bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A single‐arm, open‐label study of alemtuzumab in treatment‐refractory patients with multiple sclerosis
Authors: Fox E. J. , Sullivan H. C. , Gazda S. K. , Mayer L. , O’Donnell L. , Melia K. , Lake S. L. 
Published: September 2011

Background:  Alemtuzumab (CD52‐specific humanized monoclonal antibody) was found to be an effective therapy for treatment‐naive patients with relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis.Objective:  Evaluate alemtuzumab’s effects in patients with treatment‐refractory relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis.Methods:  Forty‐five relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis patients who experienced ≥2 relapses during 2 years prior to the study entry whilst receiving interferon therapy were administered 24 mg IV alemtuzumab/day for 5 days at baseline and 3 days 12 months later. Patients received premedication with 1 g IV methylprednisolone on days 1–3 at both times.Results:  After 2‐year follow‐up, the annualized relapse rate was reduced by 94% compared to pre‐treatment levels, from 1.6 (2 years prior to treatment) to 0.17 for the 2 years following (P < 0.0001). Moreover, 86% of patients showed stable or improved scores on the Expanded Disability Status Scale, and only 1 experienced an increase in disability lasting ≥6 months. The majority (70–88%) showed stable or improved leg, arm and cognitive function as measured by the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite. Serious adverse events observed in single patients were transient neutropenia and pneumonia, pulmonary emboli and deep vein thrombosis. Five patients developed clinical thyroid disorders but no opportunistic infections or cases of immune thrombocytopenic purpura were observed.Conclusions:  Alemtuzumab effectively reduced relapse rates and improved clinical scores in patients with active relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis not controlled by interferon therapy.
Telling a modest story: accounts of men's upward mobility from the National Child Development Study
Authors: Miles Andrew , Savage Mike , Bühlmann Felix 
Published: September 2011

AbstractWhile the pattern of social mobility in postwar Britain has been extensively studied, revealing considerable upward mobility, much less is known about the subjective dimension to mobility. In this article, we employ a new sample of in‐depth interviews with 50‐year old men from the National Child Development Study to examine in detail the link between objective mobility patterns and the way the upwardly mobile narrate their life trajectories. In contrast to the mobility ideology suggested by the Oxford mobility survey of the early 1970s, in which the upwardly mobile recognized and internalized their success as a project of the self, we report how members of this later generation of men with highly successful careers prefer instead to articulate ‘modest’ life stories.By treating the career as a narrative device, we are able to show how the disavowal of the dominant, linear hierarchical career model by these men allows them to tell particular and distinctive stories which establish their individuality and personhood, while, paradoxically, recognizing the cultural power of the dominant model. In particular, we highlight the use of ‘linear contingent’ narratives by these men, in which specific events, especially those connected with occupational and geographical transitions, are deployed as contingent thresholds to mark out key shifts and passages in their lives. We then compare their accounts with those of immobile and downwardly men, who instead deploy ‘ghostly’ stories, preoccupied by the past, or defensive accounts, displaying unease with their failure to live up to the expectations of the linear career model.Having shown that men's accounts of mobility are suffused with an awareness of their need to establish their own individuality through repudiating the social trope of the instrumental careerist, we conclude that the links between career identities and objective mobility patterns are not straightforward and need careful unravelling.
Homeless identities: enacted and ascribed1
Authors: Parsell Cameron 
Published: September 2011

AbstractHomelessness has been a perennial concern for sociologists. It is a confronting phenomenon that can challenge western notions of home, a discrete family unit and the ascetics and order of public space. To be without a home and to reside in public places illustrates both an intriguing way of living and some fundamental inadequacies in the functioning of society. Much homelessness research has had the consequence of isolating the ‘homeless person’ as distinct category or indeed type of individual. They are ascribed with homeless identities. The homeless identity is not simply presented as one dimensional and defining, but this imposed and ill‐fitting identity is rarely informed by a close and long‐term engagement with the individuals it is supposed to say something about. Drawing on a recent Australian ethnographic study with people literally without shelter, this article aims to contribute to understandings of people who are homeless by outlining some nuanced and diverse aspects of their identities. It argues that people can and do express agency in the way they enact elements of the self, and the experience of homelessness is simultaneously important and unimportant to understand this. Further, the article suggests that what is presumably known about the homeless identity is influenced by day‐to‐day lives that are on public display.
Hazards of neoliberalism: delayed electric power restoration after Hurricane Ike1
Authors: Miller Lee M. , Antonio Robert J. , Bonanno Alessandro 
Published: September 2011

