bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of gender differences in endothelium‐independent dilation using peripheral arterial tonometry
Authors: McCue Meghan C. , Marlatt Kara L. , Kelly Aaron S. , Steinberger Julia , Dengel Donald R. 
Published: October 2011

SummaryBackground:  A change in peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) in response to reactive hyperaemia is often used to provide a non‐invasive measure of endothelium‐dependent dilation (EDD). Reactive hyperaemia does not allow one to quantify endothelium‐independent dilation (EID), which is part of overall vascular function. Although most research examining vascular function and cardiovascular disease has focused on EDD, there is evidence that cardiovascular risk factors may impair EID.Purpose:  To examine the microvascular vasodilation response to nitroglycerin (NTG) in healthy adults using PAT.Methods:  Microvascular responses to reactive hyperaemia and NTG were evaluated in 86 (41 female and 45 male) healthy subjects (age 37 ± 5 years). Beat‐to‐beat plethysmographic measurements of finger arterial pulse waves were recorded for 5 min following reactive hyperaemia. After a 10‐min rest period, sublingual NTG (0·4 mg) was administered and PAT signal changes were measured for 10 min. Peak reactive hyperaemic index (RHI) and peak NTG‐mediated index (NMI) were determined in all subjects.Results:  There were no significant gender differences in peak RHI (females: 2·07 ± 0·56 versus males: 1·91 ± 0·58, P = 0·20). Mean peak NMI for all subjects was 2·78 (±1·49). Peak NMI was significantly greater in females than in males (3·11 ± 1·59 versus 2·50 ± 1·34, P = 0·05). Time to peak NMI was not significantly different between genders (7 min, 28 s [±1 min, 47 s], versus 7 min, 14 s [±1 min, 49 s], P = 0·58).Conclusion:  In this population of healthy adults, peak NMI was significantly greater in females than in males. These findings suggest that gender differences exist in the microvascular vasodilation responses to NTG using PAT.
Lack of inhibitory effect of acetylsalicylic acid and meloxicam on whole blood platelet aggregation in cats
Authors: Cathcart Curtis J. , Brainard Benjamin M. , Reynolds Lisa R. , Al‐Nadaf Sami , Budsberg Steven C. 
Published: October 2011

AbstractObjectiveTo determine the effects of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and meloxicam on feline platelet aggregation and associated platelet thromboxane production and serotonin release.DesignProspective interventional study.SettingUniversity research facility.AnimalsEight healthy male castrated domestic short hair cats from a research colony.InterventionsOral medications were administered to 8 cats for 14 days in a randomized, placebo‐controlled, crossover design. Treatment groups included: aspirin (ASA) (5 mg/kg q 48 h), meloxicam (0.05 mg/kg q 24 h), and placebo (0.5 mL of water q 24 h). Thromboxane assays (TXB2) and whole blood (impedance) aggregometry (WBA) were performed on samples collected before drug administration, and on days 7, 15, and 17, using adenosine diphosphate (ADP; 10 μM) and collagen (5 μg/mL) as agonists for WBA. Serotonin release was assayed on postaggregation plasma. Oral mucosal bleeding time (OMBT) and complete blood cell counts were measured on days 0 and 15.Measurements and Main ResultsNeither medication affected WBA at any time point. OMBT decreased in the ASA group relative to baseline. No differences were detected in WBA and OMBT baseline between any groups. No difference was detected in serotonin secretion at any time point. TXB2 was significantly decreased in the ASA group at all times after initiation of treatment but no change was noted in the meloxicam or placebo groups.ConclusionsAt the doses studied, neither meloxicam nor ASA had an inhibitory effect on WBA or OMBT in cats. Thromboxane concentrations were significantly decreased with ASA treatment.
High density lipoprotein in patients with liver failure; relation to sepsis, adrenal function and outcome of illness
Authors: Atogo‐Asse Frederique‐Estelle , Vincent Royce P. , Hughes Sarah A. , Auzinger Georg , Le Roux Carel W. , Wendon Julia , Bernal William 
Published: October 2011

