bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Combined central retinal artery and vein occlusion in Churg–Strauss syndrome: case report
Authors: Hamann Steffen , Johansen Sven 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  To describe a rare case of Churg–Strauss syndrome presenting with severe visual loss due to a combined central retinal vein and artery occlusion.Methods:  A 42‐year old man with a medical history of asthma and blood hypereosinophilia developed a sudden loss of vision in his right eye. We describe the clinical features and evolution of the case after treatment.Results:  A combined occlusion of the central retinal artery and central retinal vein was diagnosed by the funduscopic appearance of retinal whitening, macular cherry‐red spot, papilloedema, retinal haemorrhages in all four quadrants and dilated and tortuous veins. The diagnosis was confirmed by a fluorescein angiogram showing absence of retinal filling and normal choroidal filling. Churg–Strauss syndrome was diagnosed based on the necessary presence of four of six criteria for the disease proposed by the American College of Rheumatology. Corticosteroid therapy was initiated. However, during the following year when tapering off the daily dosage, the patient experienced two relapses, with pulmonary symptoms and hypereosinophilia, and the corticosteroid dosage had to be augmented. The patient presented with neovascular glaucoma 7 weeks after the vascular occlusion and experienced no visual improvement.Conclusion:  Combined central retinal artery and vein occlusion can occur in Churg–Strauss syndrome. We suggest that regional vasculitis may be the pathological mechanism underlying the vascular occlusions observed in our case. The condition carries a very poor prognosis for vision, due to the resulting retinal ischaemia, and a poor general prognosis due to the late stage of the systemic disease. Corticosteroids should be instigated promptly in order to prevent further systemic or ocular vasculitis.
Arteriovenous adventitial sheathotomy for branch retinal vein occlusion: report of a case with longterm follow‐up
Authors: Wrigstad Anders , Algvere Peep 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  To report the longterm follow‐up of a case of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) treated with vitrectomy and adventitial sheathotomy.Methods:  A three‐port vitrectomy was performed in a 55‐year‐old man with symptoms of BRVO of about 3 months' duration. After a core vitrectomy, the adventitial sheath of the affected arteriovenous crossing was dissected so that the anterior surface of the arteriole was freely exposed.Results:  On the second postoperative day, visual acuity (VA) in the affected left eye had increased from preoperative 0.3 to 0.6. Within 6 months the fundus had almost normalized and vision improved to 1.0. Cataract surgery was performed about 2 years after the vitrectomy. At a follow‐up 4 years and 11 months after the sheathotomy, VA was 1.0 and no signs of recurrence were seen.Conclusions:  Adventitial sheathotomy may improve vision in selected cases of BRVO. Further studies are necessary to determine the role of sheathotomy in the management of cases with BRVO.
An evidence‐based analysis of surgical interventions for uncomplicated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment
Authors: Saw Seang‐Mei , Gazzard Gus , Wagle Ajeet M. , Lim Jimmy , Au Eong Kah‐Guan 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  To evaluate the various surgical interventions available for uncomplicated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.Methods:  Reports of controlled clinical trials of surgical interventions (pneumatic retinopexy, scleral buckling and vitrectomy) for uncomplicated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment indexed in MEDLINE from 1968 to January 2006 were included. The primary outcomes evaluated included single‐operation reattachment rates, multiple reoperation reattachment rates and improvements in visual acuity (VA).Results:  We found five controlled trials (two randomized) comparing the efficacy of pneumatic retinopexy versus scleral buckling. The single‐operation reattachment rates were higher for scleral buckling, but the final reattachment rates were similar. We found nine controlled trials (four randomized) evaluating vitrectomy. There were no statistically significant differences between retinal reattachment rates or final visual acuities, except in one randomized and one non‐randomized controlled trial in which the VAs were significantly better in the vitrectomy than the scleral buckling group.Conclusions:  Pneumatic retinopexy is a possible alternative to scleral buckling in the treatment of uncomplicated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. The rates of missed or new retinal breaks after pneumatic retinopexy, however, are higher than following scleral buckling. The clinical outcomes of vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment compare favourably.
Biochemical changes in selenite cataract model measured by high‐resolution MAS 1H NMR spectroscopy
