bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impaired salivary gland function in NOD mice: Association with changes in cytokine profile but not with histopathologic changes in the salivary gland
Authors: Jonsson Malin V. , Delaleu Nicolas , Brokstad Karl A. , Berggreen Ellen , Skarstein Kathrine 
Published: June 2006

AbstractObjectiveTo characterize the chronologic disease course and possible interrelationships between salivary gland inflammation, hyposalivation, and cytokine levels in NOD mice, a model for Sjögren's syndrome (SS).MethodsNOD mice of different ages were used to mimic different disease stages of SS. Histopathologic findings and rates of salivary secretion were compared between 8‐week‐old, 17‐week‐old, and 24‐week‐old female mice. In addition, 10 cytokines were analyzed in serum and saliva obtained from NOD and BALB/c mice.ResultsIn NOD mice, the salivary flow rate did not change between 8 weeks and 17 weeks of age, while a significant decrease in the salivary flow rate occurred between 17 weeks and 24 weeks of age (P < 0.001). In contrast, significant histopathologic changes in the salivary glands occurred before 17 weeks of age. Chronic inflammatory cell infiltrates were characterized by T and B cell infiltration. Interestingly, in one‐third of the mice, proliferating cells were observed in the focal infiltrates. Significant changes in the levels of interleukin‐2 (IL‐2), IL‐5, and granulocyte–macrophage colony‐stimulating factor in serum, and in the levels of IL‐4 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) in saliva occurred contemporarily with the decrease in salivary flow. Correlation analyses revealed a negative association between salivary secretion and the levels of IL‐4, interferon‐γ, and TNFα in saliva obtained from NOD mice, while the correlation with inflammatory changes in the glands was consistently weak.ConclusionConsistent with previous findings, our results indicate at least 2 phases of SS‐like disease in NOD mice. Hyposalivation was preceded by inflammatory changes in the salivary glands, whereas abrupt changes in secretion occurred without significant progression of inflammation. Changes in cytokine levels are an indication of the mechanisms involved in the adaptive immune response in the transition from early to overt disease.
Induction of apoptosis and fibrillin 1 expression in human dermal endothelial cells by scleroderma sera containing anti–endothelial cell antibodies
Authors: Ahmed S. Sohail , Tan Filemon K. , Arnett Frank C. , Jin Li , Geng Yong‐Jian 
Published: June 2006

AbstractObjectiveSera from patients with scleroderma (systemic sclerosis [SSc]) contain anti–endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) capable of inducing endothelial cell apoptosis. We sought to determine whether SSc sera containing anticentromere antibodies (ACAs) or anti–topoisomerase I antibodies (or, anti–Scl‐70 antibodies) contain subsets of AECAs that trigger distinct pathways of apoptosis and gene expression in normal adult human dermal endothelial cells (HDECs).MethodsAdult HDECs were grown to subconfluence and treated with control or SSc patient sera. Apoptosis was investigated by differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, microarrays of proapoptotic gene expression, caspase 3 protease activity, and flow cytometry for phosphatidyl serine translocation.ResultsFlow cytometry and DIC microscopy demonstrated that HDECs exposed to SSc sera containing either SSc autoantibody underwent apoptosis at much higher levels than those treated with control sera. While unique gene expression profiles were induced in HDECs by stimulation with SSc sera containing the respective autoantibody, similar patterns of increased gene expression of transcripts for the proapoptotic protease caspase 3 as well as the SSc autoantigen fibrillin 1 were demonstrated. Caspase 3 gene expression correlated with increased protease activity, and targeted inhibition of this protease partly blocked SSc serum–induced apoptosis. Immunohistochemistry studies of serum‐stimulated HDECs demonstrated the aberrant expression of fibrillin 1 protein only in apoptotic endothelial cells treated with SSc sera containing AECAs.ConclusionThere are distinct AECA subsets in the sera of patients with limited SSc (with ACAs) and diffuse SSc (with anti–Scl‐70) that induce unique patterns of HDEC gene expression in the setting of apoptosis associated with increased caspase 3 activity and the reexpression of endothelial cell fibrillin 1.
Prospective study of fetal DNA in serum and disease activity during pregnancy in women with inflammatory arthritis
Authors: Yan Zhen , Lambert Nathalie C. , ØStensen Monika , Adams Kristina M. , Guthrie Katherine A. , Nelson J. Lee 
Published: June 2006

