bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Treatment of Chronic Viral Hepatitis in Woodchucks by Prolonged Intrahepatic Expression of Interleukin-12
Authors: Crettaz Julien , Otano Itziar , Ochoa Laura , Benito Alberto , Paneda Astrid , Aurrekoetxea Igor , Berraondo Pedro , Rodríguez-Madoz Juan Roberto , Astudillo Aurora , Kreppel Florian , Kochanek Stefan , Ruiz Juan , Menne Stephan , Prieto Jesus , Gonzalez-Aseguinolaza Gloria 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACT

Chronic hepatitis B is a major cause of liver-related death worldwide. Interleukin-12 (IL-12) induction accompanies viral clearance in chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Here, we tested the therapeutic potential of IL-12 gene therapy in woodchucks chronically infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV), an infection that closely resembles chronic hepatitis B. The woodchucks were treated by intrahepatic injection of a helper-dependent adenoviral vector encoding IL-12 under the control of a liver-specific RU486-responsive promoter. All woodchucks with viral loads below 10
10
viral genomes (vg)/ml showed a marked and sustained reduction of viremia that was accompanied by a reduction in hepatic WHV DNA, a loss of e antigen and surface antigen, and improved liver histology. In contrast, none of the woodchucks with higher viremia levels responded to therapy. The antiviral effect was associated with the induction of T-cell immunity against viral antigens and a reduction of hepatic expression of Foxp3 in the responsive animals. Studies were performed in vitro to elucidate the resistance to therapy in highly viremic woodchucks. These studies showed that lymphocytes from healthy woodchucks or from animals with low viremia levels produced gamma interferon (IFN-γ) upon IL-12 stimulation, while lymphocytes from woodchucks with high viremia failed to upregulate IFN-γ in response to IL-12. In conclusion, IL-12-based gene therapy is an efficient approach to treat chronic hepadnavirus infection in woodchucks with viral loads below 10
10
vg/ml. Interestingly, this therapy is able to break immunological tolerance to viral antigens in chronic WHV carriers.
Children's views of accident risks and prevention: a qualitative study
Authors: Green Judith , Hart Laura 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—To examine children's accounts of injury risks and opportunities for prevention.Setting—Schools, youth clubs, and a holiday activity scheme in the south east of England.Methods—Sixteen focus groups were held with 7–11 year old children. Transcripts of the discussions were analysed using qualitative methods.Results—Children were knowledgeable about injury risks and how to reduce them. They also saw injury prevention as primarily their own responsibility. However, they were also sophisticated in their criticisms of generalised prevention advice, and evaluated safety messages in the light of local environmental and social knowledge. Personal experience was more often reported as a reason for risk reduction than formal prevention advice. Risks for injury were not isolated from other risks faced.Conclusions—Effective educational interventions aimed at changing children's risk behaviour should build more on children's own competence and knowledge of their local environment, and stress the need to manage risks rather than avoid dangers.
School based bicycle safety education and bicycle injuries in children: a case-control study
Authors: Carlin John B , Taylor Petra , Nolan Terry 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—To evaluate possible benefits of a school based bicycle safety education program (“Bike Ed”) on the risk of bicycle injury in children.Methods—A population based case-control study was undertaken in a region of Melbourne, Australia. Cases were children presenting at hospital emergency departments with injuries received while riding bicycles. Controls were recruited by calling randomly selected telephone numbers. Data were collected by personal interview.Results—Analysis, based on 148 cases and 130 controls aged 9 to 14 years, showed no evidence of a protective effect and suggested a possible harmful effect of exposure to the bicycle safety course (odds ratio (OR) 1.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.98 to 2.75). This association was not substantially altered by adjustment for sex, age, socioeconomic status, and exposure, measured as time or distance travelled. Subgroup analysis indicated that the association was strongest in boys (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.8), younger children, children from families with lower parental education levels, and children lacking other family members who bicycle.Conclusions—It is concluded that this educational intervention does not reduce the risk of bicycle injury in children and may possibly produce harmful effects in some children, perhaps due to inadvertent encouragement of risk taking or of bicycling with inadequate supervision.
