bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Learning about self‐advocacy from life history: a case study from the United States*
Authors: Traustadóttir Rannveig 
Published: August 2006

Accessible Summary

Many people with learning difficulties want to tell the stories of their life and have done so in collaboration with academic researchers.
Life histories of people with learning difficulties are a good way to learn about self‐advocacy. Life histories can tell us about how self‐advocacy began and the support people need to be self‐advocates.
Tom Allen lived in institutions for 60 years. His life history describes how he could speak up about his wishes, the people who helped him speak up and how he was able to move out of the institution.
Challenging the monologue about silent sterilization: implications for self‐advocacy
Authors: Roets Griet , Adams Marie , Hove Geert Van 
Published: August 2006

Accessible SummaryThis is the story of Marie, a woman with ‘learning difficulties’ who lives in Belgium. It is told by Marie and her advocate, Griet. In 2002, Marie was told she had to have a sterilization. This is the story of what happened:The professionals told Marie and her mother the operation was essential.Marie did not know what the operation was because the professionals did not explain what it meant nor did they talk through this difficult issue with her. She discussed it with Griet; Marie did not want it because it was not necessary. They agreed to refuse it.They conclude that sterilization has to be a choice made by the woman concerned and not forced on someone because they are labelled as having ‘learning difficulties’.
Narrating, writing, reading: life story work as an aid to (self) advocacy
Authors: Meininger Herman P. 
Published: August 2006

Accessible SummaryThis article is about life story work with people with learning disabilities. It talks about reading and writing stories, and listening to them.Telling your life story, writing it down and talking about it with others can be an important part of self‐advocacy for people with learning disabilities.Life stories are helpful when they are told or written in a way that brings back memories that tell you about the real person. They should be written in a clear and honest way. These stories are very important, and other people need to listen to or read them in a careful and respectful way.Life stories show how each person is special and an individual in their own right, with their own history. This is not the case in the files and records of most service organizations.Life story work can help people with learning disabilities to feel good about themselves and to understand themselves better.It also helps support workers and others to see each person with learning disabilities as an individual, to understand important relationships, and the ways in which the person they are working with makes sense of his or her life.
Isoprenoid metabolism and plastid reorganization in arbuscular mycorrhizal roots
Authors: Strack Dieter , Fester Thomas 
Published: August 2006

SummaryPlant root‐colonizing arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi activate the methylerythritol phosphate pathway, carotenoid biosynthesis and oxidative carotenoid cleavage in roots, leading to C13 and C14 apocarotenoids, that is, cyclohexenone and mycorradicin derivatives. Mycorradicin causes the characteristic yellow coloration of many AM roots accumulating within a complex mixture of unknown components. The accumulating C13 cyclohexenones exhibit various ring substitutions and different glycosyl moieties. Transcript levels of the first two enzymes of the MEP pathway, 1‐deoxy‐d‐xylulose 5‐phosphate synthase and 1‐deoxy‐d‐xylulose 5‐phosphate reductoisomerase, and of the carotenoid pathway, phytoene desaturase and ζ‐carotene desaturase, along with a carotenoid‐cleaving dioxygenase, are markedly increased in AM roots. This correlates with proliferation and reorganization of root plastids. These results allow at this point only speculation about the significance of apocarotenoid accumulation: participation in the production of signaling molecules and control of fungal colonization or protection against soil‐borne pathogens; protection of root cells against oxidative damage of membranes by reactive oxygen species; and promotion of the symbiotic interactions between plant roots and AM fungi.

