bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Context‐dependency of cue‐elicited urge to smoke
Authors: Thewissen Roy , Van Den Hout Marcel , Havermans Remco C. , Jansen Anita 
Published: February 2005

ABSTRACTAims  Earlier studies have suggested that the cue‐induced urge to smoke depends on the expectation of the availability of smoking. The present study investigated whether a ‘room context’ change could undo the learned discrimination between two stimuli, respectively, predicting smoking availability or smoking unavailability.Design  A 2 (smoking cue) × 2 (availability context cue) × 6 (trial) × 2 (room context change) within‐subjects design was used. Participants were repeatedly presented with a context cue predicting smoking availability (blue serving tray) and a context cue predicting unavailability (yellow serving tray) in one room and tested for an effect of context change in a different room.Setting  Two distinct rooms located in different department buildings of Maastricht University.Participants  Seventeen daily smokers who had smoked at least five cigarettes a day for at least 2 years.Measurements  Self‐reported urge to smoke using a visual analogue scale (VAS).Findings and conclusions  Results replicated the finding that a context cue that predicted smoking elicited greater urges to smoke than a context cue that predicted no smoking, irrespective of the presence of smoking cues. In addition, this study showed that this differential effect on the urge to smoke was generalized to a context other than the context in which learning took place. These findings are discussed in relation to the significance of a context change regarding the predictive value of smoking availability.
Does parental smoking cessation encourage their young adult children to quit smoking? A prospective study
Authors: Bricker Jonathan B. , Rajan K. Bharat , Andersen M. Robyn , Peterson Arthur V. 
Published: February 2005

ABSTRACTAims  To investigate the extent to which parental early and late smoking cessation predicts their young adult children's smoking cessation.Design  Parental early smoking cessation status was assessed when children were in 3rd grade, parental late smoking cessation was assessed when children were in 11th grade, and young adult children's smoking cessation was assessed 2 years after high school.Setting  Forty Washington State school districts participated in the Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project.Participants and measurements  Participants were the 1553 families in which parents were ever regular smokers who had a young adult child smoking at least weekly at 12th grade who also reported their smoking status 2 years later. Questionnaire data were gathered on parents and their young adult children (49% female and 91% Caucasian) in a cohort with a 94% retention rate.Findings  Parents who quit early had children with 1.8 (OR = 1.80; 95% CI = 1.22, 2.64) times higher odds of quitting smoking for at least 1 month in young adulthood compared to those whose parents did not quit early. In contrast, there was no association (OR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.47, 1.51) between parents quitting late and their young adult children's smoking cessation.Conclusions  Parental early smoking cessation is associated with increased odds of their young adult children's smoking cessation. Parents who smoke should be encouraged to quit when their children are young.
Associations between tobacco and cannabis use in remote indigenous populations in Northern Australia
Authors: Clough Alan R. 
Published: February 2005

ABSTRACTAims  To assess whether cannabis use, recently taken up by many indigenous Australians in remote communities, has reinforced tobacco use.Design  Cross‐sectional study.Setting  Three eastern Arnhem Land communities (Northern Territory, NT); total population = 3384, in 2001.Participants  From 1247 people aged 17–36 years, 190 (120 males, 70 females) were opportunistically recruited.Measurements  Self‐reported life‐time and current tobacco, cannabis and other substance use were confirmed by local health workers and using clinic records. Participants reported level of substance use, frequency and duration (years used). Associations with tobacco use were calculated (odds ratios: OR) using logistic regression with age, sex, alcohol use and a history of petrol sniffing as confounders.Findings  In univariate analyses current tobacco users were more likely than non‐users to be using cannabis (OR = 3.1, 1.5–6.2, P = 0.002) and this association remained in multivariate analyses (OR = 3.0, 1.4–6.8, P = 0.006). Tobacco use was associated with the number of years of cannabis use (P = 0.035). The likelihood that tobacco users were also cannabis users increased as quantity of cannabis used increased (P = 0.008). Current tobacco use was no more likely in those who initiated cannabis from 1998 onwards than in those who initiated cannabis before 1998 (OR = 1.1, 0.4–3.2, P = 0.881). One‐third of life‐time users of both tobacco and cannabis initiated their use at or near the same time, and very few of these (12%) had discontinued either cannabis or tobacco.Conclusions  Cannabis appears to have influenced the continued use of tobacco in these populations with possible additional burdens for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and challenges for interventions.
