bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mycophenolate mofetil and cardiovascular disease
Authors: Hughes Grv , Phillips H 
Published: October 2006

Lupus is proving a fertile ground for research into mechanisms of accelerated atheroma. Often referred to as ‘the new diabetes’, lupus has a relative risk of myocardial infarction way in excess of, for example, other inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The possible suspects are discussed in this issue of LUPUS, with the antiphospholipid antibody family becoming increasingly important. The observation that mycophenolate mofetil might have therapeutic properties in some models of accelerated vascular disease has thus added impetus to studies of mofetil in lupus and related diseases.
The influence of other drugs on coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Bruce IN 
Published: October 2006

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients currently are exposed to a number of agents to control various manifestations of their disease. In particular the degree of immunosuppression employed is strongly related to the underlying disease severity. This causes problems when evaluating the longterm associations between drugs and outcomes such as cardiovascular disease. Nevertheless, most studies do suggest that increased and prolonged exposure to steroids is harmful to the vasculature and that antimalarial drugs may have several potential beneficial effects in reducing CHD risk in SLE. Further work is now needed to assess if there are doses or regimes of steroid therapy that can optimize their anti-inflammatory effects and minimise their adverse metabolic effects. With regard to other drugs used, it should not be assumed that all immunosuppressive drugs are equal with regard to the cardiovascular system. There is some emerging data that azathioprine may have an association with atherosclerosis development. Whether this is independent of the clinical phenotype remains an open question. Studies of MTX in RA are controversial and in SLE the specific cardiovascular effects of MTX requires direct study. With several novel agents currently in development, their potential effects on the vasculature need specific study to unravel the relative effects of the inflammatory burden, specific organ involvement and therapy on vascular risk.
Advanced techniques in medical thoracoscopy
Authors: Tassi G. F. , Davies R. J. O. , Noppen M. 
Published: October 2006

For expert pulmonologists, advanced procedures in medical thoracoscopy are the nonroutine and more complex applications of the method. The main current indications are the treatment of infected pleural space, forceps lung biopsy and sympathectomy.In parapneumonic effusions and empyema, medical thoracoscopy is as a drainage procedure, intermediate between tube thoracostomy and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), which is efficient, significantly lower in cost and avoids surgical thoracoscopy under general anaesthesia. It is essential that it is performed early in the course of the disease and is particularly advisable for frail patients at high surgical risk.The efficacy of forceps lung biopsy has been demonstrated in diffuse lung diseases, whereas results in localised lung diseases and chest-wall lesions have been less positive. However, VATS is currently the preferred approach for these indications. The technique still maintains its efficacy for visceral pleura and peripheral lung biopsy, in particular in the presence of pleural effusion and lung disorders.At the present time, thoracoscopic sympathectomy is minimally invasive and is an accepted intervention for patients with a variety of autonomous nervous system disturbances. Essential hyperhidrosis patients, and well-selected patients with other disorders, can be helped with this procedure, which can also be performed by interventional pulmonologists.
Meta-Analysis and Meta-Review of Thyroid Cancer Gene Expression Profiling Studies Identifies Important Diagnostic Biomarkers
Authors: Griffith Obi L. , Melck Adrienne , Jones Steven J.M. , Wiseman Sam M. 
Published: October 2006

