bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Podoconiosis – non‐filarial geochemical elephantiasis – a neglected tropical disease?
Authors: Nenoff Pietro , Simon Jan Christoph , Muylowa Grace K. , Davey Gail 
Published: May 2009

SummaryPodoconiosis or mossy foot is a form of non‐filarial lymphedema. This geo‐chemical elephantiasis is a disabling condition caused by the passage of microparticles of silica and aluminum silicates through the skin of people walking barefoot in areas with a high content of soil of volcanic origin. Podoconiosis is widespread in tropical Africa, Central America and North India, yet it remains a neglected and under‐researched condition. The disabling effects of podoco‐niosis cause great hardship to patients. It adversely affects the economic (reduced productivity and absenteeism), social (marriage, education, etc.) and psychological (social stigma) well‐being of those affected. Podoconiosis can be prevented; the main primary preventive measure is protective footwear. Secondary measures include a strict hygiene regimen and compression therapy, which can reverse initial lesions. Tertiary approaches include surgical management, such as shaving operations to reduce hyperplastic and verru‐cous elephantiasis.
Discovery of a large and bright bow shock nebula associated with low-mass X-ray binary SAX J1712.6–3739
Authors: Wiersema K. , Russell D. M. , Degenaar N. , Klein-Wolt M. , Wijnands R. , Heinz S. , Read A. M. , Saxton R. D. , Tanvir N. R. 
Published: May 2009

Abstract
In a multiwavelength programme dedicated to identifying optical counterparts of faint persistent X-ray sources in the Galactic bulge, we find an accurate X-ray position of SAX J1712.6–3739 through Chandra observations, and discover its faint optical counterpart using our data from EFOSC2 on the ESO 3.6-m telescope. We find this source to be a highly extincted neutron star low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) with blue optical colours. We serendipitously discover a relatively bright and large bow shock shaped nebula in our deep narrow-band Hα imaging, most likely associated with the X-ray binary. A nebula like this has never been observed before in association with a LMXB, and as such provides a unique laboratory to study the energetics of accretion and jets. We put forward different models to explain the possible ways the LMXB may form this nebulosity, and outline how they can be confirmed observationally.
Geography and Election Results: Disproportionality and Bias at the 1993–2004 Elections to the Australian House of Representatives
Authors: JOHNSTON RON , FORREST JAMES 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThe Alternative Vote system used for elections to the Australian House of Representatives is generally believed to disadvantage the Australian Labor Party in contests with the Liberal and National parties. However, most analyses on which such conclusions are based over‐simplify the situation by not separating out the translation of votes into seats according to whether the election outcome in a district is determined using the first‐preference or two‐party preferred (2PP) votes. Analyses of bias at five recent elections which recognise that separation find little bias against either party in the districts where the determination used the 2PP votes (i.e. no candidate received a majority of the first preferences), but considerable bias in those where the outcome was decided on first‐preferences. Furthermore, that bias was not in one direction, but rather favoured the largest party in each of those contests. The reason for this is identified in the geography of support for the two parties, which produces the equivalent of a ‘cracked gerrymander’ in sufficient districts to have a significant impact on the outcome.
The relationship of pulp polyp with the presence and concentration of immunoglobulin E, histamine, interleukin‐4 and interleukin‐12
Authors: Sattari Mandana , Haghighi Ali K. , Tamijani Hasan D. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between pulp polyp formation and immunoglobulin E (IgE), histamine and interleukin‐4 (IL‐4) as the most important mediators which are involved in allergy. Thirty‐two samples including 16 pulp polyps and 16 normal pulps were gathered. After homogenising the pulpal tissue samples, enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques were used to assess the concentration of IgE, histamine, IL‐4 and IL‐12. The two groups showed statistically significant differences in terms of both the concentration and presence of IgE, histamine and IL‐4 (P < 0.001); both presence and concentration of IgE, histamine and IL‐4 were higher in pulp polyps than in normal pulps. There is not any significant difference between case and control groups regarding IL‐12. The results of this study give rise to the possibility of type I hypersensitivity reaction being involved in pulp polyp's pathogenesis.
Balance after stapedotomy: analysis of balance with computerized dynamic posturography
Authors: Özmen A.Ö. , Aksoy S. , Özmen S. , Saraç S. , Sennaroğlu L. , Gürsel B. 
Published: May 2009

