bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
No effect of homocysteine‐lowering therapy on vascular inflammation and haemostasis in peripheral arterial occlusive disease
Authors: Schernthaner G.‐H. , Plank C. , Minar E. , Bieglmayer C. , Koppensteiner R. , Schernthaner G. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractBackground  Although peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) is significantly associated with elevated homocysteine levels, the clinical relevance of hyperhomocysteinaemia for the prevention and progression of PAOD is still unknown.Materials and methods  A total of 65 patients suffering from symptomatic PAOD with elevated homocysteine levels were randomized onto placebo or B‐vitamins (50 mg thiaminhydrochlorid, 50 mg pyridoxine, and 0·05 mg cyanocobalamin), plus 5 mg folic acid daily for 6 weeks. Serum levels of folic acid, vitamin B12, creatinine, ultra‐sensitive C‐reactive protein (usCRP), interleukin (IL)‐6, IL‐8, IL‐18, monocyte‐chemo‐attractant‐protein‐1 (MCP‐1) and plasma levels of homocysteine, tissue factor (TF) and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) were determined on the 1st day and 42nd day. Primary outcome was reduction of homocysteine, secondary outcomes were reduction of usCRP, IL‐6, IL‐8, Il‐18, MCP‐1, TF and TFPI.Results  The mean reduction of homocysteine concentration was 33% (95%CI 33·36–55·76, or 18·9 ± 5·4 µmol L−1−12·6 ± 2·8 µmol L−1, P = 0) in the B‐vitamin group compared with 1% in the placebo group. Folic acid (P = 0) and vitamin B12 (P = 0) increased significantly in the verum group, but both remained unchanged in the control group. No treatment effect of lowering of homocysteine on any markers of haemostasis (TF, TFPI) or inflammation (usCRP, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐18 and MCP‐1) was observed.Conclusion  Although homocysteine is associated with vascular disease risk in the general population and in particular with PAOD, marked lowering of homocysteine concentrations by folic acid and B‐vitamin supplementation does not influence inflammatory responses involving usCRP, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐18 and MCP‐1, nor tissue factor. These results provide evidence against a major effect of hyperhomocysteinaemia on vascular chronic inflammation or coagulation in patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial occlusive disease.
Influence of the injection site (L2/3 or L3/4) and the posture of the vertebral column on selective spinal anesthesia for ambulatory knee arthroscopy
Authors: Korhonen A‐M. , Valanne J. V. , Jokela R. M. , Ravaska P. , Volmanen P. , Korttila K. 
Published: April 2006

Background:  We tested the hypothesis that selective spinal anesthesia for ambulatory knee arthroscopy can be accomplished with a small dose of bupivacaine at the L3/4 interspace with or without a head‐down tilt of 5° when the patients were in the lateral decubitus position.Methods:  In this double‐blind study, 123 patients were randomly allocated to receive spinal anesthesia with 4 mg of hyperbaric bupivacaine inserted at either the L2/3 interspace, while the vertebral column was kept horizontal (L2/3 group), or the L3/4 level, with the vertebral column horizontal (L3/4H) or tilted 5° head‐down (L3/4T). At 7 min, an additional head down tilt was used in all groups if the sensory block was inadequate.Results:  In the L3/4T group the sensory block (Th8) reached a significantly higher level 30 min after spinal injection, compared with both the L2/3 (Th10) and L3/4H (Th11) groups. In the L3/4H group, 39% of the patients needed an additional tilt for 3 min at 7 min, compared with 10% (P=0.004) in the L3/4T group. Sacral block developed later and recovered faster (P<0.05) in the L3/4T group compared to the L3/4H group. Home‐readiness was achieved equally fast in all groups.Conclusion:  When producing selective spinal anesthesia, the posture of the vertebral column is a major determinant of both sensory and motor segments to be blocked. A 4‐mg dose of hyperbaric bupivacaine at the L3/4 interspace with a 5° head‐down tilt of the vertebral column for 6 min is recommended for knee arthroscopy.
Double‐barrelled wet colostomy with simultaneous urinary and faecal diversion: results in 9 patients and review of the literature
Authors: Lopes de Queiroz F. , Barbosa‐Silva T. , Pyramo Costa L. M. , Werneck Côrtes B. J. , Figueiredo J. A. , Guerra F. , Campos M. H. , Salgado F. A. , Silva Lemos G. , Rosa da Silva P. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractObjective  Double‐barrelled wet colostomy is a urinary diversion technique indicated when a concurrent faecal diversion is needed. It is a simple procedure, technically easy to accomplish and well received by patients. The purpose of this study is to report the results of double‐barrelled wet colostomy, with emphasis on operating technique, morbidity, functional results and a review of the literature on the subject.Methods  The medical records of 9 consecutive patients, between January 2001 and May 2005, who underwent surgical extended resections with double‐barrelled wet colostomy for a malignant central pelvic mass, were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were asked to respond to a questionnaire assessing quality of life. The questionnaire used was the QLQ‐C30 version 3, proposed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).Results  This study presents results obtained from 9 patients, emphasizing morbidity and quality of life. One patient presented with pyelonephritis. We did not identify complications such as hydroelectrolytic disturbances, peristomal dermatitis or hydronephrosis. The patients who submitted to the procedure exhibited high levels of quality of life and found caring for the stomas straight forward.Conclusions  We conclude that double‐barrelled wet colostomy is an excellent choice for patients who require concurrent urinary and faecal diversion, one that does not present technical difficulties and does not require a prolonged operating time. It avoids the complications frequently present in standard wet colostomy and does not rule out making a continent urinary reservoir later, in patients that meet healing criteria.
Content analysis of Australian newspaper portrayals of emergency medicine
Authors: Kennedy John F , Trethewy Christopher , Anderson Kevin 
Published: April 2006

