bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Serum BAFF predicts prognosis better than APRIL in diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma patients treated with rituximab plus CHOP chemotherapy
Authors: Kim Seok Jin , Lee Seung Jin , Choi In Young , Park Yong , Choi Chul Won , Kim In Sun , Yu Woosung , Hwang Hee Sang , Kim Byung Soo 
Published: May 2008

AbstractObjectives:  B‐cell activating factor of the tumor necrosis factor family (BAFF) and a proliferation‐inducing ligand (APRIL) regulate survival and proliferation of B cells. Thus the association of elevated serum levels of BAFF and APRIL with worse prognosis has been suggested in B‐cell lymphoid malignancies. However, the prognostic relevance of BAFF and APRIL is unknown in patients treated with rituximab, a monoclonal antibody targeting B‐cell depletion.Methods:  We measured serum levels of BAFF and APRIL by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay in 66 patients newly diagnosed as diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL). All patients were treated with rituximab‐CHOP chemotherapy.Results:  The mean (±standard deviation) serum level of BAFF (1 970.21 ± 1 979.45 pg/mL) was higher in DLBCL than in controls (861.03 ± 194.92 pg/mL, Mann–Whitney U‐test, P < 0.001). When the patients were dichotomized into high and low BAFF group based on the median value (1 258.00 pg/mL), high BAFF group had less numbers of complete responders to rituximab‐CHOP, and more relapses or progression after or during treatment. In multivariate analysis, serum BAFF was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival and progression‐free survival (P < 0.05). Although serum levels of APRIL was also higher than controls (10.60 ± 19.08 ng/mL vs. 1.10 ± 0.30 ng/mL, P = 0.023), it failed to show prognostic significance.Conclusions:  Serum BAFF may be a useful indicator predicting prognosis in DLBCL patients treated with rituximab‐containing chemotherapy.
A phase I clinical trial of the histone deacetylase inhibitor belinostat in patients with advanced hematological neoplasia
Authors: Gimsing Peter , Hansen Mads , Knudsen Lene M. , Knoblauch P. , Christensen Ib Jarle , Ooi Chean Eng , Buhl‐Jensen Peter 
Published: May 2008

AbstractPurpose:  To determine the safety, dose‐limiting toxicity and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of the novel hydroxamate histone deacetylase inhibitor belinostat (PXD101) in patients with advanced hematological neoplasms.Patients and methods:  Sequential dose‐escalating cohorts of three to six patients with hematological malignancies received belinostat administered as a 30‐min i.v. infusion on days 1–5 of a 21‐d cycle. Experience from a parallel dose‐finding study in patients with solid tumors influenced the selection of the final dose.Results:  Sixteen patients received belinostat at one of three dose levels: 600 mg/m2/d (three patients), 900 mg/m2/d (three patients) and 1000 mg/m2/d (10 patients), the dose determined to be the MTD in a phase I solid tumor study [Steele et al. (2008) Clin Cancer Res, 14, 804–10].The most common treatment‐related adverse events (all grades) were nausea (50%), vomiting (31%), fatigue (31%) and flushing (31%). No grade 3 or 4 hematological toxicity compared with baseline occurred except one case of grade 3 lymphopenia. There were two related grade 4 adverse events of renal failure observed. Both events occurred in patients with multiple myeloma and had similar characteristics, i.e. an acute episode of decrease in renal function (pre‐existing nephropathy in one patient), with a metabolic profile and decrease in tumor burden consistent with tumor lysis syndrome. No other related grade 4 events were noted. The only related grade 3 events noticed in more than one patient were fatigue and neurological symptoms (one patient had status epilepticus in association with uremia and one patient had paresthesia), all other related grade 3 events occurred in single patients. No cardiac events were noted.No complete or partial remissions were noted in these heavily pre‐treated (median of four prior regimens) patients. However, five patients, including two patients with diffuse large‐cell lymphoma [including one patient with transformed chronic myelomcytic leukaemia (CLL)], two patients with CLL and one patient with multiple myeloma, achieved disease stabilization in of two to nine treatment cycles.Conclusions:  Intravenous belinostat at 600, 900 and 1000 mg/m2/d is well tolerated by patients with hematological malignancies. The study was carried out in parallel to a similar dose‐finding study in patients with solid tumors, in which the MTD was determined to be 1000 mg/m2/d days 1–5 in a 21‐d cycle. This dose can also be recommended for phase II studies in patients with hematological neoplasms.
Foxp3 expression on normal and leukemic CD4+CD25+ T cells implicated in human T‐cell leukemia virus type‐1 is inconsistent with Treg cells
Authors: Abe Masaki , Uchihashi Kinya , Kazuto Tsuruda , Osaka Akemi , Yanagihara Katsunori , Tsukasaki Kunihiro , Hasegawa Hiroo , Yamada Yasuaki , Kamihira Shimeru 
Published: May 2008

AbstractFoxp3 is a master gene of Treg cells, a novel subset of CD4+ T cells primarily expressing CD25. We describe here different features in Foxp3 expression profile between normal and leukemic CD4+CD25+ T cells, using peripheral blood samples from healthy controls (HCs), human T‐cell leukemia virus type‐1 (HTLV‐1)‐infected asymptomatic carriers (ACs), patients with adult T‐cell leukemia (ATL), and various hematopoietic cell lines. The majority of CD4+CD25+ T cells in HCs were positive for Foxp3, but not all CD4+CD25+ T cells in ACs were positive, indicating that Foxp3 expression is not always linked to CD25 expression in normal T cells. Leukemic (ATL) T cells constitutively expressing CD25 were characteristic of heterogeneous Foxp3 expression, such as intra‐ and inter‐case heterogeneity in intensity, inconsistency with CD25 expression, and a discrepancy in the mRNA and its protein expression. Surprisingly, a discernible amount of Foxp3 mRNA was detectable even in most cell lines without CD25 expression, a small fraction of which was positive for the Foxp3 proteins. The subcellular localization of Foxp3 in HTLV‐1‐infected cell lines was mainly cytoplasmic, different from that of primary ATL cells. These findings indicate that Foxp3 has two facets: essential Treg identity and molecular mimicry secondary to tumorigenesis. Conclusively, Foxp3 in normal T cells, but not mRNA, is basically potent at discriminating a subset of Treg cells from CD25+ T‐cell populations, whereas the modulation of Foxp3 expression in leukemic T cells could be implicated in oncogenesis and has a potentially useful clinical role.
Enzootic simian piroplasm (Entopolypoides macaci ) in wild‐caught Kenyan non‐human primates
Authors: Jeneby M.M. , Ngeiywa M. , Yole D.S. , Mwenda J.M. , Suleman M.A. , Carlson H.E. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractBackground  Three species of non‐human primates comprising African green monkeys (AGMs), (Cercopithecus aethiops, n = 89), Syke’s monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis, n = 60) and olive baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis, n = 30), were screened for Entopolypoides macaci.Methods  Observation of blood smears prepared from these animals revealed E. macaci infection rate of 42.7% in AGMs, 35% in Syke’s monkeys and 33.3% in baboons.Results  Gender infection rate was 38.2% in females and 29% in males. Statistically, there was no significant difference in infection rates between the monkey species and sexes (P > 0.05). Subsequent indirect immuno fluorescent antibody test supported the morphological appearance of E. macaci observed by microscopy. Sera from infected animals reacted positively (1:625) with E. macaci antigen, but not to Babesia bigemina or B. bovis antigen at 1:125 titer.Conclusion  This study has revealed high prevalence of E. macaci infection in all three widely distributed Kenyan non‐human primates. With the continued use of these animals as models for human parasitic diseases, the presence of this highly enzootic parasite should be noted.
What's at Stake in Natural Law?
Authors: McIlroy David 
Published: May 2008

AbstractSomething like natural law is required if Christians are to say that Jesus Christ is as relevant to human beings of every age and in every place that we have ever existed as a race. There must be something stable about the human condition which means that we are all alike in need of a Saviour. That something is the fact that we are created to love God and to love our neighbour. This much is revealed to all humankind. For the Apostle Paul and Thomas Aquinas the natural law was not given as an alternative method of salvation but rather to explain the justice of God's judgment and the utter gratuity of divine grace. Similarly, natural theology is not an assertion that faith in Christ is optional but rather that all human beings are culpable if they do not recognise that there is a god who created them and rewards those who seek God. Natural theology is the minimum content of faith where Christ has not been proclaimed; it is no substitute for explicit faith in Christ when He has been revealed.
The Saint
Authors: Danaher James P. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractToday, within the Christian culture, the celebrity has replaced the idea of the saint. Very strangely, the celebrity is the dire opposite of the classic notion of the saint. Even more strikingly, the idea of celebrity runs contrary to Jesus' teachings. Of course, in Jesus' day, there were no celebrities, as we know them today. What passed for celebrities in his day were the rich and wealthy. They were the ones that everyone looked up to and admired, but Jesus tells us that they are actually the most unfortunate, and that wealth is the most dangerous of any of the idols that possess us and keep us from the fullness of life God has for us.
God, Soul, and Time in Priest and Swinburne
Authors: Göcke Benedikt Paul 
Published: May 2008

AbstractContra Swinburne I argue that God cannot exist within time. There is a sufficient condition for its being now now. Because the conception of God existing within time cannot account for this condition, it has to be rejected. Based on Priest I argue that God's creative act is this: to cause the actuality of the universe within the soul.
Oral health care in private and small long‐term care facilities: a qualitative study
Authors: De Mello Ana Lúcia Schaefer Ferreira , Padilha Dalva Maria Pereira 
Published: May 2008

Objective:  Elderly people who are institutionalised receive qualified care. Among the services supplied, oral health care has not always been a priority. The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics of oral health care provided to the elderly residents in long‐term care facilities (LTC) in Porto Alegre/RS city.Methods:  Twelve private and small‐size LTCs (less than 20 residents) participated in this study. All supervisors and 36 carers were interviewed. The data obtained were organised according to the offer of oral health under the following categories: responsibility for oral care, oral care routines, difficulties carrying out oral care routines.Results:  The procedures used most often in order of frequency were tooth brushing, prostheses cleaning, use of mouthwashes, soaking of prostheses and cleaning of the tongue. Among the difficulties mentioned were the high cost of dental assistance, the lack of co‐operation both by family members and by the elderly themselves, the oral and general health status of the elderly and the limited time available for carers to carry out the tasks. Oral care is conducted empirically, and the responsibility is left to the carers.Conclusions:  Analysis of the statements given reveals that oral care does not follow any kind of protocol or standardisation. The persistence of this situation could lead to unsatisfactory oral health care in private and small LTC facilities.
Clinical Trial Methodology in Premature Ejaculation Observational, Interventional, and Treatment Preference Studies—Part I—Defining and Selecting the Study Population
Authors: McMahon Chris G. 
Published: May 2008

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Large, well-designed observational or clinical efficacy and safety randomized clinical trials are required to identify the prevalence of premature ejaculation (PE) and its associated risk factors, to characterize the dimensions of PE and the basis for treatment-seeking behaviour, and to achieve regulatory approval of new drug treatments.

Aims
The objective of this article was to make recommendations for the criteria for defining and selecting the study population.

Main Outcome Measures
Contemporary published data on clinical trial design and the epidemiology, definitions, dimensions, and psychological impact of PE.

Methods
Contemporary data on the epidemiology, definitions, dimensions, and psychological impact of PE were reviewed, critiqued using the principles of evidence-based medicine, and incorporated into a series of evidence-based recommendations for standardization of patient selection for clinical trials in PE.

Results
Data from PE observational, interventional, and treatment preference studies are only reliable, interpretable, and capable of being generalized to patients with PE when study populations are defined by the constructs of an ejaculatory latency time of less than about 1 minute on all or nearly all occasions, the inability to delay ejaculation, and the presence of negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration, and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy.

Conclusion
These constructs can be incorporated into a multidimensional evidence-based definition of PE and/or single-item questions or multi-item diagnostic questionnaires. The International Society of Sexual Medicine definition of PE reflects the contemporary understanding of PE, represents the state-of-the-art multidimensional definition of PE, and is recommended as the basis of diagnosis of PE for all PE clinical trials.
Clinical Trial Methodology in Premature Ejaculation Observational, Interventional, and Treatment Preference Studies—Part II—Study Design, Outcome Measures, Data Analysis, and Reporting
Authors: McMahon Chris G. 
Published: May 2008

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Regulatory approval of new drug treatments for premature ejaculation (PE) demands evaluation in well-designed clinical efficacy and safety randomized clinical trials (RCTs).

Aims
The objective of this article was to make recommendations for trial design and efficacy outcome measures which comprise ideal PE observational, interventional, and treatment preference trial methodology.

Main Outcome Measures
Published data on clinical trial design, epidemiology, definitions, dimensions, and psychological impact of PE.

Methods
Data on the epidemiology, definitions, dimensions, and psychological impact of PE were reviewed, critiqued, and incorporated into a series of recommendations for standardization of PE clinical trial design, outcome measures, and reporting using the principles of evidence-based medicine.

Results
PE observational trials should be prospective and should provide quantitative or qualitative data derived from objective outcome measurements and/or the results of subject interview and other trial-specific investigations for analysis. PE drug trials should employ a double-blind RCT methodology and should include placebo control, active standard drug control, and/or dose comparison trials. Application of the placebo concept to psychotherapy intervention trials is complex and fraught with both conceptual and pragmatic problems. Criteria for the ideal PE preference trial are not yet determined but are likely to be a double-blind, crossover RCT of treatment-naive subjects using randomized drug sequences of equivalent drug doses. Ejaculatory latency time (ELT) and subject/partner outcome measures of control, personal/partner/relationship distress, and other study-specific outcome measures should be used as outcome measures. There is currently no published literature which identifies a clinically significant threshold response to intervention.

Conclusion
Data from PE observational, interventional, and preference studies are only reliable, interpretable, and capable of being generalized to patients with PE when derived from well-designed observational studies or intervention RCTs using ELT and subject/partner-reported outcome measures of perceived ejaculatory control and personal/partner/relationship distress are used as trial outcome measures.
Vectoring of Pepino mosaic virus by bumble‐bees in tomato greenhouses
Authors: Shipp J.L. , Buitenhuis R. , Stobbs L. , Wang K. , Kim W.S. , Ferguson G. 
Published: May 2008

Abstract Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) has become an important viral disease of greenhouse tomatoes worldwide. The ability of bumble‐bees (Bombus impatiens), used for pollination, to acquire and transmit PepMV was investigated, and the prevalence of PepMV in plants and bumble‐bees in commercial tomato greenhouses was determined. PepMV infection in plants was determined using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, while in bumble‐bees direct real‐time PCR was used. In the first experiment, the bumble‐bees were exposed for 14 days to PepMV‐infected plants. After 14 days, almost all bumble‐bees were PepMV positive both in the hive (78.5 ± 17.5%) and in the flowers (96.3 ± 3.6%). In the second experiment, bumble‐bees were released into a greenhouse with both PepMV‐infected source plants and healthy non‐infected target plants for 14 days. At the end of the experiment, 61.0 ± 19.5% of the bees collected from the hive and 83.3 ± 16.7% of the bees sampled from the flowers were PepMV positive. Bumble‐bees transmitted PepMV from the infected to the healthy non‐infected tomato plants. Two weeks after bumble‐bee release, the virus was detected in leaf, fruit and flower samples of formerly healthy plants. After 6 weeks, the percentage of PepMV positive samples from the target plants increased to 52.8 ± 2.8% of the leaves and 80.6 ± 8.4% of the fruits. In the control greenhouse without bumble‐bees, the target plants did not become infected. Based on the infection levels in flowers, fruits and leaves, the PepMV infection occurred possibly first in the pollinated flowers, and then spread from the fruit that developed from the flowers to other parts of the plant. In commercial greenhouses where PepMV was present, 92–100% of the plants and 88–100% of the bumble‐bees were PepMV positive. No infected plant samples were found in the control commercial greenhouse, but a small number of bumble‐bees (10%) tested PepMV positive.
Linguistic Capital and Academic Achievement of Canadian‐ and Foreign‐Born University Students
Authors: GRAYSON J. PAUL 
Published: May 2008

Au Canada, plusieurs universités prennent des mesures pour recruter des immigrants ou leurs enfants et satisfaire leurs besoins—et parmi eux plusieurs ont l'anglais comme langue seconde. Il n'y a pas de recherches au Canada qui comparent la progression potentielle du capital linguistique des étudiants ayant l'anglais comme langue seconde et celui des autres étudiants au fil de leur parcours universitaire, avec les relations entre les progressions du capital linguistique et de l'acquisition des connaissances. L'auteur montre dans cette étude que, contrairement aux étudiants canadiens et ceux nés à l'étranger pour lesquels l'anglais est la première langue, le capital linguistique des étudiants nés à l'étranger dont l'anglais est une langue seconde s'accroît au cours des quatre années d'études universitaires. Cependant, cette augmentation du capital linguistique ne correspond pas à une augmentation de l'acquisition des connaissances.In Canada, many universities are taking steps to recruit and meet the needs of immigrants and/or their sons and daughters, many of whom have English as a second language (ESL). There is, however, no research in Canada comparing potential increases in the linguistic capital of ESL and other students over the course of their university careers and the connection between increases in linguistic capital and academic achievement. In this study, it is shown that in contrast to Canadian‐ and foreign‐born students for whom English is a first language, and Canadian‐born ESL students, the linguistic capital of foreign‐born ESL students increases over 4 years of university study; however, this increase in linguistic capital is not paralleled by an increase in academic achievement.
Analysis of morphological vascular changes of hepatocellular carcinoma by microflow imaging using contrast‐enhanced sonography
Authors: Sugimoto Katsutoshi , Moriyasu Fuminori , Kamiyama Naohisa , Metoki Ryo , Yamada Masahiko , Imai Yasuharu , Iijima Hiroko 
Published: May 2008

Aim:  To determine whether the findings of microflow imaging (MFI), composed of a flash replenishment and a maximum intensity holding sequence, using contrast‐enhanced sonography, correlate with the degree of histological differentiation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods:  This study was approved by the institutional review board; patients gave informed consent. The samples comprised of 61 nodules histologically diagnosed as HCC: 20 well‐differentiated, 26 moderately‐differentiated, and 15 poorly‐differentiated HCC. SonoVue was used as the ultrasound (US) contrast agent. The US equipment used was a SSA‐770 A with the imaging mode set at MFI. MFI is an imaging method combining flash replenishment imaging and maximum intensity holding. Two independent readers (readers 1 and 2) classified the microflow images into four patterns: (i) normal pattern; (ii) cotton pattern; (iii) vascular pattern; and (iv) dead wood pattern. The results were compared with the degree of histopathological differentiation of the HCC.Results:  In each of the 61 HCC, blood vessels in the tumor were clearly resolved down to their fine branches. With regard to the relationship between imaging patterns and thehistological findings, it was found (with high percentages) that the normal and cotton patterns were associated with well‐differentiated HCC, that the vascular pattern was associated with moderately‐differentiated HCC, and that the dead wood pattern was associated with poorly‐differentiated HCC. If HCC with the normal and cotton patterns were assessed as well differentiated and those with the vascular or dead wood pattern were assessed as moderately or poorly differentiated, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of these assessments were found to be 85%, 92.7%, and 90%, respectively, for reader 1, and 85%, 82.9%, and 83.6%, respectively, for reader 2.Conclusion:  The angioarchitecture and hemodynamics of HCC could be evaluated in detail using MFI. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of a non‐invasive preoperative diagnosis of the histological differentiation of HCC using MFI.