bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Inflammatory breast cancer: enhanced local control with hyperfractionated radiotherapy and incisional vincristine, ifosfamide and epirubicin
Authors: Gurney H. , Harnett P. , Kefford R. , Boyages J. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractLocal control rate for inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is <50% with standard chemotherapy‐radiotherapy regimen. Nineteen women (age range 40–65, median 50 years) with IBC (18 patients) or with a primary tumour of >10 cm (one patient) received a novel treatment comprising hyperfractionated radiotherapy (HFRT) sandwiched between two cycles of infusional chemotherapy using vincristine, ifosfamide and epirubicin (VIE). The primary endpoint was local control.VIE was continuously infused for six weeks via a Hickman's line using a Deltec CADD‐1 ambulatory pump. Ifosfamide (3 gm/m2) mixed with equi‐dose mesna was infused for seven days and alternated every week with an infusion of epirubicin (50 mg/m2) mixed with vincristine (1.5 mg/m2). HFRT consisted of 1.5 Gy twice daily for 34 fret (51 Gy) followed by a boost of 15 Gy in 10 fret. The total treatment time was less than 22 weeks.Median follow‐up was 37 months. Local control rate was 58%. Three patients failed to respond initially and five relapsed in the breast at a median time of 36.8 months. Median overall and disease‐free survival was 18 and 25.3 months respectively. Toxicity from VIE was minimal (WHO gd 3 emesis ‐ two patients, gd 3 mucositis ‐ one patient, neutropenic sepsis ‐ three patients). Radiotherapy caused moist desquamation in 17/19 patients. Twenty‐four central lines were complicated by seven line infections, three thromboses, and one extravasation.The local control rate of 58% with VIE+HFRT appears similar to reported chemoradiotherapy regimen, although the treatment time of 22 weeks is much shorter than other regimens which take up to 12 months. Toxicity is acceptable. Hickman‐related complications need to be reduced. The study is ongoing.
Reperfusion therapy for stroke
Authors: Dunbabin D. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractStroke is a heterogenous disease, but about 85% of strokes are as a result of cerebral ischaemia due to arterial occlusion. It seems logical to assume that, as in myocardial infarction, treatment designed to dissolve clots should be helpful.We now have a substantial amount of data on the use of aspirin, heparin and thrombolytic drugs in the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke. Aspirin 300 mg daily has a modest effect in reducing mortality and handicap when used within 48 hours of stroke onset. The beneficial effects of low dose, medium dose subcutaneous unfractionated heparin, and various low molecular weight heparins in reducing early recurrent ischaemic stroke seem to be outweighed by haemorrhagic side effects. Streptokinase used within six hours of stroke onset results in excess mortality with some reduction in handicap in survivors, while in carefully selected patients recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (r‐TPA) may be less hazardous. At the moment it is unclear which stroke patients will benefit from the use of r‐TPA, and the use of criteria, as outlined by the NINDS group, means that only a very small proportion of stroke victims are suitable for thrombolytic therapy.Further research is necessary, while the concept of a ‘Brain Attack’ with appropriate urgency being used in the assessment of possible stroke needs development.
Evaluation of antibodies to β2‐glycoprotein 1 in the causation of coronary atherosclerosis as part of the antiphospholipid syndrome
Authors: Limaye V. , Beltrame J. , Cook R. , Gillis D. , Pile K. 
Published: March 2008

