bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of a toxicity-adjusted topotecan therapy in recurrent small cell lung cancer
Authors: Huber R. M. , Reck M. , Gosse H. , von Pawel J. , Mezger J. , Saal J. G. , Kleinschmidt R. , Steppert C. , Steppling H. 
Published: February 2006

The present prospective multicentre trial investigated whether topotecan, given at a starting dose of 1.25 mg·m-2with individual dose adjustment, can improve safety in patients with relapsed/refractory small cell lung cancer without loss of efficacy.Patients received topotecan intravenously on days 1–5, every 21 days, for up to six courses. In the absence of relevant haematotoxicities, topotecan was increased to 1.5 mg·m-2and reduced to 1.0 mg·m-2in case of severe haematotoxicities.Of 170 recruited patients, 73.2% had stage IV disease and 63.4% had platinum-containing pre-treatment. Patients received a total of 521 courses. In 72.6% of those courses, the dose remained at 1.25 mg·m-2; in 9.1% it was reduced and in 18.3% it increased. Overall response rate was 14.1% including one complete response; 28.8% had stable disease. Median duration of response was 13.6 weeks and median survival was 23.4 weeks. Clinical benefit was obvious for sensitive as well as for refractory patients. Haematotoxicity of grade 3 or 4 was clearly lower compared with the standard dose of 1.5 mg·m-2.In conclusion, topotecan at a dose of 1.25 mg·m-2appears to be as effective as the dose of 1.5 mg·m-2, but with reduced toxicity. Since patients with recurrent small cell lung cancer have a poor prognosis, they benefit especially from good tolerability.
The effects of farming and birth order on asthma and allergies
Authors: Zekveld C. , Bibakis I. , Bibaki-Liakou V. , Pedioti A. , Dimitroulis I. , Harris J. , Newman Taylor A. J. , Cullinan P. 
Published: February 2006

A farm childhood is apparently protective in allergic disease, but studies of this issue in Europe have been confined to particular types of farming practice. This study addressed whether or not this effect was generalisable.A cross-sectional survey of 800 schoolchildren living in rural Crete was undertaken. Standard questions relating to allergic disease were included and atopy was measured through skin-prick tests involving 10 local aeroallergens.The prevalence of atopy was 24%, but associated symptoms were far less common. At all ages, children from farming families had more frequent contact with farm animals (mainly goats), but were no less likely to be atopic. Atopy and seasonal rhinitis were significantly and independently more common among first-born children.This community has an intermediate prevalence of atopy but a very low frequency of allergic disease; farming does not seem to be an important determinant, possibly because it is of the wrong sort. Thus farming effects may be specific to local practices. First-born children in this community also appear to be at increased risk of allergic disease.
Evaluation of the user-friendliness of 11 home mechanical ventilators
Authors: Gonzalez-Bermejo J. , Laplanche V. , Husseini F. E. , Duguet A. , Derenne J-P. , Similowski T. 
Published: February 2006

The home ventilator market has grown in size and complexity. The aim of this study was to determine if common home ventilators are user-friendly for trained intensive care unit (ICU) physicians.Eleven ventilator models were tested by 13 ICU physicians without practical experience in home mechanical ventilation. Six tests were defined (start-up, unlocking, mode and setting recognition, mode change, pressure setting and alarm). For each test, the physicians were timed and their performance compared with a reference time established by a technician. The physicians also had to rate their global assessment of each machine on a visual analogue scale.The start-up test was the only test for which there was no significant difference between the physicians and the technician, except for two ventilators. The physicians were slower than the technician to unlock the ventilator and change the ventilatory mode, with some complete failures during these tests and heterogeneous results between physicians and between ventilators. Mistakes occurred in close to 50% of cases during the ventilatory mode and settings recognition test. The mean time for the most rapid of the physicians for all the tests was 58±53 s, compared with 15±9 s for the technician.In conclusion, trained intensive care unit physicians perform poorly when confronted with home mechanical ventilators without specific prior training. Therefore, it is hypothesised that the user-friendliness of home ventilators for other categories of users might be questionable.
Avoiding the effect of BCG vaccination in detectingMycobacterium tuberculosisinfection with a blood test
Authors: Diel R. , Ernst M. , Döscher G. , Visuri-Karbe L. , Greinert U. , Niemann S. , Nienhaus A. , Lange C. 
Published: February 2006

Bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination can confound tuberculin skin test (TST) reactions in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI).The TST was compared with aMycobacterium tuberculosis(MTB)-specific enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay during an outbreak of MTB infection at a police academy in Germany.Participants were grouped according to their risk of LTBI in close (n = 36) or occasional (n = 333) contacts to the index case. For the TST, the positive response rate was 53% (19 out of 36) among close and 16% (52 out of 333) among occasional contacts. In total, 56 TST-positive contacts (56 out of 71 = 78.9%) and 27 TST-negative controls (27 out of 298 = 9.1%) underwent ELISPOT testing. The odds ratio (OR) of a positive test result across the two groups was 29.2 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.5–245.0) for the ELISPOT and 19.7 (95% CI 2.0–190.2) for the TST with a 5 mm cut-off. Of 369 contacts, 158 (42.8%) had previously received BCG vaccination. The overall agreement between the TST and the ELISPOT was low, and positive TST reactions were confounded by BCG vaccination (OR 4.8 (95% CI 1.3–18.0)). In contrast, use of a 10-mm induration cut-off for the TST among occasional contacts showed strong agreement between TST and ELISPOT in nonvaccinated persons.In bacille Calmette–Guérin-vaccinated individuals, theMycobacterium tuberculosis-specific enzyme-linked immunospot assay is a better indicator for the risk of latent tuberculosis infection than the tuberculin skin test.
Quality of Life in the Intergroup Exemestane Study: A Randomized Trial of Exemestane Versus Continued Tamoxifen After 2 to 3 Years of Tamoxifen in Postmenopausal Women With Primary Breast Cancer
Authors: Fallowfield Lesley J. , Bliss Judith M. , Porter Lucy S. , Price Miranda H. , Snowdon Claire F. , Jones Stephen E. , Coombes R. Charles , Hall Emma 
Published: February 2006

Purpose To compare and describe the quality of life (QOL) of women allocated to tamoxifen or exemestane within the Intergroup Exemestane Study (IES). Patients and Methods Postmenopausal women with primary breast cancer who were disease free after 2 to 3 years were randomly assigned to switch from tamoxifen to exemestane or continue with tamoxifen until 5 years of treatment were completed. A subset of IES centers participated in a QOL substudy. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Breast (FACT-B) and endocrine subscale (ES) were administered before random assignment and at predefined follow-up times. The primary end point was the FACT-B composite Trial Outcome Index (TOI). Secondary end points included total FACT-B+ES score, total ES score, and severity of individual endocrine symptoms. This analysis reports QOL up to 24 months. Results Five hundred eighty-two patients from eight countries were enrolled onto the substudy. Completion and return of questionnaires was excellent, with 85% available for analysis. QOL was generally good and stable over 2 years, with no clinically meaningful differences found between groups in TOI or ES. Prevalence of severe endocrine symptoms at trial entry was high for vasomotor complaints and sexual problems, which persisted for both groups during the study. No significant differences between groups were seen for any endocrine symptoms apart from vaginal discharge, which was more pronounced with tamoxifen (P < .001). Conclusion The switch from tamoxifen to exemestane neither increased nor decreased endocrine symptoms present after 2 to 3 years of tamoxifen; the switch also did not initiate significant reports of new symptoms. Results indicate that the clinical benefits of exemestane over tamoxifen are achieved without significant detrimental effect on QOL.
Osteonecrosis of the Jaw in Multiple Myeloma Patients: Clinical Features and Risk Factors
Authors: Badros Ashraf , Weikel Dianna , Salama Andrew , Goloubeva Olga , Schneider Abraham , Rapoport Aaron , Fenton Robert , Gahres Natalie , Sausville Edward , Ord Robert , Meiller Timothy 
Published: February 2006

Purpose To describe the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features and risk factors for osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Patients and Methods A retrospective review of 90 MM patients who had dental assessments, including 22 patients with ONJ. There were 62 men; the median age was 61 years in ONJ patients and 58 years among the rest. Prior MM therapy included thalidomide (n = 67) and stem-cell transplantation (n = 72). Bisphosphonate therapy included zoledronate (n = 34) or pamidronate (n = 17) and pamidronate followed by zoledronate (n = 33). Twenty-seven patients had recent dental extraction, including 12 patients in the ONJ group. Median time from MM diagnosis to ONJ was 8.4 years for the whole group. Results Patients usually presented with pain. ONJ occurred posterior to the cuspids (n = 20) mostly in the mandible. Debridement and sequestrectomy with primary closure were performed in 14 patients; of these, four patients had major infections and four patients had recurrent ONJ. Bone histology revealed necrosis and osteomyelitis. Microbiology showed actinomycetes (n = 7) and mixed bacteria (n = 9). More than a third of ONJ patients also suffered from long bone fractures (n = 4) and/or avascular necrosis of the hip (n = 4). The variables predictive of developing ONJ were dental extraction (P = .009), treatment with pamidronate/zoledronate (P = .009), longer follow-up time (P = .03), and older age at diagnosis of MM (P = .006). Conclusion ONJ appears to be time-dependent with higher risk after long-term use of bisphosphonates in older MM patients often after dental extractions. No satisfactory therapy is currently available. Trials addressing the benefits/risks of continuing bisphosphonate therapy are needed.
Preparation of Single-crystalline Selenium Nanowires in the Presence of Ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonic Acid
Authors: Lei Yun , Yao Lide , He Yuping , Wang Shiquan , Yu Richeng , Zou Bingsuo 
Published: February 2006

Abstract
Selenium nanowires have been synthesized by using 2-mercaptoethylamine-depleted CdSe nanoparticles as selenium source and ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonic acid as chelating agent. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and UV–vis spectrophotometry. The result shows that the selenium nanowires are single crystals grown along the [001] direction of hexagonal lattice. The optical measurement shows a blue shift relative to the bulk hexagonal selenium, and the optical bandedge might be attributed to the interchain interactions within a hexagonal selenium crystal.
A kinetic energy backscatter algorithm for use in ensemble prediction systems
Authors: Shutts Glenn 
Published: February 2006

