bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Endonasal endoscopic transsphenoidal pituitary surgery: early experience and outcome in paediatric Cushing's disease
Authors: Storr Helen L. , Drake William M. , Evanson Jane , Matson Matthew , Berney Dan M. , Grossman Ashley B. , Akker Scott A. , Monson John P. , Alusi Ghassan , Savage Martin O. , Sabin Ian 
Published: June 2013

SummaryBackgroundSelective adenomectomy remains the first‐line treatment for Cushing's disease (CD), until recently by microscopic transsphenoidal pituitary surgery. Endonasal transsphenoidal endoscopic surgery (ETES) is emerging as a novel, less invasive treatment for pituitary adenomas and has become the optimal surgical approach.ObjectiveThere are no published series for the treatment of paediatric CD by ETES, and we report our centre's preliminary results.DesignRetrospective analysis.PatientsSix paediatric patients (median age 15·8 years; range 11·7–17·0 years) fulfilled standard diagnostic criteria for CD. Preoperatively, no abnormality was identified on pituitary MR scanning in 3 (50%) patients, one had a macroadenoma. Bilateral petrosal sinus sampling demonstrated central ACTH secretion (IPS/P ACTH ratio ≥3·0, post‐CRH) in 3/6 (50%) patients. The same neurosurgeon and endoscopic nasal surgeon undertook all the operations.Outcome measuresTherapeutic outcome and rate of complications.ResultsClinical recovery and biochemical ‘cure’ were achieved in 5 (83%) patients, and a corticotroph adenoma was confirmed histologically in all cured cases. One case developed post‐operative CSF leak requiring lumbar drain insertion and patching. At a mean interval of 4·7 years (0·1–10·8 years) post‐operatively, cured patients have shown no recurrence. One patient, with a large diffuse adenoma requiring more extensive surgery, has panhypopituitarism, and another patient has GH and gonadotrophin deficiencies.ConclusionsOur experience shows that ETES for removing corticotroph adenomas in children, in most cases not visualized on MRI, is minimally invasive and gave excellent post‐operative recovery/results. In skilled hands, this technique provides an alternative to conventional transsphenoidal microscopic surgery in managing paediatric CD.
Allergic contact dermatitis
Authors: Becker Detlef 
Published: June 2013

SummaryAllergic contact dermatitis is a frequent inflammatory skin disease. The suspected diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms, a plausible contact to allergens and a suitable history of dermatitis. Differential diagnoses should be considered only after careful exclusion of any causal contact sensitization. Hence, careful diagnosis by patch testing is of great importance. Modifications of the standardized test procedure are the strip patch test and the repeated open application test. The interpretation of the SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) patch test as well as testing with the patients' own products and working materials are potential sources of error. Accurate patch test reading is affected in particular by the experience and individual factors of the examiner. Therefore, a high degree of standardization and continuous quality control is necessary and may be supported by use of an online patch test reading course made available by the German Contact Dermatitis Research Group. A critical relevance assessment of allergic patch test reactions helps to avoid relapses and the consideration of differential diagnoses. Any allergic test reaction should be documented in an allergy ID card including the INCI name, if appropriate. The diagnostics of allergic contact dermatitis is endangered by a seriously reduced financing of patch testing by the German statutory health insurances. Restrictive regulations by the German Drug Law block the approval of new contact allergens for routine patch testing. Beside the consistent avoidance of allergen contact, temporary use of systemic and topical corticosteroids is the therapy of first choice.
From modeling to morals: Imagining the future of HIV PREP in Lesotho
Authors: Kenworthy Nora J. , Bulled Nicola 
Published: June 2013

