bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Management of a cadaveric orthotopic liver transplantation in a pediatric patient with complex congenital heart disease
Authors: FEIERMAN DENNIS E. , YUDKOWITZ FRANCINE S. , HOJSAK JOANNE , EMRE SUKRU 
Published: April 2006

SummaryPediatric orthotopic liver transplantations (OLT) are commonly performed nowadays. Two primary reasons for OLT in children are complications from either extrahepatic biliary atresia (EHBA) or inborn errors of metabolism. However, congenital liver disease may be associated with significant other congenital abnormalities. We present a case of a successful OLT in a pediatric patient with a history of EHBA, situs inversus, and complex congenital heart disease. The cardiac anomalies include dextrocardia, absence of the atrial septum (single atrium), single atrioventricular valve (a‐v canal), and an incomplete ventricular septum. Prior surgery include a Kasai procedure for EHBA, banding of the proximal main pulmonary artery, and Broviac catheter placement. We present the anesthesia concerns and management for this complicated case.
The relationship between insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia in cigarette smokers
Authors: Farin H. M. F. , Abbasi F. , Kim S. H. , Lamendola C. , McLaughlin T. , Reaven G. M. 
Published: April 2006

Aim:  Considerable evidence shows that cigarette smokers tend to have the dyslipidemic pattern of high plasma triglyceride (TG) and low high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C) concentrations, a highly atherogenic lipoprotein profile also typical of the insulin‐resistant state even in the absence of cigarette smoking. However, because cigarette smokers are frequently insulin resistant, it is unclear if this dyslipidaemia is secondary to smoking, per se, or simply to the fact that smokers tend to be insulin resistant. The present study was initiated to determine whether this dyslipidaemia prevalent in cigarette smokers and characteristic of insulin‐resistant individuals is a function of cigarette smoking or of insulin resistance.Methods:  As measured using vertical auto profile‐II methodology, the lipid and lipoprotein concentrations were compared in 34 cigarette smokers divided into insulin‐sensitive and insulin‐resistant subgroups. The two groups were similar in age and body mass index, differing only in their insulin‐mediated glucose uptake as quantified by the steady‐state plasma glucose concentration determined during the insulin suppression test.Results:  While levels of TG and very low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL‐C) were significantly elevated in insulin‐resistant cigarette smokers, total cholesterol (C), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C), narrow‐density (ND) LDL‐C, intermediate‐density lipoprotein‐C (IDL‐C), HDL‐C and non‐HDL‐C were not different in the two groups. The insulin‐resistant smokers also had a preponderance of small, dense LDL particles, while the reverse was true of the insulin‐sensitive cigarette smokers.Conclusions:  These data suggest that the dyslipidaemia previously attributed to smoking occurs primarily in those smokers who are also insulin resistant.
Interleukin‐8 levels in seminal plasma in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome and nonspecific urethritis
Authors: KHADRA ABBAS , FLETCHER PATRICIA , LUZZI GRAZ , SHATTOCK ROBIN , HAY PHILLIP 
Published: April 2006

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether a range of cytokines were detectable in the seminal plasma and urine of men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) and nonspecific urethritis (NSU), and whether cytokine levels correlated with symptom severity in CP/CPPS.PATIENTS AND METHODSIn all, 87 men participated, 33 with CP/CPPS, 31 with NSU, and 23 controls. Interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐2, IL‐6, IL‐8 and IL‐10 were measured in seminal plasma and first pass urine, and the results were correlated with scores for pain, urinary symptoms and quality‐of‐life impact using a validated symptom index, the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH‐CPSI).RESULTSSeminal plasma levels of IL‐8 were higher in men with CP/CPPS and NSU than in controls (P < 0.001), and the levels correlated with NIH‐CPSI symptom scores in men with CP/CPPS. There were no significant differences in urinary IL‐8 levels in the three groups, and no significant differences in levels of the other cytokines in either semen or urine.CONCLUSIONSemen IL‐8 levels correlate with subjective symptoms in men with CP/CPPS. IL‐8 might contribute to the pathophysiology of CP/CPPS and NSU, and elevated levels might be a useful marker of the condition.
Different isoform patterns for vascular endothelial growth factor between clear cell and papillary renal cell carcinoma
Authors: JACOBSEN JAN , GRANKVIST KJELL , RASMUSON TORGNY , LJUNGBERG BÖRJE 
Published: April 2006

