bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fluvoxamine pharmacokinetics in healthy elderly subjects and elderly patients with chronic heart failure
Authors: Orlando Rocco , De Martin Sara , Andrighetto Laura , Floreani Maura , Palatini Pietro 
Published: November 2009

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT • The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluvoxamine is a first‐choice antidepressant agent for treatment of depression and anxiety disorders in elderly subjects and patients with cardiovascular diseases.• Limited and conflicting data are available regarding age‐related modifications of fluvoxamine pharmacokinetics.• No study has yet investigated the possible alterations of fluvoxamine pharmacokinetics in elderly patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS • The oral disposition kinetics of fluvoxamine is significantly impaired in elderly subjects, mean oral clearance being halved with respect to young adults.• In elderly patients with CHF, fluvoxamine pharmacokinetics is not altered with respect to age‐matched healthy subjects.AIMS To investigate the effects of age and chronic heart failure (CHF) on the oral disposition kinetics of fluvoxamine.METHODS A single fluvoxamine dose (50 mg) was administered orally to 10 healthy young adults, 10 healthy elderly subjects and 10 elderly patients with CHF. Fluvoxamine concentration in plasma was measured for up to 96 h.RESULTS With the exception of apparent distribution volume, ageing modified all main pharmacokinetic parameters of fluvoxamine. Thus, peak concentration was about doubled {31 ± 19 vs. 15 ± 9 ng ml−1; difference [95% confidence interval (CI)] 16 (3, 29), P < 0.05}, and area under the concentration–time curve was almost three times higher [885 ± 560 vs. 304 ± 84 ng h ml−1; difference (95% CI) 581 (205, 957), P < 0.05]; half‐life was prolonged by 63% [21.1 ± 6.2 vs. 12.9 ± 6.4 h; difference (95% CI) 8.2 (2.3, 14.1), P < 0.01], and oral clearance was halved (1.12 ± 0.77 vs. 2.25 ± 0.66 l h−1 kg−1; difference (95% CI) −1.13 (−1.80, −0.46), P < 0.001]. A significant inverse correlation was consistently observed between age and oral clearance (r=−0.67; P < 0.001). The coexistence of CHF had no significant effect on any pharmacokinetic parameters in elderly subjects.CONCLUSIONS Ageing results in considerable impairment of fluvoxamine disposition, whereas CHF causes no significant modifications. Therefore, adjustment of initial dose and subsequent dose titrations may be required in elderly subjects, whereas no further dose reduction is necessary in elderly patients with CHF.
Langerhans cell histiocytosis in lymph nodes – cytomorphological diagnosis and pitfalls
Authors: Kakkar S. , Kapila K. , Verma K. 
Published: November 2009

Background Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disorder of unknown aetiology that may present as a multisystem or unisystem disease. The Lymph nodes can be involved as part of disseminated disease, as a metastatic site draining a focus of LCH or may be a unisystem involvement. Paucity of literature on the cytomorphology of LCH in lymph nodes led us to undertake this study.Materials and methods Nine cases with a confirmed histological diagnosis of LCH and a prior lymph node aspirate were retrieved over a 12 year period (1988–1999). Five more cases were reviewed where the cytological diagnosis of LCH was rendered on a background of clinical and radiological findings. Papanicolaou and May Grunwald–Giemsa‐stained smears were examined. S‐100 protein staining was available in four cases.Results and conclusions Nine cases had multisystem involvement, while in five cases only lymph nodes were involved. There were eleven males and three females; age ranged from five months to 27 years. The cytological diagnosis of LCH had been rendered in six, suspected in four and missed in four. Of the latter, two were reclassified as LCH on review, one as reactive lymphadenitis and in one a necrotising lesion was suspected. The pathognomonic ‘LCH cell’ was identified in 12 of 14 cases along with varying numbers of eosinophils, polymorphs and lymphocytes. Giant cells were seen in only six cases. In conclusion lymph node involvement by LCH can be identified on aspirates. However, LCH must be differentiated from dermatopathic lymphadenitis, sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy and Hodgkin's disease.
Matrix metalloproteinases, IL‐8 and glutathione in the prognosis of workers exposed to chlorine
Authors: Maghni K. , Malo J.‐L. , L’Archevêque J. , Castellanos L. , Gautrin D. 
Published: November 2009

