bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Antidepressant treatment is associated with a reduction in suicidal ideation and suicide attempts
Authors: Mulder R. T. , Joyce P. R. , Frampton C. M. A. , Luty S. E. 
Published: March 2008

Objective:  To measure changes in suicidal behaviours during 6 months of treatment with antidepressants.Method:  A group of depressed patients (n = 195) were assessed for suicidal behaviours in the 6 months prior to treatment. They were prospectively assessed for suicidal behaviours during 6 months of treatment with antidepressants.Results:  Patients who made suicide attempts fell from 39 in the 6 months prior to treatment to 20 during treatment. Significant suicidal ideation reduced from 47% at baseline to 14% at 3 weeks remaining below this during the rest of the treatment. Twenty patients had emergent suicidal ideation; five of them had not experienced some level of suicidal behaviour in the 6 months prior to treatment.Conclusion:  Suicide behaviours are common in depressed out‐patients. Antidepressant treatment is associated with a rapid and significant reduction in suicidal behaviours. The rate of emergent suicidal behaviour was low and the risk benefit ratio for antidepressants appears to favour their use.
Acute and continuation therapy in unipolar depression: observations from the run‐in phase of a maintenance trial
Authors:   Danish University Antidepressant Group (DUAG)
Published: March 2008

Objective:  The aim of the study was to analyze treatments and outcome in depressed patients.Method:  Patients with recurrent depressive disorder (n = 289), recruited for a prophylaxis study, were followed up in hospital settings for 6 months with diagnostic and depression ratings at baseline and monthly depression ratings. Data on psychotropic drugs were retrieved from hospital case records. Independent associations between baseline, treatment and outcome variables were examined by logistic regression models.Results:  Depressive symptoms subsided gradually. After 6 months, 21% had dropped out, 43% were rated as remitted (HAM‐D‐17 <8) and 8% had not responded (HAM‐D‐17 >15). Patients once remitted rarely relapsed (<5%). All patients received antidepressant drugs, half of them more than one (2–4) as well as other psychotropic drugs. Patients responding poorly received more frequently multiple antidepressants, tricyclic antidepressants, hypnosedatives, lithium and/or antipsychotics.Conclusion:  The 6‐month outcome was generally poor. Choice of treatment appeared at least partly to be determined by the therapeutic outcome.
Finite element modelling of forearm skin wrinkling
Authors: Flynn Cormac , McCormack Brendan A. O. 
Published: March 2008

Background/purpose: Human skin is a complex multilayered material. Although there are many numerical models of skin in existence, which accurately simulate several of its complex mechanical characteristics, there are very few models that simulate wrinkling – a phenomenon common to all human skin. The purpose of this study was to develop a multilayer model of skin, which could simulate wrinkling more realistically than the existing models in the literature.Method: The skin on the volar forearm was wrinkled by displacing two tabs, which were attached to the skin surface towards each other. Eight volunteers were used in the experiment. The profiles of the wrinkles were measured using a customised laser profilometer system. The maximum range and average roughness of the wrinkle profiles were calculated. The multilayer model of skin consisted of the stratum corneum, dermis and underlying hypodermis. The constitutive equations for each layer were implemented into a finite element model and the wrinkling experiments were simulated. The results of the model were compared with the results of the experiments.Results: The size of the wrinkles predicted by the model fell within the range of the wrinkle sizes measured in the experiments. The maximum range and average roughness differed by 34% and 43% from the corresponding mean experimental results, respectively. The results show that the proposed three‐layer skin model simulates wrinkling more realistically than either a single or a two‐layer model.Conclusion: A three‐layer model of skin has been developed and validated under the harsh conditions of wrinkling. It has been shown that a three‐layer model better simulates the wrinkling of skin as compared with models of fewer layers. The model has several applications, including simulating skin aging and the design of more realistic artificial skin. The model can also be used to study the interaction of surgical scalpels or razors with human skin with a view to improving their design.
Effects of lotioned disposable handkerchiefs on skin barrier recovery after tape stripping
Authors: De Paepe Kristien , De Rop Evelien , Houben Evi , Adam Ralf , Rogiers Vera 
Published: March 2008