Retinoic acid increases tissue and plasma contents of nerve growth factor and prevents neuropathy in diabetic mice
Authors: Arrieta O. , García‐Navarrete R. , Zúñiga S. , Ordóñez G. , Ortiz A. , Palencia G. , Morales‐Espinosa D. , Hernández‐Pedro N. , Sotelo J. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractBackground  Decreased production of nerve growth factor (NGF) may contribute to diabetic neuropathy; however, exogenous administration of NGF induces only a modest benefit. Retinoic acid (RA) promotes the endogenous expression of nerve growth factor and its receptor. We studied the effects of RA on diabetic neuropathy in mice with streptozotocin‐induced diabetes.Material and methods  One hundred and twenty National Institutes of Health (NIH) albino mice randomly separated into three groups (A, n = 30; B, n = 30; C, n = 60). Diabetes mellitus was induced with streptozotocin in groups A and B. Animals from group A received a subcutaneous injection of 25 µl of mineral oil daily for 90 days, while those from group B received a subcutaneous injection of 20 mg kg−1 of all trans RA. Animals from group C were taken as controls. At the end of the experiment, blood glucose and NGF levels (both in serum and sciatic nerve) were measured. Two behavioural tests were conducted in a blind fashion to detect abnormalities of thermal and nociceptive thresholds.Results  Contents of NGF in healthy untreated mice were 1490 ± 190 pg mg−1 in nerve and 113 ± 67 pg mg−1 in serum; in diabetic untreated mice the values were 697 ± 219 pg mL−1 in nerve and 55 ± 41 pg mL−1 in serum; and in diabetic mice treated with RA the values were 2432 ± 80 pg mL−1 in nerve and 235 ± 133 pg mg−1 in serum (P < 0·002). Ultrastructural evidence of nerve regeneration and sensitivity tests improved in diabetic mice treated with RA as compared with nontreated diabetic mice.Conclusion  Our findings indicate that administration of RA increases serum and nerve contents of NGF in diabetic mice and suggest a potential therapeutic role for retinoic acid in diabetic patients.
Circulating ADMA concentrations are elevated in hypopituitary adults with and without growth hormone deficiency
Authors: Krzyzanowska K. , Mittermayer F. , Schnack C. , Hofer M. , Wolzt M. , Schernthaner G. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractBackground  Cardiovascular mortality is increased in patients with hypopituitarism. Elevated concentrations of the endogenous NO synthase antagonist asymmetrical dimethylarginine (ADMA) may be related to the development of atherosclerosis and are associated with cardiovascular risk. We studied the concentrations of ADMA in hypopituitary patients with and without growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and in healthy subjects.Materials and methods  Plasma from 44 patients with hypopituitarism with (n = 30) and without GHD (n = 14) and from 25 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls was taken for analysis of l‐arginine, ADMA, symmetrical dimethylarginine (SDMA) and clinical parameters. Further plasma from 10 hypopituitary patients was examined before and after treatment with 9 g of oral l‐arginine for 14 days.Results  Asymmetrical dimethylarginine was significantly higher in the hypopituitary patients than in the controls (0·63 ± 0·12 vs. 0·51 ± 0·15 µmol L−1; P < 0·005). l‐arginine and the l‐arginine/ADMA ratios were lower in the subjects with hypopituitarism (53 ± 18 vs. 90 ± 29 µmol L−1 and 87 ± 31 vs. 185 ± 59; both P < 0·0001). Symmetrical dimethylarginine was comparable between the patients and the controls. l‐arginine and dimethylarginines were associated with 2‐h stimulated glucose levels in a glucose tolerance test (r = 0·33; P < 0·05), but not other cardiovascular risk factors. Oral l‐arginine supplementation normalized the reduced l‐arginine/ADMA ratio in the hypopituitary patients.Conclusion  Asymmetrical dimethylarginine is elevated in patients with hypopituitarism independent of GHD and traditional risk factors. This might contribute to the increased cardiovascular morbidity in hypopituitary patients.
