bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Randomised clinical trial: a comparison between a GerdQ‐based algorithm and an endoscopy‐based approach for the diagnosis and initial treatment of GERD
Authors: Jonasson C. , Moum B. , Bang C. , Andersen K. R. , Hatlebakk J. G. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryBackgroundThe diagnosis of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) remains challenging. An algorithm, facilitated by a questionnaire, may provide a more structured and cost‐effective care of patients.AimTo compare symptom control achieved with empirical therapy for GERD, in an algorithm based on the GerdQ (new structured pathway, NSP), with that of current care after endoscopy (ordinary clinical pathway, OCP).MethodsPatients with symptoms of GERD, but without alarm features, were randomised in an open, parallel‐group study and followed for 4–8 weeks. In the NSP, GerdQ score was used as a basis for both diagnosis and a treatment algorithm. Patients with high likelihood of GERD were treated empirically with a PPI whereas patients with low likelihood of GERD received therapy chosen by the clinician. In the OCP, diagnosis and treatment were based on endoscopy or pH‐metry findings. The statistical hypothesis was non‐inferiority of NSP to OCP.ResultsA total of 147 patients (86.5%) in the NSP and 133 patients (80.1%) in the OCP arm were responders. Overall, NSP was non‐inferior to OCP, but not superior (P = 0.14). Patients with high likelihood of GERD had significantly better symptom relief in the NSP (P = 0.03), whereas those with low likelihood of GERD showed a numerical difference in favour of an endoscopy‐based approach (OCP). NSP saved 146 € per patient.ConclusionsA symptom‐based approach using GerdQ reduced health care costs without loss in efficacy. Patients with high likelihood GERD benefited from empirical treatment. An algorithm based on GerdQ may provide physicians with a tool for a more structured care of patients (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00842387).
Correlation of fasting serum apolipoprotein B‐48 with coronary artery disease prevalence
Authors: Masuda Daisaku , Sugimoto Taizo , Tsujii Ken‐ichi , Inagaki Miwako , Nakatani Kazuhiro , Yuasa‐Kawase Miyako , Tsubakio‐Yamamoto Kazumi , Ohama Tohru , Nishida Makoto , Ishigami Masato , Kawamoto Toshiharu , Matsuyama Akifumi , Sakai Naohiko , Komuro Issei , Yamashita Shizuya 
Published: April 2012

Eur J Clin Invest 2012; 42 (9): 992–999AbstractBackground  Postprandial hyperlipidemia partially refers to the postprandial accumulation of chylomicrons and chylomicron remnants (CM‐R). Many in vitro studies have shown that CM‐R has highly atherogenic properties, but consensus is lacking on whether CM‐R accumulation correlates with the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. We investigated the correlation between CM‐R accumulation and the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD).Design  Subjects who received a coronary angiography and did not take any lipid‐lowering drugs (n = 189) were enrolled. Subjects with coronary artery stenosis (≥ 75%) were diagnosed as CAD. Biochemical markers for glucose and lipid metabolism including fasting apolipoprotein (apo) B‐48 concentration were compared between CAD patients (n = 96) and age‐, sex‐, and body mass index (BMI)‐matched non‐CAD subjects without overt coronary stenosis (< 75%) (n = 67). We tried to determine which metabolic parameters were correlated with the prevalence of CAD by multiple logistic regression analysis, and whether or not the combination of high apo B‐48 and other coronary risk factors (high triglyceride, low HDL‐C, high HbA1c or low adiponectin levels) increased the prevalence of CAD.Results  Fasting serum apo B‐48 levels were significantly higher in CAD patients than in non‐CAD subjects (3·9 ± 2·4 vs. 6·9 ± 2·6 μg/mL, P < 0·0001) and had the most significant correlation with the existence of CAD. The clustering of high fasting apo B‐48 levels (> 4·34 μg/mL, the cut‐off value) and other coronary risk factors were found to be associated with a stronger risk of CAD compared with single high fasting apo B‐48 levels.Conclusion  Fasting serum apo B‐48 levels significantly correlated with the prevalence of CAD.