AbstractBackground and AimsHigh density lipoprotein (HDL) plays an important role in the transport of cholesterol to the adrenal gland for steroidogenesis and may have actions that modulate response to infection and critical illness. The clinical relevance of HDL level in patients with liver failure remains poorly characterised.MethodsIn 164 critically‐ill patients with acute (ALF) and acute on chronic liver failure (AOCLF) we evaluated the relationship between HDL levels measured on admission to intensive care unit (ICU) and survival, predisposition to sepsis and adrenocortical function assessed through the cortisol response to short synacthen testing (SST).ResultsIn acute liver failure and acute on chronic liver failure, high density lipoprotein levels were significantly lower in non‐survivors (P < 0.01). Levels correlated closely with biochemical markers of liver function and the duration of liver failure. However, predictive accuracy was not superior to conventional markers and on multi‐variate analysis did not show independent association with survival. Low HDL concentration was not associated with an increased incidence of sepsis either precipitating or complicating ICU admission. Evidence of adrenocortical insufficiency was present in more than half of patients undergoing SST and HDL level but not other lipid parameters correlated closely with cortisol increment after SST (r = 0.364, P < 0.0001).ConclusionsHigh density lipoprotein levels are low in patients with liver failure and reflect its severity. Levels are lower in non‐survivors but do not offer an advantage as early indicators of prognosis over conventional markers. No evidence of a major predisposing role for infection was found, but findings suggest a close link to adrenal function.
Quality of Care Provided in a Special Needs Plan Using a Nurse Care Manager Model
Authors: Wenger Neil S. , Roth Carol P. , Martin David , Nickels Lorraine , Beckman Robin , Kamberg Caren , Mach John , Ganz David A. 
Published: October 2011

ObjectivesTo comprehensively evaluate the quality of care provided in special needs plans (SNPs; Medicare Advantage plans that aim to provide specialized care for complex older adults) and specifically the nurse care management model in the community setting.DesignWe adapted 107 process‐of‐care quality measures across 12 conditions from the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders set to obtain a clinically detailed evaluation of the quality of care received by complex older enrollees in a dual eligible Evercare SNP. We abstracted 13 months of primary care medical records to delineate quality of care provided by physicians and whether there was value added from the nurse care manager model.SettingDual eligible Evercare SNP located in central Florida.ParticipantsTwo‐hundred thirty‐one vulnerable older enrollees in the SNP who had complex disease.ResultsBased on physician medical records alone, the 231 high‐risk participants (mean age 77, 67% women) received recommended care for 53% of 5,569 evaluated clinical circumstances, ranging from 12% for end‐of‐life care to 78% for diabetes mellitus. In fewer than 40% of these clinical circumstances was recommended care provided for dementia, falls, and urinary incontinence. In a second analysis accounting for care provided by both the Evercare nurse and the physician, recommended care was provided to patients in 69% of the 5,684 evaluated clinical circumstances.ConclusionComprehensive quality measurement applied to vulnerable older adults enrolled in one mature SNP showed that the Evercare nurse model addresses important deficits in physician care for geriatric conditions. Such measurement should be applied to other SNP models and to compare SNP care with that for complex, older, fee‐for‐service Medicare cohorts.
Thermal Conductivity of Al2O3–ZrO2 Composite Ceramics
Authors: Hostaša Jan , Pabst Willi , Matějíček Jiří 
Published: October 2011

The Al2O3–ZrO2 composite ceramics were prepared by slip casting in plaster molds and sintering at 1350°C in air. The composition of prepared samples varied from pure alumina to doped zirconia (3Y‐TZP) with steps of 10 vol%. The relative density of the sintered samples varied from 94% to 98%, depending on the composition. Thermal diffusivity of sintered samples was measured by means of the xenon flash method at 100°C, 200°C, 400°C, 600°C, 800°C, and 1000°C and thermal conductivities were calculated based on measured bulk densities and specific heat data and finally corrected for porosity effects. As expected, the thermal conductivity decreased with increasing zirconia content, and in the case of samples with higher alumina content, it also decreased with increasing temperature. Effective thermal conductivities are close to the lower Hashin–Shtrikman bound and the recently proposed sigmoidal average. Empirical relations were used to fit the dependence of effective thermal conductivity of Al2O3–ZrO2 composite ceramics on both composition and temperature.
Fabrication of Highly Transmitting LaGdHf2O7 Ceramics
Authors: Yi Hailan , Zou Xiaoqing , Yang Yan , Zhou Guohong , Wang Shiwei 
Published: October 2011

