bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Anthropomorphic measurements and event‐free survival in patients with favorable histology Wilms tumor: A report from the Children's Oncology Group
Authors: Fernandez Conrad V. , Anderson James , Breslow Norman E. , Dome Jeffrey S. , Grundy P.E. , Perlman Elizabeth J. , Green Daniel M. ,   The National Wilms Tumor Study Group/Children's Oncology Group
Published: November 2008

AbstractPurposeWe retrospectively examined the effect of body weight and body mass index (BMI) on event‐free survival (EFS) of children with Wilms tumor treated on National Wilms Tumor Study‐5 (NWTS‐5).Patients and methodsEligible study participants: stages I–IV favorable histology Wilms tumor with immediate nephrectomy; height and weight recorded at diagnosis, and loss of heterozygosity for chromosomes 1p and 16q assessed.ResultsA total of 1,532 patients were included in the analysis. The median follow‐up was 4.9 years. 493 patients were less than 2 years of age and 1039 were 2 years of age or older. In both age groups there were more patients than expected with a weight or body mass index (BMI) less than the 10‰ or greater than the 90‰. There was no relationship of weight‐for‐age or BMI‐for‐age and EFS in univariate analyses (P = 0.28, log‐rank test for both comparisons). A Cox proportional hazards model, stratified by risk/treatment groups, showed that, among patients less than 2 years of age, low or high weight‐for‐age was not predictive of EFS (P = 0.16). Similarly, a Cox proportional hazards model, stratified by risk/treatment groups, showed that among patients greater than 2 years of age, low or high body mass index for age was not predictive of EFS (P = 0.58).ConclusionsThere was no evidence that anthropomorphic data obtained at diagnosis for patients with favorable histology stages I–IV Wilms tumor was predictive for EFS in the setting of current treatment regimens. There were more patients with lower or higher weight/BMI than expected. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;52:254–258. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Management of brain abscesses in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors: Lackner Herwig , Sovinz Petra , Benesch Martin , Smolle‐Jüttner Freyja , Mokry Michael , Schwinger Wolfgang , Moser Andrea , Urban Christian 
Published: November 2008

AbstractBrain abscesses in children with leukemia or other malignancies are rare and potentially fatal. We report on four children who developed brain abscesses during treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). All patients received multimodal broad‐spectrum antibiotic therapy and liposomal amphotericin‐B in combination with hyperbaric oxygen. First‐line antimicrobial treatment was modified when a causative organism was isolated. All four patients survived, with two patients showing complete resolution of neurological and MRI abnormalities and with two patients still having residual lesions. To date, all patients are in remission with three patients still receiving antileukemic therapy. Brain abscesses can be successfully managed by a multimodality approach even in severely immunocompromised cancer patients. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;52:408–411. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Transient TTP in childhood
Authors: Moskowitz Naomi P. , Fligman Igal , Scimeca Philip , Weinblatt Mark 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a type of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia that is uncommon in childhood. Adults with TTP have a high mortality rate unless they are treated with plasma exchange. There are few reports of children with acquired idiopathic TTP, and most of those children received some form of treatment. We describe a child with acquired idiopathic TTP who had severe thrombocytopenia and anemia that resolved over several months without the use of any medications. This case suggests that some children with acquired idiopathic TTP might be safely observed without ill effects. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;52:424–426. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Variation in receipt of opioids by pediatric oncology patients who died in children's hospitals
Authors: Orsey Andrea D. , Belasco Jean B. , Ellenberg Jonas H. , Schmitz Kathryn H. , Feudtner Chris 
Published: November 2008