Purpose An estimated 4% to 7% of the population will develop a clinically significant thyroid nodule during their lifetime. In many cases, preoperative diagnoses by needle biopsy are inconclusive. Thus, there is a clear need for improved diagnostic tests to distinguish malignant from benign thyroid tumors. The recent development of high-throughput molecular analytic techniques should allow the rapid evaluation of new diagnostic markers. However, researchers are faced with an overwhelming number of potential markers from numerous thyroid cancer expression profiling studies. Materials and Methods To address this challenge, we have carried out a comprehensive meta-review of thyroid cancer biomarkers from 21 published studies. A gene ranking system that considers the number of comparisons in agreement, total number of samples, average fold-change and direction of change was devised. Results We have observed that genes are consistently reported by multiple studies at a highly significant rate (P < .05). Comparison with a meta-analysis of studies reprocessed from raw data showed strong concordance with our method. Conclusion Our approach represents a useful method for identifying consistent gene expression markers when raw data are unavailable. A review of the top 12 candidates revealed well known thyroid cancer markers such as MET, TFF3, SERPINA1, TIMP1, FN1, and TPO as well as relatively novel or uncharacterized genes such as TGFA, QPCT, CRABP1, FCGBP, EPS8 and PROS1. These candidates should help to develop a panel of markers with sufficient sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of thyroid tumors in a clinical setting.
Chinese and English Infants' Tone Perception: Evidence for Perceptual Reorganization
Authors: Mattock Karen , Burnham Denis 
Published: October 2006

Over half the world's population speaks a tone language, yet infant speech perception research has typically focused on consonants and vowels. Very young infants can discriminate a wide range of native and nonnative consonants and vowels, and then in a process ofperceptual reorganizationover the 1st year, discrimination of most nonnative speech sounds deteriorates. We investigated perceptual reorganization for tones by testing 6‐ and 9‐month‐old infants from tone (Chinese) and nontone (English) language environments for speech (lexical tone) and nonspeech (violin sound) tone discrimination in both cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies. Overall, Chinese infants performed equally well at 6 and 9 months for both speech and nonspeech tone discrimination. Conversely, English infants' discrimination of lexical tone declined between 6 and 9 months of age, whereas their nonspeech tone discrimination remained constant. These results indicate that the reorganization of tone perception is a function of the native language environment, and that this reorganization is linguistically based.Supplementary materials to this article are available on the World Wide Web athttp:www.infancyarchives.com
Pectoralis major myocutaneous flap reconstruction of the laryngopharynx and cervical esophagus
Authors: Fabian Richard L. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractAdvanced carcinoma of the hypopharynx and cervical esophagus is a formidable challenge to the skills of the head and neck surgeon. Radiation therapy is valuable as adjunctive therapy when combined with curative surgery, which is the primary treatment modality. The extent of anatomical disease associated with extensive neoplasia of the hypopharynx and cervical esophagus is frequently not amenable to total laryngectomy with local tissue repair. Surgical ablation usually requires an extended laryngectomy, which does not permit primary local repair.A previous report by this author, comparing all techniques historically and chronologically, indicated that the present impetus is toward procedures characterized by a one‐stage primary repair with shorter completion times. Presently, the three most promising procedures that meet these criteria are the gastric transposition, free microvascular bowel transfer, and regional myocutaneous flap repair.Theogaraj, et al. reported the use of a partially tubulated pectoralis muscle flap over preserved posterior wall cervical esophageal mucosa in cases of short segment stenosis. Encouraged by these results, a technique using partial tubulation for long‐segment stenosis was reported. The use of this technique was expanded to include the repair of the defect left after total ablation of the laryngopharynx and cervical esophagus.Over the past 40 months, 22 patients have undergone repair using partial tubulation of the pectoralis myocutaneous flap. This paper will discuss the technical aspects of the procedure and analyze the procedure as it relates to mortality, morbidity, and completion time. Low morbidity and a completion time of 18 days competes favorably with gastric transposition and free jejunal transfer. A rational approach to reconstruction using all procedures will be discussed.
Investigations into tracheal prosthetic reconstruction
Authors: Jacobs John R. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractReconstruction of circumferential tracheal defects may be necessary following trauma or oncologic surgery. For defects up to approximately 6 centimeters in an adult, an end‐to‐end anastomosis appears to be the method of choice. Larger defects may require utilization of a tracheal prosthesis. In dogs, a tracheal prosthesis constructed of Dacron® polyurethane mesh (Osteomesh®) was found to well tolerated following a two‐stage implantation procedure. Normal confluent respiratory epithelium was identified in the lumen of the prosthesis. Previously reported difficulties with recurrent granulation tissue at the areas of anastomosis appear to have been successfully avoided.
Primary ciliary dyskinesia and the middle ear
Authors: Van Der Baan S. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe middle ear cavity and the eustachian tube contain a well‐functioning mucociliary clearance system. To learn more about the importance of this mucociliary clearance, we studied patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia, in whom mucociliary clearance is absent.Thirty‐six patients were investigated by means of a questionnaire; in 16 of these patients, otological and audiological studies could be performed. In patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia, a discrepancy was found between subjective ear complaints and the actual middle ear function. Moreover, it appeared that for the middle ear system, mucociliary clearance is of importance only in the first 3 decades of life. With aging, however, a deficient mucociliary clearance system in the middle ear and eustachian tube can be fully compensated for.
Supraglottic carcinoma: Impact of radiation therapy on outcome of patients with positive margins and extracapsular nodal disease
Authors: Devineni V. Rao , Simpson Joseph R. , Fineberg Barbara , Sessions Donald , Spector J. Gershon , Hayden Richard , Fredrickson John 
Published: October 2006

