bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Body Mass Index, Prostate Cancer–Specific Mortality, and Biochemical Recurrence: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Cao Yin , Ma Jing
Published: January 2011

Increasing evidence suggested obesity, measured by body mass index (BMI), was associated with prostate cancer–specific mortality, and its impact on biochemical recurrence was also inconclusive. We systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and bibliographies of retrieved studies up to January 5, 2010. We used random-effects meta-analysis to assess the relative risks (RR) of prostate cancer-specific mortality and biochemical recurrence associated with a 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI. Among the six population-based cohort studies in 1,263,483 initially cancer-free men, 6,817 prostate cancer deaths occurred; a 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI was associated with 15% (RR: 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–1.25, P < 0.01) higher risk of dying of prostate cancer. In the six postdiagnosis survival studies on 18,203 patients with 932 prostate cancer deaths, a 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI was associated with 20% higher prostate cancer–specific mortality (RR: 1.20, 95% CI: 0.99–1.46, P = 0.06). In the sixteen studies which followed 26,479 prostate cancer patients after primary treatment, a 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI was significantly associated with 21% increased risk of biochemical recurrence (RR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.11–1.31 P < 0.01). Elevated BMI is associated with risk of prostate cancer–specific mortality in prospective cohort studies and biochemical recurrence in prostate cancer patients. Its association with prostate cancer–specific mortality in diagnosed patients needs to be further evaluated. Cancer Prev Res; 4(4); 486–501. ©2011 AACR.
Dynamic Changes of Adiponectin and S100A8 Levels by the Selective Peroxisome Proliferator–Activated Receptor-γ Agonist Rivoglitazone
Authors: Hiuge-Shimizu Aki , Maeda Norikazu , Hirata Ayumu , Nakatsuji Hideaki , Nakamura Kouichi , Okuno Akira , Kihara Shinji , Funahashi Tohru , Shimomura Iichiro
Published: January 2011

Objective—

Accumulating evidence indicates that the regimen to increase adiponectin will provide a novel therapeutic strategy for metabolic syndrome. Here, we tested the effect of a potent and selective peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-γ agonist, rivoglitazone (Rivo), a newly synthesized thiazolidinedione derivative, on adiponectin, insulin resistance, and atherosclerosis.

Methods and Results—

ob/ob
mice, apolipoprotein E knockout (apoE KO) mice, and apoE and adiponectin double knockout mice were administered pioglitazone, Rivo, or no compound. Remarkable elevation of plasma adiponectin was observed, especially in Rivo-treated
ob/ob
mice. Rivo ameliorated insulin resistance in
ob/ob
mice and reduced atherosclerotic areas in apoE KO mice compared with the pioglitazone group but failed to decrease atherosclerotic areas in double knockout mice. Among adipose mRNAs, adipose S100A8, which activates Toll-like receptor 4–dependent signal transduction cascades and locates upstream of inflammation, was markedly increased in
ob/ob
mice, and its increase was completely reversed by Rivo treatment. In RAW264.7 macrophage cells and 3T3-L1 adipocytes, Rivo significantly reduced S100A8 mRNA levels.

Conclusion—

The peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-γ agonist Rivo remarkably enhanced adiponectin in plasma and decreased adipose S100A8 mRNA levels in obese mice. Rivo treatment apparently ameliorated insulin resistance in
ob/ob
mice and reduced atherosclerosis in apoE KO mice, partly through adiponectin.
Family-Mediated Exercise Intervention (FAME)
Authors: Galvin Rose , Cusack Tara , O'Grady Eleanor , Murphy Thomas Brendan , Stokes Emma
Published: January 2011

Background and Purpose—

Additional exercise therapy has been shown to have a positive impact on function after acute stroke and research is now focusing on methods to increase the amount of therapy that is delivered. This randomized controlled trial examined the impact of additional family-mediated exercise (FAME) therapy on outcome after acute stroke.

Methods—

Forty participants with acute stroke were randomly assigned to either a control group who received routine therapy with no formal input from their family members or a FAME group, who received routine therapy and additional lower limb FAME therapy for 8 weeks. The primary outcome measure used was the lower limb section of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment modified by Lindmark. Other measures of impairment, activity, and participation were completed at baseline, postintervention, and at a 3-month follow-up.

Results—

Statistically significant differences in favor of the FAME group were noted on all measures of impairment and activity postintervention (
P
<0.05). These improvements persisted at the 3-month follow-up but only walking was statistically significant (
P
<0.05). Participants in the FAME group were also significantly more integrated into their community at follow-up (
P
<0.05). Family members in the FAME group reported a significant decrease in their levels of caregiver strain at the follow-up when compared with those in the control group (
P
<0.01).

