bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hypospadias in Istanbul: Incidence and risk factors
Authors: Akin Yasemin , Ercan Oya , Telatar Berrin , Tarhan Fatih , Comert Serdar 
Published: February 2011

AbstractBackground:  The aim of the present prospective study was to determine the incidence of hypospadias in newborns in one of the busiest teaching hospitals of Istanbul, and to investigate the risk factors.Methods:  All live‐born boys delivered between September 2007 and December 2008 were screened for hypospadias. A questionnaire was given to the parents of the hypospadias and control subjects for investigation.Results:  Out of 1750 boys examined, 34 had hypospadias, that is, the frequency was 19.4 per 1000 male live‐births and 93.7 per 10 000 total live‐born deliveries. The incidence of additional coexistent anomalies was 29.4%, predominantly urogenital (17.6%), the majority of which were cryptorchidism (14.7%). Twelve (35.3%) of the 34 hypospadiac boys had a second family member with a genital anomaly, nine (26.5%) of whom had hypospadias, three (8.8%) being the fathers. Mean birthweight, length and head circumference were significantly lower in the hypospadiac infants than the control group (P= 0.003, P= 0.025, P= 0.002). Although parity, parental consanguinity, hypospadias in family members, and low birthweight also varied significantly among the groups, logistic regression analysis indicated that maternal age, prematurity, coexistence of cryptorchidism and presence of genital anomaly among family members were independent risk factors for hypospadias (P= 0.016, P= 0.0001, P= 0.041, P= 0.0001, respectively).Conclusions:  Genetic predisposition and placental insufficiency in early gestation might play a role in the etiology of hypospadias.
Solitary and small (≤3 mm) apical positive surgical margins are related to biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy
Authors: May Matthias , Brookman‐May Sabine , Weißbach Lothar , Herbst Hermann , Gilfrich Christian , Papadopoulos Thomas , Roigas Jan , Hofstädter Ferdinand , Wieland Wolf F , Burger Maximilian 
Published: February 2011

Objectives:  To evaluate the prognostic value of positive surgical margins (PSM) in radical prostatectomy (RPE) specimens in relation to multifocality, localization and size.Methods:  A total of 1036 patients who underwent RPE and staged pT2–3a,pN0,M0 were evaluated. None had received adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy. All specimens were routinely processed by complete whole mount sectioning. Exact number, localization and size of PSM were reassessed, and patients were followed up for a mean of 60 months.Results:  A total of 267 patients (26%) showed PSM (20% pT2, 48% pT3a). Preoperative prostate‐specific antigen, Gleason score (GS) and PSM were independent predictors of biochemical recurrence (BCR). BCR‐free survival rates for patients with and without PSM were 59% and 80%, respectively (HR 2.1; P < 0.001). PSM were related to biochemical failure in pT2 and pT3a tumors (P = 0.001 and P = 0.015). A total of 64% of solitary PSM were apical. Multifocality, localization and size of PSM had no significant impact on BCR.Conclusions:  Solitary apical and small PSM in RPE have a significant impact on BCR‐free survival in localized stages.
Serum γ‐glutamyltransferase and associated damage among a She Chinese population
Authors: Lin Y. , Xu Y. , Chen G. , Huang B. , Yao J. , Chen Z. , Yao L. , Lin F. , Qiao Y. , Chen Z. , Zhu S. , Huang H. , Wen J. 
Published: February 2011

