bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of Malt Liquor Beer Drinkers in a Low‐Income, Racial Minority Community Sample
Authors: Bluthenthal Ricky N. , BrownTaylor Didra , Guzmán‐Becerra Norma , Robinson Paul L. 
Published: March 2005

Background:The authors describe and compare drinking patterns among malt liquor beer (MLB), regular beer (RB), and hard liquor (HL) drinkers in a low‐income, racial/ethnic minority community.Methods:Drinkers were recruited from randomly selected alcohol outlets in South Los Angeles. Respondents were assessed on sociodemographic characteristics, alcohol use history, drinking patterns, and drinking context among other items in a face‐to‐face interview with research staff.Results:Three hundred twenty‐nine drinkers were interviewed, of whom 297 reported drinking MLB, RB, or HL brands of alcohol most often in the past 90 days. This subsample was 88% African‐American, 72% male, and 35% unemployed. As compared with RB and HL drinkers, MLB drinkers were more likely to be homeless, to receive public assistance for housing, and to be unemployed. MLB drinkers also reported significantly higher rates of daily or near‐daily drinking (74%, as compared with 48% for RB and 29% for HL) of drinks per day on drinking days (5.2, as compared with 4.2 for RB and 3.1 for HL), and daily average ethanol consumption (6.97 oz, as compared with 2.13 oz for RB drinkers and 6.13 oz for HL drinkers). In multinomial regression analysis that controlled for potential confounders, the odds of preferring RB as compared with MLB were significantly increased among persons with blue‐collar occupations and those who reported drinking in public settings and were reduced among persons who drank outdoors, those who combined drinking with tobacco smoking, and those who drank alcohol with members of the same sex. Average daily ethanol consumption odds were reduced for RB drinkers as compared with MLB drinkers. The odds of preferring HL as compared with MLB were significantly increased for persons with white‐collar occupations and those who drank in public settings and were reduced for persons who drank outdoors and those who combined drinking and smoking.Conclusion:The authors observed substantial differences in sociodemographic characteristics, drinking patterns, and ethanol consumption by beverage type in this community sample. MLB drinkers seem to have distinctive drinking patterns that require additional study to determine whether this pattern is associated with increased individual or community risk.
Helplessness in the Tail Suspension Test Is Associated with an Increase in Ethanol Intake and Its Rewarding Effect in Female Mice
Authors: Pelloux Yann , Hagues Guillaume , Costentin Jean , Duterte‐Boucher Dominique 
Published: March 2005

Background:Depression is frequently observed in drug abusers. However, depression may be a primary factor of predisposition to drug abuse or a consequence of drug abuse. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of a preexisting depressive‐like state/helplessness on subsequent alcohol responsiveness in mice.Methods:Male and female CD1 mice were selected according to their immobility time in the tail suspension test, and only mice with “high immobility” and “low immobility” time were retained. Using a two‐bottle free‐choice paradigm, these mice were given continuous access to tap water or solutions of ethanol (3–20% v/v), quinine (12.5–50 mg/liter), or sucrose (1–4% w/v). In female mice, rewarding and aversive effects of ethanol (1.5 and 3 g/kg, intraperitoneally) were also investigated using the conditioned place preference and the conditioned taste aversion paradigms.Results:Female mice were more immobile and drank more ethanol than male mice. No striking sex difference was observed in quinine consumption. Sucrose intake was higher in female than in male mice, whatever the solution concentration. At the 4% concentrated solution, a sucrose‐induced increase in daily fluid intake was observed only in female mice. Female mice with high immobility time (HI) consumed more ethanol at the highest concentration than female mice with low immobility time (LI), whereas no difference was observed between HI and LI male mice. Moreover, whereas LI female mice failed to express place conditioning induced by the 3‐g/kg dose of ethanol, HI female mice were strongly responsive to the rewarding effect of this high ethanol dose. Ethanol dose‐dependently induced a conditioned taste aversion with a similar magnitude in both LI and HI female mice.Conclusions:The findings indicate that female CD1 mice tend to drink greater amounts of ethanol or sucrose solutions than male CD1 mice, suggesting that female mice may be a better model of excessive alcohol intake. Furthermore, no relationship was found between immobility scores and ethanol consumption in male mice. On the contrary, within female mice, HI mice consumed higher amounts of ethanol than LI mice probably because they experienced greater rewarding effects of ethanol. The present results support the hypothesis that depressive‐like responses may predispose to ethanol abuse in female mice.
Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on Attention and Working Memory at 7.5 Years of Age
Authors: Burden Matthew J. , Jacobson Sandra W. , Sokol Robert J. , Jacobson Joseph L. 
Published: March 2005

