRs.
Characterization in vivo of bilaterally branching pontocerebellar mossy fibre to Golgi cell inputs in the rat cerebellum
Authors: Holtzman Tahl , Cerminara Nadia L. , Edgley Steve A. , Apps Richard 
Published: December 2008

AbstractGolgi cells regulate the flow of information from mossy fibres to the cerebellar cortex, through a mix of feedback and feedforward inhibitory actions on granule cells. The aim of the current study was to examine mossy fibre input to Golgi cells, in order to assess their impact on switching Golgi cells into feedforward behaviour. In urethane‐anaesthetized rats, extracellular recordings were made from Golgi cells in Crus II (n = 18). Spikes were evoked in all Golgi cells by microstimulation within the contralateral hemispheral cortex, via branches of mossy fibres that terminate in both cerebellar hemispheres. The latencies of these responses were very short, consistent with a monosynaptic mossy fibre contact [average onset latency 2.3 ± 0.1 ms (SEM)]. The same stimuli had no measurable effect on spike responses of nearby Purkinje cells (n = 12). Systematic mapping in the contralateral cerebellar hemisphere (Crus Ib, IIa, IIb and the paramedian lobule) usually revealed one low‐intensity stimulus ‘hotspot’ (12–35 μA) from which short‐latency spikes could be evoked in an individual Golgi cell. Microinjections of red and green retrograde tracers (latex beads, ∼50–150 nL injection volume) made at the recording site and the stimulation hotspot resulted in double‐labelled neurons within the pontine nuclei. Overall, this suggests that subsets of pontine neurons supply mossy fibres that branch to both hemispheres, some of which directly target Golgi cells. Such an arrangement may provide a common feedforward inhibitory link to temporally couple activity on both sides of the cerebellum during behaviour.
Queer Wordplay: Language and Laughter in the “Boys of Boise” Morals Panic
Authors: SCHNEIDER JEN 
Published: December 2008

AbstractThis article works to deepen historical and theoretical understandings of a 1955 morals panic in Boise, Idaho, typically referred to as the “boys of Boise” scandal. Using Goode and Ben‐Yehuda's definition of the “morals panic” and analysis of newspaper reporting and trial transcripts from the scandal, I argue that certain forms of rhetoric heightened or fabricated perceived threats to children, masculinity, and the heterosexual family unit. The article first analyzes the rhetoric of local newspaper editorials, arguing that they relied on familiar tropes of “purity” and “danger” to foment hysteria about deviant sexual behaviors, in effect manufacturing child victims that did not exist. Second, analysis of trial transcripts illustrates the ways in which this hysteria and hostility were connected to fears that homosexuality might be infectious, could be passed on to children and young men, and therefore pose a long‐term, unmanageable threat to heteronormative forms of masculinity and the American family. Finally, drawing on a 2006 documentary about the scandal and on Mikhail Bakhtin's theorization of “folk laughter,” I argue that another form of rhetoric – that of wordplay or punning – might suggest to us how morals panics are defused, an area not addressed by Goode and Ben‐Yehuda's framework.
FINDING AUTONOMY IN BIRTH
Authors:   THE OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY RISK RESEARCH GROUP:, KUKLA REBECCA , KUPPERMANN MIRIAM , LITTLE MARGARET , LYERLY ANNE DRAPKIN , MITCHELL LISA M , ARMSTRONG ELIZABETH M. , HARRIS LISA 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTOver the last several years, as cesarean deliveries have grown increasingly common, there has been a great deal of public and professional interest in the phenomenon of women ‘choosing’ to deliver by cesarean section in the absence of any specific medical indication. The issue has sparked intense conversation, as it raises questions about the nature of autonomy in birth. Whereas mainstream bioethical discourse is used to associating autonomy with having a large array of choices, this conception of autonomy does not seem adequate to capture concerns and intuitions that have a strong grip outside this discourse. An empirical and conceptual exploration of how delivery decisions ought to be negotiated must be guided by a rich understanding of women's agency and its placement within a complicated set of cultural meanings and pressures surrounding birth. It is too early to be ‘for’ or ‘against’ women's access to cesarean delivery in the absence of traditional medical indications – and indeed, a simple pro‐ or con‐ position is never going to do justice to the subtlety of the issue. The right question is not whether women ought to be allowed to choose their delivery approach but, rather, taking the value of women's autonomy in decision‐making around birth as a given, what sorts of guidelines, practices, and social conditions will best promote and protect women's full inclusion in a safe and positive birth process.
Block trades and the benefits of control in Slovenia1
Authors: Gregoric Aleksandra , Vespro Cristina 
Published: December 2008

