bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Elevated Cystatin C Concentration and Progression to Pre-Diabetes
Authors: Donahue Richard P. , Stranges Saverio , Rejman Karol , Rafalson Lisa B. , Dmochowski Jacek , Trevisan Maurizio 
Published: June 2007

OBJECTIVE— We conducted a nested case-control investigation to examine whether elevated baseline concentrations of cystatin C predicted progression from normoglycemia to pre-diabetes over 6 years of follow-up from the Western New York Health Study.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— In 2002–2004, 1,455 participants from the Western New York Health Study, who were free of type 2 diabetes and known cardiovascular disease at baseline (1996–2001), were reexamined. An incident case of pre-diabetes was defined as an individual with fasting glucose &lt;100 mg/dl at the baseline examination and ≥100 and ≤125 mg/dl at the follow-up examination, thereby eliminating individuals with prevalent pre-diabetics. All case patients (n = 91) were matched 1:3 to control participants based on sex, race/ethnicity, and year of study enrollment. All control subjects had fasting glucose levels &lt;100 mg/dl at both baseline and follow-up examinations. Cystatin C concentrations and the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio were measured from frozen (−196°C) baseline blood and urine samples. Serum creatinine concentrations were available from the baseline examination only.
RESULTS— Multivariate conditional logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, baseline glucose level, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, BMI, hypertension, estimated glomerular filtration rate, cigarette smoking, and alcohol use revealed a significantly increased risk of progression to pre-diabetes among those with elevated baseline concentrations of cystatin C (odds ratio 3.28 [95% CI 1.43–7.54]) (upper quintile versus the remainder). Results of secondary analyses that considered high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, E-selectin, or soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 did not alter these results.
CONCLUSIONS— These results suggest that cystatin C was associated with a threefold excess risk of progression to pre-diabetes in this population.
Alanine Aminotransferase and Directly Measured Insulin Sensitivity in a Multiethnic Cohort
Authors: Hanley Anthony J.G. , Wagenknecht Lynne E. , Festa Andreas , D'Agostino Ralph B. , Haffner Steven M. 
Published: June 2007

OBJECTIVE— The objective of the present analysis was to evaluate the association of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) with directly measured insulin sensitivity (Si) in a large, multiethnic cohort of U.S. adults and to determine whether ALT adds to existing metabolic risk definitions in identifying subjects with insulin resistance.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— Si was directly measured from frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance tests among 999 nondiabetic African-American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white subjects aged 40–69 years who were participating in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study. Subjects also received an oral glucose tolerance test, and fasting insulin, ALT, and alcohol intake were determined.
RESULTS— ALT was associated with Si after adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, impaired fasting glucose, triglycerides, HDL, blood pressure, and waist (clinical model) (P &lt; 0.0001). The association remained significant after further adjustment for fasting insulin and impaired glucose tolerance (P = 0.004). In logistic regression analysis, elevated ALT (upper quartile) was associated with insulin resistance (lowest quartile of Si) after adjustment for age, sex, and ethnicity (odds ratio 3.0 [95% CI 2.2–4.1]). Elevated ALT was independently associated with insulin resistance when included in models with waist circumference, National Cholesterol Education Program criteria for metabolic syndrome, hypertriglyceridemic waist, elevated triglyceride-to-HDL ratio, or homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (all P &lt; 0.01). Finally, the addition of elevated ALT improved classification of insulin resistance by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve criteria for all models except HOMA-IR.
CONCLUSIONS— ALT was associated with insulin resistance independently of conventional and more detailed metabolic measures. These findings suggest that the addition of ALT to existing clinically based metabolic risk definitions is an inexpensive way to improve the identification of subjects with insulin resistance.
Use of Maternal GHb Concentration to Estimate the Risk of Congenital Anomalies in the Offspring of Women with Prepregnancy Diabetes
Authors: Guerin Andrea , Nisenbaum Rosane , Ray Joel G. 
