bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sure Start: voices of the ‘hard‐to‐reach’
Authors: Coe C. , Gibson A. , Spencer N. , Stuttaford M. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractObjectives  This research aimed to look in depth at the factors affecting the ability of four Sure Start local programmes, based in a multicultural Midlands city, to engage with ‘hard‐to‐reach’ populations.Methods  A variety of research strategies and methods were employed. Geographical information systems, participatory research methods and interviews were used in order to understand the extent of the challenge, and hear first hand, why parents may not get involved with Sure Start. The mapping exercise involved collation and mapping of postcode data with respect to boundaries and potential and actual users of Sure Start services. This made possible the identification of any geographical patterning in the distribution of service users and non‐users. Participatory research methods were used with parents, enabling them to conduct short interviews within their own communities and make sense of the data collected. Interviews were also conducted with 70 parents across the city, recruited through local schools.Results  The results indicate that parental decisions regarding Sure Start are the product of a complex interaction between numerous factors which may act as either barriers or facilitators to service utilization.Conclusions  The results suggest that a multi‐method approach to data collection is useful and appropriate in gaining access to those parents who are non‐users of the Sure Start services and enabling their voices to be heard. These findings offer some explanations and insight into the apparent ambivalent attitudes of some families toward Sure Start services. Implications for future practice are discussed.
Prevalence of overweight and obesity in urban and semi‐urban Jordanian children aged 3–6 years
Authors: Ibrahim A. I. , Hawamdeh Z. M. , Al‐Smadi J. T. , Ammari B. A. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractObjectives  To show the prevalence of overweight and obesity among the Jordanian urban and semi‐urban children; to compare their body mass index (BMI) with the international standards of BMI.Methods  We measured 1695 healthy children (842 boys and 853 girls) between 3 and 6 years for height, weight and mid upper arm circumference. BMI was calculated and transformed into percentiles. Children were divided into boys and girls.Results  The mean and SD values of BMI observed in our study were 16.69 ± 4.9 kg/m2 for boys and 16.82 ± 4.77 kg/m2 for girls aged 3–6 years. The prevalence of obesity and overweight among boys was 20.8% and 3.8% respectively and among girls was 19.1% and 7.2% respectively. In total, 48.0% of boys and 38.1% of girls were of healthy weight.Conclusions  The mean BMI observed in our study's children aged 3–6 years was higher than the expected 50th percentile of the (World Health Organization/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reference values for a similar age range but, it was equivalent to the 75th percentile values. Obesity was more frequent than overweight among boys and girls aged 3–6 years.
Are we following the European charter? Children, parents and staff perceptions
Authors: Migone M. , Mc Nicholas F. , Lennon R. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractBackground  In 1988, the European Association for Children in Hospital (EACH) established a charter of rights setting out the guiding principles for the treatment of children in hospital. Our aim was to ascertain whether children, parents and staff in a children's hospital believe the European Charter is conformed to.Methods  A total of 111 parents (response rate = 90%), 50 children (response rate = 100%), 61 nurses (response rate = 55%) and 41 doctors (response rate = 25%) agreed to participate. Questionnaires based on the 10 rights in the EACH Charter were administered to children, parents and staff.Results  The majority of children and parents were happy with the relationship they had with staff. However, the findings suggest that children, parents and staff are concerned with the lack of facilities in hospital, including parental accommodation, play, education, age‐appropriate wards and lack of privacy. Staff felt that many children undergo unnecessary admission and treatment in hospital. Many staff are reluctant to discuss issues such as side effects of medications with patients and do not encourage children to ask questions. Contrary to expectations, clinicians were reluctant to consider children under 16 as capable of giving consent, and most parents and children felt that children should be over 17 and 18 respectively.Conclusion  This paper highlights patients' and staff's perceptions regarding children's rights in hospital and discusses the changes needed to fully conform to the EACH Charter.
