bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An economic analysis of continuous positive airway pressure for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome
Authors: Weatherly Helen L. A. , Griffin Susan C. , Mc Daid Catriona , Durée Kate H. , Davies Robert J. O. , Stradling John R. , Westwood Marie E. , Sculpher Mark J. 
Published: January 2009

Objectives:An important option for the medical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) during sleep. This study reports on the cost-effectiveness of CPAP compared with dental devices and lifestyle advice. The work was commissioned by the NHS HTA Programme to inform the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) appraisal of CPAP.Methods:A Markov model compared the interventions over the expected patient lifetime. The primary measure of cost-effectiveness was the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. The QALY incorporated the impact of treatments on daytime sleepiness, blood pressure and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).Results:On average, CPAP was associated with higher costs and QALYs compared with dental devices or lifestyle advice. In the base-case analysis, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for CPAP compared with dental devices was around £4,000 per QALY (2005–06 prices). The probability that CPAP is more cost-effective than dental devices or lifestyle advice at a threshold value of £20,000 per QALY was 0.78 for men and 0.80 for women. Several sensitivity analyses were undertaken and it was found that the ICER for CPAP consistently fell below £20,000 per QALY gained, apart from in a subgroup with mild disease.Conclusions:The model suggests that CPAP is cost-effective compared with dental devices and lifestyle advice for adults with moderate or severe symptomatic OSAHS at the cost-effectiveness thresholds used by NICE. This finding is reflected in the NICE guidance.
Arthroplasty registers: A review of international experiences
Authors: Serra-Sutton Victoria , Allepuz Alejandro , Espallargues Mireia , Labek Gerold , Pons Joan M. V. 
Published: January 2009

Objectives:Registers have proven to be a valuable instrument in the evaluation of arthroplasty procedures and the performance of implants. The aim of this study was to describe the structure, functioning, and content of arthroplasty registers in Europe and other parts of the world.Methods:A search of technical reports was carried out through the Internet and in Medline/PubMed. The exhaustiveness of the information was confirmed using the links to Web pages of other registers and contacts with key people. Aims, methods in data collection and evaluation, internal structure and organization, participants, validity of the data, and other variables were assessed for each arthroplasty register using a qualitative content analysis of the texts.Results:Fifteen arthroplasty registers were identified which published sufficient information to conduct a comparative analysis. Eight additional registers were identified but no information was available on the Internet or in English. Most registers were initiatives of an orthopaedic society receiving governmental funding. Data were collected using standardized clinical forms and additional information from clinical-administrative datasets or other registers (mortality, implant costs, hip fractures). The main outcome measure of these registers is survival of the prostheses. Registers use the Internet and their annual reports as the main strategy for the dissemination and feed-back of their results.Conclusions:Scientific or professional societies and the public health administration should collaborate in the development of arthroplasty registers. To adequately assess the results of observational data information on the structure, the process of arthroplasty interventions and patients characteristics should be collected.
Expression de la méronymie dans les petites annonces immobilières: comparaison français/anglais/espagnol
Authors: CONDAMINES ANNE 
Published: January 2009

RÉSUMÉCet article s'intéresse aux modes d'expression de la méronymie dans les petites annonces immobilières en français/anglais/espagnol. Il met en évidence une utilisation très proche deavec, with et condans ce genre textuel, pour exprimer cette relation, et propose des pistes pour expliquer cette similarité: étymologie (la préposition introduit dans les trois langues une notion de proximité), contamination linguistique (influence entre langues), similarité de situation: nécessité de mettre en saillance un objet pour le valoriser, fonctionnement cognitif: possibilité de mettre en valeur un objet en insistant sur ses parties originales. L'étude comparative est réalisée à partir d'un corpus comportant 100 petites annonces pour chaque langue.
Algorithms for representation theory of real reductive groups
Authors: Adams Jeffrey , du Cloux Fokko 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThe admissible representations of a real reductive groupGare known by work of Langlands, Knapp, Zuckerman and Vogan. This paper describes an effective algorithm for computing the irreducible representations ofGwith regular integral infinitesimal character. The algorithm also describes structure theory ofG, including the orbits ofK(ℂ) (a complexified maximal compact subgroup) on the flag variety. This algorithm has been implemented on a computer by the second author, as part of the ‘Atlas of Lie Groups and Representations’ project.
Incidence and factors related to flare‐ups in a graduate endodontic programme
Authors: Iqbal M , Kurtz E , Kohli M 
Published: January 2009

