bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Current practice compared with the international guidelines: endoscopic surveillance of Barrett’s esophagus
Authors: Amamra Nassira , Touzet Sandrine , Colin Cyrille , Ponchon Thierry 
Published: July 2007

AbstractRationale, aims and objectives  To describe the current practice for the surveillance of patients with Barrett’s esophagus, to compare this practice with the national guidelines published by the French Society of Digestive Endoscopy in 1998 and to identify the factors associated with the compliance to guidelines.Method  To determine the attitudes of French hepatogastroenterologists to screening for Barrett’s oesophagus, a postal anonymous questionnaire survey was undertaken. It was sent to 246 hepatogastroenterologists in the Rhone‐Alpes area. We defined eight criteria allowed to assess the conformity of practices with the guidelines. We created three topics composed of several criterion. The topics analysed were ‘Biopsies’, ‘Surveillance’ and the diagnosis of high grade dysplasia. We studied the factors which could be associated with the compliance with the guidelines.Results  The response rate was 81.3%. For 58.0% of the gastroenterologists, endoscopic biopsy sampling were made according to French guidelines (four‐quadrant biopsies at 2 cm intervals). Agreement was 78.0% regarding the interval of surveillance for no dysplasia (every 2 or 3 years) and 78.5% regarding the low‐grade dysplasia (every 6 or 12 months). For the management of high‐grade dysplasia, 28.6% actually confirm the diagnosis by a second anatomopathologist and 42.0% treated by proton pump inhibitor during 2 months. Concerning the biopsies, the young gastroenterologists and gastroenterologists practising in university hospitals had a better adherence to the guidelines (Relative Risk: 2.22, 95% CI 1.25–3.95 and 3.74, 95% CI 1.04–13.47, respectively). The other factors of risk were not statistically significant.Conclusions  The endoscopic follow‐up is mostly realized in accordance with the national guidelines. However, there is a wide variability in individual current practice.
Asthma patients with low perceived burden of illness: a challenge for guideline adherence
Authors: Schneider Antonius , Biessecker Kathrin , Quinzler Renate , PharmD Petra Kaufmann‐Kolle , Meyer Franz Joachim , Wensing Michel , Szecsenyi Joachim 
Published: July 2007

AbstractRationale and aims  The reason why many patients seem to tolerate suffering from sub‐optimal treated asthma remains unclear. The aim was to evaluate the guideline adherence combined with quality of life of patients with moderate to severe asthma.Methods  256 asthma patients from 43 primary care practices in Saxony‐Anhalt filled in a questionnaire including the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐D) and questions evaluating the asthma severity, medication and self‐management.Results  43.4% suffered from moderate to severe asthma. Drug treatment accorded with guidelines in 36.9%, drug dosage of inhaled steroids was too low in 34.3%, and 21.5% were not treated according to guidelines. A total of 7.3% of the patients received end‐of‐dose therapy. AQLQ declined and depression rose with asthma severity and guideline non‐adherence (P < 0.001). Only 29.1% received asthma education. However, 64.5% of the patients without education did not want to receive education. They had a higher quality of life, lower depression (P < 0.001) and lower use of steroids (P = 0.016). Higher depression scores where related with hospital admission (OR 3.29; 95% CI 1.57–6.87 for each quartile of PHQ‐D) and unscheduled home visits or ambulatory care (OR 1.58; 1.07–2.33).Conclusion  There is a large variation of asthma severity which can partly be explained by the guideline adherence of medication and deficits of patients’ management. The perceived burden of illness plays a more important role for education and self‐management than the real severity of disease. Therefore, target‐oriented interventions are needed to identify and motivate patients at risk.
Immune tolerance: mechanisms and application in clinical transplantation
Authors: Sykes M. 
Published: July 2007

Abstract.The achievement of immune tolerance, a state of specific unresponsiveness to the donor graft, has the potential to overcome the current major limitations to progress in organ transplantation, namely late graft loss, organ shortage and the toxicities of chronic nonspecific immumnosuppressive therapy. Advances in our understanding of immunological processes, mechanisms of rejection and tolerance have led to encouraging developments in animal models, which are just beginning to be translated into clinical pilot studies. These advances are reviewed here and the appropriate timing for clinical trials is discussed.