Comparison of community based smoke detector distribution methods in an urban community
Authors: Douglas Malinda Reddish , Mallonee Sue , Istre Gregory R 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—Various methods of soliciting participation for a large smoke detector giveaway program were tested to determine the most effective method of distributing smoke detectors to a high risk urban population.Setting—The target area was a 24 square mile (62 km2) section on the south side of Oklahoma City where 16% (73 301) of the city's population resided in 16% (34 845) of the dwellings (excluding apartments). Of the 66 persons in Oklahoma City who were injured in residential fires from September 1987 to April 1990, 45% (30) were in the target area. Of the target area injuries, 47% resulted from fires started by children playing with fire (fireplay).Methods—The number of homes without detectors was estimated by telephone survey. Four different methods of soliciting participants were used, including notifying residents by mail; placing flyers on the doors of every habitable residence; and displaying flyers at public places (grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, etc). Each of these methods alerted residents that free smoke detectors were available at specific fire stations. The fourth method was distributing detectors door-to-door (canvassing).Results—The canvassing method resulted in significantly more smoke detectors being distributed to homes without detectors (107%) than any of the three other methods (18%) (p< 0.00001). The canvassing method distributed detectors to 31% of the total target homes, compared with 5% with the other methods (p < 0.00001). Canvassing also resulted in the lowest estimated cost per detector distributed ($1.96) (all other methods, $3.95), and in the largest number distributed per volunteer hour (5.9v3.1 detectors per hour by other methods).Conclusions—Distributing smoke detectors directly to homes (canvassing) was the most effective and cost efficient method to reach high risk urban residents.
Injury surveillance in accident and emergency departments: to sample or not to sample?
Authors: Morrison A , Stone D H 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—To establish whether injury surveillance based on sampling strategies is as valid as total patient surveillance.Methods—Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) data for 1996 were retrospectively analysed using five sampling frames. Proportions for key variables were calculated for each sample, then compared with the proportions for the total population of patients.Results—Two of the five sampling frames produced statistically significant differences from the total population, which can be explained by seasonal variations. However, no significant differences were observed between the remaining three samples and the total population.Conclusions—A well planned and executed sampling strategy can generate as valid data as total patient surveillance, obviating the need for data collection on every patient presenting with an injury or poisoning. In practice, however, systematic sampling can be difficult to implement and sustain, counterbalancing the economic advantages.
Road injuries in school age children: relation to environmental factors amenable to interventions
Authors: von Kries Rüdiger , Kohne Claudia , Böhm Olaf , von Voss Hubertus 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—To assess the impact of potentially modifiable environmental factors on the risk for pedestrian and cyclist injuries among school age children.Setting—Population of school age children in Düsseldorf (population 570 000) in the west of Germany. All pedestrian and cyclist injuries involving children between 6 and 14 years brought to the attention of the police between January 1993 and March 1995 were eligible.Methods—A case-control design was used, with controls matched by age and sex. Criteria for inclusion of cases were: residence in Düsseldorf, and injury within 500 meters from home. A random sample of 174 cases was selected. For each an age-sex matched child, resident in Düsseldorf, was randomly selected from a list of all school age children. The environment within a radius of 500 meters around the homes of cases and controls was analysed by blinded on site investigators. These used a standardized questionnaire to assess the number of streets with speed limits of 30 kph, the number of pedestrian crossings with traffic lights per street with speed limits of 50 kph or above, and the number of playgrounds for children.Results—Complete information was available for 170 cases and 168 controls. There were significantly more streets with a speed limit of 30 kph around the homes of controls (p=0.0003; mean 9.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) 8.8 to 10.1) than cases (mean 7.8; 95% CI 7.3 to 8.3). For every five streets with a speed limit of 30 kph injury risk was reduced by nearly 50% (odds ratio 0.57; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.76). There were also significantly more pedestrian crossings with traffic lights on streets with a speed limit 50 kph or above around the homes of controls (p=0.0004; mean 2.7; 95% CI 2.4 to 2.9) compared with cases (mean 2.1; 95% CI 1.9 to 2.3). Finally there were significantly more playgrounds around the houses of controls (p=0.04; mean 1.9; 95% CI 1.7 to 2.2) compared with the houses of cases (mean 1.7; 95% CI 1.4 to 2.0).Conclusions—Significant associations with injury risk were identified for some prespecified modifiable environmental factors.