Background:A broad range of attentional and neuropsychological impairments have been demonstrated in children with fetal alcohol exposure. This study was designed to investigate which specific aspects of attentional function are most directly affected by moderate to heavy doses of prenatal alcohol exposure.Methods:A total of 337 black children who were aged 7.5 years and recruited prospectively to overrepresent prenatal alcohol exposure at moderate to heavy levels were assessed on a diverse battery of neuropsychological tests. Principal components analyses were used to replicate and extend Mirsky et al.'s (1991) four‐component model of attention. The relation of prenatal alcohol exposure to empirically derived attentional constructs was examined.Results:Both the replicated and the extended attentional models produced solutions similar to the original Mirsky et al. model, reflecting elements of encode (working memory), shift, and focused and sustained attention, as well as a distinct component reflecting impulsivity. Adverse effects of maternal drinking across pregnancy were found primarily for working memory, and these effects were exacerbated when mothers were aged 30 or older at the time of the child's birth.Conclusions:These data confirm previous studies using diverse methods that suggest that working memory may be the most important aspect of attention that is adversely affected by prenatal alcohol exposure.
Chronic Ethanol Drinking by Alcohol‐Preferring Rats Increases the Sensitivity of the Posterior Ventral Tegmental Area to the Reinforcing Effects of Ethanol
Authors: Rodd Zachary A. , Bell Richard L. , McQueen Victoria K. , Davids Michelle R. , Hsu Cathleen C. , Murphy James M. , Li Ting‐Kai , Lumeng Lawrence , McBride William J. 
Published: March 2005

Background:The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is involved in regulating ethanol drinking, and the posterior VTA seems to be a neuroanatomical substrate that mediates the reinforcing effects of ethanol in ethanol‐naïve Wistar and ethanol‐naïve alcohol‐preferring (P) rats. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that chronic ethanol drinking increases the sensitivity of the posterior VTA to the reinforcing effects of ethanol.Methods:Two groups of female P rats (one given water as its sole source of fluid and the other given 24‐hr free‐choice access to 15% ethanol and water for at least 8 weeks) were stereotaxically implanted with guide cannulae aimed at the posterior VTA. One week after surgery, rats were placed in standard two‐lever (active and inactive) operant chambers and connected to the microinfusion system. Depression of the active lever produced the infusion of 100 nl of artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or ethanol. The ethanol‐naïve and chronic ethanol‐drinking groups were assigned to subgroups to receive artificial CSF or 25, 50, 75, or 125 mg/dl of ethanol (n= 6–9/dose/group) to self‐infuse (FR1 schedule) during the 4‐hr sessions given every other day.Results:Compared with the infusions of artificial CSF, the control group reliably (p < 0.05) self‐infused 75 and 125 mg/dl of ethanol but not the lower concentrations. The ethanol‐drinking group had significantly (p < 0.05) higher self‐infusions of 50, 75, and 125 mg/dl of ethanol than artificial CSF during the four acquisition sessions; the number of infusions of all three doses was higher in the ethanol‐drinking group than in the ethanol‐naive group. Both groups decreased responding on the active lever when artificial CSF was substituted for ethanol, and both groups demonstrated robust reinstatement of responding on the active lever when ethanol was restored.Conclusions:Chronic ethanol drinking by P rats increased the sensitivity of the posterior VTA to the reinforcing effects of ethanol.
Sertraline in the Treatment of Co‐occurring Alcohol Dependence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Authors: Brady Kathleen T. , Sonne Susan , Anton Raymond F. , Randall Carrie L. , Back Sudie E. , Simpson Kit 
Published: March 2005

