bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effect of photodynamic therapy on rat urinary bladder with orthotopic urothelial carcinoma
Authors: Grönlund‐Pakkanen S. , Wahlfors J. , Talja M. , Kosma V.‐M. , Pakkanen T.M. , Ala‐Opas M. , Alhava E. , Moore R.B. 
Published: December 2004

OBJECTIVETo assess the effect of whole‐bladder photodynamic therapy (PDT) on a rat model with orthotopic superficial bladder cancer, as PDT is an alternative intravesical therapy for treating superficial bladder cancer, based on an interaction between a photosensitizer and light energy to induce oxygen radicals that destroy tissue by lipid peroxidation.MATERIALS AND METHODSIn all, 76 female Fischer F344 rats were inoculated intravesically with AY‐27 tumour cells. After establishing superficial tumour, 24 rats were treated with PDT using aminolaevulinic acid (ALA)‐induced protoporphyrin IX as a photosensitizer, and a continuous‐wave argon pumped‐dye laser (638 nm). At 4 h after intravenous (300 mg/kg) or intravesical (100 mg/mL) administration of ALA the bladders were intravesically exposed to a 40 J/cm2 light dose; 12 rats received no ALA but were exposed to the same light dose. Before administering ALA, urine cytology samples were taken for analysis. At 3 or 21 days the treated rats were killed and morphological changes in the bladder walls analysed by light microscopy. Forty rats served as controls to examine the presence of tumour.RESULTSThe tumour established in 33 of 40 rats (83%) in the controls, but after PDT with intravesical ALA there was carcinoma in only in one of 12 (P < 0.001, Pearson's χ2 test). After PDT with intravenous ALA there was carcinoma in five of 11 rats (P = 0.063, Pearson's χ2 test). In the control group of 12 rats receiving only light energy there was carcinoma in three (P = 0.001, Pearson's χ2 test). Histologically, at 3 days after PDT there was only mild superficial damage in all six rats treated intravesically. Bladder wall destruction reached the muscular layer, with an abscess in one of six rats treated intravenously. After 3 weeks of PDT there was muscular necrosis with perforation and abscess from catheterization two of six rats treated intravesically and in three the bladder wall totally recovered. In the intravenous group the bladder walls were normal or had only mild superficial damage. Cytology of the urine sediment failed to detect half the tumours in the treatment groups.CONCLUSIONThese results support the use of PDT with intravesical ALA‐induced protoporphyrin X for treating superficial bladder carcinoma. Intravesical was better than intravenous ALA in eradicating bladder carcinoma with PDT.
Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography studies in the diagnosis and staging of clinically advanced prostate cancer
Authors: Sung J. , Espiritu J.I. , Segall G.M. , Terris M.K. 
Published: December 2004

OBJECTIVETo determine the value of 18F‐fluoro‐2‐deoxyglucose (FDG) positron‐emission tomography (PET) studies in evaluating patients with advanced prostate cancer.PATIENTS AND METHODSFDG‐PET scans were taken in 30 patients with advanced prostate cancer 1 h after an injection with 555 MBq of FDG. Patients were scanned from the base of the skull to the inguinal region (including the pelvis). They were also assessed by computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and pelvis, and bone scintigraphy, to evaluate them for metastases.RESULTSThirteen patients had locally extensive prostate cancer and 17 had metastatic disease. Twenty of the 30 patients were positive for radioisotope uptake in the prostate or extraprostatically. The patients with PET‐detected prostate cancer were untreated (seven), treated hormonally while they had rising PSA levels (eight), or treated hormonally with a detectable but stable PSA (five). The remaining 10 patients were negative for FDG uptake in the prostate or any metastatic sites; these 10 patients were receiving hormone therapy, with undetectable PSA levels.CONCLUSIONFDG‐PET imaging is not a useful test in evaluating advanced prostate cancer in patients being treated and who have an undetectable PSA level. Staging of advanced prostate cancer may be enhanced by FDG‐PET imaging in patients who are untreated, who have had an incomplete response to therapy, or who have a rising PSA level despite treatment.
Patterns of use of hormone replacement therapy in one million women in Britain, 1996–2000
Authors:   Million Women Study Collaborators,   The collaborators are listed on page 1329
Published: December 2004

