bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clofarabine, cyclophosphamide and etoposide as single‐course re‐induction therapy for children with refractory/multiple relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
Authors: Locatelli Franco , Testi Anna M. , Bernardo Maria Ester , Rizzari Carmelo , Bertaina Alice , Merli Pietro , Pession Andrea , Giraldi Eugenia , Parasole Rosanna , Barberi Walter , Zecca Marco 
Published: August 2009

SummaryThe safety and efficacy of the combination clofarabine/cyclophosphamide/etoposide were evaluated in children with advanced acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The study enrolled 25 paediatric patients (median age 12·5 years) with either refractory (n = 17; 68%) or multiple relapsed (n = 8; 32%) ALL to receive clofarabine 40 mg/m2, cyclophosphamide 400 mg/m2 and etoposide 150 mg/m2, daily for 5 consecutive days. No patient died from treatment‐related complications. The most common adverse events were febrile neutropenia, mucositis and reversible liver toxicity; no case of liver veno‐occlusive disease was reported. The overall remission rate was 56%: 13 patients (52%) achieved complete remission (CR) and one (4%) CR without platelet recovery (CRp). In seven of the 13 (54%) patients achieving CR, remissions were of sufficient duration to allow patients to receive allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The probability of CR/CRp was greater in the 17 patients with B cell precursor ALL than in the eight with T‐ALL (76% vs. 12%, respectively, P < 0·01). The 18‐month overall survival probability was 39% and 0% in patients who did or did not respond to the treatment, respectively (P < 0·01). These data suggest that the clofarabine/cyclophosphamide/etoposide regimen is well tolerated and can induce clinical response in a relevant proportion of children with refractory/multiple relapsed ALL.
Baby swimming: exploring the effects of early intervention on subsequent motor abilities
Authors: Sigmundsson H. , Hopkins B. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractAim  The aim of the study was to explore the effects of baby swimming on subsequent motor abilities.Background  A range of motor abilities was examined in 4‐year‐old children who had previously participated in a programme of baby swimming (n= 19) and compared with a matched group of coevals who had not had this experience (n= 19).Results  As predicted from the nature of the exercises that comprise the programme, the effects of baby swimming were restricted to abilities associated with prehension and balance.Conclusions  Suggestions are made as to how the theme of this hypothesis‐generating, demonstration study can be pursued in the future with more rigorous experimental controls and applications to children with disabilities and impairments.
Perspectives of normal child development in rural Malawi – a qualitative analysis to create a more culturally appropriate developmental assessment tool
Authors: Gladstone M. , Lancaster G. , Umar E. , Nyirenda M. , Kayira E. , Van Den Broek N. , Smyth R. L. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractBackground  Child development in developing countries is often evaluated using assessment tools created for ‘Western’ settings. Recent work has demonstrated that, for certain developmental milestones, ‘Western’ tools may be inaccurate as they include items unfamiliar to children of different cultural settings.Methods  We used qualitative methods to gather information about normal development in an African setting. Ten village and two professional focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted. We used purposive sampling methods to recruit groups of mothers, grandmothers and men in four areas of Southern Malawi for village FGDs. Separate FGDs were carried out with professionals working in areas relating to child development. A thematic content analysis established main patterns and themes and dissemination of results and continued feedback allowed for respondent validation and reflection of results. The information then gathered was used to create questions for a revised Malawian developmental assessment tool.Results  Social and gross motor milestones were the main focus of interest for village and professional FGDs with the latter creating new language and fine motor concepts. Social milestones highlighted included ‘duties and chores’, ‘sharing’ and ‘taking up leadership roles’. Language milestones included ‘reporting events’ and ‘shrugging to indicate no’ and fine motor milestones included ‘peeling bananas’, ‘sorting maize’ and ‘making patterns with bottle tops’. Intelligence was described in relation to social and community integrity rather than ‘Western’ concepts of numeracy and literacy.Conclusions  Concepts, ideas and language relating to normal development in a sub‐Saharan African setting have been gathered in this study. These have been used to create items for a more culturally appropriate developmental assessment tool.