Background:Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently co‐occurs with alcohol use disorders. This study investigated the use of sertraline, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, in treating co‐occurring symptoms of alcohol dependence and PTSD.Methods:A total of 94 individuals with current alcohol dependence and PTSD were randomly assigned to receive sertraline (150 mg/day) or placebo for 12 weeks. Post hoc cluster analysis of baseline characteristics was used to define subgroups of participants.Results:There was a significant decrease in alcohol use during the trial in both the sertraline and the placebo groups. Cluster analysis revealed significant medication group by cluster interactions for alcohol‐related outcomes. Sertraline‐treated participants with less severe alcohol dependence and early‐onset PTSD had significantly fewer drinks per drinking day (p < 0.001). For participants with more severe alcohol dependence and later onset PTSD, the placebo group had significantly greater decreases in drinks per drinking day (p < 0.01) and average number of drinks consumed per day (p < 0.05).Conclusions:There may be subtypes of alcohol‐dependent individuals who respond differently to serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment. Further investigation of differential responders may lead to improvements in the pharmacological treatment of co‐occurring alcohol dependence and PTSD.
Effect of Ethanol on DARPP‐32 Phosphorylation in Transgenic Mice That Express Human Type VII Adenylyl Cyclase in Brain
Authors: Donohue Timothy , Hoffman Paula L. , Tabakoff Boris 
Published: March 2005

Background:Dopamine and cyclic adenosine monophosphate‐regulated phosphoprotein of molecular weight 32 kDa (DARPP‐32) is a bidirectional signaling protein found in dopaminergically innervated brain areas. The characteristics and direction of DARPP‐32 effects are regulated by phosphorylation of this protein. Phosphorylation of DARPP‐32 on threonine‐34 (T34) is regulated through the activation of dopamine (D1) receptors and stimulation of adenylyl cyclase (AC) and protein kinase A activity and by calcineurin. Phosphorylation of DARPP‐32 on threonine‐75 (T75) is regulated by cyclin‐dependent kinase 5 and protein phosphatase 2A. DARPP‐32 has been implicated in the motivational effects of ethanol.Methods:The authors characterized transgenic mice that overexpress an ethanol‐sensitive isoform of AC (AC7) in brain by measuring basal and ethanol‐modulated DARPP‐32 phosphorylation. Phosphorylated and total DARPP‐32 were measured by immunoblotting in brain areas associated with the motivational and anxiolytic effects of ethanol (nucleus accumbens, striatum, and amygdala).Results:AC7 transgenic mice had higher basal levels of T34 DARPP‐32 than wild‐type mice in striatum and amygdala, whereas basal levels of T75 DARPP‐32 did not differ between wild‐type and transgenic mice. Ethanol administration increased T34 DARPP‐32 in nucleus accumbens and amygdala (but not in the striatum) of wild‐type and transgenic mice (with a greater effect in amygdala of transgenic mice than wild‐type mice). Ethanol administration increased T75 DARPP‐32 in amygdala of only the wild‐type mice and in nucleus accumbens and striatum of both the transgenic and wild‐type mice.Conclusions:The effect of ethanol on the balance of DARPP‐32 phosphorylation, especially in amygdala of wild‐type versus transgenic mice, may contribute to differential motivational effects of ethanol in these animals.
Identification of a bacterial factor required for actin‐based motility of Burkholderia pseudomallei
Authors: Stevens Mark P. , Stevens Joanne M. , Jeng Robert L. , Taylor Lowrie A. , Wood Michael W. , Hawes Pippa , Monaghan Paul , Welch Matthew D. , Galyov Edouard E. 
Published: March 2005

Summary Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram‐negative facultative intracellular pathogen that enters and escapes from eukaryotic cells using the power of actin polymerization. We have identified a bacterial protein (BimA) that is required for the ability of B. pseudomallei to induce the formation of actin tails. BimA contains proline‐rich motifs and WH2‐like domains and shares limited homology at the C‐terminus with the Yersinia autosecreted adhesin YadA. BimA is located at the pole of the bacterial cell at which actin polymerization occurs and mutation of bimA abolished actin‐based motility of the pathogen in J774.2 cells. Transient expression of BimA in HeLa cells resulted in F‐actin clustering reminiscent of that seen on WASP overexpression. Antibody‐mediated clustering of a CD32 chimera in which the cytoplasmic domain was replaced with BimA resulted in localization of the chimera to the tips of F‐actin enriched membrane protrusions. We report that purified truncated BimA protein binds monomeric actin in a concentration‐dependent manner in cosedimentation assays and that BimA stimulates actin polymerization in vitro in a manner independent of the cellular Arp2/3 complex.
Transcriptional response of Escherichia coli to external copper
Authors: Yamamoto Kaneyoshi , Ishihama Akira 
Published: March 2005

