bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Acute oxygen therapy does not improve cognitive and driving performance in hypoxaemic COPD
Authors: PRETTO Jeffrey J. , MCDONALD Christine F. 
Published: August 2008

Background and objective:  Cognitive and neuropsychological function may be adversely affected by low blood oxygen levels and this has been previously demonstrated in hypoxaemic COPD. The aim of this study was to assess whether supplemental oxygen therapy while driving a motor vehicle is justified in hypoxaemic COPD. We therefore used computer‐based driving simulation to investigate whether acute intranasal oxygen therapy improves the cognitive and driving performance of such patients.Methods:  Thirty hypoxaemic COPD subjects with a current driving licence performed a 20‐min computer‐based driving simulation task and a 10‐min psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) at baseline, and while breathing intranasal oxygen or intranasal air in a randomized, double‐blind, cross‐over protocol.Results:  The mean (SD) age of the subjects was 72 years (8) and their mean driving experience was 50 years (10). Mean FEV1 was 41% (18) of predicted and PaO2 was 50.5 mm Hg (4.7) on air and 70.7 mm Hg (9.1) on oxygen. There were no statistically significant differences in any measure of driving performance or in reaction time measurements while breathing oxygen compared with air.Conclusions:  Acute oxygen therapy does not improve simulated driving performance or neurocognitive function as assessed by PVT in patients with hypoxaemic COPD. These data do not support the recommendation that oxygen should be used by this patient group while driving.
BROADBAND PROVISION AND FIRM LOCATION IN OHIO: AN EXPLORATORY SPATIAL ANALYSIS
Authors: MACK ELIZABETH A. , GRUBESIC TONY H. 
Published: August 2008

ABSTRACTInformation and communication technologies (ICTs) are often cited as an important factor in firm location decisions. This is especially true for firms engaged in information intensive activities and those that have a strong need for advanced services such as broadband. Despite the suggested importance of these technologies, quantitative work evaluating the link between firm location and broadband provision is sparse and existing knowledge remains largely theoretical and speculative. However, theoretical evaluations of the impact of ICTs on firm location do provide a foundation for quantitative analyses of this relationship and may be grouped into three schools of thought: the deconcentration school, the concentration school, and the heterogeneous effects school. The predictions made by these three schools of thought will be analysed in an exploratory context to better understand the relationship between firm location and ICTs, with a focus on broadband service provision. A combination of basic spatial statistical analytical tools and geographic information systems (GIS) will be used in an exploratory spatial data analysis framework to evaluate the relationship between firm location and broadband provision trends from 1999 to 2004 in the state of Ohio. Results suggest that changes in broadband provision have no relationship with changes in firm location. However, a disaggregated, firm level analysis of this relationship does provide statistically significant results for a subset of industrial sectors. Firm size is also found to impact the correlation between firm presence and broadband provision. These results suggest that firm size and industry are perhaps critical components in determining the relative importance of ICTs, such as broadband, in firm location decisions.
Think before you eat: photographic food diaries as intervention tools to change dietary decision making and attitudes
Authors: Zepeda Lydia , Deal David 
Published: August 2008

AbstractThis paper examines the use of photographic and written food diaries as interventions to raise awareness of and change dietary habits. Weinstein's precaution adoption theory and Guagnano, Stern and Dietz's Attitude Behaviour Context theory provide the theoretical basis to explain why nutrition knowledge does not result in healthy eating behaviour and why an intervention may be necessary to change attitudes and behaviours. A pilot study using written and photographic food diaries was conducted with 43 participants. Qualitative analysis of participant interviews revealed that photographic food diaries can alter attitudes and behaviours associated with food choices, and they are more likely to do so than written diaries because they serve as an intervention at the point when decisions regarding what to eat are being made.
Bridges to learning: international student mobilities, education agencies and inter‐personal networks
Authors: COLLINS FRANCIS LEO 
Published: August 2008