Objective
To describe national patterns of use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in 1996–2000.Design
Population‐based study of women aged 50–64.Setting
England and Scotland.Population
A total of 1,091,250 women were recruited between May 1996 and December 2000.Methods
Women invited for screening at 66 NHS breast screening units were sent a questionnaire to complete before they were screened; 71% of women screened participated.Main outcome measures
Prevalence of use of HRT.Results
Overall, 33% of women reported that they were currently using HRT, the average duration of use being 5.8 years; 50% were ever‐users. Current use of HRT was about twice as common at age 50–54 than 60–64, but varied little by time or region, the prevalences being 33%–34% in each year from 1996 to 2000; 30% in Scotland and 35% in southeast England. The prevalence of current use of HRT varied substantially depending on the woman's history of gynaecological surgery and past health, and was as follows in women with a history of: bilateral oophorectomy (66%); hysterectomy without bilateral oophorectomy (48%); neither hysterectomy nor bilateral oophorectomy (27%); breast cancer (6%); other cancer (25%); stroke (24%); venous thromboembolism (24%); diabetes (25%); heart disease (31%); or hypertension (31%). There was considerably less variation in the prevalence of use of HRT according to deprivation index, education, parity, body mass index, exercise, smoking or alcohol consumption.Conclusions
HRT is currently used by around one‐third of women aged 50–64 in Britain and appears to be influenced considerably more strongly by a woman's medical and surgical history than by socio‐economic or lifestyle factors.
Safety of birth centre care: perinatal mortality over a 10‐year period
Authors: Gottvall Karin , Grunewald Charlotta , Waldenström Ulla 
Published: December 2004

Objective  To study perinatal mortality in women booked for birth centre care during pregnancy.Design  Retrospective cohort study.Setting  In‐hospital birth centre and standard maternity care in Stockholm.Population  Two thousand and five hundred and thirty‐four women (3256 pregnancies) admitted to an in‐hospital birth centre over 10 years (1989–2000) and 126,818 women (180,380 pregnancies) who gave birth in standard care during the same period and who met the same medical inclusion criteria as in the birth centre. Multiple pregnancies were excluded.Methods  Data were collected from the Swedish Medical Birth Register. Information on all cases of perinatal death in the birth centre group was retrieved from the medical records.Main outcome measure  Perinatal mortality.Results  No statistically significant difference in the overall perinatal mortality rate was observed between the birth centre group and the standard care group (odds ratio [OR] 1.5, 95% CI 0.9–2.4), but infants of primiparas were at greater risk (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.3–3.9). Infants of multiparas tended to be at lower risk, but this difference was not statistically significant (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.3–1.9). These figures were adjusted for maternal age and gestation in multiple regression analyses.Conclusion  Birth centre care may be less safe for infants of first‐time mothers.
Premature ovarian failure: frequency and risk factors among women attending a network of menopause clinics in Italy
Authors:   Progetto Menopausa Italia Study Group,   The list of participants indicated at the end of this article
Published: December 2004

