bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is androgenetic alopecia a risk for atherosclerosis?
Authors: Dogramaci AC , Balci DD , Balci A. , Karazincir S , Savas N  , Topaloglu C , Yalcin F 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackground   Several studies have demonstrated the presence of an association between androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with AGA and healthy controls by the incorporation of carotid intima‐media thickness (IMT) and high‐sensitive C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP) along with echocardiography (ECHO) and exercise electrocardiography (ExECG).Methods   We performed a case–control study in 50 male patients with AGA and 31 age‐matched healthy male controls with normal hair status. Both the AGA patients and controls with a history of diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, hypertension, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease, and renal failure were excluded. AGA was classified according to the Hamilton–Norwood scale. Serum lipids, serum hs‐CRP, total testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate were examined in all study subjects. Carotid ultrasonography was used to measure the IMT of the common carotid arteries (CCA). ECHO and ExECG were performed in all subjects.Results   IMT of the CCA was found to be significantly higher in patients with severe vertex pattern AGA when compared to patients with other patterns of AGA and healthy controls (P < 0.05). Hs‐CRP in patients with any group of AGA was not significantly different from those healthy controls (P > 0.05). ECHO showed that cardiac structural and functional measures were in normal ranges. ExECG was also normal in all subjects.Conclusion  Severe vertex pattern AGA should be considered to have an increased risk of subclinical atherosclerosis. For this reason, CCA IMT measurement can be recommended as a non‐invasive and early diagnostic method.Conflicts of interestNone declared.
Mortality in a cohort of flat‐coated retrievers in the UK
Authors: Dobson J. , Hoather T. , McKinley T. J. , Wood J. L. N. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractA cohort study of 174 flat‐coated retrievers was undertaken to establish the importance of cancer in flat coat mortality in terms of the prevalence of neoplasia in the breed and also the relative effect of cancer on lifespan in relation to other forms of mortality. Dogs aged 2–7 years were recruited in 1996 and followed until 2007. An annual health census was used to collect the data. Two dogs were lost to follow‐up and 72 dogs (42%) died from confirmed neoplasia. Twenty dogs (11.6%) died of unconfirmed tumours and 61 (35%) died from non‐neoplastic conditions. The cause of death was unknown for 19 dogs. Soft tissue sarcoma (especially histiocytic sarcoma) was the predominant cancer type, affecting 32 dogs (44% of neoplasms). Six dogs died with malignant melanoma and three with lymphoma. Median age at death was 9 years for dogs with tumours (eight for sarcoma patients) and 12 years for non‐neoplastic fatalities. The results confirm that soft tissue sarcoma, particularly histiocytic sarcoma, is a major cause of mortality in this breed.
A Comparison of Frailty Indexes for the Prediction of Falls, Disability, Fractures, and Mortality in Older Men
Authors: Ensrud Kristine E. , Ewing Susan K. , Cawthon Peggy M. , Fink Howard A. , Taylor Brent C. , Cauley Jane A. , Dam Thuy‐Tien , Marshall Lynn M. , Orwoll Eric S. , Cummings Steven R. ,   for the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Research Group
Published: February 2009

OBJECTIVES: To compare the validity of a parsimonious frailty index (components: weight loss, inability to rise from a chair, and poor energy (Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) index)) with that of the more complex Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) index (components: unintentional weight loss, low grip strength, poor energy, slowness, and low physical activity) for prediction of adverse outcomes in older men.DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.SETTING: Six U.S. centers.PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand one hundred thirty‐two men aged 67 and older.MEASUREMENTS: Frailty status categorized as robust, intermediate stage, or frail using the SOF index and criteria similar to those used in CHS index. Falls were reported three times for 1 year. Disability (≥1 new impairments in performing instrumental activities of daily living) ascertained at 1 year. Fractures and deaths ascertained during 3 years of follow‐up. Analysis of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) statistics compared for models containing the SOF index versus those containing the CHS index.RESULTS: Greater evidence of frailty as defined by either index was associated with greater risk of adverse outcomes. Frail men had a higher age‐adjusted risk of recurrent falls (odds ratio (OR)=3.0–3.6), disability (OR=5.3–7.5), nonspine fracture (hazard ratio (HR)=2.2–2.3), and death (HR=2.5–3.5) (P<.001 for all models). AUC comparisons revealed no differences between models with the SOF index and models with the CHS index in discriminating falls (AUC=0.63, P=.97), disability (AUC=0.68, P=.86), nonspine fracture (AUC=0.63, P=.90), or death (AUC=0.71 for model with SOF index and 0.72 for model with CHS index, P=.19).CONCLUSION: The simple SOF index predicts risk of falls, disability, fracture, and mortality in men as well as the more‐complex CHS index.
