bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Media Agenda Setting During and After Hurricane Katrina: Implications for Emergency Preparedness, Disaster Response, and Disaster Policy
Authors: Barnes Michael D. , Hanson Carl L. , Novilla Len M. B. , Meacham Aaron T. , McIntyre Emily , Erickson Brittany C. 
Published: February 2008

Media agenda setting refers to the deliberate coverage of topics or events with the goal of influencing public opinion and public policy. We conducted a quantitative content analysis of 4 prominent newspapers to examine how the media gathered and distributed news to shape public policy priorities during Hurricane Katrina. The media framed most Hurricane Katrina stories by emphasizing government response and less often addressing individuals’ and communities’ level of preparedness or responsibility. Hence, more articles covered response and recovery than mitigation and preparation. The newspapers studied focused significantly more on government response than on key public health roles in disaster management. We discuss specific implications for public health professionals, policymakers, and mass media so that, in the future, coordination can be enhanced among these entities before, during, and after disasters occur.
Tobacco Use and Secondhand Smoke Exposure During Pregnancy: An Investigative Survey of Women in 9 Developing Nations
Authors: Bloch Michele , Althabe Fernando , Onyamboko Marie , Kaseba-Sata Christine , Castilla Eduardo E. , Freire Salvio , Garces Ana L. , Parida Sailajanandan , Goudar Shivaprasad S. , Kadir Muhammad Masood , Goco Norman , Thornberry Jutta , Daniels Magdalena , Bartz Janet , Hartwell Tyler , Moss Nancy , Goldenberg Robert 
Published: February 2008

Objectives. We examined pregnant women's use of cigarettes and other tobacco products and the exposure of pregnant women and their young children to secondhand smoke (SHS) in 9 nations in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Methods. Face-to-face surveys were administered to 7961 pregnant women (more than 700 per site) between October 2004 and September 2005. Results. At all Latin American sites, pregnant women commonly reported that they had ever tried cigarette smoking (range: 78.3% [Uruguay] to 35.0% [Guatemala]). The highest levels of current smoking were found in Uruguay (18.3%), Argentina (10.3%), and Brazil (6.1%). Experimentation with smokeless tobacco occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and India; one third of all respondents in Orissa, India, were current smokeless tobacco users. SHS exposure was common: between 91.6% (Pakistan) and 17.1% (Democratic Republic of the Congo) of pregnant women reported that smoking was permitted in their home. Conclusions. Pregnant women's tobacco use and SHS exposure are current or emerging problems in several low- and middle-income nations, jeopardizing ongoing efforts to improve maternal and child health.
Anticariogenic and Antibacterial Properties of a Copper Varnish Using an In Vitro Microbial Caries Model
Authors: Thneibat A. , Fontana M. , Cochran M. A. , Gonzalez-Cabezas C. , Moore B. K. , Matis B. A. , Lund M. R. 
Published: February 2008

Clinical Relevance
The topical application of an antibacterial agent may have the potential to decrease the severity of existing root caries lesions or prevent the development of new lesions.
The Effect of Polishing Techniques and Time on the Surface Characteristics and Sealing Ability of Resin Composite Restorations After One-year Storage
Authors: Cenci M. S. , Venturini D. , Pereira-Cenci T. , Piva E. , Demarco F. F. 
Published: February 2008

Clinical RelevanceThe results of this study suggest that immediate polishing procedures can result in improved short-term surface smoothness results but do not influence smoothness or sealing ability after one-year storage.
Effect of Erosive pH Cycling on Different Restorative Materials and on Enamel Restored with These Materials
Authors: Francisconi L. F. , Honório H. M. , Rios D. , Magalhães A. C. , Machado M. A. A. M. , Buzalaf M. A. R. 
Published: February 2008