AbstractInternational education is a fundamentally transnational project. It relies on the movement of individuals or knowledge across national borders, disturbs the centrality of the nation‐state in educational reproduction, and is facilitated by economic and social networks that act as bridges between countries of origin and education. In this article, I address this latter point through reference to research conducted with South Korean international students in Auckland, New Zealand. In particular, I discuss the emergence of transnational social and economic activities that are facilitating the movement of international students from South Korea to Auckland — activities that might usefully be understood as forming ‘bridges to learning’. These include the activities of education agencies, immigrant entrepreneurs and the interpersonal relationships with which many students engage in the negotiation of their transnational lives. In a broader sense I illustrate how the emerging mobilities of international students cannot be viewed as independent of other phenomena but must be seen as embedded within transnational processes that take place at different geographic and social scales.
Moving images: world cities, connections and projects in Sydney's TV production industry
Authors: MOULD OLI 
Published: August 2008

AbstractWorld city research concerned with connectivity has tended to focus on advanced producer service firms and on selected North American and European cities; the prevailing methodology has been quantitative. In this article I answer the call to ‘go beyond counting’ by bringing together a project‐based enquiry — on a TV mini‐seriesMary Bryant— with a more conventional assessment of network connectivity. The inclusion of a practice‐centred approach to this case study adds the performative data to the network, highlighting the actions and processes of those involved in maintaining the city networks. Furthermore, I demonstrate how this method of analysis is more suited to the study of project‐based cultural industries and highlight the role of Sydney in the global television industry — a city hitherto under‐explored in world city literature.
Do Migrants get Good Jobs in Australia? The Role of Ethnic Networks in Job Search*
Authors: MAHUTEAU STÉPHANE , JUNANKAR P.N. (RAJA) 
Published: August 2008

We study the role of ethnic networks in migrants’ job search and the quality of jobs they find in the first years of settlement. We find that there are initial downward movements along the occupational ladder, followed by improvements. As a result of restrictions in welfare eligibility since 1997, we study whether this increases the probability that new migrants accept ‘bad jobs’ quickly and then move onto better jobs over time. Holding employability constant, our results support this view. However, accounting for their higher employability, new migrants seem to fare better up to 1.5 years after settlement.
Testing the Consistency Between Standard Contingent Valuation, Repeated Contingent Valuation and Choice Experiments
Authors: Christie Mike , Azevedo Christopher D. 
Published: August 2008

Abstract Choice experiments (CEs) are a relatively new approach to valuing environmental resources. Initial tests of the validity of the approach have either compared benefit estimates generated using CEs with those estimated using contingent valuation (CV) or used more sophisticated hypothesis tests of parameter equality. Although useful, existing tests have been restricted to testing consistency based on a single policy scenario (standard CV). We argue that, although these tests are informative, they fail to take full advantage of the richness of CE data. In particular, CE data allow for the calculation of benefit estimates over a range of policy scenarios (i.e. attribute combinations). A similar range of benefit estimates may be generated by pooling scenarios in a repeated CV study. In this paper, we explore this relationship between CV and CEs by conducting validity tests between a CE model and a repeated CV model over a range of three levels of improved water quality at Clear Lake, IA, USA. Evidence from this test suggests that the CE and CV data are consistent.
Reviews: Is Regression of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients Possible?
Authors: Bossola Maurizio , Tazza Luigi , Vulpio Carlo , Luciani Giovanna 
Published: August 2008

AbstractLeft ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), present in 70–80% of patients at the start of dialysis, results from chronic high blood pressure, volume overload, or both, in association with a number of metabolic and neurohumoral alterations. LVH is associated with poor outcome and was considered irreversible until the end of the 20th century. Conversely, in recent years, numerous studies have been published demonstrating that LVH may regress through various therapeutic strategies such as prevention and control of anemia, control of volume load, use of antihypertensive drugs, use of daily or nocturnal hemodialysis (HD), prevention and treatment of hyperphosphatemia, administration of vitamin D or with multifactorial interventional approaches. However, it must be emphasized that most of these studies have included a small number of patients, that many are single‐arm and that few are randomized and controlled. In general, it seem that further, adequate, randomized, controlled studies are warranted to better define the optimal therapeutic approach to treat LVH in end‐stage renal disease patients receiving chronic HD.
Effects of Thermocycling on the Tensile Bond Strength of Three Permanent Soft Denture Liners
Authors: Botega Daniela Maffei , Sanchez José Luiz Lopes , Mesquita Marcelo Ferraz , Henriques Guilherme Elias Pessanha , Consani Rafael Leonardo Xediek 
Published: August 2008

