bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Characterization of the IGF system in 15 patients with Alström syndrome
Authors: Maffei Pietro , Boschetti Mara , Marshall Jan D. , Paisey Richard B. , Beck Sebastian , Resmini Eugenia , Collin Gayle B. , Naggert Jürgen K. , Milan Gabriella , Vettor Roberto , Minuto Francesco , Sicolo Nicola , Barreca Antonella 
Published: January 2007

SummaryBackground  Alström syndrome (ALMS) is a rare recessively inherited progressive disease (OMIM 203800). Among its diverse spectrum of clinical features are phenotypes associated with deficiencies of the GH/IGF‐I axis, including short stature, obesity, insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridaemia and heart failure.Patients and measurements  To characterize the IGF system in ALMS, we evaluated a subset of 15 young adults with ALMS for hepatic, renal and thyroid function. Glycaemic and hormone measurements such as insulin, GH, FSH, LH, testosterone and 17‐beta‐oestradiol were clinically assessed. In addition, we measured IGF‐I, IGF‐II, IGF binding‐protein‐3 (IGFBP‐3) and acid labile subunit (ALS – the subunits that constitute the main somatomedin complex in the circulation), and IGFBP‐1 and IGFBP‐2 (known to influence the bioavailability of the IGFs).Results  A significantly lower height was observed in ALMS patients compared to age‐matched controls. ALMS patients were clinically obese (by weight and body mass index (BMI) standards) and leptin levels correlated with BMI. Renal and hepatic dysfunction was implicated in some patients by increased values of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine, and transaminases, respectively. One‐third of the patients presented with fasting hyperglycaemia and 80% were hyperinsulinaemic. TSH was slightly increased in 20% of patients. Baseline FSH and LH in females were within the normal range, while half of the males had abnormally low testosterone values. Male patients with hypogonadism showed significantly lower testosterone, oestrogen and ALS levels. Baseline GH values were not found to be increased. ALS and IGFBP‐1 were significantly reduced and IGFBP‐2 was markedly increased in ALMS patients compared to age‐matched controls. The IGFs and IGFBPs were not significantly different between males and females affected with ALMS. No significant association was observed between IGFs or IGFBPs levels and weight, height, BMI, glycaemia, hyperinsulinaemia and testosterone levels. However, we found a significant association of gamma‐glutamyltransferase (GGT) with IGFBP‐2. IGF‐I levels were significantly associated with LH in female patients.Conclusions  In summary, the reduction of ALS and the increase of IGFBP‐2 points to a growth hormone deficiency (GHD) condition in ALMS. However, further tests, including GH dynamics, are needed to determine whether, or to what degree disturbances in the GH/IGF axis contribute to the relatively short stature.
Vital pulpotomy in the primary dentition: attitudes and practices of community dental staff in Wales
Authors: HINGSTON EMMA JANE , PARMAR SHARLENE , HUNTER MARGARET LINDSAY 
Published: January 2007

Objective. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified formaldehyde as carcinogenic to humans, leaving the dental profession to look for viable substitutes to formocresol in the vital pulpotomy technique. This study was designed to examine the attitudes and practices of Community Dental Service (CDS) staff in Wales in relation to vital pulpotomy for primary molars 18 months following the IARC's press release.Methods. The study employed a postal questionnaire.Results. Questionnaires were returned by 79 (78.2%) of the CDS staff surveyed, yielding a sample of 65 dentists practising the technique. The most commonly used pulpotomy agents were formocresol, paraformaldehyde and ferric sulphate. Twenty‐seven (41.5%) dentists expressed concern regarding their preferred pulpotomy agent and 17 (26.2%) were considering changing their technique. Only one respondent (1.5% of the sample) routinely took preoperative radiographs; follow‐up radiographs were routinely taken by only three dentists (4.6%). Only 44 respondents (67.7%) always used local anaesthesia for this form of treatment. Amalgam was the most commonly used restorative material. Twenty‐two respondents (33.8%) stated that they would pulp treat a primary molar on more than one occasion.Conclusions. The results of this study suggest that there is need for relevant continuing professional development courses for CDS staff in Wales.
Functional time limit and onset of symptoms in infant abusive head trauma
Authors: Biron Dean L , Shelton Doug 
Published: January 2007

