bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Isoform Specificity for Oestrogen Receptor and Thyroid Hormone Receptor Genes and Their Interactions on the NR2D Gene Promoter
Authors: Vasudevan N. , Kia H. K. , Inoue S. , Muramatsu M. , Pfaff D. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractOestrogens are critical for the display of lordosis behaviour and, in recent years, have also been shown to be involved in synaptic plasticity. In the brain, the regulation of ionotropic glutamate receptors has consequences for excitatory neurotransmission. Oestrogen regulation of the N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor subunit 2D (NR2D) has generated considerable interest as a possible molecular mechanism by which synaptic plasticity can be modulated. Since more than one isoform of the oestrogen receptor (ER) exists in mammals, it is possible that oestrogen regulation via the ERα and ERβ isoforms on the NR2D oestrogen response element (ERE) is not equivalent. In the kidney fibroblast (CV1) cell line, we show that in response to 17β‐oestradiol, only ERα, not ERβ, could upregulate transcription from the ERE which is in the 3′ untranslated region of the NR2D gene. When this ERE is in the 5′ position, neither ERα nor ERβ showed transactivation capacity. Thyroid hormone receptor (TR) modulation of ER mediated induction has been shown for other ER target genes, such as the preproenkephalin and oxytocin receptor genes. Since the various TR isoforms exhibit distinct roles, we hypothesized that TR modulation of ER induction may also be isoform specific. This is indeed the case. The TRα1 isoform stimulated ERα mediated induction from the 3′‐ERE whereas the TRβ1 isoform inhibited this induction. This study shows that isoforms of both the ER and TR have different transactivation properties. Such flexible regulation and crosstalk by nuclear receptor isoforms leads to different transcriptional outcomes and the combinatorial logic may aid neuroendocrine integration.
Temperature Influences the Ontogenetic Expression of Aromatase and Oestrogen Receptor mRNA in the Developing Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) Brain
Authors: Tsai C. ‐L. , Chang S. ‐L. , Wang L. ‐H. , Chao T. ‐Y. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractWater temperature has a differential influence on the development of central neurotransmitter systems according to the developmental period in tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). Aromatase and oestrogen receptors (ERs) represent important components of the mechanism of brain differentiation. Gene expression of aromatase and ERs is modulated by neurotransmitters in the developing brain. In the present study, the quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction method was used to investigate the effects of temperature on the ontogenetic expression of aromatase and ERs in the developing tilapia brain. Before day 10 posthatching, exposure to a higher temperature (32 °C) resulted in a significant increase in the expression of brain aromatase; conversely, a lower temperature (20 °C) resulted in a decrease. ERα expression was depressed in accordance with the decrease of temperature, but ERβ was unaffected by temperature. Between days 10 and 20, neither brain aromatase nor ERα expression was altered by temperature, whereas ERβ expression was significantly enhanced by exposure to 32 °C. Between days 20 and 30, brain aromatase significantly increased at the higher temperature and decreased at 20 °C, but neither ERα nor ERβ was affected by temperature. The expression of both brain aromatase and ERs, differentially regulated according to the temperature and to the developmental period, could be related to brain–sex differentiation.
What are psychiatric nurses needed for? Developing a theory of essential nursing practice
Authors: Barker  , Jackson  , Stevenson  
Published: March 2003

Contemporary developments in health care have encouraged a review of the professional status of psychiatric nursing. However, little study has been made, to date, of the discrete ‘need’ for psychiatric nursing within a multidisciplinary service.Employing an adapted grounded theory methodology, substantive theory was developed concerning the expressed need for psychiatric nursing, by patients, their carers and mental health professionals, based on six sites from England, Eire and Northern Ireland. The study found some consensus across both recipients and providers of mental health care, that the essential feature of nursing (the core category) involved a complex of relationships: ‘knowing you – knowing me’. Within that complex, nurses either elected, or were required, to move – or ‘toggle’– between three discrete domains of relating: the Ordinary Me (OM); the Pseudo‐ordinary or Engineered Me (POEM); and the Professional Me (PM). Four internal dimensions involving the nurses’ depth of knowing, power, use of time and use of translation, distinguished these domains.The emergent theory is discussed within the context of the emergent growth in user (consumer) influence and health care technology.
