bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A cost analysis of photodynamic therapy with methyl aminolevulinate and imiquimod compared with conventional surgery for the treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma and Bowen’s disease of the lower extremities
Authors: Aguilar M , De Troya M , Martin L , Benítez N , González M 
Published: April 2010

AbstractBackground  Superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC) and Bowen’s disease (BD) are usually slow‐growing, low‐grade malignancies that mainly affect older persons. Surgery is often the first choice of treatment and the modality with the lowest failure rate. However, non‐invasive procedures, such as topical methyl aminolevulinate photodynamic therapy (MAL‐PDT) and imiquimod, are increasingly demanded by dermatologists and patients, because of their generally favourable efficacy and adverse effects profile and their excellent cosmetic outcome.Objective  To assess the cost of MAL‐PDT and of treatment with imiquimod for primary non‐melanoma superficial cutaneous carcinomas compared with conventional surgery, thereby calculating the total medical cost, and the direct and indirect costs.Setting  We collected data on 67 patients with 86 tumours (32 sBCC, 54 BD). Patients were treated between May 2006 and April 2007 at the Dermatology Department of the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella, Spain. The mean cost and mean cost per complete clinical response were calculated for each therapeutic option.Results  After 2 years of follow‐up, a complete response was observed in 89.5% of the MAL‐PDT group, 87.5% of the imiquimod group and 97.5% of the surgery group. The difference in costs when compared with the surgery group was a mean saving per lesion treated of 307 euros for the imiquimod group, and 322 euros for the MAL‐PDT group.Conclusions  Although surgery proved to be more effective treatment, our results suggest that its average cost is greater than that of non‐invasive therapy for the treatment of non‐melanoma superficial cutaneous carcinomas on the lower limbs, at least after the first 2 years of follow‐up.
On the development of the European S3 guidelines on the systemic treatment of psoriasis vulgaris: structure and challenges
Authors: Pathirana D , Nast A , Ormerod AD , Reytan N , Saiag P , Smith CH , Spuls P , Rzany B 
Published: April 2010

AbstractBackground  The development of evidence based guidelines is a demanding and time consuming process. Therefore it is important to share the knowledge and discuss the structure of these guidelines in detail.Objectives  To present a method report on the development process of the European evidence based guidelines on the systemic treatment of psoriasis vulgaris with the aim to offer guidance to other guidelines groups with lesser experience and to critically appraise the methodology of the guidelines development process.Methods  The guidelines are based on the previously evaluated literature from three European national evidence based guidelines and an additional systematic search and evaluation of new literature. Further steps included a structured consensus conference and a DELPHI procedure to develop the recommendations, as well as several internal and external reviews. All steps were coordinated by the Division of evidence based medicine in cooperation with a group of methodologists.Results  A total of 114 studies were included, serving as base for the efficacy chapters of the intervention. The recommendations, based on the efficacy and the level of evidence of the included studies were discussed and finally consented by the guidelines group. After subsequent reviews the guidelines were presented to the European Dermatology Forum, European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology and Union Européenne des Médicins Spécialistes for approval and published in October 2009.Conclusion  The development of European evidence based guidelines requires a coordinated structure which can be achieved by the integration of an experienced group of methodologists. Nevertheless further improvements are imaginable and might be considered for an update or other European evidence based guidelines.
Influences of retail brand trust, off‐line patronage, clothing involvement and website quality on online apparel shopping intention
Authors: Jones Christie , Kim Soyoung 
Published: April 2010

AbstractThis study examines the influence of retail brand trust, off‐line patronage, clothing involvement, and website quality on online apparel shopping intention for young female US consumers. Data for this study were collected from 200 young female consumers who completed an online survey. Participants were asked to select one of three pre‐determined apparel retail brands that they have either had experience with or were familiar with. Respondents were then asked to keep their selected retailer in mind when completing the questionnaire and were also asked to briefly visit the retailer's website shopping for a shirt or blouse. Factor, correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted to test our hypotheses. Retail brand trust, off‐line patronage, clothing involvement and two factors of website quality (usability and information quality, visual appeal and image) were found to significantly influence online apparel shopping intention. Off‐line patronage was the strongest predictor of online shopping intention. Implications for multi‐channel apparel retailers were discussed based on these findings.
A novel, orally active LPA1 receptor antagonist inhibits lung fibrosis in the mouse bleomycin model
Authors: Swaney JS , Chapman C , Correa LD , Stebbins KJ , Bundey RA , Prodanovich PC , Fagan P , Baccei CS , Santini AM , Hutchinson JH , Seiders TJ , Parr TA , Prasit P , Evans JF , Lorrain DS 
Published: April 2010