Objectives:  The aim of this study was to investigate vestibular symptoms and their effect on the balance in otosclerosis patients undergoing stapedotomy operations.Design & setting:  Prospective study at an academic tertiary referral centre.Participants:  Thirty‐three patients undergoing stapedotomy were included in the study.Main outcome measures:  Sensory organisation test (SOT) protocol of computerized dynamic posturography was used to analyse the balance in patients preoperatively, in the first postoperative week and the first postoperative month. Postoperative vestibular symptoms were analysed with a grading system. Audiograms were obtained preoperatively and 1 month after the operation.Results:  Preoperatively, all patients were asymptomatic when considering the vestibular system; however, eight of them got low SOT scores on vestibular examination. Postoperatively 82% of the patients had vestibular complaints in variable severity. In the first week, all but one patient become asymptomatic. This patient recovered by the end of postoperative second week. However, a significant drop in SOT scores was encountered at the first week testing (Student’s T‐test, P = 0.001). One month after the operation, all patients were asymptomatic and SOT scores recovered at least to preoperative level. Neither patient characteristics, nor audiological findings were found to be correlated with vestibular changes.Conclusion:  Stapedotomy causes a temporary balance loss in a high percentage of patients which then recover to their former levels in the first postoperative month.
Effectiveness of multi‐channel unilateral cochlear implants for profoundly deaf children: a systematic review
Authors: Bond M. , Elston J. , Mealing S. , Anderson R. , Weiner G. , Taylor R.S. , Liu Z. , Stein K. 
Published: May 2009

Background:  Annually an estimated 223 children in the UK are born with or acquire permanent profound bilateral deafness (PBHL ≥ 95 dB). These children may gain little or no benefit from acoustic hearing aids. However, cochlear implants might enable them to hear.Objectives of the review:  To bring together the diverse research in this area under the rigor of a systematic review to discover the strength of evidence when comparing the effectiveness of unilateral cochlear implants with non‐technological support or acoustic hearing aids in children with PBHL.Type of review:  Systematic review.Search strategy:  This examined 16 electronic data bases, plus bibliographies and references for published and unpublished studies.Evaluation method:  Abstracts were independently assessed against inclusion criteria by two researchers, results were compared and disagreements resolved. Included papers were then retrieved and further independently assessed in a similar way. Remaining studies had their data independently extracted by one of five reviewers and checked by another reviewer.Results:  From 1,580 abstracts and titles 15 studies were included. These were of moderate to poor quality. The large amount of heterogeneity in design and outcomes precluded meta‐analysis. However, all studies reported that unilateral cochlear implants improved scores on all outcome measures. Additionally five economic evaluations found unilateral cochlear implants to be cost‐effective for profoundly deaf children at UK implant centres.Conclusions:  The robustness of systematic review methods gives weight to the positive findings of 15 papers reporting on this subject that they individually lack; while an RCT to show this would be unethical.
Clopidogrel versus low‐dose aspirin as risk factors for epistaxis
Authors: Rainsbury J.W. , Molony N.C. 
Published: May 2009

