bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Melanin and facial skin fluorescence as markers of yellowish discoloration with aging
Authors: Ohshima Hiroshi , Oyobikawa Midori , Tada Akihiro , Maeda Tetsuo , Takiwaki Hirotsugu , Itoh Masatoshi , Kanto Hiromi 
Published: September 2009

Background: Although one clinical sign of aging and/or photoaging is a yellowish discoloration of the facial skin, little is known about the cause of this change. In addition to the increase in the epidermal melanin content, it has been suggested that advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are known to accumulate in photoaged skin, may affect this discoloration.Aim: The objective of this pilot study was to non‐invasively investigate the roles of melanin and AGEs in this yellowish discoloration of the facial skin.Methods: We examined the spectral reflectance at the cheek in 40 healthy Japanese women of various ages (mean age, 38.1 years) using a reflectance spectrophotometer and a spectrofluorimeter. The degree of yellowish tint was evaluated in terms of b*. The amount of melanin in the skin was evaluated by calculating the melanin index (MI) A640–A670 [Aλ: log10 (1/reflectance) at a wavelength of λ]. The amount of AGEs was roughly evaluated using the AGEs index, which is thought to linearly correlate with the amount of intrinsic fluorescence markers irrespective of the concentration of melanin and is defined as follows: AGEs index=I5/SQR (I1×I2). In this equation, the intensities of reflectance are I1 at an excitation wavelength of 335 nm, I2 at an emission wavelength of 390 nm and I5 at 390 nm under an excitation wavelength of 335 nm.Results: Both b* and the AGEs index were significantly correlated with subject age (r=0.34, P<0.05 and r=0.68, P<0.0001, respectively). Significant correlations were also observed between MI and b* (r=0.63, P<0.0001) and between the AGEs index and b* (r=0.53, P<0.0005). However, no significant correlations were seen between MI and the AGEs index.Conclusion: The AGEs index does not appear to be influenced by the amount of melanin and may be utilized as an indicator of the amount of AGEs in the skin. AGEs are likely to play a role in the yellowish discoloration of skin with aging.
Mapping tree species in temperate deciduous woodland using time‐series multi‐spectral data
Authors: Hill R. A. , Wilson A.K. , George M. , Hinsley S.A. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractQuestions: What is the optimum combination of image dates across a growing season for tree species differentiation in multi‐spectral data and how does species composition affect overstorey canopy density?Location: Monks Wood, Cambridgeshire, eastern England, UK.Methods: Six overstorey tree species were mapped using five Airborne Thematic Mapper images acquired across the 2003 growing season (17 March, 30 May, 16 July, 23 September, 27 October). After image pre‐processing, supervised maximum likelihood classification was performed on the images and on all two‐, three‐, four‐ and five‐date combinations. Relationships between tree species composition and canopy density were assessed using regression analyses.Results: The image with the greatest tree species discrimination was acquired on 27/10 when the overstorey species were in different stages of leaf tinting and fall. In this image, tree species were mapped with an overall classification accuracy (OCA) of 71% (kappa 0.63). A similar OCA was achieved from the other four images combined (OCA 72%, kappa 0.64). The highest classification accuracy was achieved by combining three images: 17 March, 16 July, 27 October. This achieved an OCA of 84% (kappa 0.79), increasing to 88% (kappa 0.85) after a post‐classification clump and sieve procedure. Canopy height and percentage cover of oak explained 72% of variance in canopy density.Conclusions: The ability to discriminate and map temperate deciduous tree species in airborne multi‐spectral imagery is increased using time‐series data. An autumn image supplemented with an image from both the green‐up and full‐leaf phases was optimum. The derived tree species map provides a more powerful ecological tool for determining woodland structural/compositional relationships than field‐based measures.
A novel HLA‐B allele, B*5214, detected in a Taiwanese volunteer bone marrow donor using a sequence‐based typing method
Authors: Chen M. J. , Chu C. C. , Shyr M. H. , Lin C. L. , Lin P. Y. , Yang K. L. 
Published: September 2009

SummaryHLA‐B*5214, a novel rare allele of HLA‐B*52 variant, was found in a Taiwanese volunteer bone marrow donor by sequence‐based typing method. The sequence of B*5214 is identical to that of B*520101 in exon 2 but differs from B*520101 in exon 3 at nucleotide positions 419 A→T and 435 A→G. Alteration of these two nucleotides resulted an amino acid substitution at amino acid residue 116 Y→F ( TAC→TTC) and a silent exchange at residue 121 K→K (AAA→AAG).
Pediatric influenza‐associated myositis – Nebraska, 2001–2007
Authors: Buss Bryan F. , Shinde Vivek M. , Safranek Thomas J. , Uyeki Timothy M. 
Published: September 2009

