bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Osteonecrosis of the Mandible or Maxilla Associated with the use of New Generation Bisphosphonates
Authors: Farrugia Matthew C. , Summerlin Don‐John , Krowiak Edward , Huntley Tod , Freeman Stephen , Borrowdale Richard , Tomich Charles 
Published: January 2006

AbstractObjective: The use of bisphosphonates is well established for the treatment of patients with metastatic bone disease, osteoporosis, and Paget's disease. Osteonecrosis of the mandible or maxilla associated with the use of bisphosphonates is a newly described entity never before discussed in the otolaryngology literature. In this paper, we review a series of patients diagnosed with osteonecrosis, all treated with new generation bisphosphonates. Our objective is to inform and educate others, particularly otolaryngologists/head and neck surgeons, about this drug induced entity, a condition that should be recognized early to avoid potential devastating consequences.Study Design: Retrospective chart review of a series of patients from a tertiary referral center.Methods: Pathology reports of specimens submitted from either the mandible or maxilla were reviewed from the previous 12 months. Any patient diagnosed with osteonecrosis without evidence of metastatic disease at that site was included; those with a previous history of radiation therapy were excluded. Each patient's medical history and profile were reviewed.Results: Twenty‐three patients were identified with osteonecrosis of the mandible or maxilla. All of these were associated with the use of new generation bisphosphonates: zolendronate (Zometa, Novartis), pamidronate (Aredia, Novartis), and alendronate (Fosamax, Merck). Eighteen patients with known bone metastases had been treated with the intravenous form, whereas five patients with either osteoporosis or Paget's disease were using oral therapy. Patients typically presented with a nonhealing lesion, often times the result of previous dental intervention. Although the majority of these patients were treated with conservative surgical debridement, we present a case requiring a near total maxillectomy.Conclusions: Drug induced osteonecrosis of the mandible or maxilla has been recently recognized as a sequelae of treatment with the new generation of bisphosphonates. Most patients can be treated with conservative surgical debridement and cessation of bisphosphonate therapy, whereas a few may require radical surgical intervention. Other recommendations include regimented prophylactic care with an assessment of dental status before the administration of bisphosphonates, avoidance of dental procedures, and close monitoring of oral hygiene.
Vitamin E‐Coated Tympanostomy Tube Insertion Decreases the Quantity of Free Radicals in Tympanic Membrane
Authors: Üneri Cüneyd , Sari Murat , Akboğa Jülide , Yüksel Meral 
Published: January 2006

AbstractObjective: Tympanosclerosis is a common sequela of ventilation tube treatment of otitis media with effusion causing hearing disability. It is associated with an increased production of free radicals (also known as reactive oxygen species) after myringotomy. Vitamin E is a scavenger of different free radicals by working as an antioxidant. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of vitamin E‐coated tympanostomy tube insertion at quantity of free radicals in rat tympanic membrane.Methods: This prospective, controlled animal study consisted of male Sprague‐Dawley rats divided into two groups of 10 animals each. Ordinary silcone tubes were applied to the right ears of the first group and vitamin E‐coated silcone tubes were applied to the right ears of the second group. The left ears were used as controls. Then, the animals were killed and chemiluminescence measurements were made for tympanic membranes.Results: Reactive oxygen species levels (ROS) were significantly increased in right ears of the first group when compared with the control ears (P < .0001), and the levels were statistically significant decreased in right ears of the second group as compared with the operated ears of the first group (P < .0001). The free radical levels of right and left ears in the second group were similar.Conclusions: Our results indicate that vitamin E‐coated tube insertion decreases the quantity of reactive oxygen species in tympanic membrane after myringotomy and tympanostomy tube insertion.
Diurnal variations in the auto‐ and heterotrophic activity of cyanobacterial phycospheres (Gloeotrichia echinulata) and the identity of attached bacteria
Authors: EILER ALEXANDER , OLSSON JAN A. , BERTILSSON STEFAN 
Published: January 2006