AbstractBackgroundOpioids are a cornerstone of palliation of pain. We sought to assess variation in opioid prescription during the last week of life among a cohort of pediatric oncology patients who died while hospitalized.ProcedureWe used detailed hospital administrative data from the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) regarding 1,466 subjects 0–24 years of age who were treated at 33 hospitals between 2001 and 2005.ResultsAmong the 1,466 subjects hospitalized at the time of their death, 56% received opioids every day during the hospitalized portion of their last week of life, while 44% did not. This proportion varied substantially across hospitals (range 0–90.5%). After multivariate adjustment for individual‐level characteristics, the hospital‐level effect on the odds of continuous prescription of opioids during the hospitalized portion of the last 7 days of life continued to vary significantly among hospitals, accounting for 10.5% of the variance in the receipt of daily opioid (P < 0.001).ConclusionOpioid prescription during the hospitalized portion of the last week of life varies substantially among hospitals, even after adjustment for clinical characteristics of the patients. The reasons for this significant variation, especially the component explained by hospital‐level and not patient‐level factors, warrant more scrutiny. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;52:761–766. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Gene polymorphisms in childhood ALL
Authors: Karathanasis Nikolaos V. , Choumerianou Despoina M. , Kalmanti Maria 
Published: November 2008

AbstractAcute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy diagnosed in children. Inherited predisposition and exposure to exogenous leukemogenic agents have been investigated as potential risk factors. Current therapy results in 5‐year event‐free survival exceeding 80% in children in developed countries. Predisposition to ALL and event‐free outcome seems to be influenced by polymorphisms on genes involved in several metabolic pathways. The purpose of this review is to discuss the findings of different studies upon the role of gene polymorphisms in childhood ALL. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;52:318–323. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Luminescent and Optical Properties of Nanocomposite Thin Films Deposited by Remote Plasma Polymerization of Rhodamine 6G
Authors: Aparicio Francisco J. , Borras Ana , Blaszczyk‐Lezak Iwona , Gröning Pierangelo , Álvarez‐Herrero Alberto , Fernández‐Rodríguez Marianela , González‐Elipe Agustin R. , Barranco Angel 
Published: November 2008

AbstractMechanically stable and insoluble fluorescent thin films have been deposited by sublimating Rhodamine 6G laser dye in the downstream region of a low‐power microwave ECR plasma using an experimental set‐up designed to control the interaction of the dye molecule with the glow discharge. The use of reactive organosilane plasmas allows to control the dye distribution inside the matrix, leading to solid nanocomposite thin films containing non‐aggregated dye molecules. The suppression of aggregates is a key issue to avoid fluorescence quenching. The obtained nanocomposite films are interesting because of their strong absorption and high fluorescence emission. In addition, they can be patterned using in situ plasma treatments in order to produce optically functional devices.magnified image
Another look at the conditions for the extraction of protein knowledge‐based potentials
Authors: Betancourt Marcos R. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractProtein knowledge‐based potentials are effective free energies obtained from databases of known protein structures. They are used to parameterize coarse‐grained protein models in many folding simulation and structure prediction methods. Two common approaches are used in the derivation of knowledge‐based potentials. One assumes that the energy parameters optimize the native structure stability. The other assumes that interaction events are related to their energies according to the Boltzmann distribution, and that they are distributed independently of other events, that is, the quasi‐chemical approximation. Here, these assumptions are systematically tested by extracting contact energies from artificial databases of lattice proteins with predefined pairwise contact energies. Databases of protein sequences are designed to either satisfy the Boltzmann distribution at high or low temperatures, or to simultaneously optimize the native stability and folding kinetics. It is found that the quasi‐chemical approximation, with the ideal reference state, accurately reproduce the true energies for high temperature Boltzmann distributed sequences (weakly interacting residues), but less accurately at low temperatures, where the sequences correspond to energy minima and the residues are strongly interacting. To overcome this problem, an iterative procedure for Boltzmann distributed sequences is introduced, which accounts for interacting residue correlations and eliminates the need for the quasi‐chemical approximation. In this case, the energies are accurately reproduced at any ensemble temperature. However, when the database of sequences designed for optimal stability and kinetics is used, the energy correlation is less than optimal using either method, exhibiting random and systematic deviations from linearity. Therefore, the assumption that native structures are maximally stable or that sequences are determined according to the Boltzmann distribution seems to be inadequate for obtaining accurate energies. The limited number of sequences in the database and the inhomogeneous concentration of amino acids from one structure to another do not seem to be major obstacles for improving the quality of the extracted pairwise energies, with the exception of repulsive interactions. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Molecular dynamics studies on structure and dynamics of phospholamban monomer and pentamer in membranes
Authors: Kim Taehoon , Lee Jinhyuk , Im Wonpil 
Published: November 2008