Parental satisfaction with follow‐up services for children with major anatomical congenital anomalies
Authors: Van Dijk M. , Poley M. J. , Gischler S. J. , Mazer P. , IJsselstijn H. , Tibboel D. , Latour J. M. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractBackground  Since 1999 a multidisciplinary follow‐up programme for parents and children with major anatomical congenital anomalies is in place in our hospital, run by a dedicated team. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the services of this team from a parental perspective.Methods  Parents completed a questionnaire including open and closed questions about satisfaction with the various professional disciplines involved in the follow‐up, statements on usefulness of the follow‐up services and suggestions for improvement.Results  Four hundred and sixty‐nine surveys were sent out, of which 71% were returned. Non‐responding parents included significantly more parents of non‐Dutch origin (P= 0.038) and parents who never responded to invitations for follow‐up examinations (P < 0.001). Parental satisfaction differed for the various disciplines. Eighty per cent of the parents were (very) satisfied with the social worker, compared with 92% with nurses. More than half of the parents agreed that the follow‐up services give peace of mind. Almost a quarter of parents, however, considered the follow‐up services as redundant. The children of these parents had significantly shorter intensive care unit stay (P= 0.02), were older at the time of the questionnaire (P= 0.04), of higher socio‐economic status (P= 0.001) and less likely to be of non‐Dutch origin (P= 0.008). Sixty‐one per cent of the parents had contacted the 24‐h helpline. Ninety per cent of the parents were satisfied with the intensive care unit, almost 80% with the general ward.Conclusion  Overall, parents were satisfied with the services of the follow‐up team. Some parents, however, saw room for improvement related to better communication, recognizability of the team and better planning and organization.
Sensory pulpal nerve fibres and trigeminal ganglion neurons express IL‐1RI: a potential mechanism for development of inflammatory hyperalgesia
Authors: Bletsa A. , Fristad I. , Berggreen E. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractAim  To localize interleukin‐1 receptor type I (IL‐1RI) in rat dental pulp and trigeminal ganglion (TG) and to test the hypothesis that pulpal inflammation increases neuronal expression of IL‐1RI.Methodology  Female Wistar rats were subjected to unilateral pulp exposures in the maxillary and mandibular first molars, whereas the contralateral jaws served as untreated controls. Seven days later the animals were transcardiacally perfused and the jaws and the TGs were removed and prepared for immunohistochemistry. Immunoreactivity for IL‐1RI was examined alone (DAB) and together with calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), CD31 or CD34 by multiple‐labelling immunofluorescence. Quantification of IL‐1RI‐immunoreactive (‐IR) cells in the maxillary and mandibular division of the ganglion was performed in parasagittal immunoreacted sections of the right and left TGs. Data were analysed with Mann–Whitney Rank Sum test (P < 0.05).Results  Interleukin‐1 receptor type I was found on sensory (CGRP‐IR) and sympathetic (NPY‐IR) nerve fibres and on blood vessels (CD31‐ and CD34‐IR) in the dental pulp. It was also localized on sensory neurons and axons in the TG. Pulpal inflammation significantly increased the expression of IL‐1RI in the TG (P < 0.001).Conclusions  The localization of IL‐1RI on sensory nerve fibres and its up‐regulation in TG neurons during pulpal inflammation may imply a direct effect of IL‐1 in pulpal nociception. The presence of IL‐1RI on sympathetic nerve fibres and on blood vessels may indicate a vasoactive role of the same cytokine in the pulp.
Less advanced testicular dysgenesis is associated by a higher prevalence of germ cell neoplasia
Authors: Guminska A. , Oszukowska E. , Kuzanski W. , Sosnowski M. , Wolski J. K. , Walczak‐Jedrzejowska R. , Marchlewska K. , Niedzielski J. , Kula K. , Slowikowska‐Hilczer J. 
