bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hospitalisations for sport-related concussions in US children aged 5 to 18 years during 2000–2004
Authors: Yang J , Phillips G , Xiang H , Allareddy V , Heiden E , Peek-Asa C 
Published: January 2008

Objectives:To describe patient and hospital characteristics associated with hospitalisation for a diagnosis of non-fatal sport-related concussion, and to determine factors associated with these hospitalisations.Methods:Children aged 5–18 years with a primary diagnosis of a sport-related concussion in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2000–2004) were identified. Length of stay and hospital charges for sport-related concussions were documented. Logistic regression was used to assess the association of patient or hospital characteristics with hospitalisations for sport-related concussion.Results:Between 2000 and 2004, a total of 755 non-fatal paediatric sport-related hospitalisations for concussion were identified. Nationwide, this represents 3712 hospitalisations and over US$29 million total hospital charges, with nearly US$6 million in total hospital charges per year. Over half (52.3%) of patients with concussion experienced loss of consciousness. Over 80% of the patients hospitalised for concussion received no procedures during their average 1.1 day (median 0.8 day) of hospital stay. Older age, but not gender, was associated with increased odds of sport-related hospitalisations for concussion. Non-teaching hospitals or hospitals in rural areas had significantly greater odds of admitting sport-related concussions versus other sport-related traumatic brain injuries compared with teaching or urban hospitals.Conclusions:Management of paediatric sport-related concussions varied, depending on the patient and the hospital. Better guidelines are needed for the identification and management of sport-related concussions. Standardised procedures for hospitals treating concussive injuries may also be warranted.
Sport-related hyperhomocysteinaemia: a putative marker of muscular demand to be noted for cardiovascular risk
Authors: Borrione P , Rizzo M , Spaccamiglio A , Salvo R A , Dovio A , Termine A , Parisi A , Fagnani F , Angeli A , Pigozzi F 
Published: January 2008

Objective:Regular physical activity is associated with a reduction of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality; however, evidence of unfortunate cardiovascular events accompanying elite sport involvement continues to accumulate. To date, no information is available on possible peculiarities of the cardiovascular risk profile in athletes.Design:The aim of this study was to evaluate plasma homocysteine levels in a group of athletes and to search for relationship with vitamin status and other metabolic variables in order to confirm the existence of a “sport-related hyperhomocysteinaemia” and to explain its clinical significance.The study population was composed of 82 athletes (59 male and 23 female) practising different sports and 70 healthy age-matched subjects (40 male and 30 female) as a control group. Besides the general clinical and analytical determinations, the assessed variables included homocysteine, folate, vitamin B12, total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CPK) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).Results:The prevalence of hyperhomocysteinaemia (>15 μmol/l) in athletes and controls was 47% and 15%, respectively. No correlation was found between homocysteine and any of the other investigated variables, in particular plasma folate, blood pressure, LDH, CPK, total and HDL cholesterol and IL-6.Conclusion:The results of this study confirm the existence of a sport-related hyperhomocysteinaemia which appears linked neither to the same variables found in the general population, nor to specific training-related variables. We suggest that it would represent an adaptation to training but the possibility of a secondary vascular damage cannot be excluded.
Low back pain in drivers exposed to whole body vibration: analysis of a dose–response pattern
Authors: Tiemessen I J H , Hulshof C T J , Frings-Dresen M H W 
Published: January 2008

