bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pharmacokinetic study to optimize the intravesical administration of gemcitabine
Authors: Gontero Paolo , Cattel Luigi , Paone Tonia C. , Milla Paola , Berta Giovanna , Fiorito Chiara , Carbone Francesco , Medana Claudio , Tizzani Alessandro 
Published: June 2010

Study Type – Therapy (case control) Level of Evidence 3bOBLECTIVES To assess in a phase II pharmacokinetic study whether different pH levels, dilution volumes and exposure times affect intracellular bioavailability and systemic absorption of gemcitabine.SUBJECTS AND METHODS Six arms of three patients each with a non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) were planned to receive six combinations of two different dilution volumes (50 mL vs 100 mL), two pH levels (2.5–3.5 vs 5.5) and two exposure times (1 h vs 2 h) of the study drug. Blood samples were taken before, during and 1 h after drug instillation. Cold biopsy specimens from the exophytic tumor, its base of implant and a macroscopically healthy mucosa were taken during transurethral resection. High‐pressure liquid chromatography/high‐resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC/HRMSn) analysis of plasma and tissue samples was used to determine concentrations of gemcitabine (dFdC) and its inactive metabolite (dFdU).RESULTS The arm at pH 5.5 in 50 mL was withdrawn as 2000 mg dFdC are insoluble in these conditions. The different instillation conditions resulted in negligible plasma dFdC concentrations but significant differences in intracellular content and metabolism of dFdC. The lowest intratissue concentration of dFdC was detected in a 50 mL solution at a pH of 2.5–3.5 kept in the bladder for 1 h (standard arm). A pH 5.5 solution in 100 mL with a 2‐h exposure favored the maximal intratumoral dFdC absorption which was 90 times higher than that recorded in the standard arm.CONCLUSIONS The most commonly reported administration scheme of gemcitabine produced the lowest tissue bioavailability of dFdC. Other combinations of pH, dilution volume and duration of instillation proved more advantageous and merit testing in clinical trials.
Effective delivery of a nematode‐repellent peptide using a root‐cap‐specific promoter
Authors: Lilley Catherine J. , Wang Dong , Atkinson Howard J. , Urwin Peter E. 
Published: June 2010

SummaryThe potential of the MDK4‐20 promoter of Arabidopsis thaliana to direct effective transgenic expression of a secreted nematode‐repellent peptide was investigated. Its expression pattern was studied in both transgenic Arabidopsis and Solanum tuberosum (potato) plants. It directed root‐specific β‐glucuronidase expression in both species that was chiefly localized to cells of the root cap. Use of the fluorescent timer protein dsRED‐E5 established that the MDK4‐20 promoter remains active for longer than the commonly used constitutive promoter CaMV35S in separated potato root border cells. Transgenic Arabidopsis lines that expressed the nematode‐repellent peptide under the control of either AtMDK4‐20 or CaMV35S reduced the establishment of the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii. The best line using the AtMDK4‐20 promoter displayed a level of resistance >80%, comparable to that of lines using the CaMV35S promoter. In transgenic potato plants, 94.9 ± 0.8% resistance to the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida was achieved using the AtMDK4‐20 promoter, compared with 34.4 ± 8.4% resistance displayed by a line expressing the repellent peptide from the CaMV35S promoter. These results establish the potential of the AtMDK4‐20 promoter to limit expression of a repellent peptide whilst maintaining or even improving the efficacy of the cyst‐nematode defence.
Usability Issues in Applying Participatory Mapping for Neighborhood Infrastructure Planning
Authors: Aditya Trias 
Published: June 2010

