bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Genetic transformation, electrophoretic karyotyping and isolation of insertional mutants in the tree pathogenic fungus Neonectria galligena
Authors: Tanguay P. , Coupal J. , Bernier L. 
Published: December 2004

SummaryThe ascomycete tree pathogen Neonectria galligena was transformed using several plasmid vectors containing the bacterial hygromycin phosphotransferase gene (hph) conferring resistance to hygromycin B. Protoplasts were produced by digesting germinating conidia in a Novozym 234 solution osmotically stabilized with NaCl. The protoplasts regenerated at ca. 70% on complete medium supplemented with either sucrose or NaCl. Up to 115 hygromycin B‐resistant transformants per microgram of transforming DNA per 108 protoplasts were obtained. Southern analysis of genomic DNA from the transformants, separated by either standard agarose gel electrophoresis or by pulsed field gel electrophoresis, confirmed that hygromycin B resistance resulted from integration of the vector. Transformants expressing the green fluorescent protein were also obtained. A total of 209 transformants were then screened for aggressiveness and mycelial radial growth. Four mutants were identified including one mutant with reduced aggressiveness but normal growth in vitro, two mutants with reduced growth in vitro but normal aggressiveness, and one mutant in which both aggressiveness and in vitro growth were reduced.
Ocular tissue interactions during the development of human fetal neuroretina grafted into nude mice
Authors: Angioi Karine , Hatier Renée , Duprez Adrien 
Published: December 2004

To determine the roles of different ocular tissues in the development of the human fetal neuroretina, a study ethically and technically impossible in human subjects, human embryonic and fetal retinas were heterotopically implanted into nude mice. Ninety‐five eyeballs were obtained from legally aborted 6‐ to 7‐week‐old embryos or 8‐ to 10‐week‐old fetuses. Ten isolated neuroretinas with vitreous but without pigment epithelium, 20 half‐eyeballs and 70 intact eyeballs, of which 12 had a thick layer of periocular tissue, were microsurgically grafted. Five intact eyeballs were used for reference. Over a period of 1–245 days, all of the grafts were removed for light and electron microscopy observations. All of the isolated neuroretinas had disappeared by the second day after transplantation. Grafts of the posterior section of the eyeball contained only some clusters of pigment epithelium, occasionally covered with undifferentiated neuroretinal cells. Grafts of the retrolental section of the eyeball contained small areas of dysplasic neuroretina with folds and rosettes. Grafts of the 70 intact eyeballs were successful, but only 26 showed normal histological organization of the choriocapillaris, the retinal pigment epithelium and the neuroretina in the posterior part of the posterior chamber. Photoreceptor differentiation was evident in these retinas after approximately 80 days of transplantation and was complete after 166 days. Their anterior part was always dysplasic, with occasional ciliary differentiation. Twenty‐three grafted eyeballs had a dysplasic neuroretina with folds, rosettes and necrotized areas. Twenty‐one were atrophic, 12 of which were the eyeballs grafted with periocular tissue. These results demonstrate the role of the fetal mesenchyme and pigment epithelium in the rapid revascularization, and subsequent survival and tissue organization, of the neuroretina. The stratified development of the neuroretina required a thin mesenchymal environment for revascularization of the graft by human vasculogenesis or neoangiogenesis and a normal retinal pigment epithelium for normal neuroretinal differentiation. When these conditions were not satisfied, the neuroretina disappeared or was dysplasic, partly necrotized or atrophic. This model might prove useful for a number of therapeutic or clinical studies.
Endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine needle aspiration biopsy in esophageal and mediastinal diseases: Clinical indications and results
Authors: ARIMA MIWAKO , TADA MASAHIRO 
Published: December 2004

Background:  Endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (EUS‐FNAB) was developed to attain endosonographical images in real time in endoscopic biopsy, just like in percutaneous biopsy with ultrasonic or computer‐tomographical images. The results of EUS‐FNAB in esophageal and mediastinal diseases were evaluated and clinical indications of this technique were investigated.Methods:  The study was performed in 58 patients, consisting of 30 with esophageal or mediastinal tumors and 28 requiring mediastinal lymph node examination. The instruments were linear array EUS transducer PEF‐703FA (Toshiba‐Fujinon, Tokyo, Japan) and 21G Endosonopsy (Hakko Shoji, Tokyo, Japan). The aspirated material was recovered on a filter paper and was formalin‐fixed to be examined histopathologically.Results:  The tumors measured 6–60 mm (mean 29 mm). Collection of tissue was successful in 95% of the patients, and diagnostic accuracy was 95%. The biopsy specimen was satisfactory to establish histological diagnosis in every case of 27 patients with malignant diseases. No complication was experienced.Conclusion:  The EUS‐FNAB is indicated in cases where the technique of EUS‐guided puncture is required, or is considered optimum in view of the safety and in cases where histological diagnosis is critical for the decision of treatment program. In many cases of mediastinal diseases, not even a detection of lesion is feasible without this technique, let alone a collection of tissue. The EUS‐FNAB is thus performed as a first choice of examination to obtain biopsy specimen in such cases. Endoscsopic ultrasound‐guided lymph node puncture is applied in order to assess the appropriateness of endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) in patients with esophageal cancer, to follow up the patients after EMR and chemoradiotherapy (CRT), and to evaluate the efficacy of neoadjuvant CRT.
Cloning and functional analysis of alkB genes in Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2
Authors: Hara Akihiro , Baik Sang‐ho , Syutsubo Kazuaki , Misawa Norihiko , Smits Theo H. M. , Van Beilen Jan B. , Harayama Shigeaki 
Published: December 2004

Summary Alcanivorax is an alkane‐degrading marine bacterium which propagates and becomes predominant in crude‐oil‐containing seawater when nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients are supplemented. To identify the genes responsible for alkane degradation in this organism, two putative genes for alkane hydroxylases were cloned from Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2. They were named alkB1 and alkB2. These genes were subsequently disrupted in A. borkumensis SK2, and the growth phenotypes of the disruptants were examined. The results indicate that the alkB1 gene is responsible for the degradation of short‐chain n‐alkanes. A double mutant defective in both alkB1 and alkB2 was still able to grow on medium‐chain n‐alkanes, indicating that genes other than alkB1 and alkB2 are also involved in n‐alkane hydroxylation by A. borkumensis SK2.
Usefulness of troglitazone administration to obese hyperglycaemic patients with near‐normoglycaemia
Authors: Sekino N. , Kashiwabara A. , Inoue T. , Kawasaki T. , Ogata N. , Sawashige K. , Yamanouchi T. 
Published: December 2004

Aims:  We assessed the effectiveness of 400 mg/day of troglitazone administered to hyperglycaemic patients with near‐normoglycaemia who were obese and who had hyperinsulinaemia.Results:  The area under the plasma glucose curve in oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) significantly decreased from 39.8 ± 19.4–20.5 ± 10.2 mg/dL · h and the area under the insulin‐response curve from 31.8 ± 22.5–12.2 ± 5.7 μU/ml · h 4 months after the start of treatment. The level of HbA1c significantly improved from 6.6 ± 0.2 to 6.3 ± 0.2% (p < 0.05) by 1 month after administration, and that of serum 1,5‐anhydroglucitol (1,5‐AG) from 12.6 ± 1.1–18.3 ± 2.5 μ/ml (p < 0.05). In some cases, recovery of the first‐phase insulin secretion was observed.Conclusions:  These findings suggest that the administration of this insulin sensitizer is useful in the treatment of obese Japanese subjects with borderline or mild diabetics accompanied by hyperinsulinaemia.
Latin‐American trial of orlistat for weight loss and improvement in glycaemic profile in obese diabetic patients
Authors: Halpern A. , Mancini M. C. , Suplicy H. , Zanella M. T. , Repetto G. , Gross J. , Jadzinsky M. , Barranco J. , Aschner P. , Ramirez L. , Matos A. G. 
