bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prospective randomized non‐blinded clinical trial on the use of dapsone plus antihistamine vs. antihistamine in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria
Authors: Engin B , Özdemir M 
Published: March 2008

AbstractBackground  Treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is difficult.Objective  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of dapsone in CIU.Methods  The response to dapsone was evaluated in 65 CIU patients with a randomized, two armed study: 3‐month dapsone + desloratadin and 3‐month desloratadin. All were followed for up to 3 months and 3 months after; all took desloratadine 10 mg daily throughout the study. The primary measure of efficacy was a daily urticaria activity score (UAS) of weal numbers and itch (maximum score, 42 per week).Results  Sixty‐five patients completed the randomized 3‐month trial medication. Mean reduction in UAS from baseline at 3 months was 7 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 6.92–7.08] for active group and 5.77 (95% CI, 5.47–6.08) for control subjects (P < 0.001). The reduction in visual analogue score (VAS) at 3 months for active group (mean, 2.58; 95% CI, 2.33–2.83) and control subjects (mean, 2.55; 95% CI, 2.38–2.73) was also significant (P < 0.001). The reduction of UAS and VAS at 3 months compared between active group and control subjects showed no significant difference. Mean reduction in UAS from the end of the study at 3 months after was 1.16 and –4.8 for active and control subjects, respectively. These results were compared with each other, and it was statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05).Limitations  No placebo was used. The study was not blinded. Lack of blinding may have led to bias. The follow‐up period was short.Conclusion  This study shows that dapsone leads to a persistent decrease in VAS and UAS and is associated with complete remission in some patients.
The effects of skin colour distribution and topography cues on the perception of female facial age and health
Authors: Fink B , Matts PJ 
Published: March 2008

AbstractAccording to evolutionary psychology, the preference for some facial characteristics reflects adaptations for mate choice because they signal aspects of mate quality. Although morphological features such as facial symmetry and sexually dimorphic traits have been studied extensively in recent years, little is known about skin condition in this context. The preferences for young and healthy looking skin could offer an explanation as to why women place such an importance on the condition of their skin and its refinement through e.g., cosmetic products. Recent research showed that facial skin colour distribution significantly influences the perception of age and attractiveness of female faces, independent of skin surface topography cues. However, the relative effect of skin colour distribution and topography cues on age and health perception remains to be investigated. We present data showing that both skin colour distribution and skin surface topography cues not only significantly influence the perception of female facial age and health but also convey differential information with regard to the strength of these effects. Our data indicate that skin surface topography cues account for a large proportion of variation in facial age perception, whereas skin colour distribution seems to be a stronger health cue.
Expression of human beta‐defensin‐2 and ‐3 in verrucae vulgares and condylomata acuminata
Authors: Meyer‐Hoffert U , Schwarz T , Schröder J‐M , Gläser R 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe human beta defensins (hBDs) 2 and 3 contribute to the inducible antimicrobial peptides in human skin. Besides an important role in fighting bacteria, they may also exert antiviral function. Verrucae vulgares and condylomata acuminata are typical cutanous viral diseases caused by different subtypes of the human papillomavirus. Their tendency for spontaneous regression could be caused by antiviral proteins like defensins. In a retoperspective study, we investigated lesions of verrucae vulgares and condylomata acuminata for the presence of hBD‐2 and hBD‐3 by immunohistochemistry. All of the specimens of verrucae vulgares (n = 20) were positive for hBD‐2 and hBD‐3. The specimens of condylomata acuminata (n = 15) exhibited expression for hBD‐2 and hBD‐3, with the exception of three and two samples, respectively. The expression levels in condyloma acuminata were lower for both defensins compared with verrucae vulgares. Normal skin tissue exhibited no staining of both hBD‐2 and hBD‐3 with the exception of two cases. Taken together, this is the first report of an increased expression of the hBD‐2 and hBD‐3 in cutaneous papillomavirus infections.
Foreign‐body granuloma of the penis in sexually active individuals (penile paraffinoma)
Authors: Pehlivanov G , Kavaklieva S , Kazandjieva J , Kapnilov D , Tsankov N 
Published: March 2008