Abstract Background: Anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) are associated with accelerated coronary atherosclerosis. β2‐glycoprotein 1 is a cofactor necessary for the binding of aCL. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine whether antibodies to β2‐glycoprotein 1 (anti‐β2GP1) predispose to coronary artery disease (CAD), and whether the measurement of anti‐β2GP1 will be more useful than aCL alone in the evaluation of coronary risk. Methods: Persons who had undergone coronary angiography were invited to participate, and risk factors for coronary atherosclerosis recorded. IgG aCL and anti‐β2GP1 were measured and fasting triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) levels were determined. Angiographic score (AS) was defined as the number of diseased vessels (0, 1, 2, 3), (>50% stenosis). Ethics Committee approval was obtained. Statistical comparison used the Student's t test and Chi‐squared test. Results: Ninety‐seven subjects (63 male) with age range 38–81 years (mean 66.0) participated. There were 31 subjects with AS=0, 27 with AS=1, 22 with AS=2, and 17 with AS=3. The three subjects with positive aCL all had CAD, as did three of the four subjects with positive anti‐β2GP1. Among patients with CAD, there was an equal incidence (4.5%, three/66) of aCL and anti‐β2GP1, and an incidence of either aCL or anti‐β2GP1 of 7.6% (five/66). Compared to the group with AS=0, those with AS=1, 2 or 3 comprised a higher mean age (p=0.001) however, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of other coronary risk factors between the two groups. There was no difference in the proportions of patients with either aCL or anti‐β2GP1 in the group with AS=1, 2, or 3, compared to the group with AS=0 (5/66 c.f. 1/31, χ2=0.146, p>0.5). Conclusions: Our study has not supported an association between anti‐β2GP1 and CAD. The measurement of anti‐β2GP1 (or aCL) in the investigation of premature CAD is not justified on the basis of our results.
Suspected acute pulmonary emboli: cost‐effectiveness of chest helical computed tomographyversusa standard diagnostic algorithm incorporating ventilation‐perfusion scintigraphy
Authors: Larcos G. , Chi K. K. G. , Shiell A. , Berry G. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractBackground: There is a controversy regarding the investigation of patients with suspected acute pulmonary embolism (PE).Aims: To compare the cost‐effectiveness of alternative methods of diagnosing acute PE. Chest helical computed tomography (CT) alone and in combination with venous ultrasound (US) of legs and pulmonary angiography (PA) were compared to a conventional algorithm using ventilation‐perfusion (V/Q) scintigraphy supplemented in selected cases by US and PA.Methods: A decision‐analytical model was constructed to model the costs and effects of the three diagnostic strategies in a hypothetical cohort of 1000 patients each. Transition probabilities were based on published data. Life years gained by each strategy were estimated from published mortality rates. Schedule fees were used to estimate costs.Results: The V/Q protocol is both more expensive and more effective than CT alone resulting in 20.1 additional lives saved at a (discounted) cost of $940 per life year gained. An additional 2.5 lives can be saved if CT replaces V/Q scintigraphy in the diagnostic algorithm but at a cost of $23,905 per life year saved.Conclusions: The more effective diagnostic strategies are also more expensive. In patients with suspected PE, the incremental cost‐effectiveness of the V/Q based strategy over CT alone is reasonable in comparison with other health interventions. The cost‐effectiveness of the supplemented CT strategy is more questionable.
Videoscopic lung volume reduction surgery in an Australian public teaching hospital
Authors: Porter S. H. J. , Ruffin R. E. , Pfitzner J. , Peacock M. , Southcott A. M. , Homan S. 
Published: March 2008

Abstract Background: Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) has been a frequent literature topic in emphysema management recently. Opinions differ in regard to usefulness, efficacy, and selection criteria. Aims: To present the results of our first 55 bilateral videoscopically resected group, with follow‐up of up to three years, and to present some of the local methodology problems faced. Methods: Thirty‐nine men and 16 women, age range 40–77, had either upper lobe (42), mixed (two), or lower lobe (11) resections without buttressing (except for unilateral buttressing in several of the latter patients as part of an intrapatient comparison trial) according to their pattern of emphysema determined by CT and perfusion scanning. Results: Thirty day mortality was 5.5%. Follow‐up pulmonary function is available for 44 patients, and demonstrates a mean 51% improvement in FEV1, and significant improvement in FVC, PaO2, dyspnoea indices and walking distance, with a reduction in mean RV, TLC, PaCO2. FEV1 improvement is maintained above baseline at three years. Lower lobe surgery outcomes are at least as good as their upper lobe counterparts. Conclusions: Outcomes confirm improvements reported elsewhere, and suggest that videoscopic resection may provide worthwhile benefit to lower lobe patterns of emphysema. Other managment issues are discussed.
Simian virus (SV) 40 like sequences in cell lines and tumour biopsies from Australian malignant mesotheliomas
Authors: Mclaren B. R. , Haenel T. , Stevenson S. , Mukherjee S. , Robinson B. W. S. , Lake R. A. 
Published: March 2008

