bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Neuroimaging in epilepsy: The state of the art
Authors: Schmidt Matthias H. , Pohlmann‐Eden Bernd 
Published: July 2011

SummaryOur understanding of epileptogenesis is still limited. Knowledge is increasing with regard to structural and functional changes in chronic stages of epilepsy. At the same time, we have to appreciate that there is a significant lack of such information in new‐onset epilepsy. The First Halifax International Epilepsy Conference tried to fill this gap, focusing on the contribution of advanced neuroimaging in early stages of epilepsy. The following article aims to synthesize the themes that emerged from this meeting. Participants agreed that (1) there is a need for a unified theory of epileptogenesis, addressing the interplay of functional and structural brain changes; (2) neuroimaging reveals widespread brain alterations in epilepsy; (3) advances in neuroimaging challenge the concept of “MRI‐negative” (magnetic resonance imaging negative) focal epilepsy; (4) methodologic limitations and potential confounders must be considered in the translation of innovative imaging approaches to clinical practice; and (5) there is an urgent need for longitudinal studies that begin early in the disease process.
The impact of different fluence rates on pain and clinical outcome in patients with actinic keratoses treated with photodynamic therapy
Authors: Apalla Zoi , Sotiriou Eleni , Panagiotidou Despina , Lefaki Ioanna , Goussi Christina , Ioannides Demetris 
Published: July 2011

Background/purpose: Literature data suggest that lower fluence rates are preferable in terms of clinical response and tolerability for treating patients with actinic keratoses (AKs). We aimed to clarify the impact of different fluence rates on pain during photodynamic therapy (PDT) for AKs, as well as on treatment outcome.Methods: Individuals with at least three discrete AKs were recruited. Each lesion was randomly allocated to 25, 50 or 75 mW/cm2 of topical 5‐aminolevulinic acid (5‐ALA) PDT, using non‐coherent light source. Primary end point was pain during illumination, evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondary end points were clinical outcome and adverse events.Results: Fifty adults, with 150 AKs lesions were recruited in the study. Mean VAS score did not significantly differ between the groups of 25 and 50 mW/cm2 (P=0.714). However, mean VAS was significantly higher at the group of 75 mW/cm2 in comparison to the former ones (P=0.000). With respect to the clinical outcome and adverse events during the first year of follow‐up, no differences were observed between the three groups. Comparison between the 25 and the 50 mW/cm2 (P=0.749), as well as between the former and the 75 mW/cm2, did not show a dependence of complete response rate on fluence (P=0.749 and P=1.000, respectively).Conclusions: According to our observations a fluence rate between 25 and 50 mW/cm2 is effective and better tolerated by patients treated with topical 5‐ALA PDT for AKs.
Differences in sun exposure habits between self‐reported skin type and ultraviolet sensitivity measured by phototest
Authors: Falk Magnus 
Published: July 2011

Background: Traditionally, classification of skin reactivity to ultraviolet (UV) light is based on self‐estimation of tendency to burn and tan (Fitzpatrick's classification). Although widely accepted, the model has shown to correlate poorly with actual UV sensitivity, measured by phototest. The aim of the present study was to investigate how self‐estimated skin type, according to Fitzpatrick, and actual UV sensitivity measured by phototest correlate with sun exposure and protection.Methods: One hundred and sixty‐six voluntary patients visiting their general practitioner for investigation of suspicious skin tumours were recruited for the study, and filled out a questionnaire, mapping sun habits and sun protection behaviour, based on five‐point Likert responses. The patients reported their skin type (I–VI) according to Fitzpatrick, and a phototest was performed to determine the minimal erythema dose.Results: For most of the questions, high self‐estimated UV sensitivity, according to Fitzpatrick, appeared to be associated with a higher level of sun avoidance/protection (P<0.05). For actual UV sensitivity, however, the difference in response distribution was only significant for sunscreen use, and did not show a similar apparent association related to the degree of UV sensitivity.Conclusion: Self‐estimated skin UV sensitivity, according to Fitzpatrick's classification, appears to be a stronger predictor of sun exposure and protection than actual UV sensitivity measured by phototest.
Omega‐3 polyunsaturated essential fatty acids are associated with depression in adolescents with eating disorders and weight loss
Authors: Swenne Ingemar , Rosling Agneta , Tengblad Siv , Vessby Bengt 
Published: July 2011