AbstractPhospholamban (PLB) is an integral membrane protein of 52 residues that regulates the activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump in cardiac muscle cells through reversible phosphorylation of Ser16. To explore its possible conformations and dynamics in a monomeric state, we have performed comparative molecular dynamics simulations of unphosphorylated and phosphorylated PLB (pPLB) with various orientations in POPC membranes. The simulations indicate that dynamics of the cytoplasmic domain is highly dependent on its interactions with membranes, that is, large conformational changes in the absence of membrane interactions, but very restricted dynamics in their presence. pPLB shows more structural flexibility in its cytoplasmic domain, which is consistent with experimental observations. We have also performed a simulation of a PLB pentameric structure (the so‐called bellflower model), recently determined in micelles, to investigate its behaviors in a POPC membrane. The cytoplasmic domain in each monomer shows uncorrelated dynamics and undergoes large conformational changes toward the membrane surface during the simulation, which supports the so‐called pinwheel model of the PLB pentamer structure. The hydrophobic nature of the pentameric pore excludes water molecules in the pore region, which illustrates that the pore appears to be an energetic barrier for ion and water translocation. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Subband coding for networked control systems
Authors: Quevedo Daniel E. , Silva Eduardo I. , Goodwin Graham C. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractWe study a source coding method for networked control systems (NCSs) for SISO LTI plant models. To make efficient use of limited communication resources between controller and plant actuator, we develop a non‐uniformly sampled subband coding NCS architecture, which we design to minimize a bound on the tracking error variance caused by quantization effects. Our main contribution, in relation to earlier work on subband coding NCSs, lies in that we allow each subband to be equipped with pre‐ and post‐filters. To characterize optimal filters and to solve the subband bit‐allocation problem, we model quantization effects via signal‐to‐noise ratio constraints and explicitly take into account the closed‐loop nature of signals. Simulation results verify that the resultant designs perform exceptionally well, even in non‐idealized situations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The impact of collaboration on the outcomes of scientific argumentation
Authors: Sampson Victor , Clark Douglas 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThis study examines three questions about the impact of collaboration during scientific argumentation. First, do groups craft better arguments than individuals? Second, to what degree do individuals adopt and internalize the arguments crafted by their group? Third, do individuals who work in groups learn more from their experiences than individuals who work on their own? To examine these questions, 168 high school chemistry students were randomly assigned, using a matched pair design tocollaborativeorindividualargumentation conditions. Students in both treatment conditions first completed a task that required them to produce an argument articulating and justifying an explanation for a discrepant event. The students then completed mastery and transfer problems on their own. The results of this study indicate that (a) groups of students did not produce better arguments than students who worked alone, (b) a substantial proportion of the students adopted at least some elements of their group's argument, and (c) students from the collaborative condition demonstrated superior performance on the mastery and transfer problems. These observations indicate that collaboration was beneficial for individual learning but not for initial performance on the task. The study concludes with a discussion of these observations and recommendations for future research. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Sci Ed93:448–484, 2009
Sustainable tourism development: how do destination stakeholders perceive sustainable urban tourism?
Authors: Timur Seldjan , Getz Donald 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThis paper examines the concept of sustainable tourism development in urban destinations. Both qualitative and quantitative data are employed, from interviews and questionnaires undertaken in Victoria and Calgary, Canada, and San Francisco, USA. Respondents representing the three clusters of the tourism industry, local government and the host environment were examined on their interpretation of ‘sustainable tourism’, sustainability goals and barriers to achieving sustainable tourism in urban destinations. Results revealed important similarities and differences among key stakeholders, and particularly a lack of appreciation for a triple bottom line approach among the tourism industry respondents. Implications are discussed for building a more participative policy approach to sustainable urban tourism development. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Polarization Dependence of the C 1s X‐ray Absorption Spectra of Individual Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Authors: Najafi Ebrahim , Cruz Daniel Hernández , Obst Martin , Hitchcock Adam P. , Douhard Bastien , Pireaux Jean‐Jacques , Felten Alexandre 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThe polarization dependence (linear dichroism) of the C 1s X‐ray absorption spectrum of individual multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is measured using scanning transmission X‐ray microscopy. A very strong dichroic effect is found in the C 1s → π* transition, with almost complete disappearance of this transition when the electric‐field (E)‐vector is aligned parallel to high‐quality (low‐defect) MWCNTs and maximum intensity when the E‐vector is orthogonal to the tube axis. In contrast, there is very little dichroism in the C 1s → σ* transitions. The origin of this polarization effect is explained. The magnitude of the polarization dependence is found to differ in MWCNTs synthesized by different methods (arc discharge versus chemical vapor deposition). This is ascribed to differences in densities of sp2‐type defects. The potential for use of this signal to characterize defects in single‐carbon‐nanotube devices is discussed.
Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD)—Clinical profile of 47 Filipino patients
Authors: Lee J. Y. , Chiong M. A. , Estrada S. C. , Cutiongco‐De la Paz E. M. , Silao C. L. T. , Padilla C. D. 
Published: November 2008

