bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fasting insulin sensitivity and post‐oral glucose hyperinsulinaemia related to cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents with precocious pubarche
Authors: Potau Neus , Williams Rachel , Ong Ken , Sánchez‐Ufarte Carmen , De Zegher Francis , Ibáñez Lourdes , Dunger David 
Published: November 2003

Summaryobjective  Adolescents and young women with a history of precocious pubarche (PP, appearance of pubic hair before 8 years) exhibit hyperlipidaemia, and ovarian hyperandrogenism, indicating increased risk of coronary heart disease in the long term. The aim of this study was to determine the relative contribution of fasting insulin sensitivity, and post oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) measures of insulin secretion to metabolic risk markers of adult disease.patients and design  We have analysed data from 51 young women presenting with isolated PP (age range, 5·9–19·0 years) in early, mid and late puberty and 68 puberty‐matched controls (age range, 6·2–16·8 years). Body composition data from a further 67 girls with PP are also presented.measurements  The homeostasis model of assessment insulin sensitivity index (HOMA Si) based on fasting glucose and insulin measurements and MSI120 based on insulin levels over the first 120 min following standard oral glucose load were selected as measures of fasting insulin sensitivity and 0–120‐min insulinaemia, respectively. ISI30 was used as an index of insulin secretion 30 min following oral glucose load.results  The physiological decrease in fasting insulin sensitivity, 30‐min insulin secretion and 0–120‐min insulinaemia during puberty were exaggerated in PP girls. The relationship between fasting insulin sensitivity and 0–120‐min insulinaemia was similar in PP girls and in controls but at each level of fasting insulin sensitivity the PP girls had a higher level of insulin secretion in response to an oral glucose load (P < 0·001). Fasting insulin sensitivity and 0–120 minute insulinaemia but not 30‐min insulin secretion were strongly related to known cardiovascular risk factors. In a multivariate model incorporating fasting insulin sensitivity, 0–120‐min insulinaemia, pubertal stage and body mass index (BMI) SDS as covariates, 0–120‐min insulinaemia was strongly associated with elevated free androgen index, total cholesterol and truncal fat mass (P < 0·001) whereas fasting insulin sensitivity was associated only with reduced free androgen index (P < 0·02).conclusions  Chronic exposure to insulin as reflected by 0–120 min hyperinsulinaemia, rather than 30 min insulin secretion, or fasting insulin senstivity, was most closely related cardiovascular disease risk in girls with PP.
Octreoscan in patients with bronchial carcinoid tumours
Authors: Granberg Dan , Sundin Anders , Janson Eva Tiensuu , Öberg Kjell , Skogseid Britt , Westlin Jan‐Erik 
Published: November 2003