To cite this article: Maghni K, Malo J‐L, L’Archevêque J, Castellanos L, Gautrin D. Matrix metalloproteinases, IL‐8 and glutathione in the prognosis of workers exposed to chlorine. Allergy 2010; 65: 722–730.AbstractBackground:  Workers exposed to chlorine may be at risk of deterioration in FEV1.Methods:  A prospective study of 72 workers examined over a 5.8 ± 1.9 year period. A sample of induced sputum for cells and mediators was obtained in 69 subjects at baseline (Vb) and in 36 both at Vb and at follow‐up (Vf).Results:  Sixty‐four workers (89%) experienced at least one accidental inhalation of chlorine in the interval. The mean decrease in FEV1 was 30 ml/year and thus was within normal limits. Among the analysed remodelling markers, the level of the MMP‐9‐TIMP‐1 complex, but not of free MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1, significantly diminished from Vb to Vf. We found significant correlations between neutrophils, IL‐8, MMP‐9 and MMP9‐TIMP‐1 complex at Vb and Vf. While levels of total glutathione, IL‐8, MMP9, TIMP‐1 and MMP9‐TIMP‐1 complex were highly correlated with each other at Vb, this was inconstant at Vf. Levels of MMP9‐TIMP1 complex and of TIMP1 at Vf were significantly lower in workers reporting chlorine puffs with mild acute respiratory symptoms between visits compared to those who had no, or asymptomatic inhalations (P = 0.03 and 0.02, respectively). The fall in FEV1 from Vb to Vf was significantly correlated with levels of glutathione at Vb. Cough between visits was associated with a decrease in FEV1 (P = 0.06).Conclusion:  Although no accelerated loss in FEV1 was documented in these workers exposed to chlorine, subjects with a greater fall in FEV1 were more likely to report cough and have higher levels of total glutathione at Vb.
Evidence for the insufficient evaluation and undertreatment of chronic hepatitis B infection in a predominantly low‐income and immigrant population
Authors: Jung Chin W , Tan Jennifer , Tan Nelly , Kuo Melissa N , Ashok Ashwin , Eells Samantha J , Miller Loren G 
Published: November 2009

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Many physicians remain unaware of contemporary treatments for chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection and do not treat their HBV‐infected patients or refer them for treatment. The aim of the present study was to determine the rates of laboratory evaluation and treatment of HBV infection in a predominantly low‐income and immigrant population.Methods:  We identified adult patients who tested positive for hepatitis B surface antigen between 1 January 1994 and 30 April 2006. We reviewed patients' medical records to determine two outcomes: (i) receipt of pretreatment evaluation of HBV infection; and (ii) receipt of HBV treatment. We then examined clinical and demographic factors associated with these outcomes.Results:  Twenty‐eight percent of 1231 HBV surface antigen‐positive patients received additional laboratory evaluation of their infection. In a multivariate analysis, receipt of a HBV evaluation was independently associated with (P < 0.05) female sex, longer duration of HBV infection, more visits to a gastroenterology clinic and less recent health‐care contact. Data on treatment were available for 56% of patients; among these, 16% received HBV treatment. In the multivariate analysis, receipt of HBV treatment was independently associated with (P < 0.05) HIV co‐infection, receipt of liver biopsy, testing for hepatitis B e antigen or HBV DNA, longer duration of HBV infection, more visits to a gastroenterology clinic and more recent health‐care contact. When excluding HIV‐infected patients, only 10% of patients received HBV treatment.Conclusions:  After the diagnosis of HBV infection, few patients in our population received laboratory evaluation to determine eligibility for HBV treatment. Furthermore, only a small percentage received HBV treatment. Further research needs to be done to validate these findings in other populations and understand barriers to receiving HBV treatment.
Radiofrequency ablation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma in elderly patients
Authors: Hiraoka Atsushi , Michitaka Kojiro , Horiike Norio , Hidaka Satoshi , Uehara Takahide , Ichikawa Soichi , Hasebe Aki , Miyamoto Yasunao , Ninomiya Tomoyuki , Sogabe Ichiro , Ishimaru Yoshihiro , Kawasaki Hideki , Koizumi Yohei , Hirooka Masashi , Yamashita Yoshimasa , Abe Masanori , Hiasa Yoichi , Matsuura Bunzo , Onji Morikazu 
Published: November 2009