Comparison of the Systemic Levels of Inflammatory Markers after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Bare Metal versus Sirolimus‐Eluting Stents
Authors: REBEIZ ABDALLAH G. , ZOGHBI ELIE , HARB RAMI , YOUHANNA SONIA , SKOURI HADI N. , DIMASSI ADEL , ABOU‐NADER GILBERT , NASRALLAH ANTOINE , SAWAYA JABER , GHARZUDDINE WALID , ALAM SAMIR 
Published: February 2009

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with bare metal stent (BMS) deployment causes plaque disruption and a rise in systemic levels of C‐reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)‐6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)‐1. Our aim is to study whether PCI with sirolimus‐eluting stent (SES) use attenuates this response.
Methods: Patients with stable angina undergoing single‐vessel PCI were enrolled in a randomized, open‐label fashion into a BMS group or an SES group. Blood samples were drawn pre‐PCI, 24 hours post‐PCI, and 30 days post‐PCI. Systemic concentrations of CRP, IL‐6, and MCP‐1 were measured at all time points.
Results: In total, 41 patients were enrolled (21 in the BMS group and 20 in the SES group). The baseline plasma concentrations of all markers were comparable between groups. At 24 hours, the mean plasma CRP concentration in the SES group was 20.21 mg/dL versus 8.95 mg/dL in the BMS group (P = 0.15). The mean plasma IL‐6 concentration at 24 hours was 25.41 pg/mL in the SES group versus 17.44 pg/mL in the BMS group (P = 0.17). The mean plasma MCP‐1 concentration at 24 hours was 382.38 pg/mL in the SES group versus 329.04 pg/mL in the BMS group (P = 0.2). At 30 days, plasma concentrations of all three markers decreased to similar values between groups.
Conclusions: The use of SES did not inhibit the rise in systemic concentrations of CRP, IL‐6, and MCP‐1 at 24 hours or 30 days post‐PCI, compared with BMS. Moreover, at 24 hours, there was a trend for higher systemic levels of all proinflammatory markers in the SES group compared with the BMS cohort.
Martyr bodies in the media: Human rights, aesthetics, and the politics of immediation in the Palestinian intifada
Authors: ALLEN LORI A. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTThe growth of the human rights regime in the Palestinian occupied territories during the last two decades and the spread of visual media have had an extreme effect on the nature of Palestinian politics and society. They have transformed the way Palestinians represent themselves to each other and to the international community, whereby appeals to human rights help to constitute a human subject with certain kinds of rights that are seen to arise not from a political status but from the state of (human) nature. In this article, I explore the “politics of immediation” at work during the second Palestinian intifada, which began in 2000, to explain why social actors mobilize representations of people in states of acute physical and emotional distress as part of their political projects. [human rights, Palestine, aesthetics, intifada, media, affect]
“But the winds will turn against you”: An analysis of wealth forms and the discursive space of development in northeast Brazil
Authors: ANSELL AARON 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTIn this article, I explain the unfolding of a participatory development project in northeast Brazil by exploring how local genres of public speech articulate with categories of wealth. Although development resources cannot be easily categorized into local classes of wealth, they nonetheless evoke some of the anxieties cultivators feel when dealing with wealth forms susceptible to the evil eye. Beliefs surrounding the evil eye shape cultivators' relations to material objects, and they also define the contours of safe and acceptable speech within the village development association. As a result, during association meetings, the villagers speak in ways that frustrate development agents seeking to generate “open” and “transparent” managerial discourse felicitous to project success—at least, external notions of project success. Appreciating the link between wealth and speech forms sheds light on both the local implementation challenges that participants in such projects face and the reason development agents frequently blame ostensive project failures on beneficiary backwardness. [wealth, Brazil, development, evil eye, peasant society]
Differentiating indigenous citizenship: Seeking multiplicity in rights, identity, and sovereignty in Canada