AbstractThis case study explores how neoliberal policies shape the impacts of a natural disaster. We investigate the reactions to major damages to the electric power system and the restoration of power in the wake of Hurricane Ike, which devastated the Houston, Texas, metropolitan area in September 2008. We argue that the neoliberal policy agenda insured a minimalist approach to the crisis and generated dissatisfaction among many residents. The short‐term profitability imperative shifted reconstruction costs to consumers, and prevented efforts to upgrade the electric power infrastructure to prepare for future disasters. We illustrate the serious obstacles for disaster mitigation and recovery posed by neoliberal policies that privatize public goods and socialize private costs. Neoliberalism neither addresses the needs of a highly stratified public nor their long‐term interests and safety.
Completing the European Union Customs Union: The Effects of Trade Procedure Harmonization*
Authors: BOURDET YVES , PERSSON MARIA 
Published: September 2011

AbstractIn this article, it is pointed out that the European Union does not have a harmonized practice when it comes to trade procedures, implying that countries in the rest of the world face different trade barriers depending on which EU country they ship their goods to. Estimating the impact of trade procedures on exports from non‐EU countries, a highly statistically significant and negative effect is found. Simulating what the effects would be of harmonizing trade procedures to the level of the most efficient EU countries, it is found that aggregated exports to the EU would increase by 20 per cent for the average exporter.
Cross‐Border Resolution of Failed Banks in the European Union after the Crisis: Business as Usual*
Authors: KUDRNA ZDENEK 
Published: September 2011

AbstractThe post‐2007 financial crisis created an opportunity for reforms that could close the regulatory gap between transnational banks and national bank resolution regimes. During the decade before the crisis, the European Union tried to develop a cross‐border bank resolution regime relying on voluntary agreements and complex governance networks. However, these arrangements failed to commit national authorities to multilateral resolution as was exemplified by the case of Fortis. The crisis experience provided the Commission with an opportunity to propose legislation that would either deepen the pre‐crisis co‐ordinated regime, or replace it with an integrated resolution regime for systemically important cross‐border banks. The Commission considered the more ambitious reforms, but after the experience with negotiations over the powers of European Supervisory Authorities, postponed the proposals for an integrated regime until after 2014. The initial round of post‐crisis reforms thus remained limited to minimal improvements of the pre‐crisis status quo.
Geodynamically induced variations in the emission of CO2gas at San Faustino (Central Apennines, Italy)
Authors: HEINICKE J. , MARTINELLI G. , TELESCA L. 
Published: September 2011