AbstractAim  To investigate the incidence and factors related to endodontic flare‐ups in nonsurgical root canal treatment (NSRCT) cases completed by graduate endodontic residents at University of Pennsylvania, USA.Methodology  Residents at University of Pennsylvania enter all clinical patient records into an electronic database called PennEndo database. Analysis of records of 6580 patients treated from September 2000 to July 2005 revealed a total of 26 patients with flare‐ups (0.39%). Patients were categorized to have undergone flare‐up when they attended for an unscheduled visit and active treatment, and when they suffered from severe pain and or swelling after initiation or continuation of NSRCT. SAS software was used to develop a logistic regression model with flare‐up as a dependent variable. Independent variables included in the model were: history of previous pain, one vs. two visit NSRCT, periapical diagnosis, tooth type, rotary versus hand instrumentation, and lateral versus vertical compaction of gutta‐percha.Results  The odds for developing a flare‐up in teeth with a periapical radiolucency were 9.64 times greater than teeth without a periapical radiolucency (P = 0.0090). There was no statistically significant difference in flare‐ups between one and two visits NSRCT. The odds of developing a flare‐up increased 40 fold when NSRCT was completed in three or more visits. However, this result may have been confounded by addition of an unscheduled visit in patients suffering from flare‐ups. Other independent variables did not have any statistically significant correlations.Conclusions  A low percentage of patients experienced flare‐ups during NSRCT procedures. The presence of a periapical lesion was the single most important predictor of flare‐ups during NSRCT.
The management of mucosal fenestration: a report of two cases
Authors: Chen G. , Fang C. T. , Tong C. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractAim  To report on the management of two patients with mucosal fenestration of root apices.Summary  Two cases of mucosal fenestration of root apices were treated by a combination of nonsurgical root canal treatment and surgery. Root‐end resection was performed to bring the root apices within the alveolus before root‐end filling and packing of the bony defects with demineralized freeze‐dried bone allograft. The areas were then covered with connective tissue grafts taken from the hard palate before repositioning the mucogingival flap. At 1 year follow‐up, the mucosal fenestrations were completely healed by soft tissue graft coverage, and radiographs revealed bony healing.Key learning points  • Connective tissue grafts can be used to manage mucosal fenestration.• Periradicular surgery and connective tissue grafts can be used in combination.
Atrial fibrillation in fracture patients treated with oral bisphosphonates
Authors: Abrahamsen B. , Eiken P. , Brixen K. 
Published: January 2009

Abstract.Objectives.  To determine if patients receiving oral bisphosphonates are at excess risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), stroke and myocardial infarction.Design.  Register‐based restricted cohort study.Setting.  National Hospital Discharge Register and National Prescriptions Database (1995–2005).Subjects.  Fracture patients beginning bisphosphonates (n = 15 795) were matched with unexposed fracture patients of the same age, sex and fracture type (n = 31 590).Results.  Incidence rates of AF were 16.5/1000 person years in untreated fracture patients and 20.6/1000 person years in bisphosphonate users. An age‐ and sex‐adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.29 (1.17–1.41) was found for probable AF by Cox proportional hazards analysis. The effect size was reduced to HR of 1.18 (1.08–1.29) by adjustment for co‐medications and comorbidity. Selective prescribing was suggested by the observation that (i) risks were increased even in patients who stopped therapy after the first packet and (ii) risks were not increased by high adherence. Bisphosphonate‐exposed patients were at increased risk of hospital‐treated AF [adjusted HR: 1.13 (1.01–1.26)], but the risk amongst bisphosphonate users was inversely proportional to adherence. There was no increased risk of ischaemic stroke and an increased risk of myocardial infarction was not significant after adjustment for comorbidity.Conclusions.  The increased occurrence of AF in fracture patients who are users of oral bisphosphonates should be attributed to targeting of bisphosphonates to patients who are already at increased risk of cardiovascular events.
A novel sphingomyelinase‐like enzyme in Ixodes scapularis tick saliva drives host CD4+ T cells to express IL‐4
Authors: ALARCON‐CHAIDEZ F.J. , BOPPANA V.D. , HAGYMASI A.T. , ADLER A.J. , WIKEL S.K. 
Published: January 2009

