bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Lower prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and hyperglyceridemia found in subjects with seropositivity for both Hepatitis B and C strains independently
Authors: Chen Jing‐Yi , Wang Jing‐Houng , Lin Chih‐Yun , Chen Pao‐Fei , Tseng Po‐Lin , Chen Chien‐Hung , Chang Kuo‐Chin , Tsai Lin‐San , Chen Shu‐Chuan , Lu Sheng‐Nan 
Published: February 2010

AbstractBackground and Aim:  To evaluate the association of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia.Methods:  We analyzed the computerized health datasets of 56 336 residents from a community‐based comprehensive screening in Tainan County in southern Taiwan. The overall prevalence rates of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti‐HCV were 10.9% and 10.2%, respectively. Anti‐HCV, HBsAg, platelet counts, albumin/globulin ratio (A/G ratio), fasting glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol levels, and body mass index (BMI) were abstracted for analyses. Multivariate logistic analysis was used for identification of the independent factors of hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia.Results:  The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia were 48.9% and 28.0%, respectively. Hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia were associated with each other. Older age, negativity for HBsAg and anti‐HCV, normal platelet counts, A/G ratio ≥ 1, higher BMI, and being diagnosed as diabetic were common independently associated factors of both hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia. Men had higher risk for hypertriglyceridemia, while women had higher risk for hypercholesterolemia.Conclusions:  This large scale community‐based study demonstrated that subjects with seropositivity for Hepatitis C not only had lower prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia but subjects with seropositivity for Hepatitis B had the same trend.
Adverse clinical phenotype in inflammatory bowel disease: A cross sectional study identifying factors potentially amenable to change
Authors: Van Langenberg Daniel R , Lange Kylie , Hetzel David J , Holtmann Gerald J , Andrews Jane M 
Published: February 2010

AbstractBackground and Aim:  A significant proportion with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) exhibit an adverse clinical phenotype reflected in endpoints like surgery and hospitalizations. We sought to identify clinico‐demographic factors associated with these adverse consequences that may be amenable to change.Methods:  Over 6 months IBD patients visiting a metropolitan center were prospectively identified and given a comprehensive survey addressing patient knowledge, mental health and satisfaction with medical care along with other clinical data. Logistic regression analyses assessed for associations between clinico‐demographic variables and adverse clinical endpoints (previous surgery [ever] and/or recent inpatient admission over a 16 month observation period).Results:  Of 256 IBD patients, 162 responded (response rate 63%); 95 (59%) had Crohn's disease (CD), 63 (40%) ulcerative colitis (UC), four indeterminate colitis; 53% were female. Factors associated with a greater likelihood of hospitalization included moderate/severe disease activity, psychological co‐morbidity, numbers of medications and outpatient visits (odds ratio [OR] 7.09 [2.83–17.76], 4.13 [1.25–13.61], 1.26 [1.03–1.54], 1.17 [1.00–1.37] respectively; all P < 0.05). Post‐surgical patients were more likely to have CD, more currently active disease and longer disease duration (OR 8.55 [2.43–29.4], 3.52 [1.26, 9.87], 1.14 [1.08, 1.21] respectively; all P < 0.02), yet were less likely to have previously seen a gastroenterologist, OR 0.25 [0.08–0.76] (P = 0.01).Conclusions:  ‘At risk’ patients (those previously operated, with ongoing disease activity, dissatisfaction and/or psychological comorbidities) may benefit from early identification and more intensive management. Specialist gastroenterology care appears to be under‐utilized in operated patients yet may reduce future IBD morbidity.
Interobserver and intraobserver variability in evaluating vascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Fan Lifang , Mac Mylinh T , Frishberg David P , Fan Xuemo , Dhall Deepti , Balzer Bonnie L , Geller Stephen A , Wang Hanlin L 
Published: February 2010

