bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
EFFICACY OF LAPAROSCOPIC RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION FOR HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA COMPARED TO PERCUTANEOUS RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION WITH ARTIFICIAL ASCITES
Authors: Hirooka Masashi , Kisaka Yoshiyasu , Uehara Takahide , Ishida Kiyotaka , Kumagi Teru , Watanabe Yuji , Abe Masanori , Matsuura Bunzo , Hiasa Yoichi , Onji Morikazu 
Published: March 2009

Aim:  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) nodules close to the liver surface exhibit high recurrence compared to those in distal parts of the liver. Moreover, when nodules remain adjacent to the gastrointestinal tract or gallbladder, severe complications such as perforation of those organs may occur due to invasive therapy. Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) with artificial ascites or laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation (LRFA) are used to treat these patients to avoid complications. The purpose of the present study was to assess the efficacy and safety of these two methods.Methods:  Subjects comprised 74 patients (48 men, 26 women; mean age, 68.5 ± 8.0 years; range, 46–89 years) with 86 HCC nodules. PRFA with artificial ascites was carried out for 37 patients (44 nodules) and LRFA was used for 37 patients (42 nodules). Clinical profiles were compared between groups.Results:  No significant differences in clinical profiles were found between patients treated by PRFA or LRFA. Mean number of treatments was significantly lower for LRFA (1.0 ± 0.0) than for PRFA (2.1 ± 1.0, P < 0.001). Mean number of PRFA treatments was 2.2 ± 1.0 in patients with HCC nodules >2 cm in diameter, whereas all tumors were completely ablated with only one session of LRFA. The safety margin was significantly wider for LRFA than for PRFA.Conclusion:  LRFA is a better treatment option for ablation of HCC nodules >2.0 cm in diameter.
CLINICAL RESULTS OF ENDOSCOPIC HEMOSTASIS USING A SHORT TRANSPARENT HOOD AND SHORT HEMOCLIPS FOR NON‐VARICEAL UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING
Authors: Hosoe Naoki , Imaeda Hiroyuki , Kashiwagi Kazuhiro , Naganuma Makoto , Inoue Nagamu , Suzuki Hidekazu , Suganuma Kazuhiro , Ida Yosuke , Nakamizo Hiromasa , Aiura Koichi , Ogata Haruhiko , Iwao Yasushi , Kumai Koichiro , Hibi Toshifumi 
Published: March 2009

Aim:  Endoscopic hemostasis using hemoclips is useful, but there are technical difficulties because the angle of the approach is tangential. A transparent hood facilitates the observation and treatment of these lesions, and a shorter hood provides a wider visible field. Endoscopic hemoclipping of hard lesions with hemoclips of the conventional size does not reliably result in sustained hemostasis because the clips slip. Short clips, however, can be easily clamped on protruded visible vessels without slip. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic hemostasis with a short transparent hood and short clips.Methods:  Subjects were 198 patients with 214 lesions of non‐variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding at Keio University Hospital. We used a video endoscope with a short transparent hood attached to its distal tip and carried out hemostasis using short hemoclips.Results:  The short transparent hood provided a good visual field. If the lesions were in the tangential, the short hood made it possible to observe them in the frontal view and made clip hemostasis much easier. The short clip could be securely clamped against protruded visible vessels. Of 214 lesion, 211 (98.6%) had temporal hemostasis. Rebleeding occurred in 13 of 211 lesions (6.2%), and 205 of 214 lesions (95.8%) had permanent hemostasis. Nine cases were endoscopically difficult.Conclusion:  Endoscopic hemostasis with a short transparent hood and short clips is useful for non‐variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
Use of methylene blue in pheochromocytoma resection: case report
Authors: AMIN NASR AHMED , FATANI JEHAN , KASHKARI IBRAHEEM , AL SHAMMARY MOHAMED , AMIN TAREK 
Published: March 2009

SummaryWe report the use of intravenous Methylene blue to treat the hypotension occurring following adrenal vein ligation in a case of pheochromocytoma resection in a child. The potential benefits and problems, including correct dosage, are discussed.
Projected impacts of climate change on a continent‐wide protected area network
Authors: Hole David G. , Willis Stephen G. , Pain Deborah J. , Fishpool Lincoln D. , Butchart Stuart H. M. , Collingham Yvonne C. , Rahbek Carsten , Huntley Brian 
Published: March 2009

