bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An Ultrastructural Histochemistry and Light Microscopy Study of the Early Development of Renal Proximal Tubular Vacuolation after a Single Administration of the Contrast Enhancement Medium "Iotrolan"
Authors: Rees Jeremy A. , Old Sally L. , Rowlands Phil C. 
Published: April 2009

The time course of contrast media (CM)-induced renal proximal tubular vacuolation was investigated in rats by light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and ultrastructural histochemistry for acid phosphatase activity. Young adult male rats were treated with a single dose of 3.0 g I/kg Iotrolan (Isovist® 300 mg I/ml) and sacrificed at 0 min, 5-min, 15-min, 2-hr, and 24-hr intervals. Light microscopy of vibratome sections of freshly excised tissue and of cryostat and paraffin sections was also performed to allow comparison of the appearance of the vacuoles in the fresh state with light and electron microscopy. The sequence of events seen to occur can be summarized as follows. CM-induced vacuolation occurred at a low level as soon as 5 min after compound administration. The vacuolation was observed by TEM but could not be detected by light microscopy. This was followed by an increase in size and numbers of vacuoles up to the 24-hr timepoint with a sequential increase in the staining for acid phosphatase activity of the vacuoles, most marked at the 24-hr timepoint. At timepoints less than 24 hr there appeared to be no marked increase in the normal complement of lysosomes or in the components of the Golgi-endoplasmic reticulum-lysosome pathway. At 24 hr, the vast majority, but not all, of the CM-induced vacuoles were positive for acid phosphatase activity. The intensity of staining varied, and there was evidence of fusion of small lysosomes with CM-induced vacuoles. These results suggest that formation of CM-induced vacuoles is a 2-stage process, following a normal pathway for the handling of endogenous and exogenous substances.
A Dynamic Ultrasound Examination for the Diagnosis of Ankle Syndesmotic Injury in Professional Athletes
Authors: Mei-Dan Omer , Kots Eugene , Barchilon Vidal , Massarwe Sabri , Nyska Meir , Mann Gideon 
Published: April 2009

Background Syndesmotic ankle injuries are not easy to recognize when an associated fracture or frank diastasis is not present. There is a need for a simple, fast, inexpensive, and easily reproducible diagnostic tool to assess the integrity of the distal tibiofibular synedesmosis. Hypothesis Dynamic ultrasound (US) examination can accurately diagnose anteroinferior tibiofibular ligament (AITFL) rupture. Study Design Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2. Methods We evaluated 3 groups: 9 consecutive professional athletes with recent AITFL rupture, a control group of 18 subjects without a history of ankle injury, and 20 patients with lateral ankle sprain. The dynamic US examination was performed in neutral (N), forced internal rotation (IR), and external rotation (ER) of the foot for measuring the tibiofibular clear space on the anterior aspect of the ankle, at the level of the AITFL, 1 cm proximal to the joint line. Results The mean age of the study group was 27 years (range, 16-32). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed the diagnosis of AITFL rupture in all cases. Differences between the injured and control group were statistically significant for the N, IR, and ER positions (P < .001) and for the measured Δ between the AITFL in the ER and N positions (P < .01). The difference in the tibiofibular clear space between the 2 ankles of the injured athletes was significantly different compared with the control athletes for all 3 positions (P < .001). The measured difference between the ER and N positions for both sides of the study group showed a specificity and sensitivity of 100% (P < .001; cutoff point of 0.9 mm and 0.7 mm, respectively). The Δ (Δ = ER — N) of the injured side showed a specificity and sensitivity of only 89% (P < .001; cutoff point of 0.4 mm). Additionally, the third group with the history of lateral ankle sprain showed, as expected, that this type of injury does not correlate with AITFL injury on dynamic US examination. Conclusion We conclude that dynamic US examination can be used to accurately diagnose an AITFL rupture. This preliminary study has found the described method to be a simple, inexpensive, and easily reproducible examination.
Antipyrine Metabolism in the Venda
Authors: Sommers De K. , Moncrieff J. , Avenant J.C. 
Published: April 2009

