bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Wheeze and asthma prevalence and related health‐service use in white and south Asian pre‐schoolchildren in the United Kingdom
Authors: Kuehni C. E. , Strippoli M.‐P. F. , Low N. , Brooke A. M. , Silverman M. 
Published: July 2007

SummaryBackground
Epidemiological data for south Asian children in the United Kingdom are contradictory, showing a lower prevalence of wheeze, but a higher rate of medical consultations and admissions for asthma compared with white children. These studies have not distinguished different asthma phenotypes or controlled for varying environmental exposures.Objective
To compare the prevalence of wheeze and related health‐service use in south Asian and white pre‐schoolchildren in the United Kingdom, taking into account wheeze phenotype (viral and multiple wheeze) and environmental exposures.Methods
A postal questionnaire was completed by parents of a population‐based sample of 4366 white and 1714 south Asian children aged 1–4 years in Leicestershire, UK. Children were classified as having viral wheeze or multiple trigger wheeze.Results
The prevalence of current wheeze was 35.6% in white and 25.5% in south Asian 1‐year‐olds (P<0.001), and 21.9% and 20.9%, respectively, in children aged 2–4 years. Odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence interval) for multiple wheeze and for viral wheeze, comparing south Asian with white children, were 2.21 (1.19–4.09) and 1.43 (0.77–2.65) in 2–4‐year‐olds after controlling for socio‐economic conditions, environmental exposures and family history. In 1‐year‐olds, the respective ORs for multiple and viral wheeze were 0.66 (0.47–0.92) and 0.81 (0.64–1.03). Reported GP consultation rates for wheeze and hospital admissions were greater in south Asian children aged 2–4 years, even after adjustment for severity, but the use of inhaled corticosteroids was lower.Conclusions
South Asian 2–4‐year‐olds are more likely than white children to have multiple wheeze (a condition with many features of chronic atopic asthma), after taking into account ethnic differences in exposure to some environmental agents. Undertreatment with inhaled corticosteroids might partly explain their greater use of health services.
Shaping ability of progressive versus constant taper instruments in curved root canals of extracted teeth
Authors: Yang G. B. , Zhou X. D. , Zheng Y. L. , Zhang H. , Shu Y. , Wu H. K. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractAim  To compare the shaping ability of progressive versus constant taper shaft instruments in curved root canals of extracted human teeth.Methodology  A total of 40 root canals of mandibular molars with curvatures ranging between 20° and 40° were divided into two groups of 20 canals each and embedded in a muffle system. The root canals sectioned horizontally at three levels before preparation and then remounted into the mould. All root canals were prepared with ProTaper (progressive taper) or Hero Shaper (constant taper) instruments. Pre‐ and post‐instrumentation radiographs and cross‐sectional images were obtained. The parameters evaluated were: working safety (instrument failure, apical blockage and loss of working length) and shaping ability (straightening, cross‐sectional area, transportation and centring ability). The data were analysed statistically using Student’s t‐test.Results  No instrument fractured during preparation. One Hero Shaper instrument permanently deformed. Both instrument systems maintained working length well. The canals prepared with Hero Shaper instruments were straightened to a lesser degree (P < 0.05). ProTaper instruments removed more dentine in the coronal and the middle sections of the canals. Canals prepared with Hero Shaper instruments had less transportation (P < 0.01) and better centring ability (P < 0.05) in the apical section.Conclusions  Both instrument systems were safe to use and maintained working length well. The canals prepared with Hero Shaper had less transportation and were better centred in the apical region, possibly because their smaller taper reduced instrument stiffness.
A long‐term effect of caries‐related factors in initially caries‐free children
Authors: COGULU DILSAH , ERSIN NAZAN KOCATAS , UZEL ATAC , ERONAT NESRIN , AKSIT SADIK 
Published: July 2007