AbstractPublic participation is required in neighborhood infrastructure planning and problem‐solving. Although Participatory GIS methods are considered important to help urban community groups identify problems and express their needs and concerns, usable means to help groups produce their maps remain difficult to be realised. Further, an effective means to facilitate the integration of government spatial plans and participatory maps also remains unclear. This article addresses usability issues in participatory mapping activities by exploring group collaboration mechanics and accomplishing use assessments. The study aims at testing the usefulness and the impact of participatory mapping for community development. User studies including questionnaire surveys, interviews, group usability testing, scenario assessments, and the scaling‐up activity were executed. Transparent photomaps, Mobile GIS, and a Web map were implemented and assessed in the study area. A use scenario for community and official spatial data integration was also developed. The results of user studies show that the use of transparent photomaps is more effective to complete group tasks to discuss, draw, and annotate their infrastructure problems. For group participants, the transparent maps are more engaging, easy to learn, and more error tolerant than the use of Mobile GIS. A combination use of simple and advanced PGIS methods is necessary to be implemented to reach informed priority‐decision making.
A Conceptual Poverty Mapping Data Model
Authors: Akinyemi Felicia 
Published: June 2010

AbstractGIS is increasingly used in poverty mapping but there is no generic data model for database development. Examples exist already of industry‐specific models. Having such a data model eases the complexity of incorporating spatial data in poverty assessments. This article raises awareness about the need for a generic poverty data model for use in poverty mapping. It seeks to stimulate a lively debate that will lead to the development and adoption of such a data model. The ultimate goal will be to get to some level of standardization for common data types that would facilitate spatial data use in poverty assessment and sharing among poverty projects. This article is a first step at developing a data model for poverty mapping at a conceptual level. Handling multidimensional social problems, such as poverty, using a spatial framework can be challenging because of the myriad of poverty indicators in use. Employing the entity‐relationship approach, a conceptual model is developed in the current article that identifies the key thematic layers, entities, and relationships. The conceptual model produced is useful for modeling the content of the database for use in assessing and monitoring poverty.
Cartoblography: Experiments in Using and Organising the Spatial Context of Micro‐blogging
Authors: Field Kenneth , O'Brien James 
Published: June 2010

AbstractBlogs, micro‐blogs and online forums underpin a more interconnected world. People communicate ever more and are increasingly keen to explain and illustrate their lives; showing where they are and what they are doing. Desktop, online and mobile mapping landscapes have never been as rich or diverse yet this challenges cartography to adapt and remain relevant in the modern mapping world. We explore the spatial expression and potential value of micro‐blogging and Twitter as a social networking tool. Examples of “twitter maps” are reviewed that leverage the Twitter API and online map services to locate some component of the “tweet”. Scope, function and design are illustrated through development of two proof‐of‐concept map mashups that support collaborative real‐time mapping and the organisation and display of information for mass user events. Through the experiments in using and organising data in this way we demonstrate the value of “cartoblography”– a framework for mapping the spatial context of micro‐blogging.
Automobility and the Politics of Bicycling in New York City
Authors: BLICKSTEIN SUSAN G. 
Published: June 2010

AbstractThis article examines the regulatory frameworks and practices that deter bicycling as a mode of protest. Through an in‐depth case study of New York City's legal, policing and enforcement practices towards bicyclists in the wake of the 2004 Republican National Convention, I explore the assumptions underpinning the regulation of bicycling as a mode of protest. In addition to analyzing these regulatory and legal frameworks to highlight how they suppress bicycling as protest, this case study illustrates how police practices work in tandem with the law to erode the potential for alternative mobilities and citizenships to flourish. Through ‘command and control’ policing and regulatory tactics, the New York Police Department is deterring cyclists from participating in group bike rides and is carrying out low‐level harassment of ‘ordinary’ cyclists. The experience of New York City's cyclists shows that in addition to changes to infrastructure and transportation policies, changes to the rules, regulations and practices governing protest will be necessary for alternative mobilities to fully flourish.Résumé Cet article examine les pratiques et cadres réglementaires qui dissuadent l’usage de la bicyclette comme mode de protestation. À partir d’une étude de cas approfondie des pratiques juridiques, de surveillance policière et de coercition à l’encontre des cyclistes à la suite de la Convention républicaine nationale de 2004, il examine les postulats qui sous‐tendent la réglementation du cyclisme comme mode de manifestation. Outre l’analyse de ces systèmes réglementaires et juridiques pour souligner la manière dont ils éliminent la bicyclette comme moyen de protestation, l’étude de cas illustre comment les pratiques policières se conjuguent à la loi pour miner le développement potentiel de citoyennetés et mobilités alternatives. Par des tactiques réglementaires et policières ‘de commandement et de contrôle’, la police new‐yorkaise dissuade les cyclistes de prendre part à des promenades en groupe et se livre à un harcèlement modéré des cyclistes ‘ordinaires’. L’expérience des cyclistes new‐yorkais montre qu’en plus des changements de politiques d’infrastructure et de transport, il faudra modifier les règles, réglementations et pratiques régissant les manifestations pour que se développent vraiment des mobilités alternatives.
Community Governance, Critical Cosmopolitanism and Urban Change: Observations from Taipei, Taiwan
Authors: RACO MIKE , IMRIE ROB , LIN WEN‐I 
Published: June 2010