Clinical Relevance
The different types of restorative materials tested were not able to protect adjacent enamel from erosion. Thus, the ability of a restorative material to prevent tooth erosion should not be considered when choosing a material.
Behavioral Toxicology of Volatile Organic Solvents I. Methods: Acute Effects
Authors: Glowa J. R. , Deweese J. , Natale M. E. , Holland J. J. , Dews P. B. 
Published: February 2008

Behavioral toxicity of toluene has been measured in mice. Because of its small size the mouse can be confined in a 251. hermetically sealed chamber for several hours. Toluene was introduced through a port and vaporized by a hotplate. Samples of chamber air for analysis were taken through another port. A smaller mesh cage held the mouse within the larger chamber. Schedule-controlled responding was developed by arranging that a response, breaking a beam of light, was followed by milk under an FI 60-sec schedule. Responding was much more rapid in the presence of stimuli correlated with the FI schedule than when the schedule was not operating. Standard sessions consisted of alternating series of 8 consecutive FI 60-sec and interseries 30-min time-outs. Following introduction of liquid toluene, the concentration in the chamber reached its asymptote within 60 sec. Toluene disappeared from the atmosphere of the unopened empty chamber at the rate of 0.2%/hr. When the mouse cage was in the chamber the disappearance was 1.5%/hr and when a mouse was also present it was 3.5%/hr. Effects of toluene on the behavior of the mouse reached a plateau within 30 min of continued exposure to a fixed concentration. Concentration-effect curves were constructed from the number of responses in a series of FI's following 30-min exposure to a concentration of toluene as compared to the control number on that day. In some experiments mice were exposed to a single concentration of toluene: in other experiments, more toluene was added after a series of FI so the mice were exposed to incrementally increasing concentrations. The two procedures generated similar concentration-effect curves. Toluene increased the rate of responding in most mice at levels of about 700 ppm. Higher concentrations progressively reduced responding. The ED 50 (the concentration reducing responding by 50%) averaged 1657 ppm in 10 mice.
Potential Role of Intercellular Communication in the Rate-Limiting Step in Carcinogenesis
Authors: Trosko James E. , Chang Chia-cheng 
Published: February 2008

In order to ascertain whether there might be a scientific basis for determining practical “thresholds” for “carcinogens,” the concepts of thresholds and carcinogens were examined in the context of some current ideas on cardnogenesis. The observation that cardnogenesis seems to involve the donal expansion of a pre-malignant cell through a series of pheno-typic changes was explained by the initiation/promotion model of cardnogenesis. Unrepaired DNA lesions, acting as substrates for mutations in dividing cells, were speculated to play a role in the initiation phase of cardnogenesis (and indirectly to the promotion phase if the lesions lead to significant cell killing, forcing “compensatory hyperplasia”). Inhibition of intercellular communication, either by cell removal, cell death, growth factors or chemical promoters, was speculated to allow the donal expansion of initiated cells to reach a “critical mass.” During that donal expansion of initiated cells, additional phenotypic changes were speculated to occur during cell replication by mutational and/or epigenetic events. Therefore, it was concluded, on the basis of this model, that conditions which prevented the inhibition of intercellular communication between normal cells and the initiated cell(s) contributed to the rate limiting step of cardnogenesis. Assuming the initiation and promotion model of cardnogenesis, the classical concepts of “thresholds” and “carcinogens” were viewed as grossly inadequate because they did not symbolically represent the known determinants of the complex carcinogenic process. Unless genetic, developmental stage, tissue, nutritional, stress, life style, as well as concurrent antagonists and/or synergists, factors are known, extrapolation about the potential carcinogenicity of a given chemical from molecular, in vitro or even in vivo experiments or epidemiological data would be extremely risky. It was concluded that, at this stage of our understanding of the mech-anism(s) of carcinogenesis, attempts to determine “thresholds” for “carcinogens” naively assume “carcinogens” are the single determinants for carcinogenesis, and that all chemicals which might influence the appearance of tumors act the same way.
Metabolic Activation of Xenobiotics: Ethylene Dibromide and Structural Analogs
Authors: van Bladeren Peter J. 
Published: February 2008