Aim.  The aim of this study was to examine the rate and pattern of early childhood caries development in caries‐free children based on their dental plaque accumulations, salivary Streptococcus mutans levels, maternal sharing, oral hygiene, and feeding attitudes at baseline and at 24‐month follow‐up period.Design.  A total of 92 children, aged between 15 to 35 months, comprised the study group. The children's dental examinations were first carried out at baseline, and 56 of them were re‐examined 24 months later to determine the changes in dental status. The mothers were also interviewed at each examination based on a prepared questionnaire.Results.  The prevalence of caries incidence was 45% at 24‐month evaluation period among initially caries‐free children. The new caries formation was mostly observed on occlusal and aproximal surfaces of maxillary molars (28% and 26%) followed by mesial, distal and buccal surfaces of anterior teeth, respectively. Significant correlations between dental caries formation and maternal sharing, S. mutans levels, and plaque scores were found.Conclusion.  The results indicated that early S. mutans colonization, high plaque accumulation, and maternal sharing were important factors on a child's caries development.
Reaction of children to dental injection with 27‐ or 30‐gauge needles
Authors: RAM DIANA , HERMIDA B LAURA , AMIR ERICA 
Published: July 2007

Aim.  The purpose of this study was to assess children's reaction while receiving dental local anaesthesia with a 27‐ and a 30‐gauge needle and to record their sensation.Methods.  Ninety‐five children (43 boys and 52 girls) participated in this study. A random crossover design was used so that each child served as his or her own control, receiving each treatment on the opposite sides of the same arch (right vs. left). Each patient received an injection either with a 27‐ or 30‐gauge needle during the first visit and during the second visit with the other needle. Objective and subjective evaluation were performed.Results.  Children's reactions to maxillary buccal infiltration either with a 27‐ or 30‐gauge needle were similar. Significantly more children cried while receiving mandibular block injection with a 27‐gauge needle than they did when receiving the injection with a 30‐gauge needle (P = 0.002). According to subjective evaluation, most children rated both injections as a positive, nonpainful experience.Conclusions.  Mandibular block is less unpleasant, and children cry less when administered with a 30‐gauge needle than they do when it is delivered with a 27‐gauge needle. No difference in crying during injection is observed when maxillary infiltration is provided with 27‐ or 30‐gauge needles.
Assessments of habitat preferences and quality depend on spatial scale and metrics of fitness
Authors: CHALFOUN ANNA D. , MARTIN THOMAS E. 
Published: July 2007

SummaryIdentifying the habitat features that influence habitat selection and enhance fitness is critical for effective management. Ecological theory predicts that habitat choices should be adaptive, such that fitness is enhanced in preferred habitats. However, studies often report mismatches between habitat preferences and fitness consequences across a wide variety of taxa based on a single spatial scale and/or a single fitness component.We examined whether habitat preferences of a declining shrub steppe songbird, the Brewer's sparrowSpizella breweri, were adaptive when multiple reproductive fitness components and spatial scales (landscape, territory and nest patch) were considered.We found that birds settled earlier and in higher densities, together suggesting preference, in landscapes with greater shrub cover and height. Yet nest success was not higher in these landscapes; nest success was primarily determined by nest predation rates. Thus landscape preferences did not match nest predation risk. Instead, nestling mass and the number of nesting attempts per pair increased in preferred landscapes, raising the possibility that landscapes were chosen on the basis of food availability rather than safe nest sites.At smaller spatial scales (territory and nest patch), birds preferred different habitat features (i.e. density of potential nest shrubs) that reduced nest predation risk and allowed greater season‐long reproductive success.Synthesis and applications.Habitat preferences reflect the integration of multiple environmental factors across multiple spatial scales, and individuals may have more than one option for optimizing fitness via habitat selection strategies. Assessments of habitat quality for management prescriptions should ideally include analysis of diverse fitness consequences across multiple ecologically relevant spatial scales.
Effects of selection cutting on the abundance and fertility of indicator lichens Lobaria pulmonaria and Lobaria quercizans
Authors: Edman Mattias , Eriksson Anna‐Maria , Villard Marc‐André 
Published: July 2007