Aim:  To analyse medical and witness evidence collected during investigations of infant abusive head trauma with a view to (i) isolating cases where a functional time limit could be established and (ii) examining those cases for evidence of the onset of neurological symptoms.Methods:  A retrospective study was undertaken of severe infant abusive head trauma cases investigated by the Queensland Police Service over a 10‐year period. In cases where sufficient reliable (non‐perpetrator) evidence was available, a functional time limit was documented. Those files were then examined for further medical, witness or perpetrator evidence of the infant victim’s response to the assault.Results:  A functional time limit was established in 16 of 52 cases (31%). In 11 of the 16 cases there was evidence of an immediate neurological response on the part of the victim.Conclusion:  The study suggests that the period between assault and onset of symptoms in infant abusive head trauma is brief, particularly in cases of an acute deterioration where proximate medical intervention is required. In those cases with sufficient evidence of the victim’s condition post‐injury, the symptoms presented without delay.
A Theory of Civil Conflict and Democracy in Rentier States*
Authors: Aslaksen Silje , Torvik Ragnar 
Published: January 2007

AbstractThe effects of resource rents on the political equilibrium have been studied in two main types of models. The first tradition uses models of conflict, and studies how resource rents affect the intensity and duration of civil conflict. The second tradition uses political economy models, where resource rents affect the political equilibrium due to changes in the costs and benefits of buying votes. Although they provide considerable insight, these traditions have little to say about when democracy emerges, and about when conflict emerges. In this paper, by integrating the earlier model traditions, we suggest the simplest possible framework we can think of to study the choice between conflict and democracy. We show how factors such as resource rents, the extent of electoral competition, and productivity affect economic and political equilibria.
Controversy and Censorship: The Debate on René Schickele's Hans im Schnakenloch
Authors: McGillicuddy Áine 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTBorn into a Franco‐German bilingual environment, René Schickele (1883–1940) grew up in an Alsace that had been annexed to the Second German Empire since the Franco‐Prussian war but which still retained cultural links to France. During this phase of the region's troubled history, which led up to the outbreak of World War I, Schickele insisted on the necessity for Alsace not only to retain its double cultural heritage but also to develop its potential to be a mediator between its neighbouring rivals. Such pacifist discourse was viewed with hostility and suspicion at a time when nationalist sentiment was reaching its apogee. Schickele poignantly depicts the identity crisis and trauma for the people of Alsace at this climactic point of Franco‐German rivalry in his wartime drama Hans im Schnakenloch.The controversy which Hans im Schnakenloch provoked, given the ambiguous loyalties of its eponymous protagonist Hans, is discussed here with particular reference to the attitude of the Berlin censorship authorities. The lively debate on the political content of the play which took place between the Berlin authorities and the upper echelons of the German army is documented, as well as the hitherto unknown concerted effort between the Germans and Austrians to ban the play in Vienna which led to its subsequent banning all over Germany.
Evaluation of a decision aid for women with breech presentation at term: a randomised controlled trial [ISRCTN14570598]
Authors: Nassar N , Roberts CL , Raynes‐Greenow CH , Barratt A , Peat B ,   Decision Aid for Breech Presentation Trial Collaborators
Published: January 2007

Objectives  To evaluate the effectiveness of a decision aid for women with a breech presentation compared with usual care.Design  Randomised controlled trial.Setting  Tertiary obstetric hospitals offering external cephalic version (ECV).Population  Women with a singleton pregnancy were diagnosed antenatally with a breech presentation at term, and were clinically eligible for ECV.Methods  Women were randomised to either receive a decision aid about the management options for breech presentation in addition to usual care or to receive usual care only with standard counselling from their usual pregnancy care provider. The decision aid comprised a 24‐page booklet supplemented by a 30‐minute audio‐CD and worksheet that was designed for women to take home and review with a partner.Main outcome measures  Decisional conflict (uncertainty), knowledge, anxiety and satisfaction with decision making, and were assessed using self‐administered questionnaires.Results  Compared with usual care, women reviewing the decision aid experienced significantly lower decisional conflict (mean difference −8.92; 95% CI −13.18, −4.66) and increased knowledge (mean difference 8.40; 95% CI 3.10, 13.71), were more likely to feel that they had enough information to make a decision (RR 1.30; 95% CI 1.14, 1.47), had no increase in anxiety and reported greater satisfaction with decision making and overall experience of pregnancy and childbirth. In contrast, 19% of women in the usual care group reported they would have made a different decision about their care.Conclusions  A decision aid is an effective and acceptable tool for pregnant women that provides an important adjunct to standard counselling for the management of breech presentation.
Aging stimulates cyclooxygenase‐2 expression and prostaglandin E2 production in human periodontal ligament cells after the application of compressive force
Authors: Mayahara Kotoe , Kobayashi Yasuko , Takimoto Kiyomi , Suzuki Naoto , Mitsui Narihiro , Shimizu Noriyoshi 
Published: January 2007

Background and Objectives:  Some clinical studies show that alveolar crestal bone loss is higher in adults than in young patients during orthodontic treatment, but the causes of such a phenomenon have not been elucidated. It is known that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a proinflammatory agent and one of the potent osteoclast‐inducing factors, and is produced by human periodontal ligament cells in response to orthodontic force. The aim of this study was to investigate age‐related change in the biosynthetic capacity of PGE2 and its regulatory gene, cyclooxygenase 2 (COX‐2) from periodontal ligament cells in response to mechanical stress.Methods:  Compressive force of 2 g/cm2 was applied for 3–48 h to periodontal ligament cells obtained from human donors aged 9–50 years, and COX‐2 mRNA expression in and PGE2 production by the periodontal ligament cells in response to the compressive force were examined.Results:  Application of a compressive force of 2 g/cm2 for 3–48 h significantly stimulated these factors in both time‐ and age‐dependent manners. Furthermore, these increases were dramatically larger in periodontal ligament cells obtained from donors over the age of 35.Conclusions:  Periodontal ligament cells obtained from old donors have significantly greater COX‐2 expression and PGE2 production in response to compressive force than those from younger donors. The turning point of aging, where significantly larger amounts of theses factors begin production, appears to be around the age of 35. These results may be positively related to the acceleration of alveolar crestal bone loss during orthodontic treatment in adult patients.
Recombinant Truncated Nucleocapsid Protein as Antigen in a Novel Immunoglobulin M Capture Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Diagnosis of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection
Authors: Yu Fuxun , Le Mai Quynh , Inoue Shingo , Hasebe Futoshi , Parquet Maria del Carmen , Morikawa Shigeru , Morita Kouichi 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACT
We report the development of an immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (MAC-ELISA) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) by using recombinant truncated SARS-CoV nucleocapsid protein as the antigen. The newly developed MAC-ELISA had a specificity and sensitivity of 100% as evaluated by using sera from healthy volunteers and patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS. Using serial serum samples collected from SARS patients, the times to seroconversion were determined by IgM antibody detection after SARS-CoV infection. The median time to seroconversion detection was 8 days (range, 5 to 17 days) after disease onset, and the seroconversion rates after the onset of illness were 33% by the first week, 97% by the second week, and 100% by the third week. Compared with the results of our previous report on the detection of IgG, the median seroconversion time by IgM detection was 3 days earlier and the seroconversion rate by the second week after the illness for IgM was significantly higher than by IgG assay. Our results indicating that the IgM response appears earlier than IgG after SARS-CoV infection in consistent with those for other pathogens. Our newly developed MAC-ELISA system offers a new alternative for the confirmation of SARS-CoV infection.
The IE2 60-Kilodalton and 40-Kilodalton Proteins Are Dispensable for Human Cytomegalovirus Replication but Are Required for Efficient Delayed Early and Late Gene Expression and Production of Infectious Virus
Authors: White Elizabeth A. , Del Rosario Christia J. , Sanders Rebecca L. , Spector Deborah H. 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACT
The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) IE2 86-kDa protein is an essential transactivator of viral and cellular gene expression. Additional proteins of 60 and 40 kDa are expressed from the IE2 gene at late times postinfection and are identical to the C terminus of IE2 86. We have constructed HCMV recombinants that express wild-type full-length IE2 86 but do not express the IE2 40- and 60-kDa proteins. Each of these recombinants is viable, indicating that neither the 60-kDa nor the 40-kDa protein is required for virus replication, either alone or in combination. Cells infected with the IE2 60 and IE2 40 deletion mutants, however, exhibit decreased expression of selected viral genes at late times. In particular, expression of the viral DNA replication factor UL84 is affected by the deletion of IE2 40, and expression of the tegument protein pp65 (ppUL83) is affected by the deletion of both IE2 40 and IE2 60. IE2 60 and IE2 40 are also required for the production of normal levels of infectious virus. Finally, IE2 40 appears to function as a repressor of major immediate-early transcription in the infected cell. These results begin to define functions for the IE2 60- and IE2 40-kDa proteins and indicate that these products contribute both to the expression of selected viral genes and to the overall progression of the infection.
Prevalence of human papillomavirus genotypes and their variants in high risk West Africa women immigrants in South Italy
Authors: Tornesello Maria Lina , Duraturo Maria Luisa , Buonaguro Luigi , Vallefuoco Gabriele , Piccoli Roberto , Palmieri Stefano , Buonaguro Franco M 
Published: January 2007

Abstract

Background
The distribution of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) varies greatly across populations and HPV surveys have been performed in different geographical regions in order to apply appropriate vaccine strategies. Little information, however, exists regarding HPV genotypes distribution in immigrant women from countries at high incidence for cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the spectrum of HPVs and their variants among HIV-positive and HIV-negative women immigrants in South Italy mainly from West Africa and with a history of prostitution.