Background and purpose:  The aim of this study was to assess the potential of an antagonist selective for the lysophosphatidic acid receptor, LPA1, in treating lung fibrosis We evaluated the in vitro and in vivo pharmacological properties of the high affinity, selective, oral LPA1‐antagonist (4′‐{4‐[(R)‐1‐(2‐chloro‐phenyl)‐ethoxycarbonylamino]‐3‐methyl‐isoxazol‐5‐yl}‐biphenyl‐4‐yl)‐acetic acid (AM966).Experimental approach:  The potency and selectivity of AM966 for LPA1 receptors was determined in vitro by calcium flux and cell chemotaxis assays using recombinant and native cell cultures. The in vivo efficacy of AM966 to reduce tissue injury, vascular leakage, inflammation and fibrosis was assessed at several time points in the mouse bleomycin model.Key results:  AM966 was a potent antagonist of LPA1 receptors, with selectivity for this receptor over the other LPA receptors. In vitro, AM966 inhibited LPA‐stimulated intracellular calcium release (IC50= 17 nM) from Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing human LPA1 receptors and inhibited LPA‐induced chemotaxis (IC50= 181 nM) of human IMR‐90 lung fibroblasts expressing LPA1 receptors. AM966 demonstrated a good pharmacokinetic profile following oral dosing in mice. In the mouse, AM966 reduced lung injury, vascular leakage, inflammation and fibrosis at multiple time points following intratracheal bleomycin instillation. AM966 also decreased lactate dehydrogenase activity and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐1, transforming growth factor β1, hyaluronan and matrix metalloproteinase‐7, in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.Conclusions and implications:  These findings demonstrate that AM966 is a potent, selective, orally bioavailable LPA1 receptor antagonist that may be beneficial in treating lung injury and fibrosis, as well as other diseases that are characterized by pathological inflammation, oedema and fibrosis.
Results of an outpatient multidisciplinary COPD rehabilitation programme obtained in two settings: primary and secondary health care
Authors: Vest Susanne , Moll Lill , Petersen Marelis , Buch Tove Fedder , Bruun Ditte Marie , Rask Marie , Wester Anette , Linneberg Allan 
Published: April 2010

AbstractBackground and Aims:  There is limited experience with implementation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rehabilitation in primary care settings. We aimed to evaluate the implementation of a COPD rehabilitation programme in a primary care setting and compare the effects with those obtained in a secondary health‐care setting.Materials and Methods:  The same outpatient multidisciplinary 7‐week rehabilitation programme was implemented in a primary (day care nursery) and a secondary (hospital) health‐care setting. Disease‐specific quality of life (QoL) and endurance shuttle walking time (ESWT) was assessed at the start and end of the programme. Additionally, QoL was assessed again at a 3‐months follow‐up.Results:  No serious problems or adverse events were encountered during the training/rehabilitation sessions. A total of 48 patients (81.3%) and 75 patients (84.2%) completed the 7‐week rehabilitation programme in the primary and secondary settings, respectively. Within both centres, we found statistically significant improvements of ESWT and total St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire score. The improvement of ESWT was significantly greater in the secondary care setting than in the primary care setting.Conclusions:  we found that it was possible to implement a COPD rehabilitation programme in a Danish primary care setting. In this non‐randomised study, improvements of QoL and ESWT obtained in the primary care setting were reasonably similar to those obtained in the secondary care setting.Please cite this paper as: Vest S, Moll L, Petersen M, Buch TF, Bruun DM, Rask M, Wester A and Linneberg A. Results of an outpatient multidisciplinary COPD rehabilitation programme obtained in two settings: primary and secondary health care. Clin Respir J 2011; 5: 84–91.
Total hip arthroplasty in patients with chronic autoimmune inflammatory arthroplasties
Authors: CHONG Roland Weng Wah , CHONG Choon Seng , LAI Choon Hin 
Published: April 2010

AbstractObjective:  Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) often require total hip arthroplasties. We present a retrospective review of 32 total hip arthroplasties (THA) performed for patients with SLE, RA or AS from 2003 to 2008 in a tertiary hospital in Singapore.Materials and Methods:  A total of 323 THAs performed between January 2003 to December 2008 were traced and cases of arthroplasties performed for such patients were isolated. Pre‐ and post‐operative range of motion, Harris hip score, limb length discrepancies and complications were studied.Results:  Twenty‐six patients aged 24–66 years (mean 47 years) were reviewed, with two AS patients (7.7%), 16 RA patients (61.5%), seven SLE patients (26.9%) and one patient (3.8%) with both RA and SLE. Thirty‐two THA operations were conducted with six patients requiring bilateral THAs. The average follow‐up was 3.3 years. Mean Harris hip score for 25 patients (one excluded due to patient expiry 2 month post‐surgery) improved from 41.3 to 86.53 (P < 0.05). Mean pre‐operative hip flexion improved from 61.3 degrees (0–120) to 89.7 degrees (30–120) (P < 0.05). Seventeen cases had preoperative limb length discrepancies (median 1 cm) which were all corrected. There were no implants loosening, infective arthritis, dislocations or neurovascular injuries documented.Conclusion:  Our series demonstrated the excellent outcome of THA for patients with chronic autoimmune arthropathies at the time of follow‐up. Careful patient selection remains a priority as long‐term outcomes for such patients of a significantly younger population is yet to be determined.
Churg–Strauss syndrome: a retrospective study of 11 cases from a single center in Japan
Authors: HORAI Yoshiro , MIYAMURA Tomoya , HIRATA Akie , NAKAMURA Masataka , TAKAHAMA Soichiro , ANDO Hitoshi , MINAMI Rumi , YAMAMOTO Masahiro , SUEMATSU Eiichi 
Published: April 2010

AbstractObjective:  To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with Churg–Strauss syndrome (CSS), including symptoms, blood chemistry and immunological findings.Patients and methods:  We retrospectively investigated the records of 11 patients (six female and five male) with CSS admitted to our hospital from September 2003 to October 2009.Results:  Eight patients had preceding symptoms including bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis. Seven patients showed eosinophilia. Nine patients had mononeuritis multiplex. Positive findings of myeloperoxidase‐antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO‐ANCA) were found in five patients. Neither clinical manifestations nor laboratory findings were correlated with positivity for MPO‐ANCA. However, the MPO‐ANCA‐positive group showed a higher level of blood urea nitrogen and proteinuria than those negative for MPO‐ANCA. Ten patients recovered after starting steroid or immunosuppressive therapy, although one patient died of unknown etiology.Conclusion:  Although general assessments based on various factors such as medical history, clinical manifestation and laboratory studies are indispensable in CSS, MPO‐ANCA might be useful as a predictor of renal dysfunction in patients with CSS.
A robust coregistration method for in vivo studies using a first generation simultaneous PET/MR scanner
Authors: Ng Thomas S. C. , Procissi Daniel , Wu Yibao , Jacobs Russell E. 
Published: April 2010

Purpose:Hybrid positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance (MR) imaging systems have recently been built that allow functional and anatomical information obtained from PET and MR to be acquired simultaneously. The authors have developed a robust coregistration scheme for a first generation small animal PET/MR imaging system and illustrated the potential of this system to study intratumoral heterogeneity in a mouse model.Methods:An alignment strategy to fuse simultaneously acquired PET and MR data, using the MR imaging gradient coordinate system as the reference basis, was developed. The fidelity of the alignment was evaluated over multiple study sessions. In order to explore its robustnessin vivo, the alignment strategy was applied to explore the heterogeneity of glucose metabolism in a xenograft tumor model, using to guide the acquisition of localized MR spectra within a single imaging session.Results:The alignment method consistently fused the PET/MR data sets with subvoxel accuracy (registration error voxels, ); this was independent of location within the field of view. When the system was used to study intratumoral heterogeneity within xenograft tumors, a correlation of high signal with high choline/creatine ratio was observed.Conclusions:The authors present an implementation of an efficient and robust coregistration scheme for multimodal noninvasive imaging using PET and MR. This setup allows time‐sensitive, multimodal studies of physiology to be conducted in an efficient manner.
Dependence of Yb‐169 absorbed dose energy correction factors on self‐attenuation in source material and photon buildup in water
Authors: Medich David C. , Munro John J. 
Published: April 2010

Purpose:Absorbed dose energy correction factors, used to convert the absorbed dose deposited in a LiF thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) into the clinically relevant absorbed dose to water, were obtained for both spherical volumetric sources and for the model 4140 HDR Yb‐169 source. These correction factors have a strong energy dependence below 200 keV; therefore, spectral changes were quantified as Yb‐169 photons traveled through both source material and water with the corresponding absorbed dose energy correction factors, , calculated as a function of location in a phantom.Methods:Using theMCNP5 Monte Carlo radiation transport simulation program, the Yb‐169 spectrum emerging from spherical sources (density ) with radii between 0.2 and 0.9 mm were analyzed and their behavior compared against those for a point‐source. The absorbed dose deposited to both LiF and materials was analyzed at phantom depths of 0.1–10 cm for each source radius and the absorbed dose energy correction factor calculated as the ratio of the absorbed dose to water to that of LiF. Absorbed dose energy correction factors for the Model 4140 Yb‐169 HDR brachytherapy source similarly were obtained and compared against those calculated for the Model M‐19 Ir‐192 HDR source.Results:The Yb‐169 average spectral energy, emerging from spherical sources 0.2–0.9 mm in radius, was observed to harden from 7% to 29%; as these photons traveled through the water phantom, the photon average energy softened by as much as 28% at a depth of 10 cm. Spectral softening was dependent on the measurement depth in the phantom. Energy correction factors were found to vary both as a function of source radius and phantom depth by as much as 10% for spherical sources. The Model 4140 Yb‐169 energy correction factors depended on both phantom depth and reference angle and were found to vary by more than 10% between depths of 1 and 10 cm and angles of 0° and 180°. This was in contrast to that of the Model M‐19 Ir‐192 source which exhibited approximately 3.5%–4.4% variation in its energy correction factors from phantom depths of 0.5–10 cm. The absorbed dose energy correction factor for the Ir‐192 source, on the other hand, was independent of angle to within 1%.Conclusions:The application of a single energy correction factor for Yb‐169 TLD based dosimetry would introduce a high degree of measurement uncertainty that may not be reasonable for the clinical characterization of a brachytherapy source; rather, an absorbed dose energy correctionfunction will need to be developed for these sources. This correction function should be specific to each source model, type of TLD used, and to the experimental setup to obtain accurate and precise dosimetric measurements.
Dose discrepancies in the buildup region and their impact on dose calculations for IMRT fields
Authors: Hsu Shu‐Hui , Moran Jean M. , Chen Yu , Kulasekere Ravi , Roberson Peter L. 
Published: April 2010

Purpose:Dose accuracy in the buildup region for radiotherapy treatment planning suffers from challenges in both measurement and calculation. This study investigates the dosimetry in the buildup region at normal and oblique incidences for open and IMRT fields and assesses the quality of the treatment planning calculations.Methods:This study was divided into three parts. First, percent depth doses and profiles (for , , , and field sizes at 0°, 45°, and 70° incidences) were measured in the buildup region in Solid Water using an Attix parallel plate chamber and Kodak XV film, respectively. Second, the parameters in the empirical contamination (EC) term of the convolution/superposition (CVSP) calculation algorithm were fitted based on open field measurements. Finally, seven segmental head‐and‐neck IMRT fields were measured on a flat phantom geometry and compared to calculations using and dose‐gradient compensation (C) indices to evaluate the impact of residual discrepancies and to assess the adequacy of the contamination term for IMRT fields.Results:Local deviations between measurements and calculations for open fields were within 1% and 4% in the buildup region for normal and oblique incidences, respectively. The C index with 5%/1 mm criteria for IMRT fields ranged from 89% to 99% and from 96% to 98% at 2 mm and 10 cm depths, respectively. The quality of agreement in the buildup region for open and IMRT fields is comparable to that in nonbuildup regions.Conclusions:The added EC term in CVSP was determined to be adequate for both open and IMRT fields. Due to the dependence of calculation accuracy on (1) EC modeling, (2) internal convolution and density grid sizes, (3) implementation details in the algorithm, and (4) the accuracy of measurements used for treatment planning system commissioning, the authors recommend an evaluation of the accuracy of near‐surface dose calculations as a part of treatment planning commissioning.
Rapid image stitching and computer‐aided detection for multipass automated breast ultrasound
Authors: Chang Ruey‐Feng , Chang‐Chien Kuang‐Che , Takada Etsuo , Huang Chiun‐Sheng , Chou Yi‐Hong , Kuo Chen‐Ming , Chen Jeon‐Hor 
Published: April 2010

Purpose:Breast ultrasound (US) is recently becoming more and more popular for detecting breast lesions. However, screening results in hundreds of US images for each subject. This magnitude of images can lead to fatigue in radiologist, causing failure in the detection of lesions of a subtle nature. In this study, an image stitching technique is proposed for combining multipass images of the whole breast into a series of full‐view images, and a fully automatic screening system that works off these images is also presented.Methods:Using the registration technique based on the simple sum of absolute block‐mean difference (SBMD) measure, three‐pass images were merged into full‐view US images. An automatic screening system was then developed for detecting tumors from these full‐view images. The preprocessing step was used to reduce the tumor detection time of the system and to improve image quality. The gray‐level slicing method was then used to divide images into numerous regions. Finally, seven computerized features—darkness, uniformity, width‐height ratio, area size, nonpersistence, coronal area size, and region continuity—were defined and used to determine whether or not each region was a part of a tumor.Results:In the experiment, there was a total of 25 experimental cases with 26 lesions, and each case was composed of 252 images (three passes, 84 images/pass). The processing time of the proposed stitching procedure for each case was within 30 s with a Pentium IV 2.0 processor, and the detection sensitivity of the proposed CAD system was 92.3% with 1.76 false positives per case.Conclusions:The proposed automatic screening system can be applied to the whole breast images stitched together via SBMD‐based registration in order to detect tumors.
Design and comparison of two eight‐channel transmit/receive radiofrequency arrays for in vivo rodent imaging on a 7 T human whole‐body MRI system
Authors: Orzada Stephan , Maderwald Stefan , Göricke Sophia L. , Parohl Nina , Ladd Susanne C. , Ladd Mark E. , Quick Harald H. 
Published: April 2010

Purpose:Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of rodents can be expected to be a growing application, particularly when translatory imaging research “from mouse to man” is envisioned. 7 T high‐field human whole‐body MR systems provide a powerful platform for high‐resolution small animal imaging. For achieving adequate spatial resolution, dedicated radiofrequency coils have to be designed to provide the necessary signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR).Methods:Two different multichannel transmit/receive radiofrequency (RF) arrays for high‐resolution imaging of rodents on a human whole‐body 7 T MR system have been developed and evaluated in comparativein vitro phantom experiments and in vivo experiments in rats. The first coil was a one‐channel birdcage RF transmit/eight‐channel loop RF receive phased‐array coil; the second coil was an eight‐channel RF transmit/receive stripline phased‐array coil with inverted microstrip lines—A coil design that here is described for the first time for dedicated small animal MR imaging.Results:Both coil setups provided the high SNR necessary for high‐resolution MRI in rodents. The eight‐channel loop RF array, with its larger inner diameter and transparent layout, provided better overall signal homogeneity and enabled easy visual monitoring; the eight‐channel stripline RF array provided overall higher SNR and better parallel imaging acceleration performance.Conclusions:The results show that both coil designs are suitable for small animal imaging on 7 T whole‐body systems; the preferred coil depends on the demands of the application.