bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rural residency and the risk of mortality while waiting for liver transplantation
Authors: Renfrew Paul Douglas , Molinari Michele 
Published: December 2011

Renfrew PD, Molinari M. Rural residency and the risk of mortality while waiting for liver transplantation.Abstract:  Our liver transplant program services a region that has a prominent rural demographic. The influence of rural residency on liver transplant wait‐list mortality has not been previously studied. We hypothesized that residence in a rural setting, by imposing challenges to medical care access, might be associated with inferior survival while waiting for liver transplantation. To test this hypothesis, multivariable time‐to‐event analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazards and competing risks regression on data from a consecutive five‐yr cohort of 159 primary liver transplant candidates, to derive covariate adjusted effect measures for the association between residence in a rural area and wait‐list mortality. For the primary analysis, a standardized, census‐based, definition was used to assign rural residency status. The Kaplan–Meier estimated 90‐d and one‐yr wait‐list mortality for the cohort was 7.6% (95% CI: 4.2–13.8) and 15.6% (95% CI: 9.4–25.2). The covariate adjusted hazard ratio for the relationship between Rural and Small Town residency status and wait‐list mortality was 0.497 (95% CI: 0.171–1.438, p = 0.197) for the Cox regression model and 0.628 (95% CI: 0.224–1.757, p = 0.376) for the competing risk regression model. As defined in this study, candidate residence in a rural setting was not found to be associated with inferior survival while awaiting liver transplantation.
The use of methotrexate in dermatology: a review
Authors: Shen Sarah , O’Brien Tim , Yap Lei Mee , Prince H Miles , McCormack Christopher J 
Published: December 2011

ABSTRACTMethotrexate is a synthetic folic acid analogue valued for both its anti‐proliferative and anti‐inflammatory properties. Considered one of the original immune‐modifying agents, it is used widely for the treatment of steroid‐recalcitrant inflammatory diseases. While there are abundant studies documenting its efficacy in rheumatic diseases, the use of methotrexate for dermatological conditions, with the exception of psoriasis, has yet to be comprehensively explored. This two‐part review firstly outlines current data concerning the pharmacology of methotrexate, including its mechanism of action, side‐effect profile and recommended therapeutic approach, and, secondly, examines the emerging evidence for methotrexate's efficacy in a wide range of cutaneous disorders.
Sacroiliitis secondary to isotretinoin
Authors: Levinson Michele , Gibson Andrew , Stephenson Gemma 
Published: December 2011

ABSTRACTReported is the case of a 17‐year old male with sacroiliitis confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) while undergoing isotretinoin treatment for acne vulgaris. The cessation of isotretinoin and symptomatic treatment resolved the symptoms within 6 weeks, with no signs of sacroiliitis on repeat MRI 10 months later. The temporal association of disease onset and commencement of isotretinoin along with rapid recovery on withdrawal supports the role of isotretinoin in this case.
Toxic epidermal necrolysis‐like subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus
Authors: Ryan Emma , Marshman Gillian , Astill David 
Published: December 2011

ABSTRACTToxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN)‐like presentations have been described in non–drug‐induced settings. We describe a case of subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) in a 53‐year old woman, which evolved into a TEN‐like presentation over the course of 4 weeks. The patient responded rapidly to treatment with intravenous methylprednisolone. This article draws attention to features that may be used to differentiate classical TEN from TEN‐like SCLE.
Eccrine angiomatous hamartoma causing walking difficulties
Authors: Chen Shuang , Xiong Lin , Wang Sheng , Wang Ting‐Ting , Wang Lin , Gurung Dilip 
Published: December 2011

ABSTRACTEccrine angiomatous hamartoma (EAH) is a rare tumoral lesion that consists of vascular and eccrine malformation and often occurs in the distal extremities of children. Although EAH is benign, a therapeutic excision may be required for symptomatic or cosmetic considerations. We hereby report a typical case of EAH presenting as a painful and rapidly growing plaque on the right thigh. The associated symptoms of pain, hyperhidrosis and local hypertrichosis caused walking difficulties until the patient was cured by two excisional surgeries.
Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm
Authors: Lim David , Goodman Hugh , Rademaker Marius , Lamont Duncan , Yung Anthony 
Published: December 2011

ABSTRACTBlastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare haematological malignancy that originates from the precursors of plasmacytoid dendritic cells. It commonly presents with findings isolated to the skin although it usually progresses to a leukaemic phase. It has a poor prognosis but is curable, particularly in younger patients treated with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. We report a case of a 79‐year old man who had 6 months of progressive, asymptomatic BPDCN manifestations limited to the skin, before developing a leukaemic phase.
Treatment for nocturnal enuresis: The current state in Japan
Authors: Kaneko Kazunari 
Published: December 2011

AbstractNocturnal enuresis is common problem in children with a prevalence as high as 20% among children aged 5. Though nocturnal enuresis does not directly impose imminent danger to a patient's life, children with enuresis and their parents can be psychologically suffering in day‐to‐day life, including in school activities. Therefore, it is important to provide an explanation regarding the cause of nocturnal enuresis, how to approach the disorder, the course, and the outlook leading to the planned treatment. The cause of enuresis is considered to be a mismatch between nocturnal diuresis and nocturnal bladder capacity, nocturnal polyuria due to a lack of circadian change in antidiuretic hormones, and a developmental delay in the voiding mechanisms. Therefore, patients can be classified as the type associated with a large amount of urine at night (polyuria type), the type that is associated with a functionally small bladder capacity (bladder type), the type associated with both the aforementioned (mixed type), or the type that does not fall under any of these (normal type). Based on this logic, although the International Children's Continence Society has issued the standardization document, in which the enuresis alarm and desmopressin therapy are recommended as the first line treatment, a different tack has been taken in Japan, where the therapeutic strategy is plotted depending on the type of enuresis; pharmacotherapy for enuretic children aged 6 years or older includes desmopressin acetate for polyuria type, anticholinergic agents for bladder type, and a combination of these agents for mixed type.
FLCN gene‐mutated renal cell neoplasms: Mother and daughter cases with a novel germline mutation
Authors: Nagashima Yoji , Furuya Mitsuko , Gotohda Hiroko , Takagi Seiji , Hes Ondrej , Michal Michal , Grossmann Petr , Tanaka Reiko , Nakatani Yukio , Kuroda Naoto 
Published: December 2011

AbstractBirt–Hogg–Dubé syndrome is a familial genodermatosis, of which patients frequently develop renal neoplasms, fibrofolliculomas and pneumatocele. Here, we report a mother and daughter with renal neoplasms surgically resected (69 and 46 years‐of‐age at surgery, respectively). The mother's tumor was diagnosed as an unclassified type renal cell carcinoma associated with microscopic tumorous nodules, whereas the daughter's tumor was a hybrid oncocytic/chromophobe tumor. The germline mutation analysis of the responsible gene, FCLN (the folliculin gene), showed a deletion of 18 bp in exon 5 (c.332_349del/p.H111_Q116del), predicting an alteration of the amino acid sequence of “HPSHPQ” replaced by a single amino acid, “L”. This is a novel germline mutation of the FCLN gene that has not been previously reported.
Usefulness of a novel observation method using a small‐diameter rigid telescope through the gastrostomy catheter at exchange
Authors: Konishi Hideyuki , Okano Hitoshi , Fukumoto Kohei , Miyawaki Ki‐Ichiro , Wakabayashi Naoki , Yagi Nobuaki , Naito Yuji , Yoshikawa Toshikazu 
Published: December 2011

