bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparative clinical study of canine and feline total blood cell count results with seven in‐clinic and two commercial laboratory hematology analyzers
Authors: Becker Martina , Moritz Andreas , Giger Urs 
Published: November 2008

Background: A CBC is an integral part of the assessment of health and disease in companion animals. While in the past newer technologies for CBC analysis were limited to large clinical pathology laboratories, several smaller and affordable automated hematology analyzers have been developed for in‐clinic use.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare CBC results generated by 7 in‐clinic laser‐ and impedance‐based hematology instruments and 2 commercial laboratory analyzers.Methods: Over a 3‐month period, fresh EDTA‐anticoagulated blood samples from healthy and diseased dogs (n=260) and cats (n=110) were analyzed on the LaserCyte, ForCyte, MS45, Heska CBC, Scil Vet ABC, VetScan HMT, QBC Vet Autoread, CELL‐DYN 3500, and ADVIA 120 analyzers. Results were compared by regression correlation (linear, Deming, Passing‐Bablok) and Bland–Altman bias plots using the ADVIA as the criterion standard for all analytes except HCT, which was compared with manual PCV. Precision, linearity, and carryover also were evaluated.Results: For most analytes, the in‐clinic analyzers and the CELL‐DYN performed similarly and correlated well with the ADVIA. The biases ranged from −0.6 to 2.4 × 109/L for WBC count, 0 to 0.9 × 1012/L for RBC count, −1.5 to 0.7 g/dL for hemoglobin concentration, −4.3 to 8.3 fL for MCV, and −69.3 to 77.2 × 109/L for platelet count. Compared with PCV, the HCT on most analyzers had a bias from 0.1% to 7.2%. Canine reticulocyte counts on the LaserCyte and ForCyte correlated but had a negative bias compared with those on the ADVIA. Precision, linearity, and carryover results were excellent for most analyzers.Conclusions: Total WBC and RBC counts were acceptable on all in‐clinic hematology instruments studied, with limitations for some RBC parameters and platelet counts. Together with evaluation of a blood film, these in‐clinic instruments can provide useful information on canine and feline patients in veterinary practices.
Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization Confirms Clearance of VisibleHelicobacterspp. Associated with Gastritis in Dogs and Cats
Authors: Jergens A.E. , Pressel M. , Crandell J. , Morrison J.A. , Sorden S.D. , Haynes J. , Craven M. , Baumgart M. , Simpson K.W. 
Published: November 2008

Background:The results of studies examining the role ofHelicobacterspp. in the pathogenesis of canine and feline gastritis are inconclusive. Furthermore, data evaluating the effectiveness of medical therapy for eradication ofHelicobacterinfection are limited.Aim:To detectHelicobacterspp. in mucosal biopsies of dogs and cats diagnosed with gastritis, with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).Animals:Three dogs and 2 cats with signs of chronic gastrointestinal disease.Methods:Dogs and cats infected withHelicobacterspp. were treated with triple antimicrobial therapy and fed an elimination diet for 21 days.Helicobacterspp. status in endoscopic (3 dogs, 1 cat) or surgical biopsies (1 cat) of gastric mucosa was compared pre‐ and posttreatment in each animal by histology, FISH analysis, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Results:Gastritis of varying severity with intraglandular spiral bacteria was observed in all animals. Pretreatment diagnostic tests confirmed the presence of mucosalHelicobacterspp. in all animals by FISH and histopathology and in 4/5 animals by PCR. Rapid resolution of vomiting episodes was observed in all animals. Gastric biopsies performed after triple therapy revealed clearance of visibleHelicobacterspp. by histopathology and negative FISH analysis, as well as PCR in all animals.Conclusions and Clinical Importance:Application of FISH to routine biopsy specimens enabled rapid and specific identification ofHelicobacterspp. within the gastric mucosa of dogs and cats. Although medical therapy was useful in resolution of clinical signs and clearance of visibleHelicobacterspp. in gastric biopsies, gastric inflammation persisted.
Gingival Hyperplasia Associated with the Administration of Amlodipine to Dogs with Degenerative Valvular Disease (2004–2008)
Authors: Thomason J.D. , Fallaw T.L. , Carmichael K.P. , Radlinsky M.A. , Calvert C.A. 
Published: November 2008