Conclusions—

This evidence-based FAME intervention can serve to optimize patient recovery and family involvement after acute stroke at the same time as being mindful of available resources.
The Two Worlds of Race Revisited: A Meditation on Race in the Age of Obama
Authors: Early Gerald
Published: January 2011

Nearly fifty years ago, the American Academy organized a conference and two issues of its journal Dcedalus on the topic of “The Negro American.” The project engaged top intellectuals and policy-makers around the conflicts and limitations of mid-1960s liberalism in dealing with race. Specifically they grappled with the persistent question of how to integrate a forced-worker population that had been needed but that was socially undesirable once its original purpose no longer existed. Today racism has been discredited as an idea and legally sanctioned segregation belongs to the past, yet the question the conference participants explored - in essence, how to make the unwanted wanted - still remains. Recent political developments and anticipated demographic shifts, however, have recast the terms of the debate. Gerald Early, guest editor for the present volume, uses Barack Obama's election to the presidency as a pretext for returning to the central question of “The Negro American” project and, in turn, asking how white liberalism will fare in the context of a growing minority population in the United States. Placing his observations alongside those made by John Hope Franklin in 1965, Early positions his essay, and this issue overall, as a meditation on how far we have come in America to reach “the age of Obama” and at the same time how far we have to go before we can overcome “the two worlds of race.”
Freedom, Equality, Race
Authors: Ferguson Jeffrey B.
Published: January 2011

This essay explores some of the reasons for the continuing power of racial categorization in our era, and thus offers some friendly amendments to the more optimistic renderings of the term post-racial. Focusing mainly on the relationship between black and white Americans, it argues that the widespread embrace of universal values of freedom and equality, which most regard as antidotes to racial exclusion, actually reinforce it. The internal logic of these categories requires the construction of the “other.” In America, where freedom and equality still stand at the contested center of collective identity, a history of racial oppression informs the very meaning of these terms. Thus the irony: much of the effort exerted to transcend race tends to fuel continuing division.
“We dreamed a dream”: Ralph Ellison, Martin Luther King, Jr. & Barack Obama
Authors: Sundquist Eric J.
Published: January 2011

In Spring 2010, a manuscript version of Ralph Ellison's unfinished second novel, Three Days before the Shooting, was finally published. Written over the course of more than forty years and running to 1,100 pages, the novel not only has a great deal to tell us about Ellison's craft and his approach to the civil rights movement; it also speaks eloquently to traditions of leadership on American race relations stretching from the days of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass through the rise of Martin Luther King, Jr., and, ultimately, Barack Obama.
At Last …?: Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Race & History
Authors: Griffin Farah Jasmine
Published: January 2011

In this essay, Griffin brings to the fore two extraordinary black women of our age: First Lady Michelle Obama and entertainment mogul Beyonce Knowles. Both women signify change in race relations in America, yet both reveal that the history of racial inequality in this country is far from over. As an Ivy League-educated descendent of slaves, Michelle Obama is not just unfamiliar to the mainstream media and the Washington political scene; during the 2008 presidential campaign, she was vilified as angry and unpatriotic. Beyonce, who controls the direction of her career in a way that pioneering black women entertainers could not, has nonetheless styled herself in ways that recall the distinct racial history of the Creole South. Griffin considers how Michelle Obama's and Beyonce's use of their respective family histories and ancestry has bolstered or diminished their popular appeal.
Samarqand’s Rigestān and its Architectural Meanings
Authors: Rahmatullaeva Sulhiniso
Published: January 2011

The article focuses on the central plaza of the city of Samarqand, the seat of Transoxiana under the Sogdians and again under the Timurids. The earliest edifice on the Rigestān square is an early fifteenth-century madrasa named after the Timurid prince-scholar Ulugh Beg. Although the capital was transferred to Bukhara after the final conquest of Samarqand by the Uzbeks in 1500, the Shaibanids and their successors, the Ashtarkhanids, continued to embellish Samarqand with more imperial constructions. The Rigestān thus received its final form with two additional madrasas, the Shirdār and the Talākāri, by 1660. The article aims at describing and evaluating these structures and their architectural details, vis-à-vis the latest scholarship on art history.
Rotation Criteria and Hypothesis Testing for Exploratory Factor Analysis: Implications for Factor Pattern Loadings and Interfactor Correlations
Authors: Schmitt Thomas A. , Sass Daniel A.
Published: January 2011

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has long been used in the social sciences to depict the relationships between variables/items and latent traits. Researchers face many choices when using EFA, including the choice of rotation criterion, which can be difficult given that few research articles have discussed and/or demonstrated their differences. The goal of the current study is to help fill this gap by reviewing and demonstrating the utility of several rotation criteria. Furthermore, this article discusses and demonstrates the importance of using factor pattern loading standard errors for hypothesis testing. The choice of a rotation criterion and the use of standard errors in evaluating factor loadings are essential so researchers can make informed decisions concerning the factor structure. This study demonstrates that depending on the rotation criterion selected, and the complexity of the factor pattern matrix, the interfactor correlations and factor pattern loadings can vary substantially. It is also illustrated that the magnitude of the factor loading standard errors can result in different factor structures. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Changing Simple Energy-Related Consumer Behaviors
Authors: de Vries Peter , Aarts Henk , Midden Cees J. H.
Published: January 2011