Salt stress responses in Arabidopsis utilize a signal transduction pathway related to endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling
Authors: Liu Jian‐Xiang , Srivastava Renu , Che Ping , Howell Stephen H. 
Published: July 2007

SummaryWe describe a signaling pathway that mediates salt stress responses in Arabidopsis. The response is mechanistically related to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress responses described in mammalian systems. Such responses involve processing and relocation to the nucleus of ER membrane‐associated transcription factors to activate stress response genes. The salt stress response in Arabidopsis requires a subtilisin‐like serine protease (AtS1P), related to mammalian S1P and a membrane‐localized b‐ZIP transcription factor, AtbZIP17, a predicted type‐II membrane protein with a canonical S1P cleavage site on its lumen‐facing side and a b‐ZIP domain on its cytoplasmic side. In response to salt stress, it was found that myc‐tagged AtbZIP17 was cleaved in an AtS1P‐dependent process. To show that AtS1P directly targets AtbZIP17, cleavage was also demonstrated in an in vitro pull‐down assay with agarose bead‐immobilized AtS1P. Under salt stress conditions, the N‐terminal fragment of AtbZIP17 tagged with GFP was translocated to the nucleus. The N‐terminal fragment bearing the bZIP DNA binding domain was also found to possess transcriptional activity that functions in yeast. In Arabidopsis, AtbZIP17 activation directly or indirectly upregulated the expression of several salt stress response genes, including the homeodomain transcription factor ATHB‐7. Upregulation of these genes by salt stress was blocked by T‐DNA insertion mutations in AtS1P and AtbZIP17. Thus, salt stress induces a signaling cascade involving the processing of AtbZIP17, its translocation to the nucleus and the upregulation of salt stress genes.
Characterization and expansion of baboon CD4+CD25+ Treg cells for potential use in a non‐human primate xenotransplantation model
Authors: Porter Cynthia M. , Horvath‐Arcidiacono Judith A. , Singh Avneesh K. , Horvath Keith A. , Bloom Eda T. , Mohiuddin Muhammad M. 
Published: July 2007

Abstract:  Background:  It is well established that CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells can modulate allogeneic immune responses. Xenotransplantation, proposed as a means to address the critical shortage of human organs, may also benefit from similar approaches to avert rejection. Baboons are a preferred preclinical animal model for xenogeneic organ transplantation experiments, and the characterization of baboon Treg cells will be beneficial to future tolerance studies in this animal model.Methods:  We analyzed CD4+CD25+ T cells from baboon lymph nodes, spleens, and blood by flow cytometry, then purified and expanded porcine antigen‐specific baboon CD4+CD25high cells in vitro to evaluate their regulatory activity in the baboon anti‐pig xenogeneic responses.Results:  CD4+CD25high T cells were 1.7%, 3.1%, and 1.9% of baboon splenic, lymph node, and blood T cells, respectively. The CD4+CD25high T cells expressed the Treg cell‐associated transcription factor, FoxP3. Proliferation/suppression assays using irradiated pig peripheral blood mononuclear cells as stimulators showed that Treg cells suppressed the vigorous baboon CD4+CD25− T‐cell anti‐pig proliferation response and cytokine secretion. Expanded baboon Treg cells suppressed baboon anti‐pig CD4+CD25− T‐cell proliferation ∼4‐ to 10‐fold more than freshly isolated Treg cells. Expanded Treg cells suppressed proliferation to primary cells from the same pig used for expansion more effectively than proliferation to stimulators from a different strain of pig, suggesting a level of antigen specificity.Conclusion:  We demonstrate that baboon Treg cells suppress immune responses to xenogeneic stimulation. These studies suggest that adoptive transfer of expanded Treg cells into transplant recipients may provide an approach to prevent cell‐mediated rejection of grafts and potentially induce tolerance in the pig to baboon xenotransplantation preclinical model.
Effect of exogenous glutamate and N‐Methyl‐D‐aspartic acid on spontaneous activity of isolated human ureter
Authors: Jankovic Slobodan M , Jankovic Snezana V , Stojadinovic Dobrivoje , Jakovljevic Mihajlo , Milovanovic Dragan 
Published: July 2007

Objectives: While the neurotransmitter role of glutamate in the gastrointestinal tract has been shown, its effects on smooth muscle of the human ureter have not previously been investigated. In our study we have investigated the effects of exogenous glutamate on the spontaneous activity of isolated human ureter, taken from 14 adult patients after nephrectomy.Methods: The segment of ureter, excised 3 cm distal from the pyeloureteral junction, was isolated in an organ bath. Both longitudinal tension and intraluminal pressure of the segment were recorded simultaneously.Results: Glutamate administered in the lumen of the isolated ureteral segments (7.8 × 10−7 M/L−3.5 × 10−2 M/L) was ineffective. When added to the isolated organ bath from the serous side of the ureteral segment, glutamate (7.9 × 10−6 M/L−10.6 × 10−3 M/L) and N‐Methyl‐D‐aspartic acid (NMDA) (9.1 × 10−8 M/L−3.1 × 10−5 M/L) produced a concentration‐dependent increase in spontaneous activity of the isolated preparations, while kainic acid (6.3 × 10−8 M/L−10.5 × 10−5 M/L) and (+/–)‐trans‐1‐Aminocyclopentane‐trans‐1,3‐dicarboxylic acid (ACPD) (7.7 × 10−8 M/L −6.5 × 10−5 M/L) were ineffective.Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that an excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate stimulates spontaneous activity of the human ureter through activation of NMDA ionotropic receptors, located on smooth muscle cells or intramural nerve fibers
Significance of the craniocaudal distribution of cancer in radical prostatectomy specimens
Authors: Ishii Junichiro , Ohori Makoto , Scardino Peter , Tsuboi Toshiki , Slawin Kevin , Wheeler Thomas 
Published: July 2007

Objectives:  To examine the differences in the distribution of prostate cancer (PCa) in the craniocaudal dimension and their potential significance.Methods:  We studied 1253 patients with clinically localized PCa treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) from 1983 to 2000. We analyzed the clinicopathological features according to the craniocaudal distribution (apex, mid, base) of the largest cancer focus.Results:  Of these patients, 456 (36%) had the largest cancer focus in the apex, 728 (58%) in the mid, and 69 (6%) in the base. The cancers in the apex were less invasive than those in the mid or base, as evidenced by the lower frequency of extracapsular extension (27% vs 43%, 52%, respectively) and/or seminal vesicle involvement (5% vs 13%, 20%, respectively). The frequency of the largest cancer focus in the apex has increased significantly over time, from 26% before 1995 to 46% after 1995 (P < 0.001). Serum prostate specific antigen non‐progression rate at 10 years for patients with a cancer at the apex was 83%, which was better than 76% and 77% of patients with a cancer at the mid or base (P = 0.029, P = 0.14, respectively).Conclusion:  The cancers dominant at the apex are increasing over time and represent half of the patients treated by RP in recent years. These cancers tend to be less aggressive compared to those in the mid or base of the prostate. This knowledge may be useful in understanding the biology of and maximizing the detection of PCa
Evaluation of urinary CA19‐9 levels in bladder cancer patients classified according to the combinations of Lewis and Secretor blood group genotypes
Authors: Nagao Keiji , Itoh Yukio , Fujita Kazuhiko , Fujime Makoto 
Published: July 2007

Objectives:  This study evaluated the clinical significance of urinary CA19‐9 levels in bladder cancer patients classified according to various combinations of Lewis (Le) and Secretor (Se) genotypes.Methods:  Urinary CA19‐9 and DU‐PAN‐2 levels were measured as units per mg creatinine (U/mg Cr) in 121 patients with bladder cancer and in 31 patients with other urologic diseases. Genotyping was carried out using polymerase chain reaction‐based methods.Results:  Urinary CA19‐9‐values in patients with both Le and Se alleles (Le/Le, Se/Se; Le/Le, Se/se; Le/le, Se/Se; Le/le, Se/se) were significantly higher (P < 0.0001) in bladder cancer cases compared to the other urologic diseases. The cut‐off value determined using receiver operating characteristics analyses was 37.6 U/mg Cr. Approximately 70% (57/87) of bladder cancer patients with both Le and Se alleles demonstrated urinary CA19‐9 levels over the cut‐off value. In contrast, only 16% (4/24) of patients with other urologic diseases were over the cut‐off value.Conclusions:  The urinary CA19‐9 level can be a new effective diagnostic tool in bladder cancer patients with both Le and Se alleles.
MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL AND BIOTERRORISM INDUCED PANDEMICS
Authors: TYSHENKO MICHAEL G. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTA recent approach for bioterrorism risk management calls for stricter regulations over biotechnology as a way to control subversion of technology that may be used to create a man‐made pandemic. This approach is largely unworkable given the increasing pervasiveness of molecular techniques and tools throughout society. Emerging technology has provided the tools to design much deadlier pathogens but concomitantly the ability to respond to emerging pandemics to reduce mortality has also improved significantly in recent decades. In its historical context determining just how ‘risky’ biological weapons is an important consideration for decision making and resource allocation. Management should attempt to increase capacity, share resources, provide accurate infectious disease reporting, deliver information transparency and improve communications to help mitigate the magnitude of future pandemics.
ETHICAL ASPECTS OF LIMITING RESIDENTS' WORK HOURS
Authors: WIESING URBAN 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTDefinition of the problem: The regulation of residents' work hours involves several ethical conflicts which need to be systematically analysed and evaluated.Arguments and conclusion: The most important ethical principle when regulating work hours is to avoid the harm resulting from the over‐work of physicians and from an excessive division of labour. Additionally, other ethical principles have to be taken into account, in particular the principles of nonmaleficence and beneficence for future patients and for physicians. The article presents arguments for balancing the relevant ethical principles and analyses the structural difficulties that occur unavoidably in any regulation of the complex activities of physicians.
The diving response of a diving beetle: effects of temperature and acidification*
Authors: Calosi P. , Bilton D. T. , Spicer J. I. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractAquatic insects obtain oxygen either from air dissolved in water or directly from air via surfacing. Diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) rely on a subelytral air store, which has to be renewed periodically at the water's surface. [Correction added after publication 28 July 2007: in the preceding sentence ‘Diving beetles Ilybius montanus (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)’ was corrected to ‘Diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)’]. The way in which diving behaviour responds to changes in the insect's environment has not been previously explored, however. Here, we investigate the diving behaviour of the widespread European species Ilybius montanus (Stephens). We go on to examine how different aspects of the diving behaviour of individual insects change with temperature and water acidity, using both hydrochloric and sulphuric acids. Individual surfacing frequency was significantly higher at 20.5°C than at 14.5°C, which resulted from a shortening of the mean dive duration at higher temperatures, no associated change being seen in mean time spent exchanging at the surface. The observed reductions in dive duration may have resulted from increased metabolic rate at higher temperatures, while the constancy of surface time suggests that this represents a trade‐off between gas exchange demands and selection to minimize time spent at the surface, perhaps to avoid predation. Although acidity did not affect surfacing frequency or the mean duration of individual dive parameters, it resulted in a breakdown of an individual's ability to regulate diving behaviour with temperature. This effect was most pronounced when experimental water was acidified using sulphuric acid, indicating that anion, as well as acidity itself, is of importance. As the dive response could be broken down into readily quantifiable components, and this behaviour showed marked responses to the factors considered here, we propose that diving activity could serve as an integrative organismal biomarker in these and other surface‐exchanging aquatic insects.
A phylogeny of the high‐elevation Tibetan megophryid frogs and evidence for the multiple origins of reversed sexual size dimorphism
Authors: Fu J. , Weadick C. J. , Bi K. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractA molecular phylogeny of the high‐elevation Tibetan megophryid frogs was reconstructed using mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences. Both parsimony and Bayesian analysis produced similar tree topologies, which identified the genusLeptobrachiumas a sister group toVibrissaphora, and the generaOreolalaxandScutigeras monophyletic groups. Within the latter two genera, several species groups were also clearly recognized. At least 13 megophryids display reversed sexual size dimorphism (RSSD), where males are equal to or larger than females. According to our phylogenetic hypothesis, RSSD may have independently evolved at least five times or as many as seven times in this group. The multiple origins of RSSD within this group provide an excellent opportunity for studying the relationship between body size sexual dimorphism and other life‐history traits and for determining the costs and benefits of RSSD.