AbstractAmidst growing global endorsements of new biomedical HIV prevention strategies, ARV‐based pre‐exposure prophylaxis (ARV PrEP) has garnered considerable attention as a potentially promising prevention strategy. Though it may offer more effective protection for certain at‐risk groups than conventional prevention strategies (such as sexual partner reduction, condom use, and prevention of mother‐to‐child transmission), PrEP is more costly. PrEP requires more ongoing contact between individuals and providers, and a level of surveillance from the health system that is not necessary with other preventive measures. In this sense, it represents a new bio‐technology for HIV prevention that poses particular challenges for worldwide implementation, given developing countries’ struggling health systems and incomplete HIV treatment programs. Since the emergence of PrEP has stimulated ethical discussions premised on incomplete knowledge of efficacy and implementation, this paper explores the ethical parameters of a likely scenario for PrEP usage in a single, resource‐poor country. We first develop a plausible model for PrEP deployment and utilization based on current PrEP research, while carefully considering the reigning institutional values of feasibility and effectiveness in global health approaches. Drawing on ethnographic research of HIV treatment and prevention approaches in Lesotho, we address ethical questions arising from this scenario of PrEP delivery. Lesotho presents a compelling and emblematic case study of PrEP's potential successes and pitfalls in a developing country, given the country's high HIV prevalence, struggles to achieve universal access to HIV treatment regimes, continued existence of stigma around the epidemic, and difficulties in addressing persistent social inequalities that fuel infections.
Critically Adaptive Pedagogical Relations: The Relevance for Educational Policy and Practice
Authors: Griffiths Morwenna 
Published: June 2013

AbstractIn this article Morwenna Griffiths argues that teacher education policies should be predicated on a proper and full understanding of pedagogical relations as contingent, responsive, and adaptive over the course of a career. Griffiths uses the example of the recent report on teacher education in Scotland, by Graham Donaldson, to argue that for all the report's considerable merits, it remains deficient because it does not attend to the complexity and contingency of pedagogical relations. The complexity arises from the existence of (at least) four analytically distinguishable pedagogical relations, each of which interacts with the others. These relations are contingent on the embodiment of teacher and students and on the political and sociocultural context of the class. Therefore they are also contingent on time, as teachers age and as the political and sociocultural context changes. Griffiths concludes the article with suggestions for creating a teaching profession in which teachers are reflectively and critically adaptive during the course of their careers.
Love, Socrates, and Pedagogy
Authors: Assiter Alison 
Published: June 2013

AbstractA recent report on the UK's higher education system by Lord John Browne exemplifies the dominant trend in education policy initiatives toward a focus on education primarily for employment and for the acquisition of skills. In this essay, Alison Assiter argues that such an entrepreneurial approach neglects essential aspects of the processes of teaching and learning. She draws on the work of Hannah Arendt, who saw the proper role of education as imparting the love of a subject, to critique the view expressed in Browne's report. Assiter then uses Søren Kierkegaard's reflections on education to further develop Arendt's perspective. While Kierkegaard certainly would have agreed with Arendt that teaching is a process of inspiring in students the love of a subject, he went beyond this to suggest that teaching also must encourage students to believe they can make a difference in the world and must instill in both teachers and students a commitment to engaging in a mutual process of development.
Unpredictability, Transformation, and the Pedagogical Encounter: Reflections on “What Is Effective” in Education
Authors: O'Donnell Aislinn 
Published: June 2013

AbstractIn this article, Aislinn O'Donnell offers a set of reflections on the relation between therapy and education. In the first section, she examines criticisms of therapeutic education, mobilizing the example of prison education to highlight the difficulties that arise from imposing prescriptive modes of subjectification and socialization in pedagogy. In the second section, she addresses the relation between therapy and education by focusing on just one element of the experience of education: those moments at which a subject has the potential of becoming significant in the life of a student. An important dimension of the educator's authority involves noticing such moments, fostering the conditions that make them more likely, and engaging in the creative process and practice of deciding how best pedagogically to respond to these moments. In the third section, O'Donnell develops this idea by detailing a philosophical approach and practice that understands “effectiveness” in education as bound to practice, creative responsiveness, and the judgment of the educator in concrete, singular pedagogical situations, rather than construed in terms of generic models of “best practice.”
A Matter of Friendship: Educational Interventions into Culture and Poverty
Authors: Shuffelton Amy B. 
Published: June 2013

