bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Measurement of skin thickness and skin elasticity to evaluate the effectiveness of intensive decongestive treatment in patients with lymphoedema: a prospective study
Authors: Hacard F. , Machet L. , Caille A. , Tauveron V. , Georgescou G. , Rapeneau I. , Samimi M. , Patat F. , Vaillant L. 
Published: November 2013

BackgroundComplex decongestive physiotherapy (CDP) is used to treat patients with severe lymphoedema. The efficacy of CDP is usually quantified by calculating limb volume from repeated measurements of circumference at least 10 points before and after treatment of an affected limb. Measurement is time‐consuming and operator‐dependent.ObjectivesTo determine whether decreased dermal thickness is correlated with decreased volume after intensive CDP.MethodsA consecutive series of patients admitted for intensive CDP were studied over a 6‐month period. Before and after CDP, we measured circumference, dermal thickness elasticity and finally improvement in quality of life using a visual analogue scale (VAS).ResultsThirty patients were included in the study. Only three patients were previously untreated. The average relative reduction in limb volume was 4% and the reduction in the dermal thickness was 15% (correlation: r = 0.37, P = 0.05). Viscoelasticity was decreased by 13%. VAS quality of life score was improved by 30%.ConclusionChanges in dermal thickness are slightly correlated with volume changes before and after 5‐day intensive CDP in a selected series of patients previously treated at home.
The relationship between skin aging and steady state ultraweak photon emission as an indicator of skin oxidative stress in vivo
Authors: Gabe Y. , Osanai O. , Takema Y. 
Published: November 2013

Background/purposeUltraweak photon emission (UPE) is one potential method to evaluate the oxidative status of the skin in vivo. However, little is known about how the daily oxidative stress of the skin is related to skin aging‐related alterations in vivo. We characterized the steady state UPE and performed a skin survey.MethodsWe evaluated the skin oxidative status by UPE, skin elasticity, epidermal thickness and skin color on the inner upper arm, the outer forearm, and the buttock of 70 Japanese volunteers.ResultsThe steady state UPE at the three skin sites increased with age. Correlation analysis revealed that the steady state UPE only from the buttock was related to skin elasticity, which showed age‐dependent changes. Moreover, analysis by age group indicated that b* values of the inner upper arm of subjects in their 20s were inversely correlated with UPE as occurred in buttock skin. In contrast, photoaged skin did not show a clear relationship with steady state UPE because the accumulation of sun‐exposure might influence the sensitivity to oxidative stress.ConclusionThese results suggest that steady state UPE reflects not only intrinsic skin aging and cutaneous color but also the current oxidative status independent of skin aging.
High‐precision U–Pb age and duration of the latest Devonian (Famennian) Hangenberg event, and its implications
Authors: Myrow Paul M. , Ramezani Jahandar , Hanson Anne E. , Bowring Samuel A. , Racki Grzegorz , Rakociński Michał 
Published: November 2013

AbstractPrecise U–Pb zircon dates from three volcanic ash beds that bracket the Hangenberg Shale in the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, constrain the age and duration of one of the most significant palaeobiological events of the Palaeozoic Era, the Hangenberg Event. It is linked to a terminal Devonian global shift from greenhouse to icehouse climate conditions, a global transgression, and widespread black shale deposition. Our results constrain the Hangenberg Event to between 358.97 ± 0.11 Ma and 358.89 ± 0.20 Ma, with a calculated duration of 0.05 +0.14/−0.05 Ma. A third, underlying ash bed yielded a distinctly older age of 359.97 ± 0.46 Ma. The duration of ~50–100 ka. for the event is comparable to those of Quaternary glaciations, and is consistent with both a glacio‐eustatic origin for the eustatic fluctuations and changes in ocean chemistry that led to this major reorganization of the biosphere.
Xanthomonas euvesicatoria type III effector XopQ interacts with tomato and pepper 14–3–3 isoforms to suppress effector‐triggered immunity
Authors: Teper Doron , Salomon Dor , Sunitha Sukumaran , Kim Jung‐Gun , Mudgett Mary Beth , Sessa Guido 
Published: November 2013