Use of native woodlands and traditional olive groves by foraging bats on a Mediterranean island: consequences for conservation
Authors: Davy C. M. , Russo D. , Fenton M. B. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractWe recorded bat activity on Zakynthos island (Greece) to test the hypotheses that (1) olive (Olea europea) groves and native woodlands provide comparable foraging habitat for insectivorous bats, (2) lower foraging activity occurs in olive groves treated with insecticide chemicals. We acoustically sampled bat activity (passes per minute) in four wooded habitats (organic and non‐organic olive groves, oak woodland (Quercus ilex and Quercus coccifera) and pine (Pinus halepensis) woodland from June to August 2005. Habitat type did not affect overall bat activity. A single application of insecticide chemicals annually did not affect activity over traditional olive groves. Habitat use on the island differed in several ways from that reported in studies at mainland sites. Most strikingly, pine woodland supported higher bat activity than expected relative to other habitat types, and we recorded unexpectedly high levels of M. capaccinii activity in woodland habitats. We suggest that traditional olive groves buffer some bat species from the effects of deforestation. Conservation plans for Mediterranean bats should consider the biodiversity value of these groves along with the need to conserve small woodland patches. Finally, understanding island‐specific patterns of habitat use is essential to bat conservation on small off‐shore islands.
Defensive and infrared reception responses of true vipers, pitvipers, Azemiops and colubrids
Authors: Roelke C. E. , Childress M. J. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractIt has been suggested that true vipers (Viperidae: Viperinae) possess the ability to detect temperature differences between objects despite the lack of an apparent infrared radiation sensor. We tested the ability to distinguish between heated and unheated targets in three species of pitvipers (Viperidae: Crotalinae), four species of true vipers, two species of colubrids (Colubridae: Natricinae, Colubrinae) and Azemiops feae (Viperidae: Azemiopinae). All species of pitvipers tested could distinguish between the warm and cool targets, while no tested species of true viper, colubrid or Azemiops demonstrated this ability. In addition, pitvipers exhibited behaviors that true vipers or Azemiops did not exhibit. Our results suggest that the tested species of true vipers, Azemiops and colubrids may not posses the ability to sense infrared radiation or do not use it in a defensive context, and suggest that some defensive behaviors are associated with the pit organ in pitvipers.
Natal dispersal of European hare in France
Authors: Bray Y. , Devillard S. , Marboutin E. , Mauvy B. , Péroux R. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractDispersal is a fundamental process with wide‐ranging evolutionary and management consequences. To date, natal dispersal has never been described for the polygynous‐promiscuous European hareLepus europaeus. Using telemetry, we investigated the natal dispersal pattern in two zones that differed in hunting pressure and hare density. We quantified both the natal dispersal rates and distances using 84 juvenile hares. We tested for the influence of several factors (age, sex, density and period of the year) on these two variables. Overall, the mean dispersal rate was 43% and the median natal dispersal distances were 209 m for philopatric hares and 1615 m for dispersers. The maximum distance moved was 17.35 km. Natal dispersal rates were higher in the hunting zone with less density for both males and females, but males dispersed more frequently than females in the two zones although females moved over longer distances. Natal dispersal occurred preferentially between 4 and 6 months of age. This very fine description of the natal dispersal pattern allowed us to make inferences about both the evolutionary and proximate causes of natal dispersal. We also advocate that more attention should be paid to dispersal in studies on hare dynamics and on the conception of hare management, because dispersal seems to be more common than previously thought.
Early evidence for the Algerian hedgehog in Europe
Authors: Morales A. , Rofes J. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper reports the earliest documented record of the Algerian hedgehog Atelerix algirus in Europe. Only a first lower molar of the 13 specimens found inside a Bronze Age grave at the site of Biniai Nou in Minorca (Balearic islands, Spain) provided unequivocal traits for this species. Of the two AMS radiocarbon dates taken on the hedgehog bones, the oldest one dated the sample to the 13th century, indicating a contamination of the deposits and a rather recent arrival of the species on the island. Geographical, cultural and zoological data provide circumstantial evidence pointing to the Almohad invaders as the responsible agents for the introduction of A. algirus into Minorca, probably as part of a larger‐scale animal translocation phenomenon whose details are being worked out at this moment.