bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The economics and practicality of t‐PA vs tunnel catheter replacement for hemodialysis
Authors: Kaiser Permanente Cairoli O. 
Published: January 2005

Introduction:
Thrombolytic therapy is an important treatment modality for thrombosis‐related catheter occlusion. Central venous access devices (CAVDs) are essential tools for the administration of many therapeutic modalities, especially for patients requiring lifetime therapy like hemodialysis. There are several reasons to salvage the occluded catheter. Catheter replacement results in an interruption of therapy delivery. This interruption may result in complications such as life‐threatening metabolic and physiologic states. In addition, the patient's future access sites for CAVDs may be affected. The data released in the 2001 Annual Report – ESRD Clinical Performance Measures Project (Department of Health and Human Services, December 2001) shows 17% of prevalent patients were dialyzed with a chronic catheter continuously for 90 days or longer. In the pediatric population the data shows that 31% were dialyzed with a chronic catheter. The most common reasons for catheter placement included: no fistula or graft created (42%) and fistula and graft were maturing, not ready to cannulate (17%). Five percent of patients were not candidates for fistula or graft placement as all sites had been exhausted. Methods: A short study was done in our medical center to evaluate the results of t‐PA vs. changing the tunnel catheter. On an average a catheter costs about $400.00. If you add the cost of specialty personnel such as an interventional radiologist, radiology technician, radiology nurse, and the ancillaries such as the room, sutures, gauze, and tape, the total could reach $2000.00 easily. Cathflo™ Activase® costs around $60.00 for a single dose. T‐PA was reconstituted by pharmacy personnel in single vials containing 2 mg/2 ml. Now with Cathflo, vials are stored in the renal clinic's refrigerator and when the need arises, the RN reconstitutes the medication. The RN, using established protocols, will instill Cathflo in the catheter following the volume requirements of the various tunnel catheters. After the t‐PA is placed, the patient is sent home with instructions to return to their dialysis center the next day (arrangements are made by the RN as needed). In seventeen patients (17) with tunnel catheter malfunctions due to inadequate flow, not related to placement, t‐PA was used. Of those 17 patients 2 were unable to use their catheter on their next dialysis treatment date, yielding an 88% success rate. This compares with clinical trials in which there is an 83% success rate with a dwell time of 4 hours, or an 89% rate on patients having a 2 hour dwell time (t‐PA was repeated a second time if flow was not successfully restored. Results: 15/17 patients in our retrospective study showed that Cathflo worked successfully in restoring blood flow. Two catheters needed to be exchanged. The cost savings were significant when we compared the average cost of an exchange ($2000) versus using t‐PA ($170 including nursing time). Conclusion: Cathflo is not just safe and practical to use but also cost effective.
Preliminary experience with a new design for a tunneled, cuffed catheter for hemodialysis
Authors: Bousquet G.C 
Published: January 2005

Purpose:
The use of tunneled, cuffed central venous catheters for hemodialysis is associated with poor flow, thrombosis, and infections due to the transcutaneous nature of these devices. A new design for a sutureless, tunneled cuffed catheter was evaluated in hemodialysis patients to determine the effect of its design on the incidence of exit site infection. Methods: A polyurethane conduit with a uniquely designed cuff and subcutaneous skirt covered with Dacron velour was attached to standard double lumen central venous catheters. Seven (7) Ash catheters and one (1) Tesio catheter were fitted with the overtube and skirt and implanted in eight (8) patients undergoing routine hemodialysis. Patients were monitored for exit site infection, tunnel infection, bacteremia, cuff extrusion, and serosanguineous exudate. Results: Catheters were implanted for 6 to 26 weeks. All catheters remained patent and no cases of bacteremia were observed. There was no evidence of exit site or tunnel infection, and no reported serosanguineous exudate from the exit site. Exit site care consisted of soap and water cleansing by the patient. Patients were able to shower or bathe 4 weeks post‐implant. Conclusions: The new design for a subcutaneous cuff and skirt appears to inhibit exit site infection and other common complications of central venous catheters.
Kinetics, dialysis systems, adequacy  Postdialysis rebound in a case of acute methanol poisoning
Authors: Bhakta N.R , Grabe D.W. , Haqqie S. , John L. 
Published: January 2005

