bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Scintigraphic renal function after unilateral pyeloplasty in children: a systematic review
Authors: Castagnetti Marco , Novara Giacomo , Beniamin Francesco , Vezzú Beatrice , Rigamonti Waifro , Artibani Walter 
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVETo systematically review previous reports and thus determine the functional outcome after pyeloplasty in children with unilateral hydronephrosis due to pelvi‐ureteric junction obstruction, and the possible variables that could affect it.METHODSWe searched Medline/PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for articles in English published from 1966 to 2007, using both ‘medical subject headings’ and ‘free text’ protocols. Abstracts, full texts, and bibliographies of pertinent papers were reviewed to select studies of scintigraphic renal function before and after pyeloplasty. The postoperative change in scintigraphic renal function was assessed in relation to presentation (antenatal vs postnatal), timing of surgery (early vs delayed), age at surgery, and preoperative ultrasonography (US) and scintigraphic findings.RESULTSThirty‐six studies (2.1% of the initial search) were eventually selected for review. Studies were generally of poor scientific quality and very heterogeneous in their indications for surgery and follow‐up protocols. Postoperative function showed a wide variability. Symptomatic patients diagnosed postnatally seemed to have a greater chance of functional improvement after surgery than asymptomatic patients diagnosed antenatally. The chance of improvement seemed also to be greater in patients with moderately rather than severely impaired preoperative function. Otherwise, the improvement seemed unrelated to the age at surgery, the preoperative US findings, or the excretion pattern on renal scintigraphy. Of patients having delayed surgery >97.5% had preserved function afterward.CONCLUSIONSPatients with moderately impaired preoperative function and those diagnosed postnatally because of symptoms are those with the greatest likelihood of having a functional improvement after surgery.
Bilingual experience and executive functioning in young children
Authors: Carlson Stephanie M. , Meltzoff Andrew N. 
Published: March 2008

Abstract Advanced inhibitory control skills have been found in bilingual speakers as compared to monolingual controls (

Bialystok, 1999

). We examined whether this effect is generalized to an unstudied language group (Spanish‐English bilingual) and multiple measures of executive function by administering a battery of tasks to 50 kindergarten children drawn from three language groups: native bilinguals, monolinguals (English), and English speakers enrolled in second‐language immersion kindergarten. Despite having significantly lower verbal scores and parent education/income level, Spanish‐English bilingual children's raw scores did not differ from their peers. After statistically controlling for these factors and age, native bilingual children performed significantly better on the executive function battery than both other groups. Importantly, the relative advantage was significant for tasks that appear to call for managing conflicting attentional demands (Conflict tasks); there was no advantage on impulse‐control (Delay tasks). These results advance our understanding of both the generalizability and specificity of the compensatory effects of bilingual experience for children's cognitive development.
Atypical neural functions underlying phonological processing and silent rehearsal in children who stutter
Authors: Weber‐Fox Christine , Spruill John E. , Spencer Rebecca , Smith Anne 
Published: March 2008

AbstractPhonological processing was examined in school‐age children who stutter (CWS) by assessing their performance and recording event‐related brain potentials (ERPs) in a visual rhyming task. CWS had lower accuracy on rhyming judgments, but the cognitive processes that mediate the comparisons of the phonological representations of words, as indexed by the rhyming effect (RE) ERP, were similar for the stuttering and normally fluent groups. Thus the lower behavioral accuracy of rhyming judgments by the CWS could not be attributed to that particular stage of processing. Instead, the neural functions for processes preceding the RE, indexed by the N400 and CNV elicited by the primes and the N400 elicited by the targets, suggest atypical processing that may have resulted in less efficient, less accurate rhyming judgment for the CWS. Based on the present results, it seems likely that the neural processes related to phonological rehearsal and target word anticipation, as indexed by the CNV, are distinctive for CWS at this age. Further, it is likely that the relative contributions of the left and right hemispheres differ in CWS in the stage of processing when linguistic integration occurs, as indexed by the N400. Taken together, these results suggest that CWS may be less able to form and retain a stable neural representation of the prime onset and rime as they anticipate the target presentation, which may lead to lower rhyming judgment accuracy.
FELICITOMETRY: MEASURING THE ‘QUALITY’ IN QUALITY OF LIFE
Authors: KOWALSKI CHARLES , PENNELL STEVEN , VINOKUR AMIRAM 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTFollowing Bernheim,1 we examine aspects of ‘felicitometrics,’2 the measurement of the ‘quality’ term in Quality of Life (QOL). Bernheim argued that overall QOL is best captured as the Gestalt3 of a global self‐assessment and suggested that the Anamnestic Comparative Self Assessment (ACSA) approach, in which subjects' memories of the best and worst times of their lives are used to anchor a Visual Analog Scale (VAS), provided a serious answer to the serious question, ‘How have you been?’Bernheim compares and contrasts the ACSA to multi‐item questionnaire QOL instruments, such as the SF‐36, concluding that the ACSA has a number of advantages. His discussion assumes that the use of QOL outcomes in clinical trials is both relevant and appropriate. In the present paper, we document the reasonableness of this latter assumption,4 contribute to the characterization of the similarities and differences between multi‐item and individualized QOL instruments, and point to some other individualized instruments that may be used in clinical trial contexts. These ‘other individualized instruments’ differ from the ACSA in fundamental ways; but they are individualized in that the subject defines those areas in his/her life that are most important, and these may vary from subject‐to‐subject.
Labor Inflow Induced Wage Inequality and Public Infrastructure
Authors: Anwar Sajid 
Published: March 2008

AbstractBy making use of a simple general equilibrium model of a small open economy, the author examines the link between labor mobility and the size of wage inequality in the presence of productive public infrastructure. The paper shows that the provision of public infrastructure plays an important part in determining the size of labor inflow induced wage inequality. Specifically, it shows that, irrespective of the relative factor intensities, a small inflow of either skilled or unskilled labor does not affect the size of wage inequality if private industries derive equal benefits from public infrastructure provision. A small inflow of skilled (unskilled) labor increases (decreases) wage inequality if skilled (unskilled) labor intensive industry derives more benefits from public infrastructure.
Environmental Protection and Trade Liberalization in a Small Open Dual Economy
Authors: Daitoh Ichiroh 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe author investigates the conditions under which environmental protection and trade liberalization might improve urban unemployment and welfare in a small open Harris–Todaro model with polluting urban manufacturing. While a tariff reduction decreases manufacturing employment, a rise in the pollution tax rate may increase it when a dirty input is complementary to capital. Environmental protection and trade liberalization are consistent in reducing the level of urban unemployment because they lower it under the same condition. They are consistent in increasing GDP if a rise in the pollution tax rate decreases manufacturing employment. Otherwise, trade liberalization will mitigate a decrease in GDP because of environmental protection if the degree of urbanization is low and if rural technology exhibits weak diminishing returns to labor. This GDP effect plays a central role in welfare improvement.
THE DUTY TO FEED IN CASES OF ADVANCED DEMENTIA
Authors: Alibhai Shabbir M. H. 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTCases of dementia present us with difficult ethical dilemmas as we strive to care for those unable to care for themselves. In this article, I review the relevant Islamic texts on caring for the ill, alleviating suffering, and feeding the hungry—all in light of the modern clinical environment. I find that the ethical appropriateness of tube feeding at the end of life is not as clear‐cut as it may seem. My analysis, however, suggests that Muslim scholars ought to favor insertion of a feeding tube in patients who can no longer respond to assisted feeding. Nonetheless, several important issues require further clarification in this clinically important but neglected area of ethical inquiry.
Official Statistics, Public Policy and Public Trust
Authors: Holt D. Tim 
Published: March 2008

SummaryThe question of public confidence in official statistics has been central to government statistical policy for the last 10 years. This year the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 was passed. The paper suggests key characteristics of the new arrangements that will be needed if public confidence in the official statistics outputs is to be strengthened. It is argued that this will depend on public confidence in the statistical system as a whole rather than just the new Board. The organizational structure of the UK statistical system is described and this is linked to the issue of public confidence. Finally the wider questions of evidence-based policy and the use of statistics and statistical thinking throughout government are discussed.
Identification ofSalmonellaHigh Risk Pig-Herds in Belgium by using Semiparametric Quantile Regression
Authors: Bollaerts Kaatje , Aerts Marc , Ribbens Stefaan , Van der Stede Yves , Boone Ides , Mintiens Koen 
Published: March 2008

SummaryConsumption of pork that is contaminated with Salmonella is an important source of human salmonellosis world wide. To control and prevent salmonellosis, Belgian pig-herds with high Salmonella infection burden are encouraged to take part in a control programme supporting the implementation of control measures. The Belgian government decided that only the 10% of pig-herds with the highest Salmonella infection burden (denoted high risk herds) can participate. To identify these herds, serological data reported as sample-to-positive ratios (SP-ratios) are collected. However, SP-ratios have an extremely skewed distribution and are heavily subject to confounding seasonal and animal age effects. Therefore, we propose to identify the 10% high risk herds by using semiparametric quantile regression with P-splines. In particular, quantile curves of animal SP-ratios are estimated as a function of sampling time and animal age. Then, pigs are classified into low and high risk animals with high risk animals having an SP-ratio that is larger than the corresponding estimated upper quantile. Finally, for each herd, the number of high risk animals is calculated as well as the beta–binomial p-value reflecting the hypothesis that the Salmonella infection burden is higher in that herd compared with the other herds. The 10% pig-herds with the lowest p-values are then identified as high risk herds. In addition, since high risk herds are supported to implement control measures, a risk factor analysis is conducted by using binomial generalized linear mixed models to investigate factors that are associated with decreased or increased Salmonella infection burden. Finally, since the choice of a specific upper quantile is to a certain extent arbitrary, a sensitivity analysis is conducted comparing different choices of upper quantiles.
Design Priorities and Disciplinary Perspectives: The Case of the US National Children’s Study
Authors: Michael Robert T. , O’Muircheartaigh Colm A. 
Published: March 2008

SummaryThe National Children’s Study (NCS), which was undertaken in 2000 by collaboration between several US federal government agencies, is one of the largest and boldest longitudinal studies of children’s health ever undertaken. One of the key design issues has been the nature of the NCS sample. The paper describes the nature of the choices and the reasons for the decision that the NCS be based on a national probability sample. Designed as a study of the environmental influences on children’s health and development, the NCS is expected to identify, enrol and follow about 100000 children from their birth to the age of 21 years. A broad definition of relevant environments of interest, and a full partnership between government, university and medical scientists, introduces considerable challenges in the design of the study.
Secular variations in seawater chemistry as a control on the chemistry of basinal brines: test of the hypothesis
Authors: LOWENSTEIN T. K. , TIMOFEEFF M. N. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe hypothesis that basinal brines inherited their major ion chemistries and elevated salinities from evaporated paleoseawaters is tested by comparing the compositions of basinal brines in Silurian (Michigan basin, Illinois basin, Appalachian basin in eastern Ohio) and Jurassic/Cretaceous (Central Mississippi Salt Dome basin, Arkansas shelf, and south‐central Texas) host rocks, when the world oceans were ‘CaCl2 seas’, with those from Permian and Pennsylvanian rocks (Palo Duro basin, Central Basin Platform, and Delaware basin, Texas and New Mexico) when the world oceans were ‘MgSO4 seas’. Basinal brines examined are assumed to have originally formed from evaporation of the same seawaters that produced major evaporites. Sulfate, Mg and K levels in basinal brines are below the concentrations expected from evaporation of seawater of any type, which emphasizes the importance of diagenetic mineral–brine interactions in controlling basinal brine chemistry. There are no major differences in SO4, Mg and K concentrations between basinal brines hosted by rocks originally formed during ages when the world oceans were MgSO4 seas versus CaCl2 seas. Basinal brines in Pennsylvanian–Permian rocks are compositionally distinct (relatively high Na and low Ca) from basinal brines in Silurian, Jurassic and Cretaceous host rocks, which may reflect original differences in seawater chemistry. Basinal brines enriched in Ca and depleted in Na relative to evaporated seawater of any type have traditionally been interpreted to form by albitization of plagioclase feldspar. A new explanation for Ca enrichment and Na depletion of basinal brines is the mixing of evaporated CaCl2‐type seawater with more dilute water. Some basinal brines are similar in major ion composition to evaporated seawater of a particular age, for example basinal brines in the Cretaceous Edwards Group carbonates, Texas, where dolomitization is the only reaction required to convert evaporated Mesozoic CaCl2 seawater into Edwards Group brine.
Neuroprotective actions of deferiprone in cultured cortical neurones and SHSY‐5Y cells
Authors: Molina‐Holgado Francisco , Gaeta Alessandra , Francis Paul T. , Williams Robert J. , Hider Robert C. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder, but the initiating molecular processes contributing to neuronal death are not well understood. AD is associated with elevated soluble and aggregated forms of amyloid beta (Aβ) and with oxidative stress. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence for a detrimental role of iron in the pathogenic process. In this context, iron chelation by compounds such as 3‐hydroxypyridin‐4‐one, deferiprone (Ferriprox™) may have potential neuroprotective effects. We have evaluated the possible neuroprotective actions of deferiprone against a range of AD‐relevant insults including ferric iron, H2O2 and Aβ in primary mouse cortical neurones. We have investigated the possible neuroprotective actions of deferiprone (1, 3, 10, 30 or 100 μM) in primary neuronal cultures following exposure to ferric iron [ferric nitrilotriacetate (FeNTA); 3 and 10 μM], H2O2 (100 μM) or Aβ1–40 (3, 10 and 20 μM). Cultures were treated with deferiprone or vehicle either immediately or up to 6 h after the insult in a 24‐well plate format. In order to elucidate a possible neuroprotective action of deferiprone against Parkinson’s disease relevant insults another group of experiments were performed in the human neuroblastoma catecholaminergic SHSY‐5Y cell line. SHSY‐5Y cells were treated with MPP+ iodide, the active metabolite of the dopaminergic neurotoxin MPTP and the neuroprotective actions of deferiprone evaluated. Cytotoxicity was assessed at 24 h by lactate dehydrogenase release, 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium‐bromide turnover (FeNTA and hydrogen peroxide) and morphometric analysis of cell viability by Hoechst 33324/propidium iodide (FeNTA, Aβ and MPP+) or 6‐carboxyfluorescein diacetate and annexin V‐Cy3 (Aβ). The present study demonstrates that deferiprone protects against FeNTA, hydrogen peroxide, MPP+ and Aβ1–40‐induced neuronal cell death in vitro, which is consistent with previous in vitro and in vivo studies that have demonstrated similar protection with other iron chelators.
Mechanisms of DJ‐1 neuroprotection in a cellular model of Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Liu Fang , Nguyen Jamie L. , Hulleman John D. , Li Li , Rochet Jean‐Christophe 
Published: March 2008