Objectives:  To quantify the relative risk of epistaxis for patients taking low‐dose aspirin or clopidogrel compared to patients taking neither drug.Design:  Case‐control study.Setting:  Primary care.Participants:  10,241 patients from three GP practices in the West Midlands.Main outcome measures:  Epistaxis resulting in presentation to the GP, attendance at Accident & Emergency, or referral to ENT outpatients.Results:  There was a significant difference in the proportion of patients with epistaxis across the three groups (χ2 = 84.1; 2 degrees of freedom; P < 0.000001). Relative risk of epistaxis was increased in both the aspirin (RR = 9.04; 95% CI = 5.13–15.96) and clopidogrel (RR = 6.40; 95% CI = 2.33–17.56) groups compared to the no drug group. There was no increased risk of epistaxis with aspirin compared to clopidogrel (RR = 1.4; 95% CI = 0.6–3.4).Conclusion:  There is an increased risk of troublesome epistaxis in patients taking aspirin or clopidogrel. There is no significant difference in risk of epistaxis between the two drug groups.
Do Melanoidins Induced by Topical 9% Dihydroxyacetone Sunless Tanning Spray Inhibit Vitamin D Production? A Pilot Study†
Authors: Armas Laura A. G. , Fusaro Ramon M. , Sayre Robert M. , Huerter Christopher J. , Heaney Robert P. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractWe report here preliminary pilot study data of the effect of sunless tanning spray with 9% [Correction added after online publication (August 24th, 2009): The concentration of Dihydroxyacetone used in the study was 9% and not 3% as previously stated] dihydroxyacetone (DHA) on 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] serum levels in subjects exposed to controlled amounts of UV‐B radiation during April/May in Omaha, NE, 41°N latitude. We found that DHA‐induced melanoidins in skin act as a topical sunscreen attenuating the formation of 25(OH)D.
Islamic Political Activism as a Means of Women's Empowerment? The Case of the Female Islamic Action Front Activists
Authors: Ababneh Sara 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThis paper examines the effect that Islamic political activism has on the personal lives of women who are members of the Islamic Action Front. The paper studies how female members are able to better their daily lives through their Islamic party activism. To give the reader a better understanding of who the women are who are examined in this paper, the paper begins with a brief overview of the IAF and its women's section. Then the paper moves to examining how political Islam alters the lives of female partisans. I discuss one of the factors responsible for the perceived change in the lives of female activists, namely: Islamic knowledge. The paper will examine how Islamic knowledge has affected the lives of the female Islamists in question. I argue that the Islamic knowledge gained impacts the lives of female activists on three levels: the personal, the familial, and the social.
From Rhetoric to Reality: A Critical Analysis of the National Action Plan for the Achievement of Gender Equality in Kosovo
Authors: Hunt Abigail , Undurraga Rosario 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThis paper provides an overview of the current situation of Kosovo using a gendered perspective to highlight the challenges posed to the implementation of the National Action Plan for the Achievement of Gender Equality in Kosovo (NAP). The NAP arose through collaboration between the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Kosovan women's movement and as such reflects both local and international gender knowledge and expertise. However, the current socio‐political climate in Kosovo and its history of ethnic/religious conflict create significant difficulties that hinder the implementation of the NAP throughout all sections of society, and the subsequent achievement of gender equality. With this in mind, a contextualised assessment and discussion of the NAP is presented using feminist theory. Central to this is the recommendation that the incorporation of concrete steps stipulating how to achieve certain NAP objectives would contribute towards the successful achievement of gender equality in Kosovo.
Colonialism, Gender and the Family in North America: For a Gendered Analysis of Indigenous Struggles
Authors: Leigh Darcy 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThis paper explores the case for a feminist, gendered analysis of anti‐colonial Indigenous struggles in two stages: It considers the historical and contemporary relationship between colonialism and gender, moving from pre‐colonial Indigenous life through colonisation and assimilation to explore Indigenous life today. It then discusses the problems and possibilities that the intersection of colonial power and gender presents for Indigenous struggles. The paper focuses on Indigenous communities in North America, engaging in particular with Inuit in Nunavut. It suggests that a gendered analysis is critical to understanding colonial power and is therefore vital to thinking about anti‐colonial Indigenous struggles; that an Indigenous Feminism may be able to move beyond the limits of dominant, Liberal and European feminisms as well as those of Indigenous resistance strategies.
Special Feature Article
Authors: Zine Jasmin 
Published: May 2009

AbstractSince 9/11 Muslim women have played a critical role in unsettling and reconfiguring the boundaries of citizenship and belonging in the Canadian national imaginary. Muslim women have been at the centre of several contemporary debates in Muslim cultural politics in Canada, such as proposals for sharia‐based tribunals in Ontario, a Citizen's Code in Herouxville, Quebec outlawing face veils, banning hijab in girls' soccer and the ‘honour killing’ of a Pakistani Canadian teen. My aim is to examine through these case studies how gender and religion have become discursively located within broader political negotiations of national identity, citizenship and belonging. All of these flashpoints have galvanised debates about the ‘limits of multiculturalism’, the boundaries of nation and citizenship and ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ immigrants. The discussion will be framed around three primary themes: (1) disciplining culture, (2) death by culture, (3) death of culture.
TRABECULOTOMY AB EXTERNO
Authors: KESSING SVEND VEDEL 
Published: May 2009