SummaryTranscriptional response of Escherichia coli upon exposure to external copper was studied using DNA microarray and in vivo and in vitro transcription assays. Transcription of three hitherto‐identified copper‐responsive genes, copA (copper efflux transporter), cueO (multicopper oxidase) and cusC (tripartite copper pump component) became maximum at 5 min after addition of copper sulphate, and thereafter decreased to the preshift levels within 30 min. Microarray analysis at 5 min after addition of copper indicated that a total of at least 29 genes including these three known genes were markedly and specifically affected (28 upregulated and one downregulated). Transcription of the divergent operons, cusCFB and cusRS, was found to be activated by CusR, which bound to a CusR box between the cusC and cusR promoters. Except for this site, the CusR box was not identified in the entire E. coli genome. On the other hand, transcription of copA and cueO was found to be activated by another copper‐responsive factor CueR, which bound to a conserved inverted repeat sequence, CueR box. A total of 197 CueR boxes were identified on the E. coli genome, including the CueR box associated with the moa operon for molybdenum cofactor synthesis. At least 10 copper‐induced genes were found to be under the control of CpxAR two‐component system, indicating that copper is one of the signals for activation of the CpxAR system. In addition, transcription of yedWV, a putative two‐component system, was activated by copper in CusR‐dependent manner. Taken together we conclude that the copper‐responsive genes are organized into a hierarchy of the regulation network, forming at least four regulons, i.e. CueR, CusR, CpxR and YedW regulons. These copper‐responsive regulons appear to sense and respond to different concentrations of external copper.
Importance of unusually modified lipid A in Sinorhizobium stress resistance and legume symbiosis
Authors: Ferguson Gail P. , Datta Anup , Carlson Russ W. , Walker Graham C. 
Published: March 2005

Summary Sinorhizobium meliloti, a legume symbiont and Brucella abortus, a phylogenetically related mammalian pathogen, both require their BacA proteins to establish chronic intracellular infections in their respective hosts. The lipid A molecules of S. meliloti and B. abortus are unusually modified with a very‐long‐chain fatty acid (VLCFA; C ≥ 28) and we discovered that BacA is involved in this unusual modification. This observation raised the possibility that the unusual lipid A modification could be crucial for the chronic infection of both S. meliloti and B. abortus. We investigated this by constructing and characterizing S. meliloti mutants in the lpxXL and acpXL genes, which encode an acyl transferase and acyl carrier protein directly involved in the biosynthesis of VLCFA‐modified lipid A. Our analysis revealed that the unusually modified lipid A is important, but not crucial, for S. meliloti chronic infection and that BacA must have an additional function, which in combination with its observed effect on the lipid A in the free‐living form of S. meliloti, is essential for the chronic infection. Additionally, we discovered that in the absence of VLCFAs, S. meliloti produces novel pentaacylated lipid A species, modified with unhydroxylated fatty acids, which are important for stress resistance.
Identification of Salmonella functions critical for bacterial cell division within eukaryotic cells
Authors: Henry T. , García‐del Portillo F. , Gorvel J. P. 
Published: March 2005

Summary Salmonella typhimurium multiplication inside eukaryotic host cells is critical for virulence. Salmonella typhimurium strain SL1344 appears as filaments upon growth in macrophages and MelJuSo cells, a human melanoma cell line, indicating a specific blockage in the bacterial cell division process. Several studies have investigated the host cell response impairing bacterial division. However, none looked at the bacterial factors involved in inhibition of Salmonella division inside eukaryotic cells. We show here that blockage in the bacterial division process is sulA‐independent and takes place after FtsZ‐ring assembly. Salmonella typhimurium genes in which mutations lead to filamentous growth within host cells were identified by a large scale mutagenesis approach on strain 12023, revealing bacterial functions crucial for cell division within eukaryotic cells. We finally demonstrate that SL1344 filamentation is a result of hisG mutation, requires the activity of an enzyme of the histidine biosynthetic pathway HisFH and is specific for the vacuolar environment.
Cross‐talk between cAMP and calcium signalling in Aspergillus niger
Authors: Benčina Mojca , Legiša Matic , Read Nick D. 
Published: March 2005