AbstractPhysical justification is provided for the use of kinetic energy backscatter in forecast models, particularly in respect of ensemble prediction systems. The rate of energy backscatter to scales near the truncation limit is controlled by a total energy dissipation function involving contributions from numerical diffusion, mountain drag and deep convection. A cellular automaton is used to generate evolving patterns that, together with the dissipation function, define a stream‐function forcing field. Each member of the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ensemble forecast system is perturbed by a different realization of this backscatter forcing, and the resulting increase in ensemble spread, if not excessive, has a beneficial impact on probabilistic measures of forecast skill. The input of small‐scale kinetic energy by the backscatter algorithm also helps to correct a known problem with the energy spectrum in the ECMWF model—the absence of the observed −5/3 spectral slope in the mesoscales. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society.
Climate change in tropical regions from high‐resolution time‐slice AGCM experiments
Authors: Coppola E. , Giorgi F. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractIn this study we discuss present‐day climate conditions (1961–90) and climate change projections (2071–2100) for four tropical regions as produced with a high‐resolution time‐slice AGCM experiment. We use the National Aeronautics and Space Agency/National Center for Atmospheric Research finite‐volume element global model FVGCM with a horizontal grid interval of 1° latitude and 1.25° longitude. The regions considered are South Asia, tropical South America, Sahel/equatorial Africa, and southern equatorial Africa, and the projections refer to the IPCC A2 emission scenario forcing. We focus on the rainy seasons of the four regions.In all regions the FVGCM reproduces the rainy season climatologies reasonably well, in both their mean and their interannual variability characteristics. The greatest discrepancies with observations occur over South Asia, where the monsoon precipitation does not penetrate far enough inland. The climate change scenarios can be summarized as follows: (i) an intensification of monsoon precipitation over South Asia; (ii) a decrease in precipitation over the Amazon basin; (iii) a northward shift of the monsoon precipitation band over the Sahel and equatorial Africa; and (iv) a drying over southern equatorial Africa. In most cases these changes are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Statistically significant warming is found over all regions, varying from 2 to 5 K across regions.A robust result of our analysis is a consistent increase in interannual variability for the scenario simulations over all the regions examined and for both precipitation and temperature. Because of the experiment design this increase is not due to an increase in variability of sea surface temperature, but is rather associated either with land–atmosphere feedbacks or with a general intensification of the global hydrological cycle under warmer conditions. We also compare our change projections with previous results from coupled global models. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society.
The dynamics of heat lows in simple background flows
Authors: Spengler T. , Reeder M. J. , Smith R. K. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractA three‐dimensional numerical model is used to study the evolution of an idealized heat low that develops over an isolated level land mass surrounded by sea. Calculations are carried out without a background flow and for simple background flows. In all cases, the flow shows a significant diurnal variation in which the sea‐breeze circulations are the prominent feature during the daytime and the nocturnal low‐level jet is the prominent feature at night. If the land area is large enough so that the sea breezes do not cover it entirely during the diurnal cycle, strong convergence associated with the low‐level jet leads to the formation of intense, but shallow, cold fronts along the inland boundaries of sea‐breeze air. These fronts decay rapidly after sunrise when surface heating leads to renewed vertical mixing, which destroys the low‐level stable layer.The presence of a uniform easterly flow leads to the formation of a west‐coast trough, similar to the situation commonly observed over Western Australia. The trough broadens during the day due to the heating of the land, while at night it sharpens and again frontogenesis occurs at low levels near the leading edge of the sea breezes to form shallow cold fronts. In these calculations there is an east–west asymmetry in the sea‐breeze circulations: the cool air behind the west‐coast sea breeze is shallower than that behind the east‐coast sea breeze, but the vertical circulation associated with the west‐coast sea breeze is deeper. The east‐coast sea‐breeze front penetrates further inland, but is more diffuse and is recognizable more by its signature in the relative vorticity than by that in the horizontal temperature gradient.The presence of a horizontal shear‐flow leads to the deformation of the heat trough, a process that appears to play an important role in the formation of cold fronts over central Australia. Again the calculations show the formation of shallow fronts over the land during the night, which frontolyse rapidly after sunrise. Despite the idealized nature of the calculations, the associated patterns of low‐level vorticity, divergence and horizontal temperature gradient that develop overnight show remarkable similarity to those observed over central Australia. Indeed, the calculations help to interpret the observations of nocturnal frontogenesis over this region. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society.
Interaction between concentric eye‐walls in super typhoon Winnie (1997)
Authors: Zhang Qing‐hong , Kuo Ying‐hwa , Chen Shou‐jun 
Published: February 2006