AbstractAim:  To study the relationship between polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) status and depression in adolescents with eating disorders (ED) and weight loss.Methods:  Erythrocyte membranes from 217 adolescents (209 girls, eight boys) with ED were analysed for fatty acids (FA). ED and depression were diagnosed by clinical interviews and supported by self‐report instruments.Results:  Adolescents with ED and depression did not differ from those with ED only in terms of age, BMI, weight loss and duration of disease. In their FA profile, depressed adolescents had lower proportions of eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), the end products of the ω3 PUFA series. The ratio of long‐chain (>18 carbons) ω6/ω3 PUFA was therefore higher in depressed adolescents. Indices of desaturase activities did not differ between depressed and not depressed adolescents.Conclusion:  Low ω3 status is related to depression in adolescents with ED. This cannot be explained by differences in weight (loss) and duration of disease, nor by differences in PUFA processing by desaturases. Data suggest a lower dietary intake of ω3 PUFA in those with depression. Further investigations should determine whether ω3 PUFA status improves by refeeding only or whether supplementation with PUFA is warranted.
Impact of the new european paediatric regulatory framework on ethics committees: overview and perspectives
Authors: Altavilla A , Manfredi C , Baiardi P , Dehlinger‐Kremer M , Galletti P , Pozuelo A Alemany , Chaplin J , Ceci A 
Published: July 2011

AbstractAim:  To evaluate the impact of the new European paediatric regulatory framework on the activities of Ethics Committees operating in Europe and to assess their involvement and interest in paediatric research.Methods:  Task‐force in Europe for Drug Development for the Young Network of Excellence and Relating Expectations and Needs to the Participation and Empowerment of Children in Clinical Trials project set up an inventory of Ethics Committees existing in Europe and conducted a survey on their approach to paediatric trials.Results:  Ethics Committees operating in 22 European Countries participated in this survey. Results showed a high lack of knowledge, understanding and awareness of the current European paediatric regulatory framework and a lack of involvement of Ethics Committees in paediatric research, especially in terms of training and education, demonstrated also by the decreasing number of Ethics Committees answering exhaustively to the whole questionnaire. The majority of participating Ethics Committees expressed interest in future initiatives related to paediatric research.Conclusions:  Despite a limited knowledge and understanding of the current paediatric regulatory framework, a significant number of Ethics Committees operating in Europe show interest in initiatives related to paediatric research. Networking may be an essential tool to be used to enhance Ethics Committees role in supporting paediatric research. Any initiative should be undertaken at European level in collaboration with European Union Institutions.
Veg‐X – an exchange standard for plot‐based vegetation data
Authors: Wiser Susan K. , Spencer Nick , De Cáceres Miquel , Kleikamp Martin , Boyle Brad , Peet Robert K. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractQuestion: Collaborative research efforts and synthetic vegetation analyses are often limited by difficulties in sharing or combining datasets. Can we facilitate these activities by means of an exchange standard for plot‐based vegetation data?Methods: In 2003, the Ecoinformatics Working Group and the Council of the International Association for Vegetation Science endorsed the development of a standard exchange schema for vegetation‐plot data. In 2007, a first workshop was held to formulate a common set of goals, concepts, and terminology for plot‐based vegetation data. At a second workshop in 2008, this ontology was developed into an XML (extensible markup language) schema representation designed to be maximally compatible with existing standards and databases.Results: The exchange standard for plot‐based vegetation data (Veg‐X) allows for observations of vegetation at both individual plant and aggregated observation levels. It ensures that observations are fixed to physical sample plots at specific points in space and time, and makes a distinction between the entity of interest (e.g. an individual tree) and the observational act (i.e. a measurement). The standard supports repeated measurements of both individual organisms and plots, allows observations of entities to be grouped following predefined or user‐defined criteria, and ensures that the connection between the entity observed and taxonomic concept associated with that observation are maintained.Conclusions: Establishment of exchange standards followed by development of ecoinformatics tools built around those standards should allow scientists to efficiently combine plot data over extensive spatial and temporal gradients in order to perform analyses and make predictions of vegetation change and dynamics at local and global scales.
The Global Index of Vegetation‐Plot Databases (GIVD): a new resource for vegetation science
Authors: Dengler Jürgen , Jansen Florian , Glöckler Falko , Peet Robert K. , De Cáceres Miquel , Chytrý Milan , Ewald Jörg , Oldeland Jens , Lopez‐Gonzalez Gabriela , Finckh Manfred , Mucina Ladislav , Rodwell John S. , Schaminée Joop H. J. , Spencer Nick 
Published: July 2011

