bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Economic Considerations in Frequent Home Hemodialysis
Authors: McFarlane Phil , Komenda Paul 
Published: November 2011

AbstractHemodialysis (HD) is often used as an example of the most expensive chronic medical intervention that society will pay for on an ongoing basis. More intensive forms of HD have been associated with improved clinical outcomes, but concerns have been raised regarding the possibility of increased costs. We review recent Canadian studies examining the costs and cost utility of intensive HD, with a focus on comparisons with conventional in‐center hemodialysis (IHD). The costs of starting a new home nocturnal hemodialysis (HNHD) program in British Columbia was estimated to be about $510,000 for the first year of the program, including the training of the first 53 patients, or about $18,830 per patient. A study by Lee et al. found the costs of home HD to be substantially less than IHD ($93,976 vs. $54,936,p < 0.001). A study by Kroeker et al. found that the lowest costs were seen with home short daily HD ($82,522), compared with $89,154 for IHD, and $91,218 for HNHD. Two studies by McFarlane et al. found that total costs were lower for those receiving HNHD (IHD $87,172 vs. HNHD $71,313), and that HNHD was associated with a superior cost‐utility ratio (CAN$ 2011, HNHD $84,430/quality‐adjusted life year [QALY] vs. IHD $148,722/QALY, incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio: −$54,281,p < 0.05). While consistent findings of lower staffing and overhead costs for home HD, and higher consumable costs for frequent dialysis are probably reliable, findings of lower medication and hospital admission costs seen with intensive HD will need confirmation in randomized studies. Modifications to conventional dialysis funding are needed to accommodate for the additional costs of supplies and technology needed to support intensive modalities.
Intensive Hemodialysis: Normalizing the “Unphysiology” of Conventional Hemodialysis?
Authors: Curran Simon P. , Chan Christopher T. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractInterest in intensified hemodialysis (HD) regimens is increasing internationally, as there is growing evidence that they are associated with improved outcomes. Appreciation that conventional hemodialysis (CHD), delivered as 4‐hour sessions three times a week, is not providing optimal physiological replacement of renal function has led to the development of intensified dialysis therapies. These include long intermittent hemodialysis typically lasting 6–8 hours and delivered three times a week, short daily hemodialysis, providing more frequent sessions 4–7 days a week lasting 2–3.5 hours, and nocturnal hemodialysis, performed 5–7 days a week for 6–8 hours. Studies evaluating outcomes from these programs have indicated superior results to those achieved with CHD, including favorable modifications of cardiovascular risk factors and improvements in a variety of clinical measures. The objective of this review is to present available evidence supporting the hypothesis that in an attempt to provide a “more normal physiology,” intensified HD regimens achieve outcomes superior to those historically achieved with CHD.
Examining Health‐Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), disease‐specific quality of life, and coping behaviors in adolescents with renal disease
Authors: Tay Lynette S. , Wan Deborah , Aw Marion , Kim Yap Hui 
Published: November 2011