AbstractObjective:  To evaluate portrayals of emergency medicine (EM) in Australian newspapers.Method:  Systematic content analysis of articles about the ED in four major Australian newspapers.Results:  From July 2003 to June 2004 176 articles about the ED were published. Articles about ED overload were dominant (37.9% of all subjects identified). Articles about solutions to ED problems (16%) and errors (12.7%) were also prominent. Emergency physicians (EP) provided 13.5% of all of the commentary in the articles. Health administrators, spokespersons and politicians collectively constituted 44.3% of voices. The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) provided little commentary (4%). Overall 18% of articles portrayed EM in a positive light, 37% neutral and 45% negative. The ratio of negative to positive articles was 2.5:1. page‐one stories were mostly concerned with ED overload and errors and were predominantly negative. Positive articles (18%) most commonly covered solutions to problems, ‘Life in the Emergency Department’ or descriptions of staff involvement with interesting diseases.Conclusions:  There is a significant media focus on ED problems and errors. The majority of comment comes from politicians and bureaucrats not EP or the ACEM and, overall, the articles examined portrayed EM in a negative light. EP and the ACEM should evaluate ways to improve the interface between the specialty and the media.
Prevalence of use, epidemiology and toxicity of ‘herbal party pills’ among those presenting to the emergency department
Authors: Nicholson Tonia C 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe aim of the present study was to establish the prevalence of use, epidemiology and toxicity of ‘herbal party pills’ in ED presenters. This was an analytical cross‐sectional survey of patients and relatives presenting to a large tertiary ED. Consenting participants completed a specifically designed questionnaire. A total of 1043 people completed the questionnaire (participation rate of 97.2%). One hundred and twenty‐five (11.9%) had taken herbal party pills and subgroup analysis showed that use was most prevalent in those aged 14–25 years (30%). The majority had taken pills between two and five times (56%). Eighty‐three (66.4%) had been drinking alcohol when they first took party pills. Only 80 (64%) had read the product directions, and 48 (38.4%) had, at some stage, taken more pills than recommended. One hundred and six (84.8%) had felt effects from party pills, but only 63 (59% of those feeling effects or 50.4% of total) described these as ‘good’. Six (5.7% of those with effects or 4.8% of total) had sought medical attention for effects. Seventy‐four (59.2%) would take herbal party pills again. In conclusion, the use of herbal party pills is common in presenters to the ED, particularly in those aged 14–25 years. These people are at risk for toxicity from the pills because there is a tendency for them not to read the instructions before ingestion, to take more pills than recommended and to coingest alcohol. Emergency physicians need to be aware of the use and potential adverse effects of herbal party pills to enable them to recognize signs of toxicity in ED presenters and thus provide appropriate supportive care.
Attenuated Bioluminescent
Brucella melitensis
Mutants GR019 (
virB4
), GR024 (
galE
), and GR026 (BMEI1090-BMEI1091) Confer Protection in Mice
Authors: Rajashekara Gireesh , Glover David A. , Banai Menachem , O'Callaghan David , Splitter Gary A. 
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT

In vivo bioluminescence imaging is a persuasive approach to investigate a number of issues in microbial pathogenesis. Previously, we have applied bioluminescence imaging to gain greater insight into
Brucella melitensis
pathogenesis. Endowing
Brucella
with bioluminescence allowed direct visualization of bacterial dissemination, pattern of tissue localization, and the contribution of
Brucella
genes to virulence. In this report, we describe the pathogenicity of three attenuated bioluminescent
B. melitensis
mutants, GR019 (
virB4
), GR024 (
galE
), and GR026 (BMEI1090-BMEI1091), and the dynamics of bioluminescent virulent bacterial infection following vaccination with these mutants. The
virB4
,
galE
, and BMEI1090-BMEI1091 mutants were attenuated in interferon regulatory factor 1-deficient (IRF-1
−/−
) mice; however, only the GR019 (
virB4
) mutant was attenuated in cultured macrophages. Therefore, in vivo imaging provides a comprehensive approach to identify virulence genes that are relevant to in vivo pathogenesis. Our results provide greater insights into the role of
galE
in virulence and also suggest that BMEI1090 and downstream genes constitute a novel set of genes involved in
Brucella
virulence. Survival of the vaccine strain in the host for a critical period is important for effective
Brucella
vaccines. The
galE
mutant induced no changes in liver and spleen but localized chronically in the tail and protected IRF-1
−/−
and wild-type mice from virulent challenge, implying that this mutant may serve as a potential vaccine candidate in future studies and that the direct visualization of
Brucella
may provide insight into selection of improved vaccine candidates.
Effectiveness of a participative intervention on psychosocial work factors to prevent mental health problems in a hospital setting
Authors: Bourbonnais R , Brisson C , Vinet A , Vézina M , Abdous B , Gaudet M 
Published: April 2006

Objectives:To assess the effectiveness of a workplace intervention aimed at reducing adverse psychosocial work factors (psychological demands, decision latitude, social support, and effort-reward imbalance) and mental health problems among care providers.Methods:A quasi-experimental design with a control group was used. Pre-intervention (71% response rate), and one-year post-intervention measures (69% response rate) were collected by telephone interviews.Results:One year after the intervention, there was a reduction of several adverse psychosocial factors in the experimental group, whereas no such reduction was found in the control group. However, there was a significant deterioration of decision latitude and social support from supervisors in both experimental and control groups. There was also a significant reduction in sleeping problems and work related burnout in the experimental hospital, whereas only sleeping problems decreased in the control group while both client related and personal burnout increased in this hospital. The comparison between the experimental and control groups, after adjusting for pre-intervention measures, showed a significant difference in the means of all psychosocial factors except decision latitude. All other factors were better in the experimental group.Conclusion:Results suggest positive effects of the intervention, even though only 12 months have passed since the beginning of the intervention. Follow up at 36 months is necessary to evaluate whether observed effects are maintained over time. In light of these results, we believe that continuing the participative process in the experimental hospital will foster the achievement of a more important reduction of adverse psychosocial factors at work. It is expected that the intensity of the intervention will be directly related to its beneficial effects. Long term effects will however depend on the willingness of management and of staff to appropriate the process of identifying what contributes to adverse psychosocial factors at work and to adopt means to reduce them.
Intersection of ACM-curves in ℙ3
Authors: Miró-Roig R. M. , Ranestad K. 
Published: April 2006

Abstract
In this note we address the problem of determining the maximum number of
points of intersection of two arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay curves in
ℙ3. We give a sharp upper bound for the maximum number of points of
intersection of two irreducible arithmetically Cohen–Macaulay curves
Ct
and Ct–r
in ℙ3
defined by the maximal minors of a t × (t + 1), resp. (t – r ) × (t – r + 1), matrix with linear entries, provided
Ct–r
has no linear series of degree and dimension n ≥ t – r.
A frame-based approach to case alternations: The swarm-class verbs in Czech
Authors: Fried Mirjam 
Published: April 2006

