bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Risk factors of non‐melanoma skin cancer in United States veterans patients: a pilot study and review of literature
Authors: Chuang Tsu‐Yi , Brashear Ryan 
Published: September 2006

AbstractObjectiveTo identify risk factors of non‐melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in US veterans patients.BackgroundThere are an estimated one million new NMSC cases annually in the United States alone. While other studies with varying foci have evaluated risk factors in different subsets of the general populace, none have examined veterans as a group with potentially unique exposures and risks.MethodsAn investigation of risk factors for skin cancer through questionnaire and physical examination on 145 veteran patients with skin cancer and 59 veteran patients without a history of skin cancer was conducted.ResultsParents' ethnicity, actinic keratosis on the face or other anatomic sites, solar elastosis of the neck, facial telangiectasias, age of first sunburn, and residency in Indiana were risk factors significantly associated with the development of skin cancer. Other possible risk factors included smoking and radiation therapy.ConclusionsWe documented several risk factors which significantly increased the chance of developing skin cancer among veterans. These included ethnic background and solar damage of the skin among others. A review of the literature confirms these risks in the general population, but also further study is warranted to address risk factors like smoking and radiation, particularly in veterans populations. Identification of pertinent risk factors will help to identify high risk individuals, allow detection of new skin cancer at its earliest stage, and develop a profile of favorable lifestyle characteristics that reduce NMSC risk.
Asthma induced by allergy to Trichophyton rubrum
Authors: Elewski Boni E. , Schwartz Howard J. 
Published: September 2006

AbstractThe worldwide incidence of asthma and of allergic respiratory diseases is increasing (Akiyama K.‘Environmental allergens and allergic diseases.’Rinsho Byori 1997;45(1):13. D'Amato G, Liccardi G, D'Amato M. Environment and development of respiratory allergy. II. Indoors. Monaldi Arch Chest Dis 1994;49(5):412. Weeke AR. Epidemiology of allergic diseases in children. Rhinol Suppl 1992;13:5. Ulrik CS, Backer V, Hesse B, Dirksen A. Risk factors for development of asthma in children and adolescents: findings from a longitudinal population study. Respir Med 1996;90(10):623.) This has been attributed to several factors, including lifestyle changes and an expanding variety of potential causative allergens. Management of asthma entails preventive and acute medications, immunologic therapies, and removal of the identified allergen(s) from the patient's environment. Without the latter, patients may not experience full symptomatic relief. This case report describes a patient who developed bronchial asthma subsequent to an infection of tinea pedis and pedal onychomycosis; antifungal management resulted in full resolution of his tinea pedis, onychomycosis and asthma.
Broad‐band ultraviolet B phototherapy is associated with elevated serum thiobarbituric acid reactive substance and nitrite‐nitrate levels in psoriatic patients
Authors: Kilinc Karaarslan I , Girgin Sagin F , Ertam I , Alper S , Ozturk G , Yildirim Sozmen E 
Published: September 2006

AbstractBackground  Although the local anti‐inflammatory, immunosuppressive and oxidative activity of UVB is known, the systemic effect of UVB phototherapy in dermatological patients has not been investigated.Objective  We aimed to investigate the lipid peroxidation status (as represented by thiobarbituric acid reactive substance, TBARS) and nitrite‐nitrate levels in psoriatic patients under broad‐band ultraviolet B (BB‐UVB) phototherapy in order to determine the systemic effects of UVB.Subjects and methods  Thirty‐two psoriatic patients and 20 healthy controls were included. Blood samples were obtained at the beginning, after 6–10 exposures to BB UVB phototherapy (mean 5 weeks) and at the end of the therapy period (mean 21 weeks). Serum TBARS and nitrite‐nitrate levels were evaluated.Results  There was no statistically significant difference in serum TBARS and nitrite‐nitrate levels between psoriatic patients (basal) and healthy volunteers. There was no statistically significant correlation between disease duration, disease severity, or the total cumulative dose of UVB and serum levels of TBARS and nitrite‐nitrate in psoriatic patients. Total nitrite levels in samples obtained during and at the end of therapy were significantly higher than basal levels (P = 0.033 and P = 0.005, respectively). TBARS levels in samples obtained during and at the end of therapy were significantly higher than basal levels (P = 0 and P = 0.026, respectively). There was a negative correlation (r =–0.576, P = 0.039) between the total nitrite and TBARS levels in psoriatic patients at the end of therapy.Conclusion  Our study showed that chronic exposure to UV irradiation may lead to a systemic effect on lipid peroxidation and NO levels, which are shown by a significant elevation in TBARS and nitrite‐nitrate levels in serum.
Chronic Binge Ethanol Consumption Accelerates Progression of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Disease
Authors: Bagby Gregory J. , Zhang Ping , Purcell Jeanette E. , Didier Peter J. , Nelson Steve 
Published: September 2006