Diabet. Med. 28, 924–931 (2011)AbstractObjective  It has been suggested that serum γ‐glutamyltransferase is independently associated with cardiovascular mortality and atherosclerosis. The present study is to investigate the relationship between serum γ‐glutamyltransferase and potential associated damage in an adult She Chinese population.Method  A multistage, stratified, cluster, random sampling method was used to select an ethnically representative group of individuals aged 20–80 years in the general population. Brachial–ankle pulse‐wave velocity was used to assess arterial stiffness in the general population and the Toronto Clinical Neuropathy Scoring System was used to detect diabetic peripheral polyneuropathy among populations with diabetes.Results  A total of 5385 subjects were entered into the analysis. Serum γ‐glutamyltransferase levels were classified into four groups using the 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles as cut points (males: < 20, 20–29, 29–52 and > 52 U/l; females: < 13, 13–18, 18–25 and > 25 U/l). As compared with the first quartile, the relative risks of arterial stiffness were 1.418, 1.667 and 2.394 in the other three categories, respectively (test for trend P < 0.05). After adjustment in five models, serum γ‐glutamyltransferase was still a risk factor of arterial stiffness. We found inverted U‐shape curves in both genders and the third quartile (male: 29 52 U/l; female: 18–25 U/l) had the highest odds ratios of 1.640 and 1.529, respectively.Conclusions  We demonstrated that high serum γ‐glutamyltransferase concentrations were directly associated with the increased risk of arterial stiffness, in general, and with peripheral polyneuropathy in subjects with diabetes in an ethnic She Chinese population. Alcohol use, gender, BMI and blood pressure were related to serum γ‐glutamyltransferase and were involved in the relationship between serum γ‐glutamyltransferase and brachial–ankle pulse‐wave velocity.
AVOIDING OR CHANGING THE PAST?
Authors: GODDU G.C. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractSome philosophers argue that any attempt to model changing the past will either be contradictory or really model avoiding the past. Using Nicholas Smith's (1997) argument as a basis, I formulate a generic version of this Avoidance Argument. I argue that the Avoidance Argument fails because (i) it involves an equivocation of what is meant by ‘bifurcation of the time of an event’ and (ii) resolving the equivocation results in the falsity of at least one of the premises. Hence, the Avoidance Argument will not support the claim that changing the past is logically impossible.
THE MORAL STATUS OF ENABLING HARM
Authors: RICKLESS SAMUEL C. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractAccording to the Doctrine of Doing and Allowing, it is more difficult to justify doing harm than it is to justify allowing harm. Enabling harm consists in withdrawing an obstacle that would, if left in place, prevent a pre‐existing causal sequence from leading to foreseen harm. There has been a lively debate concerning the moral status of enabling harm. According to some (e.g. McMahan, Vihvelin and Tomkow), many cases of enabling harm are morally indistinguishable from doing harm. Others (e.g. Foot, Hanser) support the Equivalence Hypothesis, according to which enabling harm is morally equivalent to allowing harm. Here I argue that there is every reason to embrace, and no reason to reject, the Equivalence Hypothesis.
The M100 component of evoked magnetic fields differs by scaling factors: Implications for signal averaging
Authors: Zacharias Norman , Sielużycki Cezary , Kordecki Wojciech , König Reinhard , Heil Peter 
Published: February 2011

AbstractMEG and EEG studies of event‐related responses often involve comparisons of grand averages, requiring homogeneity of the variances. Here, we examine the possibility, implied by the nature of neural sources and the measuring principles involved, that the M100 component of auditory‐evoked magnetic fields of different subjects, hemispheres, to different stimuli, and at different sensors differs by scaling factors. Such a multiplicative model predicts a linear increase in the standard deviation with the mean, and thus would have important implications for averaging and comparing such data. Our analyses, at the sensor and the source level, clearly show that the multiplicative model applies. We therefore propose geometric, rather than arithmetic, averaging of the M100 component across subjects and suggest a novel and superior normalization procedure. Our results question the justification of the common practice of subtracting arithmetic grand averages.
Healthy donor effect: its magnitude in health research among blood donors
Authors: Atsma Femke , Veldhuizen Ingrid , Verbeek André , de Kort Wim , de Vegt Femmie 
Published: February 2011

BACKGROUND: The healthy donor effect has been mentioned as a methodologic problem in blood donor health research. The aim of this study was to investigate different elements of the healthy donor effect.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: First, recent donors (<4 years registered as a donor) were compared with the general population. Second, active and lapsed donors were compared. Third, short‐career donors (<14 donations) were compared with long‐career donors (>37 donations). Various health and lifestyle indicators were used as outcome measures.RESULTS: Compared to the general population, recent donors had a better self‐rated health (odds ratio [OR], 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27‐1.61), visited the general practitioner (GP) less often (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.60‐0.72), and were less often treated by a specialist (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.75‐0.93). Recent donors also exhibited a healthier lifestyle compared to the general population. When examining active versus lapsed donors, similar results were found in favor of active donors. With respect to donation career, long‐career donors were healthier than short‐career donors, but effects were less strong; the ORs were 1.33 (95% CI, 1.15‐1.54) for self‐rated health, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.76‐0.94) for GP visit, and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.68‐1.00) for specialist treatment. When comparing long‐ and short‐career donors on lifestyle indicators, there were barely any significant differences.CONCLUSIONS: The findings strongly point to the presence of a healthy donor effect when comparing donors with the general population and active versus lapsed donors. The healthy donor effect was less pronounced within active donors, when comparing long‐ and short‐career donors. Therefore, health research should primarily be carried out within active donors.
Segmentation of dermatoscopic images by frequency domain filtering and k‐means clustering algorithms
Authors: Rajab Maher I. 
Published: February 2011

