bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effects of long‐term anticonvulsive treatment on serum lipid profile
Authors: YALÇIN ERDINÇ , HASSANZADEH AHMAD , MAWLUD KHAYRYA 
Published: January 2011

AbstractSerum lipids were determined in 10 untreated patients with recently diagnosed epilepsy, 21 patients treated with carbamazepine (CBZ), 10 patients treated with valproate (VPA) and in 15 healthy children. In relation to the controls, patients receiving CBZ showed increased serum high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), apolipoprotein A (Apo‐A) and apolipoprotein B (Apo‐B). Patients receiving VPA showed increased Apo‐B levels. There were no significant differences in total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) or very low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDLc) between all groups. The changes in lipid metabolism may be associated with the induction of liver enzymes during anti‐epileptic drug metabolism. The CBZ‐induced change in serum lipid levels was considered to be a possible factor against atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease in epileptic patients.
Application of nested polymerase chain reaction for the rapid diagnosis of infant botulism type B
Authors: KAKINUMA HIROAKI , MARUYAMA HIROMI , YAMAKAWA KIYOTOKA , NAKAMURA SHINICHI , TAKAHASHI HIROAKI 
Published: January 2011

AbstractA nested polymerase chain reaction was utilized to successfully detect the type B botulinum neurotoxin gene of Clostridium botulinum in feces from a 6‐month‐old patient, who had already been diagnosed with type B infant botulism by mouse bio‐assay. This method of rapid diagnosis without enrichment culture of feces can be applied to other types of toxins in the use of the type‐specific primers. Further investigations, however, are required to define the sensitivity and specificity of the method.
Clinicopathological characteristics of the focal and segmental form of idiopathic membranous nephropathy: Comparison with the typical form of this disease
Authors: YAMAMOTO S. , INABA S. , YOSHIDA R. , TAKAHASHI T. , ISHIHARA S. , SAKAI Y. , ARAI M. , KUROSE K. , MATSUKURA H. , MIYAWAKI T. 
Published: January 2011

AbstractAlthough idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) is thought to represent a diffuse glomerulopathy, it was found that three of 31 children histologically diagnosed as IMN showed focal and segmental deposition of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and C3 on the glomerular capillary walls. The present study attempted to comparatively investigate clinical and pathological features of the diffuse group and the focal segmental group in 31 IMN children. Immunofluorescence study revealed that 28 of 31 IMN exhibited diffuse granular deposition of IgG along glomerular capillary walls. In contrast, focal and segmental deposition of IgG and C3 was noted in three children with IMN. In addition, focal and segmental electron‐dense deposits were identified in these cases. In two children of the focal segmental group, immunofluorescent patterns of IgG deposition were unchanged even at the second biopsy. The focal segmental form of IMN tended to occur in younger children than diffuse IMN. However, other clinical parameters such as the range of proteinuria, hematuria, serum albumin and prognosis did not show any significant differences between both groups. Electrophoretic profiles of urinary proteins on sodium dodecylsulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were not different between both groups. It is proposed that the focal segmental form of IMN may have a distinctive glomerulopathy from the typical form of IMN.
Psychosocial aspects and psychiatric disorders in children with thalassemia major
Authors: AYDIN BEKIR , YAPRAK IŞIN , AKARSU DUYGU , ÖKTEN NURDAN , üLGEN MEVLüT 
Published: January 2011