Summary Tick feeding modulates host immune responses. Tick‐induced skewing of host CD4+ T cells towards a Th2 cytokine profile facilitates transmission of tick‐borne pathogens that would otherwise be neutralized by Th1 cytokines. Tick‐derived factors that drive this Th2 response have not previously been characterized. In the current study, we examined an I. scapularis cDNA library prepared at 18–24 h of feeding and identified and expressed a tick gene with homology to Loxosceles spider venom proteins with sphingomyelinase activity. This I. scapularis sphingomyelinase‐like (IsSMase) protein is a Mg2+‐dependent, neutral (pH 7·4) form of sphingomyelinase. Significantly, in an in vivo TCR transgenic adoptive transfer assay IsSMase programmed host CD4+ T cells to express the hallmark Th2 effector cytokine IL‐4. IsSMase appears to directly programme host CD4 T cell IL‐4 expression (as opposed to its metabolic by‐products) because induced IL‐4 expression was not altered when enzymatic activity was neutralized. TCR transgenic CD4 T cell proliferation (CFSE‐dilution) was also significantly increased by IsSMase. Furthermore, a Th2 response is superimposed onto a virally primed Th1 response by IsSMase. Thus, IsSMase is the first identified tick molecule capable of programming host CD4+ T cells to express IL‐4.
Transcriptional Profiles in Urine During Acute Rejection, Bacteriuria, CMV Infection and Stable Graft Function After Renal Transplantation
Authors: Øzbay A. , Tørring C. , Olsen R. , Carstens J. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractAcute rejection remains an important cause of renal allograft dysfunction and the need for accurate diagnosis is essential to treat transplant recipients successfully. Molecular markers in urine may serve as a diagnostic tool in acute rejection, but controversy still exists regarding the uniqueness of these biomarkers. We measured mRNA of perforin (PRF), granzyme B (GZMB) and granulysin (GNLY) normalized to cyclophilin B in urine specimens from 24 renal allograft recipients with acute rejection, 12 with bacteriuria, 11 with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections and 17 controls with stable graft function. Measurements were performed using a real‐time polymerase chain reaction assay. mRNA levels (means [95% CI]) for all three markers were significantly higher in recipients with acute rejection compared with controls: PRF (0.23 [0.12–0.42] versus 0.04 [0.02–0.07]P < 0.001), GZMB (0.14 [0.09–0.23] versus 0.05 [0.03–0.08]P = 0.003), GNLY (0.24 [0.14–0.41] versus 0.06 [0.03–0.11]P = 0.001). GZMB and GNLY levels during acute rejection were significantly higher when compared with bacteriuria (P = 0.011 andP = 0.005 respectively), and PRF level during acute rejection was significantly elevated compared with CMV infection (P = 0.015). No significant difference was found when comparing marker levels during bacteriuria and CMV infection to controls. Urinary mRNA levels of PRF, GZMB and GNLY are significantly elevated during acute rejection but not during bacteriuria or CMV infections when compared with recipients with stable graft function. The ability to differentiate acute rejection from bacteriuria and CMV infections was only present for some of the markers, that is why careful consideration should be given before applying this technique to clinical practice.
The N‐terminal pro region mediates retention of unprocessed type‐I PME in the Golgi apparatus
Authors: Wolf Sebastian , Rausch Thomas , Greiner Steffen 
Published: January 2009

