bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of IPSAS on reforming governmental financial information systems: a comparative study
Authors: Christiaens Johan , Reyniers Brecht , Rollé Caroline 
Published: September 2010

The diversity in reformed governmental financial information systems created a need for harmonized international accounting standards, resulting in the elaboration of the IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards). By means of a survey on experts, this study examines the extent to which European governments adopt IPSAS accrual accounting and how the differing levels of adoption can be explained. The study reveals diversity in the adoption process of IPSAS and accrual accounting. Some governments still use cash based accounting. Only a minority apply IPSAS. The majority of local and central governments apply accrual accounting disregarding IPSAS. The trend toward accrual accounting can be explained by the need for transparency and efficiency. The fact that the IPSAS are unique and offer specific know-how is the main argument for making use of them. However, a number of jurisdictions do not adopt IPSAS because they transfer their own local business accounting rules. Points for practitioners The transition to business accounting is an important element of New Public Management in that modernized governmental management needs useful financial information, and business accounting is supposed to accomplish this need. An important characteristic of the IPSAS accounting standards is that governments are not obliged to adopt them and thus their adoption depends on a free choice. Therefore, it is clear that the success of IPSAS strongly depends on setting out its strengths and highlighting the necessary conditions to be met. Based on this article, an important condition is that practitioners keep in mind that in governments business accrual accounting rules are not a substitute for IPSAS.
Improving public accountability by aligning reporting to organizational changes in public service provision - an empirical Internet study of all Austrian, German and Swiss towns and states from an agency-theory perspective
Authors: Papenfuß Ulf , Schaefer Christina 
Published: September 2010

Consolidation of public sector budgets, fulfilment of fiscal policy requirements and reforms in the provision of public services have made cooperation increasingly important on the international stage. From the perspective of agency theory, this has led to greater information asymmetries and has altered reporting requirements. However, representative empirical studies concerning the provision of information on the Internet on the types of cooperation under which public activities are performed are still not available. A census conducted for 498 websites at local, state and federal government levels for Germany, Austria and Switzerland shows that the reporting requirements have not been met in practice. At the local level in Germany, of the 414 towns with more than 30,000 inhabitants, cooperation reports were available online for 143, which corresponds to 34.5 percent. During the period of the investigation, no cooperation report was provided on the Internet by any town in Austria or Switzerland. Four main recommended actions are formulated for practical application. Points for practitioners Citizens must have opportunities to obtain with minimum effort information on the organizational status quo of public service provision. Moreover, a clear and transparent view of the organizational structure of the public authority, including its types of cooperation, is essential to enable a basis for decision-making for people such as politicians and professionals in administrations to guarantee the sustainable, effective and efficient provision of public sector activities. A cooperation report is a proven management tool in the private sector, and practitioners can gain rewarding cross-national insights if the general public has access to the required information. This could offer helpful approaches for many countries with comparable challenges.
Merging to survive? Institutional legitimacy and material considerations in the light of the reorganization of corps within the French civil service
Authors: Gervais Julie 
Published: September 2010

The article sets out to examine the mergers of corps of top technical civil servants in France from two angles: their institutional and material dimensions. Its findings are based on archive material relating to the negotiations that marked the reform processes and on interviews with the protagonists of the reform within the ministries, cabinets, professional associations and trade unions of the corps in question. Rather than consider the top civil servants simply as the instruments of change, affected (or otherwise) by it, or even as obstacles to the reforms under examination, the article looks at their capacity to take action, to defend their interests and their privileges and to accompany the reform in order to ensure their long-term survival. One of the central questions raised by this study into the mergers is whether they make it possible to maintain and reproduce the models of domination of the great corps on the machinery of government. Continuity in and through change is at the heart of the debate. Points for practitioners The idea of merger was prompted by the decision to drastically reduce the number of corps in France. In the light of an in-depth empirical study and several first-hand accounts, this article looks at the issues raised by these kinds of mergers at two levels. On the one hand, from the point of view of the changes they can trigger in the relationship between a corps of the State and the Ministry to which it is answerable, and, on the other hand, from the point of view of the purely material dimension of the negotiations involved. It would therefore seem that the reforms that set out to make economies of scale first of all need to take a good look at the efforts agreed to by those very corps that they are supposed to target.
The role of Spanish central government in a multi-level State
Authors: Parrado Salvador 
Published: September 2010