Atopic and non‐atopic eosinophilic oesophagitis are distinguished by immunoglobulin E‐bearing intraepithelial mast cells
Authors: Mulder Daniel J , Mak Nanette , Hurlbut David J , Justinich Christopher J 
Published: April 2012

Mulder D J, Mak N, Hurlbut D J & Justinich C J  (2012) Histopathology 61, 810–822Atopic and non‐atopic eosinophilic oesophagitis are distinguished by immunoglobulin E‐bearing intraepithelial mast cellsAims:  Eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) occurs in atopic individuals and features eosinophils and mast cells, but differences in the inflammatory cell density between the epithelium and lamina propria (LP) are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to determine if numbers of eosinophils, B lymphocytes and immunoglobulin E (IgE)‐bearing mast cells are increased in the mucosa of EoE patients with and without concurrent atopy.Methods and results:  Oesophageal biopsies containing ≥4 high‐power fields (HPF) of epithelium and LP were identified for normal (n = 9), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (n = 5) and EoE (n = 25) patients. Patients were classified as atopic or not by clinical history. Immunohistochemistry identified mast cells, B lymphocytes and eosinophils. Eosinophil density was increased in the LP in EoE. Intraepithelial eosinophil density correlated with eosinophils/HPF, CD20+  B lymphocyte density and tryptase+ IgE+ mast cell density. Increased intraepithelial IgE+ cell density in EoE was associated with mast cells and not B lymphocytes. Intraepithelial IgE+ mast cell densities were significantly higher in biopsies from the subgroup of EoE patients with atopy.Conclusions:  EoE diagnosis using maximal eosinophil count/HPF correlates with average counts/mm2, and intraepithelial eosinophil densities are higher in children than adults with EoE. In EoE, numbers of eosinophils and mast cells are increased in the LP. IgE‐bearing mast cells are increased in atopic EoE patients but not in non‐atopic EoE patients.
Altered brain activation to colorectal distention in visceral hypersensitive maternal‐separated rats
Authors: Wouters M. M. , Van Wanrooy S. , Casteels C. , Nemethova A. , de Vries A. , Van Oudenhove L. , Van den Wijngaard R. M. , Van Laere K. , Boeckxstaens G. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackground  Early life trauma can predispose to increased visceral pain perception. Human neuroimaging studies emphasize that altered brain processing may contribute to increased visceral sensitivity. The aim of our study was to evaluate brain responses to painful visceral stimuli in maternal‐separated rats before and after acute stress exposure in vivo.Methods  H215O microPET scanning was performed during colorectal distention in maternal‐separated rats before and after water avoidance stress. Brain images were anatomically normalized to Paxinos space and analyzed by voxel‐based statistical parametric mapping (SPM2). Colorectal induced visceral pain was assessed by recording of the visceromotor response using abdominal muscle electromyography.Key Results  Colorectal distention (1.0–2.0 mL) evoked a volume‐dependent increase in visceromotor response in maternal‐separated rats. Stress [water avoidance (WA)] induced an increased visceromotor response to colorectal distention in awake and anesthetized rats. In pre‐WA rats, colorectal distention evoked significant increases in regional blood flow in the cerebellum and periaquaductal gray (PAG). Colorectal distention post‐WA revealed activation clusters covering the PAG as well as somatosensory cortex and hippocampus. At maximal colorectal distention, the frontal cortex was significantly deactivated.Conclusions & Inferences  WA stress induced increased pain perception as well as activation of the somatosensory cortex, PAG, and hippocampus in maternal‐separated rats. These findings are in line with human studies and provide indirect evidence that the maternal separation model mimics the cerebral response to visceral hypersensitivity in humans.
Biochemical and molecular basis of resistance to ACCase‐inhibiting herbicides in Iranian Phalaris minor populations
Authors: GHEREKHLOO J , OSUNA M D , DE PRADO R 
Published: April 2012

Gherekhloo J, Osuna MD & De Prado R (2012). Biochemical and molecular basis of resistance to ACCase‐inhibiting herbicides in Iranian Phalaris minor populations. Weed Research52, 367–372.SummaryPhalaris minor is a common weed in wheat and barley fields of Iran. Repeated use of ACCase inhibiting herbicides during the last two decades to control this weed has resulted in the appearance of populations of P. minor that are resistant to the aryloxyphenoxy propionates (APP) in some wheat fields of the country. Dose–response assays were conducted to investigate the level of resistance in two P. minor populations (AR and MR4) which have developed resistance to three APP herbicides, including diclofop‐methyl, fenoxaprop‐P ethyl and clodinafop propargyl. A high level of resistance in these populations may be due to the presence of an altered ACCase enzyme in these plants, and we hypothesised that one or more mutations in the gene encoding ACCase enzyme are responsible for insensitivity of the enzyme. Results confirmed that resistance in both populations was target site‐based, and molecular studies revealed that substitutions of Trp‐2027‐Cys and Asp‐2078‐Gly, respectively in AR and MR4, are responsible for insensitivity of the enzyme in these populations. This is the first report to show that these substitutions endow resistance to APP herbicides in P. minor, though other resistant biotypes are reported from elsewhere. These mutations may result in resistance of P. minor to some DIM and DEN herbicides. It seems that lack of adequate herbicide and crop rotation has selected plants with different target site mutations, which cause differential responses of the ACCase enzyme to ACCase inhibitors. Additional resistance management practices may be necessary to prevent ACCase‐inhibiting herbicides from becoming ineffective over wide areas.
