bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Paradoxical Effects of Opioid Antagonist Naloxone on SSRI-Induced Analgesia and Tolerance in Mice
Authors: Singh Vijay Pal , Patil Chandrashekhar S. , Jain Naveen K. , Singh Amarjit , Kulkarni Shrinivas K. 
Published: September 2003

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been used clinically as co-analgesics in various devastating painful conditions. Upon chronic treatment tolerance develops to their analgesic effect, which is often refractory to increasing dose. Although modulation of serotonergic pathways considerably explains their clinical efficacy, numerous reports nevertheless indicate the direct/indirect role of the opioidergic pathway in SSRI-induced analgesia. The present study was designed to investigate the effect, if any, of the opioid antagonist naloxone on SSRIs-induced analgesia and tolerance employing acetic acid-induced writhing assay. Two SSRIs, fluoxetine (FLX), and citalopram (CTP) were used in the study. Acute systemic (5–40 mg kg<sup>–1</sup> i.p.), or intrathecal (5–40 µg per mouse, i.t.) administration of fluoxetine or citalopram exhibited a dose-dependent and significant (p < 0.05) antinociceptive effect. Single systemic (2–5 mg kg<sup>–1</sup> i.p.) or intrathecal (1 µg per mouse, i.t.) administration of opioid antagonist naloxone blocked where as systemic ultra-low dose (10 ng/kg) or intrathecal (0.05 ng) naloxone potentiated the acute antinociceptive effect of both SSRIs (10 mg kg<sup>–1</sup> i.p. and 10 µg i.t.). Animals treated chronically over a 7-day period with SSRIs developed tolerance to their antinociceptive effect. Further, chronic administration of ultra-low dose of naloxone intrathecal (0.05 ng per mouse, i.t.) or systemic (10 ng kg<sup>–1</sup> i.p.) with fluoxetine or citalopram (10 µg i.t.; 5 mg kg<sup>–1</sup> i.p.) over a 7-day period reversed the tolerance to the antinociceptive effect of SSRIs. Thus, in ultra-low doses, naloxone paradoxically enhances SSRIs-induced analgesia and reverse tolerance through spinal and peripheral action. These effects of opioid antagonist naloxone on SSRIs-induced antinociception may have an implication in refractory cases upon chronic use of SSRIs as co-analgesics.
Nicotinamide Offers Multiple Protective Mechanisms in Stroke as a Precursor for NAD<sup>+</sup>, as a PARP Inhibitor and by Partial Restoration of Mitochondrial Function
Authors: Klaidman Lori , Morales Maria , Kem Seyha , Yang Jun , Chang Mei-Ling , Adams Jr. James D. 
Published: September 2003

The purpose of the current study was to investigate aspects of improved bioenergetic function using nicotinamide during stroke. Using a global ischemia-reperfusion mouse model, ATP was depleted by 50% in the brain. The use of nicotinamide to provide a large reserve of brain NAD<sup>+</sup> restored ATP levels to 61% of control levels. Alternatively, using nicotinamide as a PARP inhibitor restored ATP levels up to 72%. However, using a large reserve of NAD<sup>+</sup> in the brain together with PARP inhibition proved to be additive, restoring ATP to 85% of control levels during the first critical 5 min of reperfusion. NAD<sup>+</sup> and ATP levels correlated almost exactly. Brain mitochondrial function was also examined after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion. State 3 respiration of complex I was found to be abolished. However, this was a non-permanent inhibition of activity in vitro, since (NADH ubiquinone oxideroductase) complex I activity in these mitochondria was restored upon the addition of NADH. In vivo, the use of increased brain NAD<sup>+</sup> and PARP inhibition was able to partially restore mitochondrial respiration. Taken together, the results show that nicotinamide offers a substantial protective role in terms of preservation of cellular ATP and mitochondrial NAD-linked respiration.
Evaluation of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Phospholipids and Cytokine Release by Alveolar Macrophages as Prognostic Markers in Sarcoidosis
Authors: Tahanovich A.D. , Katovich I.L. , Baradzina H.L. 
Published: September 2003