Transparent LaGdHf2O7 ceramic was successfully prepared by reactive sintering using vacuum sintering at 1900°C for 6 h. The resultant ceramic has an in‐line transmittance of 74% at 1100 nm and the density was measured to be 8.37 g/cm3. The average grain size was about 10 μm with uniform structure.
A new method to measure phthalate exposure in humans
Authors: BROCK JOHN W. , SILVA MANORI J. , MALEK NICOLE A. , HODGE CAROLYN C. , BLOUNT BEN C. 
Published: October 2011

We developed a new method for phthalate exposure assessment that uses glucuronidase digestion of urine, solid‐phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to analyze eight mono‐esters of phthalates (1, 2). The mono‐esters, one of the primary human metabolites of phthalate diesters, are monitored to avoid the ubiquitous background contamination of phthalate diesters. This method is sufficiently sensitive to measure urinary levels in non‐occupationally exposed humans. The technique can also be used to measure the degree of glucuronidation of the phthalate metabolites in urine.1. Blount BC, Milgram KE, Silva M, Malek N, Reidy JA, Needham LL and Brock JW. Quantitative detection of eight phthalate metabolites in human urine using HPLC‐APCI‐MS/MS. Analyt Chem 2000;72:4127‐34.2. Blount BC, Silva MJ, Caudill SP, Needham LL, Pirkle JL, Sampson EJ, Lucier GW, Jackson RJ and Brock JW Urinary phthalate metabolites in a reference human population. Environ Health Perspect 2000;108:979‐82.
Assessment of estradiol and its metabolites in meat
Authors: MAUME D. , DECEUNINCK Y. , POUPONNEAU K. , PARIS A. , LE BIZEC B. , ANDRÉ F. 
Published: October 2011

Most studies related to research on steroids in main edible tissues (muscle, liver or kidney) have focused on measurement of parent or major metabolite residues. In order to evaluate the estradiol content in bovine edible tissues, a multi‐step extraction procedure was developed in conjunction with parallel metabolism studies of [14C]‐17β‐estradiol in cattle (1–2). Various classes of free estradiol and conjugates were separated: estradiol −17β and −17α, estradiol‐ 17‐fatty acid esters, estradiol 17‐glycoside, estradiol 3‐glucuronide, estradiol‐17‐glycoside and 3‐ glucuronide (diconjugates) were separated. No sulphates conjugated forms have been found at the detection level of the method. The quantification was realized by calibration with deuterated 17β −estradiol −d3 standard and was validated at the ng · kg−1(ppt) level. Muscle, liver, kidney and fat samples from control or Revalor S® single (licensed implantation) or multi‐implanted steers have been assayed.The results show a wide variation between animals, but both the highest value and the mean of total estradiol content in each group proportionally increase from untreated to multi‐implanted animals. In accordance with international rules, a calculation of the daily food supply of estradiol by such edible tissues in comparison with the acceptable daily intake was performed.
The birth rate of hypospadias in the Turku area in Finland
Authors: VIRTANEN H. E. , KALEVA M. , HAAVISTO A.‐M. , SCHMIDT I. M. , CHELLAKOOTY M. , MAIN K. M. , SKAKKEBAEK N. E. , TOPPARI J. 
Published: October 2011

AbstractReports based on national registers of congenital malformations have suggested that the birth rate of hypospadias has increased during the last few decades. Register‐based information may, however, have pitfalls because of changes in diagnostics, reporting accuracy and registration system. The aim of this study was to determine the current birth rate of hypospadias in Turku University Central Hospital (TUCH) in Finland. This was a prospective study on live‐born boys born in TUCH from 1997 to 1999. In the total birth cohort (n=5,798) as well as in a special subcohort group (n= 1,505) 0.3% of boys had hypospadias. Only one scrotal hypospadias was found in a boy who had a chromosomal anomaly. Other hypospadias were glandular or coronal. No increase was found in the birth rate of hypospadias when comparing our result with register‐based data of boys born in Finland during the years 1970 to 1986 and surgically treated for hypospadias by the age of 8 years. No difference was found either from malformation register‐based data concerning the nationwide birth rate of hypospadias during the years 1993 to 1998. Due to differences in national registration systems between countries, prospective studies with equal assessment criteria are needed in order to make reliable international comparisons.
Semen quality of Japanese fertile men: A study of partners of pregnant women
Authors: IWAMOTO T. , HOSHINO T. , NISHIDA T. , BABA K. , MATSUSHITA K. , KANEKO S. , IZUNO T. , YOSHIIKE M. , NOZAWA S. , SUGITA M. 
Published: October 2011