Summaryobjectives  Scintigraphy with radiolabelled octreotide (octreoscan) is useful for imaging various neuroendocrine tumours, especially in patients with midgut carcinoids. We were interested in estimating the efficacy of octreoscan for detection of the primary tumour and metastases in patients with bronchial carcinoids.patients and methods  Twenty‐eight patients with histologically verified bronchial carcinoids underwent octreoscan and the imaging results were compared to CT regarding soft tissue metastases, and to bone scan and MRI regarding bone metastases. The primary tumour had been removed prior to the octreoscan in 12 patients. Metastatic disease was diagnosed in 22 patients.results  Altogether, 20 patients (71%) had octreoscan‐positive tumours, including 2/5 patients with ectopic ACTH secretion resulting in Cushing's syndrome and 8/9 patients with carcinoid syndrome. The primary tumour was octreoscan‐positive in 13/16 patients and could be detected on CT in 15/16 patients. CT failed to localize the primary tumour in one octreoscan‐positive patient, presenting with ectopic ACTH secretion and Cushing's syndrome. Intrathoracic recurrences/metastases were visualized by octreoscan in 7/9 patients and by CT in 8/9 patients. CT showed liver metastases in 14 patients; nine of these patients (64%) had octreoscan‐positive liver metastases. Ten patients had bone metastases; octreoscan was positive in seven and bone scan in nine of these 10.conclusions  Octreoscan may be used for follow‐up and detection of recurrent disease in patients with somatostatin receptor‐positive bronchial carcinoids. In our limited patient material, CT however, seems to be better than octreoscan for visualization of the primary tumour as well as liver metastases.
Molecular characterization of a membrane‐bound cGMP dependent protein kinase from the silk moth Bombyx mori
Authors: Tanoue S. , Nishioka T. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThe cGMP signalling pathway has been suggested to be involved in the signal transduction of various physiological functions in insects; olfaction, antidiuresis and eclosion. However, the cGMP signalling mechanism has remained elusive. We isolated two cDNAs of the cGMP dependent protein kinase, designated BmPKG‐Iα and BmPKG‐Iβ. The deduced amino acid sequences indicate that both BmPKG‐Iα and BmPKG‐Iβ appear to consist of an amino terminal region, a cGMP binding domain and a protein kinase domain. Transcripts of BmPKG‐Iα and BmPKG‐Iβ were detected in various tissues: flight muscles, antennae, midgut, legs, head, thoracic ganglia and Malphighian tubules. Recombinant BmPKG‐Iα bound to lipid membranes, while BmPKG‐Iα with a deleted amino terminal region failed to bind to lipid membranes.
Intraspecific DNA variation in nuclear genes of the mosquitoAedes aegypti
Authors: Morlais I. , Severson D. W. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractSingle nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are an abundant source of genetic variation among individual organisms. To assess the usefulness of SNPs for genome analysis in the yellow fever mosquito,Aedes aegypti, we sequenced 25 nuclear genes in each of three strains and analysed nucleotide diversity. The average frequency of nucleotide variation was 12 SNPs per kilobase, indicating that nucleotide variation inAe. aegyptiis similar to that in other organisms, includingDrosophilaand the malaria vectorAnopheles gambiae. Transition polymorphisms outnumbered transversion polymorphisms, at a ratio of about 2 : 1. We examined codon usage and confirmed that mutational bias favours G and C ending codons. Codon bias was most pronounced in highly expressed genes. Nucleotide diversity estimates indicated that substitution rates are positively correlated in coding and non‐coding regions. Nucleotide diversity varied from one gene to another. The unequal distribution of SNPs amongAe. aegyptinuclear genes suggests that single base variations are non‐neutral and are subject to selective constraints. Our analysis showed that ubiquitously expressed genes have lower polymorphism rates and are likely under strong purifying selection, whereas tissue specific genes and genes with a putative role in parasite defence exhibit higher levels of polymorphism that may be associated with diversifying selection.
Caffeine ingestion and fluid balance: a review
Authors: Maughan R. J. , Griffin J. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractBackground Caffeine and related methylxanthine compounds are recognized as having a diuretic action, and consumers are often advised to avoid beverages containing these compounds in situations where fluid balance may be compromised. The aim of this review is to evaluate the available literature concerning the effect of caffeine ingestion on fluid balance and to formulate targeted and evidence‐based advice on caffeinated beverages in the context of optimum hydration.Method A literature search was performed using the Medline database of articles published in the medical and scientific literature for the period of January 1966–March 2002. Subject headings and key words used in this search were: tea, coffee, caffeine, diuresis, fluid balance and water‐electrolyte balance. A secondary search was performed using the bibliographies of publications identified in the initial search.Results The available literature suggests that acute ingestion of caffeine in large doses (at least 250–300 mg, equivalent to the amount found in 2–3 cups of coffee or 5–8 cups of tea) results in a short‐term stimulation of urine output in individuals who have been deprived of caffeine for a period of days or weeks. A profound tolerance to the diuretic and other effects of caffeine develops, however, and the actions are much diminished in individuals who regularly consume tea or coffee. Doses of caffeine equivalent to the amount normally found in standard servings of tea, coffee and carbonated soft drinks appear to have no diuretic action.Conclusion The most ecologically valid of the published studies offers no support for the suggestion that consumption of caffeine‐containing beverages as part of a normal lifestyle leads to fluid loss in excess of the volume ingested or is associated with poor hydration status. Therefore, there would appear to be no clear basis for refraining from caffeine containing drinks in situations where fluid balance might be compromised.
Biological Properties of Allogenic Articular Chondrocytes on the Surface of Bovine Cartilage Explantsin vitro
Authors: Kim G. , Okumura M. , Bosnakovski D. , Ishiguro T. , Kadosawa T. , Fujinaga T. 
Published: November 2003