AbstractOwnership and control have been concentrating in most transition countries. The consolidation of control introduces changes in the power distribution within privatized firms and, most importantly, redirects the corporate governance problem to a conflict between large and small shareholders. In this study, we evaluate the ownership changes in Slovenian privatized firms through an analysis of stock price reactions to the entrance of a new blockholder (the shared benefits of control) and through an estimation of the premiums paid for large blocks (the private benefits of control). We provide evidence of and discuss the reasons for the failures of the privatization investment funds in implementing control over firm managers and in promoting the restructuring of firms in the first post‐privatization years.
Rapid morphological change in an insular population of feral sheep
Authors: Van Vuren D. H. , Bakker V. J. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractArtificially selected qualities can reduce fitness in a wild setting, thus feral domesticates should experience strong selective forces. Domestic sheep Ovis aries have frequently become feral on islands, which differ substantially from mainland environments. We examined changes in body mass and wool traits in feral sheep inhabiting Santa Cruz Island (SCI), California for ≥90 years. To elucidate the influence of nutrition, we compared the mass of feral island sheep with that of island sheep raised in farm conditions. We found that feral sheep on SCI were smaller than purported founder breeds, and that most documented populations of insular feral sheep worldwide have converged to similar body sizes (within 6 kg). SCI rams attained greater mass in farm conditions but ewes did not, suggesting phenotypic plasticity in ram body mass. Ewes exhibited self‐shedding of wool at a greater frequency than rams, and sex differences and shedding patterns were consistent with thermoregulation and the risk of fly strike disease as benefits of wool loss. Pigmentation rates did not increase, further supporting the influence of heat stress on wool traits. These changes occurred in <25 generations and may have had a genetic basis, representing a potential example of rapid evolution in insular feral sheep.
Modulation of mutant superoxide dismutase 1 aggregation by co‐expression of wild‐type enzyme
Authors: Prudencio Mercedes , Durazo Armando , Whitelegge Julian P. , Borchelt David R. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractMutations in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1, EC 1.15.1.1) cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; with aggregated forms of mutant protein accumulating in spinal cord tissues of transgenic mouse models and human patients. Mice over‐expressing wild‐type human SOD1 (WT hSOD1) do not develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis‐like disease, but co‐expression of WT enzyme at high levels with mutant SOD1 accelerates the onset of motor neuron disease compared with mice expressing mutant hSOD1 alone. Spinal cords of mice expressing both proteins contain aggregated forms of mutant protein and, in some cases, evidence of co‐aggregation of WT hSOD1 enzyme. In the present study, we used a cell culture model of mutant SOD1 aggregation to examine how the presence of WT SOD1 affects mutant protein aggregation, finding that co‐expression of WT SOD1, hSOD1 or mouse SOD1, delayed the formation of mutant hSOD1 aggregates; in essence appearing to slow the aggregation rate. In some combinations of WT and mutant hSOD1 co‐expression, the aggregates that did eventually form appeared to contain WT hSOD1 protein. However, WT mouse SOD1 did not co‐aggregate with mutant hSOD1 despite displaying a similar ability to slow mutant hSOD1 aggregation. Together, these studies indicate that WT SOD1 (human or mouse), when expressed at levels equivalent to the mutant protein, modulates the aggregation of mutant SOD1.