Published: December 2004

Aim:  To determine if obese non‐insulin‐dependent diabetic patients lose more weight when treated for 24 weeks (6 months) with orlistat (120 mg t.i.d.), in conjunction with a hypocaloric diet plus behavioural counselling, than when treated by placebo (t.i.d.) plus similar instructions. The secondary objectives were to evaluate the effects on glucose profile and to determine the tolerability and safety of orlistat.Design:  Double‐blind, parallel, randomized, placebo‐controlled, multicentre study.Subjects:  Obese, non‐insulin‐dependent diabetic patients, aged 18–70 years old, with BMI > 27 kg/m2, evaluated at 10 Latin‐American centres, in five countries.Efficacy and Tolerability Measurements:  After screened, eligible patients passed by a 2‐week placebo run‐in period receiving a hypocaloric diet. On day 0, patients were randomized to orlistat or placebo for 24 weeks. At each visit, body weight, blood pressure and waist circumference were measured. At the screening visit, baseline visit (week 0), and at weeks 8, 16 and 24, a central laboratory was in charge of measuring fasting glucose and insulin, HbA1c, postprandial glucose and insulin, fasting total cholesterol, HDL‐cholesterol, LDL‐cholesterol, triglycerides, and postprandial triglycerides. Other safety laboratory assessments were measured locally at the screening visit, baseline visit and at the end of the study. Adverse events were assessed at each visit from baseline.Results:  After 24 weeks of treatment, the orlistat group lost an average of 4.7% of initial body weight vs. 3.0% in the placebo group (p = 0.0003). A greater weight loss was achieved in the orlistat compared with the placebo group (4.24 ± 0.23 vs. 2.58 ± 1.46 kg, p = 0.0003). Almost twice as many patients receiving orlistat (30% vs. 17%) lost ≥ 5% of initial body weight (p = 0.003). Orlistat treatment plus diet compared to placebo plus diet was associated with significant improvement in glycaemic control, as reflected in decreases in HbA1c (p = 0.04), fasting plasma glucose (p = 0.036) and postprandial glucose (p = 0.05). Orlistat‐treated patients had a mean decrease in glucose levels of 1.00 ± 0.34 mmol/l [3.7%] vs. 0.01 ± 0.30 mmol/l for placebo group, at week 24 and an absolute decrease of HbA1c of 0.61 ± 0.15 vs. a decrease of 0.22 ± 0.14% in the placebo group. Orlistat therapy also resulted in significantly greater improvements than placebo in lipid profile, with reductions in total cholesterol (p = 0.0001) and LDL‐cholesterol (p = 0.002). Mild to moderate transient gastrointestinal events were reported, mainly with orlistat treatment, but their association with withdrawal from the study was low.Conclusion:  Orlistat is a useful and an effective therapy in obese diabetic patients, promoting clinically significant weight loss and improved glycaemic control and lipid profile.
Relation between homocysteinaemia and diabetic neuropathy in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Ambrosch A. , Dierkes J. , Lobmann R. , Kühne W. , König W. , Luley C. , Lehnert H. 
Published: December 2004

SummaryAims  Limited data are available on determinants of diabetic neuropathy as its pathogenesis is multifactorial. Since homocysteine exhibits toxic effects on vascular endothelial cells, the association between homocysteine and the prevalence of neuropathy in Type 2 diabetes mellitus was investigated.Methods  A total of 65 Type 2 diabetic patients were consecutively enrolled into the study. Neuropathy was diagnosed according to clinical symptoms, clinical examination, electrophysiological sensory testing and autonomic function testing. With regard to homocysteine‐related parameters, plasma homocysteine, folate, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and renal function (creatinine, ceratinine clearance, cystatin C) were measured, and the C677T polymorphism of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene was determined.Results  Forty‐three of the Type 2 diabetic patients were classified as suffering from neuropathy. Both patient groups were comparable with regard to demographic data, blood pressure, glucose metabolism, renal function and homocysteine‐related vitamins. In contrast, homocysteine levels (P = 0.04) and the frequency of hyperhomocysteinemia (≥ 15 μmol/l) (P = 0.01) were significantly increased in neuropathic patients. In a logistic regression model with neuropathy as dependent variable, homocysteine (adjusted for creatinine, homocysteine‐related vitamins, HbA1c and duration of diabetes) was the only significant variable associated with the prevalence of neuropathy (odds ratio for homocysteine per 5 μmol/l increase: 2.60 (95% confidence interval 1.07–6.33)).Conclusion  The data indicate that homocysteine is independently associated with the prevalence of diabetic neuropathy in a collective of Type 2 diabetic patients. A larger, prospective study would be desirable to clarify the role of homocysteine in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy.
Screening for Type 2 diabetes—should it be now?
Authors: Borch‐Johnsen K. , Lauritzen T. , Glümer C. , Sandbæk A. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractAims Screening for Type 2 diabetes has been recommended in several countries due to the increasing prevalence of diabetes. This review evaluates whether Type 2 diabetes is a disease that fulfils the criteria for screening set by the World Health Organization.Methods Literature search was performed on the literature bases MedLine, Pub Medical, NIDDK, Cochrane Library and CINAHL using the MeSH terms ‘non‐insulin‐dependent‐diabetes‐mellitus’ and mass screening. Using this strategy we identified studies specifically evaluating screening strategies and diagnostic tests for Type 2 diabetes. The evaluation of psychosocial consequences included studies related to other chronic diseases. This literature was used to evaluate whether the WHO criteria for screening were fulfilled.Results The papers were reviewed but a meta‐analysis was not possible, as no randomized controlled clinical trials were performed in the area of screening.Conclusion Type 2 diabetes does not fulfil the criteria for population‐based mass screening. No screening and intervention studies have been performed, systematically evaluating the positive and negative effects of screening. Furthermore, intervention studies up until now have been restricted to clinically diagnosed patients with diabetes, and most of these have recruited patients with long diabetes duration and early complications. These groups will have a worse prognosis and thus probably show greater benefits of such intervention. Finally, the psychosocial and health economic consequences of screening and intervention for Type 2 diabetes are largely unknown. Thus, systematic screening and intervention trials should be encouraged, and meanwhile intensified case finding and opportunistic screening in high‐risk groups should be performed.Diabet. Med 20, 175–181 (2003)
An unusual cause of diabetic ketoacidosis and fulminant septicaemia
Authors: Hassanein M. M. , Croall J. , Ewins D. L. , Worth R. C. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractBackground Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a common medical emergency. Resistant and recurrent DKA can be due to underlying infection, and a detailed travel history may be important in determining the cause in such cases. We report here a case of unusual DKA and fulminant septicaemia in a Caucasian male with Type 1 diabetes 2 years after returning from living in Thailand.Case report A 39‐year‐old Caucasian male was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes whilst working in Thailand where he also subsequently developed a cavitating lung lesion diagnosed locally as pulmonary tuberculosis. Two years after returning to the UK he was admitted with DKA and septicaemia. Despite correction of his DKA his condition deteriorated and he developed a fluid collection anterior to the left hip on computed tomography scanning. Blood and fluid aspirate cultures confirmed a diagnosis of melioidosis, a rare fulminant septicaemia in the UK, but endemic in South‐east Asia and tropical Australia. Full recovery followed changing antibiotics to intravenous ceftazidime with no relapse 3 years after acute episode.Conclusions Physicians as well as microbiologists should consider melioidosis in anyone presenting with septicaemia and/or resistant DKA, especially if the history includes travel to endemic areas or if the cultures suggest Pseudomonas‐like organism. With increasing international travel, it is crucial to remember that good travel history could be life‐saving in some cases of septicaemia.Diabet. Med. 20, 242–244 (2003)
Is birth weight related to later glucose and insulin metabolism?—a systematic review
Authors: Newsome C. A. , Shiell A. W. , Fall C. H. D. , Phillips D. I. W. , Shier R. , Law C. M. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractAim To determine the relationship of birth weight to later glucose and insulin metabolism.Methods Systematic review of the published literature. Data sources were Medline and Embase. Included studies were papers reporting the relationship of birth weight with a measure of glucose or insulin metabolism after 1 year of age, including the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Three reviewers abstracted information from each paper according to specified criteria.Results Forty‐eight papers fulfilled the criteria for inclusion, mostly of adults in developed countries. Most studies reported an inverse relationship between birth weight and fasting plasma glucose concentrations (15 of 25 papers), fasting plasma insulin concentrations (20 of 26), plasma glucose concentrations 2 h after a glucose