The Spanish polity has made the transition in the last three decades from a centralized system to a quasi-federal one characterized as having features of a shared power model with overlapping powers among levels of government. The new system has implied a change in the functions of central government from service delivery to planning and policy design. Enquiring beyond the hierarchy—non-hierarchy role of central government of intergovernmental studies, this article applies control concepts of oversight, mutuality, competition and contrived randomness from grid & group cultural theory in order to empirically examine the evolution of the role of central government in intergovernmental relations. Although the institutional features of the Spanish polity are expected to foster cooperative intergovernmental relations and a brokerage role of central government fostering mutual (peer) relations of the regions, the text suggests that institutional praxis and the ‘youth’ of the Spanish decentralization process are accountable for the direction taken by the Spanish polity. The system is characterized by central government still embedded in the inertia of oversight (with examples of fostering mutuality at times and in some policy fields) and by the regions seeking unilateralism through contrived randomness. Points for practitioners This text tries to unveil two distinct aspects of central government’s role in intergovernmental relations. First, it crosses the traditional axis (hierarchy and autonomy) between central/federal government and the regions/states when examining intergovernmental relations by including cases of competition and collegiality among the constituent parts. Second, it assumes that early stages of intergovernmental relations are likely to be conflictual regardless of the formal (cooperative) institutional design of the system. By acknowledging this, promoters of decentralization should be aware not only of the formal aspects of cooperation, but also of the informal mechanisms for building up cooperative practices.
Occipital nerve stimulation for the treatment of intractable chronic migraine headache: ONSTIM feasibility study
Authors: Saper Joel R , Dodick David W , Silberstein Stephen D , McCarville Sally , Sun Mark , Goadsby Peter J 
Published: September 2010

Background: Medically intractable chronic migraine (CM) is a disabling illness characterized by headache ≥15 days per month. Methods: A multicenter, randomized, blinded, controlled feasibility study was conducted to obtain preliminary safety and efficacy data on occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) in CM. Eligible subjects received an occipital nerve block, and responders were randomized to adjustable stimulation (AS), preset stimulation (PS) or medical management (MM) groups. Results: Seventy-five of 110 subjects were assigned to a treatment group; complete diary data were available for 66. A responder was defined as a subject who achieved a 50% or greater reduction in number of headache days per month or a three-point or greater reduction in average overall pain intensity compared with baseline. Three-month responder rates were 39% for AS, 6% for PS and 0% for MM. No unanticipated adverse device events occurred. Lead migration occurred in 12 of 51 (24%) subjects. Conclusion: The results of this feasibility study offer promise and should prompt further controlled studies of ONS in CM.
Evaluation of methylene blue, thiamine, and/or albumin in the prevention of ifosfamide-related neurotoxicity
Authors: Richards Ashley , Marshall Helen , McQuary Amy 
Published: September 2010

Summary. A serious adverse effect that can limit the utility of ifosfamide is neurotoxicity, known as ifosfamide-induced encephalopathy (IIE). Information regarding the usefulness of prophylactic administration of methylene blue, thiamine, and albumin to reduce the incidence of IIE is scarce. We present the results of a retrospective chart review evaluating the incidence of IIE in adult patients who received ifosfamide to treat sarcoma at the University of Washington within a 2-year period. Patients who received methylene blue, thiamine, and/or albumin were compared to patients who did not receive these prophylactic agents concurrently with ifosfamide. The primary objective was to evaluate if prophylaxis is associated with a reduced incidence of IIE. Identifying risk factors associated with IIE was a secondary objective. The cost of using prophylaxis with ifosfamide administration was reviewed. Results. A total of 166 cycles were included. For the primary endpoint, more cycles in the prophylaxis group had patients with symptoms of IIE (21.1% in the prophylaxis group vs. 8.4% in the nonprophylaxis group); p = 0.026. The average number of risk factors per cycle was the same in each group; however, the type of risk factors differed. Conclusions. Prophylaxis was not associated with a reduced incidence of IIE, and it does not appear to delay time to onset of symptoms at our institution. Results of this study provide no support for using methylene blue, thiamine, and/or albumin as routine prophylaxis when administering ifosfamide to adults with sarcoma.
Different HLA class II (DRB1 and DQB1) alleles determine either susceptibility or resistance to NMO and multiple sclerosis among the French Afro-Caribbean population
Authors: Deschamps R , Paturel L , Jeannin S , Chausson N , Olindo S , Béra O , Bellance R , Smadja D , Césaire D , Cabre P 
Published: September 2010