AbstractIntroductionTo examine and compare the Health‐Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and disease‐specific HRQoL of pediatric renal dialysis and transplant patients based on patients' perspectives. The coping strategies employed by these two groups of patients were also investigated.MethodsTen adolescents who had undergone kidney transplants (mean age 17.80 ± 1.55 years) and 19 adolescents who were receiving dialysis treatments (mean age 17.16 ± 2.19 years) participated in the study and were asked to complete three questionnaires: PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Module, PedsQL End‐Stage Renal Disease Module, and the KIDCOPE.ResultsCompared to pediatric kidney transplant patients, adolescents on dialysis reported more difficulties with school functioning and lower overall HRQoL. They also reported having more concerns with adhering to treatment and diets, more problems with family and peer interaction, and lower disease‐specific HRQoL than transplant patients. Differences in preferred types of coping strategies were found based on gender and type of medical treatment.DiscussionDirections for future research to further investigate the variables associated with psychological wellbeing and adaptive coping among pediatric renal patients were discussed based on study findings. Possible psychosocial variables that might have influenced detected differences in patients' HRQoL outcomes between the transplant and dialysis groups were also discussed, with a focus on the types of coping strategies employed by the respective patient groups.
The Church Is the Mission: Integrating the IMC with the WCC
Authors: Laing Mark 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThis article discusses the reasons for the integration of the International Missionary Council with the World Council of Churches and evaluates the outcome of integration and the role of the International Review of Mission/s in this process. It focuses particularly on the role played by a key figure in this process, Lesslie Newbigin, the last general secretary of the IMC and the first director of world mission and evangelism in the WCC.
“Get Up … Take the Child … and Escape to Egypt”: Transforming Christianity into a Non‐Western Religion in Africa
Authors: Asamoah‐Gyadu J. Kwabena 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThis article examines some of the changes that have taken place within world Christianity in the last century, particularly in Africa, and as reflected in various articles of the International Review of Mission (IRM) over the past 100 years. These changes include a shift in the demographic centre of Christianity from the North to the South, and the rise and development of Pentecostalism. This relates to Africans becoming disenchanted with aspects of mission Christianity that were unable to work with indigenous enchanted worldviews.
Pharmacokinetic Effects of Coadministration of Lersivirine with Raltegravir or Maraviroc in Healthy Subjects
Authors: Vourvahis Manoli , Langdon Grant , LaBadie Robert R. , Layton Gary , Ndongo Marie-Noella , Banerjee Subhashis , Davis John 
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACT

Lersivirine (UK-453,061) is a new nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor currently being developed as a treatment for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection. Lersivirine shows potent activity against wild-type and clinically relevant drug-resistant strains. Previous studies have demonstrated that lersivirine is metabolized by glucuronidation via UGT2B7 and by cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4). Lersivirine is also a weak inducer of the CYP3A4 enzyme. Therefore, coadministered lersivirine could potentially affect the pharmacokinetics of maraviroc, a CCR5 antagonist metabolized by CYP3A4, and raltegravir, an integrase inhibitor metabolized by glucuronidation. Two open-label studies assessed the pharmacokinetics of raltegravir and of maraviroc when they were coadministered with lersivirine and the pharmacokinetics of lersivirine when it was coadministered with raltegravir. Minor, clinically nonsignificant effects on the pharmacokinetics of raltegravir coadministered with lersivirine were observed at steady state for raltegravir, with estimated mean changes of −15%, −29%, and +25% in the area under the concentration-time profile from time zero to the end of the dosing interval (AUC
tau
), maximum plasma concentration (
C
max
), and concentration observed 12 h postdose (
C
12
), respectively. There were no clinically relevant effects of steady-state raltegravir on lersivirine AUC
tau
,
C
max
, or concentration observed 24 h postdose (
C
24
) (estimated mean changes of −2 to +5%). Coadministration of lersivirine at steady state with maraviroc resulted in no clinically relevant effects on maraviroc AUC
tau
,
C
max
, or
C
12
(estimated mean changes of +3.4 to +8.6%). Lersivirine appeared to be generally well tolerated in these studies and appears to be suitable for coadministration with raltegravir or maraviroc without the need for dose modification.
Reduced Impact of Pyrimethamine Drug Pressure on Plasmodium malariae Dihydrofolate Reductase Gene
Authors: Khim Nimol , Kim Saorin , Bouchier Christiane , Tichit Magali , Ariey Frédéric , Fandeur Thierry , Chim Pheaktra , Ke Sopheakvatey , Sum Sarorn , Man Somnang , Ratsimbasoa Arsène , Durand Rémy , Ménard Didier 
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACT

Molecular investigations performed following the emergence of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) resistance in
Plasmodium falciparum
have allowed the identification of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) enzyme as the target of pyrimethamine. Although clinical cases of
Plasmodium malariae
are not usually treated with antifolate therapy, incorrect diagnosis and the high frequency of undetected mixed infections has probably exposed non-
P. falciparum
parasites to antifolate therapy in many areas. In this context, we aimed to assess the worldwide genetic diversity of the
P. malariae
dhfr
gene in 123 samples collected in Africa and Asia, areas with different histories of SP use. Among the 10 polymorphic sites found, we have observed 7 new mutations (K55E, S58R, S59A, F168S, N194S, D207G, and T221A), which led us to describe 6 new DHFR proteins. All isolates from African countries were classified as wild type, while new mutations and haplotypes were recognized as exclusive to Madagascar (except for the double mutations at nucleotides 341 and 342 [S114N] found in one Cambodian isolate). Among these nonsynonymous mutations, two were likely related to pyrimethamine resistance: S58R (corresponding to C59R in
P. falciparum
and S58R in
Plasmodium vivax
; observed in one Malagasy sample) and S114N (corresponding to S108N in
P. falciparum
and S117N in
P. vivax
; observed in three Cambodian samples).
Vancomycin AUC
24
/MIC Ratio in Patients with Complicated Bacteremia and Infective Endocarditis Due to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Its Association with Attributable Mortality during Hospitalization
Authors: Brown Jack , Brown Kristen , Forrest Alan 
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACT

Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) is a common cause of complicated bacteremia (CB) and infective endocarditis (IE). The gold standard treatment for these infections is vancomycin. A vancomycin area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h (AUC
24
)/MIC ratio of >400 has been suggested as a target to achieve clinical effectiveness, and yet to date no study has quantitatively investigated the AUC
24
/MIC ratio and its association with attributable mortality (AM). We performed a review of patients treated for MRSA CB and IE from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2008. AM was defined as deaths where CB or IE was documented as the main cause or was mentioned as the main diagnosis. Classification and regression tree analysis (CART) was used to identify the AUC
24
/MIC ratio associated with AM. Mann-Whitney and Fisher exact tests were used for univariate analysis, and logistic regression was used for multivariate modeling. The MICs were determined by Etest, and the AUC
24
was determined using a maximum
a posteriori
probability-Bayesian estimator. A total of 32 CB and 18 IE patients were enrolled. The overall crude mortality and AM were 24 and 16%, respectively. The CART-derived partition for the AUC
24
/MIC ratio and AM was <211. Patients with an AUC
24
/MIC ratio of <211 had a >4-fold increase in AM than patients who received vancomycin doses that achieved an AUC
24
/MIC ratio of ≥211 (38 and 8%, respectively;
P
= 0.02). In bivariate analysis the APACHE-II score and an AUC
24
/MIC ratio of <211 were significantly associated with AM. In the multivariate model, the APACHE-II score (odds ratio, 1.24;
P
= 0.04) and a vancomycin AUC/MIC ratio of <211 (odds ratio, 10.4;
P
= 0.01) were independent predictors of AM. In our analysis, independent predictors of AM were the APACHE-II score and an AUC
24
/MIC ratio of <211. We believe further investigations are warranted.
Adaptation of barley to mild winters: A role for PPDH2
Authors: Casao M Cristina , Karsai Ildiko , Igartua Ernesto , Gracia M Pilar , Veisz Otto , Casas Ana M 
Published: November 2011

Abstract

Background
Understanding the adaptation of cereals to environmental conditions is one of the key areas in which plant science can contribute to tackling challenges presented by climate change. Temperature and day length are the main environmental regulators of flowering and drivers of adaptation in temperate cereals. The major genes that control flowering time in barley in response to environmental cues are VRNH1, VRNH2, VRNH3, PPDH1, and PPDH2 (candidate gene HvFT3). These genes from the vernalization and photoperiod pathways show complex interactions to promote flowering that are still not understood fully. In particular, PPDH2 function is assumed to be limited to the ability of a short photoperiod to promote flowering. Evidence from the fields of biodiversity, ecogeography, agronomy, and molecular genetics was combined to obtain a more complete overview of the potential role of PPDH2 in environmental adaptation in barley.

Results
The dominant PPDH2 allele is represented widely in spring barley cultivars but is found only occasionally in modern winter cultivars that have strong vernalization requirements. However, old landraces from the Iberian Peninsula, which also have a vernalization requirement, possess this allele at a much higher frequency than modern winter barley cultivars. Under field conditions in which the vernalization requirement of winter cultivars is not satisfied, the dominant PPDH2 allele promotes flowering, even under increasing photoperiods above 12 h. This hypothesis was supported by expression analysis of vernalization-responsive genotypes. When the dominant allele of PPDH2 was expressed, this was associated with enhanced levels of VRNH1 and VRNH3 expression. Expression of these two genes is needed for the induction of flowering. Therefore, both in the field and under controlled conditions, PPDH2 has an effect of promotion of flowering.