Ultraviolet induction of antifungal activity in plants
Authors: Schumpp O. , Bruderhofer N. , Monod M. , Wolfender J.‐L. , Gindro K. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryUltraviolet‐C irradiation as a method to induce the production of plant compounds with antifungal properties was investigated in the leaves of 18 plant species. A susceptibility assay to determine the antifungal susceptibility of filamentous fungi was developed based on an agar dilution series in microtiter plates. UV irradiation strongly induced antifungal properties in five species against a clinical Fusarium solani strain that was responsible for an onychomycosis case that was resistant to classic pharmacological treatment. The antifungal properties of three additional plant species were either unaffected or reduced by UV‐C irradiation. This study demonstrates that UV‐C irradiation is an effective means of modulating the antifungal activity of very diverse plants from a screening perspective.
Association of MBL2 polymorphism with asthma after bronchiolitis in infancy
Authors: Koponen Petri , He Qiushui , Helminen Merja , Nuolivirta Kirsi , Korppi Matti 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackground:  Mannose‐binding lectin (MBL) is a component of innate immunity and has been linked with the pathogenesis of asthma. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association of MBL genotypes with preschool asthma and allergy in children with bronchiolitis in early infancy.Methods:  In all, 205 infants were hospitalized for bronchiolitis at <6 months of age. Asthma and allergy were studied from a total of 166 children at 6.4 years (mean). A total of 141 (85%) frozen whole blood samples were available for MBL genotyping and MBL2 gene mutations were determined on pyrosequencing for detection of three single‐nucleotide polymorphisms.Results:  Ninety‐five children (67.4%) had the wild‐type MBL genotype A/A and 46 had A/O or O/O genotypes. Asthma was present in 16 children (11.3%) at 5–7 years of age. Nine children (19.6%) with non‐AA genotype had asthma (vs 7.4% of those with genotype AA, P= 0.03). The result remained significant after adjustment for age, gender and atopy. There were no significant associations between MBL genotypes and asthma at any age before the study. Atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis or paternal and/or maternal asthma had no significant associations with MBL genotypes.Conclusions:  The variant non‐A/A MBL genotype is associated with asthma after bronchiolitis in infancy, but not earlier than at 5–7 years of age.
Major health‐care providers and the 10 leading reasons for adolescent ambulatory visits
Authors: Ku Min‐Sho , Lue Ko‐Huang , Sun Hai‐Lun 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackground: Epidemiological research underpins the importance of effective health‐care strategies for adolescents. This descriptive study compares the 10 most common diseases among Taiwanese adolescents for 2000 and 2009.Methods: Data for a total of 69 594 visits in 2000 and 65 802 visits in 2009 by adolescents aged between 10 and 20 years were collected from the National Health Insurance Research Database. A maximum of three outpatient diagnostic codes (International Classification of Disease, ninth revision) could be listed for every visit. The data categories were: principal diagnosis, patient age, and physician specialty.Results: The middle adolescent age group utilized the least amount of medical services. Respiratory (46.2% in 2000, 40.5% in 2009) and digestive (16.5% in 2000 and 16.9% in 2009) tracts were the leading two diagnostic categories for adolescent ambulatory visits. Teeth (6.8%, 6.1%) and eye (4.0%, 3.1%) problems were also among the top 10 diseases. Family practitioners, ear‐nose‐throat specialists, and traditional Chinese medicine physicians were the major health‐care providers for Taiwanese adolescents, especially in the middle and late groups. Although noted as the first option for consultation in the early group, the role of pediatricians with regard to adolescent health care declined in importance with age.Conclusions: Nearly 99% of the population in Taiwan is covered under the national health insurance system. The different disease patterns and major health‐care providers between Taiwan and other countries are compared.