AbstractThe Central Apennines are affected by frequent earthquakes of moderate magnitude that occur mainly within the upper part of the crust at depths of <15 km. A large number of cold gas emissions that are rich in CO2are also found in the region. One particular vent with a high rate of degassing was equipped with a sensor to measure flow rates, which were recorded for a number of different periods between 2005 and 2010. Factors that could affect potentially CO2flow rates include barometric pressure, atmospheric temperature, precipitation and local seismicity. Our analysis indicates that the periods of anomalous flow rate were related not to the environmental factors but probably to the deformative processes of the crust associated with the local seismicity. Local seismic events as expression of geodynamic processes occurred always before and during these anomalous gas flow periods. This correlation exists only for events that occurred eastwards of the gas emission site close to the Martana fault zone. We herein consider this correlation as indication for a continuous interaction between the field of static strain and the deep fluid pressure. An approximation of the fluid pressure transmission towards the gas emission site gives reasonable values of 1–10 m2 sec−1. To make comparisons with the long‐term effects of the static strain, we also recorded the short‐term effects of the dynamic release of strain induced by the series of strong earthquakes that took place in L’Aquila in 2009. We detected a significant anomalous flow rate that occurred at the same time as this seismic sequence, during which widespread degassing was induced around the focal zone.
Inhibition of neuronal cholesterol biosynthesis with lovastatin leads to impaired synaptic vesicle release even in the presence of lipoproteins or geranylgeraniol
Authors: Mailman Tiffany , Hariharan Manoj , Karten Barbara 
Published: September 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 119, 1002–1015.AbstractCholesterol is highly enriched in the brain, and plays a key role in synapse formation and function. The brain does not derive cholesterol from the circulation; instead, the majority of cholesterol is made in glia and secreted in form of lipoproteins. Neurons can synthesize cholesterol, but the extent of neuronal cholesterol biosynthesis in the adult brain is unknown. Cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitors of the statin family are widely used to lower circulating cholesterol and cardiovascular risk. Lipophilic statins can cross the blood brain barrier and inhibit brain cholesterol biosynthesis with possible consequences for synaptic cholesterol homeostasis. We have investigated the effects of lovastatin on synapse maturation and synaptic vesicle release. Treatment of primary hippocampal neurons with low levels of lovastatin for one week reduced synapse density and impaired synaptic vesicle release. Neither lipoproteins nor geranylgeraniol fully counteracted the lovastatin‐induced decrease of synaptic vesicle exocytosis, even when cholesterol depletion was prevented. In contrast, restoration of neuronal cholesterol synthesis with mevalonate prevented defects in vesicle exocytosis without fully normalizing neuronal cholesterol content. These results raise the possibility that chronic exposure of neurons to lipophilic statins may affect synaptic transmission, and indicate that hippocampal neurons need a certain level of endogenous cholesterol biosynthesis.
Government and Opposition in India
Authors: Manor James 
Published: September 2011

AbstractInteractions between ruling and opposition parties in India have long been sorely neglected by political analysts. This study finds clear contrasts between interactions at national and state levels in this federal system, and further, often marked variations across the 28 states – each of which has its own Westminster-style legislature. Government–opposition relations range from semi-civilized to caustic, although most cases are situated some at distance from those extremes. So, despite a recent confrontation in the Indian Parliament, there are no strong trends towards either deterioration or greater accommodation. This is a study in ambiguity.
Exceptionalism, Political Science and the Comparative Analysis of Political Parties
Authors: Ware Alan 
Published: September 2011

AbstractFor more than four decades the analysis of party organizations in the European democracies has been completely separated from analyses of American party structures. The first part of this article examines how and why such a separation was to emerge in the aftermath of Duverger's and Epstein's path-breaking original work. It then goes on to outline how an analytic framework might be developed so that more wide-ranging comparative studies of party organizations in democratic regimes can be undertaken in future. Only with such research can the limitations of ‘exceptionalist’ and ‘regionalist’ explanations of party structure development and change be overcome.
Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori Infection
Authors: McNulty Cliodna A. M. , Lehours Philippe , Mégraud Francis 
Published: September 2011

AbstractWhen an endoscopy is performed, it now becomes easier to observe indirect evidence of the presence of a Helicobacter pylori infection, given the progress of new methods including magnifying narrow band imaging or confocal laser endomicroscopy. Out of the biopsy‐based tests, the novel original method proposed concerned culture in a broth medium with or without antibiotics and ELISA detection of H. pylori. New stool antigen tests are still appearing with no major improvement in comparison with the monoclonal‐based tests already on the market. The combination of pepsinogen detection to H. pylori serology is now more and more evaluated to detect preneoplastic lesions.
Inflammation, Immunity, and Vaccine Development for Helicobacter pylori
Authors: Müller Anne , Solnick Jay V. 
Published: September 2011