Objective To determine the frequency and causes of preterm ovarian failure (menopause before 40 years of age) and early menopause (menopause between 40 and 45 years).Design Cross sectional study.Setting Menopause clinics in Italy.Population Women attending menopause clinics in Italy.Methods Between 1997 and 1999 we conducted a large cross sectional study on the characteristics of women around menopause attending a network of first‐level outpatient menopause clinics in Italy for general counselling about menopause or treatment of menopausal symptoms. Eligible for the study were all women aged 45–75 years consecutively observed for the first time at the participating centres on randomly selected days during the study period.Main outcome measure Factors associated with preterm ovarian failure.Results Out of 15,253 women aged 55 years or more with spontaneous menopause who entered the study, 269 (1.8%) reported preterm ovarian failure, and 1085 (7.1%) reported spontaneous menopause at age 40–45 years. The risk of preterm ovarian failure and of early menopause was higher in women reporting lifelong irregular menstrual cycles: in comparison with women reporting menopause at age ≥45 years, the OR (irregular vs regular mestrual cycles) of preterm ovarian failure was 1.3 (95% CI 1.0–1.7) and of early menopause of 1.2 (95% CI 1.0–1.5). Parous women reported less frequently preterm ovarian failure (

χ2 trend

P < 0.05) and early menopause (OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.7–1.0). No significant association emerged between risk of preterm ovarian failure or menopause at age 40 to <45 and education, age at menarche, oral contraceptive use and smoking habits.Conclusion Nulliparity and lifelong irregular menstrual cycles are associated with an increased risk of preterm ovarian failure.
Cysteinyl leukotrienes as common mediators of asthma and allergic disease
Authors: Dahlén S‐E. 
Published: December 2004

SummaryThe cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs) induce a number of pro‐inflammatory effects including smooth muscle contraction, an increase in blood flow, plasma exudation, mucous secretion, and activation of inflammatory cells. They play a key role in asthma and allergy, and can be recovered from different body fluids (e.g. bronchoaleveolar or nasal lavage and urine) during allergen‐induced hypersensitivity reactions. The advent of antileukotriene agents (i.e. leukotriene receptor antagonists or leukotriene synthesis inhibitors) has helped clarify how the different mechanisms contribute to inflammation, as well as offer new treatment options for both asthma and allergy. It is now clear that the release of leukotrienes is the final common path for the many different factors causing airway obstruction and inflammation. In asthma, clinical studies have shown that treatment with antileukotrienes can improve pulmonary function, alleviate symptoms, reduce asthma exacerbations, and decrease the need for bronchodilator therapy. Similarly, in patients with allergic rhinitis, improvements have been seen in nasal symptoms, eye symptoms and quality of life. Antileukotrienes provide a new opportunity for simultaneous management of allergic diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract, and are a rational treatment approach to the concept of ‘one airway’ disease. In future, their utility may also extend to inflammatory disorders of other organ systems (e.g. skin).
The influence of a biomaterial on the closure of a marginal hard tissue defect adjacent to implants
Authors: Botticelli Daniele , Berglundh Tord , Lindhe Jan 
Published: December 2004

Abstract: Objectives: The present experiment was performed to determine the influence of Bio‐Oss® on hard tissue formation at sites that, following implant installation, presented a 1–1.25 mm wide marginal defect.Material and methods: Four Labrador dogs were used. The premolars and first molars on both sides of the mandible were extracted. After 3 months, mucoperiosteal flaps were elevated and three experimental sites were prepared for implant installation in each side of the mandible. A step drill was used to widen the marginal 5 mm of the canal. Thus, following the placement of the implant (3.3×10 mm, SLA surface, Straumann AG, Waldenburg, Switzerland) a circumferential gap, about 1–1.25 wide and 5 mm deep, remained lateral to the titanium rod. The test sites in the left side of the mandible were first filled with a deproteinized cancellous bone mineral (Bio‐Oss®). The defect sites in the right side of the mandible (control sites) were left for spontaneous healing. A resorbable barrier membrane (Bio‐Gide®) was placed to cover the implant and the bone tissue in two sites of each quadrant, while the third site was left without membrane placement. The flaps were repositioned to cover all defect sites and were sutured. After 4 months of healing, block biopsies of each implant site were dissected and processed for ground sectioning.Results: It was demonstrated that at 4 months, all types of defects were filled with newly formed bone and that the biomaterial placed in the marginal defect in conjunction with implant installation during healing became incorporated in the newly formed bone tissue. A high degree of contact was established between the Bio‐Oss® particles and the newly formed bone.Conclusion: Bio‐Oss® became integrated with the newly formed bone. In the model used, Bio‐Oss® did not enhance the process of bone formation and defect closure.
Simvastatin promotes osteogenesis around titanium implants
Authors: Ayukawa Yasunori , Okamura Akira , Koyano Kiyoshi 
Published: December 2004