Abstractβ‐thalassemia major (TM), a chronic, genetically determined hematological disorder, has received little investigation on the psychological aspects of the disease and the psychosocial adjustment of patients with this anemia. In the present study, the aim was to assess the mental capacity, self‐image, hopelessness and anxiety displayed by children who suffered from TM, and to investigate the existence of psychiatric disorders in these children. Twenty‐five children (16 boys and 9 girls) with TM, 12.0–19.6 years old, from the Hematology Unit of the Department of Pediatrics at the SSK Tepecik Teaching Hospital, were included in the study. Fifteen healthy cases matched for age, sex and socio‐economic status were used as controls. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (or Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), Offer Self‐Image Questionnaire, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Trait Anxiety Inventory, Symptom Check List (revised) and the Family Assessment Device were performed on all patients. Then, the patients were evaluated for a psychiatric disorder by a psychiatrist (according to the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV of the American Psychiatric Association). The results for the patients and control cases were compared statistically using Mann‐Whitney and Kruskal‐Wallis tests. Self‐image was found to be significantly lower in patients with TM than in control cases (P < 0.01). Hopelessness and Trait‐Anxiety scores were determined to be significantly higher in patients with TM than in control cases (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Eighty percent of the patients with TM have had at least one psychiatric disorder. As a result, the study showed that most of the patients with TM had severe psychosocial problems. Relying on these data, it was concluded that medical therapy of these patients should be supported with psychological aid and psychiatric treatment.
Studies on the site of renal tubular defect in Bartter's syndrome
Authors: KIKUCHI MASAHIRO , SATO MARIKO , CHIBA AKIKO , CHIBA YASUSHI , NAGAO KAZUYA , SUZUKI TOSHIYUKI , FUJIGAKI YOKO , HOSHINO HISAO 
Published: January 2011

AbstractRenal tubular function was studied in an 8‐month‐old male infant with Bartter's syndrome, which is characterized by hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis, normotensive hyperreninemic hyperaldosteronism, and reduced pressor response to angiotensin II. Chloride transport along the diluting segment (CH2O/CH2O + CCl) was impaired. Furthermore, furosemide did not elicit normal natriuresis, which suggested impaired chloride reabsorptive capacity at the furosemide‐sensitive ascending limb of Henle's loop. Loss of antidiuretic hormone‐mediated urinary concentration was in support of this. These findings pointed to the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop as the site of the primary defect in this child.
Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia associated with anti‐human platelet antigen‐3a antibody
Authors: TAKADA HIDETOSHI , NAKAMURA SHIGEYUKI , NISHIGUCHI TOSHIHIRO , MIYAKE KAZUYA , HAMADA KEISUKE , OSHIKAWA HIDETSUGU , SHINGU TOSHIMITSU , MORITA SHOJI , SHIBATA YOICHI 
Published: January 2011

AbstractA sister and brother with neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenic purpura (NAITP) caused by maternal anti‐human platelet antigen (HPA)‐3a are reported. The children had transient severe thrombocytopenia in the newborn period, and were treated with intravenous γ‐globulin and platelet concentrates from random donors. Although the sister had intracranial hemorrhage on day 2 postnatally, the development of the child has been normal and no neurological sequelae have been observed. The brother only had bloody stool when the platelet count was low, and did not have severe hemorrhagic manifestations. The diagnosis of NAITP was made by the sera from the mother, which contained anti‐HPA‐3a antibody directed against platelets of the children. The rate of recurrence might be high in this family, because the father of the patients was found to be homozygous for the HPA‐3a gene.
Prolonged isoflurane anesthesia in a case of catastrophic asthma
Authors: MIYAGI TOSHIHIKO , GUSHIMA YASUHIRO , MATSUMOTO TOMOAKI , OKAMOTO KAZUFUMI , MIIKE TERUHISA 
Published: January 2011

AbstractA 13‐year‐old female patient with life‐threatening asthma was treated with the inhalational anesthetic agent, 1% isoflurane, for 202 h (140 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) hours). The patient survived and exhibited no significant side effects attributable to the medication. The present patient report provides additional clinical information supporting the utilization of long‐term isoflurane general anesthesia in the management of refractory status asthmaticus that have not responded to aggressive medical management.
A comparison of GlideScope® videolaryngoscopy and direct laryngoscopy for nasotracheal intubation in children
Authors: Kim Hyun‐Jung , Kim Jin‐Tae , Kim Hee‐Soo , Kim Chong‐Sung , Kim Seong‐Deok 
Published: January 2011