AbstractObjectiveRheumatoid arthritis (RA) usually improves during pregnancy and recurs postpartum. Fetal cells and cell‐free DNA reach the maternal circulation during normal pregnancy. The present study investigated dynamic changes in levels of fetal DNA in serum from women with RA and inflammatory arthritis during and after pregnancy to test the hypothesis that the levels of circulating fetal DNA correlate with arthritis improvement.MethodsTwenty‐five pregnant patients were prospectively studied. A real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction panel targeting unshared, paternally transmitted HLA sequences, a Y chromosome–specific sequence, or an insertion sequence within the glutathione S‐transferase M1 gene was used to measure cell‐free fetal DNA. Results were expressed as fetal genomic equivalents per milliliter (gE/ml) of maternal serum. Physical examinations were conducted during and after pregnancy.ResultsLevels of fetal DNA in women with improvement in or remission of arthritis were higher than those in women with active disease, especially in the third trimester. Overall, an inverse relationship between serum fetal DNA levels and disease activity was observed (P < 0.001). Serum fetal DNA increased with advancing gestation, reaching median levels of 24 gE/ml (range 0–334), 61 gE/ml (range 0–689), and 199 gE/ml (range 0–2,576) in the first, second, and third trimesters, respectively, with fetal DNA clearance observed postpartum. Arthritis improvement was initially noted in the first trimester for most patients, increased further or was sustained with advancing gestation, and was active postpartum.ConclusionChanges in serum fetal DNA levels correlated with arthritis improvement during pregnancy and recurrence postpartum. Immunologic mechanisms by which pregnancy might modulate RA activity are described.
Increased extracellular levels of the novel proinflammatory cytokine high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 in minor salivary glands of patients with Sjögren's syndrome
Authors: Ek Monica , Popovic Karin , Erlandsson Harris Helena , Söderberg Nauclér Cecilia , Wahren‐Herlenius Marie 
Published: June 2006

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate the expression of the novel proinflammatory cytokine high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 (HMGB‐1) in the salivary glands of patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and patients with sicca symptoms.MethodsBiopsy samples from the minor labial salivary glands of patients with SS, patients with sicca symptoms but no diagnosis of SS, and healthy controls were investigated. Expression of HMGB‐1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) was analyzed using immunohistochemical staining on consecutive cryosections.ResultsIncreased expression of HMGB‐1 was observed among the large infiltrates of mononuclear cells found in biopsy samples from patients with SS, and the degree of extracellular HMGB‐1 was significantly higher in patients with SS compared with patients with sicca symptoms and with healthy controls (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). Cellular expression of TNF was increased in patients with SS and in patients with sicca symptoms. In addition, the level of secreted TNF was significantly higher in patients with SS than in healthy controls (P < 0.05). Intracellular expression of IL‐1β was detected in all groups, while extracellular IL‐1β was observed almost exclusively among the infiltrating mononuclear cells of patients with SS.ConclusionThe increased amount of extracellular HMGB‐1 observed in salivary glands of patients with SS indicates that HMGB‐1 is involved in the inflammatory process of the disease. This cytokine, along with TNF and IL‐1β, may form a proinflammatory loop that promotes the chronic features of the glandular inflammation in SS.
Evidence of a flip‐flop phenomenon in acamprosate pharmacokinetics: an in vivo study in rats
Authors: Zornoza T. , Cano‐Cebrián M. J. , Hipólito L. , Granero L. , Polache A. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThe pharmacokinetics of acamprosate were examined in the rat after oral and intravenous administration in order to detect the possible presence of a flip‐flop phenomenon. Rats received 9.3 or 73.3 mg/kg of the drug as an intravenous bolus. The same doses were orally administered via gastric intubation. Plasma samples were taken from the jugular vein for determination of acamprosate concentration by liquid scintillation counting. The drug content was also quantified in urine and faeces. The acamprosate bioavailability was close to 20%, the amount recovered in the faeces being around 80% of the administered dose. The terminal slope of the oral plasma curve was significantly lower than that obtained after intravenous administration of the drug at both doses tested (p<2 × 10−6 in both cases). Moreover, the downward slope after oral administration (λ2=0.006 ± 0.001 min−1) practically coincided with the first‐order absorption rate constant, previously reported by us, obtained using an in situ rat gut technique. It is concluded that the acamprosate absorption rate is considerably slower than its elimination rate so that the drug exhibits flip‐flop pharmacokinetics after oral administration. The lower intrinsic first‐order absorption rate constant, ka, is responsible for this phenomenon. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Decreased levels of mucosal detoxification enzymes in the pouch of patients with familial adenomatous polyposis
Authors: Friederich P , Berkhout M , Roelofs H M J , van Goor H , van Krieken J H J M , Peters W H M , Nagengast F M 
Published: June 2006