AbstractSuper typhoon Winnie had one of the largest eye‐walls ever recorded in the western Pacific Ocean. The diameter of the outer eye‐wall reached 370 km when Winnie passed through Okinawa on 16 August 1997. Observations revealed a 24‐hour intensity cycle of concentric eye‐walls after the large eye‐wall formed. Using the Penn State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research mesoscale model MM5 with 3 km grid horizontal spacing on the finest nested mesh, Winnie was successfully simulated in terms of concentric eye‐walls, spiral rain bands in the moat and the cycle of concentric eye‐walls.The life cycle of concentric eye‐walls is found to be associated with vortex Rossby wave propagation in the moat. The propagation properties of the PV (rainfall) spiral bands are found to be consistent with predictions using vortex Rossby theory. The initial inward vorticity gradient at the inner edge of the outer eye‐wall and outward vorticity gradient at the outer edge of the inner eye‐wall support inward and outward PV (rainfall) spiral bands, respectively, in the moat at the lower level. At the middle level, only an outward vorticity gradient exists at the outer edge of the inner eye‐wall, which permits the development of an outward PV band in the moat at initial time. The inward spiral PV (rain) band moves faster than the outward PV (rain) band and both of them propagate cyclonically. At 09 h, when the fast inward PV band catches up to the slow outward PV band, the slow outward rain band is replaced by the fast inward rain band, resulting in a well‐developed and independent inner eye‐wall at 14 h. After the vorticity gradient near the inner eye‐wall becomes stronger than that near the outer eye‐wall at lower level, the whole convective core is attracted to the outer eye‐wall. It finally merges with it at 37 h, leaving a weak vortex in the centre. The concentric eye‐walls of Winnie interact with each other through vortex Rossby waves. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society.
Validation of precipitable water from ECMWF model analyses with GPS and radiosonde data during the MAP SOP
Authors: Bock Olivier , Keil Christian , Richard Evelyne , Flamant Cyrille , Bouin Marie‐noelle 
Published: February 2006

AbstractPrecipitable water vapour contents (PWCs) from European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analyses have been compared with observations from 21 ground‐based Global Positioning System receiving stations (GPS) and 14 radiosonde stations (RS), covering central Europe, for the period of the Mesoscale Alpine Programme experiment special observing period (MAP SOP). Two model analyses are considered: one using only conventional data, serving as a control assimilation experiment, and one including additionally most of the non‐operational MAP data. Overall, a dry bias of about −1 kg m−2 (−5.5% of total PWC), with a standard deviation of ∼2.6 kg m−2 (13% of total PWC), is diagnosed in both model analyses with respect to GPS. The bias at individual sites is quite variable: from −4 to ∼0 kg m−2. The largest differences are observed at stations located in mountainous areas and/or near the sea, which reveal differences in representativeness. Differences between the two model analyses, and between these analyses and GPS, are investigated in terms of usage and quality of RS data. Biases in RS data are found from comparisons with both model and GPS PWCs. They are confirmed from analysis feedback statistics available at ECMWF. An overall dry bias in RS PWC of 4.5% is found, compared to GPS. The detection of RS biases from comparisons both with the model and GPS indicates that data screening during assimilation was generally effective. However, some RS bias went into the model analyses. Inspection of the time evolution of PWC from the model analyses and GPS occasionally showed differences of up to 5–10 kg m−2. These were associated with severe weather events, with variations in the amount of RS data being assimilated, and with time lags in the PWCs from the two model analyses. Such large differences contribute strongly to the overall observed standard deviations. Good confidence in GPS PWC estimates is gained through this work, even during periods of heavy rain. These results support the future assimilation of GPS data, both for operational weather prediction and for mesoscale simulation studies. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society.
Embolization treatment of recurrent varices of pelvic origin
Authors: Monedero J Leal , Ezpeleta S Zubicoa , Castro J Castro , Ortiz M Calderón , Fernández G Sellers 
Published: February 2006

Objective: To present our experience with embolization of pelvic reflux routes in patients with recurrent varices after surgery (REVAS). Method: Single patient group study of patients with previous surgical treatment for varicose veins, with REVAS in Unidad de Angiología y Cirugía Vascular, Hospital Ruber Internacional, Madrid, España. Patients presenting with REVAS with pelvic venous insufficiency (PVI) documented per transvaginal colour duplex, undergoing selective pelvic venography, were treated with embolization of insufficient gonadal and hypogastric mainstem and collateral veins. Results: In all, 215 patients (89.9%) reported relief of pelvic pain and symptoms of lower extremity venous stasis six months postembolization; total relief in 120 (50.2%) and partial relief in 95 (39.7%). Conclusions: There is high incidence of PVI in patients with REVAS. Embolization of insufficient gonadal and hypogastric mainstem and collateral vessels is associated with significant relief of clinical signs and symptoms of pelvic and lower extremity venous stasis in patients with REVAS and PVI.