Abstract Objectives: Hydroxymethylglutaryl‐coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, the so‐called statins, have been widely used for hyperlipidemic patients, and it was recently reported that it promoted bone formation. In the present study, we examined the effect of simvastatin on the promotion of osteogenesis around titanium implants.Materials and methods: Ten 30‐week‐old rats received pure titanium implants in both tibiae, and were then divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was administered simvastatin daily. Thirty days later, all animals were killed and then specimens were prepared. The bone contact ratio (BCR) to the implant and bone density (BD) around the implant, as well as histological findings, were obtained.Results: In the control group, newly formed bone could be seen around the implants. It was seen to be in direct contact with the implant surface, but otherwise unmineralized connective tissue was occasionally interposed. In the medullary canal, a scanty amount of bone trabeculae was observed. In the experimental group, in contrast, thicker bone trabeculae were abundantly seen in the medullary canal and showed a mesh‐like structure. In the histometrical observations, both BCR and BD of the experimental group were significantly greater than those of the control group.Conclusion: The administration of simvastatin increases the value of both BCR and BD. This drug may have the potential to improve the nature of osseointegration.
Product dynamics for homoclinic attractors
Authors: Ashwin Peter , Field Michael 
Published: December 2004

Heteroclinic cycles may occur as structurally stable asymptotically stable attractors if there are invariant subspaces or symmetries of a dynamical system. Even for cycles between equilibria, it may be difficult to obtain results on the generic behaviour of trajectories converging to the cycle. For more–complicated cycles between chaotic sets, the non–trivial dynamics of the ‘nodes’ can interact with that of the ‘connections’. This paper focuses on some of the simplest problems for such dynamics where there are direct products of an attracting homoclinic cycle with various types of dynamics. Using a precise analytic description of a general planar homoclinic attractor, we are able to obtain a number of results for direct product systems.We show that for flows that are a product of a homoclinic attractor and a periodic orbit or a mixing hyperbolic attractor, the product of the attractors is a minimal Milnor attractor for the product. On the other hand, we present evidence to show that for the product of two homoclinic attractors, typically only a small subset of the product of the attractors is an attractor for the product system.
The GKS Input Model in Manifold
Authors: Soede Dirk , Arbab Farhad , Herman Ivan , Ten Hagen Paul J. W. 
Published: December 2004

This paper describes the specification of the GKS input model in Manifold. The aim of the work reported in this paper was two‐fold: first, to review the communication patterns implied by the GKS input model, and second, to evaluate the suitability of the Manifold language as a tool for defining complex dynamic interaction patterns that are common in non‐trivial user interfaces.The GKS input model is also adopted by all more recent ISO graphics standard documents. A more formal scrutiny of the inter‐communication of the components of this model, excluding the implementation details of their functionality, is instructive in itself. It can reveal directions for improvement of its shortcomings and for generalization of its strengths for the ongoing effort to define the functionality of future graphics packages.Manifold is a language for describing inter‐process communications. Processes in Manifold communicate by means of buffered communication links called streams and by reacting to events raised asynchronously by other processes. Our experience shows that Manifold is a promising tool for describing systems of cooperating parallel processes. Our Manifold specification of the GKS input model offers a very flexible way to structure user defined logical input devices. Furthermore, it is simple and modular enough to allow easy extensions to include more functionality by local modifications. As such, it can serve as a basis for possible extensions and enhancements envisioned for future graphics packages. 1987 CR Categories: C.1.2, C.1.3, C.2.m, D.1.3, F.1.2, I.1.3, I.3.6, I.3.4. 1885 Mathematical Subject Classification: 68N99, 68Q10,68U05.
A Formal Specification of a Graphics System in the Framework of the Computer Graphics Reference Model
Authors: Duce D. A. , Paterno F. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThis paper is motivated by the emerging ISO/IEC Reference Model for Computer Graphics (CGRM) and the revision of the ISO/IEC computer graphics standard, the Graphical Kernel System (GKS). The paper explores the use of the CGRM as a framework for structuring a specification of apart of the current draft of the revised GKS and the use of the LOTOS formal description technique for specifying graphics systems.
Creating a Competitive Advantage through Quality
Authors: Meulenbroeks Cees 
Published: December 2004