SummaryMaple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is a very rare disorder of branched‐chain amino acid metabolism. However, it is the most common inborn error of metabolism in the Philippines. We present a retrospective review of 21 patients diagnosed with MSUD between 1999 and 2004. The patients presented clinically between 2 and 14 days of life (mean 5 days) and the diagnosis of MSUD was established between 6 days and 11 months of age (mean 39 days). The classical burnt sugar odour was noted in the majority of patients (81%). The diagnosis of MSUD was initially based on clinical suspicion and confirmed biochemically by measurement of leucine/isoleucine levels by thin‐layer chromatography. The acute management included removal of accumulated branched‐chain amino acids by peritoneal dialysis in 62% of the patients. Mortality rate of this group of patients was 24% and follow‐up rate was 87%. We compared this series with a previously reported series of 26 patients to determine whether diagnosis and the management of MSUD improved over the two periods. Four cases have been diagnosed early since 1992, the majority of whom had the classic form of MSUD with the onset of symptoms in the first two weeks of life. A small subset of patients with early nonspecific symptoms was diagnosed much later owing to a low‐level clinical suspicion among clinicians. Overall, however, there appears to be a small but general trend towards earlier diagnosis, reduced mortality and long‐term follow up in the later series. Although we are able to diagnose and manage MSUD in the Philippines, we recognize that the clinical outcome remains poor and is due mainly to late referral of cases and inadequate long‐term management. In the Philippines, we recommend that all newborns who are considered to be septic, have feeding difficulties, fail to regain their birth weight or present with any other symptoms suggestive of MSUD be evaluated in the first instance by analysis of urine for ketones and if they are positive have blood collected and sent to our laboratory for leucine/isoleucine measurement.
Dietary Marine‐Derived Tocopherol has a Higher Biological Availability in Mice Relative to Alpha‐Tocopherol
Authors: Gotoh Naohiro , Watanabe Hiroyuki , Oka Tomiko , Mashimo Daisuke , Noguchi Noriko , Hata Kazuhiko , Wada Shun 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThe biologic availability of two kinds of tocomonoenols, marine‐derived tocopherol (MDT) and α‐tocomonoenol, was investigated in ICR mice. Vitamin E‐deficient ICR mice were fed MDT and α‐tocomonoenol together with α‐tocopherol, β‐tocopherol, γ‐tocopherol, and δ‐tocopherol, and storage in liver, spleen, lung, and brain was quantified using reverse‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. The vitamin E relative biologic availability (VE‐RBA) in liver was 100 for α‐tocopherol, 26 ± 3 for β‐tocopherol, 4 ± 2 for γ‐tocopherol, not detected for δ‐tocopherol, 49 ± 6 for MDT, and 30 ± 7 for α‐tocomonoenol. The VE‐RBA in brain was 100 for α‐tocopherol, 5 ± 2 for β‐tocopherol, not detected for γ‐tocopherol and δ‐tocopherol, 8 ± 1 for MDT, and 4 ± 1 for α‐tocomonoenol. Tocopherols and tocomonoenols did not accumulate in the spleen or lung. MDT and α‐tocomonoenol had high VE‐RBA values. The VE‐RBA value for MDT was much higher than that for β‐tocopherol.
The essential divine-perfection objection to the free-will defence
Authors: PRUSS ALEXANDER R. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThe free-will defence (FWD) holds that the value of significant free will is so great that God is justified in creating significantly free creatures even if there is a risk or certainty that these creatures will sin. A difficulty for the FWD, developed carefully by Quentin Smith, is that God is unable to do evil, and yet surely lacks no genuinely valuable kind of freedom. Smith argues that the kind of freedom that God has can be had by creatures, without a risk of creatures doing evil. I shall show that Smith's argument fails – the case of God is disanalogous to the case of creatures precisely because creatures are creatures.
Does Molinism explain the demographics of theism?
Authors: MAITZEN STEPHEN 
Published: November 2008