<i>Background:</i> The clinical course of sarcoidosis is unpredictable and reliable laboratory prognostic parameters are lacking. <i>Objectives:</i> The aim of the present study was to estimate the prognostic value of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) phospholipids and cytokine production by alveolar macrophages (AM) in pulmonary sarcoidosis. <i>Methods:</i> We investigated BALF parameters in 64 subjects (55 patients with sarcoidosis and 9 healthy volunteers as controls). After a period of 12 months, the total sarcoidosis study population was divided into three groups according to radiological, functional and laboratory dynamics: the group with a favorable (n = 15), the one with an unfavorable (n = 16) and the one with an intermediate clinical course of the disease (n = 24). <i>Results:</i> The group of patients with a poor clinical outcome was characterized by a lower percentage of lymphocytes in BALF [20% (4–56%)], rather small amounts of cytokines [TNF-α: 1.5 ng/ml/10<sup>6 </sup>(0.08–8.6), IL-6: 5.75 ng/ml/10<sup>6</sup> (1.7–22.5)] and a significant decrease in BALF phospholipids [total lipid phosphorus (TLP): 29.9 µmol/l (13.8–68.3) as compared to 67.5 µmol/l (33.2–127.2) in controls]. Patients with a favorable clinical outcome were shown to have higher lymphocytosis (40%, range 6–64, p < 0.05 versus poor outcome), intensive TNF-α and IL-6 release by AM, and close to normal phospholipid content in BALF. <i>Conclusions:</i> The level of TNF-α secretion by AM <3.9 ng/ml/10<sup>6</sup> and total lipid phosphorus in BALF less than 30 µmol/l may serve as markers of poor prognosis in pulmonary sarcoidosis.
Modeling Reaching Impairment After Stroke Using a Population Vector Model of Movement Control That Incorporates Neural Firing-Rate Variability
Authors: Reinkensmeyer David J. , Iobbi Mario G. , Kahn Leonard E. , Kamper Derek G. , Takahashi Craig D. 
Published: September 2003

The directional control of reaching after stroke was simulated by including cell death and firing-rate noise in a population vector model of movement control. In this model, cortical activity was assumed to cause the hand to move in the direction of a population vector, defined by a summation of responses from neurons with cosine directional tuning. Two types of directional error were analyzed: the between-target variability, defined as the standard deviation of the directional error across a wide range of target directions, and the within-target variability, defined as the standard deviation of the directional error for many reaches to a single target. Both between and within-target variability increased with increasing cell death. The increase in between-target variability arose because cell death caused a nonuniform distribution of preferred directions. The increase in within-target variability arose because the magnitude of the population vector decreased more quickly than its standard deviation for increasing cell death, provided appropriate levels of firing-rate noise were present. Comparisons to reaching data from 29 stroke subjects revealed similar increases in between and within-target variability as clinical impairment severity increased. Relationships between simulated cell death and impairment severity were derived using the between and within-target variability results. For both relationships, impairment severity increased similarly with decreasing percentage of surviving cells, consistent with results from previous imaging studies. These results demonstrate that a population vector model of movement control that incorporates cosine tuning, linear summation of unitary responses, firing-rate noise, and random cell death can account for some features of impaired arm movement after stroke.
Spatial Compliant Motion of a Rigid Body Constrained by a Frictional Contact
Authors: Huang Shuguang , Schimmels Joseph M. 
Published: September 2003

In this paper, we study the quasi-static motion of an elastically suspended, unilaterally constrained rigid body. The motion of the rigid body is determined, in part, by the position controlled motion of its support base and by the behavior of the elastic suspension that couples the part to the support. The motion is also determined, in part, by contact with a frictional surface that both couples the rigid body to the unilateral constraint and generates a friction force. The unknown friction force, however, is determined in part by the unknown direction of the rigid-body motion. We derive an analytically solvable set of equations that simultaneously determines both the friction force and the resulting rigid-body motion. We also address the issues of whether a solution to these equations exists and whether the obtained solution is unique. We show that, for any passive compliant system in which the nominal motion imposes contact, a solution to the set of motion equations always exists. We also show that, for any passive system with an upper bounded friction coefficient, the solution is unique. Two sufficient conditions that guarantee the uniqueness of the solution are presented.
CarePlus: A Home and Community Focused Source for Health and Social Care Information
Authors: Emery D. , Cowan A. M. , Heyes B. J. 
Published: September 2003

