bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Alterations in the peripheral circulation in COPD patients
Authors: Boussuges Alain , Rossi Pascal , Gouitaa Marion , Nussbaum Eric 
Published: May 2007

SummaryRationale  Although various factors influence peripheral circulation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, little is known about the vasomotor changes in these subjects.Objectives  The present study was designed to assess alterations in the brachial circulation of COPD patients.Methods  Twenty‐five COPD patients and 25 healthy subjects were studied. Brachial artery (BA) blood flow and indices of BA stiffness were investigated by two‐dimensional ultrasonography and pulsed Doppler. Cardiac dimensions, left ventricular (LV) function and cardiac output were assessed by pulsed Doppler echocardiography.Main results  A significant increase in LV mass was observed in the COPD group despite normal arterial pressure. Total arterial compliance and BA compliance were significantly decreased in COPD patients in comparison with healthy subjects. Heart rate was increased in COPD patients and was inversely correlated with PaO2 and forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1). A decrease in LV preload was expressed by a reduction in LV diastolic diameters and LV stroke volume. Patients with severe COPD have a lower BA surface area than patients with moderate COPD. FEV1 and PaO2 were significantly related to BA compliance.Conclusion  In COPD patients, significant alterations in the peripheral circulation were observed. Moreover, the magnitude of changes in the peripheral circulation was related to the severity of COPD.
Scotland, Europe and the English ‘Missing Link’
Authors: Murdoch Steve 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis article discusses recent developments in the field of Scottish relations with Europe in the early modern period. It does so in two sections; firstly by précising some of the important scholarship conducted in this field over the last decade. This has revealed in greater depth the important military, diplomatic and commercial links one small Atlantic nation had with her European neighbours. The second section of the article flags up the biggest single omission in the field of Scottish migration by looking to Scotland's closest neighbour (and the only European country with which she shares a land border), England. It reflects on the few previous endeavours that have contemplated this field; postulates why the field remains largely untilled and concludes with an assessment of where England might fit in comparison to those locations that have benefited from sustained scholarly attention.
Role of Bacterial Strain Diversity of Helicobacter pylori in Gastric Carcinogenesis Induced by N‐Methyl‐N‐nitrosourea in Mongolian Gerbils
Authors: Kawazoe Tomotaro , Sakagami Takashi , Nakajima Kazuhiko , Hori Kazutoshi , Fukuda Yoshihiro , Matsumoto Takayuki , Miwa Hiroto 
Published: May 2007