1 The excretion of antipyrine metabolites over 48 h as percentage dose and the antipyrine kel and metabolite formation rate constants have been measured for 20 healthy Venda Africans. 2 To allow comparison with published data from inter-ethnic studies with antipyrine, subjects were selected who had assumed a western life and diet. 3 The values (mean ± SE) for excretion of the metabolites, 4-hydroxyantipyrine (4OHA), norantipyrine (NORA) and 3-hydroxymethylantipyrine (3HMA) as percentage dose were 26.17 ± 0.34, 7.44 ± 0.34 and 13.28 ± 0.31 respectively. The total of the three metabolites was 49.56 ± 0.33. These results differ significantly from the values found for groups of Canadian students of Oriental and Caucasian backgrounds. 4 The values (mean ± SE) found for the antipyrine elimination rate constant and the metabolite formation rate constants of 4OHA, NORA and 3OHA were 6.56 (± 0.56) × 10 -2, 2.05 (± 0.24) x 10-2, 0.60 (± 0.09) x 10-2 and 1.06 (± 0.16) x 10-2 respectively. Only the NORA formation rate constant showed any significant difference with the results obtained for Americans, although the Venda exhibited a wider distribution of the 3HMA data. 5 The linearity of the probit plots obtained suggest that the subjects selected are homozygous for the oxidations investigated. The marked difference found in comparison with Caucasian and Oriental data on the one hand and American data on the other, also implies a marked difference between the Caucasian and Oriental data and the American data. Thus the relative contributions of environmental induction and heredity to these types of oxidation are still unclear and much work remains to be carried out in this field.
Transgender Performance and the Discriminating Gaze: A Critique of Anti-Discrimination Regulatory Regimes
Authors: Sharpe Andrew N. 
Published: April 2009

This article will examine the ways in which Australian anti-discrimination laws serve to regulate transgendered persons. It will emerge that the forms of regulation deployed vary significantly across jurisdictions. In order to appreciate the complex relation of transgendered persons to practices of discrimination and to forms of regulation, it is necessary not only to consider the category ‘transgender’ but to consider also the categories of ‘sex’ and ‘sexuality’. This is not a matter of law’s blindness to ‘intersectionality’, of the abstraction of legal subjects from embodied particularity, but rather a question of the interplay between these categories within specific regulatory regimes. Moreover, the regulation of transgendered persons, and indeed other categories of person protected by anti-discrimination laws, will be seen to occur in ways which call for a re-examination of rights critiques which attempt an interrogative interpretation of rights. The article contends that Australian anti-discrimination laws are marked by a shift from an interrogative to a performative mode of regulation. That is to say, anti-discrimination laws are to be comprehended not by reference to the ‘immutability’ of some attribute or characteristic but rather in the interplay of performance and gaze. This regulatory shift is one which serves to problematize, rather than ossify, extant legal categories. When you meet a human being, the first distinction you make is ‘male’ or ‘female?’ and you are accustomed to make the distinction with unhesitating certainty. (Freud, 1964) But it seems we are as we appear. What a nonsense we make of our hatreds when we can only recognise them in the most obvious circumstances. (Winterson, 1996)
‘A Love Song to Our Mongrel Selves’: Hybridity, Sexuality and the Law
Authors: Kapur Ratna 
Published: April 2009