SummaryBackground:  The relative effectiveness of GlideScope® videolaryngoscopy (GV) for nasotracheal intubation in pediatric patients is unclear. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of GV for nasotracheal intubation compared with direct laryngoscopy (DL) in pediatric patients.Methods:  Our patient cohort consisted of 80 children <10 years of age who required nasotracheal intubation for elective dental or facial surgery. The patients were randomly allocated to GV (n = 40) or DL (n = 40) group. The time to intubation (TTI), glottic view grade, frequency of Magill forceps use, and degree of difficulty in intubation were evaluated.Results:  The median TTI was similar between the groups. The TTI of the former 20 patients was faster in the DL group (53.3 s, interquartile range: 42.0–64.3) than GV group (65.9 s, interquartile range: 56.0–93.9) (P = 0.007), whereas the TTI of the latter 20 patients was comparable between the groups. There were no significant differences in glottic view grade, frequency of Magill forceps use, and degree of difficulty in intubation between the two groups.Conclusions:  GV can provide similar intubation performance characteristics compared with DL when used for nasotracheal intubation in pediatric patients. However, experience is needed to be skillful in the GV to acquire comparable TTI with DL.
Role of modeling and simulation in pediatric investigation plans
Authors: Manolis Efthymios , Osman Tariq Eldirdiry , Herold Ralf , Koenig Franz , Tomasi Paolo , Vamvakas Spiros , Raymond Agnes Saint 
Published: January 2011

SummaryEthical and practical constraints encourage the optimal use of resources in pediatric drug development. Modeling and simulation has emerged as a promising methodology acknowledged by industry, academia, and regulators. We previously proposed a paradigm in pediatric drug development, whereby modeling and simulation is used as a decision tool, for study optimization and/or as a data analysis tool. Three and a half years since the Paediatric Regulation came into force in 2007, the European Medicines Agency has gained substantial experience in the use of modeling and simulation in pediatric drug development. In this review, we present examples on how the proposed paradigm applies in real case scenarios of planned pharmaceutical developments. We also report the results of a pediatric database search to further ‘validate’ the paradigm. There were 47 of 210 positive pediatric investigation plan (PIP) opinions that made reference to modeling and simulation (data included all positive opinions issued up to January 2010). This reflects a major shift in regulatory thinking. The ratio of PIPs with modeling and simulation rose to two in five based on the summary reports. Population pharmacokinetic (POP‐PK) and pharmacodynamics (POP‐PD) and physiologically based pharmacokinetic models are widely used by industry and endorsed or even imposed by regulators as a way to circumvent some difficulties in developing medicinal products in children. The knowledge of the effects of age and size on PK is improving, and models are widely employed to make optimal use of this knowledge but less is known about the effects of size and maturation on PD, disease progression, and safety. Extrapolation of efficacy from different age groups is often used in pediatric medicinal development as another means to alleviate the burden of clinical trials in children, and this can be aided by modeling and simulation to supplement clinical data. The regulatory assessment is finally judged on clinical grounds such as feasibility, ethical issues, prioritization of studies, and unmet medical need. The regulators are eager to expand the use of modeling and simulation to elucidate safety issues, to evaluate the effects of disease (e.g., renal or hepatic dysfunction), and to qualify mechanistic models that could help shift the current medicinal development paradigm.
Catabolic pathway for 2‐nitroimidazole involves a novel nitrohydrolase that also confers drug resistance
Authors: Qu Yi , Spain Jim C. 
Published: January 2011

SummaryAntibiotic resistance in pathogens can be mediated by catabolic enzymes thought to originate from soil bacteria, but the physiological functions and evolutionary origins of the enzymes in natural ecosystems are poorly understood. 2‐Nitroimidazole (2NI) is a natural antibiotic and an analogue of the synthetic nitroimidazoles used for treatment of tuberculosis, Chagas' disease and cancer. Mycobacterium sp. JS330 was isolated from soil based on its ability to use 2NI as a sole growth substrate. The initial step in the degradation pathway is the hydrolytic denitration of 2NI to produce imidazol‐2‐one and nitrite. The amino acid sequence of 2NI nitrohydrolase is highly divergent from those of biochemically characterized enzymes, and it confers drug resistance when it is heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The unusual enzymatic reaction seems likely to determine the flux of nitroimidazole in natural ecosystems and also represents the discovery of a previously unreported drug resistance mechanism in soil before its identification in clinical situations.
Convergent dynamics of the juvenile European sea bass gut microbiota induced by poly‐β‐hydroxybutyrate
Authors: De Schryver Peter , Dierckens Kristof , Bahn Thi Quyen Quyen , Amalia Rezki , Marzorati Massimo , Bossier Peter , Boon Nico , Verstraete Willy 
Published: January 2011