AbstractBackground  The practice of insertion of foreign bodies in the penis is well documented, but the clinical characteristics of penile foreign‐body granuloma (FBG) and social motivation of the patients has not been studied in large groups.Objective  The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with penile insertion of foreign bodies and assess the significance of social motivation.Methods  Twenty‐five heterosexual male patients, who visited our clinic from 1990 to 2005, were retrospectively studied. All of them had implanted two different types of foreign bodies in their penis and had tattoos in the same area. Twenty‐five male patients with genital tattoos served as clinical controls.Results  The age of peak incidence of patients with penile FBG was 28 years. The youngest patient was 19 years. Twenty‐three (23 of 25, 92%) of the patients were from gipsy origin, and two men were of Bulgarian origin. All the patients had risky social behaviour (prisoners and beggars). The motivation of 20 (20 of 25, 80%) of the patients was to enlarge the penile size. Fifteen (15 of 25, 60%) wanted to increase the feelings of the sexual partners. The majority of the patients (23 of 25, 92%) had injection of fatty substances, and 2 (2 of 25, 8%) had undergone implantation of a plastic pellet. In 14 cases (14 of 25, 56%), the insertion of mineral oil was complicated by formation of fistulas and wide ulcers with histological features of FBG.Conclusion  The reported cases represent an example of the detrimental effects of the insertion of foreign bodies in the penis. Immediate measurements should be performed to prevent severe outcomes.
Comparison between familial and sporadic cutaneous melanoma in Valencia, Spain
Authors: Nagore E , Botella‐Estrada R , Garcia‐Casado Z , Requena C , Serra‐Guillen C , Llombart B , Sanmartin O , Guillen C 
Published: March 2008

AbstractSome clinical, pathological and genetic features have been associated to familial melanoma, particularly multiple melanoma and earlier age at diagnosis.To compare the clinical, epidemiological and pathological differences between familial and sporadic melanoma patients in Valencia, Spain, a series of 959 patients with cutaneous melanoma were selected at a single institution. For this study the following variables were selected: age, sex, melanoma site and presence of solar lentigines on the melanoma surrounding skin, histological subtype, tumor thickness, stage, family and personal history of cutaneous melanoma and of other neoplasias, personal history of non‐melanoma skin cancer, past personal history of severe sunburns, cutaneous phenotype (phototype, hair and eyes colors number of common nevus, number of atypical nevi, presence of solar lentigines).Forty‐one (4.28%) familial and 918 sporadic melanoma were identified. Among the multiple variables studied, a younger age at diagnosis (median age of 42 vs 53 years), higher frequency of the presence of at least one clinically atypical nevus (36.1% vs 17.7%), multiple melanomas (12.2% vs 3.4%) and red/blonde hair (33.3% vs 18.9%), and a lower rate of cases with solar lentigines in melanoma site (33.3% vs 56.3%) were found for familial cases. Except for hair color and age, the other variables remained statistically significant after the multivariate study. Interestingly, no acral melanomas were found among the familial cases.In summary, phenotypic risk factors for familial melanoma are a tendency to develop multiple melanomas, to have clinically atypical nevi and to present less actinic damage at the melanoma site. All these results enhance the relevancy of genetic susceptibility associated to the ability to produce atypical nevi and partly to a higher sensitivity to the sun.
Suction–curettage with combination of two different cannulae in the treatment of axillary osmidrosis and hyperhidrosis
Authors: Kim WO , Song Y , Kil HK , Yoon KB , Yoon DM 
Published: March 2008

