bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of aerobic training on 99mTc‐methoxy isobutyl isonitrile (99mTc‐sestamibi) uptake by myocardium and skeletal muscle: implication for noninvasive assessment of muscle metabolic profile
Authors: Kyparos D. , Arsos G. , Kyparos A. , Georga S. , Petridou A. , Sotiriadou S. , Mougios V. , Matziari C. 
Published: February 2008

AbstractAim:  The effect of long‐term endurance training on skeletal muscle and myocardial uptake of 99mTc‐sestamibi, a radiopharmaceutical accumulating in the mitochondria, was investigated.Methods:  Twenty‐six Wistar rats were divided into a trained (5 days week−1 endurance running for 14 weeks) and an untrained group. On completion of training, 99mTc‐sestamibi was administered and, 2 h post‐injection, the myocardium and the soleus, extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscles were removed for the measurement of cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) activity and 99mTc‐sestamibi uptake. Tissue 99mTc‐sestamibi kinetics was preliminarily studied in 16 other rats for up to 2 h post‐injection.Results:  Two hours post‐injection 99mTc‐sestamibi uptake was either stable (myocardium) or still rising (skeletal muscles). Both CCO activity and 99mTc‐sestamibi uptake decreased in the same order (myocardium, soleus, EDL, MG) in the tissues examined. The CCO activity of the EDL and MG muscles was higher (P < 0.05) in the trained compared to the untrained group. 99mTc‐sestamibi uptake in the soleus and EDL muscles was higher (P < 0.05) in the trained compared to the untrained rats, whereas the difference in MG was marginally significant (P = 0.06) in favour of the trained group.Conclusions:  Long‐term endurance training, resulting in elevated skeletal muscle CCO activity, is also associated with a similar increase in 99mTc‐sestamibi uptake. This finding suggests that 99mTc‐sestamibi could be used in imaging assessment of skeletal muscle metabolism with possible applications in both clinical and sports medicine settings.
Angiotensin II‐induced contractions in human jejunal wall musculaturein vitro
Authors: Spak E. , Casselbrant A. , Olbers T. , Lönroth H. , Fändriks L. 
Published: February 2008

AbstractAim: Angiotensin II is well known for its contractile effects on smooth muscle cells. This effect is also present in the gut previously shown in animal models. The aim of this study was to clarify expression and localization of angiotensin II receptors in the human small intestine and to explore the pharmacological profile of angiotensin II effectsin vitro.Methods: Strips of jejunal muscle wall from 32 patients undergoing bariatric surgery were used to record isometric tensionin vitroin response to angiotensin II (10−10–10−5 m) alone and in the presence of PD123319 (10−7 m), losartan (10−7 m), PD123319 (10−7 m) and losartan (10−7 m) in combination, tetrodotoxin (TTX) (10−6 m), atropine (10−6 m) and guanethidine (3 × 10−6 m). Western blot, immunohistochemistry and RT‐PCR were performed on corresponding muscle samples to identify expression and localization of key components of the renin–angiotensin system.Results: Angiotensin II elicited concentration‐dependent contraction in both longitudinal and circular jejunal muscle wall strips; neither TTX, atropine nor guanethidine affected this action. Losartan alone and in combination with PD123319 shifted the concentration–response curve to the right. Transcription of angiotensinogen, ACE and angiotensin II types 1 and 2 receptor RNA was detected in all patients. Immunohistochemistry detected angiotensin II type 1 receptors in the musculature; both angiotensin II types 1 and type 2 receptors were found in the myenteric plexus.Conclusion: This pharmacological analysis indicates that the contractile action elicited by angiotensin II on jejunal wall musculature is primarily mediated through the angiotensin II type 1 receptor located on the musculature.
Regulatory innovation in the governance of human subjects research: A cautionary tale and some modest proposals
Authors: Burris Scott 
Published: February 2008

AbstractUnder US regulations known as the “Common Rule,” federally‐supported human‐subject research must be reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). The Common Rule system from a distance looks like an innovative instantiation of prescriptions for constitutive regulation and soft law, but in practice has grown into a self‐referential, unresponsive, and legalistic bureaucracy. This article reviews criticism of the Common Rule. It also discusses why the system fails to regulate in an efficient and effective way, pointing in particular to the poor fit between the IRB and its assigned tasks. Turning to reforms, the article uses the heuristic of “regulatory space” to describe the range of actual and potential regulators with the capacity to set standards, monitor compliance, and discipline violators. Regulatory reform is framed by three conceptual changes: recognizing the limitations of the IRB as an oversight body; narrowing the range of risks the system is tasked to control; and disentangling the conflicting regulatory logics of behavioral standard‐setting and virtue promotion. The article concludes with a roster of possible changes that would make the IRB a more responsive regulator, enroll a wider range of actors in the promotion of virtue, focus resources on more serious risks, and address the structural causes of researcher misconduct.
Thinking about how to avoid thought: Deep norms, shallow rules, and the structure of attention
Authors: Heimer Carol A. 
Published: February 2008

