bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Role of Alcohol in Unnatural Deaths: A Study of All Deaths in Sweden
Authors: Sjögren Harmeet , Eriksson Anders , Ahlm Kristin 
Published: May 2006

Background: Most previous research has concentrated on the role of alcohol in one type of unnatural death in a selected population, but the present objective was to investigate the role of alcohol in all unnatural deaths (autopsied and not autopsied).Methods: All cases of unnatural death from 1992 through 1996 in Sweden were analyzed (n= 23,132). Death was attributed at least in part to alcohol if the deceased was a “known alcoholic”; if the underlying or contributing cause of death was alcohol‐related; if the deceased had an alcohol‐related inpatient diagnosis during the 3‐year period prior to death; or if the deceased tested positive for blood alcohol.Results: Just over 28% of the unnatural deaths could be associated with alcohol; the association with alcohol was more than twice as common in deaths of males (35%) as in females (16%). When only autopsied cases or only blood‐tested cases were taken as the denominators, 38% and 44%, respectively, of the deaths were associated with alcohol. Alcohol involvement also was twice as common in intentional deaths (36%) as in unintentional deaths (18%). The intoxication group (78%) had the highest fraction of deaths that could be associated with alcohol, followed by the undetermined group (62%), homicide (49%), fire (41%), suicide (35%), asphyxia (29%), traffic (18%) and fall (9%) groups. In the 20‐ to 59‐year age group, alcohol involvement was found in 51% of the males and 35% of the females (47% for males and females combined).Conclusions: The present estimates are conservative; alcohol involvement in unnatural deaths probably is even higher, up to 44% of the total. The present estimation is an important step in policy‐making to lower the number of alcohol‐related deaths in Sweden.
Influence of the Number of Alcohol and Water Bottles on Murine Alcohol Intake
Authors: Tordoff M. G. , Bachmanov A. A. 
Published: May 2006

Background: Most work to understand the controls of alcohol intake by animals involves the two‐bottle choice method. Recent experiments involving other nutrients suggest that intakes are profoundly influenced by the number of nutrient choices available. Here, we extended these observations by measuring the alcohol consumption of mice and rats given multiple choices of water and alcohol.Methods: Four experiments were conducted. In experiments 1 and 2, male C57BL6/J (B6) mice, 129X1/SvJ mice, or Sprague‐Dawley rats received a series of six 72‐ or 48‐hr tests in which the number of bottles of 10% alcohol and water was manipulated. One test involved the typical two‐bottle choice. In the other five, the rodents always had six bottles with one, two, three, four, or five containing 10% alcohol and the rest containing water. In experiment 3, separate groups of B6 mice received for 16 days (a) the typical two‐bottle test, (b) five alcohol bottles and one water bottle, (c) three alcohol bottles and three water bottles, or (d) one alcohol bottle and five water bottles. In experiment 4, groups of B6 mice received either a two‐bottle test or five alcohol bottles and one water bottle for 24 days.Results: In all experiments, the volume of alcohol consumed was strongly and positively related to the number of alcohol bottles available and inversely related to the number of water bottles available. The effect of alcohol availability on alcohol intake persisted for at least 24 days.Conclusions: Alcohol intake is strongly influenced by availability. The results point to a simple method of manipulating murine alcohol intake over a wide range. They provide an animal model that might be useful for understanding the influence of alcohol availability on human alcohol consumption.
Theta Power in the EEG of Alcoholics
Authors: Rangaswamy Madhavi , Porjesz Bernice , Chorlian David B. , Choi Keewhan , Jones Kevin A. , Wang Kongming , Rohrbaugh John , O'Connor Sean , Kuperman Sam , Reich Theodore , Begleiter Henri 
Published: May 2006