Background and Aim:  During catheter exchange for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), endoscopic or radiological observation is widely used to confirm that the catheter is placed correctly. However, to carry out these procedures in all patients at every catheter exchange costs time and money. It is therefore important to develop a reliable and safe method, which can also be used outside the clinic, to check the exchanged catheter. We examined the usefulness and safety of intragastric observation using a small‐diameter rigid telescope, which can be inserted through the catheter lumen of a PEG tube.Methods:  Before and after catheter exchange, observation was carried out using the rigid telescope E02700 (external diameter: 2.7 mm; Nisco Co., Tokyo, Japan). After air insufflation by the novel air‐supplying adaptor, the rigid telescope was inserted through the button catheter for observation of the fistula and gastric lumen with guidewire introduction. Next, the old gastrostomy catheter was replaced by a new one, using the guidewire technique. Subsequently, the telescope was re‐inserted to check the fistula and gastric lumen.Results:  With this technique, observation inside the stomach as well as inside the fistula was achieved without any complication during all 80 exchange trials in the 55 patients studied. A homemade adaptor was used effectively to convey air and water into the stomach during the observation.Conclusion:  It is suggested that observation inside the stomach using a small‐diameter rigid telescope at the time of gastrostomy exchange is useful and safe for checking the location of the newly fixed catheter.
Diagnosis of depressed‐type early gastric cancer using small‐caliber endoscopy with flexible spectral imaging color enhancement
Authors: Osawa Hiroyuki , Yamamoto Hironori , Miura Yoshimasa , Ajibe Hironari , Shinhata Hakuei , Yoshizawa Mitsuyo , Sunada Keijiro , Toma Sachiko , Satoh Kiichi , Sugano Kentaro 
Published: December 2011

Background and Aim:  Small‐caliber endoscopy has lower resolution than normal‐caliber endoscopy, limiting its use in routine outpatient practice. Flexible spectral imaging color enhancement (FICE) strengthens the color contrast of depressed‐type early gastric cancer without magnification. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the detection of depressed‐type early gastric cancer using small‐caliber endoscopy with the FICE system.Methods:  Eighty‐two patients diagnosed with depressed‐type early gastric cancer by standard endoscopy and biopsy were evaluated by small‐caliber endoscopy. FICE images and conventional images were compared. Color differences in all 82 lesions were measured between malignant lesions and the surrounding mucosa using the Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) 1976 color space.Results:  Most cancers were readily detected as reddish lesions on FICE images. Lines of demarcation between the malignant lesion and the surrounding mucosa were easily identified with FICE images, as such cancers could be clearly distinguished from the surrounding atrophic mucosa. Greater median color differences between malignant lesions and the surrounding mucosa were present in FICE images compared with conventional images, resulting in images with better contrast (27.2 vs 18.7, P < 0.0001).Conclusions:  Small‐caliber endoscopy with the FICE system provides better color contrast of depressed‐type early gastric cancers than conventional small‐caliber endoscopy, and the FICE system may facilitate the diagnosis of this type of cancer as a new endoscopic modality.
Effects of physical exercise prescribed by a medical support team on elderly lower extremity osteoarthritis combined with metabolic syndrome and/or type 2 diabetes
Authors: Yokochi Masahiro , Watanabe Tomoyuki , Ida Kunio , Yoshida Kazuhito , Sato Yuzo 
Published: December 2011

Aim:  The aims of the present study were to investigate the effectiveness of exercise intervention provided by a medical support team specializing in lifestyle‐related diseases in the treatment of elderly lower extremity osteoarthritis and to examine the influence of bodyweight decrease on changes in the evaluation indexes.Methods:  Participants were 61 patients (57 women and 4 men, aged 68.3 ± 9.6 years) with lower extremity osteoarthritis (109 total diseased joints) and either one or more of the following diseases: obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Indexes relating to metabolic diseases, orthopedic disorders, lifestyle activity level and health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) were obtained before and after exercise intervention.Results:  The numbers of patients with obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, gonarthrosis and coxarthrosis were 56, 49, 32, 56 and 9, respectively. The mean intervention period was 4.7 ± 1.6 months (2–10.8 months). Indexes relating to metabolic diseases and orthopedic disorders, activity level and HRQOL were all significantly improved after intervention (P < 0.05). Bodyweight decreased by 10.3% and showed a correlation with other evaluated items. Five explanatory variables were extracted through multiple regression analysis that bodyweight reduction rate was set as the criterion variable: changes of bodyweight, body mass index, percent body fat, glycated hemoglobin and total energy expenditure per bodyweight.Conclusion:  The exercise intervention provided by our medical support team clearly improved indexes relating to metabolic diseases and orthopedic disorders. In addition, decreased bodyweight was related to improvements in metabolic factors, motor function and HRQOL. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2012; 12: 446–453.
Assessment of lifestyle effect on oxidative stress biomarkers in free‐living elderly in rural Japan
Authors: Muzembo Basilua Andre , Narongpon Dumavibhat , Ngatu N'landu Roger , Eitoku Masamitsu , Hirota Ryoji , Suganuma Narufumi 
Published: December 2011

