bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Leukocyte Telomere Length Predicts Cancer Risk in Barrett's Esophagus
Authors: Risques Rosa Ana , Vaughan Thomas L. , Li Xiaohong , Odze Robert D. , Blount Patricia L. , Ayub Kamran , Gallaher Jasmine L. , Reid Brian J. , Rabinovitch Peter S. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Purpose: Leukocyte telomere length has gained attention as a marker of oxidative damage and age-related diseases, including cancer. We hypothesize that leukocyte telomere length might be able to predict future risk of cancer and examined this in a cohort of patients with Barrett's esophagus, who are at increased risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma and thus were enrolled in a long-term cancer surveillance program.
Patients and Methods: In this prospective study, telomere length was measured by quantitative PCR in baseline blood samples in a cohort of 300 patients with Barrett's esophagus followed for a mean of 5.8 years. Leukocyte telomere length hazard ratios (HR) for risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma were calculated using multivariate Cox models.
Results: Shorter telomeres were associated with increased esophageal adenocarcinoma risk (age-adjusted HR between top and bottom quartiles of telomere length, 3.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.35-8.78; P = 0.009). This association was still significant when individually or simultaneously adjusted for age, gender, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, cigarette smoking, and waist-to-hip ratio (HR, 4.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.60-10.94; P = 0.004). The relationship between telomere length and cancer risk was particularly strong among NSAID nonusers, ever smokers, and patients with low waist-to-hip ratio.
Conclusion: Leukocyte telomere length predicts risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma in patients with Barrett's esophagus independently of smoking, obesity, and NSAID use. These results show the ability of leukocyte telomere length to predict the risk of future cancer and suggest that it might also have predictive value in other cancers arising in a setting of chronic inflammation. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(12):2649–55)
Vitamin D ReceptorGene Polymorphisms and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Risk
Authors: Lurie Galina , Wilkens Lynne R. , Thompson Pamela J. , McDuffie Katharine E. , Carney Michael E. , Terada Keith Y. , Goodman Marc T. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractEpidemiologic and laboratory studies support a role for the vitamin D endocrine system in ovarian carcinogenesis. The association of ovarian cancer risk with polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene, including rs10735810 (FokI), rs11568820 (Cdx-2), rs1544410 (BsmI), rs7975232 (ApaI), rs731236 (TaqI), and BsmI-ApaI-TaqI combined genotypes, was examined among 313 women with epithelial ovarian carcinoma and 574 controls. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression. The associations of VDR polymorphisms with risk were generally inconsistent across ethnic groups. Among Caucasian women (72 cases, 148 controls), heterozygous and homozygous ApaI A allele carriers were at increased ovarian carcinoma risk compared with homozygous carriers of the ApaI a allele (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2-7.0 and OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.3-9.1; Ptrend = 0.02). Caucasian heterozygous carriers of FokI f allele were also at increased risk of ovarian carcinoma compared with homozygous carriers of the common allele (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.3-4.8; Ptrend = 0.04). Among Japanese women (94 cases, 173 controls), ovarian cancer risk was significantly decreased (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.9) among Cdx-2 A allele heterozygotes compared with homozygote G allele carriers (Ptrend = 0.03). Compared with the bbaaTT BsmI-ApaI-TaqI genotype, bbaATT and BBAAtt genotypes were associated with increased ovarian cancer risk in Caucasian women (OR 4.2, 95% CI 1.3-13.1 and OR 5.2, 95% CI 1.6-17.5), but not in Japanese women (OR 1.1, 95% CI 0.6-1.9 and OR 2.3, 95% CI:0.4-12.3). This investigation provides some evidence that polymorphisms in the VDR gene might influence ovarian cancer susceptibility. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(12):2566–71)
CDX2 VDR Polymorphism and Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Slattery Martha L. , Herrick Jennifer , Wolff Roger K. , Caan Bette J. , Potter John D. , Sweeney Carol 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Studies suggest that polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene may influence colorectal cancer risk. In this study, we examine the association of the CDX2 VDR polymorphism (rs11568820) located in the 5′-untranslated region of the gene, and VDR haplotypes, including this polymorphism, with colon and rectal cancer using data from two large case-control studies of colon (N = 1,574 cases and 1,970 controls) and rectal (n = 791 cases and 999 controls) cancer. The frequency of the A allele of the CDX2 polymorphism was 19% among non–Hispanic white, 21% among Hispanic, 76% among African American, and 47% among Asian controls. The CDX2 polymorphism was not independently associated with either colon or rectal cancer, nor did it modify associations of dietary calcium, vitamin D, or fat with colon or rectal cancer. However, the bLFA haplotype which occurred in 6.5% of non–Hispanic white participants and 41.2% of African American participants was associated with an increased risk of colon cancer, and an odds ratio of 2.4 [95% confidence intervals (CI), 2.45 (1.38-4.38)]. The BSfG haplotype was associated with a 1.61 (95% CI, 1.05-2.49) increased risk of rectal but not colon cancer, whereas the BSFA haplotype was associated with a significantly reduced risk of rectal (odds ratio, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.52-0.97) but not colon cancer. These data suggest that haplotype analysis that encompasses different domains of the VDR gene might further our understanding of associations between the VDR gene and colon and rectal cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(12):2752–5)
The Perpetual Allure of the Bible for Marxism
Authors: Boer Roland 
Published: December 2007