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) isoforms in relation to the clinical course in patients with different renal cell carcinoma (RCC) types, as angiogenesis is essential for tumour growth and metastasis.PATIENTS AND METHODSWestern blots were assayed of protein extracts from tumour and concomitant kidney cortex samples from 96 patients. The levels of VEGF189, VEGF 165, and VEGF 121 isoforms were correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and survival.RESULTSVEGF189 levels were significantly higher in kidney cortex and chromophobe RCC than in papillary and conventional RCC. In papillary RCCs, VEGF189 levels correlated inversely with tumour stage and tumour size. VEGF165 levels were higher in kidney cortex than in RCC, but there was no difference among the RCC types. VEGF121 expression was associated with less advanced tumour stage in conventional RCC. Using multivariate analysis, VEGF189 remained as an independent prognostic factor for patients with papillary RCC.CONCLUSIONSVEGF189 was associated with tumour progression; in papillary RCC, VEGF189 was a significant independent prognostic factor. VEGF protein isoform patterns differed among the specific RCC types. Additional knowledge is essential to design new anti‐angiogenic therapies for all RCC types.
Patterns of Consent: Evidence from a General Household Survey
Authors: Jenkins Stephen P. , Cappellari Lorenzo , Lynn Peter , Jäckle Annette , Sala Emanuela 
Published: April 2006