Conclusions
The dominant, ancestral, allele of PPDH2 is prevalent in southern European barley germplasm. The presence of the dominant allele is associated with early expression of VRNH1 and early flowering. We propose that PPDH2 promotes flowering of winter cultivars under all non-inductive conditions, i.e. under short days or long days in plants that have not satisfied their vernalization requirement. This mechanism is indicated to be a component of an adaptation syndrome of barley to Mediterranean conditions.
Solitary fibrous tumor arising in the mesentery: a case report
Authors: Bouhabel Sarah , Leblanc Guy , Ferreira Jose , Leclerc Yves E , Dubé Pierre , Sidéris Lucas 
Published: November 2011

Abstract

Background
Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm usually found in the pleura, soft tissues and visceral organs. We describe one case arising in the mesentery, which is an exceptional localization.

Case presentation
A 71-year-old man was referred to our establishment for a painless hypogastric mass. Further investigation revealed a vascular tumor, which was resected en bloc. Pathological findings confirmed solitary fibrous tumor of the mesentery.

Conclusion
This is the second case of solitary fibrous tumor of the small intestine mesentery ever reported. It was managed by en bloc resection and close follow up considering the high risk of recurrence. Investigation should be made regarding the use of adjuvant systemic therapy to improve long-term survival for these patients.
Transport and infrared photoresponse properties of InN nanorods/Si heterojunction
Authors: Kumar Mahesh , Bhat Thirumaleshwara N , Rajpalke Mohana K , Roul Basanta , Kalghatgi Ajit T , Krupanidhi S B 
Published: November 2011

Abstract
The present work explores the electrical transport and infrared (IR) photoresponse properties of InN nanorods (NRs)/n-Si heterojunction grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Single-crystalline wurtzite structure of InN NRs is verified by the X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Raman measurements show that these wurtzite InN NRs have sharp peaks E
2(high) at 490.2 cm-1 and A
1(LO) at 591 cm-1. The current transport mechanism of the NRs is limited by three types of mechanisms depending on applied bias voltages. The electrical transport properties of the device were studied in the range of 80 to 450 K. The faster rise and decay time indicate that the InN NRs/n-Si heterojunction is highly sensitive to IR light.
A network-based approach to classify the three domains of life
Authors: Mueller Laurin AJ , Kugler Karl G , Netzer Michael , Graber Armin , Dehmer Matthias 
Published: November 2011

Abstract

Background
Identifying group-specific characteristics in metabolic networks can provide better insight into evolutionary developments. Here, we present an approach to classify the three domains of life using topological information about the underlying metabolic networks. These networks have been shown to share domain-independent structural similarities, which pose a special challenge for our endeavour. We quantify specific structural information by using topological network descriptors to classify this set of metabolic networks. Such measures quantify the structural complexity of the underlying networks. In this study, we use such measures to capture domain-specific structural features of the metabolic networks to classify the data set. So far, it has been a challenging undertaking to examine what kind of structural complexity such measures do detect. In this paper, we apply two groups of topological network descriptors to metabolic networks and evaluate their classification performance. Moreover, we combine the two groups to perform a feature selection to estimate the structural features with the highest classification ability in order to optimize the classification performance.

Results
By combining the two groups, we can identify seven topological network descriptors that show a group-specific characteristic by ANOVA. A multivariate analysis using feature selection and supervised machine learning leads to a reasonable classification performance with a weighted F-score of 83.7% and an accuracy of 83.9%. We further demonstrate that our approach outperforms alternative methods. Also, our results reveal that entropy-based descriptors show the highest classification ability for this set of networks.