AbstractBackground and Aim:  With the aging of society, the number of elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been increasing in Japan. The Government of Japan defines elderly as being over 65 and has divided the elderly into two stages: the first elderly stage (< 75 years old) and the second elderly stage (≥ 75). We investigated the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation therapy (RFA) in patients in the second elderly stage in comparison with other HCC patients, retrospectively.Methods:  Two hundred six patients with HCC, who were within the Milan criteria, with low‐grade performance status (0 or 1) and a Child‐Pugh classification of A or B were enrolled. All were treated with RFA from January 2000 to December 2008 as an initial therapy and were divided into elderly HCC group (e‐HCC group; ≥ 75, n = 63) and non e‐HCC group (< 75, n = 143), and their clinical data and survival rates were compared.Results:  Age and the level of protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist (PIVKA‐II) were higher in the e‐HCC group as compared with the non e‐HCC group (78.3 ± 3.2 vs 64.2 ± 7.5 years, 676.3 ± 2643.7 vs 142.4 ± 442.2 mAU/mL: P < 0.01, respectively). There were no significant differences for Child‐Pugh class, tumor node metastasis stage, and Japan Integrated Stage score and in survival rates after 3, and 5 years between the groups (e‐HCC group: 82.5% and 49.7%, respectively; non e‐HCC group: 78.3% and 57.5%, respectively). There were no severe complications in the e‐HCC group.Conclusions:  Elderly HCC patients, who have good performance status, should be treated in the same manner and with the same strategy as young HCC patients.
Prevalence, human leukocyte antigen typing and strategy for screening among Asian first‐degree relatives of children with celiac disease
Authors: Srivastava Anshu , Yachha Surender Kumar , Mathias Amrita , Parveen Farah , Poddar Ujjal , Agrawal Suraksha 
Published: November 2009

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Data on prevalence, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing and small bowel histology among first‐degree relatives of subjects with celiac disease (CD) is scarce. This prospective study evaluated the prevalence and role of HLA DQ2/8 testing in screening of first‐degree relatives of children with CD.Methods:  Thirty confirmed children with CD and 91/94 first‐degree relatives (parents and siblings) were enrolled. HLA DQ2/8 testing was carried out in all index CD cases. Clinical evaluation with a questionnaire, total serum immunoglobulin A (IgA), human IgA‐tissue transglutaminase (IgA‐tTGA) and HLA DQ2/8 testing was carried out in all first‐degree relatives. Subjects who were positive for IgA‐tTGA were recommended endoscopic duodenal biopsy to document histological changes of CD.Results:  Nine first‐degree relatives were positive for IgA‐tTGA, seven underwent duodenal biopsy and four subjects had Marsh IIIa changes suggestive of CD. The prevalence of histologically confirmed CD in first‐degree relatives was 4.4%. The prevalence of potential CD was 9.8%. IgA‐tTGA‐positive subjects (4/9) were significantly more often symptomatic than IgA‐tTGA‐negative first‐degree relatives (2/82). Twenty‐nine (96.6%) index cases of CD and all IgA‐tTGA‐positive first‐degree relatives were positive for HLA DQ2. None of the index CD cases or first‐degree relatives were HLA DQ8‐positive. A total of 85% of the first‐degree relatives were positive for HLA DQ2 and thus at risk of developing CD.Conclusions:  In this first Asian study on a limited number of families of children with CD, 4.4% of the first‐degree relatives had CD. Only 15% of the first‐degree relatives were negative for HLA DQ2/DQ8. Initial evaluation with HLA and serology followed by only serial serology in HLA‐positive relatives is recommended.
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of regional brain metabolite markers in FALS mice and the effects of dietary creatine supplementation
Authors: Choi Ji‐Kyung , Küstermann Ekkehard , Dedeoglu Alpaslan , Jenkins Bruce G. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractWe investigated the effects of disease progression on brain regional neurochemistry in a mutant mouse model of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS; the G93A model) using in vivo and in vitro magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). There were numerous changes in the brain spectra that were brain region dependent. At early time points starting around 80 days of age there were increases in brain glutamate. At later time points there were more extensive changes including decreased N‐acetyl aspartate and glutamate and increased glutamine, taurine and myo‐inositol. The effects of the disease were most severe in spinal cord followed by medulla and then sensorimotor cortex. There were no changes noted in cerebellum as a control region. The effects of creatine supplementation in the diet (2%) were measured in wild‐type and FALS animals in medulla, cerebellum and cortex. The increase in brain creatine was largest in cerebellum (25%) followed by medulla (11%) and then cortex (4%), reflecting the ordering of creatine kinase activity. There was a protective effect of creatine on N‐acetyl aspartate loss in the medulla at late stages. Creatine supplementation had a positive effect on weight retention, leading to a 13% increase in weight between 120 and 130 days. MRS shows promise in monitoring multiple facets of neuroprotective strategies in ALS and ALS models.
Robotic partial nephrectomy without renal hilar occlusion
Authors: White Wesley M. , Goel Raj K. , Haber Georges‐Pascal , Kaouk Jihad H. 
Published: November 2009