AbstractQuestion: How many vegetation plot observations (relevés) are available in electronic databases, how are they geographically distributed, what are their properties and how might they be discovered and located for research and application?Location: Global.Methods: We compiled the Global Index of Vegetation‐Plot Databases (GIVD; http://www.givd.info), an Internet resource aimed at registering metadata on existing vegetation databases. For inclusion, databases need to (i) contain temporally and spatially explicit species co‐occurrence data and (ii) be accessible to the scientific public. This paper summarizes structure and data quality of databases registered in GIVD as of 30 December 2010.Results: On the given date, 132 databases containing more than 2.4 million non‐overlapping plots had been registered in GIVD. The majority of these data were in European databases (83 databases, 1.6 million plots), whereas other continents were represented by substantially less (North America 15, Asia 13, Africa nine, South America seven, Australasia two, multi‐continental three). The oldest plot observation was 1864, but most plots were recorded after 1970. Most plots reported vegetation on areas of 1 to 1000 m2; some also stored time‐series and nested‐plot data. Apart from geographic reference (required for inclusion), most frequent information was on altitude (71%), slope aspect and inclination (58%) and land use (38%), but rarely soil properties (<7%).Conclusions: The vegetation plot data in GIVD constitute a major resource for biodiversity research, both through the large number of species occurrence records and storage of species co‐occurrence information at a small scale, combined with structural and plot‐based environmental data. We identify shortcomings in available data that need to be addressed through sampling under‐represented geographic regions, providing better incentives for data collection and sharing, developing user‐friendly database exchange standards, as well as tools to analyse and remove confounding effects of sampling biases. The increased availability of data sets conferred by registration in GIVD offers significant opportunities for large‐scale studies in community ecology, macroecology and global change research.
Ecoinformatics and global change – an overdue liaison
Authors: Dengler Jürgen , Ewald Jörg , Kühn Ingolf , Peet Robert K. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThe field of ecoinformatics provides concepts, methods and standards to guide management and analysis of ecological data with particular emphasis on exploration of co‐occurrences of organisms and their linkage to environmental conditions and taxon attributes. In this editorial, introducing the Special Feature ‘Ecoinformatics and global change’, we reflect on the development of ecoinformatics and explore its importance for future global change research with special focus on vegetation‐plot data. We show how papers in this Special Feature illustrate important directions and approaches in this emerging field. We suggest that ecoinformatics has the potential to make profound contributions to pure and applied sciences, and that the analyses, databases, meta‐databases, data exchange formats and analytical tools presented in this Special Feature advance this approach to vegetation science and illustrate and address important open questions. We conclude by describing important future directions for the development of the field including incentives for data sharing, creation of tools for more robust statistical analysis, utilities for integration of data that conform to divergent taxonomic standards, and databases that provide detailed plot‐specific data so as to allow users to find and access data appropriate to their research needs.
Collisional evolution of near-Earth asteroids and refreshing of the space-weathering effects
Authors: Dell’Oro A. , Marchi S. , Paolicchi P. 
Published: July 2011

Abstract
Collisions among near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are less frequent than those involving pairs of main belt (MB) objects; however, the orbits of many NEAs are partially within the MB. Thus the collisional evolution of NEAs is often dominated by collisions with MB asteroids and, thus, these collisions are not less intense than collisions among MB bodies. In particular, the relative velocity of collisions is usually larger. In this Letter we discuss the dependence of collisional processes of NEAs on their orbital parameters, showing that the collisions are more frequent for low inclinations and for semimajor axes and eccentricities entailing an aphelic distance of about 2.75 au. The collisions may also affect the space-weathering processes: the surface involved in an impact and, eventually, in the re-accumulation of the related ejecta, is somehow refreshed, and the spectral reddening – in particular of the S-complex asteroids – is slowed down. This process may complement the already known refreshing due to close planetary passes.
If the process is relevant, an anticorrelation between the visible spectral slope of S-complex NEAs and the estimated intensity of collisional processes should be found. An analysis of the available data confirms the suggested anticorrelation.
Cost‐effectiveness of treating first‐episode psychosis: five‐year follow‐up results from an Italian early intervention programme
Authors: Angelo Cocchi , Vittorio Mapelli , Anna Meneghelli , Antonio Preti 
Published: July 2011

AbstractAim: Early intervention programmes are expected to result in the reduction of illness severity in patients with schizophrenia, and contain health‐care costs by reducing hospital admissions and improving the social functioning of patients. This study aimed to investigate the cost‐effectiveness of treatment in an early intervention programme in comparison to standard care.Methods: Retrospective analysis of data prospectively recorded in an urban area (Milan, Italy). Twenty‐three patients from an early intervention programme and 23 patients from standard care with first‐episode psychosis were evaluated on their use of services over a 5‐year period. The Health of the Nation Outcome Scale was used to measure clinical status.Results: Significant changes with respect to initial assessment were recorded on the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale, with larger effect sizes in the early intervention programme than in the standard care group. Consequently, the cost‐effectiveness ratio per reduced score of severity was lower in the early intervention programme than in standard care (€ 4802 vs. € 9871), with an incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio, or net saving of €−1204 for every incremental reduced score of severity. Over time, greater recourse to hospital and residential facilities to obtain comparable improvement in symptoms resulted in a steady cost increase for the patients in standard care.Conclusions: Allocation of funds to specialized early intervention programmes is the best alternative, as it can save costs by reducing the use of hospitals and residential facilities, and may produce net savings of costs in the long term.
Clonal structure of Streptococcus sanguinis strains isolated from endocarditis cases and the oral cavity
Authors: Do T. , Gilbert S.C. , Klein J. , Warren S. , Wade W.G. , Beighton D. 
Published: July 2011