AbstractIn light of the general lack of awareness of the long history of Western-Marxist fascination with the Bible, this article offers a synopsis of part of that history. After showing how the Bible was an important element in the work of Ernst Bloch, Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno, it the offers a critique of the current engagements with it by Alain Badiou, Slavoj Žižek, Terry Eagleton and Giorgio Agamben. The third section deals with the most significant element of the religious Left in recent years, namely liberation theology. It closes with some comments concerning the growth of Marxist biblical studies and some suggestions for the way Marxism might reconnect with a non-reified biblical tradition.
An Unrecorded Book of Hours, Printed by Plantin with a (Partly) Unrecorded Series of Illustrations
Authors: van der Horst Koert 
Published: December 2007

AbstractAn unrecorded copy of the Officium illustrated with 16 small engravings and printed by Plantin in 1578/9 which has recently come to light in an antiquarian bookshop confirms Karen Lee Bowen's hypothesis of 1994 that a number of engravings with the same format occurring in Plantin's Missale of 1585 belong to a series which Plantin must have commissioned from the engraver Jan Wierix after the designs of Peeter van der Borcht shortly after 1572. The series in the newly discovered book is anonymous, but the engravings are copied so carefully that they may be added to the oeuvre of Jan Wierix and Peeter van der Borcht respectively. Some of these engravings were previously entirely unknown.
Task Modelling for the Web (Aufgabenmodellierung für interaktive Webanwendungen)
Authors: Bomsdorf Birgit 
Published: December 2007

Summary
Task modelling has entered the development process of web applications, strengthening the usage-centred view within the early steps in Web-Engineering (WE). In current approaches, however, this view is not kept up during subsequent activities to the same degree as this is the case in the field of Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI). The modelling approach presented in this contribution combines models as known from WE with models used in HCI to change this situation. Basically the WE-HCI-integration is supported by combining task and object models as known from HCI with conceptual modelling known from WE. In this paper, the main focus is on the WebTaskModel, a task model adapted to web application concerns, and its contribution towards a task-related web user interface. The main difference to existing task models is the build-time and run-time usage of a generic task lifecycle. Hereby the description of exceptions and erroneous situations during task performance (caused by, e.g., the stateless protocol or Browser interaction) is enabled and at the same time clearly separated from the flow of correct action.
EMODE – Modellgetriebene Entwicklung multimodaler, kontextsensitiver Anwendungen (EMODE – Model-driven Development of Multimodal, Context Sensitive Applications)
Authors: Behring Alexander , Heinrich Matthias , Winkler Matthias , Dargie Waltenegus 
Published: December 2007