During the recent years conflicting information on possible changes in semen quality has been published. These publications also indicate that geographical differences in semen quality may exist. However, no definitive evidence has been provided and additionally very little information regarding semen quality of Japanese men are available. Therefore, we undertook a cross‐sectional study of partners of pregnant women following the same protocol, which has already been used in four European cities. 351 male partners of pregnant women living in the Kawasaki/Yokohama area of Tokyo participated in the study. Of these 232 were recruited from 3 University Hospitals (UH) and 119 were recruited from 2 Private Hospitals (PH). The raw data of the median sperm concentrations were 92.4 (mill/ml) and 99.8 (mill/ml) for the participants from UH and PH respectively. In the analysis of the data the following parameters were taken into account as confounders: men's age, season of year, and abstinence period. We detected a clear seasonal variation in sperm counts with lowest sperm concentration and total sperm count in spring season and highest counts in autumn season with counts in summer and winter seasons being in between. We estimated the semen quality of a “standardised man” (30‐year‐old, fertile, ejaculation abstinence of 96 hours) for both autumn and spring season. The sperm concentration (mill/ml) for autumn/spring were: UH 89/54 and PH 105/63; for total sperm counts (mill): UH 282/151 and PH 315/169. As in the European study we detected a seasonal variation in sperm counts. However, in our study highest counts were detected in autumn season whereas the highest counts in the European study were detected in winter season. Likewise, the lowest counts were in spring and summer in Japan and Europe respectively. The estimated sperm counts of a “standardised Japanese fertile man” seem to be higher than counts in Denmark (Copenhagen) and France (Paris) but lower than counts in Scotland (Edinburgh) and Finland (Turku). It remains to be seen whether regional differences in semen quality exist in Japan.This study was supported by grant from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Japan (1013201).
Plerixafor and Filgrastim XM02 (Tevagastrim®) as a first line peripheral blood stem cell mobilisation strategy in patients with multiple myeloma and lymphoma candidated to autologous bone marrow transplantation
Authors: Andreola Giovanna , Babic Aleksandra , Rabascio Cristina , Negri Mara , Martinelli Giovanni , Laszlo Daniele 
Published: October 2011

AbstractPlerixafor, a CXCR4 antagonist, has shown to be effective in increasing the number of circulating stem cells, even in patients failing a previous mobilisation attempt. Recently a number of non‐glycosylated recombinant human granulocyte‐colony stimulating factor (G‐CSF) has been clinically approved for the same indications as the originator G‐CSF for comparable safety and efficacy and their reduced cost. In an attempt to provide a less toxic strategy, 14 patients affected by haematological malignancies (non‐Hodgkin’s lymphoma = 4, Hodgkin’s disease = 2 and multiple myeloma = 8), received the combination of biosimilar filgrastim and plerixafor as a first line mobilising strategy. The median number of circulating CD34+ cells on day 4 was 16 (3–42); Plerixafor was administered to all, but one patient who had already 42 CD34+ cells per μL on day 4. On day 5, after plerixafor administration, the median number of circulating CD34+ cells had raised to 60 per μL (14–138). All the patients underwent leukapheresis and were able to collect a number of CD34+ cells ≥2.0 × 106/kg in a median number of procedures of one. Although preliminary, these data show the combination of biosimilar filgrastim and plerixafor is effective and provides a non‐toxic approach to mobilise stem cells.
The Medical Research Council Myeloma IX trial: the impact on treatment paradigms*
Authors: Richardson Paul G. , Laubach Jacob P. , Schlossman Robert L. , Ghobrial Irene M. , Mitsiades Constantine S. , Rosenblatt Jacalyn , Mahindra Anuj , Raje Noopur , Munshi Nikhil , Anderson Kenneth C. 
Published: October 2011