Published: August 2009

SummaryThere is a theory that the more evident clinical signs of testicular dysgenesis, the more frequent the neoplastic lesions are. The aim of this study was to relate the incidence of testicular germ cell neoplastic lesions (overt germ cell tumours – GCT or testicular carcinoma in situ) to the intensity of testicular organogenesis disturbances (dysgenesis). Biopsies were taken from 154 testes of the following patients: 23 patients with GCT in the contralateral gonad (CGCT), 41 patients with undescended testes operated in childhood (UDT), 90 with azoo‐/oligozoospermia (A/O) diagnosed because of infertility. Assessment of seminiferous epithelium, number of Leydig cells, areal fraction of intertubular space (IS), morphometric analysis of seminiferous tubules diameter and thickness of tubular wall were performed. Monoclonal antibodies against placental like alkaline phosphatase and cytokeratin 18 were applied. Germ cell neoplastic lesions were detected in 7.1% of testes and were associated with disturbed spermatogenesis. Among testes with disturbed spermatogenesis they were found the most frequently in CGCT (22.2% vs. 11.1% in UDT and 3.8% in A/O), where spermatogenesis had the highest score (5.7 ± 3.8 points vs. 4.2 ± 2.7 in UDT and 4.6 ± 2.9 in A/O). In CGCT, signs of testicular dysgenesis were less advanced: the highest tubular diameter was 164.4 ± 32.3 μm vs. 163.5 ± 28.6 in UDT and 161.4 ± 31.5 in A/O, the lowest thickness of tubular wall was 8.9 ± 3.2 μm vs. 10.2 ± 3.6 in UDT and 10.2 ± 3.2 in A/O, lowest IS was 36.9 ± 14.9% vs. 47.9 ± 18.0 in UDT and 46.5 ± 18.5 in A/O, and the lowest percentage of tubules with immature Sertoli cells was 0.1 ± 0.4% vs. 4.9 ± 7.0 in UDT and 5.2 ± 9.7 in A/O. Results indicate that neoplastic lesions appear only in testes with disturbed spermatogenesis. Worse condition of spermatogenesis is associated by the presence of other dysgenetic features, but neoplastic lesions appear more frequently in testes with the less advanced features of testicular dysgenesis.
Prospective longitudinal studies of salmonid alphavirus infections on two Atlantic salmon farms in Ireland; evidence for viral persistence
Authors: Graham D A , Fringuelli E , Wilson C , Rowley H M , Brown A , Rodger H , McLoughlin M F , McManus C , Casey E , McCarthy L J , Ruane N M 
Published: August 2009

AbstractProspective longitudinal studies of two outbreaks of pancreas disease in Atlantic salmon (AS), Salmo salar L., in Ireland were conducted. Both outbreaks occurred during the marine phase of production, with one caused by salmonid alphavirus subtype 1 (SAV1) and the other by SAV4. In addition to screening a range of tissues by real‐time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RRT‐PCR), virological, serological and histopathological examinations were performed along with partial genome sequencing and results were related to environmental and production data and farm history. On Farm 1 (marine sampling only), infection was detected within 3 weeks of smolts being placed on the farm, while on Farm 2 (freshwater and marine sampling), infection was first detected 315 days after transfer to sea. In both outbreaks, RRT‐PCR signals were detected in a range of tissues including gill, heart, kidney, pancreas/pyloric caeca, brain and serum. Persistence of signal was longest in gill and heart (≥265 days on both farms) and shortest in serum. Mortalities on the two farms varied from 10.9% to 30%. In both cases, partial genome sequence of the causative viruses were identical to SAV strains detected in previous populations of AS on each of the study farms, including populations with which the study populations overlapped in time and space.
A single‐dose pharmacokinetic study of emamectin benzoate in cod, Gadus morhua L., held in sea water at 9 °C
Authors: Samuelsen O B 
Published: August 2009

AbstractThe pharmacokinetic profile of the antiparasitic agent emamectin benzoate was studied in plasma after intravenous (i.v.) injection and in plasma, muscle and skin following oral (p.o.) administration to cod, Gadus morhua, held in sea water at 9 °C and weighing 100–200 g. Following i.v. injection, the plasma drug concentration‐time profile showed two distinct phases. The plasma distribution half‐life (t1/2α) was estimated as 2.5 h, the elimination half‐life (t1/2β) as 216 h, the total body clearance (ClT) as 0.0059 L kg−1 h−1 and mean residence time (MRT) as 385 h. The volume of distribution at steady state, Vd(ss), was calculated to be 1.839 L kg−1. Following p.o. administration the peak plasma concentration (Cmax) was 15 ng mL−1, the time to peak plasma concentration (Tmax) was 89 h and t1/2β was 180 h. The highest concentration in muscle (21 ng g−1) was measured after 7 days and t1/2β was calculated to be 247 h. For skin, a peak concentration of 28 ng g−1 at 3 days was observed and a t1/2β of 235 h was determined. The bioavailability following p.o. administration was calculated to be 38%.