AbstractIf the core problem for decision making is the limited capacity of people and organizations to collect and process information, it is their limited capacity to pay attention that poses the challenge for regulation. Much regulatory activity is thus focused on devising methods for ensuring that organizations and their staff pay attention to the “right” things. Yet outsiders’ claims on attention often are trivialized by insiders because outsiders make those claims without understanding what will be displaced. Drawing on a study of how rules are used in five HIV clinics, this article analyzes forms, training and meetings, and delegation to new occupations as devices for conserving attention. In asking how much thought is required, what should be thought about, and who should do the thinking, people argue about the moral priority of treatment, research, and administration. Allocation of attention is not just about using a scarce resource efficiently, but is also about the right to decide for oneself what is important.
The European Union’s governance of health care and the welfare modernization agenda
Authors: Hervey Tamara K 
Published: February 2008

AbstractIn the face of “permanent welfare austerity,” the European Union (EU) is increasingly involved in the governance of health care through various “new governance” tools. This development coincides with a growing interest in modernization of welfare, including health care. One of the fundamental critiques of new governance in the EU context concerns the (perceived) inability of new governance to protect the “social” against the “market” in Europe’s constitutional settlement. Using multi‐level governance and constructivist approaches, this article considers whether the EU’s governance of health care via the “Open Method of Coordination” advances a neo‐liberal agenda of health care modernization.
Challenges of democratic experimentalism: A case study of the National Quality Forum in health care
Authors: Hoflund A. Bryce , Farquhar Marybeth 
Published: February 2008

AbstractNetworks are an increasingly common aspect of administrative life in almost any public policy arena. In health care, networks have emerged in order to address “wicked” quality problems. One such network organization, the National Quality Forum (NQF), was created as a response to the fragmentation and information deficit that have plagued the health care industry’s efforts to improve health care quality. Its purpose is to bring diverse health care stakeholders from the public and private sectors together to discuss and debate quality and performance measurement issues. Democratic experimentalism offers one way of assessing the NQF’s efforts. The purpose of this article is to examine the NQF’s efforts through the lens of democratic experimentalism and to explore some of the virtues and shortcomings of applying a democratic experimentalist approach to health care regulation.
Hybrid design, systemic rigidity: Institutional dynamics in human research oversight
Authors: Halpern Sydney 
Published: February 2008

AbstractNew governance scholars see hybrid regulation as a means for achieving regulatory flexibility and responsiveness. The US system for overseeing human subjects research embodies three dimensions of hybridity: it brings together governmental and non‐governmental controls; it combines central and local authority; and it engages a multiplicity of policy actors. Yet this system became rigid 20 years into its development. Sources of rigidity included shifts in the regulatory environment, temporal constriction in the range policy participants, and risk aversion on the part of non‐governmental institutions charged with implementing federally mandated controls. This article explores the implications of these institutional dynamics for the relationship between hybridity and regulatory responsiveness. It also examines possibilities for renewed flexibility generated by the recent advent of both accreditation and regulatory innovation by university research administrators.
Plastic Collapse Assessment Procedure for Vessel With Local Thin Area Simultaneously Subjected to Internal Pressure and External Bending Moment
Authors: Konosu Shinji , Mukaimachi Norihiko 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Assessment of the local thin area should be undertaken for both tension and compression bending. In this paper, simplified reference stresses for a flaw in a cylinder are proposed. By using these results, a newly developed p-M (internal pressure ratio and external bending moment ratio) diagram which can evaluate the collapse condition for pressure equipment such as vessels, piping, and storage tanks with a local thin area simultaneously subjected to internal pressure p and external bending moment M due to earthquake, etc., is proposed. The p-M line is verified by comparison with the finite element analysis results and the numerous results of experiment for a cylinder with a volumetric flaw obtained through the reference literatures. It was clarified that the differences in collapse limit between the p-M line and DNV guideline under both internal pressure and compression moment became evident where the outer diameter/wall thickness of a cylinder is large and the yield ratio of the material is small.
GATA-3 Expression in Breast Cancer Has a Strong Association with Estrogen Receptor but Lacks Independent Prognostic Value
Authors: Voduc David , Cheang Maggie , Nielsen Torsten 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Background: GATA-3 is a transcription factor involved in human growth and differentiation. Gene expression profiling has shown that GATA-3 is highly expressed in the Luminal A subtype of breast cancer. A recent study found GATA-3 to be associated with favorable breast cancer pathologic features, including negative lymph node and positive estrogen receptor (ER) status. GATA-3 levels were also found to be an independent prognostic marker, with low expression predicting for breast cancer recurrence.
Materials and Methods: Our case series consists of 3,119 cases of invasive breast cancer in which GATA-3 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays. We considered &gt;5% nuclear staining to be a positive result for GATA-3.
Results: Thirty-two percent of cases were GATA-3 positive. GATA-3 is almost exclusively expressed in ER+ patients and is also associated with lower tumor grade, older age at diagnosis, and the absence of Her2 overexpression. In univariate analysis, the presence of GATA-3 is a marker of good prognosis and predicted for superior breast cancer–specific survival, relapse-free survival, and overall survival. However, in multivariate models including patient age, tumor size, histologic grade, nodal status, ER status, and Her2 status, GATA-3 was not independently prognostic for these same outcomes. In the subgroups of ER+ patients treated with or without tamoxifen, GATA-3 was again nonprognostic for all outcomes.
Discussion: GATA-3 is a molecular marker that is highly associated with ER expression, but it does not seem to have prognostic value independent of ER, nor does it predict for response to tamoxifen among ER-positive patients. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(2):365–73)
Apoptosis in Normal Rectal Mucosa, Baseline Adenoma Characteristics, and Risk of Future Adenomas
Authors: Keku Temitope O. , Amin Ahmad , Galanko Joseph , Martin Christopher , Schliebe Barbara , Sandler Robert S. 
Published: February 2008