AbstractDespite widespread concern, the continuing effectiveness of networks of protected areas under projected 21st century climate change is uncertain. Shifts in species’ distributions could mean these resources will cease to afford protection to those species for which they were originally established. Using modelled projected shifts in the distributions of sub‐Saharan Africa’s entire breeding avifauna, we show that species turnover across the continent’s Important Bird Area (IBA) network is likely to vary regionally and will be substantial at many sites (> 50% at 42% of IBAs by 2085 for priority species). Persistence of suitable climate space across the network as a whole, however, is notably high, with 88–92% of priority species retaining suitable climate space in ≥ 1 IBA(s) in which they are currently found. Only 7–8 priority species lose climatic representation from the network. Hence, despite the likelihood of significant community disruption, we demonstrate that rigorously defined networks of protected areas can play a key role in mitigating the worst impacts of climate change on biodiversity.
Origin of the lichen–spruce woodland in the closed‐crown forest zone of eastern Canada
Authors: Girard François , Payette Serge , Gagnon Réjean 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACTAim  We investigate the timing and factors responsible for the transformation of closed‐crown forests into lichen–spruce woodlands.Location  The study area extends between 70° and 72° W in the closed‐crown forest zone from its southern limit near 47°30′ N to its northern limit at the contact with the lichen–spruce woodland zone around 52°10′ N. A total of 24 lichen–spruce woodlands were selected.Methods  Radiocarbon dating of charcoals at mineral soil contact and within the organic horizons allowed the principal factors causing the degradation of the closed‐crown forest to be identified, i.e. light fires, successive fires and the occurrence of a spruce budworm epidemic followed by a fire.Results  Charcoals dated in the organic horizon were less than 200 years old, suggesting a recent transformation of the closed‐crown forest following surface fires. Before their transformation into lichen–spruce woodlands, stands were occupied by old, dense forests that originated from fires dating back to 1000 yr bp. The radiocarbon dating of charcoals in the organic horizon indicated that several stands burned twice in less than 50 years, while others burned shortly after a spruce budworm epidemic. Light fires are frequent within the lichen–spruce woodlands according to multiple charcoal layers found within the organic matter horizon.Main conclusions  While closed‐crown forests are predicted to expand under climate warming, compound disturbances diminish the natural regeneration of the closed‐crown forests in the south and favour the expansion of lichen–spruce woodlands. As black spruce germinates on mineral soils, surface fires accentuate the expansion of the lichen–spruce woodlands southward. Under global warming, warmer springs will lead to earlier low‐intensity fires that do not remove as much organic matter, and hence prevent conditions suitable for black spruce regeneration. Also, spruce budworm reduces seed production for a certain time. The occurrence of fire during this period is critical for regeneration of black spruce.
The Procompetitive Effect of Demand‐Enhancing Check‐Off Programs
Authors: Crespi John M. , Marette Stéphan 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis article explores demand‐enhancing check‐off programs and how such programs may influence both private programs as well as industry market structure. Under duopoly, a firm may increase its sales through privately funding product quality improvements. However, such endogenous sunk costs may also be used to exclude a rival. Industry‐funded check‐off programs affect firms’ strategies and can be procompetitive. The rationale lies not only in how the check‐off enhancement is perceived by consumers but also in the way the check‐off's crowding‐out effect reduces the ability of a firm to use its private expenditures to bar a rival's market access.
Impact of the National Pension Fund on the Suitability of Elderly Pensions in Thailand*
Authors: Pfau Wade D. , Atisophon Vararat 
Published: March 2009