AbstractUrban policy agendas are increasingly focused on the mobilization of active citizens and the propagation of cosmopolitan identities. This reflects a growing convergence between countries in urban policy thinking and practice, and greater uniformity in the terms and concepts that are used in different countries. This article draws on empirical evidence from Taipei, Taiwan to explore the form and character of changing urban policy agendas and their impacts on urban environments and communities. Taipei has undergone radical social, economic and political change in recent decades, and in the 2000s policymakers readily adopted the discourses of cosmopolitanism and community empowerment to legitimate major redevelopment projects. We develop the argument that this turn to cosmopolitanism lies at the heart of a paradox. On the one hand it is presented by policymakers as a radical, emancipatory programme that reflects wider shifts in the aspirations and expectations of increasingly active and globally oriented citizens. On the other hand, the term is used to underpin reactionary or conservative agendas that seek to sustain and extend existing power relations. The article argues that greater academic and policy attention needs to be given to the socially situated nature of cosmopolitanism and its characterizations in diverse contexts.Résumé Les programmes des politiques urbaines se consacrent de plus en plus à la mobilisation de citoyens actifs et à la dissémination d’identités cosmopolites. Ils traduisent le fait que la pratique et la réflexion en matière de politiques urbaines se rejoignent d’un pays à l’autre, et que les modalités et concepts utilisés dans différents pays s’uniformisent progressivement. Cet article s’appuie sur des faits empiriques concernant Taipei (Taïwan) pour examiner la forme et la nature des programmes de politiques publiques de la ville, dans leur évolution et leurs impacts sur les communautés et environnements urbains. Taipei a connu une transformation sociale, économique et politique radicale sur les dernières décennies, et dans les années 2000, les décideurs politiques ont volontiers adopté les discours du cosmopolitisme et de l’autonomie des communautés afin de justifier d’importants projets de réaménagement. Or, cette orientation vers le cosmopolitisme se trouve au centre d’un paradoxe. D’un côté, les concepteurs de ces politiques la présentent comme un programme radical d’émancipation reflétant les bouleversements globaux dans les aspirations et attentes d’habitants toujours plus actifs et mondialisés. De l’autre, la terminologie sous‐tend des programmes réactionnaires ou conservateurs qui visent à nourrir et développer les relations de pouvoir existantes. Il faut donc que la recherche et les politiques publiques s’intéressent davantage à la nature socialement située du cosmopolitisme et à ses caractérisations dans divers contextes.
The Saving Gateway: Implications for Optimal Saving*
Authors: Rablen Matthew D. 
Published: June 2010

AbstractThe Saving Gateway is a government saving initiative aiming to ‘kick‐start a saving habit among people on lower incomes’. Funds saved in a Saving Gateway account up to a monthly limit are matched by the government after two years at a rate of £0.50 per £1 saved. In this paper, a Saving Gateway account is embedded alongside an ordinary interest‐bearing account in a simple life‐cycle model of saving to assess the implications of the scheme for optimal saving. Among the findings are that, for agents with access to credit, the Saving Gateway is associated with a fall in saving during the life of the account and a rise in consumption. However, the scheme increases saving by the credit‐constrained. On their own, empirically plausible levels of habit formation in consumption preferences have too small an effect on saving to justify the scheme.
Place of Residence Affects Routine Dental Care in the Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled Adult Population on Medicaid
Authors: Bershadsky Julie , Kane Robert L. 
Published: June 2010

