bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Incidence and risk factors of lower respiratory tract illnesses during infancy in a Mediterranean birth cohort
Authors: Puig Carme , Sunyer Jordi , Garcia‐Algar Oscar , Muñoz Laura , Pacifici Roberta , Pichini Simona , Vall Oriol 
Published: September 2008

AbstractAim: To investigate the incidence rate, viral respiratory agents and determinants of lower respiratory tract illnesses (LRTIs) in infants younger than 1 year.Methods: A total of 487 infants were recruited at birth for the Asthma Multicenter Infant Cohort Study in Barcelona (Spain). Cases of LRTIs were ascertained through an active register including a home visit and viral test in nasal lavage specimens during the first year of life. Cotinine in cord blood, household aeroallergens, indoor NO2 and maternal and neonatal IgE were measured. Other maternal and infants' characteristics were obtained from structured questionnaires.Results: The incidence rate of at least one LRTI was 38.7 infants per 100 persons‐years. The most frequently isolated viral agent was respiratory syncytial virus (44.7%). The risk of LRTIs was higher in infants with a maternal history of asthma and in those with siblings (OR = 2.4; 95% CI: 0.98–6.08 and OR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.04–3.21, respectively). The risk of LRTIs was lower in infants who were breast fed for more than 12 weeks (OR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.26–0.86) and in those from a low socioeconomic class (OR = 0.16; 95% CI: 0.06–0.42).Conclusion: Viral LRTIs are frequent in infants younger than 1 year of age and there is an inter‐relationship between maternal asthma, siblings, breast feeding and socioeconomic status.
Breastfeeding duration related to practised contraception in the Netherlands
Authors: Van Wouwe Jacobus P , Lanting Caren I , Van Dommelen Paula , Treffers Pieter E , Van Buuren Stef 
Published: September 2008

AbstractAim: The aim of this study was to gain insight into contraception practised and related to breastfeeding duration.Methods: Mothers with infants up to 6 months received a questionnaire on infant feeding (breast or formula feeding) and contraception (hormonal or non‐hormonal methods). Estimates of the time interval between resuming contraception and cessation of lactation was calculated by Chained Equations Multiple Imputation.Results: Of all women (n = 2710), 30% choose condoms, 22% the combined oral contraceptive pill (OCP) and few other methods. Breastfeeding was started by 80%, and 18% continued up to 6 months. Of the breastfeeding mothers, 5% used hormonal contraception; 7% of women who used hormonal contraception practised breastfeeding. After adjustment for background variables, the use of OCP is strongly associated with formula feeding: after delivery to the third month postpartum, the crude OR being 17.5 (95% CI: 11.3–27.0), the adjusted OR 14.5 (9.3–22.5); between the third and sixth month postpartum, respectively, 13.1 (95% CI: 8.6–19.9) and 11.7 (7.6–17.9). Of all breastfeeding women, 20–27% resumed OCP at 25 weeks postpartum and 80% introduced formula feeding. The time lag between these events is 6 weeks. Hormonal contraception was resumed after formula introduction.Conclusion: Mothers avoid hormonal contraception during lactation; they change to formula feeding 6 weeks before they resume the OCP. To effectively promote longer duration of breastfeeding, the BFHI needs to address contraception as practised.
Development of the WHO Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System: A Historical Perspective
Authors: Scheithauer Bernd W. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe classification of brain tumors has undergone numerous changes over the past half century. The World Health Organization has played a key role in the effort. Four versions of its Classification of Tumours of the Central Nervous System have been published. The present work chronicles their progress, placing emphasis on the historical context of the earliest effort.
Kinetics of factor VIII:C inhibitors and treatment response in severe hemophilia A patients
Authors: LUNA‐ZÁIZAR H. , ESPARZA‐FLORES M. A. , LÓPEZ‐GUIDO B. , AGUILAR‐LÓPEZ L. B. , CORTÉS ÁLVAREZ C. R. , JALOMA‐CRUZ A. R. 
Published: September 2008