Implementing evidence‐based guidelines: inpatient management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Harvey P. A. , Murphy M. C. , Dornom E. , Berlowitz D. J. , Lim W. K. , Jackson B. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractBackground:  Evidence‐based guidelines exist to guide inpatient management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations, but we do not know how well these recommendations are adhered to.Aims:  The aims of this study were: (i) to examine concordance with evidence based guidelines for inpatient management of COPD and (ii) to address deficiencies in compliance with guidelines by feedback of audit results and distribution of an education package.Methods:  Retrospective chart reviews were performed using a data collection tool based on current guidelines. Forty‐nine consecutive COPD admissions were audited, and results presented to medical staff. An education package was distributed directly after the presentation. One month later, 35 consecutive separations were reviewed. Concordance with recommendations supported by the highest level of evidence was calculated.Results:  Data were complete for 84 cases. Concordance rates ranged from 0 to 100%. Apart from initiation of systemic steroids (80–83%) and avoidance of intravenous aminophylline (100%), concordance rates were less than 60%. The only significant improvement post‐intervention was for steroid duration (10 vs 29%, 95% confidence interval for difference (–36.2, –1.8)).Conclusion:  Recommendations for steroid initiation and avoidance of aminophylline are well adhered to. Concordance rates for other recommendations were generally less than 60%. Concordance with recommendations for steroid duration was significantly improved by our intervention. The findings suggest that to facilitate evidence‐based practice, alternative interventions should be evaluated. (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 151–155)
Percutaneous carotid artery stenting: a strategy in evolution
Authors: Kovacic J. C. , Roy P. R. , Baron D. W. , Gunalingam B. , Muller D. W. M. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractBackground:  Carotid stenting was initially proposed as an alternative to surgical endarterectomy for selected high‐risk patients. More recently, patients of standard surgical risk are being considered for percutaneous treatment of their carotid disease.Aims:  To describe the clinical outcomes of an initial consecutive cohort of patients treated by carotid stenting at one institution.Methods:  Between December 1997 and July 2003, 111 patients underwent stenting of 118 carotid arteries. Peri‐procedural and long‐term outcome data were collected.Results:  Most patients (>70%) were high‐risk candidates for endarterectomy. Stents were successfully placed in 117/118 carotid arteries (99.2%). Distal protection devices were used in 43/118 (36.4%). The peri‐procedural rate of death or disabling stroke was 3/118 (2.5%). Death or any stroke occurred in 11/118 (9.3%). However, only 7/118 (5.9%) procedures resulted in death or any persistent stroke (neurological deficit >1 week post‐procedure). No myocardial infarction occurred. Median length of post‐procedure hospitalization was 1 day. Long‐term follow up was possible for 101 patients (91.0%) over a mean period of 27.1 months. The Kaplan–Meier estimate of survival free of ipsilateral stroke 36 and 66 months after carotid stenting was 77.0 ± 9.5% and 68.2 ± 15.1%, respectively. The estimated survival free of any stroke or stent failure was 70.9 ± 10.7% and 60.7 ± 17.4%, respectively. The majority of late deaths (7/11) were due to cardiac disease.Conclusion:  We conclude that stenting of carotid stenoses is feasible, with a high procedural success rate and low complication rate. Carotid stenting should be considered the procedure of choice for high‐risk patients. (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 143–150)
Enzyme replacement therapy for Gaucher disease in Australia
Authors: Goldblatt J. , Szer J. , Fletcher J. M. , McGill J. , Rowell J. A. , Wilson M. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractAim:  To study the effectiveness of a specific national programme of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for patients with severe forms of Gaucher disease, a disorder of sphingolipid metabolism resulting from an inherited deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme β‐Glucocerebrosidase.Methods:  Prospective analysis of data submitted at entry and every 6 months on therapy. The responses of haemoglobin (Hb) and platelet (plt) concentrations, liver and spleen volumes were assessed.Patients:  Forty‐eight patients were treated with ERT for a minimum of 6 months. Forty patients had Type 1 disease and eight had Type 3B. The age range was 1–70 years (median 24 years). Duration of therapy at the time of analysis was 6–114 months.Results:  Thirty‐six per cent of patients started with a normal Hb increasing to 76% after 6 months. The mean improvement in Hb from baseline to the end of study period was 20 g/L, when the Hb was normal in 85% (41 patients). Thirty per cent of patients had a normal plt count at the start of therapy, with a more gradual increase in the count at 6 monthly intervals of 50, 91, 108 and 142% of starting value. Seventy‐five per cent of patients had a normal plt count at the end of study. Spleen volumes reduced by a mean of 56% in 33 evaluable patients, and the liver by 27% in 30 of 38 evaluable patients. Eight patients had an increase in liver volume of 28%.Conclusion:  Enzyme replacement therapy produced a spectrum of beneficial responses in patients with Gaucher disease, but all had some evidence of reversal of haematological complications and/or reduction in visceromegaly. Future analyses will examine the effect of therapy on bone disease, prepubertal growth and quality of life. (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 156–161)
On not becoming a writer ...
