bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Catastrophe and impoverishment in paying for health care: with applications to Vietnam 1993–1998
Authors: Wagstaff Adam , Doorslaer Eddy van 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThis paper presents and compares two threshold approaches to measuring the fairness of health care payments, one requiring that payments do not exceed a pre‐specified proportion of pre‐payment income, the other that they do not drive households into poverty. We develop indices for ‘catastrophe’ that capture the intensity of catastrophe as well as its incidence and also allow the analyst to capture the degree to which catastrophic payments occur disproportionately among poor households. Measures of poverty impact capturing both intensity and incidence are also developed. The arguments and methods are empirically illustrated with data on out‐of‐pocket payments from Vietnam in 1993 and 1998. This is not an uninteresting application given that 80% of health spending in that country was paid out‐of‐pocket in 1998. We find that the incidence and intensity of ‘catastrophic’ payments – both in terms of pre‐payment income as well as ability to pay – were reduced between 1993 and 1998, and that both incidence and intensity of ‘catastrophe’ became less concentrated among the poor. We also find that the incidence and intensity of the poverty impact of out‐of‐pocket payments diminished over the period in question. Finally, we find that the poverty impact of out‐of‐pocket payments is primarily due to poor people becoming even poorer rather than the non‐poor being made poor, and that it was not expenses associated with inpatient care that increased poverty but rather non‐hospital expenditures. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Head and neck cancer patients with pulmonary nodules: Value and role of CT‐guided transthoracic needle aspiration biopsies
Authors: Mesurolle Benoît , Mignon François , Meingan Philippe , Domenge Christian , Vasile Manuella , Sigal Robert 
Published: October 2003

AbstractBackground.To evaluate transthoracic needle aspiration biopsies of pulmonary lesions in patients with squamous cell cancer of head and neck.Methods.Retrospective series of 85 patients with squamous cell cancer of head and neck cancer and pulmonary nodules who underwent CT‐guided needle aspiration biopsy.Results.Diagnostic samples were obtained in 85% of patients. There were 8 benign and 77 malignant lesions. Among the 73 proved cases, 4 were false‐negative cases. CT‐guided biopsy had an accuracy of 81%, a sensitivity of 94%, and a negative predictive value of 60%. Accuracies were 68% for lesions of 20 mm or smaller and 89% for lesions greater than 20 mm. In a subset of 45 solitary lesions, among 30 positive biopsies, 15 were categorized as primary malignancies, 3 as metastatic, and 12 as indeterminate malignancies.Conclusions.In head and neck cancer patients, the prevalence of thoracic malignancies is high when a pulmonary lesion is detected. CT‐guided biopsy of pulmonary lesion is an accurate procedure. However, a third of positive biopsies were categorized as indeterminate malignancies. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 25: 000–000, 2003
Prognostic significance of perioperative blood transfusion in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Taniguchi Yoshitaka , Okura Masaya 
Published: October 2003

AbstractBackground.The influence of perioperative blood transfusion on survival in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is still not convincingly determined. To investigate the effect of perioperative allogeneic transfusion on survival in stage II–IV squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, we studied a consecutive series of 105 patients undergoing primary tumor resection and neck dissection.Methods.Retrospective analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards models with 16 variables.Results.Perioperative red blood cell transfusion was required in 64 (61%) patients. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the number of positive nodes and ≥3 units of red blood cell transfusion were an independent prognostic indicators. The calculated odds ratio for death after ≥3 units transfused was 5.79 (95% confidence interval, 1.56–21.53, p < .01).Conclusions.More than 3 units of allogeneic red blood cells transfused might shorten the survival of patients with oral cavity cancer. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 25: 000–000, 2003
Long‐term transgene expression in cardiac and skeletal muscle following fetal administration of adenoviral or adeno‐associated viral vectors in mice
Authors: Bouchard Sarah , MacKenzie Tippi C. , Radu Antoneta P. , Hayashi Satoshi , Peranteau William H. , Chirmule Narendra , Flake Alan W. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractBackgroundIn utero gene transfer may provide advantages for the correction of congenital genetic disorders. In the present study we compare the ability of adenovirus (AdCMVLacZ), and two serotypes of adeno‐associated virus (AAVCMVLacZ serotypes 2 and 2/5), to target cardiac and skeletal muscle after prenatal systemic or intramuscular injection in mice and assess the immune response to the vectors.MethodsDay 14 gestation fetal mice underwent direct intraperitoneal or intramuscular injection of AdCMVLacZ, and AAVCMVLacZ serotypes 2 and 2/5 vectors. Tissues were processed for β‐galactosidase expression in frozen or high‐resolution thin plastic sections at early and late time points. Neutralizing antibodies to Ad and AAV were analyzed in separate fetal experimental and neonatal or adult control groups after administration and re‐administration of the vectors.ResultsA single injection of each vector in utero resulted in sustained expression of β‐galactosidase transgene in skeletal and cardiac muscle. Transgene expression was detected for the length of the study, i.e. 86, 58, and 31 weeks after birth for AdCMVLacZ, and AAVCMVLacZ serotypes 2 and 2/5, respectively. High‐level expression in the myocardium was observed independent of the vector or route of administration. Neutralizing antibody responses to AAV and Ad antigens were reduced and long‐term expression in muscle was not ablated on postnatal re‐administration of vector.ConclusionsSustained, high‐level cardiac and skeletal muscle transgene expression can be obtained after prenatal gene transfer with each of these vectors. The potential for immune response to viral antigens is altered, but not entirely ablated after in utero exposure. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Expression of phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) in erythrogenic bone marrow does not correct hyperphenylalaninemia in Pahenu2 mice
Authors: Harding Cary O. , Neff Mark , Jones Kelly , Wild Krzysztof , Wolff Jon A. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractBackgroundTreatment of many inherited liver enzyme deficiencies requires the removal of toxic intermediate metabolites from the blood of affected individuals. We propose that circulating toxins can be adequately cleared and disease phenotype influenced by enzyme expressed in tissues other than the liver, such as bone marrow. Our specific hypothesis was that phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) expressed in bone marrow would lower blood phenylalanine levels in hyperphenylalaninemic Pahenu2 mice, a model of human phenylketonuria (PKU).MethodsGermline‐modified marrow PAH‐expressing mice were developed using a transgene that contained the mouse liver PAH cDNA under the transcriptional control of a human β‐globin promoter. Marrow PAH‐expressing mice were bred to Pahenu2 mice to generate progeny that lacked liver PAH activity but expressed PAH in bone marrow.ResultsMarrow PAH expression did not affect the health, function, or reproductive capacity of transgenic animals. Hyperphenylalaninemia persisted in transgenic Pahenu2 homozygous mice despite PAH activity in marrow lysates, and was not altered following supplementation with tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), a required cofactor for PAH. PAH activity measured in intact marrow cells was significantly lower than in marrow lysates; no such difference was measured in isolated hepatocytes vs. liver homogenate.ConclusionsMarrow PAH expression did not correct hyperphenylalaninemia in Pahenu2 mice. Phenylalanine clearance may have been limited by the natural perfusion rate of the marrow compartment, by insufficient PAH expression in marrow, or by other cellular factors affecting phenylalanine metabolism in intact marrow cells. Differences in PAH activity measured in intact marrow cells vs. cell lysates suggest that hepatocytes and PAH‐expressing marrow cells are fundamentally different in their ability to metabolize phenylalanine. The efficacy of bone‐marrow‐directed gene therapy as a metabolic sink in the treatment of phenylketonuria may be limited, although further experiments with greater marrow PAH expression levels will be necessary to definitively prove this conclusion. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pre‐administration of angiopoietin‐1 followed by VEGF induces functional and mature vascular formation in a rabbit ischemic model
Authors: Yamauchi Akihiko , Ito Yoshinori , Morikawa Masayuki , Kobune Masayoshi , Huang Jianhua , Sasaki Katsunori , Takahashi Kazuhiro , Nakamura Kiminori , Dehari Hironari , Niitsu Yoshiro , Abe Tomio , Hamada Hirofumi 
Published: October 2003