Background/Purpose: Since the introduction of epiluminescence microscopy (ELM), image analysis tools have been extended to the field of dermatology, in an attempt to algorithmically reproduce clinical evaluation. Accurate image segmentation of skin lesions is one of the key steps for useful, early and non‐invasive diagnosis of coetaneous melanomas.Methods: This paper proposes two image segmentation algorithms based on frequency domain processing and k‐means clustering/fuzzy k‐means clustering. The two methods are capable of segmenting and extracting the true border that reveals the global structure irregularity (indentations and protrusions), which may suggest excessive cell growth or regression of a melanoma. As a pre‐processing step, Fourier low‐pass filtering is applied to reduce the surrounding noise in a skin lesion image.Results: A quantitative comparison of the techniques is enabled by the use of synthetic skin lesion images that model lesions covered with hair to which Gaussian noise is added. The proposed techniques are also compared with an established optimal‐based thresholding skin‐segmentation method. It is demonstrated that for lesions with a range of different border irregularity properties, the k‐means clustering and fuzzy k‐means clustering segmentation methods provide the best performance over a range of signal to noise ratios. The proposed segmentation techniques are also demonstrated to have similar performance when tested on real skin lesions representing high‐resolution ELM images.Conclusion: This study suggests that the segmentation results obtained using a combination of low‐pass frequency filtering and k‐means or fuzzy k‐means clustering are superior to the result that would be obtained by using k‐means or fuzzy k‐means clustering segmentation methods alone.
Epidemiology of recent outbreaks of infectious laryngotracheitis in poultry in Australia
Authors: Blacker HP , Kirkpatrick NC , Rubite A , O'Rourke D , Noormohammadi AH 
Published: February 2011

Objective  Over the past 3 years, numerous outbreaks of infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) have occurred in poultry in Australia. The objectives of this study were to identify the viral strains involved in the recent outbreaks and to determine possible epidemiological links between these outbreaks.Procedure  A combination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses of several genes of the ILT virus was used to identify genetic differences in field/vaccine ILT virus isolates. In a previous study, these procedures had demonstrated five classes (1–5) in Australia.Results  Analysis of 92 field ILT viruses demonstrated four new classes: 6, 7, 8 and 9. Class 6 was responsible for four outbreaks in one Victorian broiler company and demonstrated to be distinct from other Australian strains of ILT. Class 7 was the Nobilis ILT vaccine (Intervet Pty Ltd). Class 8 was responsible for the majority of the outbreaks in New South Wales and was phylogenetically close to class 7. On one occasion, classes 7 and 8 were identified in an outbreak on a Victorian farm that had used the Nobilis ILT vaccine. Class 9, also phylogenetically close to classes 7 and 8, was found only in New South Wales. The previously identified class 2 was also found to be responsible for a large number of outbreaks, mainly in Victoria.Conclusion  The results demonstrate that, epidemiologically, most outbreaks of ILT in New South Wales are unrelated to those in Victoria and suggest a link between classes 8 and 9 and the Nobilis ILT vaccine (class 7).
Hypertrophy‐Associated Polymorphisms Ascertained in a Founder Cohort Applied to Heart Failure Risk and Mortality
Authors: Parsa Afshin , Chang Yen‐Pei C. , Kelly Reagan J. , Corretti Mary C. , Ryan Kathleen A. , Robinson Shawn W. , Gottlieb Stephen S. , Kardia Sharon L.R. , Shuldiner Alan R. , Liggett Stephen B. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractA three‐stage approach was undertaken using genome‐wide, case‐control, and case‐only association studies to identify genetic variants associated with heart failure mortality. In an Amish founder population (n = 851), cardiac hypertrophy, a trait integral to the adaptive response to failure, was found to be heritable (h2= 0.28, p = 0.0002) and GWAS revealed 21 candidate hypertrophy SNPs. In a case (n = 1,610)‐control (n = 463) study in unrelated Caucasians, one of the SNPs associated with hypertrophy (rs2207418, p = 8 × 10−6), was associated with heart failure, RR = 1.85(1.25–2.73, p = 0.0019). In heart failure cases rs2207418 was associated with increased mortality, HR = 1.51(1.20–1.97, p = 0.0004). There was consistency between studies, with the GG allele being associated with increased ventricular mass (˜13 g/m2) in the Amish, heart failure risk, and heart failure mortality. This SNP is in a gene desert of chromosome 20p12. Five genes are within 2.0 mbp of rs2207418 but with low LD between their SNPs and rs2207418. A region near this SNP is highly conserved in multiple vertebrates (lod score = 1,208). This conservation and the internal consistency across studies suggests that this region has biologic importance in heart failure, potentially acting as an enhancer or repressor element. rs2207418 may be useful for predicting a more progressive form of heart failure that may require aggressive therapy. Clin Trans Sci 2011; Volume 4: 17–23
Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase‐2 Gene Delivery Ameliorates Postinfarction Cardiac Remodeling
Authors: Ramani Ravi , Nilles Kathleen , Gibson Gregory , Burkhead Benjamin , Mathier Michael , McNamara Dennis , McTiernan Charles F. 
Published: February 2011