SummaryEffector‐triggered immunity (ETI) to host‐adapted pathogens is associated with rapid cell death at the infection site. The plant‐pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas euvesicatoria (Xcv) interferes with plant cellular processes by injecting effector proteins into host cells through the type III secretion system. Here, we show that the Xcv effector XopQ suppresses cell death induced by components of the ETI‐associated MAP kinase cascade MAPKKKα MEK2/SIPK and by several R/avr gene pairs. Inactivation of xopQ by insertional mutagenesis revealed that this effector inhibits ETI‐associated cell death induced by avirulent Xcv in resistant pepper (Capsicum annuum), and enhances bacterial growth in resistant pepper and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Using protein–protein interaction studies in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and in planta, we identified the tomato 14–3–3 isoform SlTFT4 and homologs from other plant species as XopQ interactors. A mutation in the putative 14–3–3 binding site of XopQ impaired interaction of the effector with CaTFT4 in yeast and its virulence function in planta. Consistent with a role in ETI, TFT4 mRNA abundance increased during the incompatible interaction of tomato and pepper with Xcv. Silencing of NbTFT4 in Nicotiana benthamiana significantly reduced cell death induced by MAPKKKα. In addition, silencing of CaTFT4 in pepper delayed the appearance of ETI‐associated cell death and enhanced growth of virulent and avirulent Xcv, demonstrating the requirement of TFT4 for plant immunity to Xcv. Our results suggest that the XopQ virulence function is to suppress ETI and immunity‐associated cell death by interacting with TFT4, which is an important component of ETI and a bona fide target of XopQ.
Attitudes towards smoking restrictions and tobacco advertisement bans in Georgia
Authors: Bakhturidze George D , Mittelmark Maurice B , Aarø Leif E , Peikrishvili Nana T 
Published: November 2013

ObjectivesThis study aims to provide data on a public level of support for restricting smoking in public places and banning tobacco advertisements.DesignA nationally representative multistage sampling design, with sampling strata defined by region (sampling quotas proportional to size) and substrata defined by urban/rural and mountainous/lowland settlement, within which census enumeration districts were randomly sampled, within which households were randomly sampled, within which a randomly selected respondent was interviewed.SettingThe country of Georgia, population 4.7 million, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia.ParticipantsOne household member aged between 13 and 70 was selected as interviewee. In households with more than one age-eligible person, selection was carried out at random. Of 1588 persons selected, 14 refused to participate and interviews were conducted with 915 women and 659 men.Outcome measuresRespondents were interviewed about their level of agreement with eight possible smoking restrictions/bans, used to calculate a single dichotomous (agree/do not agree) opinion indicator. The level of agreement with restrictions was analysed in bivariate and multivariate analyses by age, gender, education, income and tobacco use status.ResultsOverall, 84.9% of respondents indicated support for smoking restrictions and tobacco advertisement bans. In all demographic segments, including tobacco users, the majority of respondents indicated agreement with restrictions, ranging from a low of 51% in the 13–25 age group to a high of 98% in the 56–70 age group. Logistic regression with all demographic variables entered showed that agreement with restrictions was higher with age, and was significantly higher among never smokers as compared to daily smokers.ConclusionsGeorgian public opinion is normatively supportive of more stringent tobacco-control measures in the form of smoking restrictions and tobacco advertisement bans.
Urban–rural differentials in the factors associated with exposure to second-hand smoke in India
Authors: Singh Akansha , Sahoo Namita 
Published: November 2013

ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the role of different factors associated with exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) in the workplace and home in the urban and rural areas of India.DesignSecondary analysis of the data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey conducted in 2009–2010.Setting and participantsData were analysed from 32 738 rural and 23 202 urban non-smokers at home and 4809 rural and 6227 urban non-smokers in the workplace in India.Outcomes and methodsWe used two measures of SHS: exposure to SHS at home and exposure to SHS in the workplace. SHS exposure at home is estimated for non-smokers who reported anyone smoking inside his/her home. Exposure to SHS in the workplace is estimated for non-smokers who reported anyone smoking in the workplace in the past 30 days before the survey. Statistical techniques such as χ2test, logistic regression and discriminant function analysis were used.ResultsThe results showed that SHS exposure in the workplace and home is higher in the rural areas than in the urban areas. As compared with men, women are significantly more likely to be exposed to SHS at home (OR=1.20, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.30) in the rural areas, and less likely at the workplace in the urban areas (OR=0.49, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.59). Education and region are significant predictors of exposure levels to SHS at home and the workplace in the rural and urban areas. The knowledge of number of smoking-related hazards significantly discriminates the SHS exposure in the rural workplace. SHS exposure at home is most affected by region in the rural areas and education in the urban areas.ConclusionsThe factors which affect SHS exposure differ in the rural and urban areas of India. The study concludes that the risk of getting exposed to SHS at home and the workplace among non-smokers is higher in the rural areas of the country.
Primary Sjögren's syndrome 1976–2005 and associated interstitial lung disease: a population-based study of incidence and mortality
Authors: Nannini Carlotta , Jebakumar Adlene J , Crowson Cynthia S , Ryu Jay H , Matteson Eric L 
Published: November 2013