SummaryA collection of Streptococcus sanguinis strains from patients with endocarditis (n = 21) and from the oral cavity (n = 34) was subjected to a multi‐locus sequence typing analysis using seven housekeeping genes, carbamoyl‐phosphate synthetase (carB), Co/Zn/Cd efflux system component (czcD), d‐alanyl‐d‐alanine ligase (ddl), DNA polymerase III (dnaX), glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (gdh), DNA‐directed RNA polymerase, beta subunit (rpoB) and superoxide dismutase (sodA). The scheme was expanded by the inclusion of two the putative virulence genes, bacitracin‐resistance protein (bacA) and saliva‐binding protein (ssaB), to increase strain discrimination. Extensive intra‐species recombination was apparent in all genes but inter‐species recombination was also apparent with strains apparently harbouring gdh and ddl from unidentified sources and one isolate harboured a sodA allele apparently derived from Streptococcus oralis. The recombination/mutation ratio for the concatenated housekeeping gene sequences was 1.67 (95% confidence limits 1.25–2.72) and for the two virulence genes the r/m ratio was 3.99 (95% confidence limits 1.61–8.72); recombination was the major driver for genetic variation. All isolates were distinct and the endocarditis strains did not form distinct sub‐clusters when the data were analysed using ClonalFrame. These data support the widely held opinion that infecting S. sanguinis strains are opportunistic human pathogens.
Mechanisms of burst release from pH-responsive polymeric microparticles
Authors: Rizi Khalida , Green Rebecca J , Khutoryanskaya Olga , Donaldson Michael , Williams Adrian C 
Published: July 2011

Abstract

Objectives
Microencapsulation of drugs into preformed polymers is commonly achieved through solvent evaporation techniques or spray drying. We compared these encapsulation methods in terms of controlled drug release properties of prepared microparticles and investigated the underlying mechanisms responsible for the ‘burst release’ effect.

Methods
Using two different pH-responsive polymers with a dissolution threshold of pH 6 (Eudragit L100 and AQOAT AS-MG), hydrocortisone, a model hydrophobic drug, was incorporated into microparticles below and above its solubility within the polymer matrix.

Key findings
Although, spray drying was an attractive approach due to rapid particle production and relatively low solvent waste, the oil-in-oil microencapsulation method was superior in terms of controlled drug release properties from the microparticles. Slow solvent evaporation during the oil-in-oil emulsification process allowed adequate time for drug and polymer redistribution in the microparticles and reduced uncontrolled drug burst release. Electron microscopy showed that this slower manufacturing procedure generated nonporous particles whereas thermal analysis and X-ray diffractometry showed that drug loading above the solubility limit of the drug in the polymer generated excess crystalline drug on the surface of the particles. Raman spectral mapping illustrated that drug was homogeneously distributed as a solid solution in the particles when loaded below saturation in the polymer with consequently minimal burst release.

Conclusions
Both the manufacturing method (which influenced particle porosity and density) and drug:polymer compatibility and loading (which affected drug form and distribution) were responsible for burst release seen from our particles
Mildronate treatment alters γ-butyrobetaine and l-carnitine concentrations in healthy volunteers
Authors: Liepinsh Edgars , Konrade Ilze , Skapare Elina , Pugovics Osvalds , Grinberga Solveiga , Kuka Janis , Kalvinsh Ivars , Dambrova Maija 
Published: July 2011

Abstract

Objectives
In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of long-term administration of the cardioprotective drug mildronate on the concentrations of l-carnitine and γ-butyrobetaine in healthy volunteers.

Methods
Mildronate was administered perorally, at a dosage of 500 mg, twice daily. Plasma and urine samples were collected weekly. Daily meat consumption within an average, non-vegetarian diet was monitored. l-Carnitine, γ-butyrobetaine and mildronate concentrations were measured using the UPLC/MS/MS method.

Key findings
After 4 weeks, the average concentrations of l-carnitine in plasma significantly decreased by 18%. The plasma concentrations of γ-butyrobetaine increased about two-fold, and this effect was statistically significant in both the male and female groups. In urine samples, a significant increase in l-carnitine and γ-butyrobetaine levels was observed, which provides evidence for increased excretion of both substances during the mildronate treatment. At the end of the treatment period, the plasma concentration of mildronate was 20 µm on average. There were no significant differences between the effects observed in female and male volunteers. Meat consumption partially reduced the l-carnitine-lowering effects induced by mildronate.

Conclusions
Long-term administration of mildronate significantly lowers l-carnitine plasma concentrations in non-vegetarian, healthy volunteers.