Zusammenfassung
Die Entwicklung multimodaler, kontextsensitiver Anwendungen gewinnt zunehmend an Interesse. Jedoch stellen diese höhere Anforderungen an den Softwareentwicklungsprozess. In diesem Beitrag werden die Arbeiten und Ergebnisse aus dem EMODE-Projekt vorgestellt, welches sich die Verbesserung der Effizienz der Entwicklung multimodaler, kontextsensitiver Anwendungen zum Ziel gesetzt hat. Dabei nutzt EMODE modellbasierte Entwicklung; wobei insbesondere die Integration der verschiedenen Entwicklungsschritte und eine durchgehende Werkzeugunterstützung betont werden.
Modellgetriebene Entwicklung grafischer Benutzerschnittstellen (Model-Driven Development of Graphical User Interfaces)
Authors: Link Stefan , Schuster Thomas , Hoyer Philip , Abeck Sebastian 
Published: December 2007

Zusammenfassung
Der Ansatz der modellgetriebenen Softwareentwicklung fokussiert Modelle als Spezifikation von Software und deren automatische Transformation bis hin zum Quellcode der gewünschten Zielplattform. Da eine durchgehende Werkzeugunterstützung unter Berücksichtigung aller Aspekte eines Softwaresystems bisher nicht möglich ist, muss der Mehrwert der modellgetriebenen Ansätze noch nachgewiesen werden. Die Durchgängigkeit ist dabei unter anderem auf Grund ungenügender oder fehlender Metamodelle zur Beschreibung einiger Aspekte eines Softwaresystems nicht gegeben. Der hier vorgestellte Ansatz greift den Aspekt der Benutzerinteraktion heraus und zeigt, wie durch die Erweiterung einer Modellierungssprache auf Metamodellebene eine werkzeugunterstützte, modellgetriebene Entwicklung plattformunabhängiger Benutzerschnittstellen ermöglicht wird. Eine Fallstudie demonstriert dabei die Machbarkeit und den Mehrwert dieses Ansatzes.
Usability of an Adaptive Computer Assistant that Improves Self-care and Health Literacy of Older Adults
Authors: Rogers W. A. , Fisk A. D. , Neerincx M. A. , Lindenberg J. , Mast C. A. P. G. van der , Henkemans O. A. Blanson 
Published: December 2007

Summary

Objectives:
We developed an adaptive computer assistant for the supervision of diabetics’ self-care, to support limiting illness and need for acute treatment, and improve health literacy. This assistant monitors self-care activities logged in the patient’s electronic diary. Accordingly, it provides context-aware feedback. The objective was to evaluate whether older adults in general can make use of the computer assistant and to compare an adaptive computer assistant with a fixed one, concerning its usability and contribution to health literacy.

Methods:
We conducted a laboratory experiment in the Georgia Tech Aware Home wherein 28 older adults participated in a usability evaluation of the computer assistant, while engaged in scenarios reflecting normal and health-critical situations. We evaluated the assistant on effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction, and educational value. Finally, we studied the moderating effects of the subjects’ personal characteristics.

Results:
Logging self-care tasks and receiving feedback from the computer assistant enhanced the subjects’ knowledge of diabetes. The adaptive assistant was more effective in dealing with normal and healthcritical situations, and, generally, it led to more time efficiency. Subjects’ personal characteristics had substantial effects on the effectiveness and efficiency of the two computer assistants.

Conclusions:
Older adults were able to use the adaptive computer assistant. In addition, it had a positive effect on the development of health literacy. The assistant has the potential to support older diabetics’ self care while maintaining quality of life.
Sensor Acceptance Model – Measuring Patient Acceptance of Wearable Sensors
Authors: Pedersen P. E. , Gundersen T. , Hejlesen O. , Fensli R. 
Published: December 2007

Summary

Objectives:
This project focuses on how patients respond to wearable biomedical sensors, since patient acceptance of this type of monitoring technology is essential for enhancing the quality of the data being measured. There is a lack of validated questionnaires measuring patient acceptance of telemedical solutions, and little information is known of how patients evaluate the use of wearable sensors.