AbstractObjective  To investigate the efficacy and safety of suction–curettage with a combination of two different cannulae for treatment of axillary osmidrosis and hyperhidrosis.Design  Retrospective analysis of patients who underwent surgery from September 2004 to September 2006.Setting  Outpatient clinic for hyperhidrosis at a university‐affiliated hospital.Subjects  Sixty‐five patients who were treated for axillary malodor and hyperhidrosis.Interventions  Patients were sequentially treated with Fatemi and Cassio cannulae.Main outcome measures  Demographic data, severity data (assessment of malodor), degree of satisfaction, sweating, hair growth, scarring, recurrence and complications.Results  Sixty of the 65 patients (96.9%) had excellent to fair results, and only 2 patients (3.1%) had poor results. Complications occurred in 4 patients (6.2%). Recurrence occurred in 3 patients (4.6%).Conclusions  This simplified and inexpensive method resulted in a high success rate with low complications and high satisfaction with minimal scarring and rapid recovery.
Shifting shadows: shaping dynamics in the cultural unconscious
Authors: Kaplinsky Catherine 
Published: March 2008

Abstract:  Jung has suggested that wars, social upheavals and religions are ‘but the superficial symptoms of a secret psychic attitude unknown even to the individual himself, and transmitted by no historian … ’ (Jung 1964, para. 315; emphasis author's). With a focus on South Africa and some dream material, I explore this idea with particular emphasis on the cultural unconscious and the emerging theory of cultural complexes. Different cultures demand the repression of different aspects of the self and have different ways of actualizing a moral code. These repressions are part of what make up a dynamic and shifting cultural complex which inevitably plays a part in historical change. In turn, historical change plays its part in shifting these dynamics.In the analytic setting via the transference and countertransference, we are familiar with what is being repressed in relation to shadow dynamics, complexes and obsolete defences. Such dynamics relate to themes of boundary, identity and otherness which, in turn, reach back to early infantile strivings as well as forward in the service of unfolding. Central to this dynamic is the absorption of cultural attitudes—including that which must be repressed, allowed in or defended against. Major political shifts—historical change—inevitably affect cultural dynamics, ‘secret psychic attitude(s)’ and shifting shadows.
Encounter with a traditional healer Western and African therapeutic approaches in dialogue
Authors: Maiello Suzanne 
Published: March 2008

Abstract:  The paper explores the extent to which cultural aspects contribute to the modalities of human relations and consequently to the qualities of the internal objects and the sense of identity. Therapeutic relationships and techniques, as well as the theories on which they are based, are seen as being equally embedded in their cultural context.An encounter with a traditional African healer offers the author, a western trained European analyst, an opportunity to think about similarities and differences in the therapeutic approach to mental distress, as well as in the training of therapists/healers in the two cultures.Special attention is given to the role of ancestor reverence in African culture. The notion of the ancestors is related to what psychoanalysis describes as internal objects. Cultural differences in the role and importance of verbal language in the therapeutic relationship are described, and the importance and meaning of non‐verbal forms of communication are explored.
HIV/Aids: an encounter with death or a journey into life?
Authors: Gosling John 
Published: March 2008