During recent years microsurgery has opened up new possibilities for the surgical treatment of glaucoma by operative procedures applied direct to Schlemm's canal.The present report deals with the experience of trabeculotomy ab externo on 26 eyes affected with various forms of glaucoma.This procedure appears to be less traumatizing than the conventional filtering operations, and the preliminary results based upon postoperative follow‐up periods of 1–6 months are extremely promissing.
TRABECULOTOMY, TRABECULECTOMY AND SINUSOTOMY—SOME CLINICAL RESULTS
Authors: AASVED HENRY 
Published: May 2009

Trabeculotomy was carried out in 30 eyes, in 3 of these combined with trabeculectomy. The intraocular pressure became normalized in 23 eyes, in 7 of these without post‐operatively medical treatment. Sinusotomy was carried out in 18 eyes. Satisfactory regulation of the intraocular pressure was achieved in 15 eyes, in 9 of these without medical treatment.The new microsurgical methods thus seem to give a satisfactory regulation of the intraocular pressure as frequently as conventional fi1tration operations.
FOLLOW‐UP OF INITIALLY NONGLAUCOMATOUS PATIENTS WITH FIBRILLOPATHIA EPITHELIOCAPSULARIS (SO‐CALLED SENILE EXFOLIATION OF THE ANTERIOR LENS CAPSULE)
Authors: ODLAND MAGNUS , AASVED HENRY 
Published: May 2009

It is well‐known that patients with fibrillopathy (so‐called senile exfoliation) relatively often have open‐angle glaucoma. The frequency appears to be about 25% (Aasved 1971). It is equally certain, however, that many of these patients do not suffer from glaucoma. It is nevertheless generally considered that patients with fibrillopathy should be examined at regular intervals, due to the risk of subsequent development of glaucoma.There are, however, a few earlier studies which indicate that this risk may not be very great (Klouman 1967, Hansen & Sellevold 1970, Aasved 1971). This is a problem of practical clinical significance. The present study presents a follow‐up of initially non‐glaucomatous patients with fibrillopathy registered at the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Bergen, since it opened in 1961.
EXPERIENCES IN SURGICAL TREATMENT OF HAEMORRHAGIC GLAUCOMA
Authors: MADSEN P. H. 
Published: May 2009

Treatment of the fully developed haemorrhagic glaucoma is difficult. Surveys of the most commonly used methods of treatment have recently been published by Krüger (1963), Müller‐Jensen (1965), and Ohrt (1967). Miotics, adrenaline, and Diamox are usually ineffective. Retrobulbar injection of alcohol results in satisfactory, but often transient relief of pain. The common filtering operations should scarely be used because of the great risk of haemorrhage from the many large vessels on the iris and in the chamber angle.The best operations seem to be cyclodiathermy, cyclocryothermy, or filtering operation with electrocoagulation of iris and sclera by the methods of Preziosi (1924), or Ellis, Thompson & Tyner (1962).In the present paper the long‐term results after filtering operation with electrocoagulation are presented.
PIGMENT CHANGES OF THE RETINA IN CHRONIC PROGRESSIVE EXTERNAL OPHTHALMOPLEGIA (CPEO)
Authors: BASTIAENSEN L. A. K. 
Published: May 2009

A study was made of the retinal functions in 4 patients with chronic‐progressive external ophthalmoplegia, general myopathy, EEG anomalies and pigment changes of the fundus oculi (ophthalmoplegia‐plus). Three of them exhibited typical, granular pigmentations in a linear or reticular arrangement at the periphery.All tour showed slight to moderate pigment epithelial defects in the maculae, mostly only discernible with fluorescence angiography.In all 4 cases, a slight decrease of the visual acuity, a mildly abnormal ERG, mild concentric restriction of the field of vision and, in two cases, an abnormal dark‐adaptation curve led to the conclusion of a mild diffuse, widely disseminated receptor affection of the retina (both rods and cones). The EOG appeared normal in 3, and at the lower limit of normal in 1 case. On the basis of a detailed study of the literature we can conclude that the retinal lesions in chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia may vary from benign pigmentations without functional impairment to genuine ‘retinitis pigmentosa’ with all gradations of rod‐cone or cone‐rod dystrophy. Emphasis is laid on the possibility of a correlation between the mitochondrial abnormalities encountered in ocular myopathy and ophthalmoplegia‐plus on the one hand, and the retinal abnormalities on the other, with special reference to a possible disorder of the utilization of pyruvate in the citric‐acid cycle and a loose coupling of the oxidative phosphorylation.
THE PROCESS OF WOUND HEALING OF THE AVASCULAR OUTER LAYERS OF THE RETINA
Authors: BÜLOW NIELS 
Published: May 2009