Trends in injury mortality among adolescents in Taiwan, 1965–94
Authors: Lu Tsung-Hsueh , Lee Meng-Chih , Chou Ming-Chih 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—To describe trends in injury mortality among adolescents in Taiwan for prioritising preventive interventions.Methods—Adolescent injury mortality data for Taiwan were derived from official publications of vital statistics from 1965 to 1994 to determine trends by sex and cause of death. Simple linear regression was used to test the trends.Results—The number of deaths due to injury among adolescents aged 10–19 years in Taiwan increased from 983 in 1965 to 1783 in 1994, an 81% increase. The injury mortality rate increased 42%, from 32.2 per 100 000 in 1965 to 45.6 per 100 000 in 1994. The proportion of injury deaths also increased, from 45.3% in 1965 to 72.8% in 1994. The trends in mortality from motor vehicle injury (MVI) among four demographic groups were all significantly positive (p<0.001). The proportion of deaths due to MVI among injury was 14% in 1965 and increased to 63% in 1994.Conclusions—The increase in injury mortality rates among adolescents over the past three decades appears to be due largely to the increase in MVI mortality rates with males aged 15–19 years accounting for most of this increase. Priorities for adolescents in Taiwan are MVI (especially motorcyclists) and drownings.
Evaluation of interventions to prevent injuries: an overview
Authors: Dannenberg Andrew L , Fowler Carolyn J 
Published: December 2008

Overview of issues involved in evaluating the effectiveness of injury interventions is presented. An intervention should be evaluated to show it prevents injuries in the target population, to identify unintended consequences, to correct problems that limit effectiveness, to justify current and future resources from funding agencies, and to guide its replication elsewhere. Problems in conducting evaluations include obtaining sufficient resources, coping with rare events, establishing reliability and validity of measurement instruments, separating effects of multiple simultaneous events, and adjusting for the time lag between an intervention and its effects.When feasible, changes in injury rates (documented by medical records) should be used. These are more convincing for demonstrating intervention effectiveness than changes in observed or reported behaviors or in knowledge and attitudes (documented by surveys). Quasiexperimental evaluation designs are often useful, such as measuring injury rates before and after an intervention in a time series design, or intervening in one of two comparable communities in a non-equivalent control group design. Evaluations using true experimental designs, in which individuals or groups are randomized to receive or not receive an intervention, are highly desirable but are often difficult due to logistical or ethical considerations. An evaluation component should be integral to the introduction of any new injury intervention.
Where children sit in motor vehicles: a comparison of selected European and American cities
Authors: Segui-Gomez Maria , Glass Roberta , Graham John D 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—To ascertain whether there are differences in child seating location between selected cities in the US and continental Europe, and if differences exist, to ascertain what factors predict them.Setting—Boston and New Orleans, which have no laws regarding child seating location, and Paris, Frankfurt, and Brussels, which for approximately 20 years have had laws requiring children under the ages of 10 or 12 to sit in the rear.Methods—Observations were made in the first quarter of 1997 at several locations in or near each city. The vehicle seating capacity, total number of occupants, the seating location of adults and children, and driver shoulder belt use were recorded for each vehicle with at least one child. The predictors of a vehicle having a child in the front were estimated using logistic regression.Results—Data on 5501 children riding in 3778 vehicles were collected. Adjusting for differences in vehicle seating capacity, occupant mix, and driver shoulder belt use, vehicles in the European cities are significantly less likely to have a child in the front seat than vehicles in the American cities.Conclusions—Cities with no history of laws prohibiting children from sitting in the front, vehicles with low seating capacity, vehicles with no adult (other than the driver) or many child passengers, and unbelted drivers were associated with a higher likelihood of children riding in the front seat. It is feasible for a society to insist, through custom and/or law, that children sit in the back seat.