Abstract:  This is an account of a panel discussion.1 It focuses on an encounter with the HIV/Aids virus. Such an encounter may result in a descent into despair, hopelessness and ultimately death, or it may offer the opportunity of possible transformation of consciousness to embrace a life lived productively and meaningfully with a chronic but manageable disease.A picture is provided of the dire situation that exists regarding the HIV/Aids pandemic in South Africa. The HI‐virus is compared to a malevolent trickster type energy that uses ingenious means to gain access to the host. It is an impersonal agent seeking only its own survival but if left untreated will ultimately result in the death of the host.Reference is made to characters in the musical, The Lion King, to illustrate that it is the willingness to suffer the painful emotions evoked following a diagnosis of being HIV‐positive more consciously that allows for a transformation from despair and hopelessness to a life lived productively and meaningfully.Two of the panellists who are HIV‐positive share their experiences of this process. One recounts how, living with Aids, his connections with others and human relatedness helped to restore his dignity and self‐worth. The other relates how his willingness to state his status publicly allowed him to overcome the stigma and shame that are evoked when diagnosed as HIV‐positive. This has allowed him to seek appropriate treatment with ARV's. He now lives with a chronic but manageable infection and leads a creative and significant life.The difficulties encountered regarding the prevention of HIV/Aids when attempting to change potentially destructive sexual behaviours in teenagers are discussed. An inspiring account of work in treating those that live with HIV/Aids under difficult circumstances is also discussed.
Transcriptional interruption of cAMP response element binding protein modulates superoxide dismutase and neuropeptide Y‐mediated feeding behavior in freely moving rats
Authors: Hsieh Yih‐Shou , Yang Shun‐Fa , Chu Shu‐Chen , Ho Ying‐Jui , Kuo Chih‐Sheng , Kuo Dong‐Yih 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe appetite‐suppressing effect of phenylpropanolamine (PPA) has been attributed to its inhibitory action on neuropeptide Y (NPY), an appetite stimulant. However, molecular mechanisms underlying this effect are not clear. This study aimed to investigate if cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) signaling was involved. Moreover, possible role of superoxide dismutase‐2 (SOD‐2) during PPA treatment was also examined. Rats were daily treated with PPA for 4 days. Changes in hypothalamic NPY, protein kinase A, CREB, and SOD‐2 mRNA contents were measured and compared. Results showed that protein kinase A, CREB, and SOD‐2 mRNA levels increased during PPA treatment, which is concomitant with decreases in NPY and feeding. Moreover, CREB DNA binding activity detected by electromobility shift assay increased during PPA treatment, revealing an involvement of CREB‐dependent gene transcription. Furthermore, infusions of CREB antisense oligonucleotide (or missense control) into cerebroventricle were performed at 1 h before daily PPA treatment in free‐moving rats, and results showed that CREB knockdown could block PPA‐induced anorexia and modify NPY and SOD‐2 mRNA content toward normal. It is suggested that CREB signaling may participate in the central regulation of PPA‐mediated appetite suppression via the modulation of NPY gene expression and that an increase of SOD‐2 may favor this modulation.
Age structure changes and extraordinary lifespan in wild medfly populations
Authors: Carey James R. , Papadopoulos Nikos T. , Müller Hans‐Georg , Katsoyannos Byron I. , Kouloussis Nikos A. , Wang Jane‐Ling , Wachter Kenneth , Yu Wei , Liedo Pablo 
Published: March 2008

SummaryThe main purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that major changes in age structure occur in wild populations of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) and that a substantial fraction of individuals survive to middle age and beyond (> 3–4 weeks). We thus brought reference life tables and deconvolution models to bear on medfly mortality data gathered from a 3‐year study of field‐captured individuals that were monitored in the laboratory. The average time‐to‐death of captured females differed between sampling dates by 23.9, 22.7, and 37.0 days in the 2003, 2004, and 2005 field seasons, respectively. These shifts in average times‐to‐death provided evidence of changes in population age structure. Estimates indicated that middle‐aged medflies (> 30 days) were common in the population. A surprise in the study was the extraordinary longevity observed in field‐captured medflies. For example, 19 captured females but no reference females survived in the laboratory for 140 days or more, and 6 captured but no reference males survived in the laboratory for 170 days or more. This paper advances the study of aging in the wild by introducing a new method for estimating age structure in insect populations, demonstrating that major changes in age structure occur in field populations of insects, showing that middle‐aged individuals are common in the wild, and revealing the extraordinary lifespans of wild‐caught individuals due to their early life experience in the field.
Centralisation versus Decentralisation of Public Policies: Does the Heterogeneity of Individual Preferences Matter?*
Authors: Mazzaferro Carlo , Zanardi Alberto 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThis paper explores the role of the heterogeneity of fiscal preferences in the assignment of policy tasks to different levels of government (decentralisation versus centralisation). With reference to a sample of European countries, a median‐voter mechanism of collective decision is assumed to work at both a national and a supranational level. Using data from a large international survey (the International Social Survey Programme, ISSP), a series of econometric models are estimated in order to make individual attitudes representative of different categories of public expenditure and of different countries. The dominance of decentralisation over centralisation or vice versa is determined on the basis of the utility loss that each individual suffers in connection with the distance between his or her own most preferred level of public expenditure and that chosen by the national/supranational median voter. The main finding is that, differently from the predictions of Oates's decentralisation theorem, the assignment of responsibilities at the supranational level (centralisation) for a number of public expenditure programmes (healthcare, education, unemployment benefits) dominates (or is close to dominating) decentralisation, even in the absence of economies of scale and interregional spillovers. However, when the possibility of interjurisdictional mobility is explicitly considered, in line with the predictions of Tiebout's model, decentralisation dominance becomes more and more substantial and also prevails in the sectors where, under the nonmobility assumption, the assignment of responsibilities at the supranational level is efficient.
Distributional Effects of Price Reforms in the Italian Utility Markets*
Authors: Miniaci Raffaele , Scarpa Carlo , Valbonesi Paola 
Published: March 2008