AbstractThe process of wound healing of the avascular outer layers of the retina is studied on a series of Laser lesions of the monkey, Cercopithecus aethiops. The extent of the retinal lesions is limited to the pigment epithelium and photoreceptor cells, whereas Bruch's membrane and the vascular inner layers of the retina remain intact.The retinal lesions are not seen to be invaded by cells from the choroid, nor from the retinal vessels. During the first three days after irradiation the pigment epithelial cells in a zone, about 75 μm wide, around the lesions appear to be changed into bi‐ or multinucleate cells with the additional nuclei situated in apical cytoplasmic protrusions which extend towards and into the lesions. During the second and third days after irradiation the lesions are invaded by two kinds of cells which both appear to arise through the off‐budding of the nucleus‐containing apical protrusions of the pigment epithelial cells around the lesions: (a) phagocytic cells which disintegrate the damaged tissue and, as this process is completed 4–9 days after irradiation show evidence of melanogenesis; and (b) regenerated pigment epithelium which form a single layer of cells along Bruch's membrane, but show no evidence of phagocytosis or intracellular disintegration of the damaged tissue. Within the lesions both these kinds of cells show mitotic figures the third day after irradiation.
ACUTE ANTERIOR UVEITIS AND HLA ANTIGENS
Authors: SAARI K. M. 
Published: May 2009

Different clinical entities of acute anterior uveitis (AAU) may occur due to different pathogenetic, race and geographig conditions. A highly significant association of HLA‐B27 with AAU has been confirmed in different countries. HLA‐B27 associated AAU was associated neither with MLC (HLA‐D) determinants nor with α1‐antitrypsin phenotype MZ. Family studies suggested that a pleiotropic HLA‐B27 linked gene with autosomal dominant inheritance, incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity may determine the susceptibility to AAU. Different infections may trigger AAU in HLA‐B27 positive patients. In the immune response cytotoxic T cells may react simultaneously with the antigen and HLA‐B27 with increased chemotaxis and release of prostaglandins. In Caucasians the pathogenesis of “HLA‐B27 negative” AAU in many cases, e.g. in varicella iritis, may be explained by deposition of circulating immune complexes in the iris.Bilateral nongranulomatous iridocyclitis in black Americans was associated with HLA‐B8 and HLA‐DR5 but this entity showed no systemic disease association.
HLA SYSTEM AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Authors: SAARI K. M. 
Published: May 2009

Multiple sclerosis (MS) occurs most frequently in northern and central Europe, the north of the United States, and Canada; it is more rare in China and Japan. Population studies showed association between HLA‐A3, B7, Dw2, and DR2 with MS. There was a close association of MS with HLA‐Dw2 and DR2, and the increased frequencies of A3 and B7 were secondary to linkage disequilibrium of B7 with Dw2, and of A3 with B7 in Caucasians. Black American MS patients showed a slight association with Dw2. In Japan, there was an association between MS and Dw6.The HLA pattern in optic neuritis (ON) patients failed between that of MS patients and healthy controls; ON only progressed to MS if the immunogenetic terrain was favourable.
OCULAR EXPOSURE TO INFRARED RADIATION IN THE SWEDISH MANUAL GLASS INDUSTRY
Authors: Lydahl Eva , Glansholm Anders , Levin Mats 
Published: May 2009

AbstractGlass workers suffer from cataract significantly more often than workers without occupational exposure to infrared (IR) radiation. The present study was made to determine the level of IR radiation to the eyes of workers in different work operations in the manual glass industry. The work operations are described and the measurement results presented.This investigation was supported by the Swedish Work Environment Fund