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unique in that the presence of vascular invasion significantly changes tumor stage. Even though searching for vascular invasion is a common practice in surgical pathology, there appears to be a great variation among pathologists in its recognition. This study was designed to assess whether HCC could be accurately staged using vascular invasion as a staging parameter.Methods:  The interobserver and intraobserver agreement for vascular invasion was analyzed in 126 liver resections for HCC. Selected slides were circulated twice among six pathologists for independent review using their own criteria. One to three representative images from 26 equivocal cases selected by one of the authors were re‐evaluated by the pathologists. The presence or absence of vascular invasion on each slide or image was recorded as yes or no. The results were analyzed using unweighted kappa statistic analysis for multiple raters.Results:  The interobserver agreement was moderate on two slide circulations with kappa values of 0.50 (95% confidence interval 0.45–0.55) and 0.43 (0.38–0.47), respectively. The kappa value dropped significantly to 0.19 (0.09–0.29) on selected images photographed from controversial cases. The intraobserver agreement was moderate, with kappa values ranging from 0.23 to 0.56 (mean = 0.45).Conclusions:  Pathologists can reproducibly recognize vascular invasion in many HCC cases but may have difficulty in equivocal cases, which may lead to either understaging or overstaging of the tumors. This may have a significant impact on prognostic assessment and therapeutic decision making. Our observations indicate the need for improved definition for vascular invasion in HCC.
Hepatocellular carcinoma with persistent hepatitis B virus infection shows unusual downregulation of Ras expression and differential response to Ras mediated signaling
Authors: Bose Sujoy , Sakhuja Puja , Bezawada Lavanaya , Agarwal Anil K , Kazim Seyed N , Khan Luqman A , Sarin Shiv K , Ramakrishna Gayatri 
Published: February 2010

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Persistent infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major etiological risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The host cellular components involved in the progression of the carcinoma are still unclear. In the present study we aimed to evaluate Ras mediated signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma with persistent HBV infection.Methods:  To gain insight into the role of Ras mediated signaling in HBV mediated carcinogenesis we evaluated Ras functionality by mutation analysis, reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry (IHC), Ras‐guanosine triphosphate bound functionality assay and Ras‐mediated downstream signaling in a cohort of primary HCC tissues positive for HBV‐DNA.Results:  Mutation in codon 12 of K‐ras appeared to be an uncommon event in the pathogenesis of HCC. We found unusually low levels of Ras expression in HCC compared with those with normal liver and chronic liver disease (cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis). Considerable heterogeneity was found with respect to Ras‐mediated signaling events (pRaf, pMAPK and pAKT). The hepatoma cell line (Hep3B) with integrated HBV showed upregulation in expression and activation of Ras and its downstream signaling in comparison to HBV a negative cell line (HepG2). The contrasting result between the cell lines and primary tumors is worthy of note.Conclusions:  The unusual finding on downregulation of Ras expression in primary HCC tumors in the present study together with tumor heterogeneity with respect to Ras‐mediated signaling events prompts a new role of the wild type K‐Ras as a possible growth suppressor and a stochastic model for progression of hepatic cancer.
Effects of branched‐chain amino acid‐enriched nutrient for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma following radiofrequency ablation: A one‐year prospective trial
Authors: Kuroda Hidekatsu , Ushio Akira , Miyamoto Yasuhiro , Sawara Kei , Oikawa Kanta , Kasai Kazuhiro , Endo Ryujin , Takikawa Yasuhiro , Kato Akinobu , Suzuki Kazuyuki 
Published: February 2010