The growing population of older people need effective support in their own homes, including the provision of information that is relevant and accurate. Building on the findings of a previous three-year research study (ACTION), CarePlus has developed an on-line information service to meet the identified requirements of this client group in local community settings. CarePlus is a quality assured system that contains bespoke information about local health and social care services at four pilot sites in the Trent region. It also provides a gateway to other on-line information sources. The study evaluates the information needs and preferences of older people and carers. It also charts the process of setting up an effective infrastructure for the collection, preparation and publication of local information. Provisional findings suggest that initial perceived barriers to electronic information delivery are overcome when users access a comprehensive collection of local, relevant and up-to-date information. The CarePlus system provides an effective method of co-ordinating the delivery of locally focused and centrally managed information. The project has identified the need for agreed standards for maintaining currency and authentication of web-based materials relating to health and social care.
Information Communication Technology in Public Health: The Role of Systems Modelling
Authors: Fahey D. K. , Carson E. R. , Cramp D. G. , Gray J.A. Muir 
Published: September 2003

The National Health Service is being re-engineered. One of the components is that public health medicine needs to be delivered differently but effectively. It has been proposed that this should be done via managed public health networks (MPHNs). Underpinning this re-engineering there is an increasing role for ICT (information and communication technologies) and previous work suggests that most of the communication over the networks would be predominantly electronic. The development of MPHNs involves much complexity. This study aims to demonstrate the value of systems modelling when implementing and evaluating ICT in public health by applying it to their development. Our objectives are first to propose system models and methodologies, which can be used to understand the critical elements and their inter-relationships within the MPHN. Second, we wanted to apply the information derived from the models to propose a prototype model and to produce a system-based implementation and evaluation plan to realize the network. These objectives were achieved by combining soft system methodology with soft systems diagrams to propose relevant systems models. We conclude that systems modelling facilitates the understanding, implementation and evaluation of ICT in healthcare.
HipMod: Development of a Multi-Agent Audit-Based Computer Simulation of Hip Fracture Care
Authors: Currie C. T. , Hoy D. , Tierney A. J. , Bryan-Jones J. , Lapsley I. 
Published: September 2003

This paper describes the development of a computer simulation of the care of hip fracture, a common and serious injury with a complex journey of care. The project made use of a national, evidence-based guideline on hip fracture care, together with data from a national hip fracture audit and from service and research sources. To overcome the recognized limitations of such data in the modelling of care, clinicians from different specialties and disciplines working on hip fracture care participated by means of multi-agent-based modelling techniques.The model followed the journey of care (admission, surgery, rehabilitation, discharge or death), and, by incorporating the clinical reasoning of experienced practitioners, was developed to reflect the realities of day-to-day clinical decision-making. It was evaluated in terms of the credibility of its outputs with clinical participants, and by formal statistical comparisons of its outputs with real outcomes from comparable groups of patients in the national audit.The model was used to explore the impact of guideline compliance on care and resource use. Further modelling might serve to explore the implications of different service configurations for hip fracture care; to support service planning for demographic change; and to assist clinical training.
Assisted Internet Access for Patients in a General Practitioner Surgery: Helping the Information Poor
Authors: Solomons Richard E. B. 
Published: September 2003

The elderly and the poor do not readily access health information on the internet, `the digital divide'. The objective of this questionnaire based study in a socially deprived area was to establish the demand for Internet access in a general practitioner surgery (with a helper available), and to determine the relationship of that demand and actual use to previous experience. The influence of a general practitioner's encouragement and reasons for nonuse of the service were investigated. Overall 63%(151/239) were initially interested in accessing the Internet, and of these 92% (139/151) required help. Only 1.8% (3/167) of patients without previous experience of the Internet, `the information poor' actually used the Internet with assistance. 6.9% (5/72) of those with previous experience used it and they were also much more likely 77.7%(56/72) v.s 22.7% (38/167),to wish to do so in the future. 75% (11/14) of patients did not follow a general practitioner's recommendation to use the Internet. The predominant reasons for non-use were lack of time and home Internet access. Patients unfamiliar with the Internet, `the information poor', were unlikely to use the Internet even with assistance.
Road to authenticity and stability
Authors: Mazierska Ewa 
Published: September 2003