Abstract

Background
Adenomas can develop in the pouch after colectomy with ileal pouch–anal anastomosis (IPAA) in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) have a protective role in carcinogenesis. GST activity is much higher in the ileum than in the colon. The present study examined the hypothesis that the protective capacity of GSTs may be lowered as a result of colonic metaplasia of the ileal pouch.

Methods
Levels of GSTs, glutathione and cysteine, and the degree of inflammation and colonic metaplasia were quantified in biopsies from the pouch and afferent loop of 26 patients with FAP.

Results
GST enzyme activity, and levels of GST alpha, glutathione and cysteine in the pouch were significantly lower than those in the afferent loop (308 versus 398 nmol per min per mg protein (P &lt; 0·001), 4604 versus 5286 ng per mg protein (P = 0·010), 27·1 versus 34·8 nmol per mg protein (P = 0·023) and 0 versus 4·8 nmol per mg protein (P = 0·009) respectively). No correlation was found between inflammation or colonic metaplasia of the pouch and GST enzyme activity in the pouch.

Conclusion
After IPAA, GST detoxification activity in the pouch is significantly lower than that in the afferent ileal loop, which may promote tumorigenesis.
Incidence and patterns of recurrence after resection for cure of colonic cancer in a well defined population
Authors: Manfredi S , Bouvier A M , Lepage C , Hatem C , Dancourt V , Faivre J 
Published: June 2006

Abstract

Background
The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and patterns of failure following potentially curative surgery of colonic cancer.

Methods
Data were obtained from the cancer registry of the Côte-d'Or (France). Data on 2657 patients who had resection for cure of colonic cancer between 1976 and 2000 were analysed. Local and distant failure rates were calculated using the actuarial method and multivariable analysis was performed using a Cox model.

Results
The 5-year cumulative rate was 12·8 per cent for local recurrence and 25·6 per cent for distant metastases. Five-year cumulative local recurrence rates were 4·9 per cent for stage I, 11·0 per cent for stage II and 23·5 per cent for stage III tumours (P &lt; 0·001). The corresponding rates for distant metastases were 6·4, 21·4 and 48·0 per cent (P &lt; 0·001). The 5-year cumulative rates for distant metastases were 31·7 per cent for the period 1976–1980 and 21·1 per cent for 1996–2000, and the local recurrence rates were 17·6 and 9·0 per cent respectively. The decreases in rates of local recurrence and distant metastases were significant in multivariable analysis. Cancer extension and presenting features were related to patterns of failure. Tumour location was significantly associated with risk of local recurrence, whereas age and gross features were associated with risk of distant metastasis.

Conclusion
Recurrence following resection of colonic cancer remains a substantial problem. Follow-up is of particular importance in the 3 years after surgery.
A meta-analysis comparing suprapubic and transurethral catheterization for bladder drainage after abdominal surgery
Authors: McPhail M J W , Abu-Hilal M , Johnson C D 
Published: June 2006

Abstract

Background
Although bladder drainage is widely used for general surgical patients undergoing laparotomy, there is little consensus on whether suprapubic or transurethral catheterization is better.

Method
A systematic database search was undertaken to find all studies of suprapubic catheterization. Randomized controlled trials were identified for inclusion. Endpoints for analysis were bacteriuria, patient satisfaction and recatheterization rates. A meta-analysis was performed using fixed-effect or random-effect models as appropriate, depending on heterogeneity.