Background: In this study, the magnitude and spatial distribution of theta power in the resting EEG were examined to explore the changes in the neurophysiological status of the alcoholic brain. Some state‐ and trait‐related issues of theta power increases in the EEG of alcoholics were also examined.Methods: Absolute theta (3–7 Hz) power in eyes‐closed EEGs of 307 alcohol‐dependent subjects and 307 age‐ and gender‐matched unaffected controls were compared by using a repeated‐measures ANOVA for the entire region and three subregions (frontal, central, and parietal) separately. Supplementary to the main analysis, the effect of three clinical variables on absolute theta power was examined separately for each gender by using correlation and regression analyses. Gender differences in the theta log power difference between alcoholics and controls were explored by using regional repeated‐measures ANOVA.Results: Increased absolute theta power was seen in alcohol‐dependent subjects at all scalp locations. The theta log power increase in male alcoholics was prominent at the central and parietal regions and in female alcoholics at the parietal region when compared with the respective matched controls. Correlation of drinking variables with log theta power exhibited no group‐specific differences.Conclusions: Increased tonic theta power in the EEG may reflect a deficiency in the information‐processing capacity of the central nervous system in alcoholics. The theta power increase may also be an electrophysiological index of the imbalance in the excitation‐inhibition homeostasis in the cortex. It is likely that the theta power increase is a trait‐related phenomenon and is expressed to differing degrees in the two genders.
Testosterone Increases in Men After a Low Dose of Alcohol
Authors: Sarkola Taisto , Eriksson C. J. Peter 
Published: May 2006

Background: Heavy acute alcohol drinking decreases blood testosterone in men due to an effect on the testicular level. An acute increase in blood testosterone levels after a low alcohol dose has, however, recently been reported in women. The objective of this investigation was to study the effect of a low alcohol dose on testosterone in men and further elucidate the mechanism behind the effect by using 4‐methylpyrazole, an inhibitor of alcohol metabolism.Methods: A double‐blind placebo‐controlled interventional crossover trial in random order (n= 13).Results: After intake of alcohol (0.5 g/kg, 10% w/v), an acute increase in plasma testosterone (from 13.5 ± 1.2 nmol/liter to 16.0 ± 1.6 nmol/liter, mean ± SEM;p < 0.05), a decrease in androstenedione (from 5.1 ± 0.4 nmol/liter to 4.0 ± 0.3 nmol/liter;p < 0.05), and an increase in the testosterone:androstenedione ratio (from 2.8 ± 0.3 to 4.2 ± 0.4;p < 0.01) were observed. The effects were not observed during pretreatment with 4‐methylpyrazole (10–15 mg/kg orally), which inhibited the ethanol elimination rate by 37 ± 3%.Conclusions: Alcohol intake affects the androgen balance in men through an effect mediated by the alcohol‐induced change in the redox state in the liver.
The Effects of Chronic Ethanol Consumption During Early Pregnancy on Conceptus Health and Uterine Function in Pigs
Authors: Kubotsu Stephanie L. , Hu Jianbo , Carnahan Kevin G. , DeAvila Jeanene , Ott Troy L. , Mirando Mark A. 
Published: May 2006

Background: Maternal ethanol consumption impairs fetal health, but it is unclear if this occurs through direct actions on the conceptus or indirectly through effects on the uterus. The objective of this study was to determine if chronic ethanol consumption in swine would impair early embryonic and fetal health either through direct effects on the conceptus or indirect effects on the endometrium.Methods: Four experiments evaluated the effects of chronic ethanol consumption during early pregnancy. Female pigs were fed either 350 ml of 95% ethanol or an isocaloric amount of dextrose at 10 to 14‐hr intervals beginning on day 10 after pubertal estrus and continuing until ovariohysterectomy 11 to 35 days after mating. At the second estrus, pigs were mated to a fertile boar that did not consume alcohol.Results: In experiment 1, ethanol consumption increased (p < 0.01) blood alcohol concentrations that peaked 2–3 hr after feeding. In experiment 2, ethanol was detectable in uterine flushings 2 hr after feeding on day 11 of pregnancy and was highly correlated (r= 0.989, p < 0.001) with blood alcohol concentration. In experiment 3, ethanol consumption did not affect endometrial phospholipase C activity on days 11 and 16 of pregnancy but decreased (p < 0.05) basal endometrial prostaglandin F2α production on day 16. However, ethanol consumption did not decrease the number of conceptuses on day 11 or conceptus DNA content on days 11 or 16. In experiment 4, ethanol consumption decreased (p < 0.05) fetal survival rate to 58% versus 85% in dextrose‐fed controls on day 35 of pregnancy. For viable conceptuses, ethanol consumption reduced (p < 0.01) fetal weight, fetal crown‐rump length, placental weight and volume of placental (chorio‐allantoic + amniotic) fluid.Conclusion: These results indicate that chronic ethanol consumption may impair conceptus health directly or indirectly through actions upon the endometrium. Thus, the pig may be a valuable experimental model for studies on the effects of maternal alcohol consumption on conceptus development.
Neither Antisocial Personality Disorder Nor Antisocial Alcoholism Is Associated With the MAO‐A Gene in Han Chinese Males
Authors: Lu Ru‐Band , Lin Wei‐Wen , Lee Jia‐Fu , Ko Huei‐Chen , Shih Jean Chen 
Published: May 2006