AbstractThe immune response to Helicobacter pylori entails both innate effectors and a complex mix of Th1, Th17, and Treg adaptive immune responses. The clinical outcome of infection may well depend to a large degree on the relative balance of these responses. Vaccination with a wide range of antigens, adjuvants, and delivery routes can produce statistically significant reductions in H. pylori colonization levels in mice, though rarely sterilizing immunity. Whether similar reductions in bacterial load can be achieved in humans, and whether they would be clinically significant, is still unclear. However, progress in understanding the role of Th1, Th17, and most recently Treg cells in protection against H. pylori infection provides reason for optimism.
Helicobacter pylori and Nonmalignant Diseases
Authors: Alakkari Alaa , Zullo Angelo , O’Connor Humphrey J. 
Published: September 2011

AbstractResearch published over the past year has documented the continued decline of Helicobacter pylori‐related peptic ulcer disease and increased recognition of non‐H. pylori, non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs ulcer disease – idiopathic ulcers. Despite reduced prevalence of uncomplicated PUD, rates of ulcer complications and associated mortality remain stubbornly high. The role of H. pylori in functional dyspepsia is unclear, with some authors considering H. pylori‐associated nonulcer dyspepsia a distinct organic entity. There is increasing acceptance of an inverse relationship between H. pylori and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), but little understanding of how GERD might be more common/severe in H. pylori‐negative subjects. Research has focused on factors such as different H. pylori phenotypes, weight gain after H. pylori eradication, and effects on hormones such as ghrelin that control appetite.
Gastric Cancer: Clinical Aspects, Epidemiology and Molecular Background
Authors: Bornschein Jan , Rokkas Theodore , Selgrad Michael , Malfertheiner Peter 
Published: September 2011

AbstractThe validity and usefulness of the 7th edition of the UICC tumor node metastasis classification in the context of clinical management of gastric cancer are discussed. The most relevant new agent in gastric cancer therapy is trastuzumab for HER2‐positive gastric carcinomas. This marks the success of continuous effort of translational research. Trastuzumab, initially applied in palliative settings, is currently being evaluated also in neoadjuvant treatment regimens. Several new meta‐analyses support the carcinogenic effect of high salt intake and smoking in the context of Helicobacter pylori infection. Further data have become available on the efficacy of protective agents, acetyl salicylic acid/nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs, and antioxidants. In search for a successful prevention strategy, the focus is on the identification of individuals at high risk who demand screening (testing) and surveillance. Serological assessment of gastric mucosal abnormalities with increased risk for gastric cancer development is extensively studied, and new data are presented from Asia as well as from Europe. New high‐throughput techniques combined with bioinformatic vector analysis open the gate to the identification of new potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Furthermore, these approaches allow us to elucidate the interplay of bacterial virulence factors and the host’s immune response as well as H. pylori‐associated alterations of mucosal gene expression.
Retirement Plan Participation in an Era of Change: The Case of a Rural Region*
Authors: Whitaker Elizabeth A. , Bokemeier Janet L. , Loveridge Scott 
Published: September 2011

AbstractIndividual savings are critical for retirement as government and employer‐based provisions fade or become less secure. Rural communities are vulnerable given their higher proportion of elderly and more who rely on Social Security. Using a telephone survey of working‐age residents in Michigan's rural Upper Peninsula, this research investigates factors associated with participation in tax‐advantaged retirement plans that have largely replaced defined‐benefit pension plans for earmarked retirement savings. The project also identifies factors predictive of making maximum contributions to those retirement plans. We consider several distinct categories of variables to reflect the social embeddedness of economic action. In addition, the research included community variables describing aspects of respondents' social context, a new component of the savings discourse, which we show to be significantly related to saving outside a tax‐advantaged retirement plan and making maximum contributions to a tax‐advantaged retirement plan.
Recurrent aphthous ulcers—a Toll‐like receptor–mediated disease?
Authors: Hietanen Jarkko , Häyrinen‐Immonen Ritva , Al‐Samadi Ahmed , Trokovic Nina , Koskenpato Katja , Konttinen Yrjö T. 
Published: September 2011