AbstractBackgroundAngiopoietin‐1 (Ang1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) play important roles in vascular formation and maturation, suggesting that the combination of these two would be a promising therapy for ischemia. However, it remains unclear what the best schedule of administration of these cytokines might be.MethodsSix experimental groups were used to prepare the rabbit ischemic hindlimb model following naked plasmid intramuscular administration as follows: empty vector (C), single gene (Ang1, A; VEGF, V), Ang‐1 followed by VEGF (A − V), co‐administration of Ang1 and VEGF (A + V), and VEGF followed by Ang1 (V − A).ResultsThirty days after gene administration, A − V showed a significantly increased blood pressure and blood‐flow recovery in the ischemic limb compared with the control group. Histological findings by α‐smooth muscle‐actin (α‐SMA) staining revealed that the two combination groups had more mature vessels as compared with the control group. Significantly, A − V revealed the highest density of α‐SMA‐positive vessels compared with VEGF alone or Ang1 alone. Angiographic assessment revealed that A − V had a greater increased arterial diameter compared with VEGF alone. Edema, one of the major adverse effects induced by VEGF, was not found in A − V throughout the experiments, while VEGF alone and V − A showed severe edema induced by VEGF.ConclusionsThe pre‐administration of Ang1 followed by VEGF resulted in an improvement of hemodynamic status, an increased number of vessels covered with α‐actin‐positive mural cells, and prevention of VEGF‐mediated edema. Thus, priming by Ang1 gene administration would be beneficial for therapeutic angiogenesis in VEGF gene therapy. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Advantages and limitations of particle‐mediated transfection (gene gun) in cancer immuno‐gene therapy using IL‐10, IL‐12 or B7‐1 in murine tumor models
Authors: Kitagawa Toru , Iwazawa Takashi , Robbins Paul D. , Lotze Michael T. , Tahara Hideaki 
Published: October 2003

AbstractBackgroundPrevious studies have shown that particle‐mediated transfection (PMT; gene gun) is an efficient method of non‐viral gene transfer. We have examined the advantages and limitations of PMT in cancer immuno‐gene therapy using IL‐10, IL‐12 or B7‐1, all of which have been shown to be effective in murine tumor models using retroviral vectors.MethodsMurine cell lines (MCA205, MCA207, NIH‐3T3) were treated with in vitro PMT, liposome‐mediated transfection (LMT) or retroviral transfection. In vivo PMT was also examined for in vivo experiments using C57BL/6.ResultsTransfection efficiency and cytokine expression of PMT were similar to those of LMT, another non‐viral approach, in culture when murine adherent cells were used. Tumor establishment of MCA205 was suppressed when they were transfected with the mIL‐12 and/or mB7‐1 gene using PMT in vitro. In a treatment of established tumor, vaccination with tumor cells transfected with an IL‐12 gene suppressed tumor growth, whereas a B7‐1 gene was not effective. When an IL‐10 gene was used to supply a high level of expression for antitumor effects, neither in vitro nor in vivo PMT could suppress even tumor establishment. These failures appear to be caused by the characteristics of PMT which allows high, but transient, expression of transfected genes.ConclusionsParticle‐mediated transfection is a useful non‐viral transfection method in a system which does not require high‐level gene expression for a prolonged time of period. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Minding experience: An exploration of the concept of “experience” in the early French anthropology of Durkheim, Lévy‐Bruhl, and Lévi‐Strauss
Authors: Throop C. Jason 
Published: October 2003

AbstractIn line with the growing concern with the unexamined reliance upon the concept of “experience” in
anthropology, this article explores in some detail the various usages and definitions of the concept in the work
of three of early French anthropology's most influential theorists: Émile Durkheim
(1858–1918), Lucien Lévy‐Bruhl (1857–1939), and Claude
Lévi‐Strauss (1908–). With its important influence on both British and American
anthropology, the early French anthropological tradition, as epitomized in the writings of these three thinkers,
has indeed played a pivotal role in shaping many current taken‐for‐granted understandings of the
concept of experience in the discipline of anthropology as a whole. In the process of exploring how experience
is viewed by these three scholars, this paper will thus take some initial steps toward the historical
contextualization of many of the unquestioned assumptions underpinning current understandings of experience in