Background:Despite similarities, neuromyelitis optica (NMO) can be distinguished from multiple sclerosis (MS) by clinical, radiological and serological findings. Objective:This case-control study aimed to determine whether patients with NMO or with MS in an Afro-Caribbean population originating from French West Indies shared the same or different HLA class I and II pattern distribution. Methods:The association with HLA class II (DRB1 and DQB1) alleles was tested in 42 NMO patients, 163 MS patients and 150 healthy controls. HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 typing was undertaken on genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood leucocytes. Results:By comparison with healthy controls, significantly increased frequency of HLA-DRB1*03 (26.2% vs. 13%, odds ratio 2.4, 95% confidence interval 1.31–4.28, p after correction, cp 0.045) was observed in patients with NMO. By contrast, in MS patients, HLA-DRB1*15 (24.8% vs. 13%, odds ratio 2.21, 95% CI 1.45–3.36, cp < 0.0015), but not DRB1*03 allele, was positively associated with the disease. Moreover, a modest protective effect of HLA-DRB1*11 in the MS group, independently of DRB1*15 association, was found (13.7% vs. 7% in controls, odds ratio 0.48, p 0.006), but did not survive Bonferroni correction. Conclusion:In conclusion, comparison of the HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 distribution in NMO and MS in this Afro-Caribbean population shows important differences in the HLA associations among NMO and MS.
Solution-focused therapy in an Emergency Room setting: Increasing hope in persons presenting with suicidal ideation
Authors: Kondrat David C , Teater Barbra 
Published: September 2010

• Summary: One-third or more of persons presenting to Emergency Rooms (ER)/Accident and Emergency departments in psychiatric emergencies report experiencing suicidal ideations. A critical task for hospital-based practitioners is to assess the lethality of the situation to determine whether the person should be hospitalized. Practitioners often employ standardized assessment instruments to assist in determining the suicidal risk factors, yet such measures often fail to recognize or consider the following: 1) the relative importance of the therapeutic process in creating meaningful therapeutic change; 2) the quality of the therapeutic encounter in the ER; and 3) follow-through with the community referral process. • Findings: This article proposes the use of the actual ER encounter between client and practitioner to work with suicidal risk factors that are amenable to immediate therapeutic change. Using a therapy approach that can positively impact a client's level of hopelessness and allow for the assessment of suicide risk can work to ensure that an appropriate hospitalization disposition is reached. • Application: This article details how the use of solution-focused therapy provides one avenue for assessing suicide risk and how the therapeutic intervention, which has not been subjected to the scrutiny of empirical research, can serve as an opportunity for increasing hope.
Cutaneous GVHD is associated with the expansion of tissue-localized Th1 and not Th17 cells
Authors: Broady Raewyn , Yu Jie , Chow Vickie , Tantiworawit Adisak , Kang Christine , Berg Kyra , Martinka Magdalena , Ghoreishi Mehran , Dutz Jan , Levings Megan K. 
Published: September 2010