This study combines a traditional hypothetical worker approach with the techniques of stochastic forecasting to provide a better sense about the suitability of the pension system for formal sector private workers in Thailand. With regard to the proposed defined‐contribution pension, we find that workers with a 40‐year career can only expect a median replacement rate of approximately 13–14 percent of their final 5 years of income. Most of the pension benefits will still likely come from the unsustainable defined‐benefit pension system and further reforms will be needed to maintain suitable pensions.
Foreign Aid, Infrastructure Development and Welfare: An Intertemporal Analysis
Authors: Djajić Slobodan 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe author examines the welfare implications of foreign aid within the framework of a two‐period, two‐country model of international trade. It is up to the donor country to decide what fraction of any given aid package is to be made available for the recipient's immediate consumption in period one, and what part should be allocated for investment in infrastructure that expands the recipient's production possibilities in period two. The focus of the analysis is on the conditions under which both countries agree or disagree on the manner in which the aid funds should be divided between the two options.
Monetary Policy Rules for Managing Aid Surges in Africa
Authors: Adam Christopher , O'Connell Stephen , Buffie Edward , Pattillo Catherine 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis paper examines the properties of alternative monetary policy rules in response to large aid surges in low‐income countries characterized by incomplete capital market integration and currency substitution. Using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model, it is shown that simple monetary rules that stabilize the path of expected future seigniorage for a given aid flow have attractive properties relative to a range of conventional alternatives, including those involving heavy reliance on bond sterilization or a commitment to a pure exchange rate float. These simple rules, which are shown to be robust across a range of fiscal responses to aid inflows, appear to be consistent with actual responses to recent aid surges in a range of post‐stabilization countries in Sub‐Saharan Africa.
Rangeland degradation is poised to cause Africa's first recorded avian extinction
Authors: Spottiswoode C. N. , Wondafrash M. , Gabremichael M. N. , Abebe Y. Dellelegn , Mwangi M. A. K. , Collar N. J. , Dolman P. M. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractRangeland degradation by livestock threatens several restricted‐range species, but is largely overlooked by conservation biologists. The Sidamo larkHeteromirafra sidamoensis, confined to the Liben Plain grassland in southern Ethiopia, is critically endangered by bush encroachment, permanent settlement and agricultural conversion. Its global range was previously estimated at 760 km2, but in 2007–2008 available habitat covered<35 km2. Density estimates from multi‐model inference analysis of distance transect data provided a global population estimate of 90–256 adults (possibly with a serious sex‐ratio bias towards males). Logistic regression models of habitat selection showed that males preferentially occurred in areas of grassland with greater cover of medium‐length grass (5–15 cm), less cover of bare ground and fewer bushes. Habitat transects extending outward from its core range revealed massive and rapid bush encroachment, corroborating information from semi‐structured interviews. The survival of both local Borana pastoralism and this species – mainland Africa's likeliest first avian extinction – depends on restoring seasonal patterns of grazing, resisting agricultural conversion of grasslands, reversing fire suppression policies and clearing bush.
Mythico‐History, Social Memory, and Praxis: Anthropological Approaches and Directions
Authors: Rasmussen Susan 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis article explores the interface and tension between myth, history, and memory, in relation to ideology and praxis of identity. There is a critical overview of anthropological and other approaches in the humanities and social sciences to ‘mythico‐history’ and social memory, their mutual influences, and current debates and directions in this literature. In particular, emphasis is upon the uses of oral narratives in historiography and social context in the constructions of personal and collective identities of difference, for example, ethnicity and gender in ‘narratives of nation’ and ‘myths of matriliny’ and their connections to social practice, drawing on secondary cross‐cultural data and primary data from this anthropologist's research in Tuareg (Kel Tamajaq) communities of northern Niger and Mali.
Thyroid dysfunction in primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease
Authors: Silveira Marina G. , Mendes Flavia D. , Diehl Nancy N. , Enders Felicity T. , Lindor Keith D. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground/Aims: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is frequently associated with autoimmune diseases, including thyroid disease, although it is uncertain that this association is higher than in other liver diseases.Methods: We compared the prevalence and incidence of thyroid dysfunction (TD) in a series of patients with PBC (n=67) with patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) (n=79) and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (n=97) seen in a tertiary referral centre who had previously participated in clinical trials.Results: At initial evaluation, prevalence of TD in PBC was 13% compared with 11% in PSC (P=0.71) and 25% in NAFLD (P=0.08). Incidence of TD was 2.9 patients per 100 person‐years in PBC compared with 2.1 patients per 100 person‐years in PSC (P=0.57) and 1.8 patients per 100 person‐years in non‐alcoholic liver disease (P=0.45). Older age, female gender, biochemical abnormalities and concurrent autoimmune disorders were not predictive of the development of TD.Conclusions: TD was unexpectedly as common in patients with PBC as in patients with PSC and NAFLD, yet significantly more common than expected in the general population. Further investigation of thyroid disease in PSC and NAFLD is warranted.
Mapping brain activity on the verge of a photically induced generalized tonic–clonic seizure
Authors: Moeller Friederike , Siebner Hartwig R. , Wolff Stephan , Muhle Hiltrud , Granert Oliver , Jansen Olav , Stephani Ulrich , Siniatchkin Michael 
Published: March 2009