Conclusions
Our results show that these particular topological network descriptors are able to capture domain-specific structural characteristics for classifying metabolic networks between the three domains of life.
Reconstruction of defects of maxillary sinus wall after removal of a huge odontogenic lesion using prebended 3D titanium-mesh and CAD/CAM technique
Authors: Stoetzer Marcus , Rana Majeed , von See Constantin , Eckardt André M , Gellrich Nils-Claudius 
Published: November 2011

Abstract
A 63 year-old male with a huge odontogenic lesion of sinus maxillaris was treated with computer-assisted surgery. After resection of the odontogenic lesion, the sinus wall was reconstructed with a prebended 3D titanium-mesh using CAD/CAM technique. This work provides a new treatment device for maxillary reconstruction via rapid prototyping procedures.
Detection of rare functional variants using group ISIS
Authors: Niu Yue S , Hao Ning , An Lingling 
Published: November 2011

Abstract
Genome-wide association studies have been firmly established in investigations of the associations between common genetic variants and complex traits or diseases. However, a large portion of complex traits and diseases cannot be explained well by common variants. Detecting rare functional variants becomes a trend and a necessity. Because rare variants have such a small minor allele frequency (e.g., <0.05), detecting functional rare variants is challenging. Group iterative sure independence screening (ISIS), a fast group selection tool, was developed to select important genes and the single-nucleotide polymorphisms within. The performance of the group ISIS and group penalization methods is compared for detecting important genes in the Genetic Analysis Workshop 17 data. The results suggest that the group ISIS is an efficient tool to discover genes and single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated to phenotypes.
New insights into old methods for identifying causal rare variants
Authors: Wang Haitian , Huang Chien-Hsun , Lo Shaw-Hwa , Zheng Tian , Hu Inchi 
Published: November 2011

Abstract
The advance of high-throughput next-generation sequencing technology makes possible the analysis of rare variants. However, the investigation of rare variants in unrelated-individuals data sets faces the challenge of low power, and most methods circumvent the difficulty by using various collapsing procedures based on genes, pathways, or gene clusters. We suggest a new way to identify causal rare variants using the F-statistic and sliced inverse regression. The procedure is tested on the data set provided by the Genetic Analysis Workshop 17 (GAW17). After preliminary data reduction, we ranked markers according to their F-statistic values. Top-ranked markers were then subjected to sliced inverse regression, and those with higher absolute coefficients in the most significant sliced inverse regression direction were selected. The procedure yields good false discovery rates for the GAW17 data and thus is a promising method for future study on rare variants.
Genetic diversity of transmission-blocking vaccine candidates Pvs25 and Pvs28 in Plasmodium vivax isolates from Yunnan Province, China
Authors: Feng Hui , Zheng Li , Zhu Xiaotong , Wang Gege , Pan Yanyan , Li Ying , Yang Yimei , Lin Yahui , Cui Liwang , Cao Yaming 
Published: November 2011

Abstract

Background
Transmission-blocking vaccines (TBVs) have been considered an important strategy for disrupting the malaria transmission cycle, especially for Plasmodium vivax malaria, which undergoes gametocytogenesis earlier during infection. Pvs25 and Pvs28 are transmission-blocking vaccine candidates for P. vivax malaria. Assessment of genetic diversity of the vaccine candidates will provide necessary information for predicting the performance of vaccines, which will guide us during the development of malaria vaccines.

Results
We sequenced the coding regions of pvs25 and pvs28 from 30 P. vivax isolates from Yunnan Province, identifying five amino acid haplotypes of Pvs25 and seven amino acid haplotypes of Pvs28. Among a total of four mutant residues, the predominant haplotype of Pvs25 only had the I130T substitution. For Pvs28, a total of eight amino acid substitutions were identified. The predominant haplotype of Pvs28 had two substitution at positions 52 (M52L) and 140 (T140S) with 5-6 GSGGE/D tandem repeats at the end of fourth EGF-like domain. Most amino acid substitutions were common with previous reports from South Asian isolates. Although the nucleotide diversity of pvs28 (π = 0.0034 ± 0.0012) was significantly higher than pvs25 (π = 0.0013 ± 0.0009), it was still conserved when compared with the blood stage vaccine candidates.

Conclusions
Genetic analysis revealed limited genetic diversity of pvs25 and pvs28, suggesting antigenic diversity may not be a particular problem for Sal I based TBVs in most P. vivax-endemic areas of China.