Objective  Influenza‐associated myositis (IAM), characterized by severe lower‐extremity myalgia and reluctance to walk, is a complication of influenza among children. We investigated IAM in Nebraska during six influenza seasons, 2001–2007.Methods  During 2006–2007, we requested reports of severe influenza illness among persons aged <18 years and investigated medical records to identify and confirm IAM cases defined as severe myalgia with elevated serum creatinine kinase level in a patient aged <18 years, occurring within 7 days of laboratory confirmed influenza illness onset. Statewide hospital discharge data (HDD) were reviewed to identify retrospectively confirmed IAM cases during 2006–2007 and five previous seasons, by using surveillance data to define periods of influenza activity. Statewide IAM incidence was estimated for 2001–2002 through 2006–2007.Results  During 2006–2007, a total of 13 IAM cases were confirmed by enhanced surveillance. Median age was 6 years (range, 4–11 years). Influenza diagnosis was established by viral isolation from six patients (one influenza A and five influenza B) and rapid diagnostic tests for seven. Twelve (92%) patients, including one who died, were hospitalized for a median of 3 days (range, 1–4 days). Review of HDD identified 12 retrospectively confirmed IAM cases during 2006–2007, including four not reported through enhanced surveillance, and only one during five previous seasons (2003–2004). The HDD‐derived, retrospectively confirmed statewide IAM incidence estimates/1 00 000 population aged <18 years were 2·693 and 0·225 during 2006–2007 and 2003–2004, respectively.Conclusion  An IAM epidemic occurred in Nebraska during the 2006–2007 influenza season.
Smoking and periodontal disease
Authors: Zee K‐Y 
Published: September 2009

AbstractPeriodontal disease is considered to be an opportunistic infection as a result of interactions between the causative agents (dental plaque) and the host responses which may be modulated by genetic, environmental and acquired risk factors. Besides being a well‐confirmed risk factor in a number of systemic diseases, tobacco smoking has also been associated with periodontal disease. Over the past 10–15 years, more and more scientific data on the impact of smoking on various aspects of periodontal disease and the underlying mechanisms has been published. The purpose of this review was to provide an overview of the available data in order to give practitioners a better understanding of the relationship between smoking and periodontal disease. Subsequently, they can use some of the information in treatment decisions and give advice to patients who are smokers suffering from periodontal disease.
Periodontal maintenance
Authors: Tan AES 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThe main goal of periodontal therapy is to establish an oral environment compatible with periodontal health by the physical disruption of the plaque biofilm and adjunctive chemical means if required. Implicit in this objective is the ongoing requirement of detection and interception of new and recurrent disease, which continues at selected intervals for the life of the dentition after the initial (“active”) phase of periodontal treatment. This concept of ongoing periodontal maintenance therapy has been embraced as the mandatory requirement for favourable periodontal outcomes based on institutional clinical trials and in practice‐based studies in various parts of the world. This review examines the ramifications of periodontal maintenance therapy based upon a multi‐level assessment of logistic issues and risk factors at three levels: (1) The patient level – treatment time; patient attendance compliance; and homecare measures, antiseptics/antibiotics and smoking. (2) The level of the individual tooth – tooth loss; and evaluation of success versus survival. (3) The level of each tooth surface (“site”) – probing depth, loss of attachment and bleeding on probing; and changes in clinical attachment levels. In spite of the diversity of studies conducted, there is agreement on the efficacy of periodontal maintenance therapy when compared with studies on untreated populations and in treated cases that were not maintained.
Spanning Citizenship Spaces Through Transnational Coalitions: The Case of the Global Campaign for Education
Authors: Gaventa John , Mayo Marjorie 
Published: September 2009

SummaryHow do changing patterns of power and governance affect how and where citizens mobilise collectively to claim their rights? This paper presents a case study of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), a civil society coalition that came together in 1999 to mobilise people across the world in a campaign for the right to quality, free education for all. The paper interrogates the experience of the GCE to better understand how advocacy movements meet the inherent difficulties of mobilising across different levels of governance to achieve globally recognised rights. The GCE is widely perceived as a successful example of a campaign coalition. Its deep, pre‐existing roots in collective organisation in the global South were the foundation for this success. Inclusive and representative formal structures, collective framing of campaign issues and careful recognition of the different roles played by actors in different locations were key factors in building the campaign coalition. The case study discussed the way that involvement in a global campaign affects the citizenship identities of those involved. A sense of global citizenship amongst activists added to rather than replacing a sense of local and national citizenship; as governance is multiscaled, so citizenship can therefore be multidimensional. The challenge is how to continue to build and sustain inclusive and democratic coalitions which span multiple sites and spaces of citizenship.
‘Show me the Evidence’: Mobilisation, Citizenship and Risk in Indian Asbestos Issues
Authors: Waldman Linda 
Published: September 2009