AbstractSeventy‐nine patients with supraglottic carcinoma treated between 1966 and 1985 are reviewed. All patients were treated with surgery and postoperative radiation therapy. Thirty‐five percent of the patients had positive margins at the site of resection of the primary tumor. Of the 25 patients who had positive nodal disease, 13 patients (52%) had either extracapsular extension or soft‐tissue or adjacent organ invasion, referred to in composite as “grave signs.” The median follow‐up of the patients was 4.9 years and all patients were followed for a minimum of 3 years. The disease‐free survival for all patients was 76% at 2 years and 71% at 3 years. The locoregional control rate for all patients was 70%.This study demonstrates that there is no difference in local recurrence or disease‐free survival, or time to recurrence relative to the status of the surgical margins, which maybe a benefit of the postoperative radiation therapy. This study also demonstrates that there is an increase in the number of patients with grave signs with increasing nodal stage. The rate of neck recurrence in patients with grave signs was substantially higher (54%) than in patients without grave signs (8%), even though these patients also had positive lymph nodes. Interestingly, there was also a higher rate oflocalrecurrence among patients who had grave signs. Patients receiving doses higher than 6000 cGy to the primary site had fewer local failures, although within each group of patients with positive or negative surgical margins the differences in survival were minimal.
Radiostereometric analysis for monitoring percutaneous physiodesis
Authors: Lauge-Pedersen H. , Hägglund G. , Johnsson R. 
Published: October 2006

Percutaneous physiodesis is an established technique for treating mild leg-length discrepancy and problems of expected extreme height. Angular deformities resulting from incomplete physeal arrest have been reported, and little is known about the time interval from percutaneous physiodesis to actual physeal arrest. This procedure was carried out in ten children, six with leg-length discrepancy and four with expected extreme height. Radiostereometric analysis was used to determine the three-dimensional dynamics of growth retardation. Errors of measurement of translation were less than 0.05 mm and of rotation less than 0.06°. Physeal arrest was obtained in all but one child within 12 weeks after physiodesis and no clinically-relevant angular deformities occurred. This is a suitable method for following up patients after percutaneous physiodesis. Incomplete physeal arrest can be detected at an early stage and the procedure repeated before corrective osteotomy is required.
Iontophoresed segmental allografts in revision arthroplasty for infection
Authors: Michalak K. A. , Khoo P. P. C. , Yates P. J. , Day R. E. , Wood D. J. 
Published: October 2006