Abstract
This paper explores the complex relationship between
the meaning of predicates and the morphosyntactic expression of their arguments,
as manifested in the swarm-class alternations in Czech. One way of getting at
the nature of the alternations is to take a frame-semantic approach, which
allows us to introduce the notion of scene as an important factor in linking
relationships. It is proposed that linking patterns are organized in a network
of generalized scene types, each of which represents a particular role
configuration structured in such a way that one of its roles can be singled out
as the vantage point from which that event type is conventionally presented in a
particular diathesis; the analysis argues for the notion of viewpoint as an
event-structuring concept (distinct from discourse-based topicness) that is
directly reflected in certain conventionalized linking patterns. The results of
the investigation show that what may appear to be hard-to-predict variations in
subject selection can be treated as instances of regular linking
relations.
The mental space structure of verbal irony
Authors: Kihara Yoshihiko 
Published: April 2006

Abstract
This article presents a unified theory of irony which
claims, with the help of Fauconnier’s (1985) mental space theory, that an
ironical utterance refers to the mental space of a mutually manifest
expectation. According to this view, what a typical ironical speaker does is to
say without any distinct space builders that something is the case in the mental
space of expectation in order to make it mutually manifest that it is not so in
the initial reality space. This expectation space theory of irony integrates the
explanatory power of Sperber and Wilson’s (1986) echoic interpretation theory
with the descriptive power of the view of irony as relevant
inappropriateness.
European ethnic scripts and the translation and switching of jokes
Authors: Davies Christie 
Published: April 2006

AbstractMany European jokes depend on local ethnic scripts that by convention pin a comic characteristic on a particular ethnic group such as the canny Cardi in Wales, the slow Swiss in France, the stupid Belgian incessantly eating freedom fries in the Netherlands. How are such jokes to be translated into the language of another country with a different culture and comic conventions? Sometimes it is straightforward because similar jokes about the same group exist throughout Europe as with, say, jokes about cowardly Italians. In other cases there exists a similar set of jokes told about a local group so that, say, British jokes about the stupid Irish can easily be turned into jokes about Belgians, Ostfrieslanders, Gallegos, Pontians in the appropriate country. Problems arise only if a script is unique to one group or country, in which case the device of indirect explanation by internal conversation is used. One of the people in the joke reveals to another the nature of the script on which the joke depends, and thus the joke teller conveys the information to his audience without appearing didactic or giving too much away. It is fairly easy to convey implicit cultural assumptions in this way, far easier than it is translate a complex play on words. Language is far more idiosyncratic and arbitrary than culture.
Food Sovereignty or Trade Obstruction? Labelling of Genetically Engineered Foods
Authors: Zepeda Lydia 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThis paper examines labelling of Genetically Engineered Foods (GEFs) in the context of: trade issues, the food sovereignty movement, and consumer research. Labelling is explored as a middle ground between food sovereignty and the anti-labelling positions of GEF-producing countries. Surveys around the world concur that the majority of consumers want GEFs labelled. Psychological and neuroscience research implies that when we lack experience with a particular situation even experts view risks high where benefits are low and vice versa. Without direct consumer benefits, consumers will remain skeptical of GEFs and risk communication campaigns will do little to change consumers' feelings.
Mohammed and the Mountain: The Sui Generis Debate on Traditional Knowledge
Authors: Chambers W. Bradnee , Kambu Alphonse 
Published: April 2006