SummaryBovine cartilage explants were co‐cultured with or without allogenic chondrocytes for 4 weeks. The attachment of the applied chondrocytes to cartilage after labelling with fluorescence was assessed using a confocal laser microscope. Morphological changes and the production of extracellular matrix (ECM) of co‐cultured chondrocytes on intact and damaged surfaces of cartilage were evaluated by histological and immunohistochemical methods. Co‐cultured chondrocytes attached to and proliferated on the intact and damaged areas of cartilage, and a new layer was created there. The defects were also filled with ECM produced by the co‐cultured chondrocytes. Glycosaminoglycans and collagen type II were detected in the newly formed ECM, and large numbers of rounded chondrocytes were observed at primitive lacunae in this matrix at 4 weeks of culture. The results suggest that chondrocytes have the ability to attach to, to proliferate on and to establish a new matrix on the intact and damaged surfaces of cartilage explants.
Mechanisms of increased insulin resistance in non‐cirrhotic patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection
Authors: MAENO TADASHI , OKUMURA AKIHIKO , ISHIKAWA TETSUYA , KATO KOICHI , SAKAKIBARA FUMIHIKO , SATO KEN , AYADA MINORU , HOTTA NAOKI , TAGAYA TSUNEAKI , FUKUZAWA YOSHITAKA , KAKUMU SHINICHI 
Published: November 2003

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Evidence showing a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been accumulating. However, the reason why chronic HCV infection promotes DM remains unknown. In the present study, the authors focused on non‐cirrhotic and non‐diabetic patients with chronic HCV infection and evaluated the factors responsible for increases in insulin resistance.Methods:  Fifty‐six patients diagnosed with HCV‐related chronic liver disease were included. Biochemical information including body mass index (BMI), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase, cholinesterase, triglyceride, total cholesterol, hemoglobin, platelet count, glycosylated hemoglobin, immunoreactive insulin (IRI), and serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α and HCV‐RNA were determined using venous blood samples obtained from each patient after overnight fasting. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR), a simple and convenient measure of insulin resistance, was also calculated. The relationship between the stage of liver fibrosis and HOMA‐IR, and the clinical factors responsible for the increase in HOMA‐IR in non‐diabetic patients was investigated.Results:  Homeostasis  model  assessment  of  insulin  resistance  and  IRI  levels  increased  parallel  with the progression of fibrosis. Among the non‐diabetic patients with mild to moderate liver fibrosis, BMI,  serum  levels  of  AST  and  TNF‐α were  related  with  HOMA‐IR  (BMI:  r = 0.395,  P = 0.041; AST: r = 0.465, P = 0.014; TNF‐α: r = 0.396, P = 0.040). In contrast, HOMA‐IR related to TNF‐α (r = 0.526, P = 0.013) in non‐diabetic patients with advanced liver fibrosis.Conclusion:  Collectively, hepatic fibrosis and inflammation appear to play key roles in the increase in insulin resistance in patients with chronic HCV infection.
Helicobacter pylori‐induced enlarged‐fold gastritis is associated with increased mutagenicity of gastric juice, increased oxidative DNA damage, and an increased risk of gastric carcinoma
Authors: NISHIBAYASHI HIROYUKI , KANAYAMA SHUJI , KIYOHARA TATSUYA , YAMAMOTO KATSUMI , MIYAZAKI YOSHIJI , YASUNAGA YUICHI , SHINOMURA YASUHISA , TAKESHITA TATSUYA , TAKEUCHI TORU , MORIMOTO KANEHISA , MATSUZAWA YUJI 
Published: November 2003