AbstractMitochondrial dysfunction, proteasome inhibition, and α‐synuclein aggregation are thought to play important roles in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Rare cases of early‐onset PD have been linked to mutations in the gene encoding DJ‐1, a protein with antioxidant and chaperone functions. In this study, we examined whether DJ‐1 protects against various stresses involved in PD, and we investigated the underlying mechanisms. Expression of wild‐type DJ‐1 rescued primary dopaminergic neurons from toxicity elicited by rotenone, proteasome inhibitors, and mutant α‐synuclein. Neurons with reduced levels of endogenous DJ‐1 were sensitized to each of these insults, and DJ‐1 mutants involved in familial PD exhibited decreased neuroprotective activity. DJ‐1 alleviated rotenone toxicity by up‐regulating total intracellular glutathione. In contrast, inhibition of α‐synuclein toxicity by DJ‐1 correlated with up‐regulation of the stress‐inducible form of Hsp70. RNA interference studies revealed that this increase in Hsp70 levels was necessary for DJ‐1‐mediated suppression of α‐synuclein aggregation, but not toxicity. Our findings suggest that DJ‐1 acts as a versatile pro‐survival factor in dopaminergic neurons, activating different protective mechanisms in response to a diverse range of PD‐related insults.
Neuropeptide Y stimulates retinal neural cell proliferation – involvement of nitric oxide
Authors: Álvaro Ana Rita , Martins João , Araújo Inês M. , Rosmaninho‐Salgado Joana , Ambrósio António F. , Cavadas Cláudia 
Published: March 2008

AbstractNeuropeptide Y (NPY) is a 36 amino acid peptide widely present in the CNS, including the retina. Previous studies have demonstrated that NPY promotes cell proliferation of rat post‐natal hippocampal and olfactory epithelium precursor cells. The aim of this work was to investigate the role of NPY on cell proliferation of rat retinal neural cells. For this purpose, primary retinal cell cultures expressing NPY, and NPY Y1, Y2, Y4and Y5receptors [Álvaroet al., (2007)Neurochem. Int.,50, 757] were used. NPY (10–1000 nM) stimulated cell proliferation through the activation of NPY Y1, Y2and Y5receptors. NPY also increased the number of proliferating neuronal progenitor cells (BrdU+/nestin+cells). The intracellular mechanisms coupled to NPY receptors activation that mediate the increase in cell proliferation were also investigated. The stimulatory effect of NPY on cell proliferation was reduced byl‐nitroarginine‐methyl‐esther (l‐NAME; 500 μM), a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, 1H‐[1,2,4]oxadiazolo‐[4, 3‐a]quinoxalin‐1‐one (ODQ; 20 μM), a soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor or U0126 (1 μM), an inhibitor of the extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2). In conclusion, NPY stimulates retinal neural cell proliferation, and this effect is mediated through nitric oxide–cyclic GMP and ERK 1/2 pathways.
Promoter‐specific induction of the phosphatase SHP‐1 by viral infection and cytokines in CNS glia
Authors: Christophi George P. , Hudson Chad A. , Gruber Ross , Christophi Christoforos P. , Massa Paul T. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractWe have previously shown that the protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP‐1 is highly expressed in CNS glia and is an important modulator of cytokine signaling. As such, mice genetically lacking SHP‐1 display constitutive myelin abnormalities, severe virus‐induced demyelinating disease, and defects in innate anti‐viral responses in the CNS. In this study, we show the differential distribution of the SHP‐1 promoter‐specific transcripts and demonstrate that several cytokines significantly induce SHP‐1 expression in CNS glia. Consistent with these cytokine effects, infection with a neurotropic virus both in vitro and in vivo up‐regulates SHP‐1 transcripts and protein in CNS cells. Using CNS glial cultures of gene knockout mice, we show that interferons‐β and interferons‐γ act through STAT‐1 and interferon regulatory factor‐1 to induce the SHP‐1 promoter I transcripts. Conversely, interferons‐β and IL‐6 act through STAT‐3 to induce SHP‐1 promoter II transcripts. This study demonstrates that interferons and other cytokines associated with virus infections in the CNS can significantly induce the expression of SHP‐1 through STAT‐1/3 activity and provides a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating cytokine‐induced expression important for multiple homeostatic functions of SHP‐1 in the CNS.
Aging and cancer cell biology, 2008
Authors: Campisi Judith 
Published: March 2008

SummaryThere is increasing support for the idea that aging and cancer are intimately connected by the activity of specific genes and the cellular responses to potentially oncogenic insults. This Hot Topics review discusses some recently published articles that shed light on both the commonalities – and intricacies – of the cancer–aging relationship. These articles reveal the expected complexities, but also surprising conservation, in mechanisms that link cancer and aging.