Results
Cervical cytological samples have been collected from 14 HIV-positive and 31 HIV-negative immigrants (38 out of 45 were born in Nigeria), attending a gynecological outpatient clinic in the Campania region. Human papillomaviruses were detected by broad spectrum consensus-primer-pairs MY09/MY11 and GP5+/GP6+-based polymerase chain reaction and characterized by nucleotide sequence analysis. Altogether, 42.2% (19/45) of samples were HPV positive with detection rates of 57.1% (8/14) in HIV-positive and 35.5% (11/31) in HIV-negative women. Among the twelve different viral genotypes identified, HPV33, 58, 70 and 81 were the prevalent genotypes with a frequency of 6.7% each, followed by HPV16, 35, 42, 54, 31, 52, 56 and 67, in descending order of prevalence. Sequence homology studies performed on the L1 amplified fragments of HPV16, 52 and 58 isolates allowed the identification of nucleotide changes distinctive of non-European variants.

Conclusion
The overall HPV prevalence (42.2%) was high in this immigrant women group with the most common viral types other than HPV16 and 18, against which current vaccine strategies have been developed. The distribution of HPV genotypes and their variants in high-risk immigrants reflects that of their original countries. The surveillance of risk groups that may act as viral reservoirs of uncommon genotypes within different countries are necessary to determine the severity of HPV infection with the different viral types and to monitor a possible shift of prevalent strains following vaccination.
Anxiety, Stress, Depression, and Patients' Responses to Periodontal Treatment: Periodontists' Knowledge and Professional Behavior
Authors: Kloostra Paul W. , Eber Robert M. , Inglehart Marita Rohr 
Published: January 2007

Background: Anxiety, stress, and depression affect the use of health care services, treatment decision‐making, and responses to periodontal treatment. This study explored periodontists' confidence in detecting patient anxiety, stress, or depression, as well as their knowledge concerning the relationships between these factors and patients' pain, use of pain medication, and wound healing after periodontal treatment. In addition, this research surveyed if (and which) special accommodations were offered when treating patients with high levels of anxiety, stress, or depression.Methods: Data were collected from 171 members of the American Academy of Periodontology (response rate = 34.41%). Most respondents were male (82.2%), white (88.2%), and practiced in solo practices (60.9%).Results: The respondents were more knowledgeable about the effects of anxiety and stress on pain, the use of pain medication, and wound healing than about the impact of depression on these outcomes. They agreed more strongly with statements that they were more confident in their ability to perceive when patients were anxious and stressed than when they were depressed. They also offered more special accommodations for patients with anxiety and stress than for patients with depression.Conclusions: The respondents were significantly less knowledgeable about the impact of depression on patients' responses to periodontal treatment than about the effect of anxiety and stress. Given the evidence concerning the relationships among depression, pain, pain medication use, and wound healing, it is important to educate periodontists about the role of anxiety and stress and the significance of depression on their patients' responses to periodontal therapy.
Comparison of Subgingival Bacterial Sampling With Oral Lavage for Detection and Quantification of Periodontal Pathogens by Real‐Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
Authors: Boutaga Khalil , Savelkoul Paul H.M. , Winkel Edwin G. , van Winkelhoff Arie J. 
Published: January 2007

Background: Saliva has been studied for the presence of subgingival pathogens in periodontitis patients. With the anaerobic culture technique, the discrepancy between salivary recovery and subgingival presence has been significant, which makes this approach not suitable for practical use in the microbial diagnosis of periodontitis patients. The real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique represents a very sensitive technique to detect and quantify bacterial pathogens. The aim of the study was to compare the presence and numbers of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythensis, Prevotella intermedia, and Micromonas micros in subgingival plaque and mouthwash samples by the anaerobic culture and real‐time PCR techniques.Methods: Pooled subgingival plaque samples and 10‐ml mouthwash samples were collected from 21 adult patients with periodontitis and analyzed by quantitative anaerobic culture and real‐time PCR for A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, T. forsythensis, P. intermedia, and M. micros.Results: The detection frequency of A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, and T. forsythensis in subgingival plaque was identical by culture and real‐time PCR and was higher for P. intermedia and M. micros by real‐time PCR. The highest detection frequencies for the target bacteria were found in mouthwash samples by real‐time PCR. The additional value of the real‐time PCR to detect target bacteria was 38% for P. gingivalis, 73% for T. forsythensis, 77% for P. intermedia, and 71% for M. micros. The sensitivity to detect target species in mouthwash by real‐time PCR was 100% for all test species except for P. intermedia (93.8%).Conclusions: Rapid detection and quantification of periodontal pathogens in mouthwash samples are possible by real‐time PCR. The procedure is significantly less time‐consuming than subgingival sampling with paper points. This approach to detect major periodontal pathogens in mouthwash samples may simplify microbial diagnosis in periodontitis patients and may be used to monitor periodontal treatment.