Achieving ambitious CO2 emission reductions require changing mundane consumer behaviors in addition to increasing modern technology’s energy-saving potential. Frequently, energy-related behaviors, however, may occur highly and thus tend to become habitual. On basis of the notion that habits represent automatic reactions to situations, and hence, are hard to control, we examined whether the capability to perform or abstain from performing actions depends on the type of habit established. We tested whether an acting habit (switching off the light upon leaving a room) supports execution of the intention to act (switching it off), but hinders the intention to abstain from acting (not switching it off). Conversely, a habit of not switching off the light (a non-acting habit) is expected to obstruct execution of the intention to switch the light off, but facilitates the intention to not switch it off. Results support these ideas, and underscore the importance of differentiating between habits resulting from frequently acting and frequently not acting.
Cultural Agenda Setting
Authors: Zyglidopoulos Stelios , Symeou Pavlos C. , Bantimaroudis Philemon , Kampanellou Eleni
Published: January 2011

The recent transformation of cultural organizations has altered their relationship with the public, evidenced by their engaging in market research and analysis of public perceptions about their identity, mission, and services. Through the lens of agenda-setting theory, this paper examines whether, alongside other factors, media coverage of museums can drive museum visitation. We pursue a second level of agenda-setting analysis, examining the relationship between valence—the positive, negative and neutral portrayals of museums in the media—and visitation. We conduct an econometric analysis of monthly data for the period June 2004-June 2008 for a sample of major Greek museums. The study reveals that media coverage of cultural organizations and positive valence constitute significant elements of reputation, which subsequently drive museum visitation.
Responding to Partners’ Expression of Anger: The Role of Communal Motivation
Authors: Yoo Seung Hee , Clark Margaret S. , Lemay Edward P. , Salovey Peter , Monin Joan K.
Published: January 2011

The effects of communal motivation on reactions to relationship partners’ expressed anger were examined. In Study 1, married couples reported on the communal strength of their marriage, their expressions of anger to their spouse, and relationship satisfaction. In Study 2, college students reported on the communal strength of their best friendships, those friends’ expressions of anger, and their evaluations of and provision of support to those friends. In Study 3, communal motivation toward a stranger who expressed mild anger was manipulated and evaluation of that stranger was measured. In all three studies, low communal motivation was associated with more negative evaluations of angry partners, lower relationship satisfaction, and, in Study 2, lower support provision. In contrast, when communal motivation was high, these decreases either did not occur (Studies 1 and 3) or were diminished (Study 2), and in Study 2, partners’ anger was associated with increased provision of social support.
Modulation of human trigeminal and extracranial nociceptive processing by transcranial direct current stimulation of the motor cortex
Authors: Hansen Niels , Obermann Mark , Poitz Franziska , Holle Dagny , Diener Hans-Christoph , Antal Andrea , Paulus Walter , Katsarava Zaza
Published: January 2011

Objective: The study was conducted to investigate the after-effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied over the human primary motor cortex (M1) on trigeminal and extracranial nociceptive processing.

Basic procedures: Nineteen healthy volunteers were stimulated using cathodal, anodal (both 1 mA) or sham tDCS for 20 minutes. Pain processing was assessed by recording trigeminal and extracranial pain-related evoked potentials (PREPs) following electrical stimulation of the contralateral forehead and hand at baseline, 0, 20 and 50 minutes post-tDCS.

Main findings: Cathodal tDCS resulted in decreased peak-to-peak amplitudes (PPAs) by 18% while anodal tDCS lead to increased PPAs of PREPs by 35% ( p < .05).

Principal conclusions: The decreased PPAs suggest an inhibition and the increased PPAs of PREPs suggest an excitation of trigeminal and extracranial pain processing induced by tDCS of the M1. These results may provide evidence for the effectiveness of tDCS as a therapeutic instrument in treating headache disorders.
High Prevalence of Pelvic and Hip Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in Asymptomatic Collegiate and Professional Hockey Players
Authors: Silvis Matthew L. , Mosher Timothy J. , Smetana Brandon S. , Chinchilli Vernon M. , Flemming Donald J. , Walker Eric A. , Black Kevin P.
Published: January 2011

Background: Prior retrospective studies have reported magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of common adductor–abdominal rectus enthesopathy and acetabular labral tear in athletes treated for athletic pubalgia and hip pain. The true prevalence of these findings and association with symptoms in this population is unknown.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of pelvic and hip MRI findings and association with clinical symptoms in professional and collegiate hockey players.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: The study included 21 professional and 18 collegiate hockey players. Self-reported symptoms were measured using a modified Oswestry Disability Questionnaire. Participants underwent 3-T MRI evaluation of the pelvis and hips. The MRI scans were interpreted independently by 3 musculoskeletal radiologists in 2 sessions separated by 3 months using a 5-point Likert scale to assess for features associated with common adductor–abdominal rectus dysfunction and hip pathology. To estimate prevalence, MRI findings rated 4 or higher on 4 of the 6 interpretations were considered positive. A variance component analysis was applied to determine intrareader and interreader reliability and the lower 95% confidence limits (CLs).