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4OBJECTIVETo evaluate operative outcomes among patients undergoing robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN) without renal hilar clamping.PATIENTS AND METHODSThis was a prospective observational study of patients undergoing RPN under perfused conditions (pRPN). Patients with solitary, radiographically enhancing renal cortical lesions gave consent for pRPN. Salient demographic data, including age, body mass index (BMI) and preoperative tumour size were obtained. Operative data, including mean operative time, estimated blood loss (EBL), and the presence of any complications, were collected. Renal function was evaluated before and after RPN. Remote adverse events were noted. The pRPN group was then retrospectively compared to a contemporary group of patients who had RPN with renal hilar occlusion. Endpoints for comparison included operative time, warm ischaemia time, EBL, length of hospitalization, and the rate of adverse events.RESULTSBetween February 2008 and December 2008, eight had underwent pRPN; the mean age was 59.3 years, mean BMI 28.7 kg/m2, mean operative time 167 min, mean EBL 569 mL and mean hospitalization 3.75 days. Pathology showed renal cell carcinoma in five patients and oncocytoma in three; the mean tumour size was 2.4 cm. Final pathological margins were negative in all patients. Adverse events included one transfusion and one deep venous thrombosis. When compared to the contemporary group who had RPN with hilar clamping, the operative time was shorter (P = 0.035) and EBL greater (P = 0.018) in the pRPN group. There was no significant difference between the groups in transfusion rate, and no significant difference in renal function before and after surgery either group.CONCLUSIONSFor selected small renal cortical masses, RPN is safe without renal hilar occlusion. The EBL was higher during pRPN but with no significant difference in the rate of transfusion.
TRANSNATIONALISATION AND THE CHALLENGE OF DIFFERENTIATED CONCEPTS OF SPACE
Authors: PRIES LUDGER 
Published: November 2009

ABSTRACTTerms like globalisation, transnationalisation, glocalisation, world society, world empire, and trans‐world indicate that in social sciences there are different concepts applied to the increasing cross‐border entanglement and internationalisation of the world. Meanwhile some scholars argue that geographic borders and territories are increasingly losing their importance for structuring human life and social spaces, others hold that new politics of belonging, new logics of inclusion and exclusion are leading to new divisions of social segmentation and spatial segregation. After discussing some recent conceptualisations of the ongoing process of internationalisation the paper develops a differentiated typology of internationalisation processes based on an explicit reflection on the tradition of methodological nationalism and on different concepts of space, mainly absolutist and relativist understandings of space. It is argued that the different concepts of space and the various ideal types of internationalisation have to be treated not in an ‘either‐or’ but in an ‘as well as’ perspective.
GLOBAL MOBILITY, SHIFTING BORDERS AND URBAN CITIZENSHIP
Authors: SMITH MICHAEL PETER , GUARNIZO LUIS EDUARDO 
Published: November 2009