SummaryIn a photosensitive patient intermittent photic stimulation (IPS) accidentally provoked a generalized tonic–clonic seizure during simultaneous recordings of electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Before seizure onset, IPS consistently induced generalized photoparoxysmal responses (PPRs). These PPRs were associated with increases in blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal in the visual cortex, the thalamus, and both superior colliculi, and a decrease in BOLD signal in the frontoparietal areas. The BOLD signal in the visual cortex increased in magnitude during consecutive epochs of IPS associated with PPRs. We propose that repeated IPS led to an excessive amount of neuronal activity in the visual cortex that evoked PPRs and finally exceeded a critical threshold and triggered a generalized seizure.
Are personality traits of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy related to frontal lobe dysfunctions? A proton MRS study
Authors: De Araújo Filho Gerardo Maria , Lin Katia , Lin Jaime , Peruchi Mirella M. , Caboclo Luís Otávio S.F. , Guaranha Mirian S.B. , Guilhoto Laura M.F.F. , Carrete Jr Henrique , Yacubian Elza Márcia T. 
Published: March 2009

SummaryPurpose:  Personality traits characterized by emotional instability and immaturity, unsteadiness, lack of discipline, hedonism, frequent and rapid mood changes, and indifference toward one’s disease have been associated with patients who have juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Literature data demonstrate worse seizure control and more psychosocial dysfunctions among patients with JME who have those traits. In this controlled study we performed a correlation analysis of psychiatric scores with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) values across JME patients, aiming to verify the existence of a possible relation between frontal lobe dysfunction and the prevalence of personality disorders (PDs) in JME.Methods:  Sixteen JME patients with cluster B PDs, 41 JME patients without any psychiatric disorder, and 30 healthy controls were submitted to a psychiatric evaluation and to a quantitative multivoxel MRS of thalamus; insula; cingulate gyrus; striatum; and frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes. Groups were homogeneous according to age, gender, and manual dominance. Psychiatric evaluation was performed through the Scheduled Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV, Axis I and II (SCID I and II, respectively).Results:  A significant reduction of N‐acetyl‐aspartate over creatinine (NAA/Cr) ratio was observed mainly in the left frontal lobe in the JME and PD group. In addition, a significant increase in the glutamate–glutamine over creatinine GLX/Cr ratio was also observed in this referred region in the same group.Discussion:  These data support the hypothesis that PDs in JME could represent neuronal dysfunction and possibly a more severe form of this epileptic syndrome.
Common polymorphisms in the interleukin‐22 gene are not associated with chronic plaque psoriasis
Authors: Weger Wolfgang , Hofer Angelika , Wolf Peter , El‐Shabrawi Yosuf , Renner Wilfried , Kerl Helmut , Salmhofer Wolfgang 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground:  Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Among other cytokines, interleukin 22 (IL‐22) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic plaque psoriasis. The purpose of this study was to investigate a hypothesized association between common IL‐22 gene polymorphisms and chronic plaque psoriasis.Methods:  Genotypes of 10 common polymorphisms of the IL‐22 gene were determined by fluorogenic 5′ exonuclease assays (TaqMan) in 475 patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and 252 controls.Results:  Two blocks of high linkage disequilibrium, formed by eight polymorphisms upstream of exon 5 (rs2227485, rs2227491, rs2046068, rs1179251, rs1012356, rs2227501, rs2227503, rs976748) and two polymorphisms in the 3′ near gene region (rs1182844, rs1179246), were observed within the IL‐22 gene. Neither single polymorphisms nor haplotypes were significantly associated with the presence or clinical features of chronic plaque psoriasis (P > 0.05).Conclusions:  Our data suggest that the investigated IL‐22 gene polymorphisms are unlikely major risk factors for chronic plaque psoriasis.
Comparative thermodynamic and spectroscopic properties of water interaction with human stratum corneum
Authors: Yadav Santosh , Wickett R. Randall , Pinto Neville G. , Kasting Gerald B. , Thiel Stephen W. 
Published: March 2009