Results: No participants reported symptoms related to pelvic or hip disorders. The MRI findings of common adductor–abdominal rectus dysfunction were observed in 14 of 39 participants (36%) and hip pathologic changes in 25 of 39 (64%). There was moderate agreement between readings, with intrareader and interreader reliabilities ranging from 0.37 to 1.00. The interreader reliability was less for evaluation of hip pathologic abnormalities than for groin pathologic abnormalities, with the lowest reliability observed in reporting of hip osteochondral lesions (0.37 with lower 95% CL of 0.22) and fluid in the primary cleft (0.45 with lower 95% CL of 0.29) and perfect reliability in the absence of effusion and abdominal rectus tendon tears. Overall, 30 of 39 (77%) asymptomatic hockey players demonstrated MRI findings of hip or groin pathologic abnormalities.

Conclusion: Given the high prevalence of MRI findings in asymptomatic hockey players, it is necessary to cautiously interpret the significance of these findings in association with clinical presentation. Future investigations will determine whether these asymptomatic findings predict future disabilities.
Effects of Mica and Fly Ash Concentration on the Properties of Polyester Thermoplastic Elastomer Composites
Authors: Sreekanth M.S. , Joseph S. , Mhaske S.T. , Mahanwar P.A. , Bambole V.A.
Published: January 2011

Particle-filled polymer composites are becoming attractive because of their wide applications and low cost. In this study, the effects of fillers such as mica and fly ash, at varying concentrations, on the mechanical, thermal, electrical, rheological, and morphological properties of polyester thermoplastic elastomer (Hytrel®) were investigated. Composites of Hytrel® with varying concentrations (5—40 wt%) of mica and fly ash were prepared by twin screw extrusion. Mechanical properties, such as flexural strength and modulus, were found to increase with filler concentration. Mica showed a moderate increase in tensile strength with low concentrations, whereas the strength decreased with fly ash concentration. Thermal and electrical properties of the composites were found to increase with filler concentration. Morphological studies revealed that there was a good dispersion of filler in the polymer matrix at lower concentrations.
Young people’s internet use: Divided or diversified?
Authors: Boonaert Tom , Vettenburg Nicole
Published: January 2011

This article critically analyses research on young people’s internet use. Based on a literature analysis, it examines which young people do what on the internet. These results invite a reflection on the dominant discourse on the digital divide. Within this discourse, there is a strong focus on the use of the internet for information purposes only, a focus which is strongly influenced by the knowledge society. From a pedagogical perspective, the article makes a case for a wider view of this dominant use, since it endangers groups of young people who may already be on the margins of the digital divide.
Navigating the bio-politics of childhood
Authors: Lee Nick , Motzkau Johanna
Published: January 2011

Childhood research has long shared a bio-political terrain with state agencies in which children figure primarily as ‘human futures’. In the 20th century bio-social dualism helped to make that terrain navigable by researchers, but, as life processes increasingly become key sites of bio-political action, bio-social dualism is becoming less useful as a navigational aid. The contribution that a view of childhood as a ‘hybrid’ phenomenon might make to developing new navigational aids is considered. A Foucaultian reading of the history of childhood bio-politics yields three ‘multiplicities’ of childhood. The assistance these can offer in navigating the contemporary biopolitics of childhood is described.
The BP Oil Spill as a Cultural Anomaly? Institutional Context, Conflict, and Change
Authors: Hoffman Andrew J. , Devereaux Jennings P.
Published: January 2011

This article argues that the BP Oil Spill is, potentially, a “cultural anomaly” for institutional changes in environmental management and fossil fuel production. The problem as defined by the spill’s context, the potential solutions provided by the competing logics in that context, and the selection of problem—solution bundles through the fortuitous timing of events, and more calculative efforts of institutional entrepreneurs within that context have come close to acting as a catalyst for deeper change, but not quite. For reasons that this article discusses, true change in the approach to handling issues related to oil drilling, oil consumption, and environmental management have yet to occur.
Playing Their Roles
Authors: Gross Michael A. , Pullman Madeleine
Published: January 2011

With the increasing use of experience design with its theatrical ideas of scripting, staging, and other performing arts concepts in the service industry, the reaction of employees working in these environments has come under the spotlight. In addition, as the setting moves beyond theme parks to more complex contexts such as hospitals or hotels, these areas have received little exploration by researchers. This case study examines reactions of managers and service employees to a workplace implementing experience design concepts. Using an ethnographic approach, this article finds that management and employees diverge in their perceptions, meaning, and effectiveness of theatrical concepts. The authors identify two types of differences: (a) divergent interpretations in how employees and managers understand the content of the hotel’s chosen themes and (b) divergent interpretations in how employees and managers understand scripting. As a result, the employees deliver a service experience that creates conflicts with the management’s objectives. Finally, the authors find that employee’s alignment with a prescribed design depends on their job experience, occupational norms, and context of delivery. The key findings from this study inform theory and practice for managers designing service encounters, particularly related to (a) employee viewpoints and reactions to different theater-based concepts in more complex service environments and (b) implications for improving the design and implementation of these concepts for managers, employees, and customers or guests.
Is Timing Everything? Temporal Considerations in Emotion Regulation
Authors: Sheppes Gal , Gross James J.
Published: January 2011