SummarySevere hemophilia A (HA) patients develop inhibitory alloantibodies to factor VIII:C and therefore require bypass agents that are scarce, expensive and may provoke secondary effects. Twenty‐three severe HA patients who were high‐responders to FVIII inhibitors were studied. FVIII:C activity in plasma was measured by one‐stage activated partial thromboplastin time method, and the quantification of FVIII:C inhibitors was carried out by the Nijmegen–Bethesda method. Inhibition kinetics was assessed through serial plasma dilutions. FVIII:C activity was <1% in all patients. Kinetics behavior of the inhibitors was classified as type I in 14 patients, type II in four and an intermediate pattern that we named type III in one case. We were unable to apply the regression model to the remaining four of 23 patients in the study because of their low inhibitory titer (<3 Nijmegen–Bethesda units per ml). Seventy‐eight percent of the patients with inhibitor type I did not respond to high doses of FVIII therapy, whereas 50% of patients with type II kinetics did (P = 0.5323). Generally, patients belonging to the same family had similar kinetics behavior as well as concordant treatment response. Although nonsignificant, our results suggest an association between kinetics behavior and treatment response that may be a valuable prognostic parameter for the management of these patients.
Isolation and characterization of 11 polymerase chain reaction primers for microsatellite loci for the Chilean marine isopod Excirolana hirsuticauda
Authors: HAYE P. A. , MARCHANT S. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractThe Chilean isopod Excirolana hirsuticauda is a marine benthic brooder with wide distributional range and low potential for long‐distance dispersal. Eleven microsatellite markers were developed for E. hirsuticauda using enriched libraries. Characterization of those loci in 35 individuals from Playa Blanca beach showed high allelic diversity with a mean of 10.9 alleles per locus. The average expected and observed heterozygosities were 0.65 and 0.41. These microsatellite loci are the first published for any Excirolana species and should be useful to study the genetic structure of E. hirsuticauda.
Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci for the European tree frog (Hyla arborea)
Authors: BERSET‐BRäNDLI L. , JAQUIÉRY J. , BROQUET T. , PERRIN N. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractWe developed 11 new microsatellite markers for the European tree frog (Hyla arborea), and tested patterns of polymorphism in 54 adults (27 males and 27 females) from two ponds close to Lausanne (Western Switzerland). One marker was sex linked and two pairs displayed linkage disequilibrium. Comparisons of allele numbers with heterozygosity values support a stepwise‐mutation model at neutral equilibrium, with mutation rates spanning nearly two orders of magnitude. These markers will prove useful for population genetic studies and fine‐scale investigations requiring genetic assignment techniques.
Microsatellite DNA markers for the Chinese wood frog (Rana chensinensis) and tests for their cross‐utility in 15 ranid frog species
Authors: ZHAN AIBIN , FU JINZHONG 
Published: August 2008

AbstractWe developed 22 microsatellite markers for the Chinese wood frog (Rana chensinensis) to study the impact of landscape features on its population structure. Thirty‐four individuals from one breeding site were examined and 14 loci were polymorphic. The number of alleles, expected heterozygosity and observed heterozygosity varied from two to 14, from 0.0833 to 0.9118, and from 0.1376 to 0.8667, respectively. Cross‐species amplification was tested for 15 ranid frog species. The Plateau brown frog, Rana kukunoris (n = 23), was successfully amplified at 18 loci, and 15 were polymorphic with number of alleles varying from two to 18. Ten other species were also amplified at a limited number of loci.
Time Series Analysis Performed on Nephropathia Epidemica in Humans of Northern Sweden in Relation to Bank Vole Population Dynamic and the NAO Index
Authors: Thomas Palo R. 
Published: September 2008

SummaryTime series analysis was performed on two data series of human nephropathia epidemica (NE) infections in northern Sweden between the years 1959–1975 and 1985–2006. The analysis confirms that the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), the main reservoir species, shows regular peaks in population density approximately every fourth year. The periodicity in NE cases of the more recent time period (1985–2006) is 2.8–3.3 years and the older period shows a periodicity ranging 3.4–4.2 years, but this is not significantly different from that expected by vole dynamics. A comparison of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index between the two periods reveals higher mean winter NAO index in the period 1985–2006 than in 1959–1975. No difference was found in frequency of the NAO index between the older period (2.8–3.4 years) compared with the recent period (2.4–2.8 years). Cross‐correlation revealed a delayed effect by NAO index on vole abundance but a multivariate model showed that NAO index did not explain the variation in NE cases. Vole index was the only factor that contributed significantly to the variation in numbers of NE cases and that no climate effect could be detected. The climate signal from NAO index does not appear to significantly affect the human NE cases and this suggests that the transmission of disease to man is not particularly sensitive to variations in weather factors. The results favour the hypothesis that higher NAO index will not increase the likelihood of virus transmission from voles to man in northern Sweden under present climatic conditions.
Role of the NSs Protein in the Zoonotic Capacity of Orthobunyaviruses
Authors: Hart T. J. , Kohl A. , Elliott R. M. 
Published: September 2008

SummaryThe family Bunyaviridae contains over 350 named isolates, classified into five genera: Orthobunyavirus, Hantavirus, Nairovirus, Phlebovirus and Tospovirus. The Orthobunyavirus genus contains some 170 isolates that are mainly transmitted by mosquitoes and are responsible for a range of disease syndromes in humans including self‐limiting febrile illness, encephalitis and haemorrhagic fever. The viruses have a tripartite, negative‐sense RNA genome. Analyses of viruses in four serogroups (Bunyamwera, California, Group C and Simbu) showed that the smallest (S) RNA segment encodes the nucleocapsid protein (N) and a non‐structural protein called (NSs). The NSs protein of Bunyamwera virus (BUNV) has been shown to play a role in shut‐off of host cell protein synthesis in mammalian cells, but no protein shut‐off is observed in BUNV‐infected mosquito cells (Aedes albopictus C6/36 cells). Protein shut‐off in infected mammalian cells is achieved by global inhibition of RNA polymerase II‐mediated transcription and enables the virus to overcome the host innate immune response. As innate defence mechanisms constitute a significant barrier to virus infection of different hosts, NSs would appear to play a key role in determining the zoonotic capacity of orthobunyaviruses.
Risk‐Based Cost Modelling of Oral Rabies Vaccine Interventions for Raccoon Rabies
Authors: Recuenco S. , Eidson M. , Cherry B. , Johnson G. 
Published: September 2008

SummaryDistribution of oral rabies vaccine (ORV) is an effective but costly strategy to control raccoon rabies. Because of high costs, ORV for raccoon rabies in the U.S. has been limited primarily to epizootic areas, leaving extensive raccoon rabies regions without any ORV intervention. Several cost scenarios for ORV application in raccoon rabies enzootic and epizootic regions were modelled in New York State to obtain estimated costs of ORV baits per scenario and potential savings compared with a uniform ORV baiting strategy. These cost scenarios modelled at the census tract, level the application of ORV baits at different densities according to levels of risk defined by the observed number of raccoon rabies cases per km2and the expected number of cases per km2estimated with a Poisson regression model. Bait purchase costs were lower using the modelled cost scenarios than a uniform baiting strategy, for both the NYS enzootic region and the Long Island epizootic zone. The proportion of savings for the NYS enzootic region was 29.57%, and the proportion of savings for the Long Island epizootic zone was 38.9%. Use of these cost scenarios to determine bait distribution by rabies risk level should be considered to maximize efficacy and reduce costs of ORV interventions.
Decision-making in patients with advanced cancer compared with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors: Astrow A B , Sood J R , Nolan M T , Terry P B , Clawson L , Kub J , Hughes M , Sulmasy D P 
Published: August 2008

Aim:Patients with advanced cancer need information about end-of-life treatment options in order to make informed decisions. Clinicians vary in the frequency with which they initiate these discussions.Patients and methods:As part of a long-term longitudinal study, patients with an expected 2-year survival of less than 50% who had advanced gastrointestinal or lung cancer or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) were interviewed. Each patient’s medical record was reviewed at enrollment and at 3 months for evidence of the discussion of patient wishes concerning ventilator support, artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH), resuscitation (DNR) and hospice care. A Kaplan–Meier analysis was also performed and 2-year survival calculated.Results:60 cancer and 32 ALS patients were enrolled. ALS patients were more likely than cancer patients to have evidence of discussion about their wishes for ventilator support (31% vs 0%, p<0.001), ANH (38% vs 0%, p<0.001), DNR (25% vs 0%, p<0.001) and hospice care (22% vs 5%, p = 0.03). At 6 months, 91% of ALS patients were alive compared with 62% of cancer patients; at 2 years, 63% of ALS patients were alive compared with 23% of cancer patients (p<0.001).Conclusions:Cancer patients were less likely than ALS patients to have had documented advanced care planning discussions despite worse survival. This may reflect perceptions that ALS has a more predictable course, that advanced cancer has a greater number of treatment options, or differing views about hope. Nevertheless, cancer patients may be less adequately prepared for end-of-life decision-making.
What reasons do those with practical experience use in deciding on priorities for healthcare resources? A qualitative study
Authors: Hasman A , Mcintosh E , Hope T 
Published: August 2008

Background:Priority setting is necessary in current healthcare services. Discussion of fair process has highlighted the value of developing reasons for allocation decisions on the basis of experience gained from real cases.Aim:To identify the reasons that those with experience of real decision-making concerning resource allocation think relevant in deciding on the priority of a new but expensive drug treatment.Methods:Semistructured interviews with members of committees with responsibility for making resource allocation decisions at a local level in the British National Health Service, analysed using modified grounded theory.Results:22 interviews were carried out. 14 reasons were identified. Four reasons were almost universally considered most important: cost effectiveness; clinical effectiveness; equality and gross cost. No one reason was considered dominant. Some considerations, such as political directives and fear of litigation, were thought by many participants to distort decision-making. There was a substantial lack of agreement over the relevance of some reasons, such as the absence of alternative treatment for the condition.Conclusions:There is a clear consensus on the importance and role of a limited number of reasons in allocation decisions among participants. A focus on the process of decision-making, however, does not obviate the need for those involved in the process to engage with problematical ethical issues, nor for the importance of further ethical analysis.
Making a difference: incorporating theories of autonomy into models of informed consent
Authors: Delany C 
Published: August 2008

Background:Obtaining patients’ informed consent is an ethical and legal obligation in healthcare practice. Whilst the law provides prescriptive rules and guidelines, ethical theories of autonomy provide moral foundations. Models of practice of consent, have been developed in the bioethical literature to assist in understanding and integrating the ethical theory of autonomy and legal obligations into the clinical process of obtaining a patient’s informed consent to treatment.Aims:To review four models of consent and analyse the way each model incorporates the ethical meaning of autonomy and how, as a consequence, they might change the actual communicative process of obtaining informed consent within clinical contexts.Methods:An iceberg framework of consent is used to conceptualise how ethical theories of autonomy are positioned and underpin the above surface, and visible clinical communication, including associated legal guidelines and ethical rules. Each model of consent is critically reviewed from the perspective of how it might shape the process of informed consent.Results and discussion:All four models would alter the process of obtaining consent. Two models provide structure and guidelines for the content and timing of obtaining patients’ consent. The two other models rely on an attitudinal shift in clinicians. They provide ideas for consent by focusing on underlying values, attitudes and meaning associated with the ethical meaning of autonomy.Conclusions:The paper concludes that models of practice that explicitly incorporate the underlying ethical meaning of autonomy as their basis, provide less prescriptive, but more theoretically rich guidance for healthcare communicative practices.
Challenges of informed choice in organised screening
Authors: Østerlie W , Solbjør M , Skolbekken J-A , Hofvind S , Sætnan A R , Forsmo S 
Published: August 2008

Context:Despite much research on informed choice and the individuals’ autonomy in organised medical screening, little is known about the individuals’ decision-making process as expressed in their own words.Objectives:To explore the decision-making process among women invited to a mammography screening programme.Setting:Women living in the counties of Sør- and Nord-Trøndelag, Norway, invited to the first round of the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) in 2003.Methods:Qualitative methods based on eight semistructured focus-group interviews with a total of 69 women aged 50–69 years.Results:The decision to attend mammography screening was not based on the information in the invitation letter and leaflet provided by the NBCSP. They perceived the invitation letter with a prescheduled appointment as if a decision for mammography had already been made. This was experienced as an aid in overcoming the postponements that easily occur in daily lives. The invitation to mammography screening was embraced as an indication of a responsible welfare state, “like a mother taking care.”Conclusion:In a welfare state where governmental institutions are trusted, mass screening for disease is acknowledged by screening participants as a valued expression of paternalism. Trust, gratitude, and convenience were more important factors than information about benefits, harms, and risks when the women made their decisions to attend screening. These elements should be included in the ethical debates on informed choice in preventive medicine.
Dutch criteria of due care for physician-assisted dying in medical practice: a physician perspective
Authors: Buiting H M , Gevers J K M , Rietjens J A C , Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D , van der Maas P J , van der Heide A , van Delden J J M 
Published: August 2008