Airway inflammation induced after allergic poly‐sensitization can be prevented by mucosal but not by systemic administration of poly‐peptides
Authors: Hufnagl K. , Focke M. , Gruber F. , Hufnagl P. , Loupal G. , Scheiner O. , Wiedermann U. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryBackground
Patients with multiple sensitizations require alternative forms of treatment, as the efficacy of conventional immunotherapy is unsatisfactory.Objective
In the present study, we sought to compare the efficacy of a subcutaneously (s.c.) and a mucosally applied polyvalent vaccine to reduce allergic immune responses within airway and lung tissues.Methods
Female BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally immunized with recombinant (r)Bet v 1, rPhl p 1 and rPhl p 5, followed by an aerosol challenge of birch and phleum pollen extract. For tolerance induction, either a mixture of the immunodominant peptides or a hybrid peptide of the respective antigens was s.c. injected or intranasally applied before poly‐sensitization.Results
Mucosal but not systemic pre‐treatment with poly‐peptides led to significant suppression of eosinophils and IL‐5 production in bronchoalveolar lavages, as well as IL‐5, IL‐4, IL‐13 and eotaxin levels in lung cell cultures. Lung histology showed a clear reduction of cellular infiltration and mucus production only in intranasally pre‐treated mice. In accordance, also the systemic immune response, characterized by IgE‐dependent basophil degranulation and IL‐4 levels in vitro, was significantly reduced by mucosal antigen application, but only marginally influenced by subcutaneous pre‐treatment. Both treatment routes led to up‐regulated CTLA4 expression in splenocytes, whereas only after mucosal pre‐treatment Foxp3 expression levels were enhanced in lung CD3+ T cells. Furthermore, intranasal but not subcutaneous application of the peptides enhanced IL‐10 levels in the lungs, indicating regulatory mechanisms operating in local tolerance induction.Conclusion
Mucosal application of peptides is superior to systemic application in preventing both local and systemic poly‐allergic T helper2 immune responses, suggesting mucosal tolerance induction as an attractive strategy for the primary and secondary prevention of allergic multi‐sensitization and lung pathology.
How the presence of rhinoconjunctivitis and the severity of asthma modify the relationship between obesity and asthma in children 6–7 years old
Authors: Garcia‐Marcos L. , Arnedo Pena A. , Busquets‐Monge R. , Morales Suárez‐Varela M. , García de Andoin N. , Batlles‐Garrido J. , Blanco‐Quirós A. , López‐Silvarrey Varela A. , García‐Hernández G. , Aguinaga‐Ontoso I. , González‐Díaz C. , Garcia‐Merino A. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryBackground
The association between asthma and obesity in children, and the effect modification of allergy on this association have not been fully established.Aims
The objective of the study was to know the effect modification of the severity of asthma and of the coexistence of rhinoconjunctivitis (RC) in the relationship between obesity and asthma.Methods
A cross‐sectional study of 17 145 schoolchildren 6–7 years old from eight Spanish cities who had completed information on height and weight of the ISAAC phase III questionnaire, which also included questions about asthma and RC symptoms and on various risk factors. Body mass index (BMI) was used to define obesity according to international standards. Two different logistic regressions, using current occasional asthma (COA) and current severe asthma (CSA) as dependent variables, were made stratifying for gender and for the coexistence of RC and controlling for age, older and younger siblings, exercise, mother's education, truck traffic, cat/dog during the first year of life and smoking father or mother.Results
Obesity was a risk factor of CSA without RC, both for boys (1.92, CI 95% 1.13–3.25) and for girls (2.99, CI 95% 1.68–5.32). Every BMI unit increment increased by 6.7% the risk of CSA without RC in boys and by 12.4% in girls. Obesity was not a risk factor for CSA with RC. The association between COA and obesity was weaker and the coexistence of RC did not modify it greatly.Conclusions
Obese schoolchildren are more at risk of suffering from non‐allergic asthma than the non‐obese subjects.