Abstract Background: Simian virus (SV) 40 sequences have been found in some, but not all studies of mesotheliomas. This virus is known to cause tumours in rodents but its role in human oncogenesis remains controversial. Aims: The aim of this study therefore was to determine whether SV40 is associated with the development of mesotheliomas in Australia. The absence of the virus or its gene products in tissue derived from mesotheliomas would detract from this possibility. Methods: We used polymerase chain reaction from three pairs of primers to amplify different regions of the large T antigen from DNA from cell lines and cDNA from both cell lines and an independent set of tumour biopsies from patients with mesothelioma. Results: We examined five human mesothelioma cell lines that were established in our laboratories. In addition, we examined several tumour biopsies from seven different patients. SV40 like sequences were present in all the cell lines and in at least one sample from each of the patients examined. Conclusions: The large T antigen of SV40 or an SV40 like virus is expressed in Australian mesotheliomas and therefore could be aetiologically‐associated with tumourigenesis. Alternatively, these sequences could be expressed subsequent to the development of the disease.
Climate warming will reduce growth and survival of Scots pine except in the far north
Authors: Reich P. B. , Oleksyn J. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractTree growth and survival were assessed in 283 populations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) originating from a broad geographic range and grown at 90 common‐garden experimental sites across Europe, and in 101 populations grown at 14 sites in North America. Growth and survival were analysed in response to climatic transfer distance, the difference in mean annual temperature (MAT) between the site and the population origin. Differences among populations at each site, and across sites for regional groups of populations, were related to climate transfer distance, but in opposite ways in the northern vs. southern parts of the species range. Climate transfers equivalent to warming by 1–4 °C markedly increased the survival of populations in northern Europe (≥ 62°N, < 2 °C MAT) and modestly increased height growth ≥ 57°N but decreased survival at < 62°N and modestly decreased height growth at < 54°N latitude in Europe. Thus, even modest climate warming will likely influence Scots pine survival and growth, but in distinct ways in different parts of the species range.
TOWARDS A PRECISE DEFINITION OF DRAINAGE BASIN AXIS
Authors: ONGLEY E. D. 
Published: March 2008

SummaryThe subjective nature of drainage basin axis or length properties commonly used in morphometric ratios has led to the development of a simple yet precise and independently reproduceable axial property herein called the basin vectorial axis. By definition it uses the vectorial properties of the highest and all second‐highest Strahler streams whether or not geological control exists.
Health, Wealth, Fertility, Education, and Inequality
Authors: Fielding David , Torres Sebastian 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe authors use a new cross‐country dataset to estimate the strength of the links between different dimensions of social and economic development, including indicators of health, fertility, and education, as well as material wellbeing. This differs from previous studies in employing data for different income groups in each country in order to provide direct evidence on factors driving inequality, and in using a unique measure of material wellbeing that does not rely on PPP comparisons.
External Shocks, Balance Sheet Contagion, and Speculative Attack on the Pegged Exchange Rate System
Authors: Ma Yue 
Published: March 2008

AbstractA simple monetary model is built to illustrate that the pegged exchange rate system will collapse under an unstable external environment via the balance sheet contagion and the “boiling frog” effect, even if the domestic policy and the fundamentals are sound. If agents anticipate this happening, a speculative attack may still occur. This result is different from that of the first‐generation currency crisis model, where the inconsistent domestic policy brings in the collapse of the peg. The policy options to defend the peg in the author's model depend on the nature of the shock. Effective capital control can only be implemented for capital outflow shock. Capital account deregulation is more stabilizing under a current account deficit shock, however. This paper also distinguishes the effect of capital mobility with that of the asset substitutability, as they have completely different impacts on the peg.
Growth, Attitudes towards Women, and Women's Welfare
Authors: Owen Ann L. , You Rongling 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe authors find that attitudes towards women are more progressive as per capita income rises and that the quality and quantity of women's human capital increases with per capita income. Prior to presenting these empirical results, the authors first demonstrate the importance of these relationships with a simple model that shows how a feedback loop between attitudes towards women, investment in women's human capital, and income affects the dynamic path of the economy. Depending on the nature of the relationship between per capita income and attitudes towards women, they identify the possibility of a gender‐equity poverty trap. Finally, they extend the model to show the dynamic interplay between attitudes towards women, income, and fertility.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GERMAN PILOT FARMS1
Authors: HRUSCHKA E. , RHEINWALD H. 
Published: March 2008