SummaryThe pectin matrix of the cell wall, a complex and dynamic network, impacts on cell growth, cell shape and signaling processes. A hallmark of pectin structure is the methylesterification status of its major component, homogalacturonan (HGA), which affects the biophysical properties and enzymatic turnover of pectin. The pectin methylesterases (PMEs), responsible for de‐esterification, encompass a protein family of more than 60 isoforms in the Arabidopsis genome. The pivotal role of PME in the regulation of pectin properties also requires tight control at the post‐translational level. Type‐I PMEs are characterized by an N‐terminal pro region, which exhibits homology with pectin methylesterase inhibitors (PMEIs). Here, we demonstrate that the proteolytic removal of the N‐terminal pro region depends on conserved basic tetrad motifs, occurs in the early secretory pathway, and is required for the subsequent export of the PME core domain to the cell wall. In addition, we demonstrate the involvement of AtS1P, a subtilisin‐like protease, in Arabidopsis PME processing. Our results indicate that the pro region operates as an effective retention mechanism, keeping unprocessed PME in the Golgi apparatus. Consequently, pro‐protein processing could constitute a post‐translational mechanism regulating PME activity.
Transposition of a bacterial insertion sequence in chloroplasts
Authors: Kohl Stefan , Bock Ralph 
Published: January 2009

SummaryBacterial transposable elements (IS elements, transposons) represent an important determinant of genome structure and dynamics, and are a major force driving genome evolution. Here, we have tested whether bacterial insertion sequences (IS elements) can transpose in a prokaryotic compartment of the plant cell, the plastid (chloroplast). Using plastid transformation, we have integrated different versions of the Escherichia coli IS element IS150 into the plastid genome of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants. We show that IS150 is faithfully mobilized inside the chloroplast, and that enormous quantities of transposition intermediates accumulate. As synthesis of the IS150 transposase is dependent upon programmed ribosomal frame shifting, our data indicate that this process also occurs in chloroplasts. Interestingly, all insertion events detected affect a single site in the plastid genome, suggesting that the integration of IS150 is highly sequence dependent. In contrast, the initiation of the transposition process was found to be independent of the sequence context. Finally, our data also demonstrate that plastids lack the capacity to repair double‐strand breaks in their genomes by non‐homologous end joining, a finding that has important implications for genome stability, and which may explain the peculiar immunity of the plastid to invading promiscuous DNA sequences of nuclear and mitochondrial origin.
A study of natural killer cell lectin‐like receptor K1 gene (KLRK1/NKG2D) region polymorphisms in a European population sample
Authors: Ucisik‐Akkaya E. , Dorak M. T. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractRecent evidence has reinforced the belief in immunosurveillance as a powerful mechanism against cancer development. The natural killer (NK) cell has been recognized as a potent agent of cancer immunosurveillance. A Japanese cohort study correlated natural cytotoxic activity levels with subsequent cancer development and identified NK cell lectin‐like receptor K1 gene (KLRK1/NKG2D) polymorphisms as genetic markers of cancer predisposition. In the present study, we genotyped 82 reference cell lines and 388 newborn samples at 10 KLRK1 region variants by TaqMan® allelic discrimination assays and showed that the same polymorphisms occur at similar frequencies in Europeans. The same haplotype block that has been associated with lower natural cytotoxic activity also occurred with the highest frequency in our sample. We further detected evidence suggestive of natural selection at some of the loci analyzed and more importantly, sex specificity of this selection. It appeared that heterozygosity at loci forming a haplotype block was unfavorable for boys. Given the relevance of NK cells in fetal survival, this finding has potential implications in the study of genetics of maternofetal recognition. Our preliminary findings are of marginal statistical significance and should be replicated in a larger sample. We believe that our results will increase awareness of the involvement of KLRK1 in cancer immunosurveillance and possibly in prenatal selection.
Using an adapted reflecting team approach to learn about mental health and illness with general nursing students: An Australian example
Authors: Morrison Paul A. 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThis paper describes how a reflecting team informed by outsider‐witness practices was used in a classroom with a small group of Australian general nursing students to explore their understandings of mental illness and people with mental illness. The reflecting team process helped students to go beyond the media stereotypes of mental illness and the people who suffer from mental illness. It helped them develop new understandings of the lives of people who experience mental illness. The process also enabled students to learn more about stigma and its debilitating effects, to speak about it and to monitor their own language use, and to identify and explore their preferred interpersonal approaches in future practice settings when dealing with people showing signs of mental distress.
VIRTUAL MOBILITY, TIME USE AND THE PLACE OF THE HOME
Authors: VILHELMSON BERTIL , THULIN EVA 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThe virtual access offered by information and communications technology (ICT) has entered homes to an unprecedented degree – with disputed socio–spatial consequences. This paper explores whether people's use of time and space has changed with increasing access to ICT, and it considers the role of the home and the displacement of mobile and stationary activities. Data from the Swedish Time Use Surveys for 1990–1991 and 2000–2001 reveal structural tendencies, while a panel study of urban youth details ongoing change processes. Findings indicate that from 1991 to 2001, the Swedish population spent over 80 per cent more time on virtual mobility; physical travel and media consumption also increased, albeit slightly. The total time spent at home remained stable, though certain groups, young men particularly, significantly increased both time spent at home and ICT use. The panel study found that individuals who substantially increased in‐home computer use spent more time alone at home and less time socialising; they also spent less time travelling and watching television. The amount of ICT use adapted to the available free time.
‘A Biography of the Soul’: Oswald Spengler's Biographical Method and the Morphology of History
Authors: Kroll Joe Paul 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThis paper will explore the correspondences between Oswald Spengler's approaches to history and biography. In Der Untergang des Abendlandes, Spengler poses the rhetorical question, ‘do common biographical archetypes (‘Urformen’) underlie everything historical?’ The recent publication of Spengler's autobiographical fragments, known under the heading Eis heauton (‘to himself’) gives an opportunity to explore the claim that Spengler's work draws parallels between personal history and that of cultures, and illuminates the identification of his own experience with history. Following a brief outline of Spengler's philosophy of history with particular regard to the core concepts of ‘organicism’ and ‘analogy’, and the duality of being (‘Dasein’) and wakefulness (‘Wachsein’), the paper will address the concept of ‘awakening’ as a precondition of Spengler's own historical consciousness. It will remain to show how this moment is located both in the childhood of cultures and in that of Spengler himself. The twin aspects of awakening as fear and cognition will then be examined in relation to Spengler's creative difficulties, the literary challenge posed by the perceived impossibility of conveying historical experience in prose. In short, the paper's hypothesis is that Spengler's account of the development of historical consciousness, in both its ontogenetic and phylogenetic forms, can be traced to his own experience and also determines the idiosyncrasies of his historiographic method.
Vol. 42, No. 1, pp.16‐21, 2008 Decrease in the skin transparency induced by protein carbonylation in the stratum corneum
Authors: Iwai I. , Kuwahara T. , Hirao T. 
Published: January 2009