It is becoming more and more important for companies to have an optimal alignment between business strategy and information strategy. The approach developed in Hewlett‐Packard is one way to achieve this. Proper alignment and embeddedness within the IT environment is needed to realise business objectives to achieve competitive advantage. Effectiveness and flexibility are the key‐words to ensure competitive advantage by delivering a maximum service level to the customers, by reacting adequately on market changes and to optimise the business processes. Harvesting the creativity of users is an important aspect of the process.‘Our fundamental goal is to build positive, long‐term relationships with our customers, relationships characterised by mutual respect, by courtesy and integrity, by a helpful, effective response to customer needs and concerns, and by a strong commitment to providing products and services of the highest quality.’(extracted from Hewlett‐Packard’s Corporate Objectives for Customers)One of the objectives of Hewlett‐Packard is to create a competitive advantage both for the customers and the company by selling and delivering quality business solutions. This objective and the globalisation of our services ask for a business solution delivery approach based on standard products and in conformity with internationally accepted standards. The quality of the business solution delivery process is managed through the project delivery process. The customer’s business solution delivery appreciation is an implicit result of the quality of each individual project. This quality is based on international standards and generic company methodologies. These standards and methodologies combined with the quality of the people are the drivers for the embedding of quality within the entire organisation. The resulting total quality approach triggers a continuous quality improvement process in order to guarantee a win‐win situation for both the customer and Hewlett‐Packard.For the delivery of quality business solutions there must be a homogeneous set of quality objectives, performance goals, quality system implementation guidelines and a strategy for continuous quality improvement. Within Hewlett‐Packard, the Project Management Services department is responsible for the project delivery process with which the quality of the business solution delivery is managed. This paper describes how this is done.
End‐of‐life Issues as Perceived by Lebanese Judges
Authors: Adib Salim M. , Kawas Sami H. , Hajjar Theresa A. 
Published: December 2004

Objectives: to assess the attitudes of judges in Beirut, Lebanon, regarding end‐of‐life issues such as assisted suicide and withholding or withdrawing life‐sustaining treatment.Subjects and Methods: 85% of all currently acting and in‐training judges and public prosecutors in Beirut (N =135) were surveyed using a mailed questionnaire that assessed attitudes toward intervention in five hypothetical cases. The associations of attitudes, on a scale from least to most ‘sympathetic’ toward assisting those who desire to end their lives, were measured by a variety of personal, social and professional variables.Results: younger individuals, and those who have not yet been formally appointed as judges, were significantly more sympathetic to withdrawal or withholding of life‐sustaining devices when patients or their proxies requested it, and more in support of assisted suicide. Gender, religious denomination, religious practice, and personal experience with prolonged illness leading to death among close friends or family, were generally not significant predictors of respondents' attitudes. Years of experience as a judge correlated strongly with age and may have contributed to its predictive effect.Discussion and conclusions: a relatively more sympathetic attitude among younger judges, many of them women, and among trainees, may reflect a historical evolution in younger age‐groups in Lebanon today. A survey of opinions in the public may help reach a more conclusive understanding in this regard. In any case, judges in Lebanon will remain important partners in the debate, as they will continue to be the final interpreters of the letter of the law in end‐of‐life issues.