bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Bodyweight change during the first 5 days of chemotherapy as an indicator of cisplatin renal toxicity
Authors: Sekine Ikuo , Yamada Kazuhiko , Nokihara Hiroshi , Yamamoto Noboru , Kunitoh Hideo , Ohe Yuichiro , Tamura Tomohide 
Published: June 2007

To determine whether bodyweight (BW) loss, daily urine volume (UV) or furosemide use are associated with cisplatin nephrotoxicity, performance status, serum chemistries before treatment, average daily UV, maximum BW loss and use of furosemide on days 1–5 of chemotherapy were evaluated retrospectively in chemotherapy‐naive patients with thoracic malignancies who had received 80 mg/m2 cisplatin. Associations between these parameters and the worst serum creatinine levels (group 1, grade 0–1; and group 2, grade 2–3) during the first cycle were evaluated. Of the 417 patients (327 men and 90 women; median age, 59 years), 390 were categorized into group 1 and 27 were categorized into group 2. More women and older patients were observed in group 2 than in group 1 (11.1 vs 5.2%, P = 0.044, and 65 vs 59 years, P = 0.041, respectively). The median average daily UV was 3902 mL in group 1 and 3600 mL in group 2 (P = 0.021). A maximum BW loss ≥2.1 kg was noted in 4.4% of patients in group 1 and 18.5% of patients in group 2 (P = 0.006). Furosemide was used in 206 (49.4%) patients. The median total dose of furosemide in groups 1 and 2 were 0 mg and 26 mg, respectively (P = 0.024). A multivariate analysis showed that a maximum BW loss ≥2.1 kg and the total furosemide dose were significantly associated with group category. In conclusion, BW loss and total furosemide dose were associated with cisplatin nephrotoxicity. (Cancer Sci 2007; 98: 1408–1422)
Carotid artery intima media thickness is inversely related to serum free thyroxine in euthyroid subjects
Authors: Dullaart Robin P. F. , De Vries Rindert , Roozendaal Carolien , Kobold Anneke C. Muller , Sluiter Wim J. 
Published: June 2007

SummaryObjective  The effect of thyroid function on cardiovascular risk may extend to the euthyroid range. In euthyroid subjects, we determined whether carotid artery intima media thickness (IMT), a measure of subclinical atherosclerosis, is related to thyroid function.Design and subjects  Cross‐sectional study in a cohort of 78 nonsmoking, predominantly middle‐aged, euthyroid subjects (44 men and 34 women, mean age 56 years, TSH between 0·5 mU/l and 4·0 mU/l and FT4 between 11·0 pmol/l and 19·5 pmol/l).Measurements  IMT (mean of three segments in both carotid arteries by ultrasonography), clinical factors, insulin resistance (HOMAir), plasma lipids, C‐reactive protein (CRP), serum FT4, TSH and thyroid autoantibodies.Results  In several multiple linear regression models, age‐ and sex‐adjusted IMT was found to be independently related to either pulse pressure and body mass index (BMI), to high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol or to FT4, but not to TSH, thyroid autoantibodies, HOMAir, CRP, non‐HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. In a subsequent model which included age, sex, pulse pressure, body mass index (BMI), HDL cholesterol and FT4, IMT was independently and positively related to age (β = 0·43, P < 0·001), male sex (β = 0·34, P = 0·014), pulse pressure (β = 0·29, P = 0·002), BMI (β = 0·24, P = 0·007) and inversely related to FT4 (β = –0·19, P = 0·046). IMT was also inversely related to FT4 in a model which included HDL cholesterol, non‐HDL cholesterol and triglycerides.Conclusions  In euthyroid subjects, IMT is associated with FT4, after controlling for clinical factors, lipid levels and thyroid autoantibodies. These findings raise the possibility that, even within the euthyroid range, low normal thyroid function may adversely affect cardiovascular risk.
HOMOCYSTEINE INHIBITS POTASSIUM CHANNELS IN HUMAN ATRIAL MYOCYTES
Authors: Cai Ben‐Zhi , Gong Dong‐Mei , Liu Yu , Pan Zhen‐Wei , Xu Chao‐Qian , Bai Yun‐Long , Qiao Guo‐Fen , Lu Yan‐Jie , Yang Bao‐Feng 
Published: June 2007