Background/purpose: In the present work, it was studied whether repeated use of lotioned disposable handkerchiefs on tape‐stripped forearm skin was able to improve skin barrier recovery.Methods: Skin assessments included scoring of visual erythema and dryness/scaliness; and measuring of skin redness (Chromameter® CR300), skin hydration (Corneometer® CM825), and transepidermal water loss (Tewameter® TM300). Four different lotioned paper handkerchiefs – randomly assigned to one of two subject groups (n=20) – were tested vs. the non‐lotioned control handkerchief. The results were also compared with those obtained using a topically applied oil‐in‐water barrier cream (Dermalex®).Results: The three‐day lasting protocol revealed that handkerchief wiping itself delayed skin recovery, but a significantly better performance was seen for the lotioned handkerchiefs containing fatty alcohols and mineral oils. This shows that the use of lotioned tissues helps to prevent skin damage inevitably caused by the wiping process.Conclusion: The controlled pre‐damaged forearm method with tape stripping appears to be a suitable model to study the effects of repetitive wiping on irritated skin with disposable handkerchiefs of different quality. More specifically, the model seems applicable to mimic the nasolabial skin damage observed during a common cold associated with frequent use of disposable handkerchiefs.
Potential factors responsible for dryness of the dorsum of the tongue in elderly requiring care
Authors: Ogasawara Tadashi , Andou Nobuyuki , Kawase Souitirou , Kawase Yuka , Matsuo Koichiro , Ozaki Yosie , Kakinoki Yasuaki 
Published: March 2008

Objective:  This study explored potential factors in elderly requiring care that cause dryness of the dorsum of the tongue despite moisture retention in the sublingual mucosa.Materials and methods:  Subjects were 224 elderly (mean age: 83.6 ± 7.4 years) living in a nursing home and requiring individual care. Measurement of moisture of the dorsum of the tongue and sublingual mucosa was performed using a wetness tester (L‐SALIVO) with a measurement time of 10 s.Results:  A significant difference in drying only of the dorsum of the tongue was noted depending on the degree of incapacity, level of consciousness, eating (oral ingestion or tube‐feeding), and conversation. Multiple logistic regression identified the degree of incapacity in terms of eating (oral ingestion or tube‐feeding) as a significant factor for dryness. The odds ratio for the degree of incapacity was 3.2 while that for eating was 11.226.Conclusion:  Dry mouth of the dorsum of the tongue in elderly requiring care was associated with the degree of incapacity, tube feeding, and level of conversation.
A large population of recently quenched red-sequence dwarf galaxies in the outskirts of the Coma cluster
Authors: Smith Russell J. , Marzke Ronald O. , Hornschemeier Ann E. , Bridges Terry J. , Hudson Michael J. , Miller Neal A. , Lucey John R. , Vázquez Gerardo A. , Carter David 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
We analyse the stellar populations of 75 red-sequence dwarf galaxies in the Coma cluster, based on high signal-to-noise ratio spectroscopy from the 6.5-m MMT. The sample covers a luminosity range 3–4 mag below M★, in the cluster core and in a field centred 1° to the south-west. We find a strong dependence of the absorption-line strengths with location in the cluster. Galaxies further from the cluster centre have stronger Balmer lines than inner-field galaxies of the same luminosity. The magnesium lines are weaker at large radius, while the iron lines are not correlated with radius. Converting the line strengths into estimates of stellar age, metallicity and abundance ratios, we find the gradients are driven by variations in age (&gt;6σ significance) and in the iron abundance Fe/H (∼2.7σ significance). The light element (Mg, C, N, Ca) abundances are almost independent of radius. At radius of times the virial radius), dwarf galaxies have ages ∼3.8 Gyr on average, compared to ∼6 Gyr near the cluster centre. The outer dwarfs are also ∼50 per cent more iron-enriched, at given luminosity. Our results confirm earlier indications that the ages of red-sequence galaxies depend on location within clusters, and in Coma in particular. The very strong trends found here suggest that dwarf galaxies are especially susceptible to environmental ‘quenching’, and/or that the south-west part of Coma is particularly a clear example of recent quenching in an infalling subcluster.
Low-frequency m = 1 normal mode oscillations of a self-gravitating disc
Authors: Saha Kanak 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
A continuous system such as a galactic disc is shown to be well approximated by an N-ring differentially rotating self-gravitating system. Lowest order (m= 1) non-axisymmetric features such as lopsidedness and warps are global in nature and quite common in the discs of spiral galaxies. Apparently, these two features of the galactic discs have been treated like two completely disjoint phenomena. The present analysis based on an eigenvalue approach brings out clearly that these two features are fundamentally similar in nature and they are shown to be very low-frequency normal mode (LNM) oscillations manifested in different symmetry planes of the galactic disc. Our analysis also shows that these features are actually long-lived oscillating pattern of the N-ring self-gravitating system.
Changes in Korean Corporate Governance: A Response to Crisis
Authors: Kim E. Han , Kim Woochan 
Published: March 2008