Background:Calcium channel blocking drugs, usually nifedipine and less often amlodipine, have been reported to cause gingival hyperplasia (GH) in humans.Hypothesis:Amlodipine, a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocking drug, can cause GH when administered chronically to older small dogs with degenerative valvular disease.Animals Studied:From January 2004 to May 2008, 82 client‐owned dogs with degenerative valvular disease and left atrial dilatation were treated with amlodipine in combination with spironolactone and enalapril and followed for >6 months.Methods:Retrospective study. A chronological observation of GH in 2 dogs treated with amlodipine in 2004 and 2006 prompted the study. Patient histories and medical records of each dog treated with amlodipine for degenerative valvular disease from January 2004 to May 2008 were reviewed.Results:GH was observed by clients and the authors in 7 of 82 (8.5%) dogs. Histologic confirmation of the diagnosis was made in 2 dogs. The minimum duration of treatment before diagnosis of GH was 5 months. GH began to resolve within 2 weeks of discontinuing amlodipine and resolution was complete within 6 months. Amlodipine administration was reinstituted in 1 dog in which GH had resolved, and GH reoccurred within 4 months.Conclusion and Clinical Importance:Long‐term administration of amlodipine to dogs with degenerative valvular disease may cause GH in a small percentage of patients. GH resolves quickly after withdrawal of amlodipine treatment.
Use of Auscultation and Doppler Echocardiography in Boxer Puppies to Predict Development of Subaortic or Pulmonary Stenosis
Authors: Jenni S. , Gardelle O. , Zini E. , Glaus T.M. 
Published: November 2008

Background:Boxers are predisposed to subaortic and pulmonic stenosis (SAS, PS). Screening of puppies may be useful in estimating the risk of their developing a defect that potentially compromises life expectancy or exercise tolerance.Hypothesis:Presence of SAS or PS in adult Boxers can be predicted by auscultation and Doppler echocardiography at 9–10 weeks of age.Animals:Eighty‐five Boxer puppies examined at 9–10 weeks of age and at 12 months of age.Methods:Prospective, longitudinal observational study. Auscultation by stethoscope and continuous wave‐Doppler echocardiography for peak velocities (Vmax) in the aorta (Ao) and pulmonary artery (PA).Results:Intensity of heart murmurs in puppies correlated withVmaxAo andVmaxPA in adults.VmaxAo andVmaxPA in puppies correlated withVmaxAo andVmaxPA in adults, respectively. From puppy to adult,VmaxAo increased andVmaxPA remained unchanged. The negative predictive value for absent or only a soft (≤II/VI) murmur in puppies being associated withVmaxAo and PA ≤ 2.4 m/s as an adult was 90% and ≤3.5 m/s 100%. The negative predictive value of aVmax≤ 2.4 m/s as a puppy still being ≤2.4 m/s as an adult was 94% for Ao and 96% for PA, and of aVmax≤ 3.5 m/s, 99% for Ao and 100% for PA.Conclusions and Clinical Importance:Even thoughVmaxAo increases during growth in Boxer puppies, indicating relative narrowing of the aorta, puppies withVmaxAo ≤ 2.4 m/s do not usually progress to clinically have relevant SAS at 12 months of age.
Primary Hepatitis in Dogs: A Retrospective Review (2002–2006)
Authors: Poldervaart J.H. , Favier R.P. , Penning L.C. , Van Den Ingh T.S.G.A.M. , Rothuizen J. 
Published: November 2008