SummaryThe Effectiveness of German Pilot FarmsThe study was conducted to determine some of the major factors which influence the effectiveness of pilot farms. It was carried through in 23 German villages with 661 farmers. In this article some findings on the effects of socio‐psychological factors are reported. The strongest influences result from the social area: a) farmers do not like to ask overt questions about new farm practices, b) they do not like to visit the pilot farm to get more information, and c) the adoption of new farm practices depends on the social prestige of the pilot farmer. The results show that innovativeness, good farming and willingness to co‐operate with the Extension Service – the criteria on which the pilot farms were selected – are not sufficient pre‐conditions for the success of a pilot farm.
DEVELOPMENT AND RURAL SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Authors: HOFSTEE E. W. 
Published: March 2008

SummaryDEVELOPMENT AND RURAL SOCIAL STRUCTURE: The experiences during more than 20 years of fundamental change in the world after the Second World War have shown that agriculture and rural life remain a serious problem. Notwithstanding many efforts to improve conditions for the production of food, there are more hungry people in the world than ever before. The work of rural sociologists has contributed too little to solving this problem. One reason for this failure may be that rural sociology, in its present form originating from the us A gives too much attention to adjustment problems within the existing social order, too often studies the individual instead of the group, and takes development in the Western world too easily as a model for all development. Rather than study the adjustment problems of individual farmers or small communities, it would be better to undertake studies of the position of the peasant class in the larger society by means of a macro‐sociological approach, and by integrating cultural anthropology and history with rural sociology. Rural sociology should look at agriculture and rural life as they are imbedded in the national social structure, thus broadening its scope, and so become more able to understand the rural revolution.ZusammenfassungENT'WICKLUNG UND LÄNDLICHE SOZIALSTRUKTUREN: Die Erfahrungen über den grundlegenden Wandel in der Welt während der vergangenen 20 Jahre haben gelehrt, dass die Land‐wirtschaft und das Leben auf dem Lande weiter ein ernstes Problem darstcllen. Trotz vieler Anstrengungen, die Grundlagen der Nah‐rungsproduktion zu verbessern, gibt es mehr Hunger in der Welt als je zuvor. Die Arbeit der Landsoziologen hat ziemlich wenig dazu beigetragen, diese Schwierigkeiten zu überwinden. Ein Grund für das Versagen besteht darin, dass die ländliche Soziologie, die in der gegenwärtigen Form ihren Ursprung in den USA hat, zuviel Bedeutung den Anpassungsproblcmen innerhalb der bestehenden Sozial‐ordnung beimisst, dass sie zu sehr das Individuum anstatt die Gruppe sieht und dass sie die Entwicklung der westlichen Welt zu einfach als ein Modell für jeden Entwicklungsprozess nimmt. Besser als die Arbeiten über Anpassung einzelner Landwirte und kleiner Gemeinden wäre, Untersuchungen büer den Standort der Landwirtschaft in der grösseren Gesellschaft mittels makro‐soziologischer Methode und durch Integration der Kulturanthropologie und Kulturgeschichte mit der ländlichen Soziologie durchzüftihren. Diese sollte die Landwirtschaft und das Leben auf dem Lande als Bestandteil der nationalen Sozialstruktur sehen, um so ihren Gesichtskreis zu erweitern und die ländliche Revolution besser erfassen zu können.
CONCEPTUALIZING AND MEASURING THE DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONS‘
Authors: Klonglan Gerald E. , BEAL George M. , BOHLEN Joe M. , Coward E. Walter 
Published: March 2008