Authors: BLACKBURN CAROLE 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTIn this article, I examine how citizenship has been legally differentiated and conceptually reconfigured in recent treaty negotiations between the Nisga’a First Nation, the provincial government of British Columbia, and the Canadian federal government. The Nisga’a have sought a form of differentiated citizenship in Canada on the basis of rights that flow from their relationship to their lands and their identity as a political community. They have challenged the state as the sole source of rights and achieved a realignment in the relationship between their rights as aboriginal people, Canadian citizenship, and the Canadian state. [citizenship, aboriginal rights, sovereignty, nation‐state, Nisga’a, Canada]
What's Burmese about Burmese rap? Why some expressive forms go global
Authors: KEELER WARD 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTAlthough older Burmese associate contemporary Burmese rap with an indigenous call‐and‐response genre, younger Burmese rap fans link it only to international models. The content of Burmese raps strikes an outsider as tame, but rap in Burma resembles foreign prototypes closely in its preoccupation with youthful masculine power. In Burma and elsewhere, rap's lyrical contents reflect a libertarian ideology in keeping with its emphasis on the autonomy of individuals and widespread anxieties of and about young males, in particular—this despite many commentators’ wish to see in rap an empowering political voice. [rap music, Burma, masculinity, globalization, resistance]
Histories in red: Ways of seeing lynching in Ecuador
Authors: KRUPA CHRISTOPHER 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTIn this article, I examine the ways that ongoing “spectacle” lynchings in highland Ecuador have come to generate public opposition to the country's indigenous movement and the political transformations it advocates. Focusing my analysis on the recent lynching of an Afro‐Ecuadorian migrant in a small Andean town, I argue for an approach to public violence that directs attention back to the body of the victim and the significations attached to it. I draw influence from studies of U.S. lynchings to ask about the relationship between visual representations of violence and constructions of political illegitimacy in rapidly transforming social formations. [violence, lynching, media, visuality, indigenous peoples, Ecuador, Latin America]
Complexities of indigeneity and autochthony: An African example
Authors: Pelican Michaela 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTIn this article, I deal with the complexities of “indigeneity” and “autochthony,” two distinct yet closely interrelated concepts used by various actors in local, national, and international arenas in Africa and elsewhere. With the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2007, hopes were high among activists and organizations that the precarious situation of many minority groups might be gradually improved. However, sharing the concerns of other scholars, I argue that discourses of indigeneity and autochthony are highly politicized, are subject to local and national particularities, and produce ambivalent, sometimes paradoxical, outcomes. My elaborations are based on in‐depth knowledge of the case of the Mbororo in Cameroon, a pastoralist group and national minority recognized by the United Nations as an “indigenous people” although locally perceived as “strangers” and “migrants.” For comparative purposes, and drawing on related studies, I integrate the Bagyeli and Baka (also known as Pygmies) of southern and southeastern Cameroon into my analysis, as they share the designation of indigenous people with the Mbororo and face similar predicaments. [indigeneity, autochthony, identity, United Nations, Cameroon]
National Trends in Emergency Department Antibiotic Prescribing for Elders with Urinary Tract Infection, 1996–2005
Authors: Caterino Jeffrey M. , Weed Sarah Grace , Espinola Janice A. , Camargo, Jr Carlos A. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractObjectives:  Given reported increases in antibiotic resistance among elders with urinary tract infection (UTI) and pyelonephritis, the authors identified national rates and trends in emergency department (ED) trimethoprim‐sulfamethoxazole (TMP‐SMX) and fluoroquinolone prescribing for older adults from 1996 to 2005.Methods:  This was a retrospective analysis utilizing the ED component of the 1996–2005 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). The authors included NHAMCS ED entries aged ≥18 years with a diagnosis of UTI or pyelonephritis; pregnancy was excluded. Records were divided into 18–64 years (“adults”) and ≥65 years (“elders”). Primary outcome measures were prescription of TMP‐SMX monotherapy, fluoroquinolone monotherapy, and combination therapy with two or more antibiotics. Estimated visit totals and rates were calculated and trends analyzed.Results:  From 1996 to 2005, there were 5 million elder ED visits for UTI or pyelonephritis. Approximately 9.