Abstract
Studies in mice have shown that proinflammatory Th17 cells can cause acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) related tissue damage; however, whether they play a role in human aGVHD remains unclear. In a prospective study, we measured the proportion of Th17 cells in the blood and skin of patients at the onset of aGVHD. We found no difference in the proportion or amount of IL-17 produced by T cells in the blood of patients with aGVHD (n = 20) compared with time-matched patients without GVHD (n = 14). Moreover, Th17 cells were not increased in the skin of patients with cutaneous aGVHD (n = 7) compared with healthy controls (n = 10). In contrast, we found significantly more interferon-γ–producing T cells in the skin of patients with aGVHD compared with controls. These data support the long-standing paradigm that tissue localized interferon-γ–producing cells are the perpetrators of aGVHD.
Immunohistological detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae in the Alzheimer's disease brain
Authors: Hammond Christine J , Hallock Loretta R , Howanski Raymond J , Appelt Denah M , Little C Scott , Balin Brian J 
Published: September 2010

Abstract

Background
Sporadic late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) appears to evolve from an interplay between genetic and environmental factors. One environmental factor that continues to be of great interest is that of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and its association with late-onset disease. Detection of this organism in clinical and autopsy samples has proved challenging using a variety of molecular and histological techniques. Our current investigation utilized immunohistochemistry with a battery of commercially available anti-C. pneumoniae antibodies to determine whether C. pneumoniae was present in areas typically associated with AD neuropathology from 5 AD and 5 non-AD control brains.

Results
Immunoreactivity for C. pneumoniae antigens was observed both intracellularly in neurons, neuroglia, endothelial cells, and peri-endothelial cells, and extracellularly in the frontal and temporal cortices of the AD brain with multiple C. pneumoniae-specific antibodies. This immunoreactivity was seen in regions of amyloid deposition as revealed by immunolabeling with two different anti-beta amyloid antibodies. Thioflavin S staining, overlaid with C. pneumoniae immunolabeling, demonstrated no direct co-localization of the organism and amyloid plaques. Further, the specificity of C. pneumoniae labeling of AD brain sections was demonstrated using C. pneumoniae antibodies pre-absorbed against amyloid β 1-40 and 1-42 peptides.

Conclusions
Anti-C. pneumoniae antibodies, obtained commercially, identified both typical intracellular and atypical extracellular C. pneumoniae antigens in frontal and temporal cortices of the AD brain. C. pneumoniae, amyloid deposits, and neurofibrillary tangles were present in the same regions of the brain in apposition to one another. Although additional studies are required to conclusively characterize the nature of Chlamydial immunoreactivity in the AD brain, these results further implicate C. pneumoniae infection with the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.
Association of CACNG6 polymorphisms with aspirin-intolerance asthmatics in a Korean population
Authors: Lee Jin Sol , Kim Jeong-Hyun , Bae Joon Seol , Kim Jason Yongha , Park Tae Joon , Pasaje Charisse Flerida , Park Byung-Lae , Cheong Hyun Sub , Uh Soo-Taek , Park Jong-Sook , Jang An-Soo , Kim Mi-Kyeong , Choi Inseon S , Park Choon-Sik , Shin Hyoung Doo 
Published: September 2010

Abstract

Background
Aspirin-intolerant asthma (AIA) occurs in the lower and upper airways through excessive production of leukotrienes upon administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). One of the three symptoms of AIA is nasal polyposis, a chronic inflammatory disease that is related to the function of calcium ion in recruitment of immune cells during airway inflammation. It has been implicated that bronchodilation in the airway is related to Ca(2+) regulation. The calcium channel, voltage-dependent, gamma subunit 6 (CACNG6) gene encodes a protein that stabilizes the calcium channel.

Methods
To study the associations between AIA and polymorphisms in CACNG6 gene, eight variants were genotyped in 102 AIA cases and 429 aspirin-tolerant asthma (ATA) controls. Logistic analyses were used to evaluate the associations of CACNG6 polymorphisms with AIA.

Results
Statistical analyses revealed that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; rs192808C > T; P = 0.0004, P

corr
= 0.0029, OR = 2.88 in co-dominant model; P = 0.0005, P

corr
= 0.0036, OR = 2.99 in dominant model) in intron and a haplotype unique to this variant (CACNG6_BL1_ht6; P = 0.003, P

corr
= 0.02, OR = 2.57 in co-dominant model, P = 0.001, P

corr
= 0.0087, OR = 2.81 in dominant model) were significantly associated with the risk of AIA.