SummaryWe analyse patterns of consent and consent bias in the context of a large general household survey, the ‘Improving survey measurement of income and employment’ survey, also addressing issues that arise when there are multiple consent questions. A multivariate probit regression model for four binary outcomes with two incidental truncations is used. We show that there are biases in consent to data linkage with benefit and tax credit administrative records that are held by the Department for Work and Pensions, and with wage and employment data held by employers. There are also biases in respondents’ willingness and ability to supply their national insurance number. The biases differ according to the question that is considered. We also show that modelling questions on consent independently rather than jointly may lead to misleading inferences about consent bias. A positive correlation between unobservable individual factors affecting consent to Department for Work and Pensions record linkage and consent to employer record linkage is suggestive of a latent individual consent propensity.
Improved Likelihood Inference for Discrete Data
Authors: Davison A. C. , Fraser D. A. S. , Reid N. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryDiscrete data, particularly count and contingency table data, are typically analysed by using methods that are accurate to first order, such as normal approximations for maximum likelihood estimators. By contrast continuous data can quite generally be analysed by using third-order procedures, with major improvements in accuracy and with intrinsic separation of information concerning parameter components. The paper extends these higher order results to discrete data, yielding a methodology that is widely applicable and accurate to second order. The extension can be described in terms of an approximating exponential model that is expressed in terms of a score variable. The development is outlined and the flexibility of the approach is illustrated by examples.
Testing Against a High Dimensional Alternative
Authors: Goeman Jelle J. , Van De Geer Sara A. , Van Houwelingen Hans C. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryAs the dimensionality of the alternative hypothesis increases, the power of classical tests tends to diminish quite rapidly. This is especially true for high dimensional data in which there are more parameters than observations. We discuss a score test on a hyperparameter in an empirical Bayesian model as an alternative to classical tests. It gives a general test statistic which can be used to test a point null hypothesis against a high dimensional alternative, even when the number of parameters exceeds the number of samples. This test will be shown to have optimal power on average in a neighbourhood of the null hypothesis, which makes it a proper generalization of the locally most powerful test to multiple dimensions. To illustrate this new locally most powerful test we investigate the case of testing the global null hypothesis in a linear regression model in more detail. The score test is shown to have significantly more power than the F-test whenever under the alternative the large variance principal components of the design matrix explain substantially more of the variance of the outcome than do the small variance principal components. The score test is also useful for detecting sparse alternatives in truly high dimensional data, where its power is comparable with the test based on the maximum absolute t-statistic.
Iron mineralization and dolomitization in the Paran Fault zone, Israel: implications for low‐temperature basinal fluid processes near the Dead Sea Transform
Authors: GROSZ S. , MATTHEWS A. , ILANI S. , AYALON A. , GARFUNKEL Z. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractPetrography, Eh‐pH calculations and the stable isotope composition of oxygen are used to interpret geochemical processes that occurred during iron oxide mineralization and dolomitization along the Menuha Ridge segment of the Paran Fault, southern Israel, adjacent to the Dead Sea Transform (DST). Iron mineralization is strongly localized in the fault zone as ferruginous lenses, whereas Fe dolomitization spreads laterally into the Cenomanian‐Turonian carbonate host rock as stratabound beds. The average oxygen isotope fractionation between syngenetic quartz and iron oxides in the ferruginous lenses gives a temperature of 50 ± 10°C and δ18O SMOW water = −3.5‰; consistent with an origin from metalliferous groundwater flow in the sedimentary basin. Ferroan dolomite initially formed under strongly reducing conditions, but this was followed by oxidation and pseudomorphic replacement of the dolomite by a mesh of fine‐grained iron oxides (simple zoned dolomites). This cycle of ferroan dolomite formation and replacement by iron oxides was repeated in complex zoned dolomites. Dolomite oxygen isotope compositions fall into two groups: a high δ18O group corresponding to the simple zoned dolomites and non‐ferroan dolomites and a low δ18O group corresponding to the complex zoned dolomites. Water‐rock calculations suggest that the epignetic dolomites formed under fluid‐buffered conditions: the high δ18O group are indicated to have formed at temperatures of ca. 25°C for waters with δ18O = −4 to 0‰; the low δ18O complex zoned dolomites at 50–75°C for waters with the same isotopic composition. A kinetic calculation for a complex zoned dolomite‐bearing bed indicates that dolomitization must have occurred at high values of the dolomite saturation index. This requirement for high Mg supersaturation and the indication that epigenetic dolomitization is more protracted in stratigraphically deeper formations located closer to the DST is consistent with models proposing that Mg‐rich solutions originated in the Dead Sea Rift.
IS IT ETHICAL TO STUDY WHAT OUGHT NOT TO HAPPEN?1
Authors: RENNIE STUART 
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACTIn the Democratic Republic of Congo, only an estimated 2% of all AIDS patients have access to treatment. As AIDS treatment access is scaled‐up in the coming years, difficult rationing decisions will have to be made concerning who will come to gain access to this scarce medical resource. This article focuses on the position, expressed by representatives of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), that the practice of AIDS treatment access rationing is fundamentally unethical because it conflicts with the ideal of universal treatment access and the human right to health. The conclusion is that MSF's position lacks coherence, has negative practical implications, and is unfair to governments struggling to increase patient's access to AIDS treatment in unfavorable circumstances.
DO AID AGENCIES HAVE AN ETHICAL DUTY TO COMPLY WITH RESEARCHERS? A RESPONSE TO RENNIE1
Authors: ZACHARIAH RONY , JANSSENS VINCENT , FORD NATHAN 
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACTMedical AID organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières receive several requests from individuals and international academic institutions to conduct research at their implementation sites in Africa.Do AID agencies have an ethical duty to comply with research requests? In this paper we respond to the views and constructed theories (albeit unfounded) of one such researcher, whose request to conduct research at one of our sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo was turned down.
ETHICS OF CARE AND HIV: A CASE FOR RURAL WOMEN IN INDIA
Authors: CHAKRABORTI CHHANDA 
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACTRecent literature shows that ethics of care can be used as a theoretical basis to add a new, important dimension to social issues. This paper argues for a similar extension of the theoretical support from ethics of care to an area in bioethics. Specifically, it contends that a justification based ethics of care can be constructed to argue for a moral obligation to give some priority in the HIV‐related initiatives to one of most vulnerable groups; namely, the rural women in India. In an epidemic situation this care‐based approach has certain advantages as a moral justification over the usual traditional approaches.
Impairment of Skin Barrier Function is not Inherent in Atopic Dermatitis Patients: A Prospective Study Conducted in Newborns
Authors: Kikuchi Katsuko , Kobayashi Hiromi , O’goshi Ken‐ichiro , Tagami Hachiro 
Published: April 2006

Abstract:  We conducted a cohort study to determine whether the barrier dysfunction of the stratum corneum that facilitates the penetration of various exacerbating agents from the environment is inherent in atopic dermatitis patients as suggested by some dermatologists. Clinical observation and biophysical measurements of the skin were performed on the cheek and on the flexor forearm of 24 newborn infants once between 2 and 14 days postnatally and 1, 3, and 6 months later. Nineteen had atopic family histories. Most of the infants had physiologic neonatal xerosis that was observed as a reduced high‐frequency conductance without any impairment in the stratum corneum barrier function assessed by transepidermal water loss. Four of the 24 neonates developed atopic dermatitis around 2 to 3 months after birth. In all of them, barrier impairment noted as increased transepidermal water loss was observed only after the development of skin lesions. During their neonatal period, their transepidermal water loss and skin surface hydration state were indistinguishable from those of the neonates whose skin remained lesion‐free during the observation period. Therefore, we concluded that the barrier impairment found in atopic dermatitis is not inherent but represents a phenomenon secondary to dermatitic skin changes.
Profile of Childhood Vitiligo in China: An Analysis of 541 Patients
Authors: Hu Zhi , Liu Jiang‐Bo , Ma Sui‐Sui , Yang Sen , Zhang Xue‐Jun 
Published: April 2006

Abstract:  From July to December 2002, we collected data from 2247 vitiligo patients in order to establish the clinical and epidemiologic profile of vitiligo in China. Of these patients, 541 (24.1%) were children aged equal to or less than 12 years. Of the 541 children, 274 (50.6%) were boys and 267 (49.4%) were girls, with a mean age of 8.87 years and a mean onset age of 7.28 years. Similar to adult patients, boys and girls were affected by vitiligo with equal frequency. The most frequent age of onset was between 4 and 8 years (42.5%). The mean duration of vitiligo was 19.71 months (range: 0–132 months). The most common type of vitiligo was vitiligo vulgaris, the frequency of which was 38.1%, followed by focal vitiligo (34.6%), segmental vitiligo (19.4%), acrofacial vitiligo (7.6%), and universal vitiligo (0.4%). Segmental vitiligo had an earlier the other types. Of the 541 children with vitiligo, 60 (11.1%) had a family history, and 3 (0.6%) had more than one family member who was affected. Forty‐one (7.6%) children had an associated autoimmune disease: halo nevi and alopecia areata, which were observed in 39 (7.2%) and 2 (0.4%) children, respectively.
Patch Testing of Singapore Children and Adolescents: Our Experience over 18 Years
Authors: Goon Anthony Teik‐Jin , Goh Chee‐Leok 
Published: April 2006

Abstract:  This is a retrospective epidemiologic study of allergic contact dermatitis in children and adolescents in Singapore who had undergone patch testing from January 1, 1986 to December 31, 2003. A total of 2340 patients below the age of 21 years had undergone patch testing. Of these, 1063 (583 girls, 480 boys) were positive to one or more allergens. The most common allergens were: nickel (40%), thimerosal (15%), colophony (9%), lanolin (8%), cobalt (8%), fragrance mix (5%), and neomycin (4%). Each of these allergens will be discussed individually. This is the first study with over 1000 patients on this subject from Asia.
Growth, Bone Mineral Accretion, and Adrenal Function in Glucocorticoid‐Treated Infants with Hemangiomas – A Retrospective Study
Authors: Lomenick Jefferson P. , Backeljauw Philippe F. , Lucky Anne W. 
Published: April 2006