SUMMARYA large body of evidence indicates that elevated homocysteine (Hcy) levels portend an increased risk for atrial fibrillation. However, little is known about the electrophysiological effects of Hcy on atrial myocytes. The present study was conducted to investigate the direct effects of Hcy on ion channels in human atria.Whole‐cell patch‐clamp techniques were used to record potassium currents in human atrial cells.In human atrial myocytes, transient outward potassium currents were significantly decreased by 24.8 ± 5.9 and 38.4 ± 10.4% in the presence of 50 and 500 µmol/L Hcy, respectively. The ultrarapid delayed rectifier potassium currents were decreased by approximately 30% when exposed to 500 µmol/L Hcy. The inward rectifier potassium currents were increased by approximately 40% in the presence of 500 µmol/L Hcy.The results of the present study indicate that Hcy, an important risk factor for atrial fibrillation, could cause electrophysiological disturbances of potassium currents in human atrial myocytes.
CEREBROVASCULAR EFFECTS OF OESTROGEN: MULTIPLICITY OF ACTION
Authors: Duckles Sue P , Krause Diana N 
Published: June 2007

SUMMARYCerebral vessels express oestrogen receptors (ER) in both the smooth muscle and endothelial cell layers of cerebral blood vessels. Levels of ERα are higher in female rats chronically exposed to oestrogen, either endogenous or exogenous.Chronic exposure to oestrogen, either endogenous (normally cycling females) or exogenous (ovariectomized with oestrogen replacement), results in cerebral arteries that are more dilated than arteries from ovariectomized counterparts when studiedin vitro. This effect is primarily mediated by an increase in the production of vasodilator factors, including nitric oxide (NO) and prostacylin. In contrast, oestrogen appears to suppress the production of endothelial‐derived hyperpolarizing factor. Oestrogen treatment increases cerebrovascular levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), cyclo‐oxygenase (COX)‐1 and prostacyclin synthase. In addition, via activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase/Akt pathway, both acute and chronic oestrogen exposure increases eNOS phosphorylation, increasing NO production.Oestrogen receptors have also been localized to cerebrovascular mitochondria and exposure to oestrogen increases the efficiency of energy production while simultaneously reducing mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species. Oestrogen increases the production of mitochondrial proteins encoded by both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, including cytochromec, subunits I and IV of complex IV and Mn‐superoxide dismutase. Oestrogen treatment increases the activity of citrate synthase and complex IV and decreases mitochondrial production of H2O2.Oestrogen also has potent anti‐inflammatory effects in the cerebral circulation that may have important implications for the incidence and severity of cerebrovascular disease. Administration of lipopolysaccharide or interleukin‐1β to ovariectomized female rats induces cerebrovascular COX‐2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) protein expression and increases prostaglandin E2expression. Levels of COX‐2 and iNOS expression vary with the stage of the oestrous cycle, and the cerebrovascular inflammatory response is suppressed in ovariectomized animals treated with oestrogen. Interleukin‐1β induction of COX‐2 protein is prevented by treatment with a nuclear factor (NF)‐κB inhibitor, and oestrogen treatment reduces cerebrovascular NF‐κB activity.Cerebrovascular dysfunction and pathology contribute to the pathogenesis of stroke, brain trauma, oedema and dementias, such as Alzheimer's disease. A better understanding of the action of oestrogen on cerebrovascular function holds promise for the development of new therapeutic entities that could be useful in preventing or treating a wide variety of cerebrovascular diseases.
A rice promoter containing both novel positive and negative cis‐elements for regulation of green tissue‐specific gene expression in transgenic plants
Authors: Cai Meng , Wei Jun , Li Xianghua , Xu Caiguo , Wang Shiping 
Published: June 2007