Methods:
In information systems research, surveys are commonly used to evaluate the user satisfaction of software programs. Based on this tradition and adding measures of patient satisfaction and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), a Sensor Acceptance Model is developed. The model is made operational using two questionnaires developed for measuring the patients’ perceived acceptance of wearable sensors.

Results:
The model is tested with 11 patients using a newly developed wearable ECG sensor, and with 25 patients in a reference group using a traditional “Holter Recorder”. Construct validity is evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis, and internal consistency is calculated using the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Sensor Acceptance Index (SAI) is calculated for each patient, showing reasonable dependencies and variance in scores.

Conclusions:
This study attempts to identify patients’ acceptance of wearable sensors, describing a user acceptance model. Understanding the patients’ behavior and motivation represents a step forward in designing suitable technical solutions, and calculations of SAI can, hopefully, be used to compare different wearable sensor solutions. However, this instrument needs more extensive testing with a broader sample size, with different types of sensors and by explorative follow-up interviews.
Haplotype analysis of the IGF2‐INS‐TH gene cluster in Parkinson's disease
Authors: Sutherland Greg , Mellick George , Newman Jeremy , Double Kay L. , Stevens Julia , Lee Linda , Rowe Dominic , Silburn Peter , Halliday Glenda M. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractIdiopathic Parkinson's disease is a common movement disorder characterized by a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Its pathogenesis is postulated to involve complex interactions between genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures. The IGF2‐INS‐TH gene cluster on the telomeric end of human chromosome 11 is a gene rich region expressing several proteins important for dopamine neuron homeostasis. We used a haplotyping approach to determine whether common genetic variation in the IGF2‐INS‐TH cluster influences the risk of idiopathic Parkinson's disease in a Caucasian case–control group recruited from Brisbane, Australia. Three tagging polymorphisms, the SNPs, rs680 and rs689 and the microsatellite, HUMTH01, were genotyped in 215 cases and 215 age‐ and gender‐matched controls. Eight common haplotypes accounted for 91% of the genetic variation in our control group and one haplotype, IGF2‐INS‐TH*6, was significantly under‐represented among the cases with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (OR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.25–0.72, P‐value = 0.001). Analysis of the individual polymorphisms showed that the IGF2‐rs680 alternate ‘A’ allele accounted for the majority of the protective effect. Our findings suggest that common genetic variants in the IGF2‐INS‐TH cluster modify susceptibility to idiopathic Parkinson's disease. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Morphology and water vapor permeability of temperature‐sensitive polyurethanes
Authors: Ding X. M. , Hu J. L. , Tao X. M. , Hu C. P. , Wang G. Y. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractA series of segmented polyurethanes (PUs) were prepared, in which five different polyols and hexamethylene diisocyanate were used as soft segments, and 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate, hydrophilic segment poly (ethylene glycol) 200 (PEG 200), and chain extender 1,4‐butanediol were used as hard segment. Morphology of the PUs was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry, wide angle X‐ray diffraction, polarizing microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Water vapor permeability of the membranes as a function of temperature was tested accordingly. Results show that the presence of PEG200 interferes the crystallization of hard segment in these PUs, and at the same time, increases phase compatibility between soft and hard segment in the PET‐PU. It leads to a lower crystal melting temperature and degree of crystallinity of soft segment in the segmented PU than those of pure polyols, and no crystallization existing in hard segment. A morphological model is proposed, that is, aggregated soft‐segment‐rich domains can be observed clearly in the PUs with high crystallinity in soft segment, while identifiable hard domains are well‐distributed in the soft segment domains in the PU with low crystallinity. Within the temperature range of crystal melting, water vapor permeability of the PU membranes increases significantly with increase of temperature. Such temperature‐sensitive property is triggered by crystal melting of soft segment. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Characterization and biodegradability of amphoteric superabsorbent polymers
Authors: Wang Dan , Song Zhan‐Qian , Shang Shi‐Bin 
Published: December 2007