It is often said that timing is everything. The process model of emotion regulation has taken this aphorism to heart, suggesting that down-regulating emotions before they are “up and running” is always easier than down-regulating emotions once they have gathered force (i.e., generic timing hypothesis). But does timing (i.e., emotion intensity) matter equally for all forms of regulation? In this article, the authors offer an alternative process-specific timing hypothesis, in which emotion-generative and emotion-regulatory processes compete at either earlier or later stages of information processing. Regulation strategies that target early processing stages require minimal effort. Therefore, their efficacy should be relatively unaffected by emotion intensity. By contrast, regulation strategies that target later processing stages require effort that is proportional to the intensity of the emotional response. Therefore, their efficacy should be determined by the relative strength of regulatory versus emotional processes. Implications of this revised conception are considered.
Further challenges to medical dominance? The case of nurse and pharmacist supplementary prescribing
Authors: Cooper Richard J. , Bissell Paul , Ward Paul , Murphy Elizabeth , Anderson Claire , Avery Tony , James Veronica , Lymn Jo , Guillaume Louise , Hutchinson Allen , Ratcliffe Julie
Published: January 2011

Doctors have traditionally been viewed as the dominant healthcare profession, with the authority to prescribe medicines, but recent non-medical prescribing initiatives have been viewed as possible challenges to such dominance. Using the example of the introduction of supplementary prescribing in the UK, this study sought to explore whether such initiatives represent a challenge to medical authority. Ten case study sites in England involving primary and secondary care and a range of clinical areas were used to undertake a total of 77 observations of supplementary prescribing consultations and interviews with 28 patients, 11 doctors and nurse and pharmacist prescribers at each site.

Supplementary prescribing was viewed positively by all participants but several doctors and patients appeared to lack awareness and understanding of supplementary prescribing. Continued medical authority was supported empirically in five areas: patients’ and supplementary prescribers’ perception of doctors as being hierarchically superior; doctors legitimation of nurses’ and pharmacists’ prescribing initially; doctors’ belief that they could control (particularly nurses’) access to prescribing training; supplementary prescribers’ frequent recourse to use doctors’ advice, coupled with doctors’ encouragement of such ‘knock on door’ prescribing advice policies; doctors’ denigration of most routine prescribing but claims that diagnosis was more skilled and key to medicine.

Supplementary prescribing appeared to be successfully accomplished in practice in a range of clinical settings and was acceptable to all involved but did not ultimately challenge medical dominance. However, more recent nurse and pharmacist independent prescribing (involving diagnosis) may represent a more significant threat.
Utilization of Legal and Financial Services of Partners in Dementia Care Study
Authors: Shrestha Srijana , Judge Katherine S. , Wilson Nancy L. , Moye Jennifer A. , Snow A. Lynn , Kunik Mark E.
Published: January 2011

Financial and legal services are unique needs of persons with dementia and their caregivers. This study examines their need for legal and financial assistance and the kinds of legal and financial services provided within Partners in Dementia Care, a telephone-based, care coordination and support service intervention delivered through a partnership between Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and local Alzheimer’s Association chapters. Based on comprehensive assessment, and needs prioritization, care coordinators collaboratively planned action steps (specific behavioral tasks) with each caregiver/person with dementia to address the dyad’s identified unmet needs. Results show that 51 (54.8%) of 93 dyads reported a need for legal and financial services. Action steps related to legal and financial need included education or assistance with legal services (27.27%), nonhealth-related financial benefits (32.32%), health-related financial benefits (21.21%), financial management/planning (9.09%), and financial support (10.1%). Comparable numbers of action steps were directed to VA (41.4%) and non-VA (58.6%) services.
Dependence and Caregiver Burden in Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Gallagher Damien , Ni Mhaolain Aine , Crosby Lisa , Ryan Deirdre , Lacey Loretto , Coen Robert F. , Walsh Cathal , Coakley Davis , Walsh J. Bernard , Cunningham Conal , Lawlor Brian A.
Published: January 2011

The dependence scale has been designed to be sensitive to the overall care needs of the patient and is considered distinct from standard measures of functional ability in this regard. Little is known regarding the relationship between patient dependence and caregiver burden. We recruited 100 patients with Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment and their caregivers through a memory clinic. Patient function, dependence, hours of care, cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and caregiver burden were assessed. Dependence was significantly correlated with caregiver burden. Functional decline and dependence were most predictive of caregiver burden in patients with mild impairment while behavioral symptoms were most predictive in patients with moderate to severe disease. The dependence scale demonstrated good utility as a predictor of caregiver burden. Interventions to reduce caregiver burden should address patient dependence, functional decline, and behavioral symptoms while successful management of the latter becomes more critical with disease progression.
Motor Imagery Ability in Patients With Early- and Mid-Stage Parkinson Disease
Authors: Heremans Elke , Feys Peter , Nieuwboer Alice , Vercruysse Sarah , Vandenberghe Wim , Sharma Nikhil , Helsen Werner
Published: January 2011