load (20 of 25), the prevalence of Type 2 DM (13 of 16), measures of insulin resistance (17 of 22), and measures of insulin secretion (16 of 24). The predominance of these inverse relationships and the demonstration in a minority of studies of other directions of the relationships could not generally be explained by differences between studies in the sex, age, or current size of the subjects. However, the relationship of birth weight with insulin secretion was inconsistent in studies of adults.Conclusions The published literature shows that, generally, people who were light at birth have an adverse profile of later glucose and insulin metabolism. This is related to higher insulin resistance, but the relationship to insulin secretion in adults is less clear.Diabet. Med. 20, 339–348 (2003)
Cause‐specific and total mortality in the Canterbury (New Zealand) insulin‐treated Diabetic Registry population: a 15‐year follow‐up study
Authors: Florkowski C. M. , Scott R. S. , Graham P. J. , Han D. Y. , Moir C. L. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractAims To establish all‐cause and cause‐specific death rates, and risk factors for mortality in insulin‐treated diabetic individuals living in the province of Canterbury, New Zealand.Methods Insulin‐treated diabetic subjects (n = 995) on the Canterbury Diabetes Registry were followed up over 15 years and vital status determined. Death rates were standardized and hazard regression was used to model the effects of demographic covariates on relative survival time.Results There were 419 deaths in 11 226.3 person‐years of follow‐up with a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of 2.0 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.8–2.2). Relative mortality was greatest for the group aged 0–29 years (SMR 3.0 (95% CI 2.4–3.7)). After controlling for diabetes duration and gender, a 10‐year increment in age of onset was associated with a 33% decrease in relative hazard (95% CI 29–36%), indicating that excess mortality due to diabetes declines with rising age of onset. After controlling for age of onset and gender, each 10‐year increment in duration of diabetes is associated with a 26% decrease in relative hazard (95% CI 24–29%), indicating that with longer survival the mortality hazard approaches the general population hazard. Relative mortalities were increased for cardiovascular, renal and respiratory disease, but not malignancy. Relative mortality from acute metabolic complications was increased in the subgroup with age of onset of diabetes < 30 years and requiring insulin within 1 year of diagnosis.Conclusions Mortality rates are high for insulin‐treated diabetic individuals relative to the general population.Diabet. Med. 20, 191–197 (2003)
The effects of KATP channel modulators on counterregulatory responses and cognitive function during acute controlled hypoglycaemia in healthy men: a pilot study
Authors: Bingham E. , Hopkins D. , Pernet A. , Reid H. , Macdonald I. A. , Amiel S. A. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractAims To examine the effects of agents that alter potassium adenosine triphosphate (KATP) channel activity in β‐cells on cognitive function and counterregulatory hormone responses during acute hypoglycaemia, given the physiological similarities between the pancreatic β‐cell and the hypothalamic glucose‐sensitive neurones (GSN) and the widespread distribution of sulphonylurea receptors in neuronal cells throughout the brain.Methods Ten healthy males were studied on four occasions and in random order underwent three stepped hypoglycaemic (plasma glucose aims: 3.4, 2.8, 2.4 mmol/l) and one euglycaemic (plasma glucose aim: 5 mmol/l) insulin clamps. Prior to each hypoglycaemic study, volunteers received either 10 mg glibenclamide, or 5 mg/kg diazoxide or placebo orally. Cognitive function, symptom scores and counterregulatory hormone responses were measured at each glycaemic level.Results There was no statistically significant effect of either drug on the symptoms generated or the counterregulatory hormonal response during hypoglycaemia. However, cognitive function was better preserved during hypoglycaemia in the glibenclamide‐treated arm, particularly four‐choice reaction time which deteriorated at a plasma glucose 2.5 mmol/l compared with 3.0 mmol/l with diazoxide (P = 0.015) and 2.9 mmol/l with placebo (P = 0.114).Conclusions Single doses of pharmacological agents which alter membrane KATP channel activity do not affect the counterregulatory response to hypoglycaemia but may modify cognitive function during cerebral glucopenia. The unexpected effects of glibenclamide on cortical function suggest a novel action of sulphonylureas that warrants further investigation.Diabet. Med. 20, 231–237 (2003)