Contents

Summary
22

I.
Introduction
23

II.
Mycorradicin
23

III.
Cyclohexenone derivatives
24

IV.
Occurrence of apocarotenoids
24

V.
Biosynthesis of apocarotenoids
25

VI.
Root plastids
27

VII.
Significance of carotenoid metabolism
29

Acknowledgements
32

References
32
Household production of sorghum beer in Benin: technological and socio‐economic aspects
Authors: Kayodé A.P. Polycarpe , Hounhouigan D. Joseph , Nout Martinus J.R. , Niehof Anke 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThis study evaluated the sorghum brewing microenterprises in Benin with emphasis on the beer quality, the social significance of the product as well as the income generated.Tchoukoutou, the Benin opaque sorghum beer, has important social functions as it fosters the cooperative spirit and remains an ancestral beverage widely used for traditional ceremonies. The manufacturing process consists of malting (soaking, germination and sun drying), brewing (mashing, boiling, filtration) and fermentation. The beer is sour with a pH of 3.2 and contains a relatively high but variable level of solids and crude protein. Most of the consumers appreciate an opaque, sour and pink‐coloured beer. The consumers related many of the beer properties to health effects. Participants can link the perceived qualities of the beer to the grain’s functional properties, and this leads to the classification of the farmers’ sorghum as varieties of top, medium and low quality for brewing. The profits fromtchoukoutouproduction range from 2365 to 17 212 fcfa per month (1 euro = 656 fcfa) for the producers, depending on beer yield and quantity of raw grain transformed. The generated income is used for household needs and part of it is invested in children’s education.
Factors affecting Internet shopping behaviour in Singapore: gender and educational issues
Authors: Hui Tak‐Kee , Wan David 
Published: August 2006

AbstractDespite the increasing number of online users and products that are being offered on the Web, there is relatively little work that specifically examines the role of gender and educational level on the attitudes of Internet users in the Singapore context. Our findings reveal that there is a general consensus amongst Singaporeans that the Internet is a convenient medium for information search or making purchases. The better‐educated respondents seem to be less concerned with security issues. They also perceive that Internet shopping provides better prices and more cost savings. Females indicate a strong dislike for not being able to savour a physically fulfilling shopping experience online.
Primary Care Quality and Addiction Severity: A Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Kim Theresa W. , Samet Jeffrey H. , Cheng Debbie M. , Winter Michael R. , Safran Dana Gelb , Saitz Richard 
Published: August 2006

Background. Alcohol and drug use disorders are chronic diseases that require ongoing management of physical, psychiatric, and social consequences. While specific addiction‐focused interventions in primary care are efficacious, the influence of overall primary care quality (PCQ) on addiction outcomes has not been studied. The aim of this study was to prospectively examine if higher PCQ is associated with lower addiction severity among patients with substance use disorders.Study Population. Subjects with alcohol, cocaine, and/or heroin use disorders who initiated primary care after being discharged from an urban residential detoxification program.Measurements. We used the Primary Care Assessment Survey (PCAS), a well‐validated, patient‐completed survey that measures defining attributes of primary care named by the Institute of Medicine. Nine summary scales cover two broad areas of PCQ: the patient–physician relationship (communication, interpersonal treatment, thoroughness of the physical exam, whole‐person knowledge, preventive counseling, and trust) and structural/organizational features of care (organizational access, financial access, and visit‐based continuity). Each of the three addiction outcomes (alcohol addiction severity (ASI‐alc), drug addiction severity (ASI‐drug), and any drug or heavy alcohol use) were derived from the Addiction Severity Index and assessed 6–18 months after PCAS administration. Separate longitudinal regression models included a single PCAS scale as the main predictor variable as well as variables known to be associated with addiction outcomes.Main Results. Eight of the nine PCAS scales were associated with lower alcohol addiction severity at follow‐up (p≤.05). Two measures of relationship quality (communication and whole‐ person knowledge of the patient) were associated with the largest decreases in ASI‐alc (−0.06). More whole‐person knowledge, organizational access, and visit‐based continuity predicted lower drug addiction severity (ASI‐drug: −0.02). Two PCAS scales (trust and whole‐person knowledge of the patient) were associated with lower likelihood of subsequent substance use (adjusted odds ratio, [AOR]=0.76, 95 percent confidence interval [95% CI]=0.60, 0.96 and AOR=0.66, 95 percent CI=0.52, 0.85, respectively).Conclusion. Core features of PCQ, particularly those reflecting the quality of the physician–patient relationship, were associated with positive addiction outcomes. Our findings suggest that the provision of patient‐centered, comprehensive care from a primary care clinician may be an important treatment component for substance use disorders.
Hospital Competition, Managed Care, and Mortality after Hospitalization for Medical Conditions in California
Authors: Rogowski Jeannette , Jain Arvind K. , Escarce José J. 
Published: August 2006

Objective. To assess the effect of hospital competition and health maintenance organization (HMO) penetration on mortality after hospitalization for six medical conditions in California.Data Source. Linked hospital discharge and vital statistics data for short‐term general hospitals in California in the period 1994–1999. The study sample included adult patients hospitalized for one of the following conditions: acute myocardial infarction (N=227,446), hip fracture (N=129,944), stroke (N=237,248), gastrointestinal hemorrhage (GIH, N=216,443), congestive heart failure (CHF, N=355,613), and diabetes (N=154,837).Study Design. The outcome variable was 30‐day mortality. We estimated multivariate logistic regression models for each study condition with hospital competition, HMO penetration, hospital characteristics, and patient severity measures as explanatory variables.Principal Findings. Higher hospital competition was associated with lower 30‐day mortality for three to five of the six study conditions, depending on the choice of competition measure, and this finding was robust to a variety of sensitivity analyses. Higher HMO penetration was associated with lower mortality for GIH and CHF.Conclusions. Hospitals that faced more competition and hospitals in market areas with higher HMO penetration provided higher quality of care for adult patients with medical conditions in California. Studies using linked hospital discharge and vital statistics data from other states should be conducted to determine whether these findings are generalizable.
Effect of systemic administration of nicotine on healing in osseous defects. An experimental study in rabbits. Part II
Authors: Balatsouka Dimitra , Gotfredsen Klaus , Sørensen Lars , Lindh Christian H. , Berglundh Tord 
Published: August 2006

AbstractObjectives: The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of systemic administration of nicotine on bone healing in osseous defects in the tibia of rabbits.Material and methods: Sixteen female rabbits received nicotine (n=8; test group) or saline (n=8; control group) via subcutaneously placed mini‐osmotic pumps for 8 weeks. The animals underwent three surgical operations during the experimental period, and body weight was registered weekly. Blood samples were collected to determine cotinine and prostaglandin E2 levels. Bone preparations were made in the right leg of all rabbits after 4 weeks and in the left leg after 6 weeks of nicotine/placebo exposure. Thus, 2‐ and 4‐week healing groups were created for the bone defects. After 8 weeks, the animals were killed. Tissue blocks including the bone defects were prepared for histological analysis.Results: The animals in the test group lost weight, while the control group gained weight during the experiment. The prostaglandin E2 levels in plasma increased significantly following nicotine exposure in the test group. No significant differences in the percentage of vessels and bone density in the osseous defects were found between the test and the control groups after 2 and 4 weeks of healing.Conclusions: In this experiment, systemic administration of nicotine over 4 or 6 weeks, respectively, influenced body weight and systemic prostaglandin E2 levels but not the amount of blood vessels and the bone mineral density in bone defects after 2 or 4 weeks of healing.
Osteotome sinus floor elevation without grafting material: a 1‐year prospective pilot study with ITI implants
Authors: Nedir Rabah , Bischof Mark , Vazquez Lydia , Szmukler‐Moncler Serge , Bernard Jean‐Pierre 
Published: August 2006