Abstract Purpose: This study investigated the effect of in vitro accelerated aging reproduced with thermocycling on the bond strength of three commercially available permanent denture soft liners (PermaSoft, Dentuflex, Ufi‐gel) with one heat‐polymerized polymethyl methacrylate resin denture base (QC‐20) by tensile test. Material and Methods: Ten specimens were prepared for control and test groups of each material for a total of 60 specimens. All controls were stored in water (37°C) for 24 hours before testing. All test groups received 3000 thermal cycles consisting of 1 minute at 5°C and 1 minute at 65°C. All specimens were submitted to a tensile test using a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 5 mm/min. Results were statistically analyzed (ANOVA, p≤ 0.05, Tukey's post‐hoc test). Results: The mean bond strength of control specimens was (MPa): 0.32 (Ufi‐gel), 0.49 (PermaSoft), and 1.19 (Dentuflex). There was no statistical difference (p > 0.05) between Ufi‐gel and PermaSoft, but both were statistically different (p < 0.05) when compared to Dentuflex. After thermocycling, the mean bond strength was (MPa): 0.18 (Ufi‐gel), 0.81 (PermaSoft), and 3.32 (Dentuflex). All materials were statistically different (p < 0.05). Ufi‐gel had the lowest value and Dentuflex the highest in both control and test groups. Dentuflex presented only adhesive failure; in the remaining groups, there was no predominant failure mode, except Ufi‐gel control with no adhesive failure. Conclusions: Despite presenting greater bond strength, thermocycling had a deleterious effect in Dentuflex; Ufi‐gel may be adequate for short‐term use.
Prosthodontic Program Directors' Perceptions Regarding Implant Placement by Prosthodontic Residents: A 2004 Survey Conducted by the Educational Policy Subcommittee of the American College of Prosthodontists
Authors: Sukotjo Cortino , Arbree Nancy S. 
Published: August 2008

Abstract Purpose: In 2004, a survey regarding implant placement by prosthodontic residents was conducted by the Educational Policy Subcommittee of the American College of Prosthodontists (ACP). The aim of the survey was to assess the current trends in implant curricula at advanced graduate prosthodontics programs in the United States and Canada and determine the issues surrounding surgical implant training for prosthodontic residents. Materials and Methods: The survey was mailed to the prosthodontic/maxillofacial prosthetic program directors of the 59 prosthodontic graduate programs in the United States and Canada in 2004. Of these, 27 program directors replied, yielding a response rate of 46%. Results: Of the replying programs, 43% either required residents to place or offered the option to have residents place implants. Forty‐four percent reported that residents participate by functioning as first assistants for some of their implant patients, 40% have a specific curriculum to train residents in implant placement, 50% reported not having any institutional barriers that prevent program directors from training prosthodontic residents in implant placement, 51% provide implant training using plastic jaws, and 66% of the programs required residents to observe implant surgery in the clinic before they are permitted to place implants. Of prosthodontic residents who treated implant‐related patients, the majority treated 11 to 20 patients during their residency. In 2004, 40% of program directors were not trained in the placement of dental implants, and if they did have the implant training, the majority (82%) stated that the nature of their training was 1‐ to 3‐day course(s). Conclusions: This survey showed that implant dentistry has become an integral part of the postgraduate prosthodontic curriculum. The trends to incorporate implant placement into the postgraduate prosthodontic curriculum were already evident prior to 2004. To address the demand for implant treatment in patient care and enhance surgical implant knowledge, the ACP in 2005 added placement of implants to its Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Prosthodontics.
Upper Turnover Portion of the Reentry Circuit for Typical and Reverse Typical Atrial Flutter
Authors: FUKUZAWA KOJI , YOSHIDA AKIHIRO , KUBO SHINYA , TAKANO TAKATSUGU , KIUCHI KUNIHIKO , KANDA GAKU , TAKAMI KAORU , KUMAGAI HIROYUKI , TORII SATOKO , TAKAMI MITSURU , OHNISHI YOSHIO , OKAJIMA KATSUNORI , HIRATA KEN‐ICHI 
Published: August 2008