AbstractBackground and Aim:  The severe inflammation, increased cell proliferation and marked acid inhibition observed in subjects with Helicobacter pylori‐associated enlarged‐fold gastritis suggest that enlarged‐fold gastritis may be a risk factor for gastric carcinoma. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a relationship exists between enlarged‐fold gastritis and gastric carcinoma.Methods:  One hundred and thirty‐five H. pylori‐positive patients with early gastric carcinoma and 141 age‐ and sex‐matched H. pylori‐positive controls without gastric carcinoma were involved in the study. The widths of gastric body folds were measured by double‐contrast radiographs. The mutagenicity of gastric juice was assayed using the Ames test and Salmonella typhimurium TA‐98 or TA‐100 with S9‐mix. Levels of 8‐hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG) in gastric mucosa were examined using high‐performance liquid chromatographic‐electrochemical detection.Results:  An upward shift in the distribution of gastric fold widths in H. pylori‐positive patients with early gastric carcinoma was found. Enlarged‐fold gastritis (fold width ≥5 mm) was observed in 81% of the patients with gastric carcinoma, compared with 46% of H. pylori‐positive controls. The odds ratio for gastric carcinoma increased with increasing fold width to a maximum of 35.5 in persons with fold width ≥7 mm. The prevalence of diffuse‐type early gastric carcinoma in the body region increased with increasing fold width. The mutagenicity of gastric juice from the patients with enlarged‐fold gastritis was significantly higher than that in H. pylori‐negative controls and H. pylori‐positive patients without enlarged folds. Mucosal 8‐OHdG levels in the body region of patients with enlarged‐fold gastritis were significantly higher than in H. pylori‐negative controls and H. pylori‐positive patients without enlarged‐fold gastritis. Eradication of H. pylori significantly decreased the mutagenicity of gastric juice and 8‐OHdG levels in the gastric mucosa from patients with enlarged‐fold gastritis.Conclusion:  A significant association is suggested between enlarged‐fold gastritis and gastric carcinoma.
A stress‐based method to predict lifetime under multiaxial fatigue loadings
Authors: LAZZARIN P. , SUSMEL L. 
Published: November 2003

ABSTRACTThis paper extends to low/medium‐cycle fatigue a stress‐based method recently proposed by the same authors for high‐cycle multiaxial fatigue assessments. By considering the plane of maximum shear stress amplitude coincident with the microcrack initiation plane, the method requires the calculation both of the maximum shear stress amplitude and the maximum normal stress relative to the same plane. Multiaxial fatigue life estimates are made by means of bi‐parametric modified Wöhler curves, which take into account the mean stress effect, the influence of the out‐of‐phase angle and the presence of notches by using a generalization to multiaxial fatigue of the fatigue strength reduction factor Kf. Approximately 700 experimental data taken from the literature are used to demonstrate that the method is a useful tool to summarize fatigue strength data of both smooth and notched components, subjected to either in‐phase or out‐of‐phase loads. Finally, a simple practical rule for the calculation of the multiaxial fatigue strength reduction factor is proposed.
Environmental Values and Water Policy
Authors: Bennett Jeff 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThe emergence of water markets has heralded the prospect of increased efficiency in the use of the resource for extractive purposes. However, water markets have not encompassed all elements of demand for the resource. Notably, demands for the environmental public goods provided by river flows have not been revealed in markets. State Governments have instituted regulations requiring ‘environmental flows’ to be quarantined from the market allocation process. This policy has triggered negative responses from irrigators and conservationists. Lobby groups have found that the process of determining environmental flows is a prospective site for rent seeking. To avoid policy being driven by rent seeking, information on the costs and benefits of environmental flows is useful. Whereas the costs of environmental flows are readily assessed through reference to market data on irrigators’ surpluses foregone, the benefits must be estimated through the use of non‐market, stated preference valuation techniques. These techniques — including contingent valuation and choice modelling — remain controversial. Some argue that they should not be used on ethical grounds. Others argue that they cannot be used on technical grounds. These arguments are discussed in this paper, using the context of the water policy debate. The evidence is that stated preference techniques are being used, and applications have been performed in Australia in the context of riverine health. However their use remains restricted relative to the scale of the Australian natural resource management task. Some possible explanations for this limited up‐take are provided along with some suggested ways forward.
Prospects for the Rural‐Urban Fringe in Australia: Observations from a Brief History of the Landscapes around Sydney and Adelaide
Authors: Bunker Raymond , Houston Peter 
Published: November 2003