Altschul's legacy in mediating British and American psychiatric nursing discourses: common sense and the ‘absence’ of the accountable practitioner
Authors: Tilley  
Published: March 2003

This paper contributes to an archaeology of knowledge in the field of psychiatric and mental health nursing. It focuses on a principal concern of contributors to literature on British psychiatric nursing: the problem of defining psychiatric nursing. Early British writers describing psychiatric nursing accomplished the ‘presence’ of psychiatric nursing as a discursive object, by discursively constructing the ‘absence’ of the psychiatric nurse doing, and being accountable for, ‘appropriate’ work.Altschul's (1972) Patient–nurse Interaction was the key text in this tradition, mediating British and American discourses, setting the methodological and substantive agenda for an important body of subsequent British psychiatric nursing research.The paper examines a number of topics in the American and British discourses mediated by Altschul: the privileging of nurses' presence and language in communication with patients; lay versus professional knowledge, and interaction as gossip; ‘common sense’ as a topic; common sense as different from ‘identifiable perspective’; the problem of accountability and the hierarchy of credibility; accountability, the ‘absent’ nurse, and issues of method. Altschul's later work keeps in tension two potentially conflicting claims – on the one hand, that the practice of psychiatric nursing depends on the ‘kind of person’ the nurse is, and on the other, that specialist discourses have priority in determining the basis for practice. Altschul played a crucial role in establishing the role of research in British psychiatric nursing discipline: locating the accountable individual practitioner, and devising remedies for ‘absence’.In doing so, she anticipated current discourses on nurses' accountability, particularly their inability to demonstrate ‘evidence’ of their ‘effectiveness’.
Time course of EEG background activity level before spontaneous awakening in infants
Authors: Zampi Chiara , Fagioli Igino , Salzarulo Piero 
Published: March 2003

SUMMARYThis research aimed to investigate the time course of the cortical activity level preceding spontaneous awakening as a function of age and state. Two groups of infants (1–4 and 9–14 weeks of age) were continuously monitored by polygraphic recording and behavioural observation during the night. The electroencephalographic (EEG) activity recorded by the C3–O1 lead was analysed through an automatic analysis method which provides, for each 30‐s epoch, a single measure, time domain based, of the EEG synchronization. The EEG parameter values were computed in the 6 min preceding each awakening out of non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and out of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The EEG background activity level did not change in the minutes preceding awakening out of REM sleep. Awakening out of NREM sleep was preceded by a change of EEG activity level in the direction of higher activation with different time course according to the age. Both REM and NREM sleep results suggest that a high level of EEG activity is a prerequisite for the occurrence of a spontaneous awakening.
Response to criticisms of the US FDA parametric approach for withdrawal time estimation: rebuttal and comparison to the nonparametric method proposed by Concordet and Toutain
Authors: Martinez  , Friedlander  , Condon  , Meneses  , O’Rangers  , Weber  , Miller  
Published: March 2003

The benefits and drawbacks of using nonparametric methods for estimating product withdrawal times have been debated for many years. This issue was recently revived by Concordet & Toutain (1997a, b) when they described a nonparametric method for withdrawal time estimation. The authors urged the international adoption of this approach, basing their recommendation on three fundamental concerns: (1) the lack of a consistent official procedure for determining a withdrawal time within the European Union (EU); (2) the need to identify a statistical method for improving the international harmonization of withdrawal times for new chemical entities; and (3) a lack of confidence in the robustness of the US Food and Drug Administration/Center for Veterinary Medicine (US FDA) procedure, particularly with respect to minor violations in the underlying parametric assumptions.Due to the critical nature of these issues, the US FDA considers it vital to respond to these concerns. This paper provides a description of the US FDA parametric procedure. We also examine the statistical concerns expressed by Concordet and Toutain, identifying the reasons for our confidence in the US FDA parametric approach. Finally, using their Monte Carlo simulation models, we generate additional datasets to explore the behaviour of their nonparametric procedure and evaluate its ability to support US FDA regulatory activities.
Does the rate of fat deposition influence the pharmacokinetic disposition of subcutaneously administered moxidectin and ivermectin in pigs?
Authors: Craven J. , Hennessy D. R. , Friis C. 
Published: March 2003

Body condition has been shown to affect the pharmacokinetics of subcutaneously administered macrocyclic lactone anthelmintics but the underlying mechanism is unknown. This study examined the effect of different rates of fat deposition on the pharmacokinetics of moxidectin (MXD) and ivermectin (IVM).All animals initially received a diet with a high linoleic acid content for 7 weeks. One group of animals then received a normal grower diet while the other half received a maintenance ration. Within each diet group, animals were treated with either IVM (n = 4) or MXD (n = 4) or remained as untreated controls (n = 2).There was no difference in the proportion of linoleic acid between the drug treated groups and the untreated controls at any time throughout the study. At 4 and 9 weeks after treatment there was a significantly lower proportion of linoleic acid in the pigs fed the normal ration indicating a greater fat deposition in these animals compared with those that received the maintenance diet.There was an increased persistence of MXD in the plasma of pigs fed the normal ration compared with those fed the maintenance ration. No differences were seen in the kinetic disposition of IVM between pigs fed the maintenance or normal ration.Reducing the rate of fat deposition influenced the pharmacokinetic disposition of the highly lipophilic MXD but did not influence the pharmacokinetic disposition of the less lipophilic IVM.
Inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in chronic viral hepatitis and its relation with histological severity of disease
Authors: Kandemir Ö. , Polat A. , Kaya A. 
Published: March 2003

summary. The role of nitric oxide in the pathogenesis of chronic viral hepatitis is not known. Elevated nitric oxide production is assumed to be responsible for the pathological changes in many inflammatory conditions, mainly via peroxynitrite, a potential oxidant that is produced by the reduction of superoxide anion with nitric oxide. The intensity and the distribution of the immunohistochemical staining of intrahepatic inducible nitric oxide synthase were studied in the biopsy specimens obtained from 63 patients with viral hepatitis and 13 patients with elevated transaminase levels of various aetiologies. Hepatic inducible nitric oxide synthase staining was significantly more intense in the viral hepatitis group (P = 0.000). Inducible nitric oxide synthase staining levels correlated well with the severity of the viral hepatitis using the Knodell's liver histological activity index (r = 0.393, P = 0.002) Among the viral hepatitis group, the pathological distribution of the inducible nitric oxide synthase staining favoured the periportal hepatocytes (zone 1) whereas less staining was observed in parenchymal hepatocytes zone of 2 and 3 and bile duct epithelium. As nitric oxide mediated nitration of hepatocellular proteins is elevated in inflamed hepatic tissues and is correlated with the severity of the disease, we suggest that inducible nitric oxide synthase can possibly have a critical role in the pathogenesis of chronic viral hepatitis.
Mammal distributions in the western Mediterranean: the role of human intervention
Authors: Dobson M. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe natural distribution of the 17 non‐flying mammal species occurring wild in both the Maghreb (north‐west Africa) and Iberia (south‐west Europe) is considered. It is concluded that only four species – Red Fox Vulpes vulpes, Wild Boar Sus scrofa, Wild Cat Felis silvestris and Otter Lutra lutra – are native to both regions, while another three – Red Deer Cervus elaphus, Brown Bear Ursus arctos and Aurochs Bos primigenius – were native to North Africa until the mid‐Holocene but have probably died out naturally. Algerian Hedgehog Atelerix algirus, Barbary Ape Macaca sylvanus, Genet Genetta genetta and Egyptian Mongoose Herpestes ichneumon are widely accepted as introductions to Europe from North Africa. The remaining six species, and Red Deer now found in Africa, were also probably introduced – Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus, Weasel Mustela nivalis, Wood Mouse Apodemus sylvaticus and Lesser White‐toothed Shrew Crocidura russula from Europe to Africa; Algerian Mouse Mus spretus from Africa to Europe; Savi’s Pygmy Shrew Suncus etruscus perhaps from the eastern Mediterranean to both Iberia and the Maghreb.There are two Maghrebi species which, although not found in Europe, are more closely related to Palaearctic than to Afrotropical species: Garden Dormouse Eliomys melanurus, probably native to north‐west Africa, although possible augmentation of the natural population cannot be ruled out, and Whitaker’s Shrew Crocidura whitakeri, a North African endemic.Removal of so many species of European provenance from the list of mammals native to north‐west Africa should not be considered to weaken its position as part of the Palaearctic zoogeographical region. Bats and other, non‐mammalian, taxa illustrate the clear faunal relationship between the Maghreb and south‐west Europe, whilst emphasizing its distinction from subsaharan Africa.