Background: Little is known about etiology, disease progression, treatment outcome, survival time, and factors affecting prognosis in dogs with primary hepatitis (PH).Objectives: To review retrospectively different forms of hepatitis in a referral population, by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Standardization criteria.Animals: One‐hundred and one dogs examined for histologically confirmed PH between 2002 and 2006. Dogs with nonspecific reactive hepatitis were excluded.Methods: Retrospective study. Medical records were reviewed for prevalence, signalment, clinical and clinicopathologic manifestation, outcome, survival time, and prognostic factors for shortened survival.Results: PH occurred in 0.5% of dogs in this referral population. Acute (AH) and chronic hepatitis (CH) were diagnosed in 21 and 67 dogs, respectively. Progression from AH to CH occurred in 5/12 of the repeatedly sampled dogs. CH was idiopathic in 43 (64%) dogs, and was associated with copper accumulation in 24 (36%) dogs. Median survival time was longer in dogs with AH than in dogs with CH (either idiopathic or copper associated), and dogs with lobular dissecting hepatitis had the shortest survival time. Prognostic factors predicting shortened survival were associated with decompensated liver function and cirrhosis at initial examination.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The majority of PH in dogs is CH. Previous studies appear to have underestimated the etiologic role of copper in both AH and CH. Prognosis is reduced in dogs with hepatic cirrhosis or cirrhosis‐related clinical findings. Further research into etiology and treatment effectiveness in all PH forms is needed.
Thyroid Function in Anhidrotic Horses
Authors: Breuhaus B.A. 
Published: November 2008

Background:This study was performed to determine whether anhidrotic horses have altered thyroid function compared with horses that sweat normally.Hypothesis:Anhidrotic horses have normal thyroid function.Animals:Ten client‐owned horses with clinical signs of anhidrosis were paired with 10 horses living in the same environment that had normal sweat production.Methods:Horses were diagnosed as having normal sweat production or being anhidrotic based on responses to intradermal injections of terbutaline and physiologic responses to lunging exercise. Control horses were selected from the same environment and matched as closely as possible to anhidrotic horses in terms of age, sex, breed, and athletic condition. Thyrotropin‐releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation tests were performed in both horses at the same time, once in the summer or fall, and once again in winter.Results:Anhidrotic horses produced less sweat in response to intradermal injections of terbutaline and exercise than did control horses. They also had greater increases in body temperature and respiratory rate in response to exercise. Resting concentrations of thyroid hormones and thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH) were not different between anhidrotic and control horses. Thyroid hormone responses to TRH also were not different between the 2 groups of horses. However, anhidrotic horses had a significantly different TSH response to TRH compared with control horses, particularly in the winter.Conclusions and Clinical Importance:The biologic relevance of the altered TSH response to TRH in anhidrotic horses is uncertain, considering that TSH concentrations remained within previously reported normal ranges and thyroid hormone responses were not different between anhidrotic and control horses.
Australia and the DPRK: A Sixty‐Year Relationship
Authors: Petrov Leonid A. 
Published: November 2008

The record of relations between Australia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is one of the oddest and most checkered in diplomatic history. A short period of recognition and cultural cooperation was followed by the resurgent nuclear crisis and the drug‐smuggling ship incident, which proved to be hard tests for this shaky relationship. The closure of the DPRK embassy to Australia in January 2008 once again left the public confused and the pundits guessing about the true reasons behind this quiet démarche. This paper examines the major ups and downs in the history of Australia–DPRK bilateral relations and offers some clues as to what might have been wrong in Australian policy and attitudes toward the isolated communist nation. Australian involvement in the US‐led Proliferation Security Initiative and the ban on the supply of “luxury goods” to North Korea will be discussed. Interviews with serving and veteran diplomats, declassified Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade archival material and international media reports provided the basis for this research.
Explaining the Functional Expansion of a Regional Organization: The Case of Security Cooperation within APEC*
Authors: Yu Hyun Seok 
Published: November 2008