AbstractObjective: The aim of the present pilot study was to evaluate: (1) the predictability of an osteotome sinus floor elevation procedure with ITI‐SLA implants without placing a bone grafting material, and (2) the possibility to gain bone height without filling the created space with a bone grafting material.Material and methods: Seventeen patients received 25 implants protruding in the sinus. Most implants (21/25) were 10 mm long, eight were inserted in type 2 bone, 12 in type 3 and five in type 4 bone. At implant placement, the mean residual bone height (RBH) under the maxillary sinus was 5.4±2.3 mm; it was 5.7±2.6 mm on the mesial side and 5.1±1.9 mm on the distal side. Nineteen implants had less than 6 mm of bone on at least one side and six implants had less than 6 mm on both sides. A healing period of 3–4 months was allowed before abutment tightening at 35 Ncm. The percentage of stable implants at abutment tightening and at the 1‐year control was calculated. The endo‐sinus bone gain and the crestal bone loss (CBL) at the mesial and distal sides were measured.Results: Abutments were tightened after 3.1±0.4 months. All implants but one (96%) resisted the applied 35 Ncm torque. At the 1‐year control, all implants were clinically stable and supported the definitive prosthesis. All showed endo‐sinus bone gain; the mean gain was 2.5±1.2 mm. The mean CBL was 1.2±0.7 mm. Endo‐sinus bone gain and RBH showed a strong negative correlation (r=−0.78 on the mesial side and −0.80 on the distal side). A good correlation (r=0.73) was found between implant penetration in the sinus and endo‐sinus bone gain.Conclusion: Elevation of the sinus membrane alone without addition of bone grafting material can lead to bone formation beyond the original limits of the sinus floor. Despite a limited RBH at implant placement, a healing period of 3 months was sufficient to resist a torque of 35 N cm and to lead to a predictable implant function at the 1‐year control.
Grover's disease (transient acantholytic dermatosis): relationship of acanthoiysis to acrosyringia
Authors: Antley C. M. , Carrington P. R. , Mrak R. E. , Smoller B. R. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractTransient acantholytic dermatosis is often associated with excessive sweating, fever, and bed confinement. The patho‐genesis of this disease has been postnlated to be poral occlusion of damaged eccrine intraepidermal ducts. Histological and immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies were performed on 10 biopsies from 10 patients with transient acantholytic derinatosis. Immunoreactions for carcinoembryonic antigen and cytokeratin‐7 to identify eccrine duct epithelium were performed on all 11 biopsies. In addition. 5 of the biopsies were immunoreacted for cytokeratin 8. All immunoreactions were reviewed independently by two observers to determine extent of reactivity and whether it correlated with areas of epidermal acanthoiysis. Among the 11 biopsies, 8 showed acanthoiysis not associated with eccrine duct outflow tracts. In 2 biopsies the acanthoiysis was consistently associated with acrosyringea; in one case acanthoiysis was inconsistently associated with eccrine outflow tracts. Epidermal acanthoiysis in patients with Grover's disease is associated with the outflow tracts of eccrine ducts in a subgroup of patients. Although leakage of sweat from occluded sweat ducts in acrosyringia may be the mechanism operating in a subgroup of patients with Grover's disease, this does not appear to be the subgroup of patients in whom Grover's disease develops in the setting of being bedridden and/or sweating.
Evidence for a bystander role of neutrophils in the response to systemic 5‐aminolevulinic acid‐based photodynamic therapy
Authors: De Bruijn Henriëtte S. , Sluiter Wim , Van Der Ploeg‐van den Heuvel Angélique , Sterenborg Henricus J. C. M. , Robinson Dominic J. 
Published: August 2006

Background/purpose: A significant increase in the number of circulating and tumour neutrophils immediately after therapy was observed while investigating the increase in response of tissues to aminolevulinic acid‐based photodynamic therapy (ALA‐PDT) using a twofold illumination scheme with a prolonged dark interval. The action of (tumour) neutrophils is an important therapeutic adjunct to the deposition of singlet oxygen within the treatment volume, for many photosensitizers. It is not known if those phagocytes contribute to the improved outcome of ALA‐PDT. In this study we investigated the role of neutrophils in the response to PDT using systemic ALA with and without light fractionation.Methods: Rhabdomyosarcoma, transplanted in the thigh of female WAG/Rij rats were illuminated transdermally using 633 nm light following i.v. administration of 200 mg/kg ALA. The pharmacokinetics of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) within the tumour tissue during therapy were determined to compare with that observed in other models for topical administration of ALA. PDT was performed under immunologically normal or neutropenic conditions using various illumination schemes. The number of neutrophils in tumour and in the circulation were determined as a function of time after treatment and compared with growth delay of each scheme.Results: Fluorescence spectroscopy revealed similar pharmacokinetics of PpIX to those observed during and after topical ALA‐PDT. The number of neutrophils within the illuminated tumour and in the circulation increased significantly following therapy. This increase in the number of neutrophils was associated with an increase in the efficacy of therapy: the more effective the therapy the greater the increase in tumour and blood neutrophils. Administration of anti‐granulocyte serum treatment prevented the influx of neutrophils after ALA‐PDT, but did not lead to a significant decrease in the efficacy of the PDT treatment on the growth of the tumour for any illumination scheme investigated.Conclusion: These results indicate that the magnitude of damage inflicted on the tumour by ALA‐PDT does not depend on the presence of neutrophils in the tumour or circulation and that the role of neutrophils in ALA‐PDT is much less important than in PDT using other photosensitizers. These data contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of response of tissue to systemic ALA‐PDT.
Clinicopathological analysis of osteosarcoma of jaw bones
Authors: Nissanka EH , Amaratunge EAPD , Tilakaratne WM 
Published: August 2006