the discipline of anthropology and the social sciences more generally. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effect of nonlinear viscoelastic properties on tack
Authors: Verdier C. , Piau J.‐M. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe influence of rheological and surface properties on adhesive tackiness are studied. In particular, the importance of the elongational properties is emphasized in a model, which considers only the adhesive contribution while neglecting the importance of cavitation and surface roughness. This simple analysis allows us to recover the different types of curves (i.e., different adhesive materials) obtained in the literature on tack. Elastic, strain‐hardening, and viscous adhesive materials are considered. The question of the importance of surface properties is raised and discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 3139–3149, 2003
Pressure dependence of the second virial coefficient of dilute polystyrene solutions
Authors: Moses Corey L. , Van Hook W. Alexander 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe pressure derivatives of the second virial coefficients [dA2/dP; 0.1 ≤ P (MPa) ≤ 35.0] for dilute polystyrene (PS) solutions in good, θ, and poor solvents were measured with static light scattering. The solvent quality improved (dA2/dP > 0) in the good and poor solvents that we investigated (toluene, chloroform; and methylcyclohexane) but deteriorated (dA2/dP < 0) in θ solvents (cyclohexane and 50‐50 cis,trans‐decalin). The effects of temperature [22 < T (°C) < 45] and molecular weight [25 × 103 < weight‐average molecular weight (amu mol−1) < 900 × 103] on dA2/dP for PS/cyclohexane solutions were examined. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 3070–3076, 2003
Ortho‐positronium lifetime distribution analyzed with MELT and LT and free volume in poly(ε‐caprolactone) during glass transition, melting, and crystallization
Authors: Dlubek G. , Supej M. , Bondarenko V. , Pionteck J. , Pompe G. , Krause‐Rehberg R. , Emri I. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractPositron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) was used to study the free volume behavior in the temperature range between 100 and 370 K in semicrystalline poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL). For the analysis of the spectra we used the well‐known routine MELT as well as the new program LT8.0, which allows both discrete and log‐normal distributed annihilation rates. From experiments, confirmed by the analysis of simulated spectra, we found that MELT returns too large values for the o‐Ps lifetime τ3 associated with too small intensities I3. This is due to the underestimation of the width of o‐Ps lifetime distribution in MELT (the spectra analyzed contained 3 million counts). The same effects were observed in the parameters obtained from the discrete term analysis. LT, however, returns, when allowing the o‐Ps lifetime to be distributed, rather accurate values for τ3, I3, and the width (standard deviation σ3) of the o‐Ps lifetime distribution. The effect of the glass transition, melting, and crystallization on the annihilation parameters was observed. These results were compared with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and pressure–volume–temperature (PVT) experiments. From this comparison, the number density of holes and the fractional free (hole) volume have been estimated. At a “knee” temperature Tk ≈ 1.5 Tg, a leveling off of the o‐Ps lifetime τ3 and a distinct decrease in the width, σ3, of its distribution was observed; the latter effect was detected for the first time. Fast motional processes and/or the disappearance of the dynamic heterogeneity of the glass and the transition to a homogeneous liquid are discussed as possible reasons for these effects. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 3077–3088, 2003
Effect of carbon dioxide sorption on the phase behavior of weakly interacting polymer mixtures: Solvent‐induced segregation in deuterated polybutadiene/polyisoprene blends
Authors: RamachandraRao Vijayakumar S. , Vogt Bryan D. , Gupta Ravi R. , Watkins James J. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) sorption on the lower critical solution temperatures of deuterated polybutadiene/polyisoprene blends was determined with in situ small‐angle neutron scattering. CO2 was a poor solvent for both polymers and exhibited very weak selectivity between the blend components. The sorption of modest concentrations of CO2, at pressures up to 160 bar, induced phase segregation at temperatures well below the binary‐phase‐separation temperature and caused an increased asymmetry in the lower critical solution temperature curve. The origin of solvent‐induced phase segregation in this weakly interacting polymer blend system was attributed predominantly to an exacerbation of the existing disparity in the compressibility of the components upon CO2 sorption. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 3114–3126, 2003