Abstract:  Hemangiomas, common proliferative vascular tumors, can grow rapidly in the first months of life. Although therapy with high‐dose oral glucocorticoids is standard for lesions that threaten vital functions or are disfiguring, little is known about the endocrine consequences of this treatment. Using retrospective data, we examined growth velocity, changes in bone mineral density, and adrenal function in infants with hemangiomas treated with systemic glucocorticoids. Treatment consisted of oral prednisolone 2 to 4 mg/kg/day or dexamethasone 1 mg/kg/day. Mean growth velocity Z score on glucocorticoid therapy was −1.41 standard deviations in 13 patients. In four infants with adequate follow‐up, growth velocity increased to +1.90 standard deviations after glucocorticoid treatment (Δ growth velocity +3.31 standard deviations). Mean lumbar spine bone mineral density Z score was −2.46 standard deviations before glucocorticoid treatment and −1.08 standard deviations at the end of treatment in six infants. Adrenal function after glucocorticoid therapy was assessed by low‐dose adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation test in 10 infants. Eight had a normal cortisol response, and one had a borderline response. One infant, who had been treated with dexamethasone, had an abnormal test result. In conclusion, systemic glucocorticoid treatment in infants with hemangiomas slowed linear growth, but “catch‐up” growth was observed after treatment ceased. Glucocorticoids did not affect bone mineralization adversely. Only 1 of 10 glucocorticoid‐treated infants had clear evidence of adrenal insufficiency after therapy was stopped.
Albendazole: Single or Combination Therapy with Permethrin against Pediculosis Capitis
Authors: Akisu Ciler , Delibas Songul Bayram , Aksoy Umit 
Published: April 2006

Abstract:  Pediculosis capitis is a worldwide problem and a growing concern because of resistance to pediculicides. In the present study, we investigated whether albendazole could be used in the treatment of pediculosis capitis in combination with 1% permethrin or alone. A total of 150 children were randomly divided to five groups of 30 each. Group 1 got albendazole in a single dose (400 mg), group 2 got albendazole at 400 mg for 3 days, group 3 was given 1% permethrin, group 4 took 1% permethrin and albendazole in a single dose (400 mg), and group 5 got 1% permethrin and albendazole in a dose of 400 mg for 3 days. Groups given albendazole were also given another 400 mg dose of albendazole after 1 week. The success rate of treatment at the 2‐week follow‐up for all groups was 61.5%, 66.6%, 80.0%, 84.6%, and 82.1%, respectively. No statistically significant difference was found between the groups. The results of this study suggest that albendazole is effective against pediculosis capitis and there is no synergistic effect between albendazole and 1% permethrin.
Inhibition of the Multidrug Transporter P‐Glycoprotein Improves Seizure Control in Phenytoin‐treated Chronic Epileptic Rats
Authors: Van Vliet Erwin A. , Van Schaik Rosalinde , Edelbroek Peter M. , Redeker Sandra , Aronica Eleonora , Wadman Wytse J. , Marchi Nicola , Vezzani Annamaria , Gorter Jan A. 
Published: April 2006

Summary:  Purpose: Overexpression of multidrug transporters such as P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp) may play a significant role in pharmacoresistance, by preventing antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) from reaching their targets in the brain. Until now, many studies have described increased P‐gp expression in epileptic tissue or have shown that several AEDs act as substrates for P‐gp. However, definitive proof showing the functional involvement of P‐gp in pharmacoresistance is still lacking. Here we tested whether P‐gp contributes to pharmacoresistance to phenytoin (PHT) by using a specific P‐gp inhibitor in a model of spontaneous seizures in rats. Methods: The effects of PHT on spontaneous seizure activity were investigated in the electrical post–status epilepticus rat model for temporal lobe epilepsy, before and after administration of tariquidar (TQD), a selective inhibitor of P‐gp. Results: A 7‐day treatment with therapeutic doses of PHT suppressed spontaneous seizure activity in rats, but only partially. However, an almost complete control of seizures by PHT (93 ± 7%) was obtained in all rats when PHT was coadministered with TQD. This specific P‐gp inhibitor was effective in improving the anticonvulsive action of PHT during the first 3–4 days of the treatment. Western blot analysis confirmed P‐gp upregulation in epileptic brains (140–200% of control levels), along with ∼20% reduced PHT brain levels. Inhibition of P‐gp by TQD significantly increased PHT brain levels in chronic epileptic rats. Conclusions: These findings show that TQD significantly improves the anticonvulsive action of PHT, thus establishing a proof‐of‐concept that the administration of AEDs in combination with P‐gp inhibitors may be a promising therapeutic strategy in pharmacoresistant patients.