Conclusions
Our results suggest that the CACNG6 variants might be associated with the risk of AIA in a Korean population.
Triple-negative, basal-like, and quintuple-negative breast cancers: better prediction model for survival
Authors: Choi Yoon-La , Oh Ensel , Park Sarah , Kim Yeonju , Park Yeon-Hee , Song Kyoung , Cho Eun Yoon , Hong Yun-Chul , Choi Jong Sun , Lee Jeong Eon , Kim Jung Han , Nam Seok Jin , Im Young-Hyuck , Yang Jung-Hyun , Shin Young Kee 
Published: September 2010

Abstract

Background
Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) and basal-like breast cancers (BLBCs) are known as poor outcome subtypes with a lack of targeted therapy. Previous studies have shown conflicting results regarding the difference of prognostic significance between TNBCs and BLBCs. In this study, we aimed to characterize the prognostic features of TNBCs, in view of BLBCs and quintuple-negative breast cancers (QNBC/5NPs).

Methods
Using tissue microarray-based immunohistochemical analysis, we categorized 951 primary breast cancers into four or five subtypes according to the expression of ER, PR, HER2, and basal markers (CK5/6, EGFR).

Results
The results of this study showed that both TNBCs and BLBCs were associated with high histological and/or nuclear grades. When the TNBCs are divided into two subtypes by the presence of basal markers, the clinicopathologic characteristics of TNBCs were mainly maintained in the BLBCs. The 5-subgrouping was the better prediction model for both disease free and overall survival in breast cancers than the 4-subgrouping. After multivariate analysis of TNBCs, the BLBCs did not have a worse prognosis than the QNBC/5NPs. Interestingly, the patients with BLBCs showed significant adjuvant chemotherapy benefit. In addition, QNBC/5NPs comprised about 6~8% of breast cancers in publicly available breast cancer datasets

Conclusion
The QNBC/5NP subtype is a worse prognostic subgroup of TNBCs, especially in higher stage and this result may be related to adjuvant chemotherapy benefit of BLBCs, calling for caution in the identification of subgroups of patients for therapeutic classification.
Lack of effects of pioglitazone on cardiac function in patients with type 2 diabetes and evidence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction: a tissue doppler imaging study
Authors: Naka Katerina K , Pappas Konstantinos , Papathanassiou Katerina , Papamichael Nikolaos D , Kazakos Nikolaos , Kanioglou Chryssanthi , Makriyiannis Demetrios , Katsouras Christos S , Liveris Kostas , Tsatsoulis Agathocles , Michalis Lampros K 
Published: September 2010

Abstract

Background
Thiazolidinediones, used for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2), are associated with an increased incidence of heart failure. We sought to investigate the effects of pioglitazone on novel echocardiographic indices of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in DM2 patients with LV diastolic dysfunction (LVDD).

Methods
Eighty-eight asymptomatic DM2 patients on metformin and/or sulfonylureas, aged 64.5 ± 7.7 years, without known cardiovascular disease, with normal LV systolic function and evidence of LVDD were randomly assigned to pioglitazone 30 mg/day (n = 42) or an increase in dose of other oral agents (n = 39) for 6 months. All patients underwent transthoracic conventional and Tissue Doppler Imaging echocardiography at baseline and follow-up. The primary end-point was change in early diastolic velocity of the mitral annulus (E').

Results
Improvement of glycaemic control was similar in the 2 groups. A significant difference (p < 0.05) between the 2 groups was found in the treatment-induced changes in fasting insulin, the insulin resistance index HOMA, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, diastolic blood pressure (all in favor of pioglitazone) and in body weight (increase with pioglitazone). No significant changes were observed in any echocardiographic parameter in either group and did not differ between groups (p = NS for all). E' increased non-significantly and to a similar extent in both groups (p = NS).

Conclusions
In asymptomatic DM2 patients with LVDD, the addition of pioglitazone to oral conventional treatment for 6 months does not induce any adverse or favorable changes in LV diastolic or systolic function despite improvements in glycaemic control, insulin sensitivity, lipid profile, and blood pressure.