Revision arthroplasty after infection can often be complicated by both extensive bone loss and a relatively high rate of re-infection. Using allograft to address the bone loss in such patients is controversial because of the perceived risk of bacterial infection from the use of avascular graft material. We describe 12 two-stage revisions for infection in which segmental allografts were loaded with antibiotics using iontophoresis, a technique using an electrical potential to drive ionised antibiotics into cortical bone. Iontophoresis produced high levels of antibiotic in the allograft, which eluted into the surrounding tissues. We postulate that this offers protection from infection in the high-risk peri-operative period. None of the 12 patients who had two-stage revision with iontophoresed allografts had further infection after a mean period of 47 months (14 to 78).
Changing your sex changes your brain: influences of testosterone and estrogen on adult human brain structure
Authors: Pol Hilleke E Hulshoff , Cohen-Kettenis Peggy T , Van Haren Neeltje E M , Peper Jiska S , Brans Rachel G H , Cahn Wiepke , Schnack Hugo G , Gooren Louis J G , Kahn René S 
Published: October 2006

Objective: Sex hormones are not only involved in the formation of reproductive organs, but also induce sexually-dimorphic brain development and organization. Cross-sex hormone administration to transsexuals provides a unique possibility to study the effects of sex steroids on brain morphology in young adulthood.
Methods: Magnetic resonance brain images were made prior to, and during, cross-sex hormone treatment to study the influence of anti-androgen + estrogen treatment on brain morphology in eight young adult male-to-female transsexual human subjects and of androgen treatment in six female-to-male transsexuals.
Results: Compared with controls, anti-androgen + estrogen treatment decreased brain volumes of male-to-female subjects towards female proportions, while androgen treatment in female-to-male subjects increased total brain and hypothalamus volumes towards male proportions.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that, throughout life, gonadal hormones remain essential for maintaining aspects of sex-specific differences in the human brain.
Focused Tasks, Mental Actions and Second Language Learning. Cognitive and Connectionist Accounts of Task Effectiveness
Authors: Moonen Machteld , de Graaff Rick , Westhoff Gerard 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis paper presents a theoretical framework to estimate the effectiveness of second language tasks in which the focus is on the acquisition of new linguistic items, such as vocabulary or grammar, the so-called focused tasks (R. Ellis, 2003). What accounts for the learning impact offocused tasks? We shall argue that the task-based approach (e.g. Skehan, 1998, Robinson, 2001) does not provide an in-depth account of how cognitive processes, elicited by a task, foster the acquisition of new linguistic elements. We shall then review the typologies of cognitive processes derived from research on learning strategies (Chamot & O'Malley, 1994), from the involvement load hypothesis (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001), from the depth of processing hypothesis (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) and from connectionism (e.g Broeder & Plunkett, 1997; N. Ellis, 2003). The combined insights of these typologies form the basis of the multi-feature hypothesis, which predicts that retention and ease of activation of new linguistic items are improved by mental actions which involve a wide variety of different features, simultaneously and frequently. A number of implications for future research shall be discussed.
Inside Front Cover: Buckled and Wavy Ribbons of GaAs for High‐Performance Electronics on Elastomeric Substrates (Adv. Mater. 21/2006)
Authors: Sun Y. , Kumar V. , Adesida I. , Rogers J. A. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractStretchable single‐crystalline GaAs nanoribbons and stretchable electronic devices fabricated with these ribbons are reported on p. 2857 by Sun, Rogers, and co‐workers. The inside cover shows an array of ‘wavy' GaAs nanoribbons (background) sitting on an elastomeric poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) support. Wavy and buckled ribbons integrated with metal electrodes (foreground inset) enable high‐performance, fully stretchable electronics, i.e., metal–semiconductor field‐effect transistors.
An analytical flow model for PTFE paste through annular dies
Authors: Patil Pramod D. , Feng James J. , Hatzikiriakos Savvas G. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractAn approximate mathematical model for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) paste extrusion through annular dies is developed. The model takes into account the elastic–plastic and viscous nature of the material in its nonmelt state arising from the formation of fibrils and the presence of lubricant. The radial flow hypothesis has been used to describe the flow kinematics of PTFE paste in the conical annular section of the die. The validity of this hypothesis is demonstrated by performing numerical simulations using a model recently developed for PTFE paste extrusion. Model predictions are presented for various cases and are found to be consistent with experimental results of macroscopic pressure drop measurements in rod and tube extrusion. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2006
Functional characterization of an orphan nuclear receptor, Rev‐ErbAα, in chondrocytes and its potential role in osteoarthritis
Authors: Chaturvedi P. , Pratta M. , Steplewski K. , Connor J. , Kumar S. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate the expression and function of the orphan nuclear receptor Rev‐ErbAα in articular cartilage and to investigate its role in osteoarthritis (OA).MethodsExpression of Rev‐ErbAα was analyzed at both the messenger RNA and protein levels in human and bovine articular cartilage and chondrocytes by real‐time polymerase chain reaction (TaqMan) and immunocytochemical techniques. The effects of cartilage catabolic and anabolic agents on the expression of Rev‐ErbAα were evaluated by TaqMan analysis. Overexpression was achieved by either adenoviral transduction or treatment with a peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor α agonist, whereas expression was suppressed by antisense oligonucleotides.ResultsAmong the 48 known nuclear receptors, Rev‐ErbAα was found to be the most highly expressed in OA cartilage. It is known to function as a transcription repressor. Treatment of articular chondrocytes with known catabolic agents resulted in the induction of Rev‐ErbAα, whereas stimulation with anabolic agents led to a decrease in expression. Overexpression of the nuclear receptor was associated with an increase in the expression of matrix‐degrading enzymes such as matrix metalloproteinase 13 and aggrecanase. In contrast, a decrease in Rev‐ErbAα expression led to a concomitant reduction in the activity of matrix‐degrading enzymes.ConclusionThis study is the first to demonstrate that Rev‐ErbAα is highly expressed in OA articular chondrocytes and that its expression is modulated by known cartilage catabolic and anabolic stimuli. We also demonstrated that modulation of Rev‐ErbAα expression in chondrocytes may be a novel means of regulating the expression and production of multiple matrix‐degrading enzymes. These observations suggest that Rev‐ErbAα may be a novel therapeutic target for OA.
Involvement of specific laminins and nidogens in the active remodeling of the basal lamina of labial salivary glands from patients with Sjögren's syndrome
Authors: Kwon Yoon‐Jeoung , Pérez Paola , Aguilera Sergio , Molina Claudio , Leyton Lisette , Alliende Cecilia , Leyton Cecilia , Brito Mónica , Romo Rafael , González María‐Julieta 
Published: October 2006