In the last months of 1997, the value of the Korean currency lost over half its value against the dollar, and the ruling party was swept from power in presidential elections. One of the fundamental causes of this national economic crisis was the widespread failure of Korean companies to earn their cost of capital, which contributed to massive shareholder losses and calls for corporate governance reform. Among the worst performers, and hence the main targets of governance reform, were family‐controlled Korean business groups known as chaebol. Besides pursuing growth and size at the expense of value, such groups were notorious for expropriating minority shareholders through “tunneling” activities and other means.The reform measures introduced by the new administration were a mix of market‐based solutions and government intervention. The government‐engineered, large‐scale swaps of business units among the largest chaebol—the so‐called “big deals” that were designed to force each of the groups to identify and specialize in a core business—turned out to be failures, with serious unwanted side effects. At the same time, however, new laws and regulations designed to increase corporate transparency, oversight, and accountability have had clearly positive effects on Korean governance. Thanks to reductions in barriers to foreign ownership of Korean companies, such ownership had risen to about 37% at the end of 2006, up from just 13% ten years earlier. And in addition to the growing pressure for better governance from foreign investors, several newly formed Korean NGOs have pushed for increased transparency and accountability, particularly among the largest chaebol.The best governance practices in Korea today can be seen mainly in three kinds of corporations: (1) newly privatized companies; (2) large corporations run by professional management; and (3) banks with substantial equity ownership in the hands of foreign investors. The improvements in governance achieved by such companies—notably, fuller disclosure, better alignment of managerial incentives with shareholder value, and more effective oversight by boards—have enabled many of them to meet the global standard. And the governance policies and procedures of POSCO, the first Korean company to list on the New York Stock Exchange—as well as the recent recipient of a large equity investment by Warren Buffett—are held up as a model of best practice.At the other end of the Korean governance spectrum, however, there continue to be many large chaebol‐affiliated or family‐run companies that have resisted such reforms. And aided by the popular resistance to globalization, the lobbying efforts of such firms have succeeded not only in reducing the momentum of the Korean governance reform movement, but in reversing some of the previous gains. Most disturbing is the current push to allow American style anti‐takeover devices, which, if successful, would weaken the disciplinary effect of the market for corporate control.
Corporate Governance in India
Authors: Chakrabarti Rajesh , Megginson William , Yadav Pradeep K. 
Published: March 2008

The Indian corporate governance system has both supported and held back India's ascent to the top ranks of the world's economies. While on paper the country's legal system provides some of the best investor protection in the world, enforcement is a major problem, with overburdened courts and significant corruption. Ownership remains concentrated and family business groups continue to be the dominant business model, with significant pyramiding and evidence of tunneling activity that transfers cash flow and value from minority to controlling shareholders.But for all its shortcomings, Indian corporate governance has taken major steps toward becoming a system capable of inspiring confidence among institutional and, increasingly, foreign investors. The Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI), which was established as part of the comprehensive economic reforms launched in 1991, has made considerable progress in becoming a rigorous regulatory regime that helps ensure transparency and fair practice. And the National Stock Exchange of India, also established as part of the reforms, now functions with enough efficiency and transparency to be generating the third‐largest number of trades in the world, just behind the NASDAQ and NYSE.Among more recent changes, the enactment of Sarbanes—Oxley type measures in 2004—which includes protections for minority shareholders in family‐ or “promoter”‐led businesses—has contributed to recent increases in institutional and foreign stock ownership. And while family‐ and government‐controlled business groups continue to be the rule, India has also seen the rise of successful companies like Infosys that are free of the influence of a dominant family or group and have made the individual shareholder their central governance focus.
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Trend
Authors: Lougee Barbara , Wallace James 
Published: March 2008