Summary

Although selection cutting is probably less harmful to forest ecosystems than clear cutting, its effects on biodiversity remain largely unexplored. We investigated the previously unstudied effects of selection cutting on the abundance and fertility of two dominating species of epiphytic lichens, Lobaria pulmonaria and Lobaria quercizans, in a northern hardwood forest of New Brunswick, Canada.
Twenty‐eight forest stands were selected representing two contrasting silvicultural treatments: fairly recent selection cuts (5–9 years) and ‘uncut’ stands that had been subjected to low‐intensity single‐tree cutting at least 35 years ago. Within each stand, we quantified the abundance and fertility of lichens on 36 trees together with selected forest stand variables.
Although both species had survived harvesting, the abundance of L. quercizans and L. pulmonaria was four and five times higher, respectively, in uncut stands than in selection cuts. The most important predictive factors for lichen abundance at the stand level were total basal area and canopy closure, which were much lower in selection cuts. Furthermore, the abundance of both species at the tree level was significantly correlated with tree size.
Most interestingly, fertile L. quercizans and L. pulmonaria were, respectively, five and 26 times more frequent in uncut stands. In addition, for L. pulmonaria the fertility frequency was only 3% in selection cuts, compared with 37% in uncut stands. The fertility of both lichen species was strongly correlated with their abundance at the tree level.
Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that selection cutting has a strong impact on the abundance and fertility of these two Lobaria species, and that studies ignoring fertility may underestimate the negative effects of forestry on lichens. To reduce the negative effects we have three recommendations. (i) Large trees from old seral stages should be retained during selection cuts. (ii) The cutting cycle should be extended and the basal area removed should be reduced. These actions would improve the microclimate, increase the amount of suitable habitat and prolong the time window for lichen colonization in selection cuts. (iii) Some mature deciduous forest stands should be protected at the regional scale. This would promote the long‐term persistence of large, sexually reproductive lichen populations and concurrently benefit all species tightly linked with mature hardwood forests.
Efforts going to the dogs? Evaluating attempts to re‐introduce endangered wild dogs in South Africa
Authors: Gusset Markus , Ryan Sadie J. , Hofmeyr Markus , Van Dyk Gus , Davies‐Mostert Harriet T. , Graf Jan A. , Owen Cailey , Szykman Micaela , Macdonald David W. , Monfort Steven L. , Wildt David E. , Maddock Anthony H. , Mills M. Gus L. , Slotow Rob , Somers Michael J. 
Published: July 2007

Summary

We evaluated one of the most extensive efforts to date to re‐introduce an endangered species: attempts to establish an actively managed meta‐population of African wild dogs Lycaon pictus in South Africa.
Using an information‐theoretic approach, known‐fate modelling in program mark was employed to estimate the survival of re‐introduced wild dogs and their offspring, and to model covariate effects relative to survival. Multiple a priori hypotheses on correlates of re‐introduction success were tested (collated from extensive individual experiences) using different re‐introduction attempts as natural quasi experiments.
Survival analyses revealed that the determinants of re‐introduction success can be reduced to two factors relevant for management, suggesting that wild dog re‐introductions should be attempted with socially integrated animals that are released into securely fenced areas, unless measures are implemented to mitigate human‐related mortalities outside protected areas.
Synthesis and application. This study illustrates that monitoring and evaluation of conservation efforts, complimented with expert knowledge, forms the foundation of informed decision‐making to underpin management recommendations with scientific evidence, particularly if the proposed actions are controversial.
Delivering feedback on learning organization characteristics – using a Learning Practice Inventory
Authors: Kelly Diane R. , Lough Murray , Rushmer Rosemary , Wilkinson Joyce E. , Greig Gail , Davies Huw T. O. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractRationale, aims and objectives  Learning is recognized to be at the heart of the quality improvement process in the National Health Service (NHS). However, the challenge will be how to ensure that learning becomes embedded within the NHS culture. The aim of this study is to identify a robust feedback process and format in which practices could receive data on their responses to a Learning Practice Inventory (a diagnostic instrument designed to identify a practice’s capacity for collective learning and change).Method  Five practices volunteered to test the instrument, and it was distributed to all members of the primary care team. A process was worked through to identify different formats for presenting scores within and between practices. The preferred method of data presentation was sought, and an evaluation gathered information on the preferred form of feedback, the usefulness of the data, the clarity of the questions and the level of interest in receiving further information.Results  Eighty‐five staff from five practices completed the questionnaire, and 61 individuals completed the evaluation forms. In most cases, there was a spread of scores by staff within practices and across the scale of 1–10. Medians were clustered at the learning practice end for all five practices. However, despite this skew, there were sometimes quite large differences between practices in their median scores.Conclusion  Our study suggests that a robust feedback process on collective capacity for learning and change can be identified that is useful and feasible. A key implication is that some form of educational support is required, and this work will take place as part of an ongoing programme of research by the authors.
PPARs and their metabolic modulation: new mechanisms for transcriptional regulation?
Authors: Ahmed W. , Ziouzenkova O. , Brown J. , Devchand P. , Francis S. , Kadakia M. , Kanda T. , Orasanu G. , Sharlach M. , Zandbergen F. , Plutzky J. 
Published: July 2007

Abstract.Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptors (PPARs) as ligand‐activated nuclear receptors involved in the transcriptional regulation of lipid metabolism, energy balance, inflammation, and atherosclerosis are at the intersection of key pathways involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Synthetic PPAR agonists like fibrates (PPAR‐α) and thiazolidinediones (PPAR‐γ) are in therapeutic use to treat dyslipidaemia and diabetes. Despite strong encouraging in vitro, animal model, and human surrogate marker studies with these agents, recent prospective clinical cardiovascular trials have yielded mixed results, perhaps explained by concomitant drug use, study design, or a lack of efficacy of these agents on cardiovascular disease (independent of their current metabolic indications). The use of PPAR agents has also been limited by untoward effects. An alternative strategy to PPAR therapeutics is better understanding PPAR biology, the nature of natural PPAR agonists, and how these molecules are generated. Such insight might also provide valuable information about pathways that protect against the metabolic problems for which PPAR agents are currently indicated. This approach underscores the important distinction between the effects of synthetic PPAR agonists and the unequivocal biologic role of PPARs as key transcriptional regulators of metabolic and inflammatory pathways relevant to diabetes and atherosclerosis.
The PilA protein of non‐typeable Haemophilus influenzae plays a role in biofilm formation, adherence to epithelial cells and colonization of the mammalian upper respiratory tract
Authors: Jurcisek Joseph A. , Bookwalter James E. , Baker Beth D. , Fernandez Soledad , Novotny Laura A. , Munson Robert S. , Bakaletz Lauren O. 
Published: July 2007

SummaryWe recently described the expression of type IV pili (Tfp) by non‐typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI), a common respiratory tract pathogen. Prior to that report, Tfp were not thought to be produced by NTHI as they are not observed on NTHI when grown on chocolate agar or other commonly used growth media. To further characterize growth conditions permissive for the expression of NTHI Tfp, as well as determine their role in colonization and virulence, we transformed an NTHI otitis media isolate with a reporter plasmid containing the lux gene cluster driven by the pilA promoter. Transcription from the pilA promoter was demonstrated under a variety of in vitro growth conditions and, importantly, by ex vivo imaging of luciferase‐producing NTHI in infected chinchillas. Luciferase‐producing NTHI were also identified within a biofilm formed by NTHI in vivo. We further demonstrated a role for NTHI PilA in adherence to human respiratory epithelial cells, in colonization of the chinchilla respiratory tract as well as a requirement for PilA in biofilm development, both in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, our data demonstrate that NTHI express PilA in vivo, and that PilA plays an important role in the pathogenesis of an upper respiratory tract infection induced by NTHI.
Acute but not chronic macrophage recruitment in filarial infections in mice is dependent on C‐C chemokine ligand 2
Authors: RAMESH M. , PACIORKOWSKI N. , DASH Y. , SHULTZ L. , RAJAN T. V. 
Published: July 2007