SummaryPoly‐β‐hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a bacterial energy and carbon storage compound which exhibits a controlling effect on the gastrointestinal microbiota. Its beneficial activities for aquaculture have already been shown in terms of increased disease resistance and growth performance in a number of studies. However, the action of PHB on the intestinal microbial community in the treated animals has not yet been studied in depth. In this research, the effects of PHB on the microbiota composition in the intestinal tract of juvenile sea bass were examined. It was found that fish cohabiting in the same tank were on average 87% similar regarding the intestinal microbiota. When subjected to the same treatment and environmental conditions but reared in different tanks, the compositions of the enteric communities diverged. The provision of PHB overruled this tank effect by sustaining a microbial core community in the gut that represented 60% of the total bacterial diversity at the highest PHB level of 10%. The microbial community compositions converged between replicate tanks upon supplementation of PHB and were characterized by high dynamics and increased evenness. The results are discussed in the framework of hypotheses that try to relate the intestinal microbial community composition to the health status of the host organisms.
Emerging Asia: Decoupling or Recoupling
Authors: Kim Soyoung , Lee Jong‐Wha , Park Cyn‐Young 
Published: January 2011

AbstractIn this paper, we investigate the degree of real economic interdependence between emerging East Asian and major industrial countries to shed light on the heated debate over the ‘decoupling’ of emerging East Asia. We first document the evolution of macroeconomic interdependence for emerging East Asian economies through changing trade and financial linkages at both the regional and global levels. Then, by employing a panel vector autoregression (VAR) model, we estimate the degree of real economic interdependence before and after the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis. Empirical findings show that real economic interdependence increased significantly in the post‐crisis period, suggesting ‘recoupling’, rather than decoupling, in recent years. Output shocks from major industrial countries have a significant positive effect on emerging East Asian economies. More interestingly, the reverse is also true. Output shocks from emerging East Asia (and China) have a significant positive effect on output in major industrial countries. The result suggests that macroeconomic interdependence between emerging East Asia and industrial countries have become ‘bi‐directional’, defying the traditional notion of the ‘North–South relationship’ as one of ‘uni‐directional’ dependence.
Internationalisation and Economic Performance of Enterprises: Evidence from Polish Firm‐level Data
Authors: Hagemejer Jan , Kolasa Marcin 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThis article provides evidence on the relative performance of internationalised firms using Polish firm‐level data, spanning the period 1996–2005 and covering all medium and large enterprises. We distinguish between three modes of internationalisation: foreign direct investment, exporting and importing of capital goods. Our results point strongly at the superior performance of foreign affiliates vs domestic firms, exporters vs non‐exporters, and importers vs non‐importers: internationalised firms are larger, more capital intensive, pay higher wages and are more productive than purely domestic firms. Foreign ownership is the strongest factor accounting for gains from internationalisation. The premia from exporting are substantially lower, though also significantly positive. The performance of capital goods importers is also higher compared to non‐importers and is to some extent related to their involvement in other types of international activity. The results are robust to the choice of specification and productivity estimator. The analysed enterprises recorded a sizeable and broad‐based productivity improvement over the period under consideration. Not only the initial levels of productivity of exporters, importers and foreign affiliates were on average significantly higher that those of their non‐internationalised counterparts, but they also recorded faster productivity gains (manifested in increasing productivity premia), so that the discrepancies grew even larger. We also perform the analysis of productivity spillovers from internationalised firms onto own, downstream and upstream sectors. We find evidence of significant horizontal and backward spillovers from all three types of international activity. Our results suggest that trade externalities are rather of a horizontal nature, while those related to foreign direct investment operate mainly via backward linkages.
Do Financial Constraints Matter for Foreign Market Entry? A Firm‐level Examination
Authors: Stiebale Joel 
Published: January 2011