SummaryThe tissue‐specific expression of transgenes is essential in plant breeding programmes to avoid the fitness costs caused by constitutive expression of a target gene. However, knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of tissue‐specific gene expression and practicable tissue‐specific promoters is limited. In this study, we identified the cis‐acting elements of a tissue‐specific promoter from rice, PD54O, and tested the application of original and modified PD54O and its cis‐elements in the regulation of gene expression. PD54O is a green tissue‐specific promoter. Five novel tissue‐specific cis‐elements (LPSE1, LPSE2, LPSRE1, LPSRE2, PSE1) were characterized from PD54O. LPSE1 activated gene expression in leaf and young panicle. LPSRE2 suppressed gene expression in leaf, root, young panicle and stem, and PSE1 suppressed gene expression in young panicle and stem. LPSRE1 and LPSE2 had dual roles in the regulation of tissue‐specific gene expression; both functioned as activators in leaf, but LPSRE1 acted as a repressor in stem and LPSE2 as a repressor in young panicle and root. Transgenic rice plants carrying cry1Ac encoding Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxin, regulated by PD54O, were resistant to leaf‐folders, with no Cry1Ac protein found in endosperm or embryo. A reporter gene regulated by a series of truncated PD54O showed various tissue‐specific expression patterns. Different fragments of PD54O fused with the constitutive cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter suppressed 35S‐regulated gene expression in various tissues. PD54O, truncated PD54O and the tissue‐specific cis‐elements provide useful tools for the regulation of tissue‐specific gene expression in rice breeding programmes.
Hospice Effect on Government Expenditures among Nursing Home Residents
Authors: Gozalo Pedro L. , Miller Susan C. , Intrator Orna , Barber Janet P. , Mor Vincent 
Published: June 2007

Objective.To examine the effect of the Medicare hospice benefit on Medicare and Medicaid expenditures by dual‐eligible Medicare–Medicaid nursing home (NH) residents.Data Sources/Study Setting.Secondary data for NH residents for 1998–1999.Study Design.Retrospective cohort study of NH residents in the state of Florida who died between July and December 1999 (N=5,774). Medicare claims identified hospice enrollment, and Medicare and Medicaid claims identified expenditures by categories of care. Nursing home resident assessments were used to control for case‐mix differences. Geocoding of nursing homes, hospice providers and hospitals was used to identify and characterize local health care markets.Data Collection/Extraction Methods.A file was constructed linking Medicare and Medicaid claims to Minimum Data Set assessments of NH residents, and NH provider (Online Survey and Certification Automated Record) and hospice provider files.Principal Findings.Hospice enrollment results in substantial savings in government expenditures (22 percent) among all short‐stay (≤90 days) dying NH residents. For long‐stay (>90 days) dying NH residents, hospice provides some savings (8 percent) among cancer residents while it is cost‐neutral among dementia residents and adds some cost (10 percent) for residents with a diagnosis other than cancer or dementia. There is evidence of selection bias, particularly among residents with cancer (19 percent savings unadjusted versus 8 percent adjusted). Among short‐stay NH residents, hospice greatly reduces Medicare expenditures but increases Medicaid expenditures.Conclusions.Hospice enrollment results in lower combined Medicare/Medicaid expenditures in the last month of life, particularly among short‐stay NH residents. This effect, however, varies by diagnosis and NH length of stay. In addition, for short‐stay NH residents, current payment policy creates a Medicare incentive and Medicaid disincentive for promoting residents' referral to hospice.
Long‐Term Effects of Cancer Survivorship on the Employment of Older Workers
Authors: Short Pamela Farley , Vasey Joseph J. , Moran John R. 
Published: June 2007

Objective. To estimate the long‐term effects of cancer survivorship on the employment of older workers.Data Sources. Primary data for 504 subjects who were 55–65 in 2002 and were working when diagnosed with cancer in 1997–1999, and secondary data for a comparison group of 3,903 similarly aged workers in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in 2002.Study Design. Three employment outcomes (working, working full time, usual hours per week) were compared between the two groups. Both Probit/Tobit regressions and propensity score matching were used to adjust for potentially confounding differences between groups. Sociodemographic characteristics, baseline employment characteristics, and the presence of other health conditions were included as covariates.Data Collection Methods. Four telephone interviews were conducted annually with cancer survivors identified from tumor registries at four large hospitals in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Many of the questions were taken from the HRS to facilitate comparisons.Principal Findings. Cancer survivors of both genders worked an average of 3–5 hours less per week than HRS controls. For females, we found significant effects of survivorship on the probability of working, the probability of working full‐time, and hours. For males, survivorship affected the probability of full‐time employment and hours without significantly reducing the probability of working. For both genders, these effects were primarily attributable to new cancers. There were no significant effects on the employment of cancer‐free survivors.Conclusions. Survivors with recurrences or second primary tumors may particularly benefit from employment support services and workplace accommodation. Reassuringly, any long‐term effects on the employment of cancer‐free survivors are fairly small.
Is the Only Good Helicobacter a Dead Helicobacter?
Authors: Misiewicz J.J. 
Published: June 2007