Hypertonic saline cough provocation test with salbutamol pre‐treatment: evidence for sensorineural dysfunction in asthma
Authors: Koskela H. O. , Purokivi M. K. , Kontra K. M. , Taivainen A. H. , Tukiainen H. O. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryBackground
Cough is one of the most common symptoms of asthma. However, studies using capsaicin, citric acid, or tartaric acid to document cough threshold have repeatedly failed to show statistically significant differences between asthmatic and healthy subjects. The studies using hypertonic aerosols as the cough stimulant have suggested an enhanced sensitivity in asthmatic subjects but the induced bronchoconstriction has made the interpretation of the results difficult.Objective
To determine the cough sensitivity to hypertonicity in healthy subjects, patients with chronic cough, and patients with asthma in a setting where the induction of bronchoconstriction is prevented.Methods
Nineteen healthy subjects, 21 non‐asthmatic patients with chronic cough, and 26 asthmatic patients with chronic cough underwent an incremental hypertonic saline challenge including a pre‐treatment with 0.4 mg of salbutamol. Spirometry was performed before the challenge, after salbutamol, and after the challenge. The patients with cough also underwent skin testing, histamine challenge, exhaled nitric oxide measurement, ambulatory peak flow monitoring, kept cough diary, and filled in the Leicester Cough Questionnaire. Eighteen patients repeated the saline challenge.Results
The challenge did not induce bronchoconstriction in any group. The osmolality to provoke 15 cumulative coughs was significantly smaller in the asthmatic patients than in the healthy subjects (P<0.001) and in the cough patients without asthma (P=0.04). According to multivariate analysis among all the 47 patients with cough, female sex (P<0.001) and large spontaneous peak flow variation in the ambulatory recording (P=0.001) were associated with high sensitivity to saline. The saline challenge response was well repeatable (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.90).Conclusion
The findings of the present study are not affected by induced bronchoconstriction. Asthma or, more specifically, spontaneous, reversible airway obstruction is associated with an enhanced sensitivity to the cough‐provoking effect of hypertonic saline. This suggests a pathological function of the sensorineural apparatus in this disorder.
Avoidance of egg parasitism through submerged oviposition by tandem pairs in the water strider, Aquarius paludum insularis (Heteroptera: Gerridae)
Authors: AMANO HIDEKI , HAYASHI KOOJI , KASUYA EIITI 
Published: May 2008

Abstract 1. Females of the water strider Aquarius paludum insularis (Motschulsky) (Heteroptera: Gerridae) carry males on their backs and oviposit under water after copulation. This study focuses on the benefit A. paludum insularis receives by ovipositing in tandem.2. Males guarded females in tandem through to the end of oviposition in 85% of copulations. Females in tandem dived deeper than single females, and the density of A. paludum insularis eggs increased with water depth. The proportion of eggs parasitized by a scelionid wasp, Tiphodytes gerriphagus Marchal (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) decreased with increasing water depth.3. These results suggest that during oviposition guarding by males is beneficial for females, because it enables pairs to dive and lay eggs deeper and in oviposition sites where the risk of egg parasitism is lower.
Avoidance of the host immune response by a generalist parasitoid,Compsilura concinnataMeigen
Authors: CARON VALERIE , JANMAAT ALIDA F. , ERICSSON JERRY D. , MYERS JUDITH H. 
Published: May 2008

Abstract1. Ecological interactions between parasitoids and their hosts are extremely strong as parasitoid offspring rely entirely on an individual host to complete development. The ability of a parasitoid to use a host is influenced directly by the degree to which the parasitoid can overcome host defences and grow within the host.2. Hymenopteran parasitoids have evolved different host‐specific strategies to defeat the host immune system, such as the use of venom, endosymbiont virus, or mimicking the host tissue. Dipteran parasitoids from the Tachinidae family do not use these subterfuges and rely mainly on avoiding the host immune system by hiding in specific tissues.3. Little is known of the effect of this strategy on the host immune system, the absorption of nutrients by the parasitoid larvae, or the implications for parasitoid host range.4. In this study, the impact of a polyphagous tachinid parasitoidCompsilura concinnataMeigen on a pest lepidopteranTrichoplusia niHübner are assessed. Phenoloxidase levels and haemolymph proteins were measured in parasitisedT. nias a function of host immune response.5. Haemolymph phenoloxidase in the host did not vary with parasitisation but was triggered when a piece of monofilament was implanted in the haemocoel. Haemolymph proteins were depleted in heavily parasitisedT. ni.6. These results indicate thatC. concinnatahas a strategy that avoids the host immune system, and accesses the necessary nutrients for larval growth. This strategy could explain the success of this tachinid and its wide host range.
Life‐history strategy in an oligophagous tephritid: the tomato fruit fly, Neoceratitis cyanescens
Authors: BRÉVAULT THIERRY , DUYCK PIERRE‐FRANÇOIS , QUILICI SERGE 
Published: May 2008

Abstract 1. In phytophagous insects, life‐history traits mainly depend on host plant range. Substantial longevity, high fecundity and larval competition are the major traits of polyphagous Tephritidae while species with a restricted host range generally exhibit a lower longevity and fecundity as well as mechanisms to avoid larval competition. Our aim in this study was to investigate the life history of an oligophagous species, the tomato fruit fly, Neoceratitis cyanescens (Bezzi).2. We determined life tables under laboratory conditions in order to calculate the main demographic parameters of N. cyanescens and studied the influence of larval and adult diet on life‐history traits.3. The mean longevity of N. cyanescens females was 40 days. There was a strong synchronisation of female maturity. Oviposition showed an early peak at 9–13 days after a short pre‐oviposition period (6 days). The absence of proteins in the adult diet both delayed ovarian maturation and decreased female fecundity. In addition, females originating from tomato fruits produced significantly more eggs than females originating from bugweed or black nightshade, showing that even the larval host plant may strongly affect the subsequent fecundity of adult females.4. The traits of N. cyanescens are then discussed in the light of those documented for polyphagous and monophagous tephritids. Neoceratitis cyanescens displayed attributes intermediate between those of polyphagous and monophagous tephritids. Its smaller clutch size compared with polyphagous species and its specialisation on the Solanaceae family whose fruits contain toxic compounds may help in reducing intra‐ and inter‐specific competition, respectively.
Avoidance responses of an aphidophagous ladybird, Adalia bipunctata, to aphid‐tending ants
Authors: OLIVER THOMAS H. , JONES IAN , COOK JAMES M. , LEATHER SIMON R. 
Published: May 2008

Abstract 1. Insect predators often aggregrate to patches of high prey density and use prey chemicals as cues for oviposition. If prey have mutualistic guardians such as ants, however, then these patches may be less suitable for predators.2. Ants often tend aphids and defend them against predators such as ladybirds. Here, we show that ants can reduce ladybird performance by destroying eggs and physically attacking larvae and adults.3. Unless ladybirds are able to defend against ant attacks they are likely to have adaptations to avoid ants. We show that Adalia bipunctata ladybirds not only move away from patches with Lasius niger ants, but also avoid laying eggs in these patches. Furthermore, ladybirds not only respond to ant presence, but also detect ant semiochemicals and alter oviposition strategy accordingly.4. Ant semiochemicals may signal the extent of ant territories allowing aphid predators to effectively navigate a mosaic landscape of sub‐optimal patches in search of less well‐defended prey. Such avoidance probably benefits both ants and ladybirds, and the semiochemicals could be regarded as a means of cooperative communication between enemies.5. Overall, ladybirds respond to a wide range of positive and negative oviposition cues that may trade‐off with each other and internal motivation to determine the overall oviposition strategy.