The purpose of this article is to examine the discourse on travel and tourism in the films of one of the most famous French directors and co-creator of the French New Wave, Eric Rohmer, by looking at the holiday aspect of the lives of Rohmer’s characters, and the wider problem of the significance of geographical change in their lives. What interests me in particular is the opinion articulated in Rohmer’s films of what constitutes an enjoyable and morally valuable tourist experience and, more broadly, a satisfactory transition from one place to another. Rather than adopting a rigid definition of tourism and holiday-making, I attempt to reconstruct Rohmer’s own discourse on tourism. However, in my work I will refer to the work of several authors, such as Zygmunt Bauman and John Urry, who discuss tourism both as an actual experience and as a metaphor of the modern/postmodern condition.
Location, location, location
Authors: Torchin Leshu 
Published: September 2003

The binary opposition of authenticity and artificiality, complete with a narrative of artifice’s conquest of the authentic, haunts much of Tourism Studies. Tourists, as modern figures, seek the authentic in order to escape from their own world, increasingly dictated by simulacra, or the Post-Tourist, as postmodern figure, revels in the consumption of sign worlds, delighting in the buoyancy of unanchored referents. Continuing this trajectory leaves us, and the tourist, with nowhere to go. The Manhattan TV Tour, a tour of New York City according to television locations, suggests another relationship between these conflicted poles. Rather than offering a simulated, seamless entry into the fictive, the tour drags representational, cultural and historical files into each site and thus performs the spatial incongruities (‘bloopers’) of each site. This performance requires a constant negotiation of space for the tourist, a negotiation not entirely unlike that demanded in the very act of watching television. The spatial dissonance complicates the presumptions of a core authenticity and of pure simulacra, encouraging what Chris Rojek has termed ‘restless movement’, a movement that provides the destination for the TV tourist and an alternative way of configuring the relationship between actual and virtual worlds.
My heart’s in the small lands
Authors: Momchedjikova Blagovesta 
Published: September 2003

To make his own input in the consolidation of New York City visible at the New York World’s Fair of 1964-65, the controversial city-builder Robert Moses commissioned a scale model exhibit offering an up-to-date comprehensive aerial view of the metropolis - the Panorama of the City of New York. Located in the Queens Museum of Art, the Panorama is, to this day, periodically updated in order to accommodate all changes and new buildings of the city. A model of the city, the miniature metropolis is also a model city: unpeopled, clean, clear-cut, safe, and quiet. Complete as a view, the scale model is, hence, incomplete as a representation: the visibility of the architectural environment precludes the visibility of those who inhabit it. Despite its stasis, the Panorama exhibit offers a non-static experience of the city; once viewing the scale model from rail-cars simulating a helicopter ride along the periphery, today observers walk around it on an ascending ramp, finding their way through pamphlets and labels or following the museum guide who narrates it. The exhibit is, then, paradoxically, both aerial and pedestrian, allowing observers to read, listen to, or remember historical facts and personal movements in the actual metropolis, while walking around and above its miniaturized still version. They thus constantly negotiate two cities: the visible built one of the scale model in the museum and the invisible lived one of people and their interactions in mind and memory. In this article I will argue that the dynamics between the moving, remembering observer and the static view transforms the miniature city into a memory palace of the lived city and examine the roles of the tour guide and the commemorative World Trade Center (WTC) installation in this transformation.
Geophysical approach to the environmental study of a coastal plain
Authors: Balia Roberto , Gavaudò Enrico , Ardau Federica , Ghiglieri Giorgio 
Published: September 2003