This study is an attempt to explain the functional expansion of Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to include the security issue. The hegemonic stability version of realist theory that emphasizes the role of the hegemon in the emergence and change of international institutions seems to provide a plausible explanation. The fundamental limitation of the power‐based explanation to the transformation of APEC is that it tends to treat the hegemon's intention and outcome as the same and does not pay attention to the process in which the hegemon's intentions come to fruition. It is obvious that the intention of the hegemon is not in itself sufficient to produce the desired outcome. Thus, the power‐based explanation leaves the very important process of transformation unexplained. This study focuses on the process in which other countries accept the agenda of the USA. Two ideational factors (connecting security and trade and the human security concept) played roles and the USA has been deeply involved in inventing and distributing these ideas. The USA has persuaded other member countries that security and economic issues are inseparable. Building up a logical connection between security and trade in effect contributed to a new way of understanding anti‐terrorism issues by other member states. The introduction of the human security concept also contributed to the acceptance of security cooperation within APEC by member countries. Human security was much more easily accepted, even by skeptic members, than counter‐terrorism because human security is less controversial and seems to be more concerned with the public good. This paper does not deny the role of the hegemon in the transformation of the regional organization. Instead, it wants to analyze the process in which the hegemon's intention is realized. In this process the abilities of the hegemon such as diplomatic practice, norm creation, and the ability to provide alternative ideas play an important role.
A panel study of air pollution in subjects with heart failure: negative results in treated patients
Authors: Barclay J L , Miller B G , Dick S , Dennekamp M , Ford I , Hillis G S , Ayres J G , Seaton A 
Published: November 2008

Objectives:To investigate preclinical adverse effects of ambient particulate air pollution and nitrogen oxides in patients with heart failure.Methods:A cohort of 132 non-smoking patients living in Aberdeen, Scotland, with stable chronic heart failure were enrolled in a repeated-measures panel study. Patients with atrial fibrillation or pacemakers were excluded. Participants were studied for 3 days every 2 months for up to 1 year with monitoring of pollutant exposure and concurrent measurements of pathophysiological responses. Measurements included daily area concentration of particulate matter with a median aerodynamic diameter of <10 micrometres (PM10), particle number concentration (PNC) and nitrogen oxides; daily estimated personal concentration of particulate matter with a median aerodynamic diameter of <2.5 micrometres (PM2.5) and PNC exposures; and 3-day cumulative personal nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Concurrent meteorological data were recorded. Blood was taken at the end of each 3-day block for assays of markers of endothelial activation, inflammation and coagulation. Cardiac rhythm was monitored by ambulatory Holter monitor during the final 24 h of each block.Results:The average 24 h background ambient PM10ranged from 7.4 to 68 μg.m−3and PNC from 454 to 11 283 particles.cm−3. No associations were demonstrated between the incidence of arrhythmias, heart rate variability or haematological/biochemical measures and any variations in pollutant exposures at any lags.Conclusion:Assuming that low-level pollution affects the parameters measured, these findings may suggest a beneficial effect of modern cardioprotective therapy, which may modify responses to external risk factors. Widespread use of such drugs in susceptible populations may in future reduce the adverse effects of air pollution on the heart.
Birth weight and fetal growth in infants born to female hairdressers and their sisters
Authors: Axmon A , Rylander L 
Published: November 2008

Objectives:To investigate birth weight and fetal growth in female hairdressers, while controlling for intergenerational effects and effects related to childhood exposures.Methods:A cohort of women who had attended vocational schools for hairdressers were compared to their sisters with respect to birth weight and fetal growth (measured as small for gestational age (SGA) or large for gestational age (LGA), respectively) in their infants. In total, 6223 infants born to 3137 hairdressers and 8388 infants born to 3952 hairdressers’ sisters were studied.Results:Among the infants born to the hairdressers’ sisters, the distribution of birth weights were wider than that among the infants born to the hairdressers. This was also reflected in that hairdresser cohort affiliation tended to be protective against both SGA (odds ratio 0.80; 95% confidence interval 0.49 to 1.31) and LGA (0.77; 0.54 to 1.09). For LGA, this effect was even more pronounced among women who had actually worked as hairdressers during at least one pregnancy (0.60; 0.39 to 0.92). The infants born to these women also had a significantly lower mean birth weight (3387 g vs 3419 g; p = 0.033).Conclusions:The results from the present study suggest that infants born to hairdressers have a decreased risk of being LGA. This is most likely not caused by a shift in birth weight distribution or abnormal glucose metabolism.
The effects of work-related and individual factors on the Work Ability Index: a systematic review
Authors: van den Berg T I J , Elders L A M , de Zwart B C H , Burdorf A 
Published: November 2008