Inferring changes in foliar mass and area from foliage cover: A mechanistic model
Authors: HOLLAND E. PENELOPE 
Published: April 2012

AbstractMeasuring foliar area or mass directly is destructive, and precludes long‐term, repeated observations of individual trees as they suffer or recover from foliar damage. Instead, foliage cover indices are often used as a proxy for foliar mass. Patterns of fluctuations in foliage cover indices can be used to infer qualitative changes in canopy health. However, foliage cover is not necessarily linearly related to foliar area or mass, and this may confound the detection of significant foliar damage, and comparisons of herbivore browse impacts between individual trees, tree species or sites. I derived a mechanistic model to quantify the relationship between foliar area or mass and foliage cover measured as the proportion of sky occluded by leaves. This one parameter model is close to linear for single‐tiered trees, but increasingly non‐linear for multi‐tiered trees. I compared the non‐linear model to a linear model using foliage cover data from an artificial defoliation experiment on two single‐tiered, sub‐canopy species and from simulated photographic images of single‐ and multi‐tiered canopies. The non‐linear model had lower errors than the linear model, and errors did not increase with foliage density (leaf area per unit area), variation (of leaf sizes within and between canopies) or leaf geometry. The non‐linear model can be easily parameterized from relatively low‐cost observations of foliage cover, independently of empirical measurements of foliar area or mass, and is applicable to a wide range of tree species. It should therefore help managers quantify how changes in foliage cover due to natural fluctuations or foliar damage affect foliar area and mass, and can be used to quantify parameters for models of browse impacts in mixed forest.
Serotonin2C receptors in the nucleus accumbens are involved in enhanced alcohol‐drinking behavior
Authors: Yoshimoto Kanji , Watanabe Yoshihisa , Tanaka Masaki , Kimura Minoru 
Published: April 2012

AbstractDopamine and serotonin (5‐HT) in the nucleus accumbens (ACC) and ventral tegmental area of the mesoaccumbens reward pathways have been implicated in the mechanisms underlying development of alcohol dependence. We used a C57BL/6J mouse model with increased voluntary alcohol‐drinking behavior by exposing the mice to alcohol vapor for 20 consecutive days. In the alcohol‐exposed mice, the expression of 5‐HT2C receptor mRNA increased in the ACC, caudate nucleus and putamen, dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), hippocampus and lateral hypothalamus, while the protein level of 5‐HT2C receptor significantly increased in the ACC. The expression of 5‐HT7 receptor mRNA increased in the ACC and DRN. Contents of 5‐HT decreased in the ACC shell (ACCS) and DRN of the alcohol‐exposed mice. The basal extracellular releases of dopamine (DA) and 5‐HT in the ACCS increased more in the alcohol‐exposed mice than in alcohol‐naïve mice. The magnitude of the alcohol‐induced ACCS DA and 5‐HT release in the alcohol‐exposed mice was increased compared with the control mice. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration or local injection into ACCS of the 5‐HT2C receptor antagonist, SB‐242084, suppressed voluntary alcohol‐drinking behavior in the alcohol‐exposed mice. But the i.p. administration of the 5‐HT7 receptor antagonist, SB‐258719, did not have significant effects on alcohol‐drinking behavior in the alcohol‐exposed mice. The effects of the 5‐HT2C receptor antagonist were not observed in the air‐exposed control mice. These results suggest that adaptations of the 5‐HT system, especially the upregulation of 5‐HT2C receptors in the ACCS, are involved in the development of enhanced voluntary alcohol‐drinking behavior.
Effects of oral isosorbide and glycerol on intraocular pressure, serum osmolality, and blood glucose in normal dogs
Authors: Wasserman Neal T. , Kennard Gavin , Cochrane Zachary N. , Felchle Lisa M. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractObjective  To evaluate and compare the effects of oral isosorbide and glycerol on intraocular pressure (IOP), serum osmolality (SOSM), and blood glucose (BG) in normal dogs.Methods  Ten normal dogs were administered an oral dose of either isosorbide (1.5 g/kg), glycerol (1.5 g/kg) or control (water, 2 mL/kg) in a double blind protocol.Prior to dosing, baseline IOP, SOSM, and BG were measured in all dogs. IOP was subsequently evaluated every 30 min for 6 h post‐dosing. BG and SOSM were reassessed at times 1, 2, 4, and 6 h post‐dosing. After 1‐week washout periods, every dog was subject to each of the three treatments. The dogs were held NPO for 4 h after dosing.Results  The maximal decrease in IOP was 17% by 1 h and 13.5% by 30 min after glycerol and isosorbide administration, respectively. However, the overall changes in IOP were not significant when compared to the controls. SOSM increased above baseline after dosing with glycerol but decreased after isosorbide, which difference was significant at 1, 2, and 4 h post‐administration. BG significantly increased after administration of glycerol relative to the control but was not significantly affected by isosorbide.Conclusions  Neither glycerol nor isosorbide significantly affected IOP when compared to the control. However, glycerol induced significant elevations in both BG relative to the control and SOSM relative to isosorbide.