Background. Motor imagery has recently gained attention as a promising new rehabilitation method for patients with neurological disorders. Up to now, however, it has been unclear whether this practice method can also be successfully applied in the rehabilitation of patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Objective. This study aimed to investigate whether the motor imagery ability of patients with PD is still intact despite basal ganglia dysfunctioning. Methods. A total of 14 patients with early- and mid-stage PD (Hoehn and Yahr 1-3) and 14 healthy controls were evaluated by means of an extensive imagery ability assessment battery, consisting of 2 questionnaires, the Chaotic Motor Imagery Assessment battery, and a test based on mental chronometry. Results. PD patients performed the imagery tasks more slowly than controls, but the motor imagery vividness and accuracy of most patients were well preserved. Conclusions. These results are promising regarding the potential use of motor imagery practice in the rehabilitation of patients with PD.
Infant antibiotic use and wheeze and asthma risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Penders J. , Kummeling I. , Thijs C.
Published: January 2011

Our aim was to systematically review and meta-analyse longitudinal studies on antibiotic use and subsequent development of wheeze and/or asthma with regards to study quality, outcome measurement, reverse causation (RC; wheezing/asthma symptoms have caused prescription of antibiotics) and confounding by indication (CbI; respiratory tract infections leading to antibiotic use may be the underlying cause triggering asthma symptom development).

English-language papers and studies published before November 1, 2010 with longitudinal observational design were included. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale.

We identified 21 longitudinal studies. The effect of antibiotic use on wheeze/asthma risk varied between studies. 18 studies were eligible for meta-analysis showing pooled OR 1.27 (95% CI 1.12–1.43) for wheeze/asthma. When we eliminated studies with possible RC and CbI, the pooled risk estimate in the nine remaining studies was attenuated to OR 1.12 (95% CI 0.98–1.26). Definition of wheeze/asthma and age at follow-up differed between studies. Three studies focused on wheeze/asthma beyond 5–6 yrs of age with the presence of active symptoms and/or medication (pooled OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.93–1.23; dominated by one study).

RC and CbI lead to overestimation of the association between antibiotic use and subsequent development of wheeze/asthma. Association was weak when fully adjusted for these types of bias. Heterogeneity of disease definition between studies could affect the results.
The mononuclear phagocyte system of the pig as a model for understanding human innate immunity and disease
Authors: Fairbairn Lynsey , Kapetanovic Ronan , Sester David P , Hume David A
Published: January 2011

The biology of cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system has been studied extensively in the mouse. Studies of the pig as an experimental model have commonly been consigned to specialist animal science journals. In this review, we consider some of the many ways in which the innate immune systems of humans differ from those of mice, the ways that pigs may address the shortcomings of mice as models for the study of macrophage differentiation and activation in vitro, and the biology of sepsis and other pathologies in the living animal. With the completion of the genome sequence and the characterization of many key regulators and markers, the pig has emerged as a tractable model of human innate immunity and disease that should address the limited, predictive value of rodents in preclinical studies.
Factors Influencing Treatment Recommendations in Node-Negative Breast Cancer
Authors: Elder Elisabeth Edstrom , Hay Sally Baron , Moore Katrina
Published: January 2011

Grade, tumor size, estrogen-receptor status, and younger age are the most significant factors influencing adjuvant chemotherapy recommendation for patients with node-negative breast cancer.
A severe neurological event during a local anaesthesia phlebectomy
Authors: Passariello F , Farina E , Neuhardt D L
Published: January 2011

A 58 year old female patient underwent an intervention of phlebectomy below the knee. The patient gradually developed a severe neurological event and the Glasgow Coma Score decreased dramatically. After two and a half hours from onset, general conditions gradually improved and recovered completely. Lidocaine neurotoxicity was excluded. A right side motor deficit strongly suggests a transient ischaemic attack. As to invasivity, phlebectomy can be compared with liquid and foam sclerotherapy so that the simple question arises of also comparing their adverse effects. We have the strong conviction that this case may only be a co-incidental association.
Novel anticoagulants: a discussion of clinical use in the treatment and prevention of venous thromboembolism
Authors: Knepper J , Ramacciotti E , Wakefield T W
Published: January 2011

Traditional therapeutic oral anticoagulation strategies often require invasive dosing or monitoring. Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) have a large number of interactions, delayed onset requires frequent dose monitoring, and they have a small margin between therapeutic dose and bleeding complications. Novel oral anticoagulants, such as dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban, are being developed to prevent those VKAs drawbacks. Besides oral bioavailability, those compounds are designed to require minimal to no monitoring and have a favourable safety profile. This review reports efficacy and safety data of these compounds throughout clinical development, as well as new approaches for oral pharmacological management of venous thromboembolism.
Quantifying the Inhalation of Tar from Smoking: A Guided-Inquiry Activity
Authors: Ricker Melissa , Gardner Grant E. , Aune Patricia
Published: January 2011