Summary1. We assessed the role of cyanobacterial–bacterial consortia (Gloeotrichia echinulata phycospheres) for net changes in inorganic carbon, primary production (PP) and secondary production in Lake Erken (Sweden).2. At the time of sampling, large colonies of G. echinulata formed a massive bloom with abundances ranging from 102 colonies L−1 in the pelagic zone to 5000 colonies L−1 in shallow bays. These colonies and their surrounding phycospheres contributed between 17 and 92% of total PP, and phycosphere‐associated bacteria contributed between 8.5 and 82% of total bacterial secondary production. PP followed a diurnal cycle, whereas bacterial production showed no such pattern. Over a 24 h period, carbon dioxide measurements showed that the phycospheres were net autotrophic in the top layer of the water column, whereas they were net heterotrophic below 2 m depth.3. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA genes of attached bacteria revealed a diverse bacterial community that included populations affiliated with Proteobacteria, Bacteriodetes, Acidobacteria, Fusobacteria, Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobia, and other Cyanobacteria.4. Compared with their planktonic counterparts, bacteria associated with cyanobacterial phycospheres had lower affinity for arginine, used as a model compound to assess uptake of organic compounds.5. Extrapolation of our data to the water column of lake Erken suggests that microorganisms that were not associated with cyanobacteria dominated CO2 production at the ecosystem scale during our experiments, as CO2 fixation balanced CO2 production in the cyanobacterial phycospheres.
Assessing lake eutrophication using chironomids: understanding the nature of community response in different lake types
Authors: LANGDON PETER G. , RUIZ ZOE , BRODERSEN KLAUS P. , FOSTER IAN D. L. 
Published: January 2006

Summary1. Total phosphorus (TP) and chlorophyll a (Chl a) chironomid inference models (Brodersen & Lindegaard, 1999; Brooks, Bennion & Birks, 2001) were used in an attempt to reconstruct changes in nutrients from three very different lake types. Both training sets were expanded, particularly at the low end of the nutrient gradient, using contemporary chironomid assemblages and environmental parameters from 12 British lakes, although this had little improvement on the model performances.2. Dissimilarity analyses showed that the historic chironomid assemblages did not have good analogues in the original calibration or extended datasets. However, since the transfer functions are based on weighted averages of the trophic optima for the taxa present and not on community similarities, reasonable downcore inferences were produced. Ordination analyses also showed that the lakes retain their ‘identity’ over time, as the sample dissimilarities within lakes were less than the dissimilarities between lakes.3. Analysis of the three historic lake profiles showed a range of chironomid community responses to lake development. Chironomids from a shallow lake, Slapton Ley, responded indirectly to nutrient enrichment (TP), probably through altered substrate, macrophyte and fish conditions, rather than directly to primary productivity (Chl a). A stratified lake, Old Mill Reservoir, showed a loss of the profundal chironomid fauna due to increasing primary productivity (Chl a) coupled with increasing hypoxia. A response to nutrients (TP or total nitrogen (TN)) at this site is also indirect, and the TP reconstruction therefore cannot be reliably interpreted. The third lake, March Ghyll Reservoir has little change in historic chironomid communities, suggesting that this well mixed, relatively unproductive lake has changed less than the other lakes.4. Using chironomids to reconstruct nutrient histories does not follow a simple scheme. The response to changes in nutrients may be direct, but mediated through other ecosystem components. As alternative stable states are possible at a given level of TP it is also likely that alternative chironomid communities exist under similar nutrient conditions. Changes in biological communities can thus occur over thresholds, and it is only biological proxies that can reflect such ecosystem switches within palaeoenvironmental investigations.
‘Andean‐centred’ genera in the short‐branch clade of Annonaceae: testing biogeographical hypotheses using phylogeny reconstruction and molecular dating
Authors: Pirie Michael D. , Chatrou Lars W. , Mols Johan B. , Erkens Roy H. J. , Oosterhof Jessica 
Published: January 2006

AbstractAim  We test biogeographical hypotheses regarding the origin of Andean‐centred plant groups by reconstructing phylogeny in the short‐branch clade (SBC) of Annonaceae, and estimating the timing of diversifications in four apparently Andean‐centred genera: Cremastosperma R.E.Fr., Klarobelia Chatrou, Malmea R.E.Fr. and Mosannona Chatrou. The SBC includes species distributed in both the Old and New World tropics. A number of the Neotropical genera display ‘Andean‐centred’ distribution patterns, with high species richness on both sides of the Andes mountain range. In particular, we test whether these groups could have originated on the South American continent during the time frame of the Andean orogeny [from c. 23 Ma (Miocene) to the present].Methods  Chloroplast DNA sequences were used to reconstruct phylogeny in related Annonaceae taxa plus outgroups, under maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference. The markers rbcL, trnL‐trnF and psbA‐trnH were sampled for 96 accessions to test the monophyly of each of the genera, and thus whether they might be para‐ or polyphyletic with respect to related groups distributed across Amazonia. To determine the sister groups of the four genera, the additional markers matK, ndhF, trnT‐trnL, trnS‐trnG and atpB‐rbcL were sampled for 23 of the 96 accessions. Molecular dating techniques (nonparametric rate‐smoothing; penalized likelihood; Bayesian inference) were then applied to estimate the age of the crown group of each genus and the age of their sister groups.Results  Monophyly was confirmed in Cremastosperma, Malmea and Mosannona. The monotypic genus Pseudephedranthus Aristeg. was found to be nested within Klarobelia, the species of which otherwise formed a monophyletic group, and a South American‐centred (SAC) clade was identified. The SAC clade comprises all the SBC genera distributed in South America and generally to a limited extent into Central America, but not those endemic to Africa, Asia and Central America. Age estimations for clades within the SBC were no older than around 60 Myr; those for the crown groups of Cremastosperma, Klarobelia, Malmea and Mosannona fell largely within the last 10–20 Myr.Main conclusions  The distribution patterns of Cremastosperma, Klarobelia, Malmea and Mosannona are not the arbitrary result of the definition of para‐ or polyphyletic groups. We infer the presence of a common ancestor of the four genera in South America, but not by vicariance of an ancestral population on Gondwana. The age estimations, instead, may suggest that the SAC clade originated in South America by dispersal across the Boreotropics. Although the strength of this test was limited by imprecision in the molecular dating results, the ages of crown groups of the four genera suggest that diversifications occurred within the time frame of the orogeny of the Northern Andes.
Burden of Atopic dermatitis in Canada
Authors: Barbeau Martin , Bpharm Hélène Lalonde 
Published: January 2006