AbstractBackground and Aim:  This prospective control study examined whether supplementation with branched‐chain amino acid (BCAA)‐enriched nutrients can help maintain and improve residual liver function and nutritional status in cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after radiofrequency ablation (RFA).Methods:  Subjects were 49 patients with hepatitis C‐related HCC who underwent RFA. Two groups were formed: BCAA group (BCAA‐enriched nutrient, aminoleban EN) and controls (standard diet only). Event‐free survival rate, liver function tests, and Short Form (SF)‐8 scores were evaluated in both groups before and one year after RFA. Energy metabolism using indirect calorimetry was measured before and after 3 months.Results:  Complete data were obtained from 35 patients (BCAA group, n = 20; controls, n = 15). Six events (death, recurrence of HCC, rupture of esophageal varices and liver failure) occurred during the observation period, but frequencies of these events did not differ between groups. Event‐free survival rate tended to be higher in the BCA group than in controls. Among the parameters of liver function, serum albumin level was only significantly increased over 6 months, and remained at similar values for one year (P < 0.05). SF‐8 scores for general health, physical functioning, and social functioning were significantly elevated in the BCAA group (P < 0.05). Non‐protein respiratory quotient was significantly improved in the BCAA group (P < 0.01).Conclusion:  Supplementation with BCAA‐enriched nutrients for one year in cirrhotic patients with HCC after RFA therapy can perform safety and improve both nutritional state and quality of life.
Sauna lung: Hypersensitivity pneumonitis due to Exophiala jeanselmei
Authors: HUANG Wei‐Chen , LU Yin‐Hsiu , LIN Zih‐Gong , SU Wen‐Lin 
Published: February 2010

ABSTRACTA 55‐year‐old man developed progressive cough and dyspnoea after regular attendance at a public steam bath. Hypoxaemia, diffuse pulmonary infiltrates and a predominance of lymphocytes with an increased percentage of CD8+ T cells in his bronchoalveolar lavage fluid suggested hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Microbial cultures from the steam bath room and tank identified Exophiala jeanselmei. Immunoblotting assays from the patient's serum confirmed the major antigenic stimulus. The patient recovered fully after systemic corticosteroid treatment and cessation of further exposure.
Local inflammation occurs before systemic inflammation in patients with COPD
Authors: HE Zhihui , CHEN Yan , CHEN Ping , WU Guobao , CAI Shan 
Published: February 2010

ABSTRACTBackground and objective:  COPD is associated not only with an abnormal inflammatory response in the lung but also with systemic inflammation, including systemic oxidative stress, activation of circulating inflammatory cells and increased circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines. Understanding the nature and course of systemic inflammation in COPD is important given the potential for anti‐inflammatory therapy. This study explored whether local and systemic inflammation occur concurrently in patients with COPD.Methods:  Forty‐four patients with stable COPD, 10 smoking controls and 10 non‐smoking controls were enrolled in this observational study. Induced sputum and peripheral blood samples were obtained simultaneously for measurement of inflammatory cell numbers and the concentrations of IL‐6 and CRP.Results:  The total number of cells in the sputum total cell number, percentage of neutrophils and the concentration of IL‐6 were significantly higher in smoking controls and patients with COPD than in non‐smoking controls (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). As the disease stage progressed, airway inflammatory cells and IL‐6 levels increased. CRP levels in sputum were significantly higher in stage II, III and IV COPD patients than in smoking and non‐smoking controls (P < 0.01). However, the peripheral WCC and percentage of neutrophils were similar in patients with COPD, smoking and non‐smoking controls. Circulatory concentrations of IL‐6 and CRP in stages III and IV COPD patients were significantly higher than in smoking and non‐smoking controls (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). Additionally, there were positive correlations between sputum and blood IL‐6 and CRP levels (r = 0.566, P < 0.01 and r = 0.443, P < 0.01, respectively).Conclusions:  The increase in the inflammatory cell population and IL‐6 and CRP levels in the airway may occur earlier than in the peripheral blood, and reflect the degree of airflow limitation better than do peripheral blood measurements. Systemic inflammation may be present in patients with severe or very severe COPD.
The Value Relevance of Management Forecasts and Their Impact on Analysts' Forecasts: Empirical Evidence From Japan
Authors: OTA KOJI 
Published: February 2010