Segmental‐ and normal‐mode dielectric relaxation of poly(propylene glycol) under pressure
Authors: Roland C. M. , Psurek T. , Pawlus S. , Paluch M. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractDielectric measurements were obtained on poly(propylene glycol) (molecular weight: 4000 Da) at pressures in excess of 1.2 GPa. The segmental (α process) and normal‐mode (α′ process) relaxations exhibited different pressure sensitivities of their relaxation strengths, as well as their relaxation times. Such results are contrary to previous reports, and (at least for the dielectric strength) can be ascribed to the capacity for intermolecular hydrogen‐bond formation in this material. With equation‐of‐state measurements, the relative contributions of volume and thermal energy to the α‐relaxation times were quantified. Similar to other H‐bonded liquids, temperature is the more dominant control variable, although the effect of volume is not negligible. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 3047–3052, 2003
Selecting the best treatment in designed experiments
Authors: Polansky Alan M. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractA common question in biological experimentation is concerned with finding an optimal level for a treatment using data obtained from a designed experiment. For example, an experiment might concern a group of hyperactive adolescent males that have been grouped into blocks according to some relevant factors. Within each group the subjects are randomly assigned to several treatments for hyperactivity. An important aspect of the study would then be determining which of the treatment options is most effective in reducing hyperactivity in the subjects. Basing such a determination directly on the estimated treatment effects may be unreliable because of the inherent variability associated with the estimates. Other methods, such as multiple comparison procedures and best subset selection procedures can also be applied to this problem. Unfortunately, such procedures are often difficult to interpret and rely on assumptions that may not be appropriate for the experiment under consideration. In this paper we develop a method of assigning a confidence level to each treatment that measures how confident we are that each treatment is optimal. The method for assigning the confidence levels is based on a more general methodology developed for the problem of regions, where one assigns levels of confidence that an unknown parameter is within specified subsets of the parameter space. The actual computation of the confidence levels is based on the bootstrap. The method is applied to an example and is studied empirically. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A competing‐risks nomogram for sarcoma‐specific death following local recurrence
Authors: Kattan Michael W. , Heller Glenn , Brennan Murray F. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe majority of staging systems focus on the definition of stage, and, therefore, prediction of prognosis. In the current era of clinical trial research, it has become apparent that the clinical stage alone is not sufficient to assess patient risk of treatment failure. As the number of biological markers increases, our ability to partition the traditional disease classification system improves, and our ability to predict patient success continues to increase. One approach to quantifying individual patient risk is through the nomogram. Nomograms are graphical representations of statistical models, which provide the probability of treatment outcome based on patient‐specific covariates. We will focus on the use of the nomogram when the response variable is time to failure and there are multiple, possibly dependent, competing causes of failure. In this setting, estimation of the failure probability through direct application of the Cox proportional hazards model provides the probability of failure (for example, death from cancer) assuming failure from a dependent competing cause will not occur. In many clinical settings this is an unrealistic assumption. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the use of the conditional cumulative incidence function for providing a patient‐specific prediction of the probability of failure in the setting of competing risks. A competing risks nomogram is produced to estimate the probability of death due to sarcoma for patients who have already developed a local recurrence of their initially treated soft‐tissue sarcoma. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.