This essay examines some of the cultural wars that are being fought out in India in the legal domain, cultural wars that all seem to involve sex. The battles taking place in the legal domain, comprising issues such as a legal challenge to the sodomy laws in the Indian Penal Code, a legal challenge to satellite broadcasting and the struggle to decriminalise prostitution, all involve a contest over the meaning of culture. In each of the controversies, the rallying cry is one of ‘Indian cultural values’ in which it seems that all sides of the debate stake their claim to being ‘true’ protector and promoter of Indian cultural traditions. This essay addresses three concerns which underlie why participating in a conversation about gender, sexuality and law is important in a postcolonial context. First, it examines the importance of recuperating and theorizing desire and pleasure as an important political project within postcolonial India, particularly against the backdrop of the rise to power of the Hindu Right. Second, it examines the problematic role of cultural essentialism in both promoting and resisting this project in the legal arena. The final part of this essay re-evaluates the emancipatory potential of the victim subject in a postcolonial context and explores the possibility of rethinking the nature of the sexual subject to ensure that the political project remains both liberating and subversive.
Robust Vibration/Force Control of a 2 D.O.F. Arm Having One Flexible Link with Artificial Pneumatic Actuators
Authors: Park No-Cheol , Park Hyung-Wug , Yang Hyun Seok , Park Young-Pil 
Published: April 2009

A flexible link of a manipulator has an advantage over a rigid link in the sense that, not only is it light-weighted and thus can move fast using a small-sized actuator, but also that it is safer when it comes into contact with its environment, in particular with humans. However, the vibration due to the flexibility of the link makes it difficult to control the position of the end-point with precision, and when the link is in contact with its environment the problem becomes further complicated. On the other hand, if an actuator can deliver enough force while maintaining proper compliance, it would be advantageous for the sake of safety. An artificial pneumatic muscle-type actuator is an adequate choice in this case. However, the dynamic characteristics of this particular actuator possess strong nonlinearity and load-dependency, and thus a number of problems need to be resolved for its successful application as an actuator. In this work, the position and force control problem of a two-d.o.f. arm system having a flexible second link with artificial pneumatic muscle-type actuators is addressed. A composite controller design method is proposed in the framework of the singular perturbation method. Various robust control schemes are designed in order to meet with payload variation, parameter uncertainty, unmodelled vibration mode and actuator dynamics, both in the slow and the fast subsystems. Simulations and experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the suggested composite control scheme.
Quality of life after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation
Authors: Pidala Joseph , Anasetti Claudio , Jim Heather 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
High-dose therapy with allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) offers effective control and potential cure of hematopoietic malignancies, but with the cost of associated morbidity that includes adverse effects on quality of life (QOL). A growing body of literature has characterized this impact. Longitudinal studies suggest early moderate impairments that largely return to pretransplantation levels by day 100; the majority of studies suggest that greater than 60% of patients report good to excellent QOL in years 1 to 4 after HCT. Comparisons of allogeneic HCT with autologous HCT and standard-dose chemotherapy suggest impairments in QOL and a different trajectory of recovery in allogeneic HCT, but these conclusions are limited by confounding variables. Cross-sectional studies suggest larger and more persistent decrements in QOL in comparison with matched noncancer controls and population normative data. Acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) are significant threats to QOL. Behavioral interventions show promise to maintain or improve quality of life after allogeneic HCT. The review concludes with recommendations to investigators and clinicians as the state of this research advances.
GSTMI and GSTTI polymorphisms and nasopharyngeal cancer risk: an evidence-based meta-analysis
Authors: Zhuo Xianlu , Cai Lei , Xiang Zhaolan , Li Qi , Zhang Xueyuan 
Published: April 2009