AbstractBackground  Atopic dermatitis (AD) is relatively common worldwide; costs associated with the disease have been reported recently for various countries, but no estimates of costs in Canada are currently available. The objective of this study was to estimate the costs associated with AD in Canada, assessed from resource use determined for a Canadian setting.Methods  Seventy‐six patients in Ontario with AD were surveyed to determine information about severity of disease, healthcare practitioner visits, over‐the‐counter medication use, household expenses and absenteeism relating to their condition. Based on this information, costs were determined based on the Ontario billing schedule, estimated prescription use, reported out‐of‐pocket expenses and stated family income. Data about sleep disturbance and concern over topical corticosteroid use were also obtained.Results  Patients reported an average of 3.6 publicly funded doctor visits per year for AD; 58% of these visits were to general practitioners and 28% to dermatologists. The annual per patient expenditure was estimated to be Cdn$282, $454 and $1242 for patients with mild, moderate and severe AD, respectively. The total cost of AD in Canada was estimated to be Cdn$1.4 billion annually. More than half of the patients experienced sleep disturbances owing to their condition, and 71% reported having concerns about topical corticosteroid use.Conclusions  Although the cost per patient of AD in Canada is relatively low, owing to the prevalence of the disease, the total cost to society is large. Most of the cost is borne by patients and their employers, primarily owing to indirect costs associated with absenteeism.
Defining patients with high‐risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Veness Michael J 
Published: January 2006

SUMMARYNon‐melanoma skin cancers occur at an epidemic rate in Australia. With an ageing population more Australians will develop these cancers and at an increasing rate. In the majority of cases, local treatment, usually excision, is highly curative. However, a subset of the population are diagnosed with a high‐risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, defined as a patient having a higher risk of subclinical metastases to regional lymph nodes based on unfavourable primary lesion features and patient factors. Despite treatment, patients developing metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma experience mortality and morbidity usually as a consequence of uncontrolled metastatic nodal disease. It is therefore important that clinicians treating skin cancers have an understanding and awareness of these high‐risk patients. The aim of this article is to discuss the features that define a high‐risk patient and to present some of the issues pertinent to their treatment.
Quality of life in psoriasis improves after standardized administration of narrowband UVB phototherapy
Authors: Lim Cathy , Brown Pam 
Published: January 2006

SUMMARYPsoriasis is a chronic fluctuating dermatosis with demonstrable impact on patients’ quality of life. Our aim was to investigate if narrowband UVB phototherapy administered to psoriatic patients in a standardized manner leads to an improvement in patients’ perceived quality of life. A total of 138 patients with psoriasis were recruited from referrals to the Skin and Cancer Foundation, Australia between January 1998 and September 2002. Patients had psoriasis inadequately controlled by topical therapies alone and no contraindications to the use of phototherapy. Patients completed a pre‐ and post‐therapy questionnaire on quality of life parameters. The differences in mean and standard deviation of quality of life parameters were measured using a paired sample t‐test based on pre‐ and post‐phototherapy questionnaires. Ninety patients were included in the study. Forty‐eight patients were excluded as they had not completed post‐phototherapy questionnaires. The course of narrowband UVB phototherapy was found to significantly improve quality of life in psoriasis patients (P ≤ 0.005). We conclude that narrowband UVB phototherapy improves quality of life in patients with psoriasis.
Spatial and temporal variations in species occurrence rate affect the accuracy of occurrence models
Authors: Bulluck Lesley , Fleishman Erica , Betrus Chris , Blair Rob 
Published: January 2006