AbstractContemporary educational reformers have claimed that research on social class differences in child raising justifies programs that aim to lift children out of poverty by means of cultural interventions. Focusing on the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), Ruby Payne's “aha! Process,” and the Harlem Children's Zone as examples, Amy Shuffelton argues that such programs, besides overstepping the social science research, are ethically illegitimate insofar as they undermine the equitable development of civic agency. Shuffelton invokes Aristotelian civic friendship, particularly as interpreted by Danielle Allen and Sibyl Schwarzenbach, as key to a politics that avoids relations of domination and subordination. She concludes that social justice requires that educators involved with culturally interventionist programs recognize the workings of power within schooling and society, that they accept the limits of their own perspectives, and that they remain open to what is of value in child‐raising practices other than those associated with the contemporary middle class.
Rates of projected climate change dramatically exceed past rates of climatic niche evolution among vertebrate species
Authors: Quintero Ignacio , Wiens John J. 
Published: June 2013

AbstractA key question in predicting responses to anthropogenic climate change is: how quickly can species adapt to different climatic conditions? Here, we take a phylogenetic approach to this question. We use 17 time‐calibrated phylogenies representing the major tetrapod clades (amphibians, birds, crocodilians, mammals, squamates, turtles) and climatic data from distributions of > 500 extant species. We estimate rates of change based on differences in climatic variables between sister species and estimated times of their splitting. We compare these rates to predicted rates of climate change from 2000 to 2100. Our results are striking: matching projected changes for 2100 would require rates of niche evolution that are > 10 000 times faster than rates typically observed among species, for most variables and clades. Despite many caveats, our results suggest that adaptation to projected changes in the next 100 years would require rates that are largely unprecedented based on observed rates among vertebrate species.
Families and health‐care professionals' perspectives and expectations of family‐centred care: hidden expectations and unclear roles
Authors: Coyne Imelda 
Published: June 2013

AbstractBackground and objectiveFamily‐centred care (FCC) is viewed as a pivotal concept in the provision of high‐quality nursing care for children and their families, yet implementation continues to be problematic worldwide. This research investigated how FCC was enacted from families and nurses' perspectives.DesignDescriptive qualitative approach using elements of analysis from grounded theory method. Data were collected though individual interviews with 18 children aged 7–16 years, their parents (n = 18) and 18 nurses from two children's hospital and one children's unit in a large general hospital in Ireland.ResultsFour key themes were identified: expectations; relying on parents' help; working out roles; and barriers to FCC. Nurses wholeheartedly endorsed FCC because of the benefits for families and their reliance on parents' contribution to the workload. There was minimal evidence of collaboration or negotiation of roles which resulted in parents feeling stressed or abandoned. Nurses cited busy workload, under‐staffing and inappropriate documentation as key factors which resulted in over‐reliance on parents and hindered their efforts to negotiate and work alongside parents.ConclusionsFamilies are willing to help in their child's care but they require clear guidance, information and support from nurses. Hidden expectations and unclear roles are stressful for families. Nurses need skills training, adequate resources and managerial support to meet families' needs appropriately, to establish true collaboration and to deliver optimal family‐centred care.
Quit intention as a predictor of quit attempts over time in adolescents with psychiatric disorders
Authors: Tzilos Golfo K. , Strong David R. , Abrantes Ana M. , Ramsey Susan E. , Brown Richard A. 
Published: June 2013

BackgroundRates of smoking among adolescents with psychiatric comorbidity are high, despite the well‐known health risks. The current longitudinal study examined patterns of quitting behavior in adolescent smokers with psychiatric comorbidity.MethodsThe study evaluated 191 inpatient adolescents who had been enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of motivational interviewing versus brief advice for smoking cessation, and assessed their intentions to quit smoking.ResultsRates of quit attempts at post‐hospital, 1‐month, and 6‐month assessments were 23%, 17%, and 17%, respectively. Adolescents who reported an intention to quit smoking (43%) were significantly more likely to report a quit attempt, regardless of psychiatric symptoms, cognitive factors, or substance use.ConclusionsIntention to quit smoking appears to translate to substantial quit behavior, even in a high‐risk adolescent population that may otherwise be viewed as uninterested in quitting, suggesting the need to proactively connect this population with adequate services and follow‐up support. (Am J Addict 2014;23:84–89)
OUTCOMES OF BUTTONHOLE AND ROPE‐LADDER CANNULATION TECHNIQUES IN A TROPICAL RENAL SERVICE
Authors: Smyth Wendy , Hartig Vicki , Manickam Valli 
Published: June 2013