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.9% to 11%) of elders received TMP‐SMX monotherapy with rates decreasing over time (p‐value for trend = 0.031). Overall, 35% (95% CI = 32% to 38%) of elders received fluoroquinolone monotherapy, which increased from 21% (95% CI = 14% to 27%) in 1996 to 45% (95% CI = 39% to 50%) in 2005 (p‐value for trend < 0.001). Therapy with a fluoroquinolone plus a second antibiotic was used in only 4.2% (95% CI = 3.1% to 5.3%) of older patients.Conclusions:  From 1996 to 2005, TMP‐SMX monotherapy in elder ED patients decreased while fluoroquinolone therapy increased. The majority of older patients receiving fluoroquinolone therapy received a single agent. Given the continued prevalence of monotherapy for elder ED patients with UTI or pyelonephritis, antibiotic resistance patterns in these patients should be better characterized to ensure institution of appropriate empiric therapy.
Is off‐farm income reforming the farm? Evidence from Mexico
Authors: Pfeiffer Lisa , López‐Feldman Alejandro , Taylor J. Edward 
Published: February 2009

AbstractDoes access to off‐farm income complement or compete with agricultural production? This article explores the effect of off‐farm income on agricultural production activities, using data from the 2003 Mexico National Rural Household Survey. We first discuss the theoretical conditions under which access to off‐farm income may influence production in an agricultural household model. Instrumental‐variable (IV) estimation methods are then used to test whether agricultural production activities, technologies, and input use differ between households with and without access to off‐farm income. We find that off‐farm income has a negative effect on agricultural output and the use of family labor on the farm, but a positive impact on the demand for purchased inputs. There is also a slight efficiency gain in households with access to off‐farm income. Findings offer insights into how household production evolves as rural households increasingly engage in off‐farm income activities.
Does nonagricultural labor relax farmers’ credit constraints? Evidence from longitudinal data for Vietnam
Authors: Stampini Marco , Davis Benjamin 
Published: February 2009

AbstractWe examine the relationship between participation in nonagricultural labor activities and farming production decisions, focusing on the use of inputs. Using longitudinal data for Vietnam from 1993 to 1998, we find that households engaged in nonagricultural labor spend significantly more on seeds, services, hired labor, and livestock inputs. This is consistent with the hypothesis that nonagricultural labor income relaxes credit constraints to farming.
Poverty decline, agricultural wages, and nonfarm employment in rural India: 1983–2004
Authors: Lanjouw Peter , Murgai Rinku 
Published: February 2009

AbstractWe analyze five rounds of National Sample Survey data covering 1983, 1987/1988, 1993/1994, 1999/2000, and 2004/2005 to explore the relationship between rural diversification and poverty. Poverty in rural India has declined at a modest rate during this time period. We provide region‐level estimates that illustrate considerable geographic heterogeneity in this progress. Poverty estimates correlate well with region‐level NSS data on changes in agricultural wage rates. Agricultural labor remains the preserve of the uneducated and also to a large extent of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. We show that while agricultural labor grew as a share of total economic activity over the first four rounds, it had fallen back to the levels observed at the beginning of our survey period by 2004. This all‐India trajectory also masks widely varying trends across states. During this period, the rural nonfarm sector has grown modestly, mainly between the last two survey rounds. Regular nonfarm employment remains largely associated with education levels and social status that are rare among the poor. However, casual labor and self‐employment in the nonfarm sector reveals greater involvement by disadvantaged groups in 2004 than in the preceding rounds. The implication of this for poverty is not immediately clear—the poor may be pushed into low‐return casual nonfarm activities due to lack of opportunities in the agricultural sector rather than being pulled by high returns offered by the nonfarm sector. Econometric estimates reveal that expansion of the nonfarm sector is associated with falling poverty via two routes: a direct impact on poverty that is likely due to a pro‐poor marginal incidence of nonfarm employment expansion; and an indirect impact attributable to the positive effect of nonfarm employment growth on agricultural wages. The analysis also confirms the important contribution to rural poverty reduction from agricultural productivity, availability of land, and consumption levels in proximate urban areas.