Authors: Fris Miroslav , Tessem May‐Britt , Sæther Oddbjørn , Midelfart Anna 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  To correlate certain levels of lens opacification with high‐resolution magic‐angle spinning proton nuclear magnetic resonance (HR‐MAS 1H NMR) spectroscopy analysis of the biochemical changes in rat lenses in a selenite cataract model.Methods:  Selenite cataract was induced by injecting 13‐day‐old Sprague‐Dawley rat pups with a single subcutaneous dose of sodium selenite (3.28 mg/kg in 0.9% sodium chloride solution). Lens opacification was observed using a photographic slit‐lamp microscope at selected time‐points 3, 6 and 9 days after selenite injection and was then graded (levels 0, 1 and 2). The animals were killed after the slit‐lamp microscopy, lenses were removed and HR‐MAS 1H NMR spectra from intact lenses were obtained. Relative changes in metabolite concentrations were determined after comparison with matched lenses from untreated animals.Results:  Photographic slit‐lamp microscopy revealed different stages of cataract in all animals treated with selenite. In the high quality HR‐MAS 1H NMR spectra of the lenses, more than 30 different metabolites were identified in each lens. With the exception of taurine, the concentrations of all amino acids showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the second level of cataract. By contrast, glutathione (GSH), succinate and phosphocholine concentrations were significantly reduced.Conclusions:  For the first time, this study demonstrates the potential to correlate the level of lens opacification with the biochemical changes obtained with HR‐MAS 1H NMR spectroscopy analysis in a selenite cataract model.
Posterior capsule opacification: comparisons between morphology, visual acuity and self‐assessed visual function
Authors: Sundelin Karin , Lundström Mats , Stenevi Ulf 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  To investigate whether posterior capsule opacification (PCO) morphology, visual acuity (VA) and self‐assessed visual function correlate, and to compare perceived visual disabilities with those of cataract patients with corresponding VA.Methods:  Twenty‐one patients with PCO were examined before capsulotomy. In adjunct to the ophthalmological examination, the patients completed a Catquest questionnaire and a digitized retroillumation image was acquired. The images were analysed with the Evaluation of Posterior Capsule Opacification (EPCO) program. Data for visual function were compared with data from the National Swedish Cataract Register (NCR).Results:  The epco values were correlated with VA in the PCO eyes: the higher the epco score, the lower the VA. There were also correlations between the epco scores, satisfaction with vision, and perceived disabilities in daily life. Symptoms of glare were not significantly correlated with epco scores or with VA. Visual acuity in PCO eyes was better correlated with perceived disabilities and satisfaction with vision than VA in eyes with cataract.Conclusions:  There was a significant correlation between epco scores and VA and between epco scores and Catquest. Consequently, the morphological method was related to the self‐assessed visual function. Patients with PCO seemed to have more disturbed visual function, as defined by Catquest, than cataract patients with the same VA.
Longterm incidence of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and survival in a defined population undergoing standardized phacoemulsification surgery
Authors: Boberg‐Ans Gøril , Henning Vibeke , Villumsen Jørgen , La Cour Morten 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  To determine the longterm risk of pseudophakic retinal detachment (PRD) in a defined population undergoing standardized phacoemulsification surgery at a single centre.Design:  We carried out a register‐based, retrospective, consecutive, uncontrolled study. All 6352 eyes that underwent cataract surgery at our institution during the years 1996–1998 were included in the study. The main outcome measure was the incidence of surgery for PRD.Methods:  Cataract‐operated eyes were identified by a search in the local hospital registry. Eyes that subsequently underwent surgery for PRD were identified by a search in the Danish Patients Registry (LPR). Follow‐up ended by 31 December 2003. Eyes in patients who died before that date were censored.Results:  The 8‐year cumulated incidence of PRD after phacoemulsification was 0.93 per eye (95% CI 0.65–1.33). This is 8.77 (95% CI 7.12–10.72) times higher than expected in eyes that do not undergo cataract surgery. The incidence rate for retinal detachment was significantly higher in pseudophakic eyes than in the background population for at least 6 years after surgery. Patient mortality was slightly increased for men, but no different for women from that of the background population.Conclusion:  For eyes undergoing phacoemulsification surgery, the cumulated incidence of PRD continues to increase for at least 8 years after surgery. Comparison of the cumulated incidence of PRD between different studies requires equal lengths of follow‐up.
Automated lamellar therapeutic keratoplasty (ALTK) in the treatment of anterior to mid‐stromal corneal pathologies
Authors: Vajpayee Rasik B. , Vasudendra Nagaraj , Titiyal Jeewan S. , Tandon Radhika , Sharma Namrata , Sinha Rajesh 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  To evaluate the efficacy of automated lamellar therapeutic keratoplasty (ALTK) in the treatment of anterior to mid‐stromal corneal pathologies.Methods:  A prospective clinical study was undertaken in 15 eyes of 15 patients who underwent ALTK using the ALTK System® (Moria/Microtek Inc., Doylestown, Pennsylvania, USA). The parameters evaluated were uncorrected and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), keratometry, pachymetry, contrast sensitivity, glare acuity, intraoperative surgical time and complications, postoperative time to epithelialization, graft clarity and postoperative complications.Results:  The mean surgical time was 46 ± 9 mins. The BCVA, contrast sensitivity and glare acuity significantly improved at 6 months postoperatively. The mean decimal BCVA was 0.08 ± 0.03 preoperatively, which improved to 0.33 ± 0.30 at 6 months, when 11 eyes had BCVA ≥ 6/18. The median epithelialization time was 3 days (range 1–10 days).Conclusions:  Automated lamellar therapeutic keratoplasty appears to be safe and effective for diseases affecting the anterior to mid‐stroma of the cornea.
Non‐penetrating deep sclerectomy for glaucoma associated with Sturge–Weber syndrome
Authors: Audren François , Abitbol Olivia , Dureau Pascal , Hakiki Salim , Orssaud Christophe , Bourgeois Marie , Pierre‐Kahn Alain , Bodemer Christine , Dufier Jean‐Louis 
Published: June 2006