SummaryThis paper examines asbestos issues, mobilisation and citizenship in India. It shows how asbestos has been considered as a tool for Indian economic growth and modernisation and explores the scientific debates around its ‘safe’ use. In seeking to locate experiences of citizenship within a globalised context, this research has focused on anti‐asbestos mobilisation and protest in cosmopolitan cities as well as more decentralised contexts. It argues that the state's narrow definition of asbestos diseases enables it to officially document the lack of asbestos diseases experienced by Indian workers. This process, which defines sufferers as politically invisible and inconsequential, accompanied by the 30 year delay between exposure and the onset of disease, hinders anti‐asbestos organisations as there is no constituency to be mobilised. Parallel (and partially interrelated) grassroots asbestos movements which are more worker‐orientated are, however, marginalised from the transnational protests. The paper argues that mobilisation around identity issues thus creates different contexts in India, in which activists are simultaneously both intimately connected and enormously distant to different aspects of the mobilisation process. In addition, while geographic and political differences are compressed through transnational mobilisation; class, regional and educational differences are expanded.
Research involving storage and use of human tissue: how did the Human Tissue Act 2004 affect decisions by research ethics committees?
Authors: Angell E , Tarrant C , Dixon-Woods M 
Published: September 2009

Background:Little is known about the types of issues research ethics committees (RECs) raise in their letters about research involving the storage and use of human tissue.Aims:To classify the issues that appear to trouble RECs and to identify how the implementation of the Human Tissue (HT) Act in September 2006 might have affected REC decisions.Methods:100 letters relating to applications about research use of human tissue were randomly selected from the National Research Ethics Service database, of which half were issued before the implementation of the HT Act and half post-implementation. Ethical issues raised by RECs were classified with a coding scheme developed using ethnographic content analysis.Results:Many letters raised issues about informed consent, including specific concerns about the information to be provided to participants about the taking, using and storing of their tissue samples. However, RECs appeared to be less likely to raise concerns about informed consent to use or store tissue after the HT Act, and there was some evidence that RECs were more comfortable allowing archived tissue samples to be used without additional patient consent after the HT Act than before.Conclusions:In the wake of the HT Act, RECs do not appear to be more cautious about approving research to use or store tissue without consent when responding to applications for ethical approval. The HT Act has provided clarity and authority to RECs and may indeed facilitate the process of gaining ethical approval for tissue-based research.
Comparison of reflective and reflex testing for hypomagnesaemia in severe hypokalaemia
Authors: Jones B J , Twomey P J 
Published: September 2009

Aim:To compare the impact and effectiveness of introducing reflective and reflex testing of magnesium in severe hypokalaemia.Methods:All specimens with [K] ⩽2.5 mmol/l were retrospectively identified in three 6-month periods: baseline, with reflective testing, and with reflex testing. For each episode of hypokalaemia it was noted whether [Mg] was measured.Results:Measurement of [Mg] increased from 7.7% to 63.9% (p<0.001) after introducing reflective testing, and then to 98.7% (p<0.001) with reflex testing. Diagnosis of hypomagnesaemia increased from 7.7% to 43.1% (p<0.001) and 69.3% (p<0.01) with reflective and reflex testing, respectively. For severe hypomagnesaemia ([Mg] <0.50 mmol/l) the increase was from 1.9% to 8.3% (p = 0.127 relative to baseline) with reflective testing and then to 12.0% with reflex testing (p<0.05 relative to baseline and p = 0.463 relative to reflective testing). The number of tests needed to diagnose was similar for reflective and reflex testing: 1.48 and 1.42 for hypomagnesaemia, respectively; and 7.67 and 8.22 for severe hypomagnesaemia, respectively. 42 and 70 extra magnesium assays compared to baseline were requested due to reflective and reflex testing, respectively.Conclusion:Reflex testing was the most time-efficient and consistent method of diagnosing hypomagnesaemia in severe hypokalaemia. This was mainly due to the increased number of magnesium assays performed. However, as the absolute increase in test numbers was small (28 in a 6-month period) and the test is inexpensive, selective reflex testing can improve quality in a cost-efficient manner.
JAK2V617Factivating mutation is associated with the myeloproliferative type of chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia
Authors: Pich A , Riera L , Sismondi F , Godio L , Bonino L Davico , Marmont F , di Celle P Francia 
Published: September 2009