AbstractIn this paper, we analyse some distributional effects of the reforms to water and energy services in Italy. We first document the new regulation setting in these services, illustrating the dynamics of utility prices and of household expenditure in the period 1998‐2005. We then propose a way to measure the affordability of public utilities, in order to investigate how many households would incur a potentially excessive burden if they consumed a minimum quantity of utility services. Finally, we calculate this index on data from the Survey on Family Budgets (Indagine sui consumi delle famiglie). Our results show how the affordability of utility bills varies from region to region depending on climate, income, family endowment and family size. The analysis ‐ also based on a counterfactual exercise ‐ finds that so far, utility reforms do not seem to have produced any negative effects on weaker households.
Catheterization Prior to Evacuation of Uterus and Diagnostic Curettage
Authors: Trivedi A.N. 
Published: March 2008

SummaryDilatation and curettage and evacuation of the uterus are the 2 most common minor gynaecological procedures that trainees perform. Some trainees are taught to catheterize the patient before these procedures. This study was carried out with 2 aims, firstly to establish the prevalence of significant residual urine volume prior to these procedures and secondly to gain information on the practices among members and fellows of the RNZCOG residing in New Zealand with regard to catheterization prior to these operations. The measured residual urine volume was greater than 50 mL in 37.5% of patients and greater than 100 mL in 12.1%. About 92% of those surveyed did not catheterize prior to either procedure. The risk of infection does not appear to be a valid argument for not catheterizing. Routine urinary catheterization before these procedures is unnecessary.
Phaeochromocytoma in Pregnancy
Authors: Huddle K.R.L. , Nagar A. 
Published: March 2008

SummaryThe diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma during pregnancy requires a high index of suspicion and is essential for the favourable outcome of mother and offspring. Delayed diagnosis is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. The cases of 4 patients presenting with phaeochromocytoma during pregnancy over an 11‐year period are presented.
Patient Preference the Leading Indication for Elective Caesarean Section in Public Patients‐Results of a 2‐year Prospective Audit in a Teaching Hospital
Authors: Quinlivan Julie A. , Petersen Rodney W. , Nichols Christopher N. 
Published: March 2008

SummaryIn response to a Western Australian Ministerial enquiry into the levels of intervention in childbirth, a 2‐year prospective audit was undertaken of the indication and timing of all public Caesarean section deliveries at King Edward Memorial hospital. During the study period, a total of 9,138 deliveries were performed at the hospital, of which 1,624 were by Caesarean section, an overall rate of 17.8%. Of these, 633 (39%) were elective and 911 (61%) were nonelective. The most common primary indication for elective Caesarean section was maternal choice, largely due to a refusal of the patient to consent to a trial of scar following a single previous Caesarean section or a refusal to attempt a trial of vaginal breech delivery. The most common indications for nonelective Caesarean section birth were an intrapartum diagnosis of suspected fetal distress or failure to progress in labour. Strategies to reduce the incidence of Caesarean section birth need to focus on the pathways involved with maternal decision‐making in the birth process, and on improving the diagnosis of intrapartum fetal compromise.