ABSTRACTAim Predictive models of species occurrence have potential for prioritizing areas for competing land uses. Before widespread application, however, it is necessary to evaluate performance using independent data and effective accuracy measures. The objectives of this study were to (1) compare the effects of species occurrence rate on model accuracy, (2) assess the effects of spatial and temporal variation in occurrence rate on model accuracy, and (3) determine if the number of predictor variables affected model accuracy.Location We predicted the distributions of breeding birds in three adjacent mountain ranges in the Great Basin (Nevada, USA).Methods For each of 18 species, we developed separate models using five different data sets — one set for each of 2 years (to address the effects of temporal variation), and one set for each of three possible pairs of mountain ranges (to address the effects of spatial variation). We evaluated each model with an independent data set using four accuracy measures: discrimination ability [area under a receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)], correct classification rate (CCR), proportion of presences correctly classified (sensitivity), and proportion of absences correctly classified (specificity).Results Discrimination ability was not affected by occurrence rate, whereas the other three accuracy measures were significantly affected. CCR, sensitivity and specificity were affected by species occurrence rate in the evaluation data sets to a greater extent than in the model‐building data sets. Discrimination ability was the only accuracy measure affected by the number of variables in a model.Main conclusions Temporal variation in species occurrence appeared to have a greater impact than did spatial variation. When temporal variation in species distributions is great, the relative costs of omission and commission errors should be assessed and long‐term census data should be examined before using predictive models of occurrence in a management setting.
A dynamic model for suspended particulate matter (SPM) in rivers
Authors: Håkanson Lars 
Published: January 2006

ABSTRACTAim  To present a general, process‐based river model for suspended particulate matter (SPM).Location  General approach based on processes; data from Europe and Israel.Methods  The model has been tested and calibrated using an empirical river model for SPM and validated (blind‐tested) using data from seven European sites. This modelling gives mean monthly SPM concentrations in water for defined river sites. The model is based on processes in the entire upstream river stretch (and not for given river segments) and calculates the transport of SPM from land to water, primary production of SPM (within the upstream river stretch), resuspension, mineralization and retention of SPM in the upstream river stretch (but not bed load of friction materials, such as sand). The catchment area is differentiated into inflow (∼ dry land) areas and outflow area (∼ wetland areas dominated by relatively fast horizontal SPM‐fluxes). The model is simple to apply in practice as all driving variables may be accessed readily from maps. The driving variables are: latitude, altitude, continentality, catchment area and mean annual precipitation.Results  Modelled values have been compared to independent empirical data from sites covering a relatively wide domain (catchment areas from 93 to 5250 km2, precipitation from 400 to 660 mm year−1, altitudes from −210 to 150 m a.s.l., latitudes from 47 to 59° N and continentalities from 200 to 1000 km from the ocean). When blind‐tested, the model predicts annual SPM‐fluxes well.Conclusion  When modelled values are compared to empirical data, the slope is almost perfect (1.03) and the r2‐value is 0.9996. This is good, given the fact that there are several simplifications in the model structure. It must, however, be stressed that there are only seven validation cases and that this model has not been tested for small catchments.
Minimizing the Losses in Penile Lengthening: “V-Y Half-Skin Half-Fat Advancement Flap” and “T-Closure” Combined with Severing the Suspensory Ligament
Authors: Shaeer Osama , Shaeer Kamal , El-Sebaie Ashraf 
Published: January 2006

ABSTRACT

Introduction
The technique most commonly used for penile lengthening is the release of the suspensory ligament in combination with an inverted V-Y skin plasty. This technique has drawbacks such as the possibility of reattachment of the penis to the pubis, a hump that forms at the base of the penis, in addition to alteration in the angle of erection.

Aim
In this work, we describe a new technique that overrides these drawbacks and minimize the loss of gained length.

Methods
The suspensory ligament was released through a penopubic incision. The caudal flap of the resected ligaments was reflected caudally and sutured to the Buck's fascia. The V flap was incised. The caudal half of the V was deskinned, leaving a cranial skin-covered V flap, and a caudal, rectangular fat flap. The fat flap was pulled into the gap between the base of the penis and the pubis and secured in position by suturing its deep surface and lower edge to the pubis. This maneuver filled up the gap. The V incision was closed as a Y. The penopubic incision was closed as a T shape, to avoid pulling the penis back at skin closure. A stay suture stretched from the glans to the thigh, maintaining the penis in the stretched position. A urinary catheter was inserted.

Results
Six months after surgery, there was no loss in the length gained. The angle of erection (as reported by the patient) was similar to that prior to the procedure. The skin incisions left no hump and a faint scar that was not troublesome to the patient.

Conclusion
“V-Y half-skin half-fat advancement flap” and “T-closure” may improve the results of suspensory ligament release for penile lengthening. The reported techniques minimize the losses compromising length gain, whether in-surgery or following it.