An experimental vaccine against Aeromonas hydrophila can induce protection in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum)
Authors: LaPatra S E , Plant K P , Alcorn S , Ostland V , Winton J 
Published: August 2009

AbstractA candidate vaccine against Aeromonas hydrophila in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, was developed using a bacterial lysate. To test the strength of protection, A. hydrophila challenge models were compared using injection into both the intraperitoneal (IP) cavity and the dorsal sinus (DS) with selected doses of live bacteria washed in saline or left untreated. Unlike the IP route, injection into the DS with either saline washed or unwashed cells resulted in consistent cumulative mortality and a dose response that could be used to establish a standard challenge having an LD50 of approximately 3 × 107 colony forming units per fish. Survivors of the challenge suffered significantly lower mortality upon re‐challenge than naïve fish, suggesting a high level of acquired resistance was elicited by infection. Passive immunization using serum from hyper‐immunized fish also resulted in significantly reduced mortality indicating protection can be transferred and that some portion of resistance may be antibody mediated. Vaccination of groups of rainbow trout with A. hydrophila lysate resulted in significant protection against a high challenge dose but only when injected along with Freund’s complete adjuvant. At a low challenge dose, mortality in all groups was low, but the bacterial lysate alone appeared to offer some protection.
Social information processing in boys with autistic spectrum disorder and mild to borderline intellectual disabilities
Authors: Embregts P. , Van Nieuwenhuijzen M. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractBackground  Children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and mild to borderline intellectual disability (ID) have less adaptive behaviour and more behaviour problems than children with mild to borderline ID. Social information processing appears to be an important mechanism in the explanation of the socially inadequate behaviour of children with mild to borderline ID; however, little is known about the social information processing skills of children with ASD and mild to borderline ID.Method  In the present study, a total of 136 boys in the age of 10–14 years participated; 26 with ASD (specifically Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified) and mild to borderline ID, 54 with mild to borderline ID without ASD and 56 typically developing boys. They completed the Social Problem Solving Test to measure their social information processing.Results  The research results show boys with PDD‐NOS and mild to borderline ID to differ from typically developing boys in their encoding of information; they focus on negative and emotional information in the social situation. They differ from boys with mild to borderline ID in response generation, evaluation of inadequate solutions (aggressive and submissive responses) and assertive response decision.Conclusions  The present study extends our knowledge regarding social information processing of children with ASD (PDD‐NOS) and mild to borderline ID. This knowledge may be helpful in designing and adapting programmes (e.g. social skills training, self‐management training) for the management of behaviour problems and development of adaptive behaviour of children with ASD and mild to borderline ID.
Clinical outcomes of a specialised inpatient unit for adults with mild to severe intellectual disability and mental illness
Authors: Lunsky Y. , White S. E. , Palucka A. M. , Weiss J. , Bockus S. , Gofine T. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractBackground  Limitations of general psychiatric services have led to the development of specialised psychiatric programmes for patients with intellectual disability (ID) and mental health needs. Few studies have examined treatment outcomes of specialised inpatient units, and no studies have explored how the effects of intervention may differ for individuals at varying levels of cognitive ability. The present study examined clinical outcomes of inpatients with mild ID in contrast to inpatients with moderate to severe ID within the same service.Method  Thirty‐three patients (17 with mild ID and 16 with moderate to severe ID) discharged between 2006 and 2008 from a specialised inpatient unit in Canada for adults with ID and mental illness were studied. In addition to examining change in scores on clinical measures, outcomes with regard to length of stay, diagnostic change, residential change and re‐admission to hospital were explored.Results  Both groups demonstrated clinical improvement from admission to discharge. However, only patients with mild ID demonstrated improvements on the Global Assessment of Functioning.Conclusions  This study is one of the first to consider outcomes of higher and lower functioning individuals with ID on a specialised inpatient unit. Results suggest that outcomes may be different for these groups, and some clinical measures may be more sensitive to changes in patients with more severe disabilities.