Weather‐related Employment Subsidies as a Remedy for Seasonal Unemployment? Evidence from Germany
Authors: Arntz Melanie , Wilke Ralf A. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractMany European countries try to reduce seasonal unemployment by subsidizing short‐time employment during the winter period. Despite such costly efforts, pronounced seasonal unemployment patterns continue to exist. This puts doubts on the effectiveness of such policy interventions. This paper provides a first empirical assessment of the effectiveness of different subsidy schemes by exploiting the institutional variation in a German subsidy scheme that applies to the construction sector and the variation in local weather and business cycle conditions across 20 years. The findings confirm that generous short‐time subsidies reduce individual lay‐off probabilities in the case of poor weather conditions. However, the link between weather conditions and seasonal lay‐offs is much less strong than expected, making planned capacity reductions the main suspect for causing seasonality in unemployment patterns.
Investigative and Suspensive Scepticism
Authors: Grgić Filip 
Published: April 2012

AbstractSextus Empiricus portrays the Pyrrhonian sceptics in two radically different ways. On the one hand, he describes them as inquirers or examiners, and insists that what distinguishes them from all the other philosophical schools is their persistent engagement in inquiry. On the other hand, he insists that the main feature of Pyrrhonian attitude is suspension of judgement about everything. Many have argued that a consistent account of Sextan scepticism as both investigative and suspensive is not possible. The main obstacle to characterizing Pyrrhonism as both investigative and suspensive is the fact that it seems that the mature sceptics, after they have suspended judgement and thus reached tranquillity, have no motivation for further inquiry. Any inquiry they seem to be interested in after they have suspended judgement is the refutation of (relevant) beliefs needed for maintaining tranquillity. I try to show that the mature sceptics' removal of distress does notipso factomean removal of the desire for knowledge. This is because distress is not just a matter of unsatisfied desire, but of belief that one of the opposed appearances must be true, or, more generally, of belief that the truth is the only worthwhile epistemic goal. Having abandoned this belief, the sceptics can still engage in philosophical inquiries. This is because Sextus does not assume that philosophy is the search for truth: it is so only for the dogmatists. In a more general sense, applicable to the sceptics as well, philosophy is just an inquiry into certain things, and for the sceptics, its epistemic goal is still open.
Estradiol levels predict short‐term adverse health outcomes in postmenopausal acute stroke women
Authors: Pappa T. , Vemmos K. , Mantzou E. , Savvari P. , Stamatelopoulos K. , Alevizaki M. 
Published: April 2012

Background:  Data on the role of endogenous sex steroids in cerebrovascular disease are sparse. Estradiol is a hormone with diverse actions on the central nervous system. Our aim was to investigate the role of circulating estradiol levels in a postmenopausal acute stroke population.Methods:  During a time‐period of 2 years, we prospectively studied 302 postmenopausal female patients hospitalized for an acute stroke in two tertiary hospitals. We addressed the question whether endogenous estradiol is associated with stroke severity on admission and functional outcome 1 month after stroke, as assessed by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and modified Rankin Scale (mRS), respectively.Results:  Estradiol levels were significantly related to stroke severity on admission, as expressed by NIHSS, even after correcting for confounding factors in the multivariate analysis (beta 0.353, P < 0.001). Estradiol was an independent determinant of 1‐month mortality and adverse functional outcome (mRS ≥ 4), [odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI): 3.341 (1.617–6.902), P = 0.001 and 2.277 (1.273–4.074), P = 0.006, respectively].Conclusions:  We identified an independent association of endogenous estradiol levels with stroke severity and short‐term mortality and outcome. These findings suggest challenging the role of estradiol as a neuroprotective agent.