Background: The posteromedial right atrium (PMRA) forms a block line during typical atrial flutter (AFL). However, whether upper turnover portion exists at the anterior or posterior superior vena cava (SVC) has not been determined.
Methods: We performed right atrial mapping during AFL in 20 patients (typical AFL, n = 17; reverse typical AFL, n = 3) using an electroanatomical mapping system.
Results: Mean AFL cycle length was 224 ± 20 ms and mean number of mapping points was 140 ± 27. PMRA formed a block line during both typical and reverse AFL in all patients. However, in 16 of 17 patients mapped with typical AFL, PMRA did not extend superiorly to the orifice of the SVC and AFL wave propagated between the upper limit of the PMRA and the posterior SVC. In the remaining patient mapped with typical AFL, a double potential was recorded along the PMRA continuously between the orifices of the inferior vena cava (IVC) and SVC. In the three patients mapped with reverse typical AFL, a posterior barrier was detected from IVC to the upper limit of the PMRA and AFL wave propagated between the upper limit of the PMRA and the posterior SVC. Mean length from IVC to upper limit of the PMRA was 81 ± 8% of the length from IVC to SVC.
Conclusions: PMRA forms a functional block line during both typical and reverse typical AFL. The upper turnover portion of reentry circuit for AFL was observed between the upper limit of the PMRA and the posterior SVC in the majority of isthmus‐dependent AFL patients.
The impacts of animal disease crises on the Korean meat market
Authors: Park Moonsoo , Jin Yanhong H. , Bessler David A. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractEmploying the error correction method and historical decomposition with direct acyclic graphs, we quantify the impacts of domestic and overseas animal disease crises on the Korean meat market. We have the following findings: (a) the market partially recovered 16 months after the domestic foot‐and‐mouth outbreak (FMD) in 2000, and 13 months after the domestic avian influenza (AI) incidents and the U.S. bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) discovery in 2003; (b) animal disease outbreaks had differentiated impacts by disease type and at different levels of meat supply chain. Retail price margin increased relative to the farm and wholesale levels; and (c) disease outbreaks caused changes of dynamic interdependence between prices by meat type at different levels of meat supply chain.
The level of illicit drug use is related to symptoms and premorbid functioning in severe mental illness
Authors: Ringen P. A. , Melle I. , Birkenaes A. B. , Engh J. A. , Faerden A. , Vaskinn A. , Friis S. , Opjordsmoen S. , Andreassen O. A. 
Published: August 2008

Objective:  There is conflicting data on drug abuse and outcome in severe mental illness. This study aims to investigate if the amount of illicit psychoactive drug use is related to symptom load or premorbid functioning across diagnosis in patients with severe mental illness.Method:  Symptom load, sociodemographic status, premorbid functioning and the level of use of illicit psychoactive drugs were assessed in 423 subjects with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in a cross‐sectional study.Results:  High amount of illicit drug use was associated with poorer premorbid academic functioning. In schizophrenia, there was a significant positive association between amount of drug use and severity of psychiatric symptoms. The association between symptom load and drug use was significant after controlling for premorbid functioning.Conclusion:  The results suggest a direct association between the quantity of current drug use and more severe symptoms in schizophrenia. Poor premorbid functioning was related to high amount of use, but did not explain the difference in symptom load.
Amygdala and hippocampal volumes and cognition in adult survivors of childhood abuse with dissociative disorders
Authors: Weniger G. , Lange C. , Sachsse U. , Irle E. 
Published: August 2008