Authors: Macdonald Graham 
Published: February 2005

The two short articles on this page and the next arise from an acquaintance between two people interested in writing that began in first‐year medicine. Andrew Riemer went on to succeed as a writer. Graham Macdonald completed Medicine and became an academic nephrologist. These reflections on what they didn’t become contrast with accounts of careers and success we’re more used to in what's been called ‘success literature’. There may be a richer vein to be mined in the ‘changed my mind’ literature, given the diversity of stories behind these decisions.Editor's Note
A novel thiol antioxidant that crosses the blood brain barrier protects dopaminergic neurons in experimental models of Parkinson's disease
Authors: Bahat‐Stroomza Merav , Gilgun‐Sherki Yossi , Offen Daniel , Panet Hana , Saada Ann , Krool‐Galron Nili , Barzilai Aari , Atlas Daphne , Melamed Eldad 
Published: February 2005

AbstractIt is believed that oxidative stress (OS) plays an important role in the loss of dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons in Parkinson's disease (PD) and that treatment with antioxidants might be neuroprotective. However, most currently available antioxidants cannot readily penetrate the blood brain barrier after systemic administration. We now report that AD4, the novel low molecular weight thiol antioxidant and theN‐acytel cysteine (NAC) related compound, is capable of penetrating the brain and protects neurons in general and especially dopaminergic cells against various OS‐generating neurotoxins in tissue cultures. Moreover, we found that treatment with AD4 markedly decreased the damage of dopaminergic neurons in three experimental models of PD. AD4 suppressed amphetamine‐induced rotational behaviour in rats with unilateral 6‐OHDA‐induced nigral lesion. It attenuated the reduction in striatal dopamine levels in mice treated with 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6,‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). It also reduced the dopaminergic neuronal loss following chronic intrajugular administration of rotenone in rats. Our findings suggest that AD4 is a novel potential new neuroprotective drug that might be effective at slowing down nigral neuronal degeneration and illness progression in patients with PD.
Transient spatial deficit associated with bilateral lesions of the lateral mammillary nuclei
Authors: Vann Seralynne D. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractThe mammillary bodies have long been implicated in spatial memory, and lesions of this structure in rats can impair some spatial memory tasks. The mammillary bodies, however, comprise two main nuclei that have different electrophysiological and anatomical properties. It is therefore possible that they have different functions. The present study determined whether selective lesions of one of these components, the lateral mammillary nucleus, are sufficient to induce spatial memory deficits. While selective lateral mammillary nuclei lesions induced deficits on a working memory task in the water maze, this impairment was milder and not as persistent as that seen with complete mammillary body lesions. Furthermore, lateral mammillary nuclei lesions did not impair T‐maze alternation, which is sensitive to complete mammillary body lesions. From these results it appears that lesions confined to the lateral mammillary nuclei are sufficient to produce mild impairments when rapid, new spatial learning is at a premium. At the same time, the remaining mammillary nuclei also contribute to spatial learning, though this may be in a qualitatively different manner.