Background:  Oxidative stress is believed to play a crucial role in aging and age‐related diseases, and is widely thought to increase morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Assessment of biomarkers of oxidative stress, such as 8‐isoprostane and 8‐hydroxy‐2‐deoxyguanosine, are considered to be useful in predicting disease risks at the population level.Objective:  The aim of the present study was to assess the health status of the elderly by comparing their lifestyles and levels of oxidative stress biomarkers.Methods:  We carried out a cross‐sectional study where urine samples from a total of 100 elderly men and women were assayed for 8‐isoprostane, 8‐hydroxy‐2‐deoxyguanosine, selenium, cadmium and creatinine. They were asked to answer a questionnaire that included questions about their lifestyle.Results:  Most of the participants were prehypertensive, non‐alcohol users and on a rich plant‐based diet. There were no differences in any biomarkers of oxidative stress between men and women. 8‐Isoprostane was found to correlate positively with systolic blood pressure in women, but not in men. There was a slight increase of 8‐isoprostane in participants with a poor intake of vegetables, and a decrease of 8‐hydroxy‐2‐deoxyguanosine in participants who consumed fish. Multiple regression analysis showed that oxidative stress biomarkers were positively associated with cadmium, and negatively associated with selenium and fish intake in all participants, 89% of which were non‐smokers.Conclusion:  Results from the present study show that fish intake has the potential of decreasing oxidative stress among elderly persons. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2012; 12: 547–554.
Host species and strain combination determine growth reduction of spruce and birch seedlings colonized by root‐associated dark septate endophytes
Authors: Reininger Vanessa , Grünig Christoph R. , Sieber Thomas N. 
Published: December 2011

SummaryInteractions of Betula pendula and Picea abies with dark septate endophytes of the Phialocephala fortinii–Acephala applanata species complex (PAC) were studied. PAC are ubiquitous fungal root symbionts of many woody plant species but their ecological role is largely unknown. Sterile birch and spruce seedlings in monoculture and mixed culture were exposed to four PAC strains, added either singularly or paired in all possible combinations at 18°C and 23°C. Plant and fungal biomass was determined after 4 months. The most significant factors were strain and host combination. One of the strains significantly reduced biomass gain of spruce but not of birch. Plant biomass was negatively correlated with total endophytic fungal biomass in half of the strain – plant combinations. Endophytic PAC biomass was four times higher in spruce (≈ 40 mg g−1 drw) than in birch (≈ 10 mg g−1 drw). Competition between strains was strain‐dependent with some strains significantly reducing colonization density of other strains, and, thus, attenuating adverse effects of ‘pathogenic’ strains on plant growth in some strain – plant combinations. Biomass gain of spruce but not of birch was significantly reduced at higher temperature. In conclusion, host, fungal genotype, colonization density and presence of a competing PAC strain were the main determining factors for plant growth.
Using the Johns Hopkins’ Aggregated Diagnosis Groups (ADGs) to predict 1‐year mortality in population‐based cohorts of patients with diabetes in Ontario, Canada
Authors: Austin P. C. , Shah B. R. , Newman A. , Anderson G. M. 
Published: December 2011

Diabet. Med. 29, 1134–1141 (2012)AbstractAims  There are limited validated methods to ascertain comorbidities for risk adjustment in ambulatory populations of patients with diabetes using administrative health‐care databases. The objective was to examine the ability of the Johns Hopkins’ Aggregated Diagnosis Groups to predict mortality in population‐based ambulatory samples of both incident and prevalent subjects with diabetes.Methods  Retrospective cohorts constructed using population‐based administrative data. The incident cohort consisted of all 346 297 subjects diagnosed with diabetes between 1April 2004 and 31 March 2008. The prevalent cohort consisted of all 879 849 subjects with pre‐existing diabetes on 1 January, 2007. The outcome was death within 1 year of the subject’s index date.Results  A logistic regression model consisting of age, sex and indicator variables for 22 of the 32 Johns Hopkins’ Aggregated Diagnosis Group categories had excellent discrimination for predicting mortality in incident diabetes patients: the c‐statistic was 0.87 in an independent validation sample. A similar model had excellent discrimination for predicting mortality in prevalent diabetes patients: the c‐statistic was 0.84 in an independent validation sample. Both models demonstrated very good calibration, denoting good agreement between observed and predicted mortality across the range of predicted mortality in which the large majority of subjects lay. For comparative purposes, regression models incorporating the Charlson comorbidity index, age and sex, age and sex, and age alone had poorer discrimination than the model that incorporated the Johns Hopkins’ Aggregated Diagnosis Groups.Conclusions  Logistical regression models using age, sex and the John Hopkins’ Aggregated Diagnosis Groups were able to accurately predict 1‐year mortality in population‐based samples of patients with diabetes.
Category Stretching: Reorienting Research on Categories in Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Organization Theory
Authors: Durand Rodolphe , Paolella Lionel 
Published: December 2011

abstractWe advocate for more tolerance in the manner we collectively address categories and categorization in our research. Drawing on the prototype view, organizational scholars have provided a ‘disciplining’ framework to explain how category membership shapes, impacts, and limits organizational success. By stretching the existing straightjacket of scholarship on categories, we point to other useful conceptualizations of categories – i.e. the causal‐model and the goal‐based approaches of categorization – and propose that depending on situational circumstances, and beyond a disciplining exercise, categories involve a cognitive test of congruence and a goal satisfying calculus. Unsettling the current consensus about categorical imperatives and market discipline, we suggest also that audiences may tolerate more often than previously thought organizations that blend, span, and stretch categories. We derive implications for research about multi‐category membership and mediation in markets, and suggest ways in which work on the theme of categories in the strategy, entrepreneurship, and managerial cognition literatures can be enriched.
Legal Innovation for Social Change: Exploring Change and Resistance to Different Types of Sustainability Laws
Authors: Castro Paula 
Published: December 2011

In this article I argue that a desirable future direction for political psychology would be to pay more attention to social‐psychological processes involved in the response to innovative laws, in particular those devised with sustainability and environmental protection aims. This involves taking into account the following premises: (1) innovation and change are not unitary phenomena; instead there are different types of innovation; (2) legal and policy innovation is a specific type and is highly central in an era when global challenges are increasingly dealt with by global treaties which are then translated into national laws with a call to transform local practices; (3) offering attention to the reception of such innovation involves developing specific conceptual tools; (4) devising a typology of legal innovation is one step in this direction; (5) furthering our comprehension of how people, groups, and institutions receive—i.e., accept, contest—legal innovation for sustainability is important for helping to push forward sustainability goals, which are legislated but far from attained.The present article outlines theoretical tools for addressing psychosocial processes involved in the reception of legal innovation, drawing mostly on the approach of social representations and the literature of environmental psychology, and offers three criteria for a typology of laws. Finally I present some examples of responses to subtypes of legal innovation from the sustainability domain, taken as an illustrative case, and discuss differences and commonalities in the processes of acceptance and resistance that each mobilizes.
Who Wants to Redistribute? An Analysis of 14 Post‐Soviet Nations
Authors: Habibov Nazim 
Published: December 2011

AbstractWe investigate population groups' attitude regarding inequality reduction in post‐Soviet transitional countries of the Baltic, Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as the Slavic countries and Moldova. Empirical evidence presented in this article demonstrates that despite skyrocketing inequality, erosion of social provisions and efforts to introduce an individualistic market economy ideology during the last 15 years, overall support for redistribution and welfare state efforts to counterbalance rising inequality remained strongly legitimized among citizens in all post‐Soviet countries. Nevertheless, there are differences between population groups in attitude: the older, the less educated, the poor and women express more support for redistribution; while the younger, the better educated, the rich and men tend to not support redistribution. Populations in transitional countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia that face higher inequality and less effective redistribution policies expressed a strong desire for more redistribution and more active social welfare policies.