Mustelid scent‐marking in managed ecosystems: implications for population management
Authors: Hutchings Michael R. , White Piran C. L. 
Published: March 2003

ABSTRACTScent‐marking is the primary form of communication for mustelids and is important in understanding their sociobiology. In addition, mustelids interact with managed ecosystems or may themselves be managed. However, little is known about the scent‐marking behaviour of most mustelids or the impact of management on this behaviour. Mustelids have a number of different scent mark types that can be used for several possible functions, creating a flexible system of varied scent‐marking strategies both across and within species. We review the types of scent marks used by European mustelids in relation to their social systems and consider the various hypotheses proposed for their function. Scent‐marking behaviour is not fixed for each species, but varies with habitat and population density. We use Badgers (Meles meles) as an example of mustelids acting as reservoirs of disease and Otters (Lutra lutra) as an example of a key conservation species, to demonstrate the applied importance of understanding natural patterns of mustelid scent‐marking strategies and the impact of habitat and population management on them.
Exogenous Juvenile Hormone and methoprene, but not male accessory gland substances or ovariectomy, affect the blood/nectar choice of female Culex nigripalpus mosquitoes
Authors: Hancock R. G. , Foster W. A. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryWhen newly emerged females of the mosquito Culex nigripalpus Theobald (Diptera: Culicidae) take a sugar meal, they develop both a propensity to seek a host and resting‐stage ovarian follicles. As follicle growth is indicative of Juvenile Hormone (JH) activity, we searched for possible roles of JH in the behavioural shift from nectar to blood‐host odour preference by Cx. nigripalpus after emergence, using an olfactometer‐choice assay. Topically applied or injected methoprene (a JH analogue) resulted in a behavioural shift and follicular growth in unfed females that increased with increasing dosages. Topical methoprene 500 ng and 4 μg resulted in a switch to bird‐odour preference. JH III injection resulted in a lesser shift from honey responses to bird responses. Methoprene application caused no detectable changes in glycogen, total sugars or total lipid when assayed 24 h after treatment. Additionally, as male accessory glands (MAG) have been shown to synthesize JH, we implanted intact paired MAGs from either conspecific or Aedes aegypti (L.) donors, or injected 1/3 gland pair equivalents of conspecific MAG homogenate into unfed newly emerged females. All MAG treatments failed to induce behavioural or ovarian modifications. Ovariectomy had no effect on the sugar‐induced shift from nectar to host preference in the olfactometer. Thus JH, but not MAG, mimicked the effects of a sugar meal by causing both follicular growth and the shift to preference for a host.
Larvicidal activity of endectocides against pest flies in the dung of treated cattle
Authors: Floate K. D. , Spooner R. W. , Colwell D. D. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryCattle were treated with topical formulations of endectocides to assess the larvicidal activity of faecal residues against horn fly, Haematobia irritans (L.), house fly, Musca domestica L., and stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae). In laboratory bioassays, doramectin, eprinomectin and ivermectin suppressed horn fly in dung of cattle treated at least 4 weeks previously and suppressed house fly and stable fly in dung of cattle treated 1–5 weeks previously. Moxidectin suppressed horn fly in dung from cattle treated no more than one week previously and did not suppress house fly and stable fly. Results combined for the three species across two experiments suggested that, ranked in descending order of larvicidal activity, doramectin > ivermectin ≈ eprinomectin » moxidectin.