Objective:Analysis of a dose–response pattern between exposure to whole body vibration (WBV) and low back pain (LBP) in a group of drivers.Methods:This study assessed individual factors, work-related risk factors, various LBP outcome measures and LBP disability in a group of drivers (n = 571) approached at baseline (T0), as well as the WBV magnitude of a representative sample of their vehicles (n = 49), at T0 and at 1-year follow-up (T1). Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and actual field measurements according to ISO 2631-1. The magnitude and duration of vibration exposure and a variety of daily and cumulative WBV-exposure measures were calculated for each driver.Results:229 drivers (40.1%) completed both questionnaires (T0 and T1). The magnitude of WBV was comparable over time. Depending on the LBP outcome, various individual factors (marital status, back trauma and smoking) and work-related risk factors (previous job with heavy physical loading, lifting, bending and the physical risk index) related significantly to onset (all, p<0.05). After adjusting for these contributing factors, the study found a significant trend (an increase in odds ratios of developing LBP with an increase in WBV exposure) for driving-related LBP with daily driving time (p<0.03), and the cumulative measures total hours of exposure (p<0.01), root sum of squares at total dose (p<0.05) and root sum of quads at total dose (p<0.01). No significant trend was found for 12-month LBP. No analysis on a possible dose–response pattern could be derived for either LBP intensity or LBP disability, due to low prevalence.Conclusion:The investigation found a dose–response pattern between WBV exposure and driving-related LBP. No indication of a dose–response pattern was found between WBV exposure and 12-month LBP. Although this dose–response pattern is only an indication, these findings imply that WBV exposure might contribute to the onset of driving-related LBP.
After the smoke has cleared: evaluation of the impact of a new national smoke-free law in New Zealand
Authors: Edwards R , Thomson G , Wilson N , Waa A , Bullen C , O’Dea D , Gifford H , Glover M , Laugesen M , Woodward A 
Published: January 2008

Background:The New Zealand 2003 Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act (SEAA) extended existing restrictions on smoking in office and retail workplaces by introducing smoking bans in bars, casinos, members’ clubs, restaurants and nearly all other workplaces from 10 December 2004.Objective:To evaluate the implementation and outcomes of aspects of the SEAA relating to smoke-free indoor workplaces and public places, excluding schools and early learning centres.Methods:Data were gathered on public and stakeholder attitudes and support for smoke-free policies; dissemination of information, enforcement activities and compliance; exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) in the workplace; changes in health outcomes linked to SHS exposure; exposure to SHS in homes; smoking prevalence and smoking related behaviours; and economic impacts.Results:Surveys suggested growing majority support for the SEAA and its underlying principles among the public and bar managers. There was evidence of high compliance in bars and pubs, where most enforcement problems were expected. Self reported data suggested that SHS exposure in the workplace, the primary objective of the SEAA, decreased significantly from around 20% in 2003, to 8% in 2006. Air quality improved greatly in hospitality venues. Reported SHS exposure in homes also reduced significantly. There was no clear evidence of a short term effect on health or on adult smoking prevalence, although calls to the smoking cessation quitline increased despite reduced expenditure on smoking cessation advertising. Available data suggested a broadly neutral economic impact, including in the tourist and hospitality sectors.Conclusion:The effects of the legislation change were favourable from a public health perspective. Areas for further investigation and possible regulation were identified such as SHS related pollution in semi-enclosed outdoor areas. The study adds to a growing body of literature documenting the positive impact of comprehensive smoke-free legislation. The scientific and public health case for introducing comprehensive smoke-free legislation that covers all indoor public places and workplaces is now overwhelming, and should be a public health priority for legislators across the world as part of the globalisation of effective public health policy to control the tobacco epidemic.
Relation between newspaper coverage of tobacco issues and smoking attitudes and behaviour among American teens
Authors: Smith K Clegg , Wakefield M A , Terry-McElrath Y , Chaloupka F J , Flay B , Johnston L , Saba A , Siebel C 
Published: January 2008

Objective:Geographic variation in youth smoking prevalence suggests that community-level factors influence risk of tobacco use. We examine the extent to which newspaper coverage of tobacco issues is related to youth smoking attitudes and behaviours.Design:We conducted a content analysis of 8390 newspaper articles on tobacco issues from 386 daily newspapers circulating at 5% or more in 2001–3 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey communities. This resulted in the creation of community level measures of news volume, content and valence. Associations between news and youth outcomes were assessed using logistic regression analyses adjusting for individual, geographic and tobacco policy factors linked to youth smoking and attitudes.Subjects:98 747 youth participating in the nationally representative school-based MTF annual surveys between 2001 and 2003.Main outcome measures:Perceived harm of smoking, perceived peer smoking, disapproval of smoking, smoking within the past 30 days, daily cigarette consumption.Results:In the five months preceding survey administration, newspapers in MTF communities published an average of 11.9 tobacco related articles (range 0–55.7). Each 10-article increase in newspaper volume over the five-month period was associated with increased odds of perceiving great harm from smoking (OR = 1.04, p<0.01) and disapproving of smoking (OR = 1.04, p<0.05) and decreased odds of perceiving most or all friends smoke (0.94, p<0.01) and smoking in the past 30 days (OR = 0.93, p<0.001). No consistent association was found between the content or valence of coverage and youth smoking outcomes.Conclusions:Gaining and keeping tobacco on the media agenda is an important tool for tackling youth smoking. As volume appears to be the driving factor, media advocacy may be best targeted towards generating events and highlighting issues likely to increase and sustain news attention.
Paternal smoking and increased risk of child malnutrition among families in rural Indonesia
Authors: Best C M , Sun K , de Pee S , Sari M , Bloem M W , Semba R D 
Published: January 2008

Objective:To determine whether paternal smoking is associated with an increased risk of child malnutrition among families in rural Indonesia.Methods:The relation between paternal smoking and child malnutrition was examined in a population-based sample of 438 336 households in the Indonesia Nutrition and Health Surveillance System, 2000–2003. Main outcome measures were child underweight (weight-for-age Z score <−2) and stunting (height-for-age Z score <−2) and severe underweight and severe stunting, defined by respective Z scores <−3, for children aged 0–59 months of age.Results:The prevalence of paternal smoking was 73.7%. The prevalence of underweight and stunting was 29.4% and 31.4%, and of severe underweight and severe stunting was 5.2%, and 9.1%, respectively. After adjusting for child gender, child age, maternal age, maternal education, weekly per capita household expenditure and province, paternal smoking was associated with an increased risk of underweight (odds ratio (OR) 1.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01 to 1.05, p = 0.001) and stunting (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.13, p<0.001) and severe underweight (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.10) p = 0.020) and severe stunting (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.16, p<0.001).Conclusions:Paternal smoking is associated with an increased risk of child malnutrition in families living in rural Indonesia.
Quantitative and qualitative estimates of cross-border tobacco shopping and tobacco smuggling in France
Authors: Lakhdar C Ben 
Published: January 2008

Objective:In France, cigarette sales have fallen sharply, especially in border areas, since the price increases of 2003 and 2004. It was proposed that these falls were not due to people quitting smoking but rather to increased cross-border sales of tobacco and/or smuggling. This paper aims to test this proposition.Methods:Three approaches have been used. First, cigarette sales data from French sources for the period 1999–2006 were collected, and a simulation of the changes seen within these sales was carried out in order to estimate what the sales situation would have looked like without the presence of foreign tobacco. Second, the statements regarding tobacco consumed reported by the French population with registered tobacco sales were compared. Finally, in order to identify the countries of origin of foreign tobacco entering France, we collected a random sample of cigarette packs from a waste collection centre.Results:According to the first method, cross-border shopping and smuggling of tobacco accounted for 8635 tonnes of tobacco in 2004, 9934 in 2005, and 9930 in 2006, ie, between 14% and 17% of total sales. The second method gave larger results: the difference between registered cigarette sales and cigarettes declared as being smoked was around 12 000 to 13 000 tonnes in 2005, equivalent to 20% of legal sales. The collection of cigarette packs at a waste collection centre showed that foreign cigarettes accounted for 18.6% of our sample in 2005 and 15.5% in 2006. France seems mainly to be a victim of cross-border purchasing of tobacco products, with the contraband market for tobacco remaining modest.Conclusion:in order to avoid cross-border purchases, an increased harmonisation of national policies on the taxation of tobacco products needs to be envisaged by the European Union.
Crossing geographical, legal and moral boundaries: the Belgian cigarette black market
Authors: Vander Beken T , Janssens J , Verpoest K , Balcaen A , Vander Laenen F 
Published: January 2008

Objectives:To describe and analyse the cigarette smuggling trade in Belgium and its role in the international cigarette black market.Design:Analysis of Belgian customs and prosecution files concerning the cigarette smuggling trade in the period 2000 to 2006 and interviews with law enforcement authorities and private tobacco industry.Results:Analyses were made of the geographical aspects, the modus operandi and the participants of the cigarette smuggling trade in Belgium. Belgium is mainly a transit country. The cigarettes are transported via the fine-meshed Belgian highway network to the UK, which is often the destination country of the cigarettes. China is the most popular country of origin, especially for counterfeited cigarettes. In order to transport the cigarettes often use was made of legal transport companies and warehouses were frequently used to store the cigarettes. Many of the persons involved in the Belgian cigarette smuggling trade are strongly connected to legitimate business activities.Conclusions:Belgium is an important transit country for cigarette smuggling to the UK. This study pictures the illicit tobacco trade as a complex, ambiguous phenomenon involving several legal and illegal participants whereby the transit of cigarettes across the licit/illicit divide is paralleled by the moral careers of those who smuggle them, not to mention those who consume them. From the legal world to the illegal and back again, this trade and its practitioners and customers blur the line between criminality and non-criminality. Dealing with this phenomenon therefore requires more than a strategy focusing on these lawbreakers alone.
Pathogenic potential of a collagenase gene fromAeromonas veronii
Authors: Han Hyun-Ja , Taki Tatsuo , Kondo Hidehiro , Hirono Ikuo , Aoki Takashi 
Published: January 2008

The role of collagenase as a mechanism of bacterial pathogenicity in some pathogenic bacteria has been reported. The information on the role of collagenase in Aeromonas spp. pathogenesis is scant. In the present study, a mutant Aeromonas veronii RY001 that is deficient in the putative collagenase gene acg was constructed and compared with the wild-type strain for virulence factors. Bacterial cells and cell-free extracellular products of the mutant had significantly less collagenolytic activity, but there were not significant differences in caseinolytic, gelatinolytic, and elastolytic activities. Adhesion and invasion abilities of the mutant strain on epithelioma papillosum of carp cells was only 56% of that of the wild-type strain, and the cytotoxicity of the mutant strain to epithelioma papillosum of carp cells was only 42% of that of the wild-type strain. The LD50values of the wild-type strain were determined as 1.6 × 106and 3.5 × 105cfu in goldfish and mice, respectively, whereas the mutant RY001 strain showed slightly higher values (i.e., 2.8 × 106and 1.4 × 106cfu in goldfish and mice, respectively). These results indicated the involvement of the collagenase gene in the pathogenesis of A. veronii.
Repeated batch cultivation of the hydrocarbon-degrading, micro-algal strain Prototheca zopfii RND16 immobilized in polyurethane foam
Authors: Ueno Ryohei , Wada Shun , Urano Naoto 
Published: January 2008

This study reports on the stability of the cells of a heterotrophic green micro-algal strain Prototheca zopfii RND16 immobilized in polyurethane foam (PUF) cubes during degradation of mixed hydrocarbon substrate, which was composed of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in 5 successive cycles of repeated batch cultivation at 30 °C. Both RND16 cells and mixed hydrocarbon substrate components had been entrapped in PUF cubes through cultivation. PUF-immobilized RND16 degraded n-alkanes almost completely, whereas the strain hardly degraded PAHs in PUFs, rather they accumulated in the matrices. It is noteworthy that this result is strikingly different from that of the free-living cell culture, where RND16 reduced concentrations of both n-alkanes and PAHs. However, PAHs accumulation in the PUFs did not impair the performance of the immobilized alga to utilize n-alkanes. These results suggest that the PUFs harboring RND16 cells could be used repeatedly for selective retrieval of PAHs from oil-polluted waters after preferential biodegradation of n-alkanes by algae.
Fibronectin enhancesCampylobacter fetusinteraction with extracellular matrix components and INT 407 cells
Authors: Graham L. L. , Friel T. , Woodman R. L. 
Published: January 2008

Campylobacter fetus is a recognized pathogen of cattle and sheep that can also infect humans. No adhesins specific for C. fetus have to date been identified; however, bacterial attachment is essential to establish an infecting population. Scanning electron microscopy revealed C. fetus attachment to the serosal surface of human colonic biopsy explants, a location consistent with the presence of the extracellular matrix (ECM). To determine whether the ECM mediated C. fetus adherence, 7 C. fetus strains were assessed in a solid-phase binding assay for their ability to bind to immobilized ECM components. Of the ECM components assayed, adherence to fibronectin was noted for all strains. Attachment to ECM components was neither correlated with S-layer expression nor with cell-surface hydrophobicity. Ligand immunoblots, however, identified the S-layer protein as a major site of fibronectin binding, and modified ECM binding assays revealed that soluble fibronectin significantly enhanced the attachment of S-layer-expressing C. fetus strains to other ECM components. Soluble fibronectin also increased C. fetus adherence to INT 407 cells. This adherence was inhibited when INT 407 cells were incubated with synthetic peptides containing an RGD sequence, indicating that integrin receptors were involved in fibronectin-mediated attachment. Together, this data suggests that C. fetus can bind to immobilized fibronectin and use soluble fibronectin to enhance attachment to other ECM components and intestinal epithelial cells. In vivo, fibronectin would promote bacterial adherence, thereby, contributing to the initial interaction of C. fetus with mucosal and submucosal surfaces.
Identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae genes specifically induced in mouse lung tissues
Authors: Meng Jiang-Ping , Yin Yi-Bing , Zhang Xue-Mei , Huang Yuan-Shuai , Lan Kai , Cui Fang , Xu Song-Xiao 
Published: January 2008

To identify Streptococcus pneumoniae genes expressed specifically during infections, a selection system based on the in vivo expression technology (IVET) was established. galU, which is critical for capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis, and lacZY encoding β-galactosidase were employed as dual reporter genes to screen in-vivo-induced (ivi) genes of S. pneumoniae. The galU-deficient mutant of S. pneumoniae is incapable of utilizing galactose, thus failing to synthesize capsular polysaccharide, and therefore loses its ability to survive in the host. A promoter-trap library was constructed in S. pneumoniae, which was used to infect BALB/c mice in an intranostril model. Those strains recovered from lung tissue of mice and exhibiting a white colony phenotype on tryptic soy agar containing X-gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-d-galactopyranoside) were collected and identificated. A total of 15 unique sequences were obtained through in vivo screening. The ivi genes of S. pneumoniae are involved in many processes, such as colonization and adherence, energy metabolism, nutrient substance transport, transcription regulation, DNA metabolism, and cell wall synthesis. There are some hypothetical proteins whose functions are not clear. This novel IVET is a useful tool for identifying ivi genes in S. pneumoniae.
SAINT VENANT COMPATIBILITY EQUATIONS ON A SURFACE APPLICATION TO INTRINSIC SHELL THEORY
Authors: CIARLET PHILIPPE G. , GRATIE LILIANA , MARDARE CRISTINEL , SHEN MING 
Published: January 2008

We first establish that the linearized change of metric and change of curvature tensors, with components in L2 and H-1 respectively, associated with a displacement field, with components in H1, of a surface S immersed in ℝ3 must satisfy in the distributional sense compatibility conditions that may be viewed as the linear version of the Gauss and Codazzi-Mainardi equations. These compatibility conditions, which are analogous to the familiar Saint Venant equations in three-dimensional elasticity, constitute the Saint Venant equations on the surface S. We next show that these compatibility conditions are also sufficient, i.e. that they in fact characterize the linearized change of metric and the linearized change of curvature tensors in the following sense: If two symmetric matrix fields of order two defined over a simply-connected surface S ⊂ ℝ3 satisfy the above compatibility conditions, then they are the linearized change of metric and linearized change of curvature tensors associated with a displacement field of the surface S, a field whose existence is thus established. The proof provides an explicit algorithm for recovering such a displacement field from the linearized change of metric and linearized change of curvature tensors. This algorithm may be viewed as the linear counterpart of the reconstruction of a surface from its first and second fundamental forms. Finally, we show how these results can be applied to the "intrinsic theory" of linearly elastic shells, where the linearized change of metric and change of curvature tensors are the new unknowns. These new unknowns solve a quadratic minimization problem over a space of tensor fields whose components, which are only in L2, satisfy the Saint Venant compatibility conditions on a surface in the sense of distributions.