A large number of compounds which can enter living organisms are relatively harmless as such, but are transformed by the body into reactive agents. The structure of such a compound is the factor determining its disposition in the organism. Its physicochemical characteristics determine the overall fate in terms of absorption, distribution and excretion, while the chemical structure is the decisive factor in its biotransformation. Whether formation of reactive intermediates occurs depends on what points of attack it has to offer to the different enzyme systems. The extent to which alkylation of cellular macromolecules by reactive intermediates occurs in turn depends on the balance of activating and detoxifying enzymes in the particular cell and on the reactivity of the intermediates towards critical targets in the cell macro-molecules. Many chemicals undergo several concurrent metabolic pathways. The ratio between these pathways may be a decisive factor determining the extent of adverse effects caused by these chemicals. Small variations in structure may have a drastic effect on the activation and detoxification by competing enzyme systems. These concepts are elucidated using the examples of ethy-lene dibromide and some structural analogs. Apart from the parent compound itself, two alkylating species may be responsible for the toxic effects of these compounds. Bromo-acetaldehyde is formed by oxidation, catalyzed by cyto-chrome P-450, followed by spontaneous loss of hydrogen bromide; S-2-bromoethylglutathione results from replacement of a bromine atom by glutathione, catalyzed by the glutathione transferases. The latter intermediate possesses a reactivity comparable to sulfur mustard. Results indicate that the reactive glutathione conjugate is responsible for the mutagenic and possibly also the carcinogenic effect of ethy-lene dibromide. However, in vivo, oxidation is quantitatively much more important as a primary process.
Risk of intraoperative ischemia due to temporary vessel occlusion during standard extracranial–intracranial arterial bypass surgery
Authors: Horn Peter , Scharf Johann , Peña-Tapia Pablo , Vajkoczy Peter 
Published: February 2008

Object
Standard extracranial–intracranial (EC–IC) arterial bypass surgery represents a well-recognized procedure in which the aim is to augment distal cerebral circulation. The creation of the bypass requires temporary occlusion of the recipient vessel. Thus, there exists controversy about the risk of standard EC–IC arterial bypass surgery causing ischemic complications due to temporary vessel occlusion. In this prospective study, the incidence of intraoperative ischemia was investigated in symptomatic patients with steno-occlusive cerebrovascular disease and existing hemodynamic insufficiency.

Methods
Twenty consecutive patients (14 women and 6 men; mean age 46 ± 11 years) suffering from recurrent transient ischemic attacks due to occlusive cerebrovascular disease and proven hemodynamic compromise in functional blood flow studies were enrolled in this study. The underlying pathological condition was internal carotid artery (ICA) or middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion in 6 cases and ICA or MCA stenosis in 3 cases, whereas 11 patients presented with moyamoya syndrome or moyamoya disease. The surgical procedure consisted of the establishment of a standard superficial temporal artery (STA)–MCA bypass, and was performed while a strict intraoperative management protocol was applied. Patients underwent clinical examination and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging within 48 hours before and after surgery.

Results
The incidence of reversible clinical signs of ischemia was 2 (10%) of 20 patients. Postoperative MR imaging revealed signs of diffusion disturbances in 2 (10%) of 20 cases. The observed diffusion-weighted imaging changes, however, were situated within the dependent vascular territory at risk for ischemia in 1 patient only. No permanent neurological deficit occurred. The temporary vessel occlusion time ranged between 25 and 42 minutes (mean 33 ± 7 minutes). All means are expressed ± the standard deviation.

Conclusions
Temporary vessel occlusion during standard STA–MCA arterial bypass surgery carries a low risk of intraoperative ischemia when a strict perioperative management protocol is applied.
Prolonged recovery of memory functioning after mild traumatic brain injury in adolescent athletes
Authors: Sim Anita , Terryberry-Spohr Lori , Wilson Kathryn R. 
Published: February 2008

Object
The current body of sports-related concussion literature is hampered by a lack of research conducted in high school athletes. Accordingly, the authors sought to examine the neuropsychological deficits and recovery patterns after concussive injuries in this population.