Corporate Social Responsibility, or “CSR,” has recently become a subject of study by financial economists. While there is no shortage of anecdotal evidence to support all variety of positions, broad‐based statistical evidence about the CSR movement is in short supply. This article presents some new empirical evidence that aims to answer three related questions about CSR: First, are corporations increasing their “investment” in what is considered socially responsible behavior? Second, does corporate investment in social responsibility affect a company's financial performance and shareholder value? Third, why do companies invest in CSR: to increase shareholder value, or to uphold a “moral” commitment to non‐investor stakeholders and “society”?Using a social responsibility metric that measures the net CSR strengths (i.e., strengths less concerns) of each S&P 500 and Domini 400 company, the authors report that the average net CSR for both indexes decreased during the 15‐year period (1991‐2005) of the study—though the Domini 400, as might be expected, experienced a smaller decline. The authors also report that corporate strengths have increased, on average, but at a slower rate than the “concerns,” which suggests that corporate CSR efforts may be aimed at a moving target with steadily rising expectations and requirements.Second, the authors report that companies with more CSR strengths or fewer CSR weaknesses produced higher ROA over the same 15‐year period. The authors' findings here suggest a “circular” causality in which profitable companies are more likely to invest in CSR initiatives to begin with, but then find their performance further improved by such investment.Third, the authors' findings suggest that most companies devote resources to CSR initiatives as a means of maximizing long‐run value rather than out of a prior commitment to stakeholders. More specifically, the study shows that companies appear to invest more heavily to build CSR strengths than to eliminate CSR concerns. And as the authors conclude, this behavior is consistent with a strategy of using CSR as a form of “risk management” that promotes corporate strengths in order to limit the potential negative effects of—perhaps by diverting attention from—their weaknesses.
The Potential Role of Breast‐Feeding and Other Factors in Helping to Reduce Early Childhood Caries
Authors: Caplan Lee S. , Erwin Katherine , Lense Elizabeth , Hicks James 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
Objectives: Dental caries is the most common chronic disease in US children. Early childhood caries (ECC) is particularly virulent and can interfere with a child's ability to eat, grow, speak, and communicate. Studies on whether breast‐feeding or bottle‐feeding are more likely to reduce ECC have proven inconclusive. Methods: The study population included 175 children, aged 1 to 5, receiving dental care at the Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital in Atlanta, GA. Participation included a dental exam, chart data abstraction, and a personal interview with the mother. Results: Too few exclusively breast‐fed children prevented the adequate study of breast‐feeding. However, children exclusively bottle‐fed for at least 1.5 years had more decayed or filled tooth surfaces than children breast‐fed part of that time but well short of a year. No bottle at night nor juice at irregular times, the mother's brushing of her child's teeth, and adequate dental care in the mother seemed to reduce ECC. Conclusions: Our results suggest measures that might reduce ECC risk. Medical providers must discuss oral health with new mothers and educate them on the important role they play in keeping their babies' teeth healthy.
Obesity and Dental Caries in Children Aged 2‐6 Years in the United States: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999‐2002
Authors: Hong Liang , Ahmed Arif , McCunniff Michael , Overman Pam , Mathew Moncy 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
Objective: This study assessed the associations between obesity and dental caries in young children participating in a national survey. Methods: Participants included 1,507 children aged 2‐6 years who received dental examinations and had at least 10 primary teeth in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999‐2002. Decayed/filled teeth (dft) counts of primary dentition were obtained, and weight and height were measured. Body mass index (BMI; kg/m
2
) was calculated, and participants were categorized using age‐ and gender‐specific criteria as underweight (<5th percent), normal (5th‐85th percent), at risk for overweight (>85th and <95th percent), and overweight (≥95th percent). With appropriate sample weighting, relationships between dft and BMI were assessed using the Kruskal–Wallis test and multivariable logistic regression. Results: Seventy‐four percent of children were classified as normal weight, 11 percent as at risk for overweight, and 11 percent as overweight; 58 percent did not have caries; 30 percent had 1‐5 dft and 12 percent had >5 dft. When caries experience was compared across BMI categories stratified by age and race characteristics, statistically significant association between caries and obesity was found only for 60‐ <72‐month age group. In the comparison between children with normal and at‐risk BMI only, significant associations were also found in the Hispanic and non‐Hispanic Black strata. In multivariable logistic regression models to predict caries experience, family income and age were statistically significant predictors for severe early childhood caries only. Conclusions: There appears to be no significant association between childhood obesity and caries experience after controlling for age, race, and poverty/income ratio. However, further studies are needed to better understand this relationship.
Effects of sex hormone levels on aortic vascular reactivity and variables associated with the metabolic syndrome in sucrose-fed female rats
Authors: Pérez-Torres Israel , El Hafidi Mohammed , Infante Oscar , Baños Guadalupe 
Published: March 2008

We studied the effect of varying levels of sex hormones, induced by ovariectomy and administration of testosterone or estradiol, on aortic reactivity in female rats with metabolic syndrome (MS) induced by a sucrose diet. Vasoreactivity of aortic rings, blood pressure, intra-abdominal fat, serum triglycerides, nitrates and nitrites, and TBARS were evaluated. Intact MS and ovariectomized MS had higher BP than intact control (C) and ovariectomized C, respectively; estradiol administration decreased BP in ovariectomized MS but not in ovariectomized C. Triglycerides and fat were both higher in MS. Triglycerides were not modified by surgery or hormone treatment, but ovariectomy increased fat. When ovariectomy was combined with hormones, however, fat was reduced to the level of intact rats. Ovariectomy decreased, but hormones increased, serum nitrates and nitrites. Vasoconstriction was larger in intact MS and ovariectomized MS + testosterone aortas than in intact C and ovariectomized C + testosterone, respectively. Vasodilation was reduced in intact MS and ovariectomized MS + testosterone compared with intact C, ovariectomized C + testosterone, ovariectomized MS, and ovariectomized MS + estradiol. The results suggest endothelial dysfunction in intact MS and ovariectomized MS + testosterone, but protection by ovariectomy + estradiol in MS due to hormones. Indomethacin reduced all contractions, but the effect was greater in estradiol-treated rats. l-NAME increased contractility, more in the ovariectomized C and MS groups and less in the estradiol-treated groups.