Abstract.Purpose:  To report the results of non‐penetrating deep sclerectomy (NPDS) in the treatment of glaucoma associated with Sturge–Weber syndrome (SWS).Methods:  We carried out a retrospective case series analysis of patients who underwent NPDS for glaucoma associated with SWS between 1998 and 2003. The control of glaucoma after NPDS, the results of surgery on intraocular pressure, the need for additional medical treatment and surgical complications were studied.Results:  Twelve eyes of nine patients, aged 11 days to 24 years, underwent filtering surgery: nine NPDS procedures were performed and three surgical procedures had to be converted to trabeculectomy because NPDS was not technically achievable. The mean follow‐up after surgery was 26.3 months (range 6–48 months). Two trabeculectomies were complicated by choroidal effusion, which resolved in both cases. Good control of glaucoma was obtained during follow‐up.Conclusions:  Non‐penetrating deep sclerectomy is transiently efficient in the treatment of SWS‐associated glaucoma. Further studies of NPDS for the treatment of glaucoma associated with SWS are warranted.
In vivo and in vitro evidence of dermal fibroblasts influence on human epidermal pigmentation
Authors: Cario‐André Muriel , Pain Catherine , Gauthier Yvon , Casoli Vincent , Taieb Alain 
Published: June 2006

SummaryUsing chimeric human epidermal reconstructs, we previously demonstrated that epidermal pigmentation is dependent upon the phototype of melanocytes. We report here several lines of experimental evidence for dermal modulation of human epidermal pigmentation. First, phototype II–III epidermal reconstructs grafted on the back of immunotolerant Swiss nu/nu mice developed a patchy pigmentation dependent on the presence of colonizing human or mouse fibroblasts. Similarly, human white Caucasoid split‐thickness skin xenografted on the same mouse strain became black within 3 months and histochemistry revealed a phototype VI pattern of melanin distribution. In vitro, human fibroblasts colonizing human dead de‐epidermized dermis (DDD) induced a decrease in epidermal pigmentation whereas mouse (Swiss nu/nu) fibroblasts increased epidermal pigmentation. Conditioned medium from mice (Swiss nu/nu) fibroblasts also increased pigmentation whereas conditioned medium from human fibroblasts had no significant effect. Lastly, epidermal reconstructs made with normal or vitiligo keratinocytes and/or normal or vitiligo melanocytes from the same donor grown on DDD originating from several donors of the same clinical phototype did not pigment similarly and no specific dermal influence was noted for vitiligo. Thus, fibroblast secretion and acellular dermal connective tissue itself significantly influence melanocyte proliferation and melanin distribution/degradation. Our study suggests that murine fibroblasts are more potent than human fibroblasts in secreting soluble factors which can act directly on pigmentation, such as SCF, or activate keratinocytes to produce basement membrane proteins or melanogenic factors.
The induction of oral tolerance to Actinomyces viscosus in mice
Authors: Sosroseno W , Bird PS , Gemmell E , Seymour GJ 
Published: June 2006