Methods
Participants included 419 male and female athletes with a mean age of 15.69 years who underwent baseline testing of their neuropsychological functioning prior to their sports season. Fourteen participants sustained an in-season concussion and were serially reassessed at ~ 2.5, 6, and 10 days postinjury. Fourteen uninjured matched control participants were also reassessed at the end of the school year.

Results
Individuals who sustained in-season concussions demonstrated impairments in reaction time, processing speed, and had delayed memory functioning. Although reaction time and processing speed deficits returned to baseline levels by ~ 6 days postinjury, participants continued to show memory impairments up to 7 days postinjury. Memory impairments were found to resolve by Day 10, however.

Conclusions
The results of the present study suggest that high school athletes demonstrate prolonged memory dysfunction compared with college athletes, and should therefore be treated more conservatively.
Long-term seizure outcome after mesial temporal lobe epilepsy surgery: corticalamygdalohippocampectomy versus selective amygdalohippocampectomy
Authors: Tanriverdi Taner , Olivier Andre , Poulin Nicole , Andermann Frederick , Dubeau François 
Published: February 2008

Object
Resection strategies for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) are a matter of discussion, and little information is available. The aim of this study was to compare seizure outcomes at the 5-year follow-up in patients with medically refractory unilateral mesial TLE (MTLE) due to hippocampal sclerosis (HS) who were treated using a cortical amygdalohippocampectomy (CorAH) or a selective AH (SelAH).

Methods
The authors obtained data from 100 adult patients who underwent surgery for MTLE. Fifty patients underwent a CorAH and 50 underwent an SelAH. Seizure control achieved with each technique was compared using the Engel classification scheme.

Results
Overall, at the 5-year follow-up, favorable (Engel Classes I and II) seizure outcomes were noted in 82 and 90% of patients who had undergone CorAH and SelAH, respectively. Furthermore, 40% of the patients who had undergone a CorAH and 58% of those who had undergone an SelAH were seizure free (Engel Class Ia). There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 surgical approaches in terms of seizure outcome at the 5-year follow-up (p = 0.38).

Conclusions
Both CorAH and SelAH can lead to similar favorable seizure control in patients with MTLE/HS. However, the authors suggest that the transcortical selective approach has the great advantage of minimizing or completely abolishing the impact of dividing several venous and arterial adhesions which are tedious, time consuming, and, at times, associated with some degree of cerebral swelling.
Early results of surgery in patients with nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma and analysis of the risk of tumor recurrence
Authors: Losa Marco , Mortini Pietro , Barzaghi Raffaella , Ribotto Paolo , Terreni Maria Rosa , Marzoli Stefania Bianchi , Pieralli Sandra , Giovanelli Massimo 
Published: February 2008

Object
Nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) are benign tumors of the pituitary gland that typically cause visual and/or hormonal dysfunction. Surgery is the treatment of choice, but patients remain at risk for tumor recurrence for several years afterwards. The authors evaluate the early results of surgery and the long-term risk of tumor recurrence in patients with NFPAs.

Methods
Between 1990 and 2005, 491 previously untreated patients with NFPA underwent surgery at the Università Vita-Salute. Determinations of recurrence or growth of the residual tumor tissue during the follow-up period were based on neuroradiological criteria.

Results
Residual tumor after surgery was detected in 173 patients (36.4%). Multivariate analysis showed that invasion of the cavernous sinus, maximum tumor diameter, and absence of tumor apoplexy were associated with an unfavorable surgical outcome. At least 2 sets of follow-up neuroimaging studies were obtained in 436 patients (median follow-up 53 months). Tumors recurred in 83 patients (19.0%). When tumor removal appeared complete, younger age at surgery was associated with a risk of tumor recurrence. In patients with incomplete tumor removal, adjunctive postoperative radiotherapy had a marked protective effect against growth of residual tumor.