Results
After abdominal surgery, transurethral catheterization is associated with significant bacteriuria (relative risk (RR) = 2·02, P &lt; 0·001, 95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 1·34 to 3·04) and pain or discomfort (RR = 2·94, P = 0·004, 95 per cent c.i. 1·41 to 6·14). Recatheterization rates using the transurethral method were not increased significantly (RR = 1·97, P = 0·213, 95 per cent c.i. 0·68 to 5·74) with heterogeneity between studies.

Conclusion
The suprapubic route for bladder drainage in general surgery is more acceptable to patients and reduces microbiological morbidity.
Accessibility and functionality of the corporate web site: implications for sustainability reporting
Authors: Adams Carol A. , Frost Geoffrey R. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThis paper explores the development of the corporate web site as a medium for sustainability reporting. Drawing upon survey data of corporate web sites in Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom and the experiences of six companies, it seeks to identify how issues of accessibility and functionality of the web site affect web based sustainability reporting. The study highlights the diversity of approaches to sustainability reporting on the internet and identifies a number of hurdles faced by managers responsible for sustainability reporting. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Waste management, the challenges of the PFI and ‘sustainability reporting’
Authors: Ball Amanda , Broadbent Jane , Jarvis Tony 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThis paper examines the potential for ‘sustainability reporting’ in the context of waste management contracts let under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Whilst issues relating to the use of the PFI as a source of funding have been discussed at length, this paper takes the PFI as a ‘given’ in the context of the funding of waste management. The paper concentrates instead on the implications of using PFI and how, if it is to be used, it might be used constructively. There are two somewhat contradictory implications. The first is that the impetus to the funding of the creation of infrastructure assets has been a factor in driving the agenda towards chemico‐energy modernization, which may not be the ideal long‐term solution to creating sustainability. The second, however, is that PFI contracts create an opportunity to ensure that ‘sustainability reporting’ must be undertaken as a condition. Based on empirical work in the field, we argue this can provide the foundation for a discourse that might eventually lead to the promotion of a more embedded attitude to sustainability. Drawing on our fieldwork, we also identify possible sustainability reporting models and identify reasons why such approaches may be worthwhile in the context of waste management and other PFI contracts with significant environmental impact. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
From sustainable management to sustainable development: a longitudinal analysis of a leading New Zealand environmental reporter
Authors: Tregidga Helen , Milne Markus J. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThis paper reports the results of an interpretive textual analysis of New Zealand's most consistent and arguably leading reporter on environmental and social impacts. Since 1995, Watercare Services Ltd, an Auckland‐based water utility, has been an award winning environmental reporter. The paper works with all of the organization's reports since 1993 through 2003 identifying and analysing the emergence and development of a sustainable development discourse. Focusing on the language and images used to construct meanings, and the context in which the reports emerged, the paper traces the organization's reporting developments. The paper illustrates how, in evolving from environmental reports to sustainable development reports, the organization has (re)constructed itself from one that sustainably manages resources to one that practises sustainable development. The implications of these developments are explored in terms of the literature on ‘capture’ and organizational change. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
A closed‐form expression for computing the sensitivity in second‐order bilinear calibration
Authors: Olivieri Alejandro C. , Faber Nicolaas (Klaas) M. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractA general expression is derived for estimating the sensitivity of second‐order bilinear calibration models, particularly parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and bilinear least‐squares (BLLS), whether the second‐order advantage is required or not. In the latter case, the sensitivity is correctly estimated either if the advantage is achieved by processing the unknown sample together with the calibration set (PARAFAC), or by post‐calibration residual bilinearization (BLLS). The expression includes, as special cases, the sensitivity expressions already discussed by Messick, Kalivas and Lang (MKL) and by Ho, Christian and Davidson (HCD). The former one is the maximum achievable sensitivity in a given calibration situation, where all components are present in the calibration set of samples. The latter approach gives the lowest possible sensitivity, corresponding to only calibrating the analyte of interest, leaving the remaining components as uncalibrated constituents of the unknown sample. In intermediate situations, that is more than one calibrated analyte and presence of unexpected components in the unknown sample, only the present approach is able to provide a satisfactory sensitivity parameter, in close agreement with previously described Monte Carlo numerical simulations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Randomized phase II study of carboplatin/gemcitabine versus vinorelbine/gemcitabine in patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer
Authors: Yamamoto Nobuyuki , Nakagawa Kazuhiko , Uejima Hisao , Sugiura Takahiko , Takada Yoshiki , Negoro Shun‐ichi , Matsui Kaoru , Kashii Tatsuhiko , Takada Minoru , Nakanishi Yoichi , Kato Terufumi , Fukuoka Masahiro 
Published: June 2006