A major financial disclosure feature in Japan is that stock exchanges require firms to provide next year's earnings forecasts. This study investigates the value relevance of Japanese management earnings forecasts and their impact on analysts' earnings forecasts. First, the value relevance of management forecasts is investigated using a valuation framework provided by Ohlson (2001), in which firm value is expressed as a function of book value, current earnings and next year's expected earnings. The analysis yields that of the three accounting variables examined, management forecasts have the highest correlation and incremental explanatory power with stock price.Next, the impact of management forecasts on analysts' forecasts is examined. The results show that more than 90% of changes in analysts' forecasts are explained by management forecasts alone. Further analysis reveals that the heavy dependence of financial analysts on management forecasts in formulating their own forecasts may partially be attributed to the relatively high accuracy of management forecasts. At the same time, financial analysts also somewhat modify management forecasts when certain financial factors indicate that the credibility of management forecasts is in doubt.Overall, this study presents empirical evidence that Japanese management forecasts provide useful information for the market and have a significant influence on analysts' forecasts.
Phonological awareness in young Chinese children
Authors: Shu Hua , Peng Hong , McBride‐Chang Catherine 
Published: February 2010

Abstract Two studies explored the nature of phonological awareness (PA) in Chinese. In Study 1, involving 146 children, awareness of phoneme onset did not differ from chance levels at ages 3–5 years in preschool but increased to 70% correct in first grade, when children first received phonological coding (Pinyin) instruction. Similarly, tone awareness was at better than chance levels from second year kindergarten (age 4), but increased strongly and significantly in first grade to 74% accuracy. In contrast, syllable and rime awareness increased gradually and steadily across ages 3–6 years. Patterns suggest different influences of age and literacy instruction for different PA levels. In Study 2, involving 202 preschoolers, variance in Chinese character recognition was best explained by tasks of syllable awareness, tone awareness, and speeded naming. Findings underscore the unique importance of both tone and syllable for early character acquisition in Chinese children.
Emergence of syntax: commonalities and differences across children
Authors: Vasilyeva Marina , Waterfall Heidi , Huttenlocher Janellen 
Published: February 2010

Abstract This paper presents the results of a longitudinal examination of syntactic skills, starting at the age of emergence of simple sentences and continuing through the emergence of complex sentences. We ask whether there is systematic variability among children from different socioeconomic backgrounds in the early stages of sentence production. The results suggest a different answer for simple versus complex sentences. We found a striking similarity across SES groups on the measures tapping early mastery of basic syntactic rules of simple sentences. At the same time, there was a significant difference between SES groups in the mastery of complex sentence structures. This difference emerged at the earliest stages of production of multi‐clause sentences and persisted throughout the period of observation. The implications of these findings for the understanding of mechanisms of syntactic development are discussed.
Young Humeans: the role of emotions in children's evaluation of moral reasoning abilities
Authors: Danovitch Judith H. , Keil Frank C. 
Published: February 2010

AbstractThree experiments investigated whether children in grades K, 2, and 4 (n =144) view emotional comprehension as important in solving moral dilemmas. The experiments asked whether a human or an artificially intelligent machine would be best at solving different types of problems, ranging from moral and emotional to nonmoral and pragmatic. InExperiment 1, children in all age groups indicated that a human would be superior to a computer not only at comprehending emotions, but also at solving moral dilemmas. InExperiment 2, older children also indicated that a human could solve moral dilemmas better than a ‘robot’ with human‐like perceptual and physical abilities.Experiment 3further demonstrated that these effects were not solely due to a bias towards humans. Thus, children as young as age 5 view emotional understanding as an important element for moral, but not for nonmoral, reasoning, suggesting that the basis for Humean intuitions emerges early in life.
Development of using experimenter‐given cues in infant chimpanzees: longitudinal changes in behavior and cognitive development
Authors: Okamoto‐Barth Sanae , Tomonaga Masaki , Tanaka Masayuki , Matsuzawa Tetsuro 
Published: February 2010