Published: June 2007

OBJECTIVE— We sought to determine the absolute risk of having a congenital anomaly in relation to periconceptional GHb concentration among women with prepregnancy diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— Two reviewers independently retrieved all cohort studies through a systematic literature search between January 1985 and May 2006. For each study, the absolute risk of having a pregnancy affected by a major or minor structural anomaly (diagnosed either antenatally or up to 28 days after conception) was calculated according to the number of SDs of GHb above the mean for nondiabetic, nonpregnant control subjects. A multilevel logistic-normal model was used to pool the data, which were expressed in tabular and graphic formats.
RESULTS— In seven cohort studies, there were 117 anomalies among 1,977 pregnancies. At a periconceptional GHb concentration 0 SD above normal, the absolute risk of a pregnancy affected by a congenital anomaly was ∼2% (95% CI 0.0–4.4). At 2 SD above normal, the risk was 3% (0.4–6.1), and at 8 SD it was ∼10% (2.3–17.8). For each 1-SD unit increase in GHb, the associated risk of a congenital malformation increased by an odds ratio of 1.2 (95% CI 1.1–1.4). The risk in relation to A1C followed the same pattern.
CONCLUSIONS— Using data from a limited number of published studies, a practical aid was developed to optimize use of the GHb and A1C concentrations for estimating the absolute risk of a congenital anomaly in the offspring of women with prepregnancy diabetes.
Telmisartan Shows an Equivalent Effect of Vitamin C in Further Improving Endothelial Dysfunction After Glycemia Normalization in Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Ceriello Antonio , Piconi Ludovica , Esposito Katherine , Giugliano Dario 
Published: June 2007

OBJECTIVE— Long-lasting hyperglycemia in type 1 diabetic patients induces permanent alterations of endothelial function by increased oxidative stress, even when glycemia is normalized.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— In this study, 36 type 1 diabetic patients and 12 control subjects were enrolled. The diabetic patients were divided into three groups. The first group was treated for 24 h with insulin, achieving a near normalization of glycemia. After 12 h of this treatment, vitamin C was added for the remaining 12 h. The second group was treated for 24 h with vitamin C. After 12 h of this treatment, insulin was started, achieving a near normalization of glycemia for the remaining 12 h. The third group was treated for 24 h with both vitamin C and insulin, achieving near normalization of glycemia. The same protocols were performed after 1 month of telmisartan or placebo.
RESULTS— Neither normalization of glycemia nor vitamin C treatment alone was able to normalize endothelial dysfunction or oxidative stress. Combining insulin and vitamin C normalized endothelial dysfunction and decreased oxidative stress to normal levels. Telmisartan significantly improved basal endothelial function and decreased nitrotyrosine plasma levels. In patients treated with telmisartan, a near normalization of both flow-mediated vasodilation and oxidative stress was achieved when glycemia was normalized, whereas adding vitamin C infusion did not show further effect on endothelial function or nitrotyrosine plasma levels.
CONCLUSIONS— These data indicate that combining the normalization of glycemia with an antioxidant can normalize endothelial function in type 1 diabetic patients and that telmisartan works as an antioxidant like vitamin C.
A Sagnac-Michelson fibre optic interferometer: Signal processing for disturbance localization
Authors: Kondrat M. , Szustakowski M. , Pałka N. , Ciurapiński W. , Życzkowski M. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractWe present numerical and experimental results on a new generation fibre optic perimeter sensor based on a Sagnac and Michelson interferometers configuration. In particular, an original signal processing scheme is presented. The sensor can detect a potential intruder and determine its position along a protected zone. We propose a localization method that offers the inherent properties of both interferometers. After demodulation of the signals from both interferometers, the obtained amplitude characteristic of the Sagnac interferometer depends on a position of a disturbance along the interferometer, while amplitude characteristic of the Michelson interferometer does not depend on this position. So, quotient of both demodulated characteristics makes it possible to localize the disturbance. During investigations of a laboratory model of the sensor, it was possible to detect the position of the disturbance with a resolution of about 40 m along the 6-km-long sensor.