AbstractBACKGROUND.Combined gemcitabine and carboplatin (GC) and combined gemcitabine and vinorelbine (GV) are active and well tolerated chemotherapeutic regimens for patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The authors conducted a randomized Phase II study of GC versus GV to compare them in terms of efficacy and toxicity.METHODS.One hundred twenty‐eight patients with Stage IIIB or IV NSCLC were randomized to receive either carboplatin at an area under the curve of 5 on Day 1 combined with gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 on Days 1 and 8 (n = 64 patients) or vinorelbine 25 mg/m2 combined with gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 on Days 1 and 8 (n = 64 patients) every 3 weeks.RESULTS.Response rates were 20.3% for the GC patients and 21.0% for the GV patients. In the GC arm, the median survival was 432 days, and the a 1‐year survival rate was 57.6%; in the GV arm, the median survival was 385 days, and the 1‐year survival rate was 53.3% in the GV arm. The median progression‐free survival was 165 days in the GC arm and 137 days in the GV arm. Severe hematologic toxicity (Grade 4) was significantly more frequent in the GC arm (45.3% vs. 25.8% in the GV arm; P = .022). Most notably, the incidence of Grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia was significantly higher in the GC arm (81.3% vs. 6.5% in the GV arm; P < .001). Conversely, severe nonhematologic toxicity (Grade 3 or 4) was more common in the GV arm (7.8% vs. 19.4% in the GC arm; P = .057).CONCLUSIONS.Although the GV and GC regimens had different toxicity profiles, there was no significant difference in survival among patients with NSCLC in the current study. Cancer 2006. © 2006 American Cancer Society.
Epithelioid sarcoma: Still an only surgically curable disease
Authors: de Visscher Sebastiaan A. H. J. , van Ginkel Robbert J. , Wobbes Theo , Veth René P. H. , ten Heuvel Suzanne E. , Suurmeijer Albert J. H. , Hoekstra Harad J. 
Published: June 2006

AbstractBACKGROUND.Epithelioid sarcoma is a rare soft tissue sarcoma with a known high propensity for locoregional recurrence and distant metastases. The clinical behavior and prognostic factors that influence the survival of patients with epithelioid sarcoma were studied.METHODS.Twenty‐three patients, including 16 men (70%) and 7 women (30%), who were treated for epithelioid sarcoma between 1979–2003 at the University Medical Center Groningen and Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, were reviewed retrospectively. The median age at diagnosis was 22 years (range, 1–54 years). At the time of diagnosis, 11 patients (48%) had metastases. Six patients with distant metastasis and 1 patient with an unresectable tumor received palliative treatment (30%). The remaining 16 patients underwent surgical treatment of local disease (11 patients) or locoregional disease (5 patients). Five patients in that group received isolated limb perfusion with tumor necrosis factor and melphalan.RESULTS.The 5‐year and 10‐year disease‐free survival rates for all patients were 34% and 17%, respectively; for the 16 patients who received curative treatment, both rates were 56%. In the latter group, 8 patients developed local recurrence (50%) after a median follow‐up of 4 months (range, 1–14 months). Nine patients were disease free after a median follow‐up of 50 months (range, 6–290 months). Tumor size >5 cm (P < .0026) at diagnosis and local recurrence (P<.0008) were significant predictors of survival.CONCLUSIONS.The prognosis for patients with epithelioid sarcoma is poor, because a substantial number of patients present with extensive disease, lymph node metastases, and/or distant metastases. Treatment consists of radical surgical excision of the tumor and, if indicated, therapeutic lymph node dissection. In patients who have large tumors, isolated limb perfusion may be useful. Cancer 2006. © 2006 American Cancer Society.