Abstract The use of gaze shifts as social cues has various evolutionary advantages. To investigate the developmental processes of this ability, we conducted an object‐choice task by using longitudinal methods with infant chimpanzees tested from 8 months old until 3 years old. The experimenter used one of six gestures towards a cup concealing food; tapping, touching, whole‐hand pointing, gazing plus close‐pointing, distant‐pointing, close‐gazing, and distant‐gazing. Unlike any other previous study, we analyzed the behavioral changes that occurred before and after choosing the cup. We assumed that pre‐choice behavior indicates the development of an attentional and spatial connection between a pointing cue and an object (e.g. Woodward, 2005); and post‐choice behavior indicates the emergence of object permanence (e.g. Piaget, 1954). Our study demonstrated that infant chimpanzees begin to use experimenter‐given cues with age (after 11 months of age). Moreover, the results from the behavioral analysis showed that the infants gradually developed the spatial link between the pointing as an object‐directed action and the object. Moreover, when they were 11 months old, the infants began to inspect the inside of the cup, suggesting the onset of object permanence. Overall, our results imply that the ability to use the cues is developing and mutually related with other cognitive developments. The present study also suggests what the standard object‐choice task actually measures by breaking the task down into the developmental trajectories of its component parts, and describes for the first time the social‐physical cognitive development during the task with a longitudinal method.
Fearful faces modulate looking duration and attention disengagement in 7‐month‐old infants
Authors: Peltola Mikko J. , Leppänen Jukka M. , Palokangas Tiina , Hietanen Jari K. 
Published: February 2010

Abstract The present study investigated whether facial expressions modulate visual attention in 7‐month‐old infants. First, infants’ looking duration to individually presented fearful, happy, and novel facial expressions was compared to looking duration to a control stimulus (scrambled face). The face with a novel expression was included to examine the hypothesis that the earlier findings of greater allocation of attention to fearful as compared to happy faces could be due to the novelty of fearful faces in infants’ rearing environment. The infants looked longer at the fearful face than at the control stimulus, whereas no such difference was found between the other expressions and the control stimulus. Second, a gap/overlap paradigm was used to determine whether facial expressions affect the infants’ ability to disengage their fixation from a centrally presented face and shift attention to a peripheral target. It was found that infants disengaged their fixation significantly less frequently from fearful faces than from control stimuli and happy faces. Novel facial expressions did not have a similar effect on attention disengagement. Thus, it seems that adult‐like modulation of the disengagement of attention by threat‐related stimuli can be observed early in life, and that the influence of emotionally salient (fearful) faces on visual attention is not simply attributable to the novelty of these expressions in infants’ rearing environment.
Developmental changes in children's understanding of the similarity between photographs and their referents
Authors: Uttal David H. , Gentner Dedre , Liu Linda L. , Lewis Alison R. 
Published: February 2010

Abstract In a series of three experiments, we investigated the development of children's understanding of the similarities between photographs and their referents. Based on prior work on the development of analogical understanding (e.g. Gentner & Rattermann, 1991), we suggest that the appreciation of this relation involves multiple levels. Photographs are similar to their referents both in terms of the constituent objects and in terms of the relations among these objects. We predicted that children would appreciate object similarity (whether photographs depict the same objects as in the referent scene) before they would appreciate relational similarity (whether photographs depict the objects in the same spatial positions as in the referent scene). To test this hypothesis, we presented 3‐, 4‐, 5‐, 6‐, and 7‐year‐old children and adults with several candidate photographs of an arrangement of objects. Participants were asked to choose which of the photographs was ‘the same’ as the arrangement. We manipulated the types of information the photographs preserved about the referent objects. One set of photographs did not preserve the object properties of the scene. Another set of photographs preserved the object properties of the scene, but not the relational similarity, such that the original objects were depicted but occupied different spatial positions in the arrangement. As predicted, younger children based their choices of the photographs largely on object similarity, whereas older children and adults also took relational similarity into account. Results are discussed in terms of the development of children's appreciation of different levels of similarity.