Analysis of noise properties of an optocoupler device
Authors: Konczakowska A. , Cichosz J. , Szewczyk A. , Stawarz B. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIn the paper, localization of a source of random telegraph signal noise (RTS noise) in optocoupler devices of CNY 17 type was defined. The equivalent noise circuit in low frequency noise for these types of optocouplers was proposed.
Sensor properties of planar waveguide structures with grating couplers
Authors: Karasiński P. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe paper presents the results of theoretical analysis as well as the results of experimental research involving planar sensor structures with input grating couplers of the period Λ = 800 nm. In the theoretical part of the paper we discussed the influence of the parameters of a sensor structure on it sensitivities. The experimental part of the work presents the results of experimental research involving the influence of refractive index of the cover on the coupling characteristics of sensor structures with grating couplers. The full widths at half maximum (FWHM) were from 0.023° to 0.029°. For the investigated structures we estimated detection thresholds for the changes of refractive index of the cover and the changes of sensitive film thickness. It has been demonstrated that by the application of the elaborated structures we can detect minimal changes of the refractive index (Δnc)min = 2.1×10−6 when the refractive index of the cover nc = 1.333 and (Δnc)min = 1.0×10−6 when nc = 1515. For sensitive films of the thickness w < 100 nm, by using the elaborated structures, we can detect mean changes of the thickness along the values lower than 10−3 nm.
Units of English spelling‐to‐sound mapping: a rational approach to reading instruction
Authors: Vousden Janet I. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIn this paper a rationale for choosing how many and what types of spelling‐to‐sound units of English to teach children to learn to read is introduced. The rationale is based on an analysis of the frequency with which various units of spelling‐to‐sound mapping occur in monosyllabic words of the English language. Analysis of spelling‐to‐sound mappings at three levels (whole words, onsets and rimes and graphemes) reveals that the distribution of these mappings in English text approximates Zipf's Law. Further analyses reveal that a substantial proportion of text can be read if knowledge of the most frequent mappings at each level is assumed. It is suggested that viewing reading from this perspective can be useful in developing reading instruction so that children are taught information that is most useful in achieving the endpoint of learning to read. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Beliefs about interactions between factors in the natural environment: a causal network study
Authors: White Peter A. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis research is concerned with the structure of people's beliefs about causal processes in complex natural systems. A set of entities was derived from an expert analysis of important factors in relation to forest ecosystems and climate change. These included human population, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, fires and several biological features such as extinction rates. In two experiments participants were presented with each pair of entities and asked whether change in one would produce change in the other. From the judgements made, causal networks were constructed that reflected consensual causal beliefs. The resultant causal network was unidirectional, with some entities, such as humans, functioning as causal origins and others, such as extinction rates, functioning as effects. This is consistent with previous research showing unidirectional patterns of thinking about causality in natural systems. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Output shaping in continuous‐time predictive control
Authors: Yavuzyılmaz Çağatay , Demircioğlu Hüseyin 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIn many control applications, it is expected that the system output tracks a desired reference signal. This paper describes a new approach in which the tracking problem is formulated as an output shaping problem. The approach uses the framework of predictive control and imposes the desired reference signal as a constraint on the output. Some simulation results and a real‐time application are also given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Crimean‐Congo hemorrhagic fever: Five patients with hemophagocytic syndrome