SUMMARYBackgroundButtonhole cannulation was introduced into this Queensland Renal Service in 2005. Contrary to published literature, a local review of cannulation outcomes found no greater likelihood of infections with the buttonhole technique.ObjectivesTo compare the outcomes of buttonhole and rope‐ladder cannulation techniques.DesignProspective cohort.ParticipantsConsenting patients attending for haemodialysis via an existing arteriovenous fistula (n = 104).MeasurementsCannulation sites were assessed at every dialysis session for 12 weeks; fear and pain were scored by participants weekly.ResultsNo statistically significant differences in infection, haematoma formation, pain or fear between the techniques. Occurrence of aneurysm was higher (p < 0.05) in the rope‐ladder group. More patients in buttonhole group required multiple cannulation attempts (p < 0.05). More of the rope‐ladder group failed to attend their scheduled dialysis sessions (p < 0.05).Conclusions and applications to practiceThis study confirms that in this setting there are few negative outcomes of either technique of fistula cannulation. Specifically, buttonhole cannulation appears to be a safe alternative means of fistula access to the gold‐standard cannulation technique. The Service is examining strategies to improve attendance.
Systematic Review of Oral Treatments for Seborrheic Dermatitis
Authors: Gupta A.K. , Richardson M. , Paquet M. 
Published: June 2013

AbstractSeborrheic dermatitis (SD) is normally treated with topical corticosteroids and antifungals. Oral therapies can be prescribed in severe or unresponsive cases. This review aims to assess the quantity and quality of published reports on oral therapies for SD. MEDLINE and Embase databases and the reference listings of publications were searched for any publication using oral treatment for SD. The quality of the included publications was assessed using a modified 27 item checklist by Downs and Black. Twenty‐one publications (randomized controlled trials, open trials and case reports) covering eight oral therapies (itraconazole, terbinafine, fluconazole, ketoconazole, pramiconazole, prednisone, isotretinoin and homeopathic mineral therapy) were identified. Most of the publications investigated oral antifungals and the quality of the evidence was generally low. The clinical efficacy outcome reported varied considerably between the studies, preventing statistical analysis and direct comparison between treatments. However, ketoconazole therapy was associated with more relapses compared with other treatments. Itraconazole dosing regimen for SD was generally 200 mg/day for the first week of the month followed by 200 mg/day for the first 2 days for 2–11 months. Terbinafine was prescribed at 250 mg/day either as a continuous (4–6 weeks) or as an intermittent regimen (12 days per month) for 3 months. Fluconazole has administered daily (50 mg/day for 2 weeks) or weekly (200–300 mg) for 2–4 weeks. Ketoconazole dosing regimen was 200 mg daily for 4 weeks. Finally, a single 200 mg dose of pramiconazole was administered to patients. This review also highlights key areas for consideration when designing future studies.
Novel single‐step multiplex real‐time polymerase chain reaction assay for simultaneous quantification of hepatitis virus A, B, C, and E in serum
Authors: Irshad Mohammad , Ansari Mohammad Ahmad , Irshad Khushboo , Lingaiah Raghavendra 
Published: June 2013

AbstractBackground and AimViral hepatitis needs an earliest diagnosis for its proper and timely treatment. Although serodiagnosis of viral hepatitis is in regular practice, however, it has certain limitations and points to alternate procedures of diagnosis. Present study was designed to develop a single‐step multiplex real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for detection of hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) related nucleic acids in sera from infected patients.MethodsThe PCR was standardized to detect HAV, HBV, HCV and HEV in serum using variables including annealing temperature, extension temperature, MgCl2, and primer concentrations. The conserved regions of all viral genomes were used as targets for amplification.ResultsThis novel assay was found to be a fast, sensitive, specific, and reproducible system for detection of HAV, HBV, HCV, and HEV in serum. The detection limit for different viral genomes at 100% level was found to be 280 copies/mL for HAV, 290 copies/mL for HBV, 30 copies/mL for HCV, and 300 copies/mL for HEV in a single‐tube assay system.ConclusionPresent multiplex real‐time PCR is the first report on single‐step nucleic acid detection of HAV, HBV, HCV, and HEV in sera samples. It is an alternate diagnostic assay for common use in laboratories analyzing viral hepatitis cases.
Serum hepatitis B surface antigen quantification as a useful assessment for significant fibrosis in hepatitis B e antigen‐positive hepatitis B virus carriers
Authors: Xun Yun‐hao , Zang Guo‐qing , Guo Jian‐chun , Yu Xiu‐li , Liu Hong , Xiang Jing , Liu Jing , Shi Jun‐ping 
Published: June 2013