Conclusions
Complete surgical removal of NFPAs can be safely achieved in > 50% of cases. Visual symptoms and, less frequently, pituitary function may improve after surgery. However, tumor can recur in patients after apparently complete surgical removal. In patients with incomplete tumor removal, radiation therapy is the most effective adjuvant therapy for preventing residual tumor growth.
Magnetic resonance imaging compared with electrodiagnostic studies in patients with suspected carpal tunnel syndrome: predicting symptoms, function, and surgical benefit at 1 year
Authors: Jarvik Jeffrey G. , Comstock Bryan A. , Heagerty Patrick J. , Haynor David R. , Fulton-Kehoe Deborah , Kliot Michel , Franklin Gary M. 
Published: February 2008

Object
The goal in this study of patients with clinical carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) was to compare the usefulness of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with that of electrodiagnostic studies (EDSs) for the following purposes: 1) prediction of 1-year outcomes and 2) identification of patients who are likely to benefit from surgical treatment.

Methods
The authors prospectively enrolled 120 patients with clinically suspected CTS. The participants were tested using standardized EDSs, MR imaging, and a battery of questionnaires, including the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Assessment Questionnaire, a well-validated 5-point score of symptoms and function. The EDSs and MR images were each interpreted independently. Patients were reevaluated after 1 year. The decision to treat patients conservatively or by carpal tunnel release was made by the individual surgeon, who had access to the initial EDS but not MR imaging results. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine associations between 1-year outcomes and baseline diagnostic tests.

Results
The authors recontacted 105 of 120 participants at 12 months. Of these, 30 patients had had surgery and 75 had not. Patients who had undergone surgery showed greater improvement at 1 year than those who had not had surgery. The length of the abnormal T2-weighted nerve signal on MR imaging and median–ulnar sensory latency difference were the strongest predictors of surgical benefit. There was a clear patient preference for the MR imaging over EDSs.

Conclusions
The findings obtained with MR imaging of the carpal tunnel predict surgical benefit independently of nerve conduction studies.
Inhibitory effect of gap junction blockers on cerebral vasospasm
Authors: Hong Tao , Wang Yang , Wang Hai-tao , Wang Huan 
Published: February 2008

Object
The gap junction is important in the propagation of dilation/constriction signals along vessels for coordinated behavior in control of vascular tone. The authors hypothesized that gap junctions might play a role in cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The aims of the present study were to investigate the role of gap junctions and to observe the potential therapeutic efficacy of gap junction blockers in cerebral vasospasm in vitro and in vivo.

Methods
For the in vitro investigation, the effect of heptanol on the oxyhemoglobin (HbO2)-induced contraction of isolated rabbit basilar arteries (BAs) was observed by using an isometric tension-recording method. For the in vivo experiments, the potential therapeutic efficacy of heptanol and carbenoxolone was surveyed after it was given intravenously in the rabbit double-hemorrhage model. Light microscopy was performed to assess the morphological changes in the arteries examined.

Results
For the in vitro method, heptanol significantly inhibited the sustained contraction induced both by HbO2 and K+ in the BA rings. The magnitude of the heptanol-induced relaxation was dose dependent. The inhibitory effect of heptanol on the K+-induced vasoconstriction was weaker than that on the HbO2-induced constriction. After arterial rings were pretreated for 10 minutes, heptanol significantly decreased their responses to the HbO2-induced contraction. For the in vivo method, heptanol and carbenoxolone significantly decreased the narrowing of BAs when given intravenously in the rabbit double-hemorrhage model. In both treated groups, the diameters of the arteries had not changed significantly on Day 7 compared with those of the arteries in the SAH + vehicle and the SAH-only group.

Conclusions
Heptanol and carbenoxolone significantly inhibited the experimental cerebral vasospasm both in vitro and in vivo. Blockage of gap junctions is a probable candidate for a new approach in the treatment of cerebral vasospasm. Gap junctions may play a pathophysiological role in cerebral vasospasm.