Objective:  Trauma‐exposed individuals with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) display reduced amygdala and hippocampal size and impaired cognition. However, studies on trauma‐exposed individuals with dissociative amnesia (DA) or dissociative identity disorder (DID) are lacking.Method:  Twenty‐three young women who had experienced severe childhood sexual/physical abuse, diagnosed with DA/DID or PTSD, and 25 healthy control subjects were subjected to 3D structural magnetic resonance imaging of amygdala and hippocampus and a clinical and neuropsychological investigation.Results:  Compared with controls, trauma‐exposed subjects with PTSD (n = 10) displayed significantly reduced amygdala and hippocampal size and significantly impaired cognition. By contrast, trauma‐exposed subjects with DA or DID (n = 13) displayed normal amygdala and hippocampal size and normal cognition.Conclusion:  We report for the first time volumetric results in subjects with DA/DID without PTSD as comorbid diagnosis. Our results indicate preserved amygdala and hippocampal size and preserved cognition in subjects with these disorders.
Dopaminergic but Not Glutamatergic Neurotransmission Is Increased in the Striatum after Selective Cyclooxygenase‐2 Inhibition in Normal and Hemiparkinsonian Rats
Authors: Fathi Moghaddam Hadi , Ardestani Mehdi Shafiee , Saffari Mostafa , Navidpour Latifeh , Shafiee Abbas , Rahmim Arman 
Published: August 2008

Abstract:  In the present work, we studied the effect of the selective cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) inhibitors, compound 11 g, celecoxib and selective COX‐1 inhibitor SC‐560 (intraperitoneally and acutely) on striatal glutamatergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission in normal and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc)‐lesioned rats using the microdialysis technique. We also investigated the effect of acute COX inhibition on the damaged SNc neurons. Our results indicate a significant increase in dopaminergic neurotransmission and a decrease in glutamatergic neurotransmission (P < 0.05) only after selective COX‐2 inhibition in the striatum of normal and hemiparkinsonian rats. Nonetheless, neither COX‐1 nor COX‐2 inhibitors showed any improvement in the damaged SNc neurons.
Submasseteric Abscess Caused by
Mycoplasma salivarium
Infection
Authors: Grisold Andrea J. , Hoenigl Martin , Leitner Eva , Jakse Klaus , Feierl Gebhard , Raggam Reinhard B. , Marth Egon 
Published: August 2008

ABSTRACT

Mycoplasma salivarium
preferentially resides in the human oral cavity. Unlike other
Mycoplasma
species,
M. salivarium
has not been regarded as a pathogen, although one case of
M. salivarium
-caused arthritis in a patient with hypogammaglobulinemia has been reported. We describe the first case of submasseteric abscess caused by
M. salivarium
.
Epidemiology and Clinical Associations of Human Parechovirus Respiratory Infections
Authors: Harvala H. , Robertson I. , McWilliam Leitch E. C. , Benschop K. , Wolthers K. C. , Templeton K. , Simmonds P. 
Published: August 2008

ABSTRACT
Infections with human parechoviruses (HPeVs) are prevalent in young children and have been associated with mild gastroenteritis and, less frequently, with meningitis and neonatal sepsis. To investigate the involvement of these viruses in respiratory disease, a highly sensitive nested PCR was used to screen a large archive of respiratory specimens, collected between January and December 2007. Respiratory samples had previously been tested for eight respiratory viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus and adenovirus, by PCR. HPeV was detected in 34 of 3,844 specimens, representing 27 of 2,220 study subjects (1.2%). HPeV types were identified by sequencing the VP3/VP1 junction amplified by PCR directly from clinical specimens. The assay could amplify all HPeV types examined with high sensitivity (types 1 and 3 to 6) and also identified HPeV types in all but one of the screen-positive study specimens (25 HPeV1 and eight HPeV6 specimens). Infections with both HPeV1 and HPeV6 were seasonal, with highest frequencies in July and August, and restricted to children aged between 6 months and 5 years. Other respiratory viruses were frequently codetected in HPeV-positive specimens, with significant overrepresentation of adenovirus coinfections (37%). Most HPeV-positive specimens were referred from emergency departments, although no association with specific respiratory symptoms or disease was found. In summary, the low frequency of detection and lack of clear disease associations indicate that HPeV1 and -6 are not major pathogens in individuals presenting with respiratory disease. However, the screening and typing methods developed will be of value in further HPeV testing, including testing for meningitis cases and other suspected HPeV-associated disease presentations.