In the study of coastal plains affected by soil and water salination, a knowledge of several geological aspects, such as structural features, depth to basement, stratigraphy of sedimentary cover, relationships between the phreatic aquifer and underlying aquifers, and the latter's structure, is basic to gaining an adequate understanding of both the causes and possible evolution of salination. In this framework, geophysical techniques can play a very important role.To improve the available geophysical information about the Muravera coastal plain, Sardinia, Italy, which is affected by severe soil and water salination, previously acquired electrical resistivity, reflection seismic and gravity data have been reprocessed, and a new seismic reflection survey has been conducted. Moreover, in order to give better support to the geological and hydrogeological interpretation of geophysical data, three boreholes were drilled. Reprocessed electrical data indicate the presence of a wide, electrically homogeneous low‐resistivity zone associated with salination phenomena. Reprocessed reflection data provide useful information on the near‐surface stratigraphy. The combined interpretation of resistivity and seismic results, supported by one calibration borehole, elucidates the relationships between the phreatic aquifer and the underlying confined aquifer. A new seismic reflection survey gives information on the depth to, and structure of, the Paleozoic basement, as well as on stratigraphic conditions of Pleistocene‐Holocene sediments. Finally, the combined interpretation of seismic, gravity, and well data results in a geological section containing most of the information considered essential, such as the interface between Holocene alluvium and Pleistocene alluvium, the thickness of the latter, and the structure and composition of the Paleozoic basement.The work as a whole shows how the combined application of geophysical techniques can in this specific situation provide wide‐ranging and high‐quality information that is essential for the realistic mathematical modeling of aquifer contamination, and can enable the rational planning of exploratory drillings.
Shipborne electromagnetic measurements of Antarctic sea‐ice thickness
Authors: Reid James E. , Worby Anthony P. , Vrbancich Julian , Munro Angus I. S. 
Published: September 2003

We present a study of Antarctic sea‐ice thickness estimates made using a shipborne Geonics EM31 electromagnetic (EM) instrument, based on both 1D and 3D models. Apparent conductivities measured in the vertical coplanar (VCP) geometry are shown to be the measured quantity most sensitive to changes in the height of the instrument above seawater. An analysis of the effect of instrument orientation on the measured VCP apparent conductivity shows that the effects of pitch and roll on the calculated sea‐ice thickness can be neglected except in the case of very thin sea ice.Because only a single (quadrature) component of the magnetic field is measured at a single frequency, interpretation of shipborne EM31 data must necessarily be based on very simple models. For a typical sea‐ice bulk conductivity of ∼60 mS/m, a uniform half‐space model representing conductive seawater is appropriate for interpretation of VCP EM31 measurements over level sea ice up to ∼2.5 m thick. For thicker, more conductive sea ice, the interpretation model must account for the effect of the finite sea‐ice conductivity. Simultaneous acquisition of EM data at several frequencies and/or transmitter–receiver geometries permits interpretation of the data in terms of multilayered models. A synthetic example shows that 1D inversion of single‐frequency in‐phase and quadrature data from two transmitter–receiver geometries can yield reliable estimates of sea‐ice thickness even when the ice contains thin, highly conductive brine layers.Our 3D numerical model calculations show that smoothing the measured response over the system footprint means that the sea‐ice thickness recovered over multidimensional sea‐ice structures via half‐space inversion of apparent conductivity data yields a highly smoothed image of the actual keel relief. The dependence of footprint size on the height of the system above seawater results in the interpreted sea‐ice thicknesses being dependent on the deployment height of the instrument.Sea‐ice thickness data acquired using an EM31 equipped with a hardware processing module can be transformed to apparent conductivity and then inverted assuming a conductive half‐space model. For EM system heights >4.5 m above seawater, corresponding to large altitude and/or thick sea ice, inversion assuming a conductive half‐space model yields an improved estimate of the true sea‐ice thickness compared to that obtained using the processing module. However, the noise level in the estimated depth to seawater is relatively large (±0.1 m) in comparison with typical Antarctic sea‐ice thicknesses, and thickness estimates made using the shipborne system may be significantly in error over thin ice.