ObjectiveA very few studies describe the epidemiology of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). The reported frequency of pulmonary involvement in pSS varies widely depending on the detection method employed, and consists mainly of various forms of airways disease. We aimed to evaluate the incidence and mortality of pSS and of lung disease in pSS, focusing on interstitial lung disease (ILD).MethodsA population-based incidence cohort of patients diagnosed with pSS in 1976–2005 was assembled. Diagnosis was based on the 2002 American-European Consensus Group criteria for pSS. Cumulative incidence adjusted for the competing risk of death was estimated. A Cox model with a time-dependent covariate was used to determine the incidence and the standardised mortality HR of pSS.Results85 patients with pSS were identified (mean age 59.9 years; 91% women). The annual incidence of pSS was 4.2, 95% CI (3.3 to 5.1)/100 000 population and it increased with higher age at pSS diagnosis (18–44 years: 2.1/100 000 vs ≥75 years: 12.3/100 000). Standardised mortality ratio in pSS compared with the general population was 0.92, 95% CI (0.57 to 1.41). A total of 105 patients with pSS and ILD were identified (mean age 58.1 years; 91% women). Among patients with pSS without prior ILD, the cumulative incidence of ILD in patients with pSS was 10% (±3%) at 1 year after diagnosis of pSS and increased to 20% (±4%) by 5 years after pSS. The development of lung disease in pSS was associated with poor survival (HR 2.16; 95% CI 0.99 to 4.74).ConclusionspSS incidence seems to be almost the same as was reported in a previous study conducted among Olmsted County Minnesota population. Survival among patients with pSS and general population does not differ substantially. However, patients with pSS who have ILD likely have increased premature mortality.
Age-dependent decline of association between obesity and coronary heart disease: a cohort study in a remote Australian Aboriginal community
Authors: Wang Zhiqiang , Hoy Wendy E 
Published: November 2013

ObjectiveTo determine whether the association between obesity and coronary heart disease (CHD) in Aboriginal adults depends on age.Design, setting and participantsA cohort study with up to 20 years of follow-up of 849 participants aged 18–76 years in a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia.Main outcome measuresNewly diagnosed CHD cases were identified through hospital records according to ICD codes during the follow-up period. Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess whether the association between obesity and CHD depends on age.ResultsDuring the follow-up period, 171 participants were diagnosed with CHD. On an average, the incidence rate of CHD increased with the increasing baseline BMI, 11.3%, 16.3% and 20.2% for normal weight, overweight and obese groups, respectively. HR of CHD for obesity were 2.6 (95% CI 1.1to 6.3), 1.2 (0.7 to 2.0) and 0.5 (0.1 to 2.1) for those <40, 40–59 and 60+ years, respectively. HRs corresponding to 1 SD increase in BMI were 1.4 (1.0 to 2.0), 1.2 (1.0 to 1.5) and 0.8 (0.5 to 1.2) for those <40, 40–59 and 60+ years, respectively. The interaction terms between age and BMI as category variables or as a continuous variable were statistically significant.ConclusionsThe association between obesity and CHD is stronger for younger adults than for older adults in Aboriginal Australians in the remote community. Our findings suggest that weight control efforts may produce more beneficial effects in CHD prevention in young adults than in older adults.
Improving weekend patient handover
Authors: Ashton Catherine 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe Royal College of Physicians state that ‘handover, particularly of temporary ‘on-call’ responsibility, has been identified as a point at which errors are likely to occur’ [1].Working a weekend on-call covering medical wards is often busy and stressful for all junior doctors, with added pressure in trying to identify patients and tasks amongst several different pieces of paper and making important care escalation.All handover sheets from a random weekend were collected and studied. Only 57% of patients listed had the minimum expected 3 patient identifiers [2] included and just 11% had any indication of escalation planning. They were also often written on scrap pieces of paper and included varying levels of relevant patient background and information.After liaison with junior doctors and the handover committee, involving senior medical clinicians, a new handover sheet was created and uploaded onto the trust intranet, to rectify some of the problems identified. Junior doctors were also educated about the changes to weekend handover.At 2 months post-introduction, another set of weekend handover sheets were collected. All medical wards used the handover sheets for documentation of patients and tasks at a weekend and inclusion of 3 patient identifiers rose to 80%. There was also a big increase noted in clinical information and background included at weekend handover and anecdotally made weekend handover easier and less stressful. There was also increased consideration of escalation planning.The handover sheet is now being rolled out trust-wide in medicine and introduced to surgical colleagues.
Improved outcomes with direct percutaneous CT guided lumbar synovial cyst treatment: advanced approaches and techniques
Authors: Ortiz A Orlando , Tekchandani Leena 
Published: November 2013