Rural nonfarm employment and farming: household‐level linkages
Authors: Davis Benjamin , Winters Paul , Reardon Thomas , Stamoulis Kostas 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThis article introduces the articles in Agricultural Economics, vol. 40 no. 2 (March 2009). First, we introduce their objectives in a brief review of existing literature on developing country trends in rural income diversification, in particular rural nonfarm employment (RNFE) and its impact on farm technology choice in crops and livestock, and thus on agricultural modernization and diversification. Then we preview the key points of the articles, which use distinctive primary datasets from Albania, Bulgaria, China, India, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines, Senegal, and Vietnam to document the impacts of RNFE and their implications for farm technology and farm activity.
Socioeconomic indicators and prosthetic replacement of missing teeth in a working‐age population–Results of the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP)
Authors: Mundt Torsten , Polzer Ines , Samietz Stefanie , Grabe Hans Jörgen , Messerschmidt Heidrun , Dören Martina , Schwarz Sabine , Kocher Thomas , Biffar Reiner , Schwahn Christian 
Published: February 2009

Abstract – Objectives: To analyse the possible effects of the socioeconomic status (SES) on the prosthetic replacement of missing teeth in working‐age people and to explore the role of potential confounders.Methods: Cross‐sectional data were collected from 2310 German adults aged 30–59 years. The relationship between each of the three SES indicators (education, income, and occupational status) and dental prostheses were examined by multinomial logistic regression analyses. For that, partially dentate participants with suboptimal and no replacement of missing teeth were compared with partially dentate participants having optimal replacement. Potential confounders (age, sex, dental status, social network and social support) were entered if their inclusion in the model led to ≥10% change in the coefficient of interest.Results: Social network and social support did not meet the criterion for confounding. In the maxilla, having no replacement was positively associated with lower categories for each of the three SES indicators [Odds ratios (OR) between 1.6 and 2.1; 95% confidence intervals (CI) between 1.1 and 3.4]. Low occupational status was the single predictor for suboptimal dental prostheses (OR = 3.2; 95% CI: 1.6–6.2). In the mandible, occupational status showed no association with the prosthetic status, whereas low educational level and low household income were determinants for having no replacement (OR = 1.9 and 1.9, 95% CI: 1.0–3.5 and 1.1–3.0, respectively). Low household income was the single determinant for suboptimal replacement of missing teeth (OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.1–5.2).Conclusion: The findings may indicate the relevance of the financing of prosthodontic treatment. The strong association between various forms of upper dentures and occupational prestige can be seen as key contributing concept to how individuals′ characteristics affect the outcome in prosthodontic care.
The incidence of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura among adults: a population‐based study and literature review
Authors: Abrahamson Page E. , Hall Susan A. , Feudjo‐Tepie Maurille , Mitrani‐Gold Fanny S. , Logie John 
Published: February 2009

AbstractPublished data on the epidemiology of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) among adults are very limited. We conducted a study of ITP incidence using the General Practice Research Database in the United Kingdom. From 1992 to 2005, there were 840 cases of ITP among adults considering 21 749 623 person‐years (PYs) of follow‐up, for a crude incidence of 3.9 per 100 000 PYs [95% confidence interval (CI): 3.6, 4.1]. The incidence was higher among women [4.5 per 100 000 PYs (95% CI: 4.2, 4.9)] than men [3.2 per 100 000 PYs (95% CI: 2.8, 3.5)]. Among both women and men, incidence was higher at older ages and in later study years. In a systematic review of previously published literature, incidence of ITP among adults ranged from 1.6 to 2.68 per 100 000 persons per year; prevalence ranged from 9.5 to 23.6 per 100 000 persons. In order to improve the understanding of the disease burden of ITP, future studies should include a clearly defined definition of ITP and focus on well‐described source populations that are geographically and ethnically diverse.