Background: While alcohol consumption is known to increase the incidence and severity of infections, the impact of alcohol consumption on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression has been difficult to assess. Therefore, we examined the effect of ethanol on simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) disease progression in a well‐defined model utilizing rhesus macaques.Methods: Alcohol was administered for 5 hours via an indwelling intragastric catheter to achieve an alcohol concentration of 50 to 60 mM for 4 consecutive days per week for the duration of the study. Control animals received isocaloric sucrose. After 3 months, animals were inoculated intravenously with 10,000 times the ID50 of SIVDeltaB670 and followed to end‐stage disease.Results: Plasma SIV ribonucleic acid (RNA) was higher in alcohol‐consuming animals compared with sucrose‐treated animals during the early asymptomatic stage of disease but not at later time points. This increase in viral set point was associated with more rapid progression to end‐stage disease in macaques administered alcohol (median=374 days) compared with sucrose (median=900 days). The decline in blood CD4+ cells was similar in both groups of animals.Conclusions: This study indicates that frequent episodes of alcohol intoxication in SIV+ macaques increase viral set point in association with more rapid development of end‐stage disease.
Maternal Oral Intake Mouse Model for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Ocular Defects as a Measure of Effect
Authors: Parnell Scott E. , Dehart Deborah B. , Wills Tiffany A. , Chen Shao‐yu , Hodge Clyde W. , Besheer Joyce , Waage‐Baudet Heather G. , Charness Michael E. , Sulik Kathleen K. 
Published: September 2006

Background: This work was conducted in an effort to establish an oral intake model system in which the effects of ethanol insult that occur during early stages of embryogenesis can be easily examined and in which agents that may modulate ethanol's teratogenicity can be readily tested in vivo. The model system described utilizes the alcohol deprivation effect to obtain teratogenic levels of maternal ethanol intake on days 7 and 8 of pregnancy in C57Bl/6J mice. Ocular defects including microphthalmia and uveal coloboma, which have previously been shown to result from ethanol administered by gavage or via intraperitoneal injection on these days, served as the developmental end point for this study. The ocular defects are readily identifiable and their degree of severity is expected to correlate with concurrently developing defects of the central nervous system (CNS).Methods: Female C57Bl/6J mice were maintained on an ethanol‐containing (4.8% v/v) liquid diet for 14 days and then mated during a subsequent abstinence period. Mice were then reexposed to ethanol on days 7 and 8 of pregnancy only. Control as well as ethanol‐exposed dams were killed on their 14th day of pregnancy. Fetuses were then weighed, measured for crown rump length, photographed, and analyzed for ocular abnormalities. Globe size, palpebral fissure length, and pupil size and shape were noted for both the right and left eyes of all fetuses and informative comparisons were made.Results: This exposure paradigm resulted in peak maternal blood alcohol concentrations that ranged from 170 to 220 mg/dL on gestational day (GD) 8. Compared with the GD 14 fetuses from the normal control group, the pair‐fed, acquisition controls, as well as the ethanol‐exposed fetuses, were developmentally delayed and had reduced weights. Confirming previous studies, comparison of similarly staged control and treated GD 8 embryos illustrated reductions in the size of the forebrain in the latter. Subsequent ocular malformations were noted in 33% of the right eyes and 25% of the left eyes of the 103 GD 14 ethanol‐exposed fetuses examined. This incidence of defects is twice that observed in the control groups. Additionally, it was found that the palpebral fissure length is directly correlated with globe size.Conclusions: The high incidence of readily identifiable ocular malformations produced by oral ethanol intake in this model and their relevance to human fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) makes this an excellent system for utilization in experiments involving factors administered to the embryo that might alter ethanol's teratogenic effects. Additionally, the fact that early ethanol insult yields ocular and forebrain abnormalities that are developmentally associated allows efficient specimen selection for subsequent detailed analyses of CNS effects in this in vivo mammalian FASD model.
Association Between Gene Polymorphisms of SLC22A3 and Methamphetamine Use Disorder
Authors: Aoyama Nagisa , Takahashi Nagahide , Kitaichi Kiyoyuki , Ishihara Ryoko , Saito Shinichi , Maeno Nobuhisa , Ji Xiaofei , Takagi Kenji , Sekine Yoshimoto , Iyo Masaomi , Harano Mutsuo , Komiyama Tokutaro , Yamada Mitsuhiko , Sora Ichiro , Ujike Hiroshi , Iwata Nakao , Inada Toshiya , Ozaki Norio 
Published: September 2006