Authors: Tasdelen Fisgin Nuriye , Fisgin Tunc , Tanyel Esra , Doganci Levent , Tulek Necla , Guler Nil , Duru Feride 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThree pediatric and two adult Turkish patients with Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) induced hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) were admitted to Ondokuz Mayis University Hospital, which is in the Middle Black Sea Region of Turkey. All of them had remarkable hemophagocytosis in the bone marrow with severe bleeding symptoms along with the other known clinical and laboratory findings of CCHF. We would like to present these patients and to discuss the pathophysiology and the effect of acquired HPS on the severity of the disease. Am. J. Hematol., 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hip osteoarthritis in a rural male population: A prospective population‐based register study
Authors: Thelin Anders , Holmberg Sara 
Published: June 2007

AbstractObjectivesA cohort of rural men with urban referents was followed over 13 years to study the risk of developing osteoarthritis of the hip joint.MethodsA group of 1,220 farmers, 1,130 matched rural non‐farming men, and 1,087 urban men were identified in 1989 and followed over time. Information on hospital care and surgery was obtained from the national Swedish register of hospital care and surgery.ResultsMore farmers than referents had been hospitalized for osteoarthritis and had undergone surgery for osteoarthritis of the hip joint. Hazard ratio for osteoarthritis of the hip joint was 3.0 (95% CI: 1.7–5.3) for farmers versus urban controls. Non‐farming rural men had no increased risk as compared with urban referents.ConclusionFarmers but not non‐farming rural men had a significantly increased risk of developing osteoarthritis of the hip joint as compared with urban referents. Am. J. Ind. Med. 50:604–607, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The influence of artificial cranial vault deformation on the expression of cranial nonmetric traits: Its importance in the study of evolutionary relationships
Authors: Del Papa Mariano C. , Perez S. Ivan 
Published: June 2007

AbstractNonmetric cranial traits have been commonly used in evolutionary relationship studies. They develop during the growth and development of an individual, and for this reason its expression presents different sources of genetic and nongenetic variation. However, the use of these features in evolutionary relationship studies carries the implicit assumption that much of the nonmetric trait variation is essentially genetic. Among the nonheritable factors, cranial vault deformation has been the most studied in human populations. Because of the widespread distribution and elevated rate of artificial cranial vault deformation found in America, and the importance of nonmetric traits in evolutionary relationship studies in this area, the objectives of this paper are as follows: (a) to study the influence of artificial cranial vault deformation on the presence of nonmetric traits within samples of human craniofacial remains; and (b) to establish artificial cranial vault deformation influence on evolutionary relationships between local populations on a regional scale. Our results indicate that artificial cranial vault deformations alter the variation and covariation of metric and nonmetric traits in some samples. Wormian bones, placed in cranial vault sutures, are the most influenced by this factor. However, our results suggest that when all nonmetric traits were used the artificial cranial vault deformation did not influence the basic pattern of variation among samples. The exclusion or inclusion of wormians bones in evolutionary relationships analysis did not modify the results, but using only wormians bones lead to inconsistent results indicating that these traits have little value on these kind of studies. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Conservation of aquatic plants in artificial watercourses: are main drains a substitute for vulnerable navigation canals?
Authors: Goulder R. 
Published: June 2007

Abstract
The vegetation of disused and occasionally used navigation canals with acknowledged botanical conservation value was compared with that of major land‐drainage channels with potential conservation interest.
Aquatic plant taxa and their abundance were recorded in 500‐m lengths of watercourses in East Yorkshire, north‐east England.
There was substantial overlap between canals and drains in the aquatic plant species recorded (42 out of 66 taxa were found in both canals and drains) and ordination analysis (DECORANA) showed that there were not two distinct vegetation types: one for canals and one for drains.
The aquatic plants recorded in both canals and drains probably largely originated from an eighteenth‐ and nineteenth‐century pre‐drainage marshland flora that has since been lost.
The conservation value of the aquatic vegetation at canal sites (assessed as diversity, rarity and naturalness) was not significantly greater than at the drain sites.
The canals are potentially threatened by restoration of navigation or increase in boat usage; a simplistic interpretation of the results is that potential losses in the conservation value of canals would be substituted by the flora of the drains.