AbstractLow apoptosis in the normal rectal mucosa has been associated with colorectal adenomas in cross-sectional studies. It is unknown whether apoptosis can predict the occurrence of new adenomas. We evaluated whether apoptosis at baseline colonoscopy, as well as patient and adenoma characteristics, could predict future occurrence of adenomas. Study subjects were participants in the Diet and Health Study III, a cross-sectional study of adenoma risk factors between August 1998 and March 2000. At baseline, subjects underwent colonoscopy and provided normal rectal mucosal biopsies to evaluate apoptosis as well as information about diet and lifestyle. The present study includes 257 subjects who returned for follow-up colonoscopy between 2000 and 2005. Apoptosis, number of adenomas, size, and atypia at baseline colonoscopy were evaluated as predictors of new adenomas. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). At baseline, low apoptosis was significantly associated with increased risk of adenomas (P = 0.0001). Compared with those in the lowest tertile, subjects with high apoptosis were less likely to have an adenoma at follow-up (crude OR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.09-0.65; adjusted OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.08-1.06). Having three or more adenomas at baseline was associated with increased risk of new adenomas (crude OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.14-5.31; adjusted OR, 3.74; 95% CI, 1.01-13.83). This study suggests that lower apoptosis is associated with increased risk of future adenoma development. If confirmed in larger studies, apoptosis could potentially be used to identify patients at highest risk for developing new adenomas. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(2):306–10)
Use of Sun-Protective Clothing at Outdoor Leisure Settings from 1992 to 2002: Serial Cross-sectional Observation Survey
Authors: Dixon Helen G. , Lagerlund Magdalena , Spittal Matthew J. , Hill David J. , Dobbinson Suzanne J. , Wakefield Melanie A. 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Background: Previous population-based surveys to monitor sun protection behavior over time have relied on self-report, which can be subject to recall and misclassification bias and social desirability bias. The present study aimed to describe the prevalence and determinants of teenagers' and adults' observed sun protection behavior while engaged in outdoor leisure activities on summer weekends, over a decade of the SunSmart skin cancer prevention program, which involved public education and advocacy.
Method: Serial cross-sectional observational field surveys of teenagers and adults at leisure were undertaken during summer weekends between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., from 1992 to 2002 (N = 46,810). The four types of setting for observation were parks and gardens, golf courses, tennis courts, and pools and beaches, located within a 25-km radius of Melbourne city center, Australia. The main outcome measure was a binary clothes cover index representing persons above or below the median level of body cover for each type of leisure setting. The index was based on the proportion of body surface covered by the type of hat, shirt, and leg cover garments worn.
Results: Body cover varied by environmental factors and the activity demands and demographic characteristics of individuals. After adjusting for covariates, significant improvements in the extent of body cover occurred over the decade, such that the odds of the proportion of people wearing clothes cover above the median level increased by 3% per year (95% confidence interval, 2-4%).
Conclusion: Results suggest that significant gains in sun-protective behavior have occurred, coincident with the conduct of an ongoing comprehensive skin cancer prevention program. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(2):428–34)
Relative Weight at Age 12 and Risk of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer
Authors: Bardia Aditya , Vachon Celine M. , Olson Janet E. , Vierkant Robert A. , Wang Alice H. , Hartmann Lynn C. , Sellers Thomas A. , Cerhan James R. 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Background: Early adolescent weight may affect the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, and this association may be modified by a family history of breast or ovarian cancer in a first-degree relative, and/or estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptor status of the disease.
Methods: Relative weight at age 12 years (above, below, or average weight compared with peers) and family history were ascertained using a mailed questionnaire in 1986, in the Iowa Women's Health Study, a prospective cohort study of postmenopausal women. Incident breast cancer cases (including ER and PR status) were identified using the Iowa Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Cancer Registry. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression, and were adjusted for breast cancer risk factors, including body mass index at age 18 years and body mass index at study baseline.