Background: Methamphetamine (MAP) is one of the most frequently used illegal substances in Japan, and family and twin studies have suggested that genetic factors contribute to psychostimulant dependence, including MAP dependence. Organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3) has been reported to be involved in the disposition of MAP as well as MAP‐induced behavioral changes in animals. Moreover, SLC22A3 (which encodes OCT3) is a candidate gene for MAP dependence because it is located within a chromosomal region associated with substance dependence.Methods: Using 96 healthy control subjects, linkage disequilibrium (LD) within the SLC22A3 was investigated, and 5 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected as haplotype tag SNPs to search for an association with MAP dependence. Single‐marker analyses and haplotype analyses of these SNPs were performed in 213 subjects with MAP dependence and 443 healthy controls.Results: SLC22A3 polymorphisms were not significantly associated with MAP dependence in any of the single‐marker and haplotype analyses. When subjects with MAP dependence were divided into polysubstance and single‐MAP users, genotype and allele frequency of SNP2 (p=0.024, p=0.011, respectively), allele frequency of SNP3 (p=0.037), and haplotypic frequencies for these 2 SNPs (p=0.0438) differed significantly between groups.Conclusions: These results suggest that polymorphisms of SLC22A3 are related to the development of polysubstance use in Japanese patients with MAP dependence.
Profiles of inflammatory cytokines following colorectal surgery: Relationship with wound healing and outcome
Authors: Baker Elizabeth A. , El‐Gaddal Sanaa , Williams Lynne , Leaper David J. 
Published: September 2006

ABSTRACTInflammation is an essential component of normal wound healing. This study has correlated systemic (plasma) and local (wound fluid) concentrations of inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]‐6, tumor necrosis factor‐α [TNF‐α], and IL‐1β) with wound healing and surgical outcome following elective colorectal surgery. Paired plasma and wound fluid samples were collected (n=44) postoperatively (days 1, 3, 5, 7) and analyzed by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (pg/mL). Cytokine levels were significantly greater in drain fluid than plasma on each postoperative day (POD); e.g., POD 1 : IL‐6; drain fluid, median, 77,050 pg/mL (range 9,928–456,408); plasma, 241 pg/mL (22–1,333). Daily profiles of IL‐6 and TNF‐α were similar in drain fluid and plasma; IL‐6 levels peaked on POD 1 decreasing to POD 7, and TNF‐α levels increased from PODs 1 to 7. However, IL‐1β in plasma peaked on POD 1 and plateaued, whereas drain fluid showed two peaks (PODs 1 and 7). Only plasma levels of cytokines correlated to clinical parameters; IL‐6 levels significantly correlated with postoperative complications; e.g., POD 5, complications 92(1–597) and no complications, 14(2–217). IL‐6 also correlated with tumor pathology (Dukes stage, tumor depth, vascular invasion), and TNF‐α levels correlated with the estimated blood loss during surgery. We conclude that local wound levels of cytokines correlated with the stage of wound healing, whereas systemic levels correlated with postoperative complications and tumor pathology.
Influence of vascularized transplant bed on fat grafting
Authors: Yazawa Masaki , Mori Taisuke , Tuchiya Kouhei , Nakayama Yasuhide , Ogata Hisao , Nakajima Tatsuo 
Published: September 2006

ABSTRACTRecent advances in regenerative medicine have opened up the option of materials used for transplantation. However, only a few studies have examined the take of transplanted tissues. We attempted to establish a functional bed for transplanted tissues using growth factors. A cylinder‐type silicone substrate (spacer) was coated with a photoreactive gelatin containing basic fibroblast growth factor. This spacer was transplanted into the dorsal subdermal layer in a rabbit. After 2 and 4 weeks, the capsule formed around the spacer was histologically assessed for use as a transplant bed. In addition, after 2–4 weeks of spacer grafting, autologous fat was transplanted into the capsule. After 4 more weeks, the grafted fat was assessed immunohistochemically to evaluate the capsule as a functional bed for transplantation. In the groups pretreated with growth factors, proliferation of blood vessels was observed in the capsules. After fat grafting, a pattern of overall necrosis was observed in controls. However, good proliferation of blood vessels and favorable fat take were observed in the groups pretreated with growth factors. Necrosis, however, was found at the center of the grafted fat. We conclude that a vascularized transplant bed was useful for promoting take of the grafted fat.
Elucidating the mechanism of wound contraction: Rapid versus sustained myosin ATPase activity in attached‐delayed‐released compared with free‐floating fibroblast‐populated collagen lattices
Authors: Paul Ehrlich H. , Sun Bonnie , Kainth Koijan S. , Kromah Fatuma 
Published: September 2006

ABSTRACTWound contraction closes open wounds by the generation of contractile forces within granulation tissue. We investigated the mechanism of wound contraction using the in vitro fibroblast‐populated collagen lattice (FPCL) contraction model. The contraction of the free‐floating (FF)‐FPCL is through rapid myosin ATPase activity, while the contraction of the attached‐delayed‐released (ADR)‐FPCL is through sustained myosin ATPase activity. All FPCLs were cast identically and the contraction of FF‐FPCLs was recorded daily for 4 days and the contraction of ADR‐FPCLs was recorded 1 hour after release on day 4. At day, 4 cell numbers were determined and cells undergoing apoptosis were identified and counted. Differences in sustained and rapid myosin ATPase activity were shown by added inosine triphosphate‐induced cell contraction in permeabilized fibroblast monolayer preparations. At 2 days, the FF‐FPCLs were mostly contracted, while an ADR‐FPCL completed contraction 1 hour after release at day 4. Contracted myofibroblasts, identified by α‐smooth muscle actin‐stained stress fibers, were identified in contracted ADR‐FPCL, whereas elongated fibroblasts were identified in contracted FF‐FPCLs. Vanadate inhibited both inosine triphosphate‐induced cell contraction and ADR‐FPCL contraction, but neither inhibited ATP‐induced cell contraction or FF‐FPCL contraction. Genistein inhibited FF‐FPCL contraction, but not ADR‐FPCL contraction. Advancing tyrosine phosphorylation in fibroblasts promotes rapid myosin ATPase activity, while advancing tyrosine dephosphorylation in myofibroblasts promotes sustained myosin ATPase. The ADR‐FPCL had a reduced cell count and a greater proportion of cells had entered apoptosis compared with FF‐FPCL. These experiments show that FF‐FPCL contraction is through elongated fibroblasts and rapid myosin ATPase, requiring tyrosine phosphorylation. In contrast, the mechanism for ADR‐FPCL contraction is through cell contraction by sustained myosin ATPase, involving tyrosine dephosphorylation.
HD 3651 B: the first directly imaged brown dwarf companion of an exoplanet host star
Authors: Mugrauer M. , Seifahrt A. , Neuhäuser R. , Mazeh T. 
Published: September 2006

Abstract
In the course of our ongoing multiplicity study of exoplanet host stars we detected a faint companion located at ∼43 arcsec (480 au physical projected separation) north-west of its primary – the exoplanet host star HD 3651 at 11 pc. The companion, HD 3651 B, clearly shares the proper motion of the exoplanet host star in our four images, obtained with the European Southern Observatory New Technology Telescope and the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope, spanning three years in epoch difference. The magnitude of the companion is H= 16.75 ± 0.16 mag, the faintest co-moving companion of an exoplanet host star imaged directly. HD 3651 B is not detected in the POSS-II B-, R- or I-band images, indicating that this object is fainter than ∼20 mag in the B- and R-band and fainter than ∼19 mag in the I-band. With the Hipparcos distance of HD 3651 of 11 pc, the absolute magnitude of HD 3651 B is about 16.5 mag in the H band. Our H-band photometry and the Baraffe et al. (2003) evolutionary models yield a mass of HD 3651 B to be 20 to 60 MJup (Jupiter masses) for assumed ages between 1 and 10 Gyr. The effective temperature ranges between 800 and 900 K, consistent with a spectral type of T7 to T8. We conclude that HD 3651 B is a brown dwarf companion, the first of its kind directly imaged as a companion of an exoplanet host star, and one of the faintest T dwarfs found in the solar vicinity (within 11 pc).
Challenges to Humanitarian Action
Authors: de Torrenté Nicolas 
Published: September 2006

It is a commonplace to say that the world has changed since the tragic events of September 11. This also holds true for those dedicated to humanitarian action—to the prevention of death and the alleviation of suffering during crisis and conflict, irrespective of any consideration other than need. The cause of the change for us, however, is not so much the attacks themselves or their vicious character. Sadly, such great loss of life and willingness to inflict death indiscriminately upon innocent civilians is nothing new, as those of us who have worked in areas of conflict know only too well.What has changed is that, as a result of these attacks, the leading international power, the United States, has declared a new global war on terrorism. This war, as it has been defined, pits terrorism against freedom, and those who would imperil humanity against those who stand to defend it. While the main focus, thus far, has been on Afghanistan, the repercussions have swiftly embraced the entire planet. Like the Cold War, this is an open-ended, global fight defined to uphold both interests and values. Yet unlike the Cold War, it is one in which alliances are constantly shifting, the enemy consists primarily of an ill-defined set of nonstate actors as well as their purported state sponsors, and territorial control is not necessarily an aim.The U.S.–led war on terrorism poses a number of challenges for independent humanitarian action and the principles that underpin it. First, it seeks to subordinate humanitarianism to its broader purpose, undermining the ability of humanitarian actors to impartially reach out to all victims. Second, by questioning the applicability of international humanitarian law, the antiterrorism campaign could well threaten the fundamental restraints on the conduct of warfare, thus weakening the protection and assistance to which civilians are entitled. Third, there is a shift in attention to conflicts worldwide, and the victims they generate, making it more difficult to respond to crises at the margins of current priorities.
Just War, Not Prevention
Authors: Nichols Thomas M. 
Published: September 2006

The debate over going to war in Iraq has in many quarters become a debate about the ethical implications of preemption and prevention rather than about the war itself. But neither prevention nor preemption can have any moral standing in the abstract, since it is the circumstances, not the concepts, that inform their qualities as strategies. The question, rather, is whether the decision to engage in a new war against the Iraqi regime is just.Indeed, it is surprising to find that so much less has been said about basic principles of just war—that is, a just cause, a right intention, proportionality, and so on—than about the largely legal questions of preemption and prevention. But concepts like preemption and prevention are really about the timing and method of war; they say nothing about the moral content of the conflict itself, and in the end an emphasis on them obscures the fundamental question of justice. Put another way, if a particular military action, including launching war, is just and proper, then the means and scheduling are subject, like anything else, to scrutiny under the guidance of the principles of just war. But they are not separate questions in and of themselves.
Holding Intergovernmental Institutions to Account
Authors: Woods Ngaire 
Published: September 2006

How can governments and peoples better hold to account international economic institutions, such as the WTO, the World Bank, and the IMF? This article proposes an approach based on public accountability, advocating improvements in four areas: constitutional, political, financial, and internal accountability.The argument for more accountability is made with two caveats: more accountability is not always good–it can be distorting and costly; and, enhancing the accountability of international institutions should not justify increasing their jurisdiction for the sake of reducing the role of national governments. Constitutional accountability poses limits on how the institutions expand their activities, requiring the active consent of all members and particularly those most affected by their activities. Political accountability requires that those who make decisions in the organizations are directly answerable to all member governments and not just to the most powerful ones. The institutions' uneven record and structure of financial accountability is addressed through a model of mutual restraint. Finally, the internal accountability should ensure that technical decisions are distinguishable from political decisions. A better matching of the right kinds of accountability to the activities of the organizations would improve both their effectiveness and legitimacy.