Context-based laboratory activities are intended to engage students by utilizing personally relevant topics. In this short laboratory exercise we describe a method through which students engage in a health-related activity that highlights some of the dangers of nicotine inhalation, teaches relevant content, and provides a scaffold for the design of other inquiry-driven experiments.
Team Echinacea & Construction of a Key Using Online Images of Fresh Prairie Plant Pollen
Authors: Diersen Gregory T.
Published: January 2011

In the summer of 2009, as an RET (Research Experience for Teachers), I joined the research team studying Echinacea angustifolia by assisting with ongoing research. I also prepared botanical collections for my classroom. These collections consist of flowering botanical specimens and prepared slides of fresh pollen from each plant. Digital images of fresh pollen from these plants were captured to build an online digital pollen library. A portion of the online pollen images serves as an original dichotomous key to be constructed by students in 10th grade Biology. This article describes the field activities of the research team and the process for the plant and pollen collection as well as instructions for the pollen lesson implementation. The national content standards (9—12) for history and nature of science involved are G.1: “Develop an understanding of science as a human endeavor” and G.2: “Develop an understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge.”
Assessment of Local Hemodynamics in Periodontal Inflammation Using Optical Spectroscopy
Authors: Ge Zili , Liu Kan‐Zhi , Xiang Xiaoming , Yang Qing , Hui Jianhua , Kohlenberg Elicia , Sowa Michael G.
Published: January 2011

Background:Among the newly emerging diagnostic approaches for periodontitis, optical spectroscopy is a promising complementary diagnostic tool. The objective of this study is to verify the reproducibility of this method at a geographically distinct location (Suzhou, China) to a broader patient population using similar instrumentation to that in a previous report.

Methods:Using a portable optical near‐infrared spectrometer, optical spectra were obtained, processed, and evaluated from healthy (n = 62), gingivitis (n = 98), and periodontitis (n = 47) sites from a total of 51 patients. A modified Beer‐Lambert unmixing model that incorporates a non‐parametric scattering loss function was used to determine the relative contribution of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin to the overall spectrum. The balance between tissue oxygen delivery and oxygen use in periodontal tissues was then assessed.

Results:Tissue oxygenation decreased significantly from healthy sites to sites with gingivitis (P<0.01) and between gingivitis and periodontitis (P= 0.015). This is largely caused by a significant increase in deoxyhemoglobin between normal and gingivitis (P<0.01) and a concomitant decrease in oxyhemoglobin between gingivitis and periodontitis (P= 0.02).

Conclusion:This study supports previous findings that tissue oxygenation as measured by optical spectroscopy is significantly decreased in periodontitis and that optical spectroscopy can simultaneously determine multiple inflammatory indices related to periodontal disease directly in gingival tissues in vivo.
A Novel Approach to Prevention for At-Risk HIV-Negative Men Who Have Sex With Men: Creating a Teachable Moment to Promote Informed Sexual Decision-Making
Authors: Eaton Lisa A. , Cherry Chauncey , Cain Demetria , Pope Howard
Published: January 2011

Objectives. As a result of the impact of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM), multiple strategies for reducing HIV risks have emerged from within the gay community. One common HIV risk reduction strategy limits unprotected sex partners to those who are of the same HIV status (serosorting). We tested a novel, brief, one-on-one intervention, based on informed decision-making and delivered by peer counselors, designed to address the limitations of serosorting (e.g., risk for HIV transmission).

Methods. In 2009, we recruited a group of 149 at-risk men living in Atlanta, Georgia, and randomly assigned them to an intervention condition addressing serosorting or a standard-of-care control condition.

Results. Men in the serosorting intervention reported fewer sexual partners (Wald χ2 = 8.79, P < .01) at the study follow-ups. Behavioral results were also consistent with changes in psychosocial variables, including condom use self-efficacy and perceptions of risk for HIV transmission.

Conclusions. With the current intervention, service providers can offer risk reduction for men arguably at the highest risk for HIV infection in the United States. Addressing risks associated with serosorting in a feasible, low-cost intervention has the potential to significantly affect the HIV epidemic.
A Population-Based Assessment of the Health of Homeless Families in New York City, 2001–2003
Authors: Kerker Bonnie D. , Bainbridge Jay , Kennedy Joseph , Bennani Yussef , Agerton Tracy , Marder Dova , Forgione Lisa , Faciano Andrew , Thorpe Lorna E.
Published: January 2011

Objectives. We compared estimated population-based health outcomes for New York City (NYC) homeless families with NYC residents overall and in low-income neighborhoods.

Methods. We matched a NYC family shelter user registry to mortality, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and blood lead test registries maintained by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (2001–2003).