Background: Recent studies on the genetics of alcoholism have suggested an association between antisocial alcoholism and the MAO‐A gene. However, previous studies have failed to include subjects with antisocial personality disorder without alcoholism even though there is a high comorbidity between antisocial personality disorder and alcoholism. Consequently, the finding of an association between the MAO‐A gene and alcoholism or antisocial personality disorder seems tenuous. In Taiwan, about 70% of the Han Chinese population have the ADH2*2 allele and 50% show ALDH2*1/*2 or ALDH2*2/*2 genotypes, which offer protection against drinking behavior and the risk of developing alcoholism. Thus, it is possible to recruit individuals with antisocial personality disorder but without alcoholism in Taiwan. Therefore, association studies of alcoholism or antisocial personality disorder in Chinese may be more reliable if pure antisocial alcoholics, pure antisocial personality disorders, and normal controls as MAO‐A gene are examined.Methods: In this study, the associations among antisocial alcoholism, antisocial personality disorder, and the uVNTR and Eco RV polymorphisms of the MAO‐A gene, both individually and as a haplotype, were investigated among male adults recruited from jails in Taipei. A total of 129 Chinese Han males were studied, including 41 with antisocial personality disorder with alcoholism, 50 with antisocial personality disorder but without alcoholism, and 38 without either disorder as a jail control group. The diagnoses of alcohol dependence and antisocial personality disorder were made according to DSM‐IV criteria. In addition, 77 normal controls were collected from the community.Results: Strong linkage disequilibrium was found for the uVNTR and Eco RV variants of MAO‐A gene in each study group.Conclusions: No significant association was observed between these two polymorphisms and antisocial personality disorder with alcoholism, either individually or for the haplotype, or for antisocial personality disorder without alcoholism. Thus, neither antisocial alcoholism nor antisocial personality disorder was associated with the genetic variants of MAO‐A gene.
Schedule‐Induced Ethanol Self‐Administration in DBA/2J and C57BL/6J Mice
Authors: Mittleman Guy , Van Brunt Carrie L. , Matthews Douglas B. 
Published: May 2006

Background: The purpose of these experiments was to provide an initial investigation into ethanol self‐administration elicited in the schedule‐induced polydipsia (SIP) paradigm.Methods: Mature male mice were food deprived to between 80 and 85% of their baseline weight and received 20 daily 1 hr SIP test sessions in which a food pellet (20 mg) was delivered on a fixed‐time 60 sec schedule. In different groups, the acquisition of drinking 5% (v/v) ethanol solution (experiment 1) or water (experiment 2) was recorded along with other behaviors that occurred in the test chambers.Results: Results indicated that C57BL/6J mice drank significantly more ethanol than DBA/2J mice and that C57 mice achieved blood alcohol concentrations as high as 300 mg/dl. Blood alcohol concentrations were consistently correlated with g/kg ethanol intake. The groups did not differ in consumption of water. SIP test sessions using higher concentrations of ethanol (10–20% v/v, experiment 1) or sucrose solutions (0.1–2% w/v, experiment 2) then were performed. Group differences in ethanol consumption were maintained at all ethanol concentrations. Although DBAs drank more of a low concentration of sucrose (0.1%), when expressed as g/kg, sucrose intake was equivalent in the two strains at all concentrations. Analysis of the time course of drinking clearly showed that this behavior was adjunctive in nature.Conclusion: These results demonstrate the effectiveness of this procedure in inducing ethanol self‐administration and its utility for investigating the genetic bases of vulnerability toward excessive ethanol consumption.
Differential Responding for Brain Stimulation Reward and Sucrose in High–Alcohol‐Drinking (HAD) and Low–Alcohol‐Drinking (LAD) Rats
Authors: Woods James E. , McKay Peter F. , Masters Jacob , Seyoum Regat , Chen Annabel , La Duff Lorie , Lewis Michael J. , June Harry L. 
Published: May 2006