SummaryCONCEPTUALIZING AND MEASURING THE DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONSThis presentation has discussed a conceptualization and measurement of extent of diffusion that closely approximates the theoretical definition of diffusion as the spread of an innovation. Rather than equating extent of diffusion with the proportion of adoption units in the adoption stage it is equated with the proportion of adoption units in each stage of the adoption process. The discussion illustrates the application of this conceptualization to the analysis of empirical data and shows its utility in comparing changes in extent of diffusion over time as well as in comparing the extent of diffusion of two or more innovations at one point in time.RésuméLA DIFFUSION DE l'INNOVATION‐CONCEPTUALISATION ET MESURECet article expose une conceptualisation et une méthode de mesure nouvelles du degré de diffusion de l'innovation. l' évaluation classique du degré de diffusion de l'innovation était centrée sur la proportion des unités d'adoption, utilisateurs de l'innovation. La méthode présentée ici utilise une autre procédure dans laquelle l' évaluation de la diffusion est analysée en fonction de la proportion des unités d'adoption ayant franchi chaque étape du processus d'adoption. La détermination de ces proportions permet la construction d'une droite et d'un indice de diffusion. Cet article illustre l'applicabilityé de cette méthode par l'analyse de revolution du degré de diffusion dans le temps et la comparison du degré de diffusion de deux innovations à un moment donné.ZusammenfassungKONZEPTUALISIERUNG UND MESSUNG DER VERBREITUNG VON NEUERUNGENDer Artikel diskutiert die Konzeptualisierung und Messung der Diffusion von Neuerungen und nähert sich dabei stark an die the‐oretische Definition der Diffusion als der Verbreitung einer Neuerung an. Anstatt das Ausmaß der Diffusion mit dem Verhältnis der Adop‐tionseinheiten im Adoptionsstadium gleichzusetzen, wird es mit der Proportion von Adoptionseinheiten in jeder Etappe des Adoptions‐prozesses gleichgesetzt. Die Diskussion veranschaulicht, wie dieses Konzept bei der Analyse empirischer Daten anzuwenden ist. Sie zeigt ihre Nützlichkeit beim Vergleich von Veränderungen im Ausmaß der Diffusion über die Zeit und bei zwei oder mehr Neuerungen zum gleichen Zeitpunkt.
FEMALE SOLIDARITY GROUPS AS A POWER BASE IN RURAL CHINA
Authors: CROLL ELISABETH J. 
Published: March 2008

SummaryIn China the establishment of female solidarity groups is an important component of the strategy to redefine the position of women. This paper describes the basis on which solidarity groups have been founded, their formation in rural villages and analyses the degree to which they have legitimised and institutionalised women's participation in social production and their access to the control of economic and political resources. Finally the article examines the autonomy of female solidarity groups as an independent power base in China and their ambivalent role in generating sex antagonism in a society in which class struggle is viewed as the motivating force generating social change.RésuméEn Chine un élément important de la stratégic, de redéfinir la position de la femme, consiste à former des groupes de solidarité féminins. Cet article décrit la base sur laquelle ont été formés ces groupes de solidarité dans les villages et analyse dans quelle mesure ces groupes ont légitimé et institutionalisé la participation de la femme à la production sociale et son accès au pouvoir sur les ressources économiques et politiques. Finalement cet article examine l'autonomie des groupes de solidarité féminins comme base de pouvoir indépendant et leur rôle ambivalent concernant la création d'un antagonisme entre les sexes dans une société où la lutte des classes est considérée comme force motivante pour obtenir des changements sociaux.ZusammenfassungIn China bcstcht cin wichtigcr Bcstandtcil dcr Strategic, die Stcllung der Frau neu zu definieren, darin, weibliche Solidaritatsgruppen aufzu‐bauen. Dieser ArtikeJ beschreibt die Basis, auf der diese Solidaritatsgruppen in den Dr̈ern gegrüt wurden, und analysiert, inwieweit diese Gruppen die Teilnahme der Frau an sozialer Produktion und ihren Zugang zu Gewalt ükonμsche und politische Ressourcen legitimiert und institutionalisiert haben. Schließh untersucht dieser Artikel die Autonomic weiblicher Solidaritẗgruppen als unabh&#x006e;̈ige Machtbasis in China und ihre ambivalente Rolle bezüch der Schaf‐fung eines Antagonismuses zwischen den Geschlechtern in einer Gesellschaft, in welcher Klassenkampf als motivierende Kraft, soziale Veranderungen zu erreichen, angesehen wird.