SummaryVery little is known about cross‐talk between cAMP and calcium signalling in filamentous fungi. The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of cAMP and protein kinase A (PKA)‐dependent phosphorylation on calcium signalling in Aspergillus niger. For this purpose, cytosolic free calcium ([Ca2+]c) was measured in living hyphae expressing codon‐optimized aequorin. The calcium signature following mechanical perturbation was analysed after applying dibutryl‐cAMP or IBMX which increased intracellular cAMP, or H7 which inhibited phosphorylation by PKA. Calcium signatures were also measured in mutant strains in which phosphorylation by PKA was increased or lacking. The results indicated that calcium channels were activated by cAMP‐mediated, PKA‐dependent phosphorylation. Further evidence for cross‐talk between cAMP and calcium signalling came from the analysis of a mutant in which the catalytic subunit of PKA was under the control of an inducible promoter. The consequence of PKA induction was a transient increase in [Ca2+]c which correlated with a polar–apolar transition in hyphal morphology. A transient increase in [Ca2+]c was not observed in this mutant when the morphological shift was in the opposite direction. The [Ca2+]c signatures in response to mechanical perturbation by polarized and unpolarized cells were markedly different indicating that these two cell types possessed different calcium signalling capabilities. These results were consistent with PKA‐dependent phosphorylation increasing [Ca2+]c to induce a polar to apolar shift in hyphal morphology.
Identification of cyanobacterial cell division genes by comparative and mutational analyses
Authors: Miyagishima Shin‐ya , Wolk C. Peter , Osteryoung Katherine W. 
Published: March 2005

SummaryWe performed comparative and mutational analyses to define more comprehensively the repertoire of genes involved in cyanobacterial cell division. Genes ftsE, ftsI, ftsQ, ftsW, and (previously recognized) ftsZ, minC, minD, minE and sulA were identified as homologues of cell division genes of Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacteria. Transposon mutagenesis of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 identified five additional genes, cdv1, cdv2, cdv3, ftn6 and cikA, involved in cell division. cdv1 encodes a presumptive periplasmic peptidyl‐prolyl cis‐trans isomerase. cdv2 has similarity to ylmF which, like divIVA, lies within the Gram‐positive bacterial ylm gene cluster whose members have functions associated with division. Conservation of other ylm genes in cyanobacteria suggests that cyanobacteria and Gram‐positive bacteria share specific division proteins. Two ylm homologues are also found in algal and plant genomes. cdv3 has low but significant similarity to divIVA, suggesting that minE and cdv3 both mediate division‐site determination in cyanobacteria. In contrast, Gram‐positive bacteria lack minE, and (Gram‐negative) proteobacteria lack divIVA. ftn6, of unknown function, and the circadian input kinase, cikA, are specific to cyanobacteria. In S. elongatus, unlike in other bacteria, FtsZ rings are formed at sites occupied by nucleoids. Thus, the division machinery of cyanobacteria differs in its composition and regulation from that of Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacteria.
Therapeutic efficacy of isosorbide dinitrate for dysphagia after endoscopic injection sclerotherapy for varices in cirrhotic patients
Authors: Kakinuma Toru , Shimoji Katsunori , Imai Yukinori , Fujiwara Kenji 
Published: March 2005

Background: Isosorbide dinitrate (ID) improves dysphagia of achalasia patients by lowering the low esophageal pressure. Dysphagia occurs in cirrhotic patients undergoing endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (EIS) for esophageal varices even with no structural abnormalities as its sequela. We tested whether ID can be therapeutic for dysphagia of this type.Methods: ID was given for 2–6 weeks to 13 patients with dysphagia lasting for longer than 4 weeks after EIS despite no esophagolumenal stricture on endoscopy and barium swallows. EIS was done three to six times as an injection series of ethanolamine oleate into the varices at intervals of 1–2 weeks until they were obliterated. The therapeutic efficacy of ID was evaluated by symptom severity four‐degree scorings. Esophageal transit time and emptying time were calculated from the time–activity curves on esophageal scintigraphy.Results: At 2 weeks after ID medication, dysphagia was decreased by one score in 12 of 13 patients, and by two scores in one patient. However, dysphagia at the same extent recurred in nine patients within 6 weeks after stopping ID medication, which was improved similarly by remedication. Two patients in whom dysphagia of one and two scores disappeared after ID medication dropped out because of headache. The remaining two patients remained asymptomatic for longer than 6 months after the first medication. Esophageal scintigraphy disclosed the shortening of the emptying time after ID administration in two patients.Conclusions: ID may be effective for relieving functional dysphagia after EIS for esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients.