bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Combining etanercept with traditional agents in the treatment of psoriasis: a review of the clinical evidence
Authors: Foley PA , Quirk C , Sullivan JR , Dolianitis C , Hack SP , Thirunavukkarasu K , Cooper AJ 
Published: March 2010

AbstractPsoriasis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder manifesting primarily in skin and potentially in joints, frequently necessitating treatment with conventional systemic therapies, phototherapy or biological agents. Patients with moderate to severe disease suffer a diminished quality of life, experience significant comorbidities and have a higher mortality. Although traditional treatments are effective in the short‐term, their use is often limited by concerns over long‐term toxicity, including end‐organ damage and risk of malignancy. Combination therapy is a commonly used approach and is often more effective than any single agent. Lower doses of two treatments in combination can also minimize potential side effects from a single agent at higher doses. Etanercept is a recombinant human tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α receptor (p75) protein fused with the Fc portion of IgG1 that binds to TNFα. This article reviews the evidence on the efficacy and safety of etanercept in combination with methotrexate, acitretin, narrowband UVB and cyclosporin. The largest body of evidence assesses the combination with methotrexate, although evidence is available for the other combinations. Data suggest that although highly effective as monotherapy, etanercept in combination with a conventional systemic agent can enhance efficacy and allow drug sparing. Potentially, the combination may also result in faster treatment responses and permit safe transitioning from one systemic agent to another. Evidence to date suggests that these benefits can be achieved without significant additional toxicity, although long‐term data on the efficacy and safety of the combination in psoriatic populations is limited and further evaluation is warranted.
Gene expression profiling in psoriatic scalp hair follicles: clobetasol propionate shampoo 0.05% normalizes psoriasis disease markers
Authors: Aubert J , Reiniche P , Fogel P , Poulin Y , Lui H , Lynde C , Shapiro J , Villemagne H , Soto P , Voegel JJ 
Published: March 2010

AbstractBackground  Clobetasol propionate shampoo is effective and safe in treatment of scalp psoriasis (SP). Gene expression profiling of psoriatic skin biopsies led to the identification of numerous disease‐related genes. However, it remained unknown whether the gene expression profile of hair follicles of SP patients was also affected.Objectives  To determine whether psoriasis‐related genes are differentially regulated in the hair follicles of SP patients and whether the modulation of these genes can be correlated with clinical severity scores.Methods  A single arm, open study was conducted in three centres. SP patients received daily treatment with clobetasol propionate shampoo. At Baseline, Weeks 2 and 4, investigators assessed clinical severity parameters and collected scalp hair follicles in anagen phase. Total RNA extracted from hair follicles was used to determine the expression level of 44 genes, which were reported previously to be upregulated in the skin of psoriasis patients.Results  RNA of good quality and sufficient quantity was obtained from hair follicles of psoriasis patients and healthy volunteers (HV). The expression level of 10 inflammation‐related genes was significantly increased in psoriatic hair follicles. The patient’s exploratory transcriptomic score, defined as the mean fold modulation of these 10 genes compared with HV, correlated with clinical severity scores. Clobetasol propionate shampoo was effective in decreasing both the exploratory transcriptomics and the clinical severity scores.Conclusion  Hair follicles of SP patients are affected by the inflammatory process. The change in the expression level of inflammation‐related genes correlates with the severity of the disease.
Correlation between the dermatoscopic and histopathological features of pigmented basal cell carcinoma
Authors: Tabanlıoğlu Onan D , Şahin S , Gököz Ö , Erkin G , Çakır B , Elçin G , Kayıkçıoğlu A 
Published: March 2010

AbstractBackground  Dermatoscopy has a great value in the diagnosis of pigmented basal cell carcinoma (BCC), which is a clinical variant of BCC. The precise definitions of histopathological correlates of dermatoscopic features observed in pigmented BCC have not been established yet.Objective  The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between the dermatoscopic features of pigmented BCC and their histopathological counterparts to provide clear histopathological definitions of each dermatoscopic feature.Methods  In this case series that comprised a methodological component, after the orientation of dermatoscopic features was determined by placing sutures in the lesions, the histopathological counterparts of each were examined and definitions were made accordingly.Results  Although the most common histopathological subtype of BCC is the solid type, the most common histopathological subtype observed in the pigmented BCC lesions in the present study was the superficial multifocal type (72.5%). Blue‐whitish veil was observed in 57.5% (n = 23) of the lesions, a percentage higher than that reported in the literature. In addition to confirming the previously histopathologically defined dermatoscopic features of pigmented BCC, we identified three histopathologically undefined features of pigmented BCC that are spoke‐wheel areas, large blue‐grey ovoid nests and multiple blue‐grey globules.Conclusion  Dermatoscopy facilitates prediction of the corresponding histopathological findings in pigmented BCC, based on specific dermatoscopic features.
No evidence found that childhood onset of psoriasis influences disease severity, future body mass index or type of treatments used
Authors: De Jager MEA , De Jong EMGJ , Meeuwis KAP , Van De Kerkhof PCM , Seyger MMB 
Published: March 2010

AbstractBackground  In more than one‐third of the psoriatic population, the first manifestations occur in childhood. Whether the age of onset of psoriasis influences the march of psoriasis is not known.Objectives  To describe the epidemiology and clinical features as well as prescribed treatments and familial distribution in psoriasis depending on the age of onset of the disease.Methods  A structured questionnaire was sent to 5300 adult psoriatic patients. Respondents were divided into two groups: patients who experienced an onset of disease before the age of 18 [childhood onset psoriasis (COP)] and patients with an onset of disease from the age of 18 [adult onset psoriasis (AOP)].Results  Questionnaires of 1926 (36.3%) patients were suitable for analysis. In 37.1% of patients, first signs of the disease occurred before the age of 18. COP occurs predominantly in females, has a longer delay in diagnosis and a higher frequency of familial distribution. The development of guttate and erythrodermic psoriasis in adulthood is more frequently seen in COP. In contrast to common belief, type of psoriasis in COP often remains the same from childhood to adulthood. There was no evidence found that getting psoriasis before the age of 18 years influences development of high body mass index in adulthood, disease severity in later life or type of treatments used.Conclusions  The age of onset of psoriasis essentially does not influence the subsequent course of the disease in adulthood.
Frequency of thrombophilia determinant factors in patients with livedoid vasculopathy and treatment with anticoagulant drugs – a prospective study
Authors: Di Giacomo TB , Hussein TP , Souza DG , Criado PR 
Published: March 2010

AbstractBackground Livedoid vasculopathy (LV) is a chronic idiopathic disease characterized by painful purpuric macules on lower extremities. Its exact aetiology remains uncertain, but thrombotic and microcirculatory phenomena have been implicated as possible pathogenic factors.Objectives To assess prospectively the frequency of thrombophilia and to verify the effectiveness of anticoagulant therapy among LV patients.Methods Thirty‐four LV patients were tested for prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, antithrombin activity, protein C and S activity, anticardiolipin antibodies, lupus anticoagulant, prothrombin gene mutation, factor V Leiden mutation, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase mutation, plasma homocysteine and fibrinogen. Thirteen of these patients were treated with anticoagulant drugs (either warfarin or heparin).Results Of 34 patients, 18 (52%) presented laboratory abnormalities of procoagulant conditions. Positive treatment response to anticoagulant therapy was observed in 11 patients. Improvement of pain was obtained in 1–3 weeks, an average of 1.8 week. Complete healing of the lesions was observed in about 2.3 months. Remission was sustained even after treatment interruption and lasted an average 7.8 months. No severe adverse effects were noticed.Conclusion The authors suggest all patients with diagnosis of LV to be investigated for thrombophilic status. Anticoagulant drugs were well tolerated and seemed to be effective in treating not only LV symptoms but also its ulcerations.
Estimating the propagule size of a cryptogenic crested newt population
Authors: Arntzen J. W. , Burke T. , Jehle R. 
Published: March 2010

AbstractEncountering cryptogenic populations that are either native or introduced is a common but underreported phenomenon in field biology. Such local species' occurrences of unknown origin hamper our understanding of species' natural distribution ranges, and pose a problem to conservation management decisions. Genetic tools are frequently used to infer the ancestry of natural or invasive populations based on spatial geographical variation. Here we describe the occurrence of cryptogenic crested newtsTriturus cristatus c. 25 km away from their main range and situated in an area where an introduction has taken place half a century ago. We first verify the suitability of a coalescent‐based analysis that reconstructs the number of founder individuals of a putative propagule from a source pool, based on previously published data documenting a well‐known introduction (the Laysan finch on the Hawaiian archipelago). After showing the validity of the approach, we apply this analysis to the case ofT. cristatus, revealing that the number of effective founders would have been of the same order as the current effective carrying capacity of the population. We thus argue that the localT. cristatusoccurrence is in fact of natural origin, with the documented introduction having little or no impact to the current gene pool. The result has major implications to our understanding of the species' habitat requirements in a zone of parapatry with a closely related species.
Seasonal variation of black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) species diversity and community structure in tropical streams of Thailand
Authors: PRAMUAL Pairot , WONGPAKAM Komgrit 
Published: March 2010

AbstractSeasonal variation of the physicochemical conditions of streams plays an important role in aquatic insect diversity and community structure. Asian tropical streams profoundly change between seasons due to the effects of monsoons. However, little is known about how these changes affect aquatic insect diversity and community structure. The objectives of this study are to examine seasonal variations of the physicochemical conditions in tropical streams in Thailand and to assess the effects of these changes on black fly community structure and diversity. Black flies were sampled and physicochemical conditions recorded at eight sites between December 2007 and December 2008. A total of 10 black fly species were found. Comparisons of the streams between seasons revealed that physical conditions related to rainfall rate were significantly different. Canonical correspondence analysis differentiated sampling sites from each season. Streams in the rainy season were faster and deeper, with higher discharge and conductivity than those of the cold and dry seasons. Species richness was significantly higher in the rainy season than in the cold and dry seasons (F = 6.23, P = 0.004). Community structure profoundly changed between the low‐flow season (cold and dry) and high‐flow season. Black fly species found predominantly in the low‐flow season (Simulium siamense“cytoform A”, S. aureohirtum) decreased dramatically during the high‐flow season. In contrast, species found at high frequency during the high‐flow season (S. nakhonense, S. angulistylum) disappeared in the low‐flow season. The study demonstrates the importance of seasonal variation of stream conditions on black fly community structure and diversity.
New species of Dialeurodes Cockerell (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) with diagnoses and keys to puparia and adults from Taiwan
Authors: KO Chiun‐Cheng , CHEN Young‐Fa , DUBEY Anil K. 
Published: March 2010

AbstractAdult and immature stages of a new whitefly species Dialeurodes swidi Ko are described and illustrated. It can be distinguished from other species by the abundant large tubercles scattered over its dorsum, each of them bearing a geminate pore. The biology, comparative notes and identification keys to puparia and adults of Dialeurodes species of Taiwan are provided.
UV reflectance of inter‐subspecific hybrid females obtained by crossing cabbage butterflies from Japan (Pieris rapae crucivora) with those from New Zealand (P. rapae rapae)
Authors: OBARA Yoshiaki , WATANABE Kenta , SATOH Toshiyuki 
Published: March 2010

AbstractCross‐mating was performed between subspecies of cabbage butterfly Pieris rapae crucivora from Japan and P. rapae rapae from New Zealand, whose females are known to reflect and absorb ultraviolet (UV) light, respectively. In the female F1 hybrids UV reflectance was intermediate between the two parent females. Further, the UV reflectance was significantly higher in the female F1 hybrids derived from females of the New Zealand subspecies than in those derived from females of the Japanese subspecies.
Desiccation tolerance in fully developed embryos of two cicadas, Cryptotympana facialis and Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata
Authors: MORIYAMA Minoru , NUMATA Hideharu 
Published: March 2010

AbstractIn two Japanese cicadas, Cryptotympana facialis and Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata, with different habitat distributions, fully developed embryos hatch in response to high humidity due to rainfall. Despite the advantage of hatching on rainy days, this trait burdens embryos with an extra period of desiccation until the unpredictable advent of rain. We compared the ability of the fully developed embryos of these cicadas to endure periods of low humidity. Eggs were exposed to a combination of different humidities (43% and 75% relative humidity, RH) and durations (0–15 days), and then transferred to an environment with 100% RH to stimulate hatching. In both species, total hatching rates decreased as duration increased, although there was no significant effect of humidity. In C. facialis, a considerable proportion of the eggs hatched during the desiccation period, and the hatching rate was higher at 75% RH than at 43% RH. After transfer to 100% RH, most hatching occurred within a day regardless of the desiccation level. In G. nigrofuscata, no nymphs hatched during the desiccation periods. However, more eggs required more than a day after transfer to 100% RH to hatch after desiccation at 43% RH than at 75% RH. Consequently, the overall proportion of timely hatching of eggs (eggs hatching within a day of moisture supply) was higher after desiccation at 43% RH in C. facialis, but it was higher after desiccation at 75% RH in G. nigrofuscata. These different physiological responses of the two species may reflect adaptation to habitat dryness.
Seasonal life cycles and resource uses of flower‐ and fruit‐feeding drosophilid flies (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in central Japan
Authors: MITSUI Hideyuki , BEPPU Katsura , KIMURA Masahito T. 
Published: March 2010

AbstractSeasonal life cycles and resource uses of flower‐ and fruit‐feeding drosophilids (Diptera: Drosophilidae) were studied from low to high altitudes in central Japan to understand their adaptation to seasonal changes of environmental conditions. Drosophila unipectinata and D. oshimai specialized to flowers, D. suzukii and D. subpulchrella depended almost on fruits, while D. lutescens, D. rufa, D. auraria, D. biauraria and D. sternopleuralis used both of them. It was assumed that D. unipectinata moved from low to high altitudes in June while D. oshimai, D. suzukii and D. subpulchrella in July. Migration of D. unipectinata is considered as a means to avoid summer heat or exploit early‐summer resources at high altitudes. On the other hand, D. oshimai, D. suzukii and D. subpulchrella have the capacity to pass the summer at low altitudes, and therefore their migration is assumed as a means to escape from resource‐poor conditions in summer at low altitudes or exploit resources at high altitudes. The generalist species, D. lutescens, D. rufa, D. auraria, D. biauraria and D. sternopleuralis, would not perform such extensive movements between low and high altitudes. They may pass the summer at low or mid altitudes depending on accidentally fallen immature fruits and/or some other resources such as decayed leaves.
Hope and Purification in the Writings of Ayi Kwei Armah and Ama Ata Aidoo
Authors: MacKenzie Clayton G. 
Published: March 2010

Taban Lo Liyong sees the task of the African writer as one of “reconstructing Africa from the imperial wreck of the last two thousand seasons” (Liyong 1990, 171). The erosion of the African culture by modernization and colonialism has deprived indigenous peoples of their religions, their traditions, their mores, and in some cases their languages. It is not clear, though, what form Liyong’s “reconstruction” is to take. Other commentators, like the Nigerian poet Tanure Ojaide, seem more specific in demanding that the African artist should take a moral, political line in asserting that his/her active role is to “remedy a bad situation” (Ojaide 1994, 17). The object would be to purify an African way of life that has been tainted by invasive, self‐gratifying, materialistic attitudes. But, again, what is that “remedy” to be? While recognition of Africa’s postcolonial malaise is widespread, and its cause axiomatically and correctly assigned to the experience of colonialism, African writers have been somewhat tentative in suggesting what exactly it is that should be done. It is one thing to identify a problem, and to express it in the most forthright or damning terms, but quite another to locate and postulate the possible means for its resolution.The two Ghanaian artists whose work this paper addresses, Ayi Kwei Armah and Ama Ata Aidoo, have been all too frequently accused of the pessimistic recitation of African ills. Molly Mahood has spoken of the “almost total disillusionment” (Fraser 1980, 15) of Armah’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born; and Liyong has described the work as one of those “tearing down exercises” (Liyong 1990, 176). Adeola James has identified a “certain somberness” (James 1990, 17) and Arlene Elder a “pessimism” (Elder 1987, 117) in Aidoo’s short stories; and Femi Ojo‐Ade has styled the Ghana of No Sweetness Here as “hell” (Oje‐Ade 1987, 174). The optimistic dimensions of their work have often gone unnoticed. Even contemporary readings that have attempted to soften the gloom of the two texts have sought in some way to qualify their observations. Tsegaye Wodajo’s excellent study of five Armah novels, Hope in the Midst of Despair: A Novelist’s Cures for Africa (2005), perceives The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born as a literature of protest that finds a hopeful riposte in the later novels. And while Nanna Jane Opoku‐Agyemang’s fine 1999 essay brings a valuable comparative dimension to No Sweetness Here, her insights fail to lift the pall of despair that is customarily judged to hang over this collection of eleven stories.This paper will argue that Aidoo’s No Sweetness Here and Armah’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born offer greater scope for optimism than many critics have hitherto suggested; and that both articulate a process of purification that actively opposes the dystopian settings of their respective narratives.
Scottish Extractions. ‘Race’ and Racism in Devolutionary Fiction
Authors: Macdonald Graeme 
Published: March 2010

Black Scottish and Scots Asian representations have been prominent in twenty‐first‐century Scottish literature. This essay contends that such fiction (covering the period 1995–2004) is most productively read in correlation with a wider contemporary debate on race, ethnicity and nationalism in a devolved Scotland and it provides such a reading, focusing among others on Jackie Kay’s Trumpet (1998), Suhayl Saadi’s Psychoraag (2004), Luke Sutherland’s Venus as a Boy (2004) and Jelly Roll (1997), and James Robertson’s Joseph Knight (2003). I argue that a preoccupation with ‘race’ and racial issues in this fiction cannot but be read as contiguous with an ongoing devolutionary momentum in Scottish culture and politics that has shifted the parameters of Britain and Britishness since the delivery of political devolution in 1997. In such a momentous context of political transformation, literature has sought to challenge undetected (or underwritten) levels of Scottish racial discrimination that weigh heavily in discussions surrounding Scotland’s autonomous position – culturally and politically – in a ‘post‐British’ world and it provides an opportunity to interrogate an emergent controversy concerning the political economy of ‘orthodox’ Scottish identity.Underpinning my analysis are a number of issues at the heart of debates over ‘devolutionary’ identities. I question whether the novels discussed register a collapse of Britishness in a period when the coherence of ‘British’ fiction becomes increasingly unstable. The stability of ‘black British’ as a unitary cultural term after devolution is also questioned in relation to the emergence of ‘black Scottish’ literature. Relative to this is the issue of how the protagonists of these novels situate themselves in relation to debates surrounding Scotland’s settled ethnic heritage. I argue that contemporary Scottish novels instigate a focus on relatively suppressed Scottish patterns of race and racism and that they challenge the manner in which Scottish identity is predominantly figured in terms of ethnicity. In conclusion, my overview suggests that these novels are far from being myopic in their Scottish focus and that the dislocated Scottish characters gesture to a greater international understanding of the manner in which globalised conditions are permanently entangled with localised forms of exclusion and extraction. A devolved literature is also an internationally engaged one. Its bilateral focus, I suggest, configures the alignment of Scottish racial issues with devolutionary matters in the UK and global realignments in class and cultural geographies.