Introduction:
Methanol poisoning can lead to complications that include metabolic acidosis, visual impairment and death. Treatment options include ethanol, fomepizole, and hemodialysis (HD). Objective: To report on the occurrence of post dialysis methanol rebound during treatment. Method and Findings: A 40‐year‐old male with a history of schizophrenia and suicide attempts presented to the emergency room after reportedly ingesting 1 quart of windshield washer fluid. The patient presented with a preliminary blood chemistry of methanol 390 mg/dL, ethanol 48 mg/dL, glucose 93 mg/dL, Na 138 meq/L, K 3.8 meq/L, Cl 98 mmol/L, CO2 26 mmol/L, urea 16 mg/dL, creatinine 1.2 mg/dL, and an anion gap of 14 mmol/L. The patient was started on 1360 mg of fomepizole (12:50 AM) followed by HD for 4 hours. A second dose of fomepizole (900 mg) was administered at 8:00 AM. In addition, another HD session was started at 12:00 PM and continued for 4 hours. A third dose of fomepizole (700 mg) was administered at 8:50 PM. Finally, a third HD session was started the next day at 3:05 PM and lasted 3 hours. Table 1 illustrates methanol levels in relation to each HD session. Findings: Methanol concentration after the first HD increased from 100 mg/dL to 127 mg/dL (27%) in 5 h 20 m. It also increased from 35 mg/dL to 50 mg/dL (43%) 14 h 45 m after the second HD. Conclusions: Close attention must be paid to the potential for post dialysis methanol rebound. It is recommended that methanol levels continue to be monitored for several hours after HD.

Methanol levels before and after each hemodialysis

Start HD #1

(2:40 AM)
End HD #1

(6:40 AM)
Start HD#2

(12:00 PM)
End HD#2

(4:00 PM)
Next Day  (6:45 AM)

Methanol (mg/dL)
324
100
127
35
50

Rebound

27%

43%
Do Behavioral Biases Affect Prices?
Authors: COVAL JOSHUA D. , SHUMWAY TYLER 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTThis paper documents strong evidence for behavioral biases among Chicago Board of Trade proprietary traders and investigates the effect these biases have on prices. Our traders appear highly loss‐averse, regularly assuming above‐average afternoon risk to recover from morning losses. This behavior has important short‐term consequences for afternoon prices, as losing traders actively purchase contracts at higher prices and sell contracts at lower prices than those that prevailed previously. However, the market appears to distinguish these risk‐seeking trades from informed trading. Prices set by loss‐averse traders are reversed significantly more quickly than those set by unbiased traders.
The Value Premium
Authors: ZHANG LU 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTThe value anomaly arises naturally in the neoclassical framework with rational expectations. Costly reversibility and countercyclical price of risk cause assets in place to be harder to reduce, and hence are riskier than growth options especially in bad times when the price of risk is high. By linking risk and expected returns to economic primitives, such as tastes and technology, my model generates many empirical regularities in the cross‐section of returns; it also yields an array of new refutable hypotheses providing fresh directions for future empirical research.
Asset Sales, Investment Opportunities, and the Use of Proceeds
Authors: BATES THOMAS W. 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTThis study examines the allocation of cash proceeds following 400 subsidiary sales between 1990 and 1998. Retention probabilities are increasing in the divesting firm's contemporaneous growth opportunities and expected investment. Retaining firms, however, also systematically overinvest relative to an industry benchmark. Shareholder returns to retention decisions are positively correlated with growth opportunities and benchmarked investment, but negatively correlated with benchmarked investment for firms with poor growth opportunities. Shareholder returns to debt distributions are increasing in industry‐benchmarked leverage. Overall, the results of this study cohere with the hypothesized trade‐off between the investment efficiencies associated with retained proceeds and the agency costs of managerial discretion and debt.
Financial and Legal Constraints to Growth: Does Firm Size Matter?
Authors: BECK THORSTEN , DEMIRGÜÇ‐KUNT ASLI , MAKSIMOVIC VOJISLAV 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTUsing a unique firm‐level survey database covering 54 countries, we investigate the effect of financial, legal, and corruption problems on firms' growth rates. Whether these factors constrain growth depends on firm size. It is consistently the smallest firms that are most constrained. Financial and institutional development weakens the constraining effects of financial, legal, and corruption obstacles and it is again the small firms that benefit the most. There is only a weak relation between firms' perception of the quality of the courts in their country and firm growth. We also provide evidence that the corruption of bank officials constrains firm growth.
Local Does as Local Is: Information Content of the Geography of Individual Investors' Common Stock Investments
Authors: IVKOVIĆ ZORAN , WEISBENNER SCOTT 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTUsing data on the investments a large number of individual investors