Objective. To compare the likelihood of intellectually and developmentally disabled (ID/DD) adults receiving a dental cleaning across places of residence.Data Sources. Medicaid and Minnesota's Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) databases.Study Design. All adults with DD assessments in MMIS in 2001–2002.Data Extraction Methods. All completed DD assessments in 2001–2002 linked to Medicaid utilization data for same recipients for same years.Conclusions. The most disabled individuals are generally least likely to receive a dental cleaning. Individuals living in their own or a family home are less likely to receive the procedure than those living in ICF/MRs or a group home, even after controlling for disability, with those living in a group home falling in between ICF/MR and own/family home residents. The level of preventive dental care that ID/DD adults receive in community settings may be inadequate, particularly for persons living in own homes or with family.
Examining the Relationship between Clinical Monitoring and Suicide Risk among Patients with Depression: Matched Case–Control Study and Instrumental Variable Approaches
Authors: Kim Hyungjin Myra , Eisenberg Daniel , Ganoczy Dara , Hoggatt Katherine , Austin Karen L. , Downing Karen , McCarthy John F. , Ilgen Mark , Valenstein Marcia 
Published: June 2010

Objective. To assess the relationship between closer monitoring of depressed patients during high‐risk treatment periods and death from suicide, using two analytic approaches.Data Source. VA patients receiving depression treatment between 1999 and 2004.Study Design. First, a case–control design was used, adjusting for age, gender, and high‐risk days (1,032 cases and 2,058 controls). Second, an instrumental variable (IV) approach (N=714,106) was used, with IVs of (1) average monitoring rates in the VA facility of most use and (2) monitoring rates of VA facilities weighted inversely by distance from patients' residences.Principal Findings. The case–control approach indicated a modest increase in suicide risk with each additional visit (odds ratio=1.02; 95 percent confidence interval=1.002, 1.04). The “facility used” IV estimate indicated near zero change in risk (0.0008 percent increase; p=.97) with each additional visit, while the distance‐weighted IV estimate indicated a 0.032 percent decrease in risk (p=.29). An alternative analysis assuming a threshold effect of ≥4 visits during high‐risk periods also showed a decrease (0.15 percent; p=.08) using the distance IV.Conclusions. The IV approach appeared to address the selection bias more appropriately than the case–control analysis. Neither analysis clearly indicated that closer monitoring during high‐risk periods was significantly associated with reduced suicide risks, but the distance‐weighted IV estimate suggested a potentially protective effect.
How Does Medicaid‐Managed Care Impact Reporting of Medicaid Status?
Authors: Plotzke Michael R. , Klerman Jacob Alex , Davern Michael 
Published: June 2010

Objective. To resolve a conflict in the literature on whether Medicaid‐Managed Care (MMC) impacts the Medicaid Undercount.Data Sources/Study Setting. California county‐level data (1995–1997) on MMC penetration, public use data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) (1995–1997), and restricted CPS data matched to administrative records on Medicaid enrollment (2001–2002).Study Design. We explore the robustness of previous results from the literature first using aggregate data and alternative models. We then examine CPS data linked to Medicaid enrollment data to estimate models of Medicaid reporting errors related to MMC.Data Collection/Extraction Methods. The Census Bureau linked administrative data on Medicaid enrollment to the CPS. Other data used were public use.Principal Findings. We find similar results to a previous study using aggregate data that suggest that MMC worsens reporting of Medicaid enrollment. However, using alternative methods we find those results are not statistically significant and can have opposite signs. Our linked CPS microdata analysis suggests that MMC improves reporting. The article concludes with implications of these results for policy makers.Conclusion. It is unlikely that increased MMC penetration explains the increased Medicaid Undercount.
Biological actions of green tea catechins on cardiac troponin C
Authors: Tadano Naoto , Du Cheng‐Kun , Yumoto Fumiaki , Morimoto Sachio , Ohta Mika , Xie Ming‐Fang , Nagata Koji , Zhan Dong‐Yun , Lu Qun‐Wei , Miwa Yoshikazu , Takahashi‐Yanaga Fumi , Tanokura Masaru , Ohtsuki Iwao , Sasaguri Toshiyuki 
Published: June 2010