Results: Through 2003, 2,503 cases of postmenopausal breast cancer were identified among 35,941 women in the analytic cohort. Compared with women with average weight at age 12 years, there was no association of below average weight with risk of breast cancer (RR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.92-1.13), whereas women with above average weight had a lower risk (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74-0.98). There was no evidence of an interaction between weight at age 12 years and family history (P = 0.44). The inverse association of above average weight with risk of breast cancer was strongest for PR− tumors (RR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.43-0.89), intermediate for ER+ (RR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67-0.96) and ER− (RR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.50-1.19) tumors, and weakest for PR+ tumors (RR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.74-1.09). These associations were not modified by a family history (all P &gt; 0.18). In a joint ER/PR analyses, the strongest inverse association with above average weight at age 12 years was seen for ER+/PR− (RR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.29-0.85).
Conclusion: Above average weight at age 12 years was inversely associated with risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, and was not modified by a family history of the disease. The inverse association was strongest for ER+/PR− tumors. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(2):374–8)
Plasma Tea Polyphenols and Gastric Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study Nested in a Large Population-Based Prospective Study in Japan
Authors: Sasazuki Shizuka , Inoue Manami , Miura Tsutomu , Iwasaki Motoki , Tsugane Shoichiro ,   for the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study Group
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Abundant in vitro and animal studies have shown a protective effect of green tea against various types of cancer, but the evidence from epidemiologic studies is inconclusive. In this nested case-control study, we used plasma biomarkers to directly investigate the effect of tea polyphenols on the risk of gastric cancer. Subjects were followed up from 1990 to 2004. Among 36,745 subjects who answered the baseline questionnaire and provided blood samples, 494 gastric cancer cases matched to 494 controls were used in the analysis. The validated method used high-performance liquid chromatography to analyze baseline plasma samples. For men, a high plasma level of (-)-epigallocatechin was associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer. For women, a high plasma level of (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG) was associated with a decreased risk of gastric cancer; the adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for ECG levels 0.32 to 9.2 and 9.3+ ng/mL were 1.03 (0.41-2.59) and 0.25 (0.08-0.73), respectively, compared with those whose ECG level was under the detection limit (P for trend = 0.02). Cigarette smoking was suggested to play a role as an effect modifier, which explains in part the different patterns observed by gender. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(2):343–51)
Pancreatic Cancer and Factors Associated with the Insulin Resistance Syndrome in the Korean Cancer Prevention Study
Authors: Berrington de Gonzalez Amy , Yun Ji Eun , Lee Sang-Yi , Klein Alison P. , Jee Sun Ha 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
There is increasing evidence that type 2 diabetes mellitus and glucose intolerance are a cause, not just a consequence, of pancreatic cancer. We examined whether other factors that characterize the insulin resistance syndrome are also risk factors for pancreatic cancer in a prospective cohort study of 631,172 men and women (ages 45+ years) who received health insurance from the Korean Medical Insurance Corporation. The biennial medical evaluations from 1992 to 1995 provided the baseline information for this study. Relative risks (RR) were estimated using proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, smoking, and fasting serum glucose (after excluding the first 2 years of follow-up). There were 2,194 incident cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed in the cohort over a median follow-up of 12 years. There was no evidence that pancreatic cancer risk was associated with total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, WBC count, or body mass index. Abnormal levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase were both associated with a moderately increased risk of developing the disease (40+ versus &lt;20; RR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.14-1.55; Ptrend = 0.05 and RR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.16-1.56; Ptrend = 0.02, respectively). Excluding 6 years of follow-up reduced this RR (95% CI) for aspartate aminotransferase to 1.22 (1.01-1.49), but even after excluding 10 years follow-up the RR (95% CI) for alanine aminotransferase was unchanged [1.36 (1.01-1.83)]. Although fasting serum glucose has been found previously to be associated with pancreatic cancer risk in this cohort, most other factors that characterize insulin resistance syndrome were not associated with pancreatic cancer risk. The association with elevated liver enzyme levels is a novel finding that warrants further investigation. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(2):359–64)