AbstractOsteolytic bone disease is a hallmark of symptomatic multiple myeloma. Bisphosphonates have been the mainstay of treatment to preserve skeletal integrity and prevent skeletal‐related events in patients with myeloma‐related bone disease. Recently, the MRC Myeloma IX trial demonstrated for the first time improved survival and delayed disease progression with the use of an intravenous amino‐bisphosphonate, zoledronic acid, vs. an oral agent, clodronate, with intensive and non‐intensive anti‐myeloma treatment regimens in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. These results validate a large body of preclinical, translational and other clinical data suggesting anti‐myeloma effects of amino‐bisphosphonates. In addition, this trial also provided the first head‐to‐head evidence for superiority of one bisphosphonate over another (zoledronic acid vs. clodronate) for reducing skeletal morbidity in patients with multiple myeloma, as well as a prospective comparison of toxicities. Despite the use of non‐bortezomib containing anti‐myeloma treatment regimens in the MRC Myeloma IX trial, these results are encouraging and provide an impetus to continue to evaluate current treatment guidelines for myeloma‐associated bone disease.
Improvement and Repair: Architecture, Romance and the Politics of Gothic, 1790–1817
Authors: Townshend Dale 
Published: October 2011

AbstractThis article seeks to provide a politically nuanced reading of the treatment of acts of architectural modification in a selection of late 18th‐ and early 19th‐century Gothic fictions. Reading scenes of Gothic architectural restoration as they are figured in Ann Radcliffe’s The Romance of the Forest (1791); T. J. Horsley Curties’Ancient Records, Or, The Abbey of Saint Oswythe (1801); and Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (1817) alongside contemporary architectural debates, the argument pays particular attention to the extended cultural interchange between architect James Wyatt and Antiquarian John Carter, published in the Gentlemen’s Magazine between the years 1797 and 1817, concerning the architectural and political ‘improvement’ of the legacy of the English nation’s ancient Gothic past. Having considered the metaphors of architectural improvement, repair, restoration and demolition as they are appropriated in the political writings of Edmund Burke, Mary Wollstonecraft, John Thelwall and Hannah More during the 1790s, the article seeks to assess, via a reading of their architectural concerns, the various attitudes towards the Gothic past staged and negotiated in Charlotte Smith’s The Old Manor House (1793) and Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794).
Geoffrey Hartman and the Affective Ecology of Romantic Form
Authors: Vermeulen Pieter 
Published: October 2011

AbstractGeoffrey Hartman has not only been a leading voice in the study of Romanticism, but he has also made a major impact on our understanding of historical trauma and the memory of catastrophe. The combination of these two foci enables Hartman’s work to conceptualize a more indirect and subterranean relation between literary form and history than most historicist research paradigms assume. At a time when the historicist paradigms that have long dominated the study of Romanticism are increasingly being challenged by a return to literary form, a number of recent books have taken Hartman’s cue in conceiving of Romantic form as a medium that, precisely because it shields the self from the overwhelming and potentially traumatizing impact of history, paradoxically allows history to register as affect. These new approaches differ from the so‐called ‘new formalism’ in that, again like Hartman, they emphasize the phenomenological role of literary form – i.e. the role of form in our affective ecology, or the interanimation of mind and world. While these books are all firmly anchored in Romanticism, they extend the scope of Romantic studies by mobilizing the achievements of Romantic form as a vital modern phenomenon.
Dickens on the Chinese Screen
Authors: Guo Ting 
Published: October 2011

AbstractAs a sub‐project of the Global Circulation Project, this essay discusses how Dickens’s works have been adapted and translated for the screen in China (mainland and Hong Kong), particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. The essay examines the film Gu Xing Xue Lei (1955), a Cantonese adaptation of Dickens’s Great Expectations, and a dubbed version of David Lean’s Great Expectations (1946), respectively shown in Hong Kong and mainland Chinese cinemas, to explore the various factors affecting the rewriting process. Moreover, it argues that Dickens’s works were interpreted and consumed in two different ways in 1950s China; while the Hong Kong film industry regarded them as a rich source of inspiration, in mainland China film makers saw Dickens’s works as offering a model for the criticism of capitalist systems and social life. At the end of the essay it is argued that studying the circulation of literature via screens around the world enables researchers to observe not only the history of literary transmission but also the social, cultural and political forces driving the evolution of literature, as well as the connections between classic literature and popular culture.