J Oral Pathol Med (2012) 41: 158–164Background:  Recurrent aphthous ulcer (RAU) is characterized by acute and painful inflammatory ulcerations, which heal spontaneously but tend to recur. Many pathogens have been proposed as causative agents, but none has been consistently proven. According to our hypothesis, RAU is an autoinflammatory disorder triggered by pathogen‐associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) shared by different pathogenic and commensal microbes.Methods:  PAMP‐reactive Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) were mapped in oral epithelium in healthy controls compared to RAU.Results:  In controls, the superficial epithelium formed a TLR−, a PAMP non‐reactive physical barrier zone, but all TLRs were found deeper in the epithelium, usually restricted to suprabasal and basal cell layers. In RAU, the epithelial TLR polarity was lost: TLRs 1, 2, 5, 7, and 8 were found throughout the epithelium, but also TLRs 4, 6, and 10 extended higher up than normally, whereas TLR‐3 was almost lost in RAU. In RAU lesions, connective tissue stroma was heavily infiltrated by TLR+ inflammatory cells.Conclusions:  Normal TLR architecture prevents inflammatory responses against normal microbes but still contains a deep TLR+, PAMP‐reactive dormant defense zone. In RAU, the TLR+, PAMP‐reactive zone extends to surface or subsurface exposed to microbial PAMPs. TLR reactivity is further enhanced by recruitment of inflammatory leukocytes forming a new deep line of defense. The organization of the TLR system in healthy mucosa and its changes in RAU are compatible with active pathogenic involvement of TLRs, which together with the typical clinical picture and course suggest that RAU is a TLR‐mediated disease.
Hemoglobin Lepore Hollandia in India
Authors: NADKARNI A. , ITALIA K. , SAWANT P. , GHOSH K. , COLAH R. 
Published: September 2011

SummaryIntroduction:  Hb Lepore is a structurally abnormal hemoglobin in which the abnormal globin chain is a hybrid or fused δβ globin chain. In the heterozygous condition, Hb Lepore produces the phenotype of heterozygous β thalassemia with slightly raised HbF levels.Method:  Using a combination of HPLC and DNA analysis, we have identified eight individuals with Hb Lepore Hollandia from three families including seven heterozygotes and one compound heterozygote with β thalassemia who presented with a severe clinical phenotype.Results:  All the heterozygotes showed elevated levels of HbF with a mean of 3.2%. Hb Lepore Hollandia genes were associated with a single β globin cluster haplotype [‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ +] indicating a common origin.Conclusion:  Hemoglobin Lepore Hollandia is a relatively uncommon variant in the Indian population and can be identified using a combination of chromatographic, electrophoretic, and molecular analysis.
Counting of leukocytes in samples from G‐CSF mobilized donors, leukapheresis products, and cord blood: the performances of an analyzer with dedicated profiles
Authors: PIERELLI L. , FIORAVANTI D. , PATTI D. , IUDICONE P. , SCOCCHERA R. , PANDOLFI A. , NUTI M. 
Published: September 2011

SummaryIntroduction:  Accurate white blood cell counting (WBC) and differential count by blood analyzers could allow a more informative characterization of granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (G‐CSF) mobilized blood (MB), leukapheresis products (LP), and cord blood (CB). However, reliable counting by a blood cell analyzer in this setting is a major challenge owing to quali‐quantitative abnormalities of blood cells.Methods:  We evaluated the performances of the analyzer Pentra DX 120 by Horiba ABX working with dedicated cell‐gating profiles, which generate three‐part differential counts in samples obtained from donors’ MB, LP, and CB. The results of the analyzer were compared to counts obtained by flow cytometry and manual counts, the latter performed for reference validation and in the case of discrepant results between study and reference counts.Results:  Pentra DX 120 generated highly correlated counts (R > 0.91 in all cases) to those obtained by flow cytometry in all samples (MB, LP, and CB) with high degree of count accuracy in most cases and referred to WBC absolute count and differential count including lymphocytes (LYM) %, monocytes (MON) %, and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) %. Accuracy, judged by the difference between study and reference counts and expressed as percentage of reference count, ranged from 0.8% to 8.6%, and sporadic loss of accuracy occurred for MON % only in no more than 10% of CB samples.Conclusion:  The ABX Pentra DX 120 provided accurate WBC count and differential count during MB, LP, and CB analyses and allowed a better characterization of donors’ hematologic status and graft composition.