A more measured interpretation, however, is that the canals and drains should be regarded as parallel conservation resources. This is because some aquatic plant taxa with limited distribution at local, regional or national level were found only in canals while others were found only in drains.
The results emphasize that evaluation of the botanical conservation value of artificial watercourses should include drains as well as canals; disused and lightly used navigation canals are widely recognized as of high conservation value whereas drains, being utilitarian landscape features, are more likely to be overlooked.
Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Survivorship and tube growth of reef‐building Serpula vermicularis (Polychaeta: Serpulidae) in two Scottish sea lochs
Authors: Hughes David J. , Poloczanska Elvira S. , Dodd Jane 
Published: June 2007

Abstract
In the UK, reef formation by the tubicolous polychaete Serpula vermicularis L. has been recorded in only two sea lochs in Argyll, west Scotland. Serpula vermicularis aggregations are now confined to Loch Creran, those in Loch Sween having died out for unknown reasons.
Survivorship and tube extension rates were measured in situ in order to compare habitat quality of the two sea lochs and to determine the feasibility of artificial restoration of Loch Sween reefs using stock translocated from Loch Creran. After labelling and measurement, clusters of inhabited tubes collected from Loch Creran were re‐planted at two sites in Loch Sween and two in Loch Creran in July 2004, and monitored at intervals before recovery and remeasurement in July 2005.
In Loch Sween the tube clusters gradually disappeared over the monitoring period. Only remnants were left by May 2005 and no growth data were obtained. In Loch Creran 76% of the labelled tubes were relocated. Confirmed mortality over the year was 5.3% and mean tube extension rate was 33 mmy−1.
There was no significant difference in tube growth between the two Loch Creran sites and inter‐individual differences accounted for most of the variability in the data. Individual tube extension declined significantly with worm body mass but mean extension showed no relationship to total worm biomass in each cluster. Annual tube extension rate in Loch Creran was low in comparison with literature data from other serpulids, suggesting that tube growth is strongly seasonal.
The 10‐month persistence of some living worms in Loch Sween suggests that there is no physiological barrier to survival of stock translocated from Loch Creran but in situ video monitoring would be necessary to determine the cause of tube disappearance.
Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The cost‐effectiveness analysis of information retrieval and dissemination systems
Authors: Lancaster F. W. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractA distinction is made between cost‐effectiveness analysis and cost‐benefits analysis as applied to information systems; and the relationship between costs, performance, and benefits is discussed. Some factors influencing the cost‐effectiveness of retrieval and dissemination systems are identified. Various aspects of system operation that are susceptible to cost‐effectiveness analysis are discussed, including system coverage, indexing policies and procedures, system vocabulary, searching procedures, and mode of interaction between system and user. Possible tradeoffs between input and output costs, and the effects of these tradeoffs on cost‐effectiveness are presented.
A systems approach to the design of information systems
Authors: Liston David M. , Schoene Mary L. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractSystems design consists of a tremendously complex series of choices in which no decision point is completely independent of other decisions which have already been made or have yet to be made. A systems approach to the design of document‐handling information systems would require a detailed examination of the choices to be made in the design process and the ramifications of possible choices in terms of the capabilities, performance, cost, and other characteristics of the system. The authors advocate a systematic procedure involving six steps: 1) identification of fixed parameters, 2) identification of variable parameters, 3) identification of available options for each variable parameter, 4) identification of factors affecting a choice among available options, 5) identification of factors affected by a choice among available options, and 6) logical analysis of the picture thus presented to determine the optimum sequence in which decisions should be made during the design process and the nature of the decision process itself.
A note on the mathematical basis of the SLIC index
Authors: Rush James E. , Russo Phillip M. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIt has been shown that the index entries generated by the SLIC technique constitute a lattice which is a subset of the power set of the set of descriptors assigned to a document and that this fact leads to an improved algorithm for generating SLIC entries. It has also been shown that an isomorphic mapping exists between the SLIC lattice and a Boolean lattice (algebra).