AbstractDespite being a major site of recent population growth and, arguably, a key arena for sustainability concerns, the rural‐urban fringe has received relatively little attention in the literature concerning Australian cities and urban policy. To address this shortcoming the authors review post‐World War II efforts to plan the rural‐urban fringes of Sydney and Adelaide and find a number of issues for contemporary policy‐makers. First, the fringe is becoming increasingly complex due to multi‐faceted demographic change, a broadening economic base and demands for better environmental management, all within the context of an evolving understanding of sustainability. Second, water resource management, partly under the auspices of integrated natural resource management, is assuming a much higher priority than in early fringe planning endeavours, which emphasised urban containment, agricultural land protection and landscape conservation. Third, and partly as a consequence of this shift of priorities, there is also evidence of changes to the nature and focus of policy tools used in the fringe, with land management concerns now cutting across traditional land use planning. Finally, and fundamentally, these observations raise questions about how future governance of the fringe should be organised. Together these four themes pose an enthralling series of challenges for policy‐makers for which much more research and discussion are needed.
Experimental Effects of Manipulating Attributional Information about Challenging Behaviour
Authors: Noone Stephen J. , Jones Robert S. P. , Hastings Richard P. 
Published: November 2003

Background  The informal staff culture in intellectual disability services has been proposed as a significant factor determining staff perceptions of, and responses towards, challenging behaviours. However, research to date has been exclusively descriptive.Methods  An experimental analogue of one potentially salient aspect of staff informal culture, the causal language used to describe challenging behaviours, was developed. Naïve participants (N = 84 students) rated attributional dimensions and optimism after viewing a video of aggressive behaviour. Participants were exposed to vignettes in which information about the behaviour's controllability and stability was manipulated prior to viewing the video.Results  Controllability and stability manipulations affected later perception of dimensions of causal attributions (e.g. behaviour presented as controllable was rated as caused by factors more likely to be internal to the depicted client), and optimism (e.g. behaviour presented as stable was associated with a less positive perception of potential for change).Conclusion  Staff talk in intellectual disability services, especially language communicating causal information, is likely to affect perceptions of subsequent incidents of challenging behaviours. This may have important implications for the treatment and assessment of challenging behaviour. Further research is needed to replicate and extend the findings of this study and also to contribute to the development of external validity.
Gary Dorrien, The Making of American Liberal Theology: Imagining Progressive Religion, 1805–2000 and The Making of American Liberal Theology: Idealism, Realism, and Modernity, 2000–1950
Authors: Ahlberg Ralph 
Published: November 2003

Books reviewed in this article:Gary Dorrien, The Making of American Liberal Theology: Imagining Progressive Religion, 1805–2000Gary Dorrien, The Making of American Liberal Theology: Idealism, Realism, and Modernity, 2000–1950
The DAL10 gene from Norway spruce (Picea abies) belongs to a potentially gymnosperm‐specific subclass of MADS‐box genes and is specifically active in seed cones and pollen cones
Authors: Carlsbecker Annelie , Sundström Jens , Tandre Karolina , Englund Marie , Kvarnheden Anders , Johanson Urban , Engström Peter 
Published: November 2003

SUMMARYTranscription factors encoded by different members of the MADS‐box gene family have evolved central roles in the regulation of reproductive organ development in the flowering plants, the angiosperms. Development of the stamens and carpels, the pollen‐ and seed‐bearing organs, involves the B‐ and C‐organ‐identity MADS‐box genes. B‐ and C‐type gene orthologs with activities specifically in developing pollen‐ and seed‐bearing organs are also present in the distantly related gymnosperms: the conifers and the gneto‐phytes. We now report on the characterization of DAL10, a novel MADS‐box gene from the conifer Norway spruce, which unlike the B‐ and C‐type conifer genes shows no distinct orthology relationship to any angiosperm gene or clade in phylogenetic analyses. Like the B‐ and C‐type genes, it is active specifically in developing pollen cones and seed cones. In situ RNA localization experiments show DAL10 to be expressed in the cone axis, which carry the microsporophylls of the young pollen cone. In contrast, in the seed cone it is expressed both in the cone axis and in the bracts, which subtend the ovuliferous scales. Expression data and the phenotype of transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing DAL10 suggest that the gene may act upstream to or in concert with the B‐ and C‐type genes in the establishment of reproductive identity of developing cones.