Objectives:  To determine whether oral tolerance with the oral bacterium Actinomyces viscosus was inducible in mice.Materials and methods:  Mice were intragastrically (i.g.) and then intraperitoneally (i.p.) immunized with heat‐killed A. viscosus. A control group of mice received only saline. A delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response and the levels of isotype specific antibodies were assessed. Spleen cells from mice that were i.g. immunized with A. viscosus were transferred to A. viscosus‐primed mice in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, mice were i.g. immunized with saline or A. viscosus and then challenged i.p. with saline, A. viscosus, or Porphyromonas gingivalis.Results:  Intragastric immunization with A. viscosus suppressed both DTH and serum specific antibodies to A. viscosus. DTH suppression lasted until week 4, while serum immunoglobulin (Ig)A and both IgG and IgM specific antibody levels remained suppressed up to week 8 and 12 respectively. IgG specific antibody suppression was transferable. The DTH response and serum antibodies specific to A. viscosus were suppressed in mice after i.g. challenged with A. viscosus but not P. gingivalis.Conclusion:  Mucosal presentation of A. viscosus in mice led to the suppression of immune response to this bacterium in an antigen‐specific fashion. Tolerance of DTH response was short lived, while suppression of antigen‐specific IgG antibodies in mucosally tolerized mice was long‐lasting.
Oral candidosis and oral hairy leukoplakia as predictors of HAART failure in Brazilian HIV‐infected patients
Authors: Miziara ID , Weber R 
Published: June 2006

Introduction:  Oral candidosis (OC) and hairy leukoplakia (OHL) are important markers of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection immune status.Objectives:  to evaluate if OC and/or OHL should be considered clinical predictors of immune and virologic failure on HIV‐infected Brazilian adults undergoing Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART).Methods:  124 HIV‐infected patients who used HAART for a minimum of six months were prospectively evaluated. All of them under‐took oral examination and serum CD4+ count and viral load (VL), being divided in two groups, P and A, respectively according to the presence or absence of OC and/or OHL. During a six month period, patients belonging to group A were followed. They were re‐examined for new oral lesions. New blood samples were collected and they were subdivided into groups P6 and A6. CD4+ count and VL were compared between groups at baseline and after the six months period. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and relative risk (RR) were obtained in order to assess the accuracy of using OC and OHL as predictors of immune and virologic failure, at baseline and after a six month period.Results:  At baseline and after six months, patients with OC and OHL have mean CD4+ count lower and mean VL higher than patients of group A and A6 (p < 0.001). OC had high PPV for immune failure and a moderated PPV for virologic failure. OHL had low PPVs for both measures.Discussion and Conclusions:  OC and OHL still indicate low serum CD4+ count and high VL, but OC seems to be a better predictor of immune and virologic failure in patients undergoing HAART than OHL.
The distribution of oral mucosal pH values in healthy saliva secretors
Authors: Aframian DJ , Davidowitz T , Benoliel R 
Published: June 2006

Objectives:  To establish the normal range of oral mucosal pH and to correlate these measurements to salivary flow rate in healthy individuals according to age and gender.Subjects and methods:  Measurements of pH levels using a flat pH meter and salivary secretion rates were established in eight mucosal sites from a total of 50 healthy individuals.Results:  The mean pH (±s.d.) of all sites was 6.78 ± 0.04 with significant differences between mean pH values in the palate (7.34 ± 0.38), the floor of the mouth (6.5 ± 0.3), the buccal mucosa (6.28 ± 0.36) and the tongue (6.8 ± 0.26). A significant correlation was found between age and pH at palatal and tongue sites but no gender effects were noted.Conclusions:  This method is easy and relatively quick to manipulate, and may offer many diagnostic possibilities for oral related diseases and disorders such as oral malodour, mouth breathing, dysgeusia, acidic diet consumption and gastrointestinal disorders affecting the mouth.
The homeobox HOXB13 is expressed in human minor salivary gland
Authors: Cazal C , Sobral APV , De Almeida FCS , Das Graças Silva‐Valenzuela M , Durazzo MD , Nunes FD 
Published: June 2006