ABSTRACTGlobal migration has reached historic levels affecting every single country in the world. One of the most significant effects of this heightened mobility has been that a growing proportion of the residents of migrant receiving places lack national citizenship and are thus deprived of effective sociopolitical inclusion, representation, and participation in the localities where they have moved to for work, refuge or retirement. This disjuncture between the spaces of citizenship and daily life, in turn, has led to a devolution of citizenship claims‐making from national to urban space. This paper begins by identifying four key political economic developments operating at the global scale that have unsettled the established view of the close correspondence between nationhood and citizenship. It then focuses on the uses and limits of the increasingly voluble discourse on ‘the right to the city’ as a way to create alternative political spaces in which variously excluded groups of urban inhabitants might empower themselves. Three strikingly different examples of widely diverse group actions and state responses to illustrate the practical strengths and limits of ‘the right to the city’ discourse are narrated. We end by offering what we believe to be a more useful way to envisage and analyse the interplay between global mobility and urban citizenship.
CONSTRUCTING HOMES, BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS: MIGRANT INVESTMENTS IN HOUSES
Authors: SMITH LOTHAR , MAZZUCATO VALENTINA 
Published: November 2009

ABSTRACTStudies around the world have shown the interest of migrants to invest in houses in their countries of origin. Yet scholarly and political debates have mainly focused on the productivity of these investments, arguing that the money spent might have found more productive uses. We argue that this is too limited a view, as it fails to take into consideration two dimensions: Why do investments in houses take place, a question that is not only economic but also social and cultural in nature. Second, how do transnational investments in houses take place? This is important given that migrants are seldom able to construct their own homes, instead depending on actors in their country of origin. This paper shows the importance of unravelling the transnational relationships involved with migrant investments in houses in order to understand the meaning of these investments.
ARE ANIMALS MORAL? A THEOLOGICAL APPRAISAL OF THE EVOLUTION OF VICE AND VIRTUE
Authors: Deane‐Drummond Celia 
Published: November 2009

Abstract.I discuss controversial claims about the status of non‐human animals as moral beings in relation to philosophical claims to the contrary. I address questions about the ontology of animals rather than ethical approaches as to how humans need to treat other animals through notions of, for example, animal rights. I explore the evolutionary origins of behavior that can be considered vices or virtues and suggest that Thomas Aquinas is closer to Darwin's view on nonhuman animals than we might suppose. An appreciation of the complexity of the emotional lives of social animals and their cooperative behaviors in light of the work of animal ethologists such as Frans de Waal and Marc Bekoff suggests that social animals can be considered moral in their own terms. I discuss the charge of anthropomorphism, drawing on the work of archaeologist Steven Mithen, and consider arguments for the evolution of conscience in the work of anthropologist Christopher Boehm. Only the biological basis for the development of conscience and religion has evolved in nonhuman animals, and this should not be confused with sophisticated moral systems of analysis or particular religious beliefs found in the human community.
THEOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY, CLASSICAL THEISM, AND “LIVED TIME” IN ANTJE JACKELÉN'S TIME AND ETERNITY
Authors: Byrne James M. 
Published: November 2009

Abstract.Antje Jackelén's Time and Eternity successfully employs the method of correlation and a close study of the question of time to enter the dialogue between science and theology. Hermeneutical attention to language is a central element of this dialogue, but we must be aware that much science is untranslatable into ordinary language; it is when we get to the bigger metaphysical assumptions of science that true dialogue begins to happen. Thus, although the method of correlation is a useful way to approach this dialogue, there is not a strict equivalence in this relationship. Theology needs science more than science needs theology. In speaking of time and God we must keep in mind the relational nature of classical Christian theism, even in its most austere forms. We should not read Enlightenment ideas of God back into the classical Christian tradition or neglect the apophatic emphasis in Christian theism, which warned against assuming knowledge of the divine nature. God's relation to time always lies beyond our understanding. Studying the effects of either the Newtonian or Einsteinian concepts of time on our theological concepts should not detract our attention from the “lived time” that characterizes human experience. Consideration of the notion of time in the Madhyamaka Buddhist tradition reminds us that we cannot control the inner reality of time and that for humans time is something to be considered pragmatically.