Vitamin A is a necessary factor for sympathetic‐ independent rhythmic activation of mitogen‐activated protein kinase in the rat pineal gland
Authors: Guillaumond F. , Giraudet F. , Becquet D. , Sage D. , Laforge‐Anglade G. , Bosler O. , François‐Bellan A. M. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractThe circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) controls day‐to‐day physiology and behavior by sending timing messages to multiple peripheral oscillators. In the pineal gland, a major SCN target, circadian events are believed to be driven exclusively by the rhythmic release of norepinephrine from superior cervical ganglia (SCG) neurons relaying clock messages through a polysynaptic pathway. Here we show in rat an SCN‐driven daily rhythm of pineal MAPK activation that is not dependent on the SCG and whose maintenance requires vitamin A as a blood‐borne factor. This finding challenges the dogma that SCG‐released norepinephrine is an exclusive mediator of SCN–pineal communication and allows the assumption that humoral mechanisms are involved in pineal integration of temporal messages.
The N‐terminal active centre of human angiotensin‐converting enzyme degrades Alzheimer amyloid β‐peptide
Authors: Oba Ryutaro , Igarashi Akira , Kamata Makiko , Nagata Kinya , Takano Syoichi , Nakagawa Hachiro 
Published: February 2005

AbstractWe reported recently that angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) significantly degraded amyloid β‐peptide (Aβ) to inhibit aggregation and cytotoxicity of Aβ in PC12h cells in vitro. On the other hand, others reported that ACE had two domains with highly homologous active centres, the N‐domain and C‐domain, but that they differed in their characteristics such as optimum chloride ion concentration, inhibition kinetics for various ACE inhibitors and rate of hydrolysis for many substrates. The aim of this study was to determine the specific ACE domain primarily responsible for degradation of Aβ. For this purpose, a series of ACE recombinant proteins, each containing only one intact domain, was constructed and expressed in COS7. Our results showed that all ACE recombinant proteins obtained were enzymatically active in terms of angiotensin I cleavage. However, inhibition of Aβ aggregation and cytotoxicity of the N‐domain were higher than those of the C‐domain. Reverse‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography analyses confirmed that the N domain degraded Aβ. Our results indicate that the N domain of ACE is primarily responsible for the degradation of Aβ.
A new sampling formula for neutral biodiversity
Authors: Etienne Rampal S. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractThe neutral model of biodiversity, proposed by Hubbell (The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2001) to explain the diversity of functionally equivalent species, has been subject of hot debate in community ecology. Whereas Hubbell studied the model mostly by simulations, recently analytical treatments have yielded expressions of the expected number of species of a particular abundance in a local community with dispersal limitation. Moreover, a formula has been offered for the joint likelihood of observing a given species‐abundance dataset in a local community with dispersal limitation, but this formula is too complicated to allow practical applications. Here, I present a much simplified expression that can be regarded as an enhanced version of the famous Ewens sampling formula. It can be used in maximum likelihood methods for quick estimation of the model parameters, using all information in the data, and for model comparison. I also show how to rapidly generate examples of species‐abundance distributions for a given set of model parameters and how to calculate Simpson's diversity index.
Landscape scale, heterogeneity, and the viability of Serengeti grazers
Authors: Fryxell John M. , Wilmshurst John F. , Sinclair Anthony R. E. , Haydon Daniel T. , Holt Robert D. , Abrams Peter A. 
Published: February 2005

AbstractSpecies persistence can be threatened by substantial temporal variation in food resources over time. On the other hand, spatial heterogeneity in resources at the landscape scale might allow mobile consumers to compensate for temporal variability in resource availability at the local scale. We evaluated this hypothesis, using an extensive data set on foraging, grass growth, and movement by Thomson's gazelles living on the Serengeti Plains. Here we show that modelled populations of Thomson's gazelles can only persist under Serengeti conditions in the face of observed levels of rainfall stochasticity by making adaptive movements to take advantage of ephemeral spatial distributions of food resources. More importantly, our models suggest that Thomson's gazelles in Serengeti require unrestricted access to relatively large areas of grassland (> 1600 km2) to guarantee long‐term persistence, particularly when there is positive spatial autocorrelation in resource abundance, as is the case in Serengeti. If this proves to be true for other species and/or other systems, then understanding of complex behavioural responses to spatially and temporally heterogeneous food supplies may be essential to successful conservation of grazing herbivores.