Abstract
Hypothesis:
Adenoviral‐mediated (AdV‐T2) overexpression of TIMP‐2 would blunt ventricular remodeling and improve survival in a murine model of chronic ischemic injury. Methods: Male mice (n = 124) aged 10–14 weeks underwent either (1) left coronary artery ligation to induce myocardial infarction (MI group, n = 36), (2) myocardial injection of 6 × 1010 viral particles of AdV‐T2 immediately post‐MI (MI + T2 group, n = 30), (3) myocardial injection of 6 × 1010 viral particles of a control adenovirus (MI + Ct, n = 38), or 4) received no intervention (controls, n = 20). On post‐MI day 7, surviving mice (n = 79) underwent echocardiographic, immunohistochemical, and biochemical analysis. Results: In infarcted animals, the MI + T2 group demonstrated improved survival (p < 0.02), better preservation of developed pressure and ventricular diameter (p < 0.04), and the lowest expression and activity of MMP‐2 and MMP‐9 (p < 0.04) compared with MI and MI + Ct groups. All infarcted hearts displayed significantly increased inflammatory cell infiltration (p < 0.04 vs. control, MI, or MI + T2), with infiltration highest in the MI + Ct group and lowest in the MI + T2 group (p < 0.04). Conclusions: Adenoviral mediated myocardial delivery of the TIMP‐2 gene improves post‐MI survival and limits adverse remodeling in a murine model of MI. Clin Trans Sci 2011; Volume 4: 24–31
Random Treatment Assignment Using Mathematical Equipoise for Comparative Effectiveness Trials
Authors: Selker Harry P. , Ruthazer Robin , Terrin Norma , Griffith John L. , Concannon Thomas , Kent David M. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractIn controlled clinical trials, random assignment of treatment is appropriate only when there is equipoise, that is, no clear preference among treatment options. However, even when equipoise appears absent because prior trials show, on average, one treatment yields superior outcomes, random assignment still may be appropriate for some patients and circumstances. In such cases, enrollment into trials may be assisted by real‐time patient‐specific predictions of treatment outcomes, to determine whether there is equipoise to justify randomization. The percutaneous coronary intervention thrombolytic predictive instrument (PCI–TPI) computes probabilities of 30‐day mortality for patients having ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), if treated with thrombolytic therapy (TT), and if treated with PCI. We estimated uncertainty around differences in their respective predicted benefits using the estimated uncertainty of the model coefficients. Using the 2,781‐patient PCI–TPI development dataset, we evaluated the distribution of predicted benefits for each patient. For three typical clinical situations, randomization was potentially warranted for 70%, 93%, and 80% of patients. Predictive models may allow real‐time patient‐specific determination of whether there is equipoise that justifies trial enrollment for a given patient. This approach may have utility for comparative effectiveness trials and for application of trial results to clinical practice. Clin Trans Sci 2011; Volume 4: 10–16
Microfluidics for T‐ Lymphocyte Cell Separation and Inflammation Monitoring in Burn Patients
Authors: Rosenbach Alan E. , Koria Piyush , Goverman Jeremy , Kotz Kenneth T. , Gupta Amit , Yu Ming , Fagan Shawn P. , Irimia Daniel , Tompkins Ronald G. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractSevere burns result in T lymphocyte specific immunologic changes. In addition to decreased levels of circulating lymphocytes, changes in cytokine secretion and receptor expression also take place. Our finer understanding of the inflammatory response has led to the development of immune‐targeted therapeutics, requiring specialized gene‐expression monitoring. The emerging field of bio‐micro‐electromechanical systems can be used to isolate highly pure T lymphocytes in a clinically relevant and timely manner for downstream genomic analysis. Blood samples from healthy volunteers and burn‐injured patients were introduced into microfluidic devices developed in our laboratory. Utilizing cell‐affinity chromatography for positive selection of T lymphocytes, the devices served as a platform for RNA extraction and downstream cytokine analysis via quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). From a 0.5‐mL whole blood sample, the microfluidic devices captured highly pure T lymphocytes from healthy volunteers and burn‐injured patients. Cell capture was of sufficient quantity, and extracted RNA was of sufficient quality, for evaluating the gene expression of cytokines: interferon‐gamma, interleukin‐2, interleukin‐4, and interleukin‐10. Microfluidics is a useful tool in processing blood from burn‐injured patients. Though in its very early stages of development, cell‐specific information obtained by this platform/technology will likely be an important component of near‐patient molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine. Clin Trans Sci 2011; Volume 4: 63–68
Building Interdisciplinary Research Models: A Didactic Course to Prepare Interdisciplinary Scholars and Faculty
Authors: Larson Elaine L. , Landers Timothy F. , Begg Melissa D. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractMany academicians assume that anyone can engage in interdisciplinary research, but it is clear that successful interdisciplinary efforts require mastery of specific competencies that can be learned and improved. This paper describes the development and implementation of a course designed for Master’s, pre‐ and postdoctoral students and research faculty on models of interdisciplinary research skills, based on a set of core competencies. Major challenges included working through institutional structures that made it difficult to offer cross‐school courses, and interpersonal challenges among a diverse group of students from a number of disciplines. Although universities may be poised for interdisciplinary research, strategies for faculty preparation and support are lacking. Institutions embracing the concept of team and interdisciplinary science must focus not only on the structural barriers and facilitators, but also on direct support to faculty. The didactic course described in this paper is one approach to enhance interdisciplinary research skills of scholars‐in‐training and faculty, and we recommend that similar efforts be widely implemented. Clin Trans Sci 2011; Volume 4: 38–41
A group, a network and the winning of church union in Canada: a case study in leadership
Authors: CAMPBELI DOUGLAS F. 
Published: February 2011

Au cours du premier quart du xxe siècle, un mouvement oecuménique au sein des Eglises protestantes canadiennes a mené à leur fusion, et à la création de ľEglise Unie du Canada. Au moyen de documents ďarchives, j'étudie dans cet article le leadership du mouvement social qui a produit cette fusion. J'analyse ďabord comment la structure du leadership a évolué, du groupe fondateur à un réseau étendu et de faible densité. Les actions du leadership à divers niveaux de ľEglise et de la société sont ensuite examinées, ainsi que les activités dissidentes de plusieurs membres du groupe fondateur.This paper, based on archival data, is a study of pro‐change leadership in a social movement: namely, the ecumenical movement within the Canadian Protestant churches during the first quarter of this century which succeeded in merging several denominations into the United Church of Canada. First, the structure of the leadership is traced from a founding group to a dispersed and enlarged network, then the leadership is displayed in action at various levels of the church and society. Finally, the dissident activity of several of the original group members is investigated.