AbstractAim:  Helicobacter pylori is known to enhance gastric carcinogenesis induced by chemical carcinogens. We previously demonstrated that infection with H. pylori strain SS1 did not enhance such carcinogenesis in C57BL/6 mice. Whether this result was due to the bacterial strain SS1 or to the experimental host, C57BL/6 mice, should be addressed. Therefore, we examined whether H. pylori strains introduced to the same host (Mongolian gerbils) differed in carcinogenicity.Materials and Methods:   H. pylori TN2GF4 strain (CagA(+), VacA(+)) and SS1 strain (CagA functionally(–), VacA(–)) were infected to Mongolian gerbils (n = 126). In the first experiment (induction of gastritis), histologic change in gastric mucosa of gerbils infected by H. pylori (TN2GF4, SS1, vehicle) without N‐methyl‐N‐nitrosourea (MNU) at 1 month or 6 months was assessed. In the second experiment (experimental carcinogenesis), H. pylori (TN2GF4, SS1, vehicle) was inoculated to the gerbils after administration of MNU for 10 weeks, and the number of cancers and histopathologic changes at week 54 were assessed.Results:  In the first experiment, activity and inflammation in the TN2GF4 group were significantly greater than in the SS1 group at 1 month, while no significant difference was noted at 6 months. On the other hand, intestinal metaplasia and atrophy were significantly greater with TN2GF4 than with SS1 at 6 months but not at 1 month. In studies on experimental carcinogenesis, microscopically, 47.8% (11/23), 26% (7/26), and 0% (0/26), of animals had gastric adenocarcinoma in the MNU + TN2GF4 group, MNU + SS1 group, and MNU alone group, respectively.Conclusion:  Both H. pylori strains, TN2GF4 and SS1, promoted carcinogenesis in Mongolian gerbils. The severity of gastritis and destruction and restoration of gastric mucosa may be related to gastric carcinogenesis. That the SS1 strain significantly accelerated carcinogenesis only in Mongolian gerbils and not in C57BL/6 mice suggests the crucial role of host factors in carcinogenesis by H. pylori infection.
Considering Increased Mouse Stomach Mass When Calculating Prophylactic Vaccine Efficacy Against Helicobacter pylori
Authors: Sutton Philip 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBackground:  Calculating the level of protection follow vaccination against Helicobacter pylori in mice is conventionally performed based on stomach mass. However, prophylactic vaccination is associated with a post‐immunisation gastritis which results in considerable thickening of the gastric mucosa.Results and Conclusions:  Here, an analysis of nine experiments demonstrates that this post‐immunisation gastritis can actually induce a significant increase in stomach mass. To determine whether this mass increase impacts upon the perceived level of protection, calculations were performed comparing colony‐forming units (CFU) either per gram of tissue or per whole stomach. A trend was apparent towards increased stomach mass influencing the degree of protection if CFU were calculated per gram. However, as this effect was not significant, it appears valid to express CFU either per gram or per stomach (if age and gender matched mice are used).
Progress relating to calculation of partial melting equilibria for metapelites
Authors: WHITE R. W. , POWELL R. , HOLLAND T. J. B. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractImproved activity–composition relationships for biotite, garnet and silicate liquid are used to construct updated P–T grids and pseudosections for high‐grade metapelites. The biotite model involves Ti charge‐balanced by hydrogen deprotonation on the hydroxyl site, following the substitution , where HD represents the hydroxyl site. Relative to equivalent biotite‐breakdown melting reactions in P–T grids in K2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O (KFMASH), those in K2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O–TiO2–O2 (KFMASHTO) occur at temperatures close to 50 °C higher. A further consequence of the updated activity models is that spinel‐bearing equilibria occur to higher temperature and higher pressure. In contrast, the addition of Na2O and CaO to KFMASH to make the Na2O–CaO–K2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O (NCKFMASH) system lowers key biotite‐breakdown melting reactions in P–T space relative to KFMASH. Combination of the KFMASHTO and NCKFMASH systems to make Na2O–CaO–K2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O–TiO2–O2 (NCKFMASHTO) results in key biotite‐breakdown melting reactions occurring at temperatures intermediate between those in KFMASHTO and those in NCKFMASH. Given such differences, the choice of model system will be critical to inferred P–T conditions in the application of mineral equilibria modelling to rocks. Further, pseudosections constructed in KFMASH, NCKFMASH and NCKFMASHTO for several representative rock compositions show substantial differences not only in the P–T conditions of key metamorphic assemblages but also overall topology, with the calculations in NCKFMASHTO more reliably reflecting equilibria in rocks. Application of mineral equilibria modelling to rocks should be undertaken in the most comprehensive system possible, if reliable quantitative P–T information is to be derived.
Treatment Seeking in Populations in Urban and Rural Settings on the Border
Authors: Spence Richard , Wallisch Lynn , Smith Shanna 
Published: May 2007