Self‐reported sleep duration and cognitive functioning in the general population
Authors: KRONHOLM ERKKI , SALLINEN MIKAEL , SUUTAMA TIMO , SULKAVA RAIMO , ERA PERTTI , PARTONEN TIMO 
Published: August 2009

SummaryThis study investigated the relationship between self‐reported sleep factors (sleep duration, insomnia, use of sleeping medicine, probable sleep apnoea and feelings of fatigue and tiredness) with cognitive functioning in 5177 people aged 30 years or older from a cross‐sectional representative sample of the adult population in Finland (The Finnish Health 2000 Survey). Previous studies have indicated a U‐shaped association between increased health risks and sleep duration; we hypothesized a U‐shaped association between sleep duration and cognitive functioning. Objective cognitive functioning was assessed with tasks derived from the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease test battery (verbal fluency, encoding and retaining verbal material). Subjective cognitive functioning and sleep‐related factors were assessed with questionnaires. Health status was assessed during a health interview. Depressive and alcohol use disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Medication was recorded during the health examination. Short and long sleep duration, tiredness and fatigue were found to be associated with both objectively assessed and self‐reported decreased cognitive functioning. The association was stronger between sleep factors and subjective cognitive function than with objective cognitive tests. These data suggest that self‐reported habitual short and long sleep duration reflect both realization of homeostatic sleep need and symptom formation in the context of the individual’s health status.
Central apnoeas have significant effects on blood pressure and heart rate in children
Authors: O’DRISCOLL DENISE M. , FOSTER ALISON M. , NG MICHELLE L. , YANG JOEL S. C. , BASHIR FARHAT , WONG SHI , NIXON GILLIAN M. , DAVEY MARGOT J. , ANDERSON VICKI , WALKER ADRIAN M. , TRINDER JOHN , HORNE ROSEMARY S. C. 
Published: August 2009

SummaryBrief central apnoeas (CAs) during sleep are common in children and are not usually considered clinically significant unless associated with oxygen desaturation. CAs can occur spontaneously or following a movement or sigh. The aim of this study was to investigate acute cardiovascular changes associated with CAs in children. Beat‐by‐beat mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were analysed across CAs, and spontaneous and movement‐induced events were compared using two‐way analysis of variance with post hoc analyses. Fifty‐three children (28 male/25 female) aged 7–12 years referred for investigation of sleep‐disordered breathing (SDB) and 21 age‐matched healthy controls (8 male/13 female) were studied. Children underwent routine clinical polysomnography with continuous blood pressure (BP) recordings. Movement‐induced, but not spontaneous, CAs were more frequent in children with mild or moderate/severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) compared with healthy controls (P < 0.05 for both). Movement‐induced CAs were associated with significantly larger MAP and HR changes across the event compared with spontaneous CAs. The percentage changes in MAP and HR between late‐event and post‐event were significantly greater for movement‐induced compared with spontaneous CAs (MAP 20.6 ± 2.3 versus 12.2 ± 1.8%, P < 0.01; HR 28.2 ± 2.6 versus 14.7 ± 2.5%, P < 0.001). This study demonstrates that movement‐induced CAs are more common in children with OSA, and are associated with significantly greater changes in HR and BP compared with spontaneous CAs. These data suggest that movement‐induced CAs should be considered when assessing the cardiovascular impact of SDB.
Marked sperm dimorphism in the ground beetle Scarites terricola: a novel type of insect sperm polymorphism
Authors: SASAKAWA KÔJI 
Published: August 2009

Abstract.Sperm polymorphism describes the phenomenon of male ejaculates containing two or more distinct types of sperm. In insects, four types of sperm polymorphism are recognized in species from the orders Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. The present study describes dimorphic sperm of the ground beetle Scarites terricola (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as a novel type of sperm polymorphism in insects. Sperm from the spermatophore and male seminal vesicles are examined at the light‐microscopic level, and both display marked dimorphism. One type has sperm formed into bundles, in which the head of numerous spermatozoa are ‘glued’ together, with tails free‐moving. The other type are free as single spermatozoa and have a disproportionately large‐sized head and an elongated tail. Both types are motile in Ringer's solution. The adaptive and phylogenetic importance of these findings is discussed.