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSECatechins, biologically active polyphenols in green tea, are known to have a protective effect against cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we investigated direct actions of green tea catechins on cardiac muscle function to explore their uses as potential drugs for cardiac muscle disease.EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHThe effects of catechins were systematically investigated on the force‐pCa relationship in skinned cardiac muscle fibres to determine their direct effects on cardiac myofilament contractility. The mechanisms of action of effective catechins were investigated using troponin exchange techniques, quartz crystal microbalance, nuclear magnetic resonance and a transgenic mouse model.KEY RESULTS(‐)‐Epicatechin‐3‐gallate (ECg) and (‐)‐epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCg), but not their stereoismers (‐)‐catechin‐3‐gallate and (‐)‐gallocatechin‐3‐gallate, decreased cardiac myofilament Ca2+sensitivity probably through its interaction with cardiac troponin C. EGCg restored cardiac output in isolated working hearts by improving diastolic dysfunction caused by increased myofilament Ca2+sensitivity in a mouse model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONSThe green tea catechins, ECg and EGCg, are Ca2+desensitizers acting through binding to cardiac troponin C. These compounds might be useful compounds for the development of therapeutic agents to treat the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy caused by increased Ca2+sensitivity of cardiac myofilaments.
Special problems: Adults and elderly
Authors: Stephen Linda J. , Brodie Martin J. 
Published: June 2010

SummaryA first seizure out of a clear blue sky can be a major life‐changing event. Careful history‐taking and appropriate investigation together with a clear explanation provided to patient and family are an essential requirement. Although for most patients, pharmacotherapy can be withheld and events awaited, there are circumstances where introduction of antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy should be considered. Medical causes of seizures should also be sought and treated. In addition, a first seizure in HIV‐positive patients and in those with underlying neurocysticercosis should usually provoke the introduction of AED therapy. Particular problems can occur in patients with a single episode of provoked status epilepticus, a first tonic–clonic seizure during pregnancy and, particularly, an unprovoked event in older and learning disabled people. Treatment following a first seizure should balance risk factors for recurrence with the informed opinion of the patients and their family.
Formal genesis of the outflow tracts of the heart revisited: Previous works in the light of recent observations
Authors: Okamoto Naomasa , Akimoto Naotaka , Hidaka Nobuto , Shoji Shuneki , Sumida Hiroshi 
Published: June 2010

ABSTRACTThe formal genesis of the great arteries continues to be controversial due to the lack of consensus of septation of the developing outflow tract. In order to make it clear how the great arteries are generated, we have re‐examined our previous papers which emphasized the formation of the aorta and pulmonary trunk, concept of the aorticopulmonary septum, formation of the leaflets of semilunar valves, morphogenesis of the crista supraventricularis, programmed cell death and rotation of the outflow tract. In the present paper, we compare outcomes gained from the re‐examination of our previous papers with prevalent interpretations of the arterial trunk. We obtained conclusions as follows: (i) The elongation of the fourth and sixth aortic arch arteries, which sprout from the wall of the aortic sac at the expense of the distal truncus, contributes to the formation of the aorta and pulmonary trunk; (ii) Smooth muscle cells of the tunica media of the arterial trunks do not arise from the transformation of the myocardial cells of the truncus wall (not ‘arterialization’); (iii) Truncus swellings are divided into two parts: distal and proximal. The former contributes to the separation of the orifices of arterial trunks (‘aorticopulmonary septum’). The latter contributes to the formation of the leaflets of the semilunar valves of the aorta and pulmonary trunk; (iv) The origin of the myocardial cells of the crista supraventricularis is a wall of the conus originated from secondary/anterior heart fields; and (v) There has been no acceptable proof that rotation and counterclockwise rotation are involved.