Background: Only a small proportion of persons with alcohol or drug problems seek help in the form of treatment for these problems. To examine service disparities among Hispanics living in urban and rural border areas, an improved understanding of factors associated with service seeking is needed for this population.Methods: In‐person interviews were conducted with a sample of 1,200 colonia residents and urban residents living along the Texas border with Mexico. For the present study, the dataset was limited to Hispanic respondents (85% of the sample) and those who reported any indicator of need for treatment (38% of the sample). There were 380 respondents who met these criteria. Treatment seeking was measured by any past attempt, successful or unsuccessful, to obtain treatment or by their present stated desire for treatment. Factors influencing treatment seeking were compared across 3 sites.Results: Path analyses indicated that, after taking demographics into account, severity of need (the total number of drug‐related and alcohol‐related problems experienced by an individual) was a strong influence on treatment seeking, but income‐related variables were more influential than severity of need in 1 site. Generation of immigration was positively related to treatment seeking in 2 sites, and in colonias, high religiosity was related to treatment seeking. In 2 sites, need severity was related to neighborhood variables. In colonias, need severity was related to low income and low religiosity.Conclusions: This framework for understanding treatment seeking in border communities suggests that pathways to treatment seeking vary by locality in ways that may reflect variations in local environments and service systems. Design of outreach efforts should be tailored to the unique social and service system challenges of each local community. Although service seeking is low overall, findings are suggestive of an inequitable service access structure in 1 site where need is not the predominant factor for treatment seeking.
S‐Adenosylmethionine Attenuates Hepatic Lipid Synthesis in Micropigs Fed Ethanol With a Folate‐Deficient Diet
Authors: Esfandiari Farah , You Min , Villanueva Jesus A. , Wong Donna H. , French Samuel W. , Halsted Charles H. 
Published: May 2007

Background: To demonstrate a causative role of abnormal methionine metabolism in the pathogenesis of alcoholic steatosis, we measured the effects on hepatic lipid synthesis of supplementing ethanol and folate‐deficient diets with S‐adenosylmethionine (SAM), a metabolite that regulates methionine metabolism.Methods: Yucatan micropigs were fed folate‐deficient diets as control, with ethanol at 40% of kcal, and with ethanol supplemented with SAM at 0.4 g/1,000 kcal for 14 weeks. Histopathology, triglyceride levels and transcripts, and protein levels of the regulatory signals of hepatic lipid synthesis were measured in terminal omental adipose and liver samples.Results: Feeding ethanol at 40% of kcal with folate‐deficient diets for 14 weeks increased and supplemental SAM maintained control levels of liver and plasma triglyceride. Serum adiponectin, liver transcripts of adiponectin receptor‐1 (AdipoR1), and phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate kinase‐β (p‐AMPKβ) were each reduced by ethanol feeding and were sustained at normal levels by SAM supplementation of the ethanol diets. Ethanol feeding activated and SAM supplementation maintained control levels of ER stress‐induced transcription factor sterol regulatory element‐binding protein‐1c (SREBP‐1c) and its targeted transcripts of lipid synthesizing enzymes acetyl‐CoA carboxylase (ACC), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and glycerol‐3‐phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT).Conclusions: Ethanol feeding with a folate‐deficient diet stimulates hepatic lipid synthesis by down‐regulating adiponectin‐mediated pathways of p‐AMPK to increase the expression of nSREBP‐1c and its targeted lipogenic enzymes. Preventing abnormal hepatic methionine metabolism by supplementing ethanol diets with SAM reduces liver triglyceride levels by up‐regulation of adiponectin‐mediated pathways to decrease fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis. This study demonstrates that ethanol‐induced hepatic lipid synthesis is mediated in part by abnormal methionine metabolism, and strengthens the concept that altered methionine metabolism plays an integral role in the pathogenesis of steatosis.
HPA‐1a antibody potency and bioactivity do not predict severity of fetomaternal alloimmune thrombocytopenia
Authors: Ghevaert Cedric , Campbell Kate , Stafford Prachi , Metcalfe Paul , Casbard Angela , Smith Graham A. , Allen Dave , Ranasinghe Edmund , Williamson Lorna M. , Ouwehand Willem H. 
Published: May 2007