AbstractIntroductionShould Mohammed go to the mountain or should the mountain come to Mohammed? For indigenous groups around the world who have watched their knowledge and way of life erode from outside forces, they want the mountain to come to them for a change and they are demanding that the current global intellectual property rules be adjusted to protect their traditional knowledge instead of them trying to fit into a system that was never designed with their needs in mind.Most experts agree that traditional knowledge— the local know-how to use plants and animals for therapeutic, medicinal or artisan purposes—cannot be easily protected under current international law. But for the world’s poorest, traditional knowledge is the foundation of many services that they could not otherwise afford. For example, medical treatment based on traditional knowledge meets about 80% of their daily healthcare needs.
Group-Differentiated Rights and Informed Consent for Indigenous Group-Based Genetic Research
Authors: Rueda Eduardo A. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractIntroductionIndigenous Peoples’ struggle to be acknowledged as autonomous groups has found international legal support in the ILO Convention 169, which many Latin American countries have ratified. The way by which regional constitutional jurisprudence has reconstructed the foundations and scope of this right to self-determination seems, however, quite controversial. Firstly, taking Colombian constitutional jurisprudence as an example, I discuss both the acceptability of the restrictions the Constitutional Court has fixed to groups’ self-determination and the acceptability of defining them as collective subjects. Having in mind a better understanding of group-differentiated rights, I examine, secondly, how the conditions of the ILO Convention regarding the informed consent from indigenous groups should be satisfied when group-based genetic research is to be developed.
“As reading as if”: Harryette Mullen’s ‘cognitive similes’
Authors: Beall Emily P. 
Published: April 2006

Abstract
The poet Harryette Mullen takes the defamiliarization
technique celebrated in cognitive poetics to an extreme – she manipulates not
only the subject matter of her writing but the process the reader undertakes in
attempting to read that defamiliarized language as well. I apply to Mullen’s
poem “Wipe That Simile Off Your Aphasia” a number of ideas taken up by cognitive
poetics (using Stockwell 2002 as my guide): reading versus interpretation,
defamiliarization, prototypicality and actualization, sequential and summary
scanning, and the mapping of conceptual metaphor. I then argue for several
broader and unaccounted for challenges that Mullen’s work presents for cognitive
poetic theory.
Sign values in processes of distinction: The concept of luxury
Authors: Mortelmans Dimitri 
Published: April 2006

Abstract
What is luxury? The concept has never received proper
attention in social theory. It seemed as if luxury was a highly economic concept
that did not need any further investigation. Primary and secondary needs are
considered to form the basis of the luxury concept. Luxury has been viewed as
useless and superfluous because it belongs to the realm of desires instead of
elementary needs. This definition has often been used to stigmatize the use and
demonstration of luxury. The needs-wants dichotomy was severely criticized a few
decades ago. Luxury touches more than the question of necessity in society. This
article attempts to outline the formulation of a definition of luxury. We leave
the classic concept of luxury in favor of a more socio-semiotic approach of the
concept. The bounds between luxury and some specific product property will be
cut through. There is no such thing as a luxury good comparable to categories
like ‘cars,’ or ‘clothes.’ Luxury is defined as a specific kind of sign value,
produced in specific narratives and used in processes of stratification. As a
sign, it becomes apparent that luxury is a relative concept. Every social group
can be said to have its own luxury. Every social group has in fact a different
kind of luxury, which means that a Cartier is no luxury in some cases where a
television is highly exclusive in other cases.
Negation in Old High German
Authors: Jäger Agnes 
Published: April 2006

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to give a syntactic analysis of sentential
negation in the history of German with special emphasis on Old High German.
This analysis attributes the main changes in the syntax of negation not to a
change in syntactic structure but to changes in the lexical filling of the head
and specifier of NegP. In addition, the more specific question of negative
indefinites and negative concord (NC) in Old High German is discussed. It is
argued that negative indefinites should be analysed as semantically non-negative
but simply formally neg-marked. It is assumed that there is no obligatory
movement of n-indefinites to SpecNegP, neither overtly nor
covertly.
Strafrecht in der Europäischen Union
Authors: Klip André 
Published: April 2006

Abstract
I. Einleitung
Am 7. 2.1992 wurde hier in Maastricht der Vertrag über die Europäische Union unterzeichnet. Dieser Vertrag setzte eine Entwicklung in Gang, aufgrundderer das Strafrecht nicht länger als allein nationale Angelegenheitbetrachtet werden kann. Bewusst oder unbewusst wurden Schritte eingeleitet,die langfristig zu einem einheitlichen europäischen Strafrechtssystemführen könnten. Die Bedeutung, die diese fundamentale und strukturelle Verschiebung von der nationalen zur europäischen Ebene für Strafgesetzgebung,Strafrechtspolitik und Strafrechtswissenschaft hat, möchte ich andieser Stelle näher darlegen.