AbstractNovel amphoteric superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) based on carboxymethyl cellulose, acrylic acid, acrylamide, and [2‐(methylacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride were prepared by inverse suspension copolymerization. The SAPs were characterized by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The absorbency or swelling behaviors in deionized water, saline solutions, and pH value solutions were investigated. Experimental results indicate that the absorbency in various solutions decreases with an increase of the ion concentration, which was attributed to osmotic pressure of water and ions between the polymeric gel and the external solutions. Biodegradability of the amphoteric SAPs was also reported. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Strain‐Specific and Endocrine Control of Granular Convoluted Tubule Cells and Epidermal Growth Factor Expression in the Mouse Submandibular Gland
Authors: Miyaji Yuichi , Aiyama Shigeo , Kurabuchi Shingo 
Published: December 2007

AbstractSubmandibular glands (SMGs) of 11‐week‐old mice from four strains, ICR, C57BL/6J, BALB/c, and C3H/HeN were examined by immunohistochemistry for epidermal growth factor (EGF). In addition to sex‐related differences in granular convoluted tubules (GCTs), the GCT cells were significantly larger in ICR mice than in other three strains. In males from each of the strains, almost all the GCT cells were strongly positive for EGF. The EGF‐positive cells in the females, however, were markedly fewer in number, and were stained weaker in C57BL/6J, BALB/c, and C3H/HeN mice than in ICR mice. The GCT cells and their EGF expression in the F1 progeny from ICR and C3H/HeN strains were approximately intermediate between those of the parent strains of the same sex. T3 and/or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) enhanced the GCT phenotype in the C3H/HeN mice, and remarkably increased the EGF‐positive cells in females. Electron microscopy revealed that gold‐labeling of EGF was confined to the secretory granules, and that the GCT cells in females, given T3 + DHT, had a well‐developed Golgi apparatus and net‐like RER but few basal infoldings, whereas the equivalent cells in the untreated females had poor RER and prominent basal infoldings. These results suggest that the EGF concentration in SMGs is genetically high in ICR mice and low in other strain mice and that, considering the same response of GCT cells to T3 and/or DHT between the high and low EGF strains, the low EGF concentrations might be partly caused by a lesser sensitivity of the GCT cells to thyroid hormones. Anat Rec, 291:105–113, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Development of the Mucosal Vascular System in the Distal Colon of the Fetal Mouse
Authors: Ito Takayasu , Ohi Satoshi , Tachibana Toshiaki , Takahara Masashi , Hirabayashi Tetsuya , Ishikawa Hiroshi , Kusakabe Moriaki , Hashimoto Hisashi 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe formation of the crypt in the distal colon of the mouse was investigated in association with the development of vascular networks. For histological observation, 1‐μm cross‐sections were made from the distal colon of fetal mice in 13 to 18 days of gestation. Three‐dimensional distributions of vascular networks in the organ were observed after perfusing fetuses with rhodamine isothiocyanate‐labeled gelatin and immunostaining for laminin to examine the boundary between the epithelium and the mesenchyme. At 13 days of gestation, the distal colon and its epithelium formed a cylindrical tube and a loose primary plexus of vessels was built in the mesenchyme. In the distal colon of 15 days of gestation, the caudal portion began to form the crypt and the vascular plexus built up from a few layers was situated apart from the boundary between the epithelium and the mesenchyme. As the development proceeded, the formation of the crypt occurred in the caudorostral direction. The developing crypt advanced into the vascular plexus, so that a few vessels situated in the mesenchyme between crypts. As the crypt elongated, these vessels formed a small plexus situated perpendicular to the primary plexus, while the primary plexus became monolayered and loosened. The new plexus was composed of ascending vessels and traversing ones, but the regular honeycomb‐like plexuses around openings of crypts have not established yet even in 18 days of gestation. The vascular system as well as the crypt in the distal colon will take further a few postnatal weeks to be completed. Anat Rec, 291:65–73, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.