BACKGROUND: The antenatal management of fetomaternal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FMAIT) due to HPA‐1a antibodies remains controversial, and a test identifying pregnancies that do not require therapy would be of clinical value.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The statistical correlation was analyzed between clinical outcome and 1) anti‐HPA‐1a potency in maternal serum samples determined by a monoclonal antibody immobilization of platelet (PLT) antigen assay with an international anti‐HPA‐1a potency standard and 2) anti‐HPA‐1a biological activity measured by a monocyte chemiluminescence (CL) assay.RESULTS: A total of 133 pregnancies with FMAIT due to anti‐HPA‐1a were analyzed. In 97 newly diagnosed cases, there was no difference in antibody potency or CL signal between cases with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH; n = 15), those with no ICH but a PLT count of less than 20 × 109 per L (n = 52), and those with a PLT count of at least 20 × 109 per L (n = 30). In 22 previously known pregnancies, the positive predictive value of maternal anti‐HPA‐1a of greater than 30 IU per mL for a PLT count of less than 20 × 109 per L was 90 percent, but the negative predictive value was only 66 percent. Antibody potency tended to stay stable throughout pregnancy (n = 16) and from one pregnancy to the next (n = 16).CONCLUSION: Neither severe thrombocytopenia nor ICH in HPA‐1a‐alloimmunized pregnancies can be predicted with sufficient sensitivity and specificity for clinical application from maternal anti‐HPA‐1a potency or bioactivity.
Concessions on Iran's Nuclear Program Would Help Moderates
Authors: SAHIMI MUHAMMAD 
Published: May 2007

As the Soviet Union collapsed and China shifted to the market, it was said that communism was nothing more than the longest road between capitalism and capitalism. It now looks like the Bush‐era neo‐conservatism is similarly a long road back to the realism from whence it departed. The US is now talking with North Korea and Iran instead of preempting them through war.A dissident Iranian scientist, the former top UN arms inspector and a former US secretary of state ponder this state of affairs.
Determinants of economic well‐being among U.S. farm operator households
Authors: El‐Osta Hisham S. , Mishra Ashok K. , Morehart Mitchell J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractParticipation in government programs has a mild impact on the economic well‐being of U.S. farm households. Major factors that determine farm household prosperity are the primary operator's education level and ethnicity, education level of the spouse, and other characteristics such as forward purchasing of inputs, use of contract shipping of products, having a succession plan, farm ownership, and location in a metro area. This article uses the 2001 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) as well as relative and an absolute measure to assess U.S. farm households' economic well‐being. The relative measure compares the income and wealth position of farm households relative to median income and median wealth of the general population. The absolute measure adds annualized wealth to a farm household's income.
Quantity and quality effects of advertising: a demand system approach
Authors: Dong Diansheng , Kaiser Harry M. , Myrland Øystein 
Published: May 2007

AbstractQuantity and quality effects of advertising are investigated in this article. A censored demand system is estimated for fish, beef, pork, and other meats using Norwegian household data. In the demand model, generic fish advertising and meat advertising is introduced as demand shifters, and at the same time unit values are treated as endogenous. The unit values capture the quality of the commodities. Empirical findings show that advertising can have both quantity and quality effects on household demand.
Are small‐scale rice farmers in eastern India really inefficient? Examining the effects of microtopography on technical efficiency estimates
Authors: Fuwa Nobuhiko , Edmonds Christopher , Banik Pabitra 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe article analyzes how controlling for differences in land types (defined by position on a low‐scale toposequence) affects estimates of farm technical efficiency for rice farms in eastern India. Contrasting previous research, we find that farms are considerably more technically efficient when efficiency estimates are carried out at the plot level and control for plot characteristics rather than at the farm level without such controls. Estimates show farms cultivating modern varieties are technically efficient and plots planted with traditional varieties on less productive lands (upland and midupland) operate close to the production frontier. Significant technical inefficiency is found on more productive lands (medium and lowland plots) planted with traditional rice varieties. The finding that these smallholder rain‐fed rice farms are efficient cultivators on some plots contrasts with previous findings of farm‐level inefficiency (i.e., rejects overarching explanations linked to farm operator ignorance or lack of motivation) and suggests more complex explanations are required to address the inefficiency that is present.
The economic impact of cowpea research in Senegal: an ex‐post analysis with disadoption
Authors: Boys K. , Faye M. , Fulton J. , Lowenberg‐DeBoer J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis study evaluates the impact of a long‐term research collaboration between the Senegalese Institute for Agriculture Research (ISRA), and the Bean/Cowpea Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP) funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Adoption of the primary outputs from this collaboration, a nonchemical cowpea storage method and two short‐season cowpea varieties, were tracked through a series of farmer interviews in 1996, 1997, and 2004 in the main cowpea growing area of Senegal. Combined with information from an impact assessment in the late 1980s, this study draws on ex‐post adoption data from most of the product life cycle for the storage technology. The 2004 survey found that 60.4% of cowpea production in the main cowpea growing area of Senegal is stored in metal drums and that 69% of households use this storage technology; ISRA/CRSP improved short season varieties were determined to account for 3.6% of cowpea production. Baseline economic analysis of the most recent survey data, which includes benefits and costs of the storage technology and improved varieties, reveal an IRR to donor funding of 13%. The benefits of these technologies appear to be evenly distributed in the rural population on the basis of gender and ethnic background. Comparison of the rates of technology adoption over time, however, reveals that use of the storage technology may be decreasing; inclusion of this technology disadoption trend reduces the IRR by only 0.4% from the baseline estimate. Overall, estimated returns reveal that this collaboration has been a good investment for the U.S. and Senegalese governments, and other donors.
Pre‐treatment radiographic features for the periodontal prognosis of treated impacted canines
Authors: Crescini Aldo , Nieri Michele , Buti Jacopo , Baccetti Tiziano , Pini Prato Giovan Paolo 
Published: May 2007