This paper systematically reviews the scientific literature on the effects of individual and work-related factors on the Work Ability Index (WAI)Studies on work ability published from 1985 to 2006 were identified through a structured search in PubMed, and Web of Science. Studies were included if the WAI was used as measure of work ability and if quantitative information was presented on determinants of work ability.In total, 20 studies were included with 14 cross-sectional studies and six longitudinal studies. Factors associated with poor work ability, as defined by WAI, were lack of leisure-time vigorous physical activity, poor musculoskeletal capacity, older age, obesity, high mental work demands, lack of autonomy, poor physical work environment, and high physical work load.The WAI is associated with individual characteristics, lifestyle, demands at work, and physical condition. This multifactorial nature of work ability should be taken into account in health promotion programmes aimed at maintaining and promoting the participation of the labour force and improvement of the performance at work.
Degreasing and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma: Table 1
Authors: Purdue M P , Severson R K , Colt J S , Stewart P , De Roos A J , Cerhan J R , Cozen W , Davis S , Hartge P , Schenk M , Blair A 
Published: November 2008

Objective:To investigate the relationship between selected solvent-related workplace tasks (degreasing, painting, gluing, stripping paint, staining) and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).Methods:We analysed occupational data from a large population-based case-control study of NHL conducted in the USA. For participants reporting occupations with possible exposure to organic solvents, job-specific interview modules were administered to elicit in-depth information on solvent-related workplace tasks and other exposure-related factors (225 cases, 189 controls). Unconditional logistic regression models were fit to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CI for average frequency, maximal frequency and cumulative number of hours having performed each task. Individuals with jobs rated as unexposed to organic solvents in the workplace (180 cases, 213 controls) were used as a reference group.Results:We observed an increased risk of NHL among subjects in the highest category of maximal degreasing frequency (>520 h/year: OR 2.1, 95% CI 0.9 to 4.9, trend test p = 0.02). We found similar associations for the highest levels of average frequency and, among men, cumulative number of hours. Other solvent-related tasks were not associated with NHL.Conclusion:Findings from this case-control analysis of solvent-related tasks suggest that frequent degreasing work may be associated with an elevated risk of NHL.
The effect of pain on sickness absence among middle-aged municipal employees
Authors: Saastamoinen P , Laaksonen M , Lahelma E , Leino-Arjas P 
Published: November 2008

Objectives:To study the effects of pain on sickness absence, taking into account physical and psychosocial work load and socio-economic position.Methods:Data consisted of City of Helsinki personnel register data on sickness absence and a cross-sectional questionnaire survey which was carried out among employees of the City of Helsinki who reached the age of 40, 45, 50, 55 or 60 years during the years 2000–2002 (n = 8960, response rate 67%). Data sets were combined for those who gave permission for such linkage (78%). The main statistical method was negative binomial regression analysis.Results:The burden of pain on sickness absence was dependent on the duration of absence: the longer the duration, the higher the burden. Self-certified absence was equally predicted by acute and chronic pain, but medically certified absence was more clearly predicted by chronic pain. Adjustments for a range of work load factors and socio-economic position showed that pain was a relatively independent determinant of subsequent sickness absence, but in particular physical work load and socio-economic position explained a small proportion of the association. Overall, pain accounted for 13% of self-certified absence among women and 8% among men. Corresponding figures were 23% and 25% for medically certified 4–14-day sickness absence and 37% and 30% for absence of over 2 weeks.Conclusions:The burden of pain on medically certified sickness absence is considerable. Prevention of pain problems is vital for reducing sickness absence rates.