Introduction:The Dutch Euthanasia Act (2002) states that euthanasia is not punishable if the attending physician acts in accordance with the statutory due care criteria. These criteria hold that: there should be a voluntary and well-considered request, the patient’s suffering should be unbearable and hopeless, the patient should be informed about their situation, there are no reasonable alternatives, an independent physician should be consulted, and the method should be medically and technically appropriate. This study investigates whether physicians experience problems with these criteria in medical practice.Methods:In 2006, questionnaires were sent to a random, stratified sample of 2100 Dutch physicians (response rate: 56%). Physicians were asked about problems in their decision-making related to requests for euthanasia or assisted suicide after enforcement of the 2002 Euthanasia Act.Results:Of all physicians who had received a request for euthanasia or assisted suicide (75%), 25% had experienced problems in the decision-making with regard to at least one of the criteria of due care. Physicians who had experienced problems mostly indicated to have had problems related to evaluating whether or not the patient’s suffering was unbearable and hopeless (79%) and whether or not the patient’s request was voluntary or well considered (58%).Discussion:Physicians in The Netherlands most frequently reported problems related to aspects in which they have to evaluate the patient’s subjective perspective(s). However, it can be questioned whether placing emphasis on these subjective aspects is an adequate fulfilment of the duties imposed on physicians, as laid down in the Dutch Euthanasia Act.
Restoration of endothelin-1-induced impairment in endothelium-dependent relaxation by interleukin-10 in murine aortic ringsThis article is one of a selection of papers published in the special issue (part 2 of 2) on Forefronts in Endothelin.
Authors: Zemse Saiprasad M. , Hilgers Rob H.P. , Simkins G. Bryan , Rudic R. Daniel , Webb R. Clinton 
Published: August 2008

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is implicated in the development of endothelial dysfunction through the generation of reactive oxygen species by NADPH oxidase activation. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an antiinflammatory cytokine that stimulates nitric oxide production, decreases superoxide production, and restores endothelial integrity after vascular injury. In this study, we tested whether IL-10 attenuates ET-1-induced endothelial dysfunction by improving acetylcholine (ACh)-induced relaxation of cultured murine aortic rings. Aortic rings (2 mm long) of C57BL/6 mice were incubated in 2 mL DMEM containing 120 U/mL penicillin and 120 μg/mL streptomycin in the presence of one of 4 treatments: vehicle (deionized water), ET-1 (100 nmol/L), recombinant mouse IL-10 (300 ng/mL), or a combination of both ET-1 and IL-10. After incubation at 37 °C for either 1 or 6 h (short-term exposure) or 22 h (overnight exposure), rings were mounted in a wire myograph and stretched to a passive force of 5 mN. Endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation was assessed by constructing cumulative concentration–response curves to ACh (0.001–10 μmol/L) during 10 μmol/L phenylephrine (PE)-induced contraction. Short-term exposure of ET-1 did not result in an impairment of ACh-induced relaxation. Overnight exposure of aortic rings to ET-1 resulted in a statistically significant endothelial dysfunction characterized by a reduced maximal relaxation response to ACh compared with that of untreated rings (Emax 57% ± 3% versus 82% ± 4%). IL-10 treatment restored ACh-induced relaxation (Emax 77% ± 3%). Western blotting showed decreased eNOS expression in response to ET-1, whereas vessels treated with a combination of ET-1 and IL-10 showed increased expression of eNOS. Immunohistochemical analysis showed decreased eNOS expression in ET-1-treated vessels compared with those treated with both ET-1 and IL-10. We conclude that, in murine aorta, the antiinflammatory cytokine IL-10 prevents impairment in endothelium-dependent relaxation induced in response to long-term incubation with ET-1 via normalization of eNOS expression.