Background: This study examined the associations among selective breeding for alcohol preference, intake of sweet solutions, and responding for brain stimulation reward (BSR), a nonoral reinforcer, in alcohol‐preferring high–alcohol‐drinking (HAD)‐1 and nonpreferring low–alcohol‐drinking (LAD)‐1 rats.Methods: Adult male HAD‐1 and LAD‐1 rats were trained to lever press for medial forebrain bundle stimulation. Current intensity was varied in separate sessions to generate a rate/intensity function. To further examine BSR responding, the animals responded for stimulation at 100 Hz and at a fixed current intensity on an FR1 schedule. In subsequent sessions, the schedule was increased to FR6 and then to FR12. To examine responding for the sucrose solution, we trained a separate group of HAD‐1/LAD‐1 rats to bar press for sucrose on an FR1 schedule. Similar to the BSR experiment, in following sessions, the schedule was increased to an FR6 and then to an FR12 schedule.Results: No significant differences were observed between the two rat lines across a range of current intensities. As the reinforcement schedule increased, HAD‐1 rats exhibited a dramatic decrease in BSR responding, whereas the LAD‐1 rats displayed a more protracted reduction. In contrast to BSR, marked elevations in responding were observed for sucrose as the schedule increased. However, in HAD‐1 rats, response rates were similar on the FR6 and FR12 schedules, whereas LAD‐1 rats showed a reduction in response rates from the FR6 to FR12 schedule. Furthermore, HAD‐1 rats exhibited significantly more responses compared with LAD‐1 rats across the three reinforcement schedules. An analysis of the response profile for the three reinforcement schedules suggested that few if any postreinforcement pauses were exhibited when the reinforcer was BSR compared with sucrose in both lines.Conclusion: Medial forebrain bundle BSR is a powerful reinforcer in both HAD‐1 and LAD‐1 lines. However, BSR responding was not associated with selective breeding for alcohol preference. In contrast, selective breeding for alcohol preference was associated with sucrose consumption, especially as the amount of work increased. The lack of correspondence between BSR and sweet taste rewards in HAD‐1 and LAD‐1 lines may suggest important differences yet an overlapping brain reward mechanism in the control of motivated behaviors in these selected lines.
Immunohistochemical Characterization of Hepatic Malondialdehyde and 4‐Hydroxynonenal Modified Proteins During Early Stages of Ethanol‐Induced Liver Injury
Authors: Sampey Brante P. , Korourian Soheila , Ronis Martin J. , Badger Thomas M. , Petersen Dennis R. 
Published: May 2006

Background: Chronic ethanol consumption is associated with hepatic lipid peroxidation and the deposition or retention of aldehyde‐adducted proteins postulated to be involved in alcohol‐induced liver injury. The purpose of this study was to characterize hepatocellular formation of aldehyde‐protein adducts during early stages of alcohol‐induced liver injury.Methods: Female Sprague Dawley® rats were subjected to the intragastric administration of a low‐carbohydrate/high‐fat total enteral nutrition diet or a total enteral nutrition diet containing ethanol for a period of 36 days. Indexes of hepatic responses to ethanol were evaluated in terms of changes in plasma alanine aminotransferase activity, hepatic histopathologic analysis, and induction of cytochrome P‐4502E1 (CYP2E1). Immunohistochemical methods were used to detect hepatic proteins modified with malondialdehyde (MDA) or 4‐hydroxynonenal (4‐HNE) for subsequent quantitative image analysis.Results: After 36 days of treatment, rats receiving the alcohol‐containing diet displayed hepatic histopathologies characterized by marked micro‐ and macrosteatosis associated with only minor inflammation and necrosis. Alcohol administration resulted in a 3‐fold elevation of plasma alanine aminotransferase activity and 3‐fold increases (p < 0.01) in hepatic CYP2E1 apoprotein and activity. Quantitative immunohistochemical analysis revealed significant (p < 0.01) 5‐fold increases in MDA‐ and 4‐HNE modified proteins in liver sections prepared from rats treated with alcohol. The MDA‐ or 4‐HNE modified proteins were contained in hepatocytes displaying intact morphology and were colocalized primarily with microvesicular deposits of lipid. Aldehyde‐modified proteins were not prevalent in parenchymal or nonparenchymal cells associated with foci of necrosis or inflammation.Conclusions: These results suggest that alcohol‐induced lipid peroxidation is an early event during alcohol‐mediated liver injury and may be a sensitizing event resulting in the production of bioactive aldehydes that have the potential to initiate or propagate ensuing proinflammatory or profibrogenic cellular events.
The Cost of Compensating Asbestos Victims Under the Occupational Disease Compensation Act of 1983
Authors: Siskind Frederic B. 
Published: May 2006