AbstractRecent theoretical and empirical contributions stress the importance of financial development for international trade. This paper investigates whether financial constraints matter for foreign market entry at the firm level using dynamic panel data techniques. Dynamic Probit and Tobit models that account for state dependence and unobserved heterogeneity are used to analyse the effect of financial indicators on export activities. The empirical framework tests for heterogeneous effects among different quartiles of the size and productivity distribution, across previous exporters and potential starters, and across different types of industries as those are predicted by theoretical models. The empirical analysis is applied to a large panel dataset of French manufacturing firms over the years 1998–2005. The data contain a high share of small firms that are usually the most likely to be financially constrained. Although financial indicators are significantly correlated with export status and export share, there is no evidence that financial constraints have a direct impact on foreign market participation or sales in foreign markets once observed and unobserved firm heterogeneity is controlled for. This result is robust to using alternative estimation techniques and also holds for subgroups of firms that are more likely to face financial constraints and industries that are more dependent on financial factors.
HOW THE OLD LEFT HAS FOUND A NEW PLACE IN THE MEMORY GAME
Authors: Hutton Patrick H. 
Published: January 2011

ABSTRACTIn his new book, How Modernity Forgets, Paul Connerton seeks to show a relationship between the workings of late capitalism and the institutionalization of forgetfulness in ever more abstract conceptions of space and time. He uses this argument to explain why the topic of collective memory has waxed so large in contemporary historical scholarship. I interpret his argument in light of his earlier work on habit memory and his still earlier critique of Frankfurt School social theory. I close with some comments on his study in the context of recent work on mnemonic practices in modern culture.
THE FRONTIER REMIX
Authors: Mokoena Hlonipha 
Published: January 2011

ABSTRACTIn The Deaths of Hintsa: Postapartheid South Africa and the Shape of Recurring Pasts, Premesh Lalu claims to offer a critique of apartheid's colonial past. Emblematic of this colonial past is the 1835 killing and mutilation of the Xhosa king Hintsa. Lalu uses this violent event to argue against the evidence provided by the colonial archives. He argues that the killing of Hintsa was not an empirical fact but a product of the colonial imagination. The review argues that although the critique of apartheid's colonial past is timely, the book is not about Hintsa and does not therefore offer an alternative narrative of the death of the Xhosa king.
New approach for glyco‐ and lipidomics – Molecular scanning of human brain gangliosides by TLC‐Blot and MALDI‐QIT‐TOF MS
Authors: Valdes‐Gonzalez Tania , Goto‐Inoue Naoko , Hirano Wakako , Ishiyama Hironobu , Hayasaka Takahiro , Setou Mitsutoshi , Taki Takao 
Published: January 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 116, 678–683.AbstractWe have developed a TLC‐Blot system that makes possible the direct analysis of blotted glycosphingolipids on a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane from a high‐performance TLC plate by immunological staining, chemical staining, enzymatic treatment and mass spectrometric (MS) analysis. An ion trap type matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization‐quadrupole ion trap‐time of flight (MALDI‐QIT‐TOF) MS apparatus improved not only the molecular identification but also the analysis of molecular species of lipids on the polyvinylidene difluoride membrane. A new approach for glyco‐ and lipidomics, molecular scanning technology by a combination of TLC‐Blot and MALDI‐QIT‐TOF MS, was developed and applied to human brain gangliosides separated from the tissues of patients with neural diseases and control patients. The results clearly showed a change of ganglioside composition, in addition to identifying individual ganglioside molecular species, in the hippocampus gray matter of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The results strongly suggested that metabolic changes of gangliosides played an important role in the progression of this disease. The present technology with molecular imaging should provide valuable information for elucidating the significance of molecular species in neuronal functions such as neural transmission, memory, and learning.