Desmoplastic trichoepithelioma versus morphoeic basal cell carcinoma: a critical reappraisal of histomorphological and immunohistochemical criteria for differentiation
Authors: Costache M , Bresch M , Böer A 
Published: May 2008

Aims:  It is often difficult to differentiate between cases of desmoplastic trichoepithelioma (DTE) and morphoeic basal cell carcinoma (MBCC) because both lesions have many features in common. The aim was to clarify which criteria for differentiation offer the best basis for diagnosis.Methods and results:  Nineteen cases of DTE were compared histologically and immunohistochemically with 18 cases of MBCC (using CD34, CD10, cytokeratin (CK) 20, androgen receptor, Bcl‐2, Ki67 and p53 immunohistochemistry). Sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative likelihood ratios were calculated. Convincing diagnostic evidence for DTE was identified for the following features: symmetry, good circumscription, depression in the lesion’s centre. However, these features are applicable only to excisional specimens, not to specimens taken by punch biopsy. Signs of infundibular, follicular or sebaceous differentiation, calcification, osteoma, association with a melanocytic naevus, and absence of solar elastosis below the lesion provided equally robust diagnostic evidence for DTE. Immunohistochemically, only staining of Merkel cells with CK20 and negativity of aggregations with androgen receptors were diagnostically convincing for DTE. Ki67 and p53 revealed significant differences, but a lower positive likelihood ratio.Conclusion:  Histopathologistics need to identify with confidence subtle signs of infundibular, follicular and sebaceous differentiation because these features are dependable criteria to differentiate DTE from MBCC. Immunohistochemistry for androgen receptors and CK20 is helpful, but interpretation is difficult in some DTEs when few cells are immunopositive for these markers.
COX‐2 expression in sporadic colorectal adenomatous polyps is linked to adenoma characteristics
Authors: McLean M H , Murray G I , Fyfe N , Hold G L , Mowat N A G , El‐Omar E M 
Published: May 2008

Aims: To assess cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) expression in sporadic colonic adenomas and to explore the association of COX‐2 positivity with adenoma characteristics linked to increased risk of malignant transformation.Methods and results: COX‐2 expression and localization were assessed in 64 colorectal adenomas and 35 paired adjacent normal colonic mucosal biopsy specimens. The number of adenoma specimens was then extended to include polyps exhibiting an increasing degree of epithelial dysplasia. Forty colonic hyperplastic polyps were also identified from the pathology diagnostic database and included in the analysis. Immunohistochemistry was performed with the Envision+TM peroxidase‐linked biotin‐free system incorporating a signal amplification step. There was a statistically significant increase in COX‐2 expression in colonic polyps compared with paired adjacent normal mucosa, χ2 = 40.1, P = 0.001. The probability of COX‐2 expression increased along with increasing adenoma size and increasing degree of epithelial dysplasia. Fifty‐five per cent of the hyperplastic polyp specimens expressed COX‐2.Conclusions: This study associates COX‐2 epithelial expression with a number of adenoma characteristics that convey an increased risk of malignant transformation. This is in keeping with a positive role for COX‐2 in early colorectal carcinogenesis.
Is acinic cell carcinoma a variant of secretory carcinoma? A FISH study using ETV6‘split apart’ probes
Authors: Reis‐Filho J S , Natrajan R , Vatcheva R , Lambros M B K , Marchió C , Mahler‐Araújo B , Paish C , Hodi Z , Eusebi V , Ellis I O 
Published: May 2008

Aims:  Acinic cell carcinomas (ACCs) and secretory carcinomas (SCs) of the breast are rare, low‐grade malignancies that preferentially affect young female patients. Owing to the morphological and immunohistochemical similarities between these lesions, they have been proposed to be two morphological variants of the same entity. It has been demonstrated that SCs of the breast consistently harbour the t(12;15)ETV6‐NTRK3 translocation. The aim was to determine whether ACCs also harbour ETV6 gene rearrangements and are thus variants of SCs.Methods and results:  Using the ETV6 fluorescence in situ hybridization DNA Probe Split Signal (Dako), the presence of ETV6 rearrangements in three SCs and six ACCs was investigated. Cases were considered as harbouring an ETV6 gene rearrangement if >10% of nuclei displayed ‘split apart signals’ (i.e. red and green signals were separated by a distance greater than the size of two hybridization signals). Whereas the three SCs displayed ETV6 split apart signals in >10% of the neoplastic cells, no ACC showed any definite evidence of ETV6 gene rearrangement.Conclusions:  Based on the lack of ETV6 rearrangements in ACCs, our results strongly support the concept that SCs and ACCs are distinct entities and should be recorded separately in breast cancer taxonomy schemes.