Background.Vast numbers of therapeutic studies of various drug regimens used for the cure of H. pylori infection have been published. However, many of these studies have been uncontrolled, included small numbers of patients, were published only as abstracts, differed widely in dosage sizes, schedules and durations and were of insufficient statistical power to make meaningful statements concerning their efficacy. Furthermore, there are no clear or universally accepted guidelines for the treatment of H. pylori infection. Thus, there remains profound confusion among practitioners on whom and how to treat.Objective.To critically review the currently available management strategies for H. pylori infection.Methods.Review of the literature.Results.Treatment of H. pylori requires the use of multiple drug regimens (triple therapy) which can be expensive and is often associated with side effects. Bad choice of treatments, poor patient counseling and compliance will lead to the emergence of resistant H. pylori strains. Resistance to H. pylori to metronidazole is already widespread and resistance to other antimicrobial agents is increasing. The resource/financial implications are not negligible.Conclusions.The introduction of kits that will enable the identification of pathogenic strains of H. pylori in the office setting may decrease the number of patients being given H. pylori eradication therapy, but much more evidence is needed to establish the practical value of such tests. In the meantime, as many clinicians adhere to the idea that the only good H. pylori is a dead H. pylori, the best practical policy option is education concerning the correct diagnostic methodology, correct choice of patients and the correct choice of treatment regimens. The discovery of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has revolutionized our concepts of etiology, pathophysiology and treatment of many foregut diseases. Gastritis, gastric ulcer (GU), duodenal ulcer (DU), gastric cancer, MALT gastric lymphoma and other conditions are now regarded as being dependent on the colonization of the stomach by H. pylori. Many aspects of pathophysiology, such as the abnormalities of gastric acid secretion in duodenal ulcer disease, now for the first time fall into a logical and comprehensible pattern.
Inflammatory Cytokine Imbalance after Coronary Angioplasty: Links with Coronary Atherosclerosis
Authors: BRUNETTI NATALE DANIELE , MUNNO IRENE , PELLEGRINO PIER LUIGI , RUGGIERO VINCENZO , CORREALE MICHELE , CUCULO ANDREA , DE GENNARO LUISA , CAMPANALE GIULIO , MAVILIO GIOVANNI , ZICCARDI LUIGI , DI BIASE MATTEO 
Published: June 2007

Aim:

To investigate release of some inflammatory cytokines (Cys) after coronary angioplasty and its links with coronary atherosclerosis.
Methods:

Twenty‐seven consecutive subjects with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were enrolled in the study: serial blood samples were taken in order to evaluate plasma concentrations of Interleukin (IL)‐2, IL‐10, IL‐18, TNFα, and IFNγ just before PCI at 12 and 24 hours. Patients were then divided, considering balance between each inflammatory Cy and IL‐10, an antiinflammatory Cy, into four groups, ranging from a prevalent antiinflammatory response (stable inflammatory Cy–increasing IL‐10 values) to a marked inflammatory imbalance (increasing inflammatory Cy–stable IL‐10 values).
Results:

All Cys showed significant increases in plasma concentrations if compared with baseline values. Release curves were not significantly different when comparing subjects with ST‐elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) versus unstable angina–non‐STEMI (UA‐NSTEMI), diabetics versus controls
. Subjects with marked inflammatory response showed a higher incidence of stenosis on left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery (IL‐2 χ2 and IFNγ P < 0.05); Cy release was higher in patients with multivessel coronary disease (IL‐2 and IFNγ, ANOVA P < 0.01). Correlations were also referable between Cys and myocardial enzyme release. Subjects treated with sirolimus‐eluting stents (SES) showed significantly lower Cy periprocedure ratio if compared with those treated with bare metal stents.
Conclusions:

A significant Cy release is detectable after PCI: inflammatory response seems to correlate with both PCI due to plaque instabilization and coronary atherosclerosis. A blunted inflammatory response is detectable in subjects treated with SES.
Where Next in Victorian Literary Studies? – Revising the Canon, Extending Cultural Boundaries, and the Challenge of Interdisciplinarity
Authors: Shattock Joanne 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper forms part of a Literature Compass cluster of articles which examines the current state of Victorian Literary Studies and future directions. This group of four essays was originally commissioned by Francis O’Gorman (University of Leeds), who also provides an introduction to the cluster.The full cluster is made up of the following articles:‘Where Next in Victorian Literary Studies? – Introduction’, Francis O’Gorman, Literature Compass 4 (2007), 10.1111/j.1741‐4113.2007.00467.x.‘Where Next in Victorian Literary Studies? – Revising the Canon, Extending Cultural Boundaries, and the Challenge of Interdisciplinarity’, Joanne Shattock, Literature Compass 4 (2007), 10.1111/j.1741‐4113.2007.00468.x.‘Where Next in Victorian Literary Studies? –“Interesting Times” and the Lesson of “A Corner in Lightning”’, David Amigoni, Literature Compass 4 (2007), 10.1111/j.1741‐4113.2007.00469.x.‘Where Next in Victorian Literary Studies? – Historicism, Collaboration and Digital Editing’, Valerie Sanders, Literature Compass 4 (2007), 10.1111/j.1741‐4113.2007.00470.x.‘Where Next in Victorian Literary Studies? – Historicism and Hospitality’, John Bowen, Literature Compass 4 (2007), 10.1111/j.1741‐4113.2007.00471.x.***This article argues that the future of Victorian literary studies will include the continuous revision and expansion of the canon, and the extension of what we regard as ‘literary’ texts to include writing on science, philosophy, history, medicine and related areas. Meanwhile the process of reviewing and rehabilitating unfashionable or neglected writers and consigning others to the periphery will go on, although a core of major authors will continue to attract scholarly and critical attention. There will be an increasing focus on the new histories of the book, on authorship and readership. Research on print culture in its widest sense will expand in the wake of the ongoing digitisation of printed materials, a process which ultimately will transform the way we do research. The focus on writers and texts will move from a metropolitan‐centred one to embrace the literatures in English of the countries of the Empire and of North America, and more problematically, to include the literature and culture of Europe in the nineteenth century. The latter development poses a challenge to the hitherto monolingual nature of Victorian literary studies. Finally there will be a continued engagement in multi‐disciplinary, cross‐disciplinary if not truly interdisciplinary work that has been characteristic of Victorian Studies since its emergence in the 1950s.
Lost in a World of Books: Reading and Identity in Pre‐War Japan
Authors: Townsend Susan C. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper forms part of a Literature Compass cluster on Modern Book History. The full cluster is made up of the following articles:‘Between Then and Now: Modern Book History’, Kate Longworth, Literature Compass 4 (2007), 10.1111/j.1741‐4113.2007.00474.x.‘Ezra Pound's Cantos: A Compact History of Twentieth‐Century Authorship, Publishing and Editing’, Mark Byron, Literature Compass 4 (2007), 10.1111/j.1741‐4113.2007.00475.x.‘ “The Making of the Book”: Roy Fisher, the Circle Press and the Poetics of Book Art’, Matthew Sperling, Literature Compass 4 (2007), 10.1111/j.1741‐4113.2007.00476.x.‘Bakhtinian “Journalization” and the Mid‐Victorian Literary Marketplace’, Dallas Liddle, Literature Compass 4 (2007), 10.1111/j.1741‐4113.2007.00477.x.‘Manuscript in Print: The Materiality of Alternative Comics’, Emma Tinker, Literature Compass 4 (2007), 10.1111/j.1741‐4113.2007.00478.x.‘Lost in a World of Books: Reading and Identity in Pre‐War Japan’, Susan C. Townsend, Literature Compass 4 (2007), 10.1111/j.1741‐4113.2007.00479.x.***This article considers the rapidly changing readership patterns in Japan during the late Meiji (1868–1912) and particularly the Taishō (1912–26) period, generally considered a brief interlude of cultural flowing and democratic promise. Paramount among the evidence is the autobiography of the Japanese philosopher Miki Kiyoshi (1897–1945), also an important source for historians of so‐called ‘Taishō democracy’. Miki's Wanderings through the World of Books (Dokusho Henreki), published in 1941, documents the social, cultural and political impact of Russian and Western European literature and philosophy upon a select and privileged group of young Japanese men and women born around the 1890s. Miki's lesser known, posthumously published confessional The Unspoken Philosophy (Katararezaru Tetsugaku) (1919), however, reveals the full emotional impact of Japan's encounter with foreign culture. Other essays and commentaries which Miki published in the mid‐1930s provide clues to the question of why the ‘Taishō generation’ failed to stem the rising tide of militarism in the 1930s. Through a detailed consideration of my translations of these Japanese texts, I argue that the acute anxiety and identity crisis which Miki's generation experienced before the Pacific War was a symptom of their immersion in and internalisation of Western European thought and culture.