PurposeTo determine if lumbar synovial cyst rupture in symptomatic patients results in improved clinical outcome when using direct tandem and/or coaxial percutaneous CT guided techniques.Materials and methods20 patients with unilateral lower extremity radiculopathy and/or low back pain underwent CT guided percutaneous treatment for their symptomatic lumbar synovial cysts. Cysts were identified with the use of a low osmolar non-ionic contrast agent via facet joint injection or through direct injection. Cyst rupture, using a direct tandem and/or coaxial technique, was attempted in all patients using an 18 gauge guide needle and a 22 gauge insert needle. Following attempted cyst aspiration, cyst rupture was performed using 1–3 mL of a mixture of methylprednisolone (2 mL, 80 mg) and bupivacaine (3 mL, 0.5%). All patients were followed-up in clinic for a minimum of 6 months after their procedures and up to a maximum of 24 months.Results11 patients were male and nine were female, with an average age of 65.6 years. 17 patients presented with severe unilateral lower extremity radiculopathy and three patients were experiencing low back pain. One of the patients had two synovial cysts, and therefore a total of 21 lumbar synovial cysts were treated in this group of patients. Direct cyst puncture was achieved using a tandem technique in nine patients, a coaxial interlaminar approach in seven patients, a coaxial transforaminal approach in two patients, and a coaxial trans-facet approach in three patients. Cyst rupture was documented in all cases, as evidenced by CT confirmation of cyst decompression and contrast agent extravasation into the epidural space. The mean surveillance period in these patients was 18 months. Six patients experienced their usual radicular pain within 2 months of their treatment. Four of these patients were re-treated for recurrent smaller cysts. These patients have not had a recurrence at 24 months of follow up. Two of these six patients elected to undergo open surgical decompression without symptomatic improvement. No treatment related complications were observed in this group of patients.ConclusionsDirect tandem and/or coaxial percutaneous CT guided techniques for rupture and treatment of symptomatic lumbar synovial cysts reduces recurrence rates and therefore helps avoid more invasive open surgical procedures in this group of patients.
Chapter 16 The Lower Palaeozoic palaeobiogeography of Bivalvia
Authors: Cope John C. W. , Kříž Jiří 
Published: November 2013

Abstract
Bivalves first appeared in the Early Cambrian and were virtually cosmopolitan. These very small and insignificant molluscs were probably surface crawlers on the microbial mat floors of the Cambrian sea. They evolved little further in the Mid Cambrian and by the Late Cambrian had apparently disappeared from the fossil record. Their re-appearance in the Early Ordovician coincided with a major diversification in which all the principal bivalve clades evolved, but the class was confined to Gondwana; their habitat was now principally infaunal in siliciclastic sediments. In the Mid Ordovician a few forms reached Baltica and the eastern Laurentian margin, but it was the Late Ordovician before bivalves once again became cosmopolitan. This geographical dispersal allowed bivalves to colonize the low-latitude carbonate platforms and led to the development of diverse epifaunal faunas, although most remained as infaunal forms in siliciclastic sediments. The end-Ordovician regression occasioned by the Hirnantian glaciation caused major extinction of those epifaunal forms restricted to the carbonate platforms. The Silurian faunas were cosmopolitan and the major evolutionary event was caused by the appearance of a Gondwanan cephalopod limestone facies that provided sites for epibyssate praecardiidinid bivalves (=Nepiomorphia) that evolved rapidly and were able to withstand short periods of anoxia.
The Baltoscandian margin detrital zircon signatures of the central Scandes
Authors: Gee David G. , Ladenberger Anna , Dahlqvist Peter , Majka Jarosław , Be'eri-Shlevin Yaron , Frei Dirk , Thomsen Tonny 
Published: November 2013