Objectives:  To identify clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of osteosarcoma of the jaw bones (JOS) and to compare the data with results of similar studies. To study the effectiveness of different treatment modalities currently available for this malignancy.Subjects and methods:  Nineteen cases of JOS diagnosed from 1993 to 2003 were retrieved from the departmental archives. These were categorized into histopathological subtypes and graded according to the severity of the malignancies and the data analyzed. Fourteen cases were followed up and the success rate with different treatment modalities assessed.Results:  The mean age for JOS was 34.1 years. There were 11 mandibular lesions and eight maxillary lesions. Osteoblastic variant (53%) was the commonest histopathological subtype. High grade (grades III and IV) was more prevalent. All 14 followed up patients underwent surgical excision – five with adjuvant radiotherapy and six with adjuvant chemotherapy. Local recurrence was the commonest complication. Nine of the 14 were surviving with a survival rate of 64.2% for a median follow‐up period of 5.25 years.Conclusions:  JOS is a distinct group of lesions with a better prognosis if diagnosed and treated early. It does not show any ethnic variability. Existing histopathological typing and grading may not indicate the prognosis of JOS. Adjuvant chemotherapy is a better treatment modality than adjuvant radiotherapy.
Histomorphometry and immunohistochemical features of grade I (WHO) oral radiomucositis
Authors: Bonan PRF , Kaminagakura E , Pires FR , Vargas PA , De Almeida OP 
Published: August 2006

Aims:  The aims of this study were to describe the immunohistopathological and morphometric features of oral mucositis grade I (WHO).Material and Methods:  Ten samples of oral mucositis were biopsied and submitted to histopathological, morphometric and immunohistochemical analyses (CD68, Ki‐67 and p53). The samples were compared with the buccal mucosa of head and neck cancer patients before radiotherapy (NMCP), normal buccal mucosa (NM) and oral dysplasia (OD).Results:  Epithelial thickness, area and perimeter were decreased in oral mucositis and inflammatory components, increased when compared with NMCP. CD68 immunoreactivity, near to the epithelium, was more evident in oral mucositis than in NMCP (P = 0.01). The Ki‐67 counts were higher in oral mucositis than in NM and NMCP (P = 0.001 and P = 0.043, respectively), but without any difference with OD (P = 0.284). The p53 staining was present in all cases of mucositis and oral dysplasia, but negative in NMCP and NM.Conclusions:  Oral mucositis grade I (WHO) presented epithelial atypia and atrophy, increased inflammatory response, with relevant Ki‐67 count and positiveness for p53.
Subcutaneous administration of lactone form of simvastatin stimulates ectopic osteoinduction by rhBMP‐2
Authors: Sugiyama T , Nakagawa T , Sato C , Fujii T , Mine K , Shimizu K , Murata T , Tagawa T 
Published: August 2006

Objective:  To evaluate the effects of various 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl‐coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) on ectopic osteoinduction by recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein‐2 (rhBMP‐2) using different administration methods.Materials and methods:  Disks containing 5 μg of rhBMP‐2 and type I collagen were implanted into the calf muscles of 6‐week‐old male rats (n = 64). Either the lactone form of simvastatin (SV), open hydroxy‐acid form of simvastatin (SVA), cerivastatin (CVA), or vehicle (control) was then administered per orally (PO group) or subcutaneously (SC group) for 20 days. The disks were removed on day 21 after implantation, and ectopic induced bone formation was evaluated by radiographic, histologic, and biochemical analysis.Results:  Both the projected and radiopaque area on X‐ray film, and the calcium content of the SV group in the SC group (SV–SC group) were significantly greater than those in the other SC and PO groups. Alkaline phosphatase activity and tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase activity in the SV–SC group were significantly lower than those in the other SC and PO groups. Histologic examination revealed an increase of ectopic induced bone volume in the SV–SC group.Conclusion:  Subcutaneous administration of SV stimulates ectopic osteoinduction by rhBMP‐2 through reduction of bone turnover.