Results. Overall adult age-adjusted death rates were similar among the 3 populations. HIV/AIDS and substance-use deaths were 3 and 5 times higher for homeless adults than for the general population; only substance-use deaths were higher than for low-income adults. Children who experienced homelessness appeared to be at an elevated risk of mortality (41.3 vs 22.5 per 100 000; P < .05). Seven in 10 adult and child deaths occurred outside shelter. Adult HIV/AIDS diagnosis rates were more than twice citywide rates but comparable with low-income rates, whereas tuberculosis rates were 3 times higher than in both populations. Homeless children had lower blood lead testing rates and a higher proportion of lead levels over 10 micrograms per deciliter than did both comparison populations.

Conclusions. Morbidity and mortality levels were comparable between homeless and low-income adults; homeless children's slightly higher risk on some measures possibly reflects the impact of poverty and poor-quality, unstable housing.
Epidemiology and Health Care Reform: The National Health Survey of 1935-1936
Authors: Weisz George
Published: January 2011

The National Health Survey undertaken in 1935 and 1936 was the largest morbidity survey until that time. It was also the first national survey to focus on chronic disease and disability. The decision to conduct a survey of this magnitude was part of the larger strategy to reform health care in the United States. The focus on morbidity allowed reformers to argue that the health status of Americans was poor, despite falling mortality rates that suggested the opposite. The focus on chronic disease morbidity proved to be an especially effective way of demonstrating the poor health of the population and the strong links between poverty and illness. The survey, undertaken by a small group of reform-minded epidemiologists led by Edgar Sydenstricker, was made possible by the close interaction during the Depression of agencies and actors in the public health and social welfare sectors, a collaboration which produced new ways of thinking about disease burdens.
An Applied Ecological Framework for Evaluating Infrastructure to Promote Walking and Cycling: The iConnect Study
Authors: Ogilvie David , Bull Fiona , Powell Jane , Cooper Ashley R. , Brand Christian , Mutrie Nanette , Preston John , Rutter Harry ,   on behalf of the iConnect Consortium
Published: January 2011

Improving infrastructure for walking and cycling is increasingly recommended as a means to promote physical activity, prevent obesity, and reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions. However, limited evidence from intervention studies exists to support this approach. Drawing on classic epidemiological methods, psychological and ecological models of behavior change, and the principles of realistic evaluation, we have developed an applied ecological framework by which current theories about the behavioral effects of environmental change may be tested in heterogeneous and complex intervention settings. Our framework guides study design and analysis by specifying the most important data to be collected and relations to be tested to confirm or refute specific hypotheses and thereby refine the underlying theories.
The Inverse Benefit Law: How Drug Marketing Undermines Patient Safety and Public Health
Authors: Brody Howard , Light Donald W.
Published: January 2011

Recent highly publicized withdrawals of drugs from the market because of safety concerns raise the question of whether these events are random failures or part of a recurring pattern.

The inverse benefit law, inspired by Hart's inverse care law, states that the ratio of benefits to harms among patients taking new drugs tends to vary inversely with how extensively the drugs are marketed. The law is manifested through 6 basic marketing strategies: reducing thresholds for diagnosing disease, relying on surrogate endpoints, exaggerating safety claims, exaggerating efficacy claims, creating new diseases, and encouraging unapproved uses.

The inverse benefit law highlights the need for comparative effectiveness research and other reforms to improve evidence-based prescribing.
Antinatriuretic Effect of Vasopressin in Humans Is Amiloride Sensitive, Thus ENaC Dependent
Authors: Blanchard Anne , Frank Michael , Wuerzner Grégoire , Peyrard Severine , Bankir Lise , Jeunemaitre Xavier , Azizi Michel
Published: January 2011

Background and objectives

Acute infusion of the potent V2 receptor agonist 1-desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin (dDAVP) reduces sodium excretion in humans, through an effect attributed to the stimulation of the amiloride sensitive epithelial sodium channel, ENaC, in ex vivo/in vivo experiments. We investigated in humans whether the antinatriuretic effect of dDAVP is sensitive to amiloride, a specific blocker of ENaC.

Design, setting, participants, & measurements

Forty-eight healthy normotensive adult men were assigned to a high Na/low K (250/40 mmol/d) diet, to suppress aldosterone secretion. dDAVP (4-μg intravenous bolus followed by 4 μg over 2 hours) was administrated before and after a 7-day administration of 20 mg/d amiloride. Urine and blood samples were collected before and at the end of the dDAVP infusion, to measure Na, K, creatinine, and osmolality concentrations.

Results

dDAVP alone decreased the urinary flow rate by 75% and the sodium excretion rate by 19% despite an increase in creatinine clearance by 38 ml/min. Potassium excretion rate was unchanged and the urinary Na/K ratio decreased by 18%. Seven-day amiloride administration had no effect on the dDAVP-induced decrease in the urinary flow rate (−71%) nor on the dDAVP-induced increase in creatinine clearance (+35 ml/min), but it fully prevented the dDAVP-induced decrease in both urinary sodium excretion (+1%) and urinary Na/K ratio (+21%).

Conclusions

The antinatriuretic effect of dDAVP in humans is amiloride sensitive, and thus is related to the stimulatory effect on ENaC-mediated sodium reabsorption. This test provides a new tool to investigate ENaC function in a clinical setting.