AbstractI reply to Jason Marsh's discussion of my article ‘Divine hiddenness and the demographics of theism’. For several reasons, Marsh's inventive Molinist explanation of the lopsided worldwide distribution of theistic believers does not threaten the conclusion I argued for originally: theistic explanations of that distribution are implausible on even their own terms and in any case less plausible than naturalistic ones.
HITIQA: High-quality intelligence through interactive question answering
Authors: SMALL S. , STRZALKOWSKI T. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractWe describe an interactive question answering system, HITIQA, which helps users find answers to complex analytical problems. Such problems often necessitate the user to submit not one but an entire series of questions, both simple and complex, and then to negotiate the final content and form of the answer. HITIQA advances research in human–computer dialogue by enabling topical, mixed initiative interaction over unstructured data. HITIQA uses the process of text framing to bring a level of semantic representation to open-domain data in order to facilitate meaningful dialogue with the user. In this paper we give an overview of HITIQA's design and explain the workings of its main components with particular attention given to its dialogue capabilities. We also present results of end-to-end system evaluations that demonstrate the effectiveness of the system as a whole, as well as contributions of the individual components and specifically the benefits of our dialogue-based approach. While our research continues, a number of HITIQA prototypes have recently been deployed at various government agencies where they are being tested under real operational conditions.
Allium vegetables intake and endometrial cancer risk
Authors: Galeone Carlotta , Pelucchi Claudio , Dal Maso Luigino , Negri Eva , Montella Maurizio , Zucchetto Antonella , Talamini Renato , La Vecchia Carlo 
Published: November 2008

AbstractObjectiveThe potential role of allium vegetables on endometrial cancer risk has been scarcely investigated and the results of previous Chinese studies are not easily applicable to Western populations. Therefore, we evaluated the relationship between onion and garlic intake and endometrial cancer, using data from an Italian case–control study.SettingWe analysed data from a multi-centre case–control study of 454 endometrial cancer cases and 908 controls, admitted to the same hospitals for a wide spectrum of acute, non-neoplastic conditions. Information was collected by trained interviewers using a validated and reproducible FFQ. Multivariate odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals were obtained after allowance for recognized confounding factors.ResultsCompared with non-users, the OR of endometrial cancer for successive categories of onion intake were 0·94 (95 % CI 0·72, 1·21) for <2 portions/week and 0·40 (95 % CI 0·22, 0·72) for ≥2 portions/week, with a significant inverse trend in risk (P = 0·01). The OR for an increment of one portion (i.e. 80 g) of onions per week was 0·81 (95 % CI 0·70, 0·95). For garlic, the OR for successive categories of intake were 0·89 (95 % CI 0·68, 1·15) for intermediate use and 0·62 (95 % CI 0·42, 0·92) for high use, with a significant inverse trend in risk (P = 0·02).ConclusionsOur study found a moderate protective role of allium vegetables on the risk of endometrial cancer.