Background:  Homeobox are a family of developmental genes involved in morphogenesis and cellular differentiation. Participation of homeobox within normal and malignant tissue has been recently discussed in the literature.Objective:  To analyze the presence of HOXB13 transcript expression in human minor salivary gland.Material and methods:  Ten‐micrometer sections from frozen samples were evaluated employing non‐radioactive in situ hybridization technique and HOXB13 mRNA probes.Results:  HOXB13 was found to be expressed in ducts and mucous acini but not in serous acini.Conclusions:  Results suggest that HOXB13 transcripts are differently expressed in normal mucous and serous acini, and it may possibly reflect a different role in salivary gland carcinogenesis.
An Overview of Contemporary Chicano/a Literature
Authors: De Pinedo Eva Fernández 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThis paper aims to review and highlight the main themes and ideas of contemporary Chicano/a literature. Given that the awakening of this literature is closely connected with the Chicano Movement, the early literature reflects a similar socio‐political agenda, with an emphasis on the recuperation of historical memory. Despite a rich literary production since the 1960s, the last two decades have witnessed the appearance of writers such as Gloria Anzaldúa and Sandra Cisneros who have placed Chicano/a writing on the literary map. Thus my paper analyses in more detail this later literature, arguing that it foregrounds gender and (homo)sexuality, issues previously ignored during the male‐dominated era of the 1960s and 1970s. This later production is characterised by individualistic and self‐critical voices such as that of Richard Rodriguez who open up the boundaries and contribute to the creation of a more multifaceted literature.
The Cultural Geographies of Early Modern Women’s Writing: Journeys Across Spaces and Times
Authors: Chedgzoy Kate 
Published: June 2006

AbstractThis essay reviews the ways in which recent studies of early modern women’s writing have both extended the geographical scope of that canon, and have increasingly sought to situate it in relation to expansive, detailed and complex cultural geographies of the period. This broadening of the canon requires scholars to confront unfamiliar genres, new scholarly challenges and novel critical concerns, and thus demands that we think about fresh ways of reading these texts. How can paying new attention to the metaphorical and literal places and journeys of early modern women’s writing help the field to respond to this demand for growth, in terms of both content and methodology? To address this question, I review the body of work that is already taking up these challenges, and suggest some directions for further exploration that would enable us to develop a properly internationalist, Atlantic and comparative approach to early modern British women’s writing.
The More Things Stay the Same: African American Literature and the Politics of Responsibility
Authors: Eaton Kalenda 
Published: June 2006

AbstractWithin the African American literary tradition, several writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have expressed concerns about the methods through which their work is categorized and/or read as part of the American literary canon. This essay traces the discussions and debates between preeminent writers and “leaders” within the African American community at‐large who have defined the practice of creative expression in diverse ways. By assessing the relationship between art and politics, the essay examines if the desire to create work that is inexcusably “political” is in direct opposition to intellectual and creative activity, or if both ideological frameworks can indeed exist simultaneously.
“Reflections of Yesterday”: George H. W. Bush's Instrumental Use of Public Opinion Research in Presidential Discourse
Authors: Hall Wynton C. 
Published: June 2006

This essay employs archival data and myriad interviews with principals from the Bush administration to explore how George Herbert Walker Bush used public opinion research in the process of rhetorical invention throughout his presidency. The author argues that Bush's aversion to political marketing, disdain for rhetoric, and bifurcation between campaigning and governance created a president whose instrumental poll usage for rhetorical purposes was much less than his predecessor, and intentionally so.I believe that President Bush's attitude toward polls must have been about the same as it was toward speeches. that it was not legitimate, that it was not real leadership, that it was somehow phony and artificial.