Harstad injury prevention study: prevention of burns in young children by community based intervention
Authors: Ytterstad Børge , Smith Gordon S , Coggan Carolyn A 
Published: December 2008

Objective—To describe the long term effectiveness of a community based program targeting prevention of burns in young children.Design—Quasiexperimental.Setting—The Norwegian city of Harstad (main intervention), six surrounding municipalities (intervention diffusion), and Trondheim (reference).Participants—Children under age 5 years in the three study populations.Methods—Outpatient and inpatient hospital data were coded according to the Nordic system, and collected as part of a national injury surveillance system. Burn data collection started in May 1985. The first 19.5 months of the study provided baseline data, while the last 10 years involved community based intervention, using a mix of passive and active interventions.Results—The mean burn injury rate decreased by 51.5% after the implementation of the intervention in Harstad (p<0.05) and by 40.1% in the six municipalities (not significant). Rates in the reference city, Trondheim, increased 18.1% (not significant). In Harstad and the six surrounding municipalities there was a considerable reduction in hospital admissions, operations, and bed days. Interventions with passive strategies were more effective, stove and tap water burns being eliminated in the last four years, while active strategies were less effective.Conclusions—A program targeting burns in children can be effective and sustainable. Local injury data provided the stimulus for community action.
Seating positions and children's risk of dying in motor vehicle crashes
Authors: Braver Elisa R , Whitfield Randy , Ferguson Susan A 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—To determine the effects of seating position, combined with restraint use and airbag status, on children's risk of dying in crashes.Methods—Using 1988–95 data from the United States Fatality Analysis Reporting System, risk of death was compared among front and rear seated passengers aged 12 and younger who were involved in fatal crashes for different categories of restraint use and in vehicles with and without passenger airbags.Results—Restrained children in rear seats had the lowest risk of dying in fatal crashes. Among children seated in the rear, risk of death was reduced 35% in vehicles without any airbags, 31% in vehicles equipped only with driver airbags, and 46% in vehicles with passenger airbags. Both restrained and unrestrained children aged 0–12 were at lower risk of dying in rear seats. Rear seats also afforded additional protection to children aged 5–12 restrained only with lap belts compared with lap/shoulder belted children in front seats. Children were about 10–20% less likely to die in rear center than in rear outboard positions.Conclusions—Parents and others who transport children should be strongly encouraged to place infants and children in rear seats whether or not vehicles have airbags. Existing laws requiring restraint use by children should be strengthened and actively enforced.
Family, social, and cultural factors in pedestrian injuries among Hispanic children
Authors: Agran Phyllis F , Winn Diane G , Anderson Craig L , Del Valle Celeste 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—In an earlier population based surveillance study of pediatric injuries, the rate of Hispanic children injured as pedestrians was 63/100 000 compared with 17/100 000 for non-Hispanic white children. The present study was designed to examine the effect of family, social, and cultural factors on the rate of pedestrian injury in a population of Hispanic children in the southwestern US.Methods—A case-control study of pedestrian injuries among Hispanic children. The sample consisted of 98 children 0–14 years of age hospitalized as a result of a pedestrian injury and 144 randomly selected neighborhood controls matched to the case by city, age, gender, and ethnicity. Cases were compared with controls using conditional logistic regression; in the study design the odds ratio (OR) estimates the incidence rate ratio.Results—The following family and cultural variables were associated with an increased risk of injury: household crowding (OR=2.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1 to 7.1 for 1.01–1.5 persons per room, compared with ≤ 1.0 persons per room), one or more family moves within the past year (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.2 to 4.1), poverty (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.3), and inability of mother (OR 3.6, 95% CI 1.3 to 10) or father (OR 5.6, 95% CI 1.5 to 20) to read well. However, children in single parent households and children whose parents did not drive a car, had less education, or were of rural origin, did not have an increased rate of injury.Conclusions—These results have implications for childhood pedestrian prevention efforts for low income, non-English speaking Hispanic populations, and perhaps for other immigrant and high risk groups. Prevention programs and materials need to be not only culturally sensitive but also designed for those with limited reading skills. In addition, environmental interventions that provide more pedestrian friendly neighborhoods must be considered.
Costs of occupational injuries to teenagers, United States
Authors: Miller Ted R , Waehrer Geetha M 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—This paper estimates the incidence and costs of teenage occupational injuries by severity in the United States.Methods—Existing estimates of occupational injury costs are adapted for the teenage population. Incidence estimates are constructed using data from the US 1993 Annual Survey of Occupational Injury and Illness and the 1993 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries combined with incidence data from the National Health Interview Survey.Results—In 1993, an estimated 371 000 teenagers were injured in the workplace, accounting for 4.2% of all occupational injuries. These injuries cost $5 billion, approximately 3% of the total of injury costs involving teenagers.Conclusions—Teenagers appear to account for a larger share of the total number of occupational injuries relative to their presence in the employed workforce, but a lower share of the costs of such injuries.
Evaluation of a poison prevention lesson for kindergarten and third grade students
Authors: Liller Karen D , Craig Janice , Crane Nancy , McDermott Robert J 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—The purpose of this study was to evaluate the MORE HEALTH poison prevention lesson that is given to kindergarten and third grade students in Hillsborough County, Florida. The lesson reaches approximately 6000 students per year.Methods—The evaluation was based on a post-test only control group design. Three schools were chosen as evaluation sites and three served as control settings. Students were administered a previously tested, age appropriate questionnaire that addressed the goals of the poison lessons. In addition, a survey was developed for intervention school parents to determine their poison prevention practices.Results—One hundred ninety four intervention schoolchildren and 184 control schoolchildren completed the study. Children in the intervention schools consistently answered more questions correctly than those in the control schools. The parent survey showed that the majority have homes that are safe from poisons, although fewer than 50% said they had syrup of ipecac in their homes.Conclusions—These results show that key concepts related to poison prevention can be communicated effectively to primary school students and parents report having homes safe from many poisons.
Childhood deaths from unintentional injuries in rural areas of Iran
Authors: Soori Hamid , Naghavi Mohsen 
Published: December 2008

Objectives—To determine the incidence of children's fatal unintentional injuries in rural areas of Iran.Setting—Thirteen provinces of Iran, with a total population of 11.3 million for 1993–94.Methods—A descriptive epidemiological study, which obtained information about all deaths using a questionnaire from 6267 Health Houses (rural health centres) for one year, 1993–94. Subjects were residents who died from unintentional injuries.Results—Crude mortality rate was 4.33 per 1000. The number of childhood deaths from unintentional injuries was 1832 (16.6% of all deaths), more among males than females (43.7v31.2 per 100 000). Those under 1 had the highest rate, 114.7 per 100 000. The top three causes of deaths were traffic accidents (37.5%), drowning (17.9%), and burns and scalds (12.1%).Conclusions—During the past decade there has been a marked decline in deaths from infectious diseases in Iran. However, at present, a high proportion of childhood deaths in rural areas are from unintentional injuries. Because all age groups and both sexes are victims of unintentional injuries, and most injuries are preventable, they must be considered as a priority health problem in Iran.