It has been reported in recent years that the carbonyl modification of protein plays a part in various diseases. The existence of the protein carbonylation in the stratum corneum also came to be known in the last few years, but the effect on the properties of the stratum corneum including the skin appearance was not clarified. In this study, we examined the influence of protein carbonylation in the stratum corneum to provide helpful information for skin care products focusing on transparency of the stratum corneum. Firstly, we developed a method to assess the protein carbonylation level numerically by the image analysis of tape‐stripped stratum corneum reacted with a fluorescent hydrazide. The level of stratum corneum carbonylation of the sun‐exposed site (face) was higher than that of unexposed site (upper arm), and the surface part of the stratum corneum showed a higher level of carbonylation compared with the deeper layer. Stratum corneum carbonylation was induced by in vitro UV irradiation. In addition, it was shown that the skin transparency score was significantly low in the woman with high level of protein carbonylation in the stratum corneum of the cheek. An experimentally carbonylated stratum corneum sheet in vitro became opaque. Among the amino acids investigated, L‐lysine was the most effective to prevent carbonylation of the stratum corneum ex vivo. Moreover, L‐lysine inhibited the decrease in the skin transparency caused by experimental carbonylation of the stratum corneum in the human skin. These results suggest that preventing the carbonylation of the stratum corneum due to adverse effects from the environment by l‐lysine could improve the skin transparency.Keywords: stratum corneum, protein carbonylation, appearance, skin transparency, l‐lysine, amino acids, fluorescent hydrazide, tape‐stripping