Comparative fecundity and survival rates of Phlebotomus papatasi sandflies membrane fed on blood from eight mammal species
Authors: Harre J. G. , Dorsey K. M. , Armstrong K. L. , Burge J. R. , Kinnamon K. E. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryFemale sandflies, Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli) (Diptera: Psychodidae), were fed via chicken membrane on heparinized blood from eight species of mammal (human, horse, cow, pig, dog, rabbit, guinea‐pig, hamster) and their reproductive success rates were compared. No appreciable differences between those fed on human and animal blood were detected with respect to the proportion of flies that fed successfully, mortality‐rate within 24 h, number of eggs laid per blood‐fed female or egg viability. When mass‐rearing sandflies for research purposes, membrane‐feeding avoids practical difficulties encountered if sandflies are allowed to feed on live hosts (i.e. anaesthesia, distress from handling and postfeeding inflammation) and reduction of sandfly fecundity due to host antibody interference. Use of animal blood also eliminates risks of accidental transmission of human blood‐borne pathogens, e.g. hepatitis B and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and is less expensive than maintenance of animals and their preparation for sandfly feeding.
Rhesus monkey model for Leishmania major transmitted by Phlebotomus papatasi sandfly bites
Authors: Probst R. J. , Wellde B. T. , Lawyer P. G. , Stiteler J. S. , Rowton E. D. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryLeishmaniasis research needs a near‐human model for investigations of natural infection processes, immunological responses and evaluation of treatments. Therefore, we developed a reproducible system using Leishmania major Yakimoff & Schokhor (Trypanosomatidae: Kinetoplastida), the cause of Old World zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), transmitted to rhesus monkeys Macaca mulatta (Zimmerman) (Primates: Cercopithecidae) by sandfly bites of experimentally infected Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli) (Diptera: Psychodidae). Eight monkeys of presumed Indian origin (Leishmania naïve) were exposed to bites of female sandflies that had been infected with L. major by membrane‐feeding on human blood seeded with amastigotes isolated from hamster footpad lesions. Infection rates of membrane‐fed sandflies averaged > 85% seven days after the infective feed, with uniformly high numbers of promastigotes in the stomodaeal valve region of the sandfly gut. Nodules and ulcerating dermal lesions developed on 7/8 monkeys 2–4 weeks post‐bite and persisted for 3–7 months. Monkeys also developed satellite lesions beyond the area of sandfly bites on the head, but not on the chest. Three re‐challenged monkeys developed lesions that healed faster than lesions from their primary challenges. After infection, monkeys developed delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses to a panel of Leishmania skin test antigens (LSTA) and, when tested by ELISA and IFA, showed significant post‐infection antibody titres which typically rose for ∼170 days and then gradually receded during the next 100 days following the first challenge. After the second challenge, antibody titres spiked higher within ∼50 days and receded more rapidly. In contrast, four rhesus macaques of Chinese origin developed no lesions following infected sandfly bites, although they raised antibodies and LSTA reactions, indicating subclinical infection.
Gender differences in medical graduates' assessment of their personal attributes
Authors: Clack Gillian B , Head John O 
Published: March 2003

ContextAs part of the planning process for a new undergraduate curriculum for King's, a profile of the type of doctor which the Medical School wishes to produce was defined.ObjectiveTo investigate, in a sample of medical graduates, their perceptions of the personal attributes they had developed by the time of qualification which the Curriculum Steering Group had identified as being `desirable' in a doctor.SubjectsFive cohorts of doctors who had qualified from the King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry between 1985/86 and 1989/90 (n = 478).MethodPostal questionnaire survey.Results371 replied, a response rate of 78%. In most cases the respondents felt they had acquired the attributes at least partially, by qualification. Gender differences in responses were found for nine of the sixteen attributes. The men felt better equipped with `leadership potential', `spirit of curiosity', `tolerance of ambiguity and uncertainty' compared to the women who felt more confident in their `ability to inspire confidence in others', `ability to listen', `ability to work in a team', `caring and compassionate nature', `motivation' and `satisfactory at interpersonal relationships in professional life'. There were no significant differences for `ability to recognize own limitations and strengths', `capacity for self‐audit', `excitement with the subject of medicine', `open‐mindedness' and `perseverance'. Most graduates agreed these attributes were `desirable' in a doctor, the women feeling more strongly than the men about `open‐mindedness'.ConclusionsThe findings are consistent with current theories which relate to personality differences between men and women and socialization during early upbringing.