The potentially huge financial liability due to asbestos product suits and the resulting filings for reorganization in bankruptcy by Manville, UNR Industries, Inc., and Amatex, has become a major public policy concern. In response to the problem several bills have been introduced in the Congress to provide compensation for asbestos (and other occupational disease) victims. This paper estimates the cost of compensating asbestos victims under the provisions of the “Occupational Disease Compensation Act of 1983,” introduced by Congressman George Miller. Utilizing fatality projections from studies by Enterline, Selikoff, and Walker, and assumptions regarding likely claims filing and success rates, duration and degree of disability, and medical expenses, first year costs for this legislation are estimated to range from a low of $131 million to a high of $1.9 billion. Present value cost estimates at a 2% real discount rate range from $3 billion to $56 billion.The paper also estimates the impact of possible modifications to the compensation provisions of the legislation. Reducing medical payments by the amount received from medicare would lower costs by 3–4%. Providing survivors with a 3‐year lump sum benefit rather than a 5‐year lump sum payment would save 20–25% as would offsetting the 5‐year lump sum by expected social security old age and disability benefits. Combining all of these changes would reduce costs by almost 50%.
Human Interindividual Variability in Parameters Related to Health Risks
Authors: Hattis Dale , Banati J Prerna , Goble Rob , Burmaster David E. 
Published: May 2006

This paper reviews existing data on the variability in parameters relevant for health risk analyses. We cover both exposure‐related parameters andparameters related to individual susceptibility to toxicity. The toxicity/susceptibility data base under construction is part of a longer term research effort to lay the groundwork for quantitative distributional analyses of non‐cancer toxic risks. These data are broken down into a variety of parameter types that encompass different portions of the pathway from external exposure to the production of biological responses. The discrete steps in this pathway, as we now conceive them, are:Contact Rate (Breathing rates per body weight; fish consumption per bodyweight)Uptake or Absorption as a Fraction of Intake or Contact RateGeneral Systemic Availability Net of First Pass Elimination and Dilutionvia Distribution Volume (e.g., intial blood concentration per mg/kg of uptake)Systemic Elimination (half life or clearance)Active Site Concentration per Systemic Blood or Plasma ConcentrationPhysiological Parameter Change per Active Site Concentration (expressed as the dose required to make a given percentage change in different people, or the dose required to achieve some proportion of an individual's maximum response to the drug or toxicant)Functional Reserve Capacity‐Change in Baseline Physiological Parameter Needed to Produce a Biological Response or Pass a Criterion of Abnormal FunctionComparison of the amounts of variability observed for the different parameter types suggests that appreciable variability is associated with the final step in the process‐differences among people in “functional reserve capacity.” This has the implication that relevant information for estimatingeffective toxic susceptibility distributions may be gleaned by direct studies of the population distributions of key physiological parameters in people that are not exposed to the environmental and occupational toxicants thatare thought to perturb those parameters. This is illustrated with some recent observations of the population distributions of Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol from the second and third National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.
The Liquidity Demand for Corporate Property Insurance
Authors: Hau Arthur 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThis article suggests that liquidity may be an important reason for a corporation to purchase property insurance. A model of a risk‐neutral producer facing an endogenously determined risk of property damage under an output contract that penalizes underproduction is formulated to exemplify such a real need of liquidity. Under the output contract, the producer may purchase full unfavorable property insurance even when postloss financing is available. Surprisingly, the conclusion may still hold when the cost of postloss financing equals that of long‐term capital, provided that the rate of underproduction penalty is sufficiently high. Similar conclusions apply when postloss financing is replaced by planned internal reserve (self‐insurance) that may be invested in the short run at an interest rate that is lower than the long‐term cost of capital. When the capital market is perfect, however, the holding of planned internal reserve eliminates the purchase of actuarially unfavorable property insurance.