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate remodeling of the basal lamina of labial salivary glands (LSGs) from patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) by analyzing the expression of specific components that participate in its assembly and attachment to acinar and ductal cells.MethodsTwo groups of SS patients with similar levels of remnant glandular tissue but with low and high levels of interacinar fibrosis, respectively, were studied. The expression of laminin α1, α4, and γ2 chains and nidogens was examined at the messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels. Nidogens 1 and 2 were also studied in situ by immunohistochemistry.ResultsIncreases in the amount of mRNA and protein for both the processed and unprocessed laminin γ2‐chain were more pronounced in patients with low interacinar fibrosis. Increases in the protein levels of laminin α1 and α4 chains were observed in patients with low interacinar fibrosis, but not in those with high interacinar fibrosis. Nidogen mRNA and protein levels were similar in SS patients and controls. Interestingly, high levels of nidogen degradation were observed in patients with low interacinar fibrosis. Nidogens were readily detected by immunofluorescence in the basal lamina of the capillaries and stroma in SS patients, but were less apparent in the basal lamina of the acini and ducts.ConclusionThese results suggest that the basal lamina of LSGs from patients with SS is undergoing active remodeling, such that alterations are less evident in patients who have advanced morphologic signs of the disease (high interacinar fibrosis). Nidogen proteolysis might account for the disorganization of the basal lamina that is typically observed in LSGs from SS patients, assuming that cleavage impairs their ability to crosslink type IV collagen and laminin networks.