AbstractBackground and AimsThe role of serum quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen (qHBsAg) in identifying hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers with significant fibrosis is unknown. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of qHBsAg for hepatic fibrosis in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive HBV carriers.MethodsConsecutive biopsy‐proven HBeAg‐positive HBV carriers were prospectively recruited in our center from 2009 to 2011 and were randomly divided into training and validation set. Area under receiver‐operator curve (AUC) was used to determine the diagnostic accuracy of simple tests for significant fibrosis (Scheuer stage, F ≥ 2).ResultsOverall, a total of 197 eligible patients (median age 31 years; 149 males) were enrolled. The median qHBsAg was 4.20 (log10 IU/mL). Significant fibrosis was confirmed in 112 (56.9%) patients. By logistical regression analysis, qHBsAg and γ‐glutamyl transpeptidase were identified as predictors for significant fibrosis in training set (n = 124). Thus, qHBsAg index and γ‐glutamyl transpeptidase to qHBsAg ratio (GqHBsR) were selected for the subsequent analysis. In the training set, an AUC of 0.762, 0.826, 0.749, and 0.771 was observed for qHBsAg index, GqHBsR, FIB‐4, and aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index, respectively (all P < 0.05). GqHBsR yielded a higher AUC than aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index and FIB‐4 (both P < 0.05). Using the optimal cut‐off of 7.78, GqHBsR showed a sensitivity of 78.9% and a specificity of 73.6%. About 80% of liver biopsy could be avoided in the entire cohort.ConclusionsSerum qHBsAg‐based simple tests, especially GqHBsR, can accurately and specifically identify significant fibrosis in treatment‐naïve HBeAg‐positive HBV carriers.
CSF levels of the neuronal injury biomarker visinin‐like protein‐1 in Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies
Authors: Luo Xinni , Hou Le , Shi Haishan , Zhong Xiaomei , Zhang Yufeng , Zheng Dong , Tan Yan , Hu Guoyan , Mu Nan , Chan Jianping , Chen Xinru , Fang Yaxiu , Wu Fengchun , He Hongbo , Ning Yuping 
Published: June 2013

AbstractThe overlapping clinical features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) make differentiation difficult in the clinical environment. Evaluating the CSF levels of biomarkers in AD and DLB patients could facilitate clinical diagnosis. CSF Visinin‐like protein‐1 (VILIP‐1), a calcium‐mediated neuronal injury biomarker, has been described as a novel biomarker for AD. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic utility of CSF VILIP‐1 and VILIP‐1/Aβ1–42 ratio to distinguish AD from DLB. Levels of CSF VILIP‐1, t‐tau, p‐tau181P, Aβ1–42, and α‐synuclein were measured in 61 AD patients, 32 DLB patients, and 40 normal controls using commercial ELISA kits. The results showed that the CSF VILIP‐1 level had significantly increased in AD patients compared with both normal controls and DLB patients. The CSF VILIP‐1 and VILIP‐1/Aβ1–42 levels had enough diagnostic accuracy to allow the detection and differential diagnosis of AD. Additionally, CSF VILIP‐1 levels were positively correlated with t‐tau and p‐tau181P within each group and with α‐synuclein in the AD and control groups. We conclude that CSF VILIP‐1 could be a diagnostic marker for AD, differentiating it from DLB. The analysis of biomarkers, representing different neuropathologies, is an important approach reflecting the heterogeneous features of AD and DLB.image
Neuronal Ca2+‐sensor protein VILIP‐1 has been implicated in the calcium‐mediated neuronal injury and pathological change of AD. The CSF VILIP‐1 and VILIP‐1/Aβ1‐42 levels had enough diagnostic accuracy to allow the detection and differential diagnosis of AD. CSF VILIP‐1 is a useful biomarker for AD. Evaluating the CSF levels of VILIP‐1 in AD and DLB patients could facilitate clinical diagnosis.