Background/purpose: The water content of skin has a significant impact on skin properties; sufficient hydration is necessary to keep the skin supple, flexible, and smooth. To understand more completely the water retention properties of the human skin barrier, physical macroscopic properties must be related to the structural organization of the stratum corneum (SC). Water, lipids, and natural moisturizing factor (NMF) influence the molecular structures that affect the properties of SC, including water sorption and binding enthalpy. In the research reported here, isothermal microcalorimetry was used to study the interaction of water vapor with isolated human SC in intact, delipidized, and water‐washed delipidized forms to identify the influences of the principal components of SC on water sorption. The calorimetric data are interpreted in conjunction with spectroscopic results to identify the conformational changes in keratins induced by lipid and NMF removal and to assess the influence of these changes on water binding in SC.Methods: Isothermal calorimetry was used to measure the integral heat of water vapor sorption on intact, delipidized, and water‐washed delipidized human SC at 32 °C as a function of relative humidity using back and thigh skin from three donors. Calorimetric measurements were combined with water vapor sorption measurements to determine the differential thermodynamic properties of these systems. Attenuated total reflection–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to investigate effects of extraction on protein secondary structure.Results: The magnitudes of the differential enthalpy, entropy, and free energy were greatest for intact SC and least for water‐washed delipidized SC. Water sorption followed a similar trend. Delipidization led to a significantly reduced binding enthalpy at low water content; water washing the delipidized SC had only a small additional effect on binding enthalpy. Delipidization converts a fraction of keratin α‐helixes to turns and random coils, while water sorption converts a fraction of keratin α‐helixes to β‐sheets, turns, and random coils.Conclusions: The results of this study are consistent with a water sorption model in which keratin–keratin hydrogen bonds are replaced by keratin–water hydrogen bonds. Delipidization reduces the fraction of dry keratin that is in the α‐helix conformation, suggesting that lipids hold the keratins in a conformation conducive to optimal hydration.
In vivo simultaneous measurement of urea and water in the human stratum corneum by diffuse‐reflectance near‐infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Egawa Mariko 
Published: March 2009

Background/purpose: As near‐infrared spectroscopy is a powerful non‐invasive technique, information about several functional groups such as OH, NH, and CH can be monitored simultaneously. This study aimed to coincidentally measure urea and water contents in the human stratum corneum after the treatment of urea‐containing cream, in vivo, by a Fourier transform near‐infrared spectrometer with a fiber‐optic probe.Method: Diffuse reflectance spectra of heels of five healthy Japanese volunteers in the 1250–2500 nm region were measured in vivo before and after the 2‐h treatment of urea‐containing cream. The relative urea content of the heel was calculated from the peak height ratio at 1976 and 2175 nm in the second derivative spectra and that of water was obtained from the 1900 nm water band and that at 2175 nm. Water mobility was calculated from the peak top wavelength of the 1900 nm water band.Results: The estimated water content tended to increase 1 and 2 h after the treatment compared with before the treatment and subsequently gradually decreased with time. The estimated urea content significantly increased 1 h after the treatment. Significant changes in peak wavelength to shorter wavelengths 1, 2, and 4 h after the treatment was observed, suggesting that the water mobility increased.Conclusion: The estimated urea and water contents in heels before and after the treatment with urea‐containing cream were monitored separately in vivo by diffuse reflectance near‐infrared spectroscopy. We demonstrated the potential of NIR spectroscopy for evaluating the efficacy of topical application of a urea‐containing cream to the skin in vivo.