AbstractAim:The aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic role of the pre‐treatment radiographic features on the post‐treatment periodontal status of intra‐osseous impacted maxillary canines.Material and Methods:A study population of 168 patients (211 canines) was evaluated at the end of the overall surgical‐orthodontic treatment consisting of a combined surgical (flap) and orthodontic (direct traction to the centre of the ridge) approach. The pre‐treatment variables on the panoramic radiograph wereα‐angle,d‐distance ands‐sector while the post‐treatment periodontal variables were pocket depth (PD) and keratinized tissue width (KT). Multilevel statistical analysis was used to evaluate the role of the pre‐treatment radiographic factors on the post‐treatment periodontal variables at patient, tooth and site levels.Results:No significant differences in PD or KT were found at the end of surgical‐orthodontic treatment with respect to age, gender, site of impaction or pre‐treatment radiographic position of the impacted canine. The only statistically, but not clinically, significant difference (about 0.5 mm) was found for the KT that was greater for the palatally impacted canines than for the buccally impacted ones.Conclusions:α‐angle,d‐distance ands‐sector measured on the pre‐treatment panoramic radiographs did not represent prognostic indicators of final periodontal status of orthodontically re‐positioned canines.
Prevalence of bacteraemia following third molar surgery
Authors: Tomás I , Pereira F , Llucián R , Poveda R , Diz P , Bagán JV 
Published: May 2007

Objective:  To investigate the prevalence and aetiology of bacteraemia following third molar extractions (B‐TME), analysing the factors affecting its development.Methods:  The study group was formed of 100 patients undergoing third molar extractions under general anaesthesia. Peripheral venous blood samples were collected at baseline, 30 s after a mandibular third molar extraction and 15 min after completing the final extraction. Samples were inoculated into BACTEC aerobic and anaerobic blood culture bottles and were processed in the BacT/Alert. Subculture and further identification of the bacteria isolated was performed using conventional microbiological techniques.Results:  The prevalence of bacteraemia following third molar surgery was 62% at 30 s after the first dental extraction and 67% at 15 min after finishing the final extraction. The bacteria most frequently identified in the positive blood cultures were Streptococcus viridans (87.9%).Conclusion:  In our series, the prevalence of B‐TME at 30 s after a single third molar extraction was high, principally being of streptococcal aetiology, and was independent of the oral health status and the magnitude of the surgical procedure. Positive blood cultures persisted for at least 15 min after three to four dental extractions in a higher number of patients, questioning the supposedly transient nature of bacteraemia following dental extractions.