Abstract

In central parts of the Scandinavian Caledonides, detrital zircon signatures provide evidence of the change in character of the Baltoscandian crystalline basement, from the characteristic Late Palaeoproterozoic granites of the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt (TIB,
c.
1650–1850 Ma) in the foreland Autochthon to the typical, mainly Mesoproterozoic-age profile (
c.
950–1700 Ma) of the Sveconorwegian Orogen of southwestern Scandinavia in the hinterland. Late Ediacaran to Early Cambrian shallow-marine Vemdal quartzites of the Jämtlandian Nappes (Lower Allochthon) provide strong bimodal signatures with TIB (1700–1800 Ma) and Sveconorwegian,
sensu stricto
(900–1150 Ma) ages dominant. Mid-Ordovician turbidites (Norråker Formation) of the Lower Allochthon in Sweden, sourced from the west, have unimodal signatures dominated by Sveconorwegian ages with peaks at 1000–1100 Ma, but with subordinate components of older Mesoproterozoic zircons (1200–1650 Ma). Latest Ordovician shallow-marine quartzites also yield bimodal signatures, but are more dispersed than in the Vemdal quartzites. In the greenschist facies lower parts of the Middle Allochthon, the Fuda (Offerdal Nappe) and Särv Nappe signatures are either unimodal or bimodal (950–1100 and/or 1700–1850 Ma), with variable dominance of the younger or older group, and subordinate other Mesoproterozoic components. In the overlying, amphibolite to eclogite facies lower part of the Seve Nappe Complex, where the metasediments are dominated by feldspathic quartzites, calcsilicate-rich psammites and marbles, most units have bimodal signatures similar to the Särv Nappes, but more dispersed; one has a unimodal signature very similar to the Ordovician turbidites of the Jämtlandian Nappes. In the overlying Upper Allochthon, Lower Köli (Baltica-proximal, Virisen Terrane), Late Ordovician quartzites provide unimodal signatures dominated by Sveconorwegian ages (
sensu stricto
). Further north in the Scandes, previously published zircon signatures in quartzites of the Lower Allochthon are similar to the Vemdal quartzites in Jämtland. Data from the Kalak Nappes at 70°N are in no way exotic to the Sveconorwegian Baltoscandian margin. They do show a Timanian influence (ages of
c.
560–610 Ma), as would be expected from the palinspastic reconstructions of the nappes. Thus the detrital zircon signatures reported here and published elsewhere provide supporting evidence for a continuation northwards of the Sveconorwegian Orogen in the Neoproterozoic, from type areas in the south, along the Baltoscandian margin of Baltica into the high Arctic.

Supplementary material:

LA-ICP-MS U–Pb analyses are available at
http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18699
.
A kinematic model for the Grampian Orogeny, Scotland
Authors: Tanner P. W. G. 
Published: November 2013

Abstract

The NE–SW-trending Grampian Fold Belt has anomalous features that set it apart from other belts in the Caledonides. It consists mainly of polyphase-deformed (D1–D4) Neoproterozoic–early Ordovician rocks (Dalradian Supergroup), deposited in a basin that formed behind a microcontinent detached from Laurentia during Iapetus opening. Detailed cross-strike structural traverses through the D1/D2 Tay Nappe in the SW Highlands show that part of the Ligurian-type basin floor (Highland Border Complex) was obducted on to the Laurentian margin prior to orogenesis. On the top limb of the nappe, δ-porphyroclasts give a top-to-the-SE shear sense for the D1 stretching lineation, whereas D2 microlithons within a zone of non-coaxial strain on the lower limb indicate top-to-the-east. Subduction was initially orthogonal to the Belt but became oblique during D2. Synchroneity at
c.
470 Ma of deformation, regional metamorphism, magmatism, termination of sedimentation and formation of the Buchan Block was probably linked to subduction of the spreading ridge. The driving force was NW-directed Andean-type subduction of part of the basin floor, and later of the microcontinental margin. These events caused progressive, diachronous non-coaxial D1–D3 deformation of the hanging wall (Dalradian). Crustal thickening on the SE margin was balanced by thrusting on to the foreland.