Background:Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) is a haematopoietic malignancy with heterogeneous clinical and morphological features. It is classified in the World Health Organization myeloproliferative-myelodysplastic overlap category. JAK2V617Fmutation can be found in a large percentage of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms.Aims:To investigate the association between JAK2V617Fmutation and clinical, haematological and bone marrow histological features in CMML and to verify whether the mutation is associated with the myeloproliferative type of the disease.Methods:78 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed CMML from 2004 to 2008 were included in the study. JAK2V617Fmutation was assessed using direct sequencing of exon 14 or by allele-specific PCR from total peripheral blood or bone marrow samples.Results:JAK2V617Fmutation was identified in eight cases (10.2%). All patients with the mutation presented with splenomegaly and had a significantly higher haemoglobin level and neutrophil count than patients without the mutation. All bone marrow biopsies of JAK2V617F-mutated CMML showed increased erythropoiesis, a marked myeloid and megakaryocytic hyperplasia with occasionally clustered megakaryocytes, and a mild or moderate (grade 1 or 2) fibrosis; six cases showed an increased number of dilated sinusoids and reactive lymphoid nodules.Conclusions:The results indicate that JAK2V617Fmutation is associated with clinical and morphological features of the myeloproliferative type of CMML. Therefore, JAK2 mutation analysis together with bone marrow morphology could help in a more appropriate classification of the disease.
The number of multinucleated trophoblastic giant cells in the basal decidua is decreased in retained placenta
Authors: van Beekhuizen H J , Joosten I , de Groot A N J A , Lotgering F K , van der Laak J , Bulten J 
Published: September 2009

Aims:Retained placenta (RP) is a major cause of obstetric haemorrhage. The aim of the study was to obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms that cause some placentas to become retained, while most are not.Methods:23 RPs clinically diagnosed as placenta adhesiva and 10 control placentas (CPs) were examined for differences in trophoblast fusion into multinucleated trophoblastic giant cells (MTGCs), defects in the basal decidua, and decidual attachment of myometrial fibres.Results:The number of MTGCs in the basal decidua was significantly smaller in RPs (0.23 MTGC/standard length) than in CPs (1.11 MTGC/standard length) (p<0.001). Defects in the decidua were observed in 4% of the RPs and in 0% of the CPs. Myometrial fibres were attached to the decidua in 78% of the RPs and in 0% of the CPs (p<0.001).Conclusions:In placenta adhesiva compared with CPs, significantly less MTGCs were present in the basal decidua, the basal decidua was intact, and myometrial fibres were more frequently attached to the basal decidua. It is speculated that these findings may indicate that defective fusion of trophoblastic cells into MTGCs plays a causative role in placenta adhesiva.
Bulls and bears: the stock market and clinical pathology research
Authors: Khong T Y 
Published: September 2009

Aims:To analyse the level of funded research in clinical pathology in a recent bear and bull market to act as a predictor for future funding during the current global financial crisis.Methods:The level of funding for research published in three clinical pathology journals in 2005 and 2008 to coincide with the bear market of March 2000 to October 2002 and with the subsequent bull market to October 2007 was determined using a Medline query. Other parameters examined were the type of article, affiliation of the first author and the pathology subspecialty.Results:Approximately 30% of publications were funded and did not differ between the 2 years studied. Original research papers were more likely to be funded than case reports or reviews. Research from university departments of pathology was more likely to be funded than from hospital pathology departments but there were more publications from hospital pathology departments. The proportion of research in the different subspecialties that was funded did not differ significantly between each other and between 2005 and 2008.Conclusions:Based on data from the previous bear market, which was the longest and deepest of the post 1950 era, and the subsequent bull market, which led to the all-time high in the Dow Jones Industrial Index, funding for clinical pathology research does not seem to be affected by bull or bear markets.
Social networking sites: a novel portal for communication
Authors: Farmer A D , Bruckner Holt C E M , Cook M J , Hearing S D 
Published: September 2009

Abstract

Background
The internet has transformed many spheres of society. Most notably the advent of social networking websites, such as MySpace, Bebo and Facebook, have attracted many millions of users worldwide. There are over 350 such sites in operation across the internet. There is a paucity of data in the adult literature examining the medical usage of this interesting facet of modern life.

Aims
To ascertain whether Facebook has user groups that are connected with common medical conditions, and to classify the user groups that were identified as well as enumerating the number of individual users contained therein.

Methods
We conducted a search of the entire Facebook website between December 2007 and January 2009. We used medical and lay nomenclature for the most prevalent non-communicable diseases as identified from the World Health Organisation Burden of Disease publication to identify whether they were represented among individual Facebook users and user groups.

Results
We identified 290 962 individual users who were part of 757 groups. Patient groups accounted for 47.4%, patient/carer support groups 28.1%, fund raising groups 18.6%, and others 5.8%. Notably, there were other groups containing representations from the scientific research community in addition to educational resources. The groups with the most individual members pertained to malignant neoplasms and cardiovascular disease (141 458 users) consistent with their worldwide prevalence.

Conclusions
Facebook is providing a readily accessible portal for patients, carers and healthcare professionals to share their experiences of investigation, diagnosis and management of disease. Furthermore, this technology is being used for research, education and fundraising. Further research is warranted to explore the further potential of this new technology.