AbstractBackgroundPrevious evidence implicates polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1, candidates of phase II enzymes, as risk factors for various cancers. A number of studies have conducted on the association of GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphism with susceptibility to nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, inconsistent and inconclusive results have been obtained. In the present study, we aimed to assess the possible associations of NPC risk with GSTM1 and GSTM1 null genotype, respectively.MethodsThe associated literature was acquired through deliberate searching and selected based on the established inclusion criteria for publications, then the extracted data were further analyzed using systematic meta-analyses.ResultsA total of 85 articles were identified, of which eight case-control studies concerning NPC were selected. The results showed that the overall OR was 1.42 (95%CI = 1.21–1.66) for GSTM1 polymorphism. While for GSTT1 polymorphism, the overall OR was 1.12 (95% CI = 0.93–1.34).ConclusionThe data were proven stable via sensitivity analyses. The results suggest GSTM1 deletion as a risk factor for NPC and failed to suggest a marked correlation of GSTT1 polymorphisms with NPC risk.
High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Levels and Type 2 Diabetes in Urban North Indians
Authors: Mahajan Anubha , Tabassum Rubina , Chavali Sreenivas , Dwivedi Om Prakash , Bharadwaj Mausumi , Tandon Nikhil , Bharadwaj Dwaipayan 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
Context: Elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels have frequently been shown to be associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, very little is known about this in Asian Indians, a high-risk group.
Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the association of hsCRP with T2D and to determine its correlates in North Indians of Indo-European origin.
Design and Patients: A cross-sectional population-based study of 2520 urban subjects, comprising 1410 T2D patients and 1110 nondiabetic subjects, was carried out and 18 metabolic traits were assessed.
Results: Median hsCRP levels were significantly higher in both diabetic men and women as compared to their nondiabetic counterparts (P &lt; 0.0001). Elevated hsCRP was positively associated with T2D (odds ratio, 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.21–2.28; P = 0.002) even after adjusting for markers of obesity. After adjustments for age, sex, and BMI, HbA1c was the major correlate of hsCRP in nondiabetic subjects (β = 0.28; P = 0.03). We observed that T2D patients were at higher risk for cardiovascular disease compared to nondiabetic subjects when classified into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups based on hsCRP levels (ptrend = 3.8 ×10−15).
Conclusions: We demonstrate the association of low-grade systemic inflammation, as indicated by elevated hsCRP levels, with T2D in North Indian population. This association was independent of obesity. Obesity and glycemic control were the major correlates of hsCRP levels. Future studies are required to evaluate the influence of modulators including genetic variations on the elevation of hsCRP levels in this population.
Insulin Glulisine: An Evaluation of Its Pharmacodynamic Properties and Clinical Application
Authors: Helms Kristen L , Kelley Kristi W 
Published: April 2009

Objective: To evaluate the pharmacodynamic properties, efficacy, safety, and clinical application of insulin glulisine, a rapid-acting insulin analog, in the treatment of diabetes mellitus in ambulatory and hospitalized patients. Data Sources: Searches were performed with the headings glulisine, insulin analog, [LysB3, GluB29] insulin, insulin glulisine, rDNA insulin, rapid-acting insulin, SoloStar, safety, efficacy, pharmacodynamics, and cost analysts within MEDLINE and PubMed, American Diabetes Association (ADA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Sanofi-aventis Pharmaceuticals (1990–August 2008). Study Selection and Data Extraction: Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and postmarketing trials examining the efficacy and safety of glulisine in type 1 or type 2 diabetes were reviewed. Studies published as abstracts and the manufacturer's product information supplemented data absent from clinical trials. Data Synthesis: Insulin glulisine is a rapid-acting insulin with relative equivalence in efficacy and safety to other short- and rapid-acting insulins. Glulisine's onset of action of 20 minutes and 4-hour duration of action allow for bolus administration 15–20 minutes prior to or up to 20 minutes after meals. Clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy in adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Several studies indicated a statistically significant decrease of hemoglobin A1C (A1C) with glulisine compared with regular insulin (0.10 decrease); however, no difference in A1C control was found compared with insulin aspart or lispro, Significant adverse effects appear to be limited to localized and systemic allergic reactions and hypoglycemia. Conclusions: Insulin glulisine is a safe and effective rapid-acting insulin analog for the treatment of adults with diabetes. Clinical benefit over other short- and rapid-acting insulin products is not established. Addition of insulin glulisine to a formulary should be based on institution-specific availability and cost differences between glulisine, lispro, and aspart in the absence of superiority of clinical efficacy or safety and data beyond 26 weeks.
Topiramate in Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Authors: Alderman Christopher P , McCarthy Linda C , Condon John T , Marwood Anita C , Fuller Judith R 
Published: April 2009

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disabling psychiatric disorder that is common among combat veterans and may lead to very poor sleep and disturbing nightmares. Objective: To examine the safety and effectiveness of topiramate as add-on therapy for the management of combat-related PTSD and to examine the effects of topiramate on sleep and alcohol consumption. Methods: We conducted an 8-week open-label pilot study of topiramate (or male combat veterans (N = 43) with PTSD, with analysis of veterans who completed the protocol. Psychometric, sleep, and alcohol consumption assessments were conducted at baseline and at week 8. Results: Twenty-nine subjects completed the 8-week study. Significant reductions in Clinician Administered PTSD Scale scores were observed at the 8-week endpoint (from 86,3 ± 21.1 to 67.1 ± 25.1; p < 0.01). Decreases were seen in both Stanford Sleepiness Scale scores (from 10.5 ± 0.72 to 9.0 ± 0.58; p = 0.08) and Mississippi PTSD scores (from 120.4 ± 6.5 to 111.5 ± 20.9; p = 0.08), but the extent of the changes did not attain statistical significance for either scale. There was a significant reduction in the proportion of patients with nightmares (from 100% to 62%; p < 0.001) and patients who experienced anxiety that interfered with falling asleep (from 90% to 62%; p < 0.05). The proportion of patients with high-risk drinking patterns also decreased (from 31% to 14%). Two serious adverse events were reported during the study: an increase in tow back pain and an episode of acute confusion. Conclusions: When used in addition to other empiric therapy, topiramate may be effective at reducing general symptoms of combat-related PTSD and reducing high-risk alcohol intake and nightmares. Further randomized controlled trials of topiramate for the treatment of combat-related PTSD are warranted.
Mitigation of Medication Mishaps via Medication Therapy Management
Authors: Pindolia Vanita K , Stebelsky Lesia , Romain Tanya M , Luoma Lori , Nowak Sandra N , Gillanders Fadwa 
Published: April 2009

Background: In 2006. the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services incorporated the requirement for a Medication Therapy Management Program (MTMP) for individuals with Part D coverage to ensure that drug regimens provide optimal therapeutic outcomes through improved medication use, thereby reducing adverse drug events. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an MTMP implemented for Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug members enrolled with Health Alliance Plan (HAP) during 2006 and 2007. Methods: Patient eligibility for MTMP was searched electronically. Clinical pharmacists researched medication histories and adherence and, through telephone contact, ascertained the patients' healthcare goals and needs. A patient-centered pharmacotherapy plan was created and implemented collaboratively with the patient's physician(s). To ensure that therapy goals were met, pharmacists performed follow-up interventions. Clinical outcomes and cost savings were compared for MTMP enrollees versus those declining enrollment. Results: Average enrollment rate for the MTMP was 20% for 2006 and 2007. Nearly 60% of interventions involved changing therapy to improve efficacy and greater than 40% involved changing therapy to improve safety. Analysis of 2006 data revealed an overall improvement in electronically measurable clinical outcomes for MTMP enrollees versus individuals who declined enrollment, including a trend toward improved adherence to drug therapy for heart failure, insulin use, and a significant reduction in gastrointestinal bleeds (p = 0.001). Cost-savings analysis indicated a greater reduction in total prescription per member per month costs ($PMPM) of 17.2% for MTMP enrollees versus a 7% reduction for those who declined MTMP (p = 0.001). Patients who enrolled into the 2006 MTMP also saw a sustained positive effect in lowered $PMPM for prescription drugs in 2007. Conclusions: The HAP MTMP, conducted through telephone contacts, produced positive trends in improving clinical outcomes, reductions in pharmacy costs, and sustained pharmacy cost savings for patients who enrolled in the MTMP compared with patients who declined enrollment.