summary Macrophages play an important role in the formation of granulomas and the clearance of Brugia pahangi infections in mice. However, the factors responsible for the recruitment of these cells to the site of infection are not known. In this study we examined the role of the C‐C chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2; also known as macrophage chemotactic factor – MCP1) in macrophage recruitment in intraperitoneal infections with B. pahangi. We observed that CCL2 was expressed by peritoneal exudate cells and was present in the sera of wild‐type mice. Serum levels of CCL2 peaked twice during the immune response, once during the early, acute phase and again during the late, chronic phase. To further elucidate the role of this chemokine in the anti‐filarial immune response, we compared CCL2 deficient (CCL2−/–) mice to wild‐type mice. We observed that macrophage recruitment was impaired only during the acute phase in the former. While macrophage recruitment was unaffected during the chronic phase, increased accumulation of B and T lymphocytes was seen in these mice. We further report that larval clearance and the in vitro adhesion of PECs to larvae were unimpaired in these mice.
Heligmosomoides polygyrus infection down‐regulates eotaxin concentration and CCR3 expression on lung eosinophils in murine allergic pulmonary inflammation
Authors: RZEPECKA J. , DONSKOW‐SCHMELTER K. , DOLIGALSKA M. 
Published: July 2007

SUMMARY There is growing evidence that helminth infections might suppress allergic responses by mechanisms potentially involving regulatory T lymphocytes, cytokines, helminth molecules and polyclonal IgE. Heligmosomoides polygyrus infection in mice is associated with reduced local and systemic immune responses, thus providing an excellent model to study the mechanisms of immune regulation. In this research, we examined the way that nematode infection modulates the influx of eosinophils into the airways of asthmatic mice. We observed a reduction in the total number and percentage of lung eosinophils that coincided with decreased levels of eotaxin in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), lower expression of the CCR3 receptor on eosinophils and impaired chemotaxis of these cells toward eotaxin. We conclude that allergen‐induced immune response was down‐regulated as production of Th1 (IFN‐γ)‐, Th2 (IL‐4, IL‐5)‐ and Treg (IL‐10)‐related cytokines as well as IL‐6 and TNF‐α was diminished upon nematode infection. We postulate that attenuation of allergic inflammation during H. polygyrus infection is a consequence of the dichotomy of the immune response in the face of concurrent antigenic challenge.
Immune response to Haemonchus contortus infection in susceptible (INRA 401) and resistant (Barbados Black Belly) breeds of lambs
Authors: TEREFE G. , LACROUX C. , ANDREOLETTI O. , GRISEZ C. , PREVOT F. , BERGEAUD J. P. , PENICAUD J. , ROUILLON V. , GRUNER L. , BRUNEL J. C. , FRANCOIS D. , BOUIX J. , DORCHIES P. , JACQUIET P. 
Published: July 2007

Summary The immune responses to Haemonchus contortus were compared in studies in resistant Barbados Black Belly (BBB) and susceptible INRA 401 (INRA) breeds of lambs. The cytokine patterns indicated a Th2‐biased response in both breeds. A more persistent and elevated Th2 cytokine mRNA transcription and blood eosinophilia were noted in the BBB lambs. However, at days 4 and 30 post‐infection, abomasal recruitment of eosinophils and mast cells were similar between the two breeds. Following primary infections, the BBB demonstrated a substantially lower faecal egg count compared to the INRA lambs. Furthermore, worm counts at 4 and 30 days post‐infection, and adult female worm size and in utero egg counts 30 days after the first infection were significantly lower in the BBB than in the INRA breed. In the INRA breed, re‐infection caused a significant reduction in most parasitological parameters compared with those observed after the primary infection. A similar response was not observed in the BBB sheep. In conclusion, while the major driving force in the response to H. contortus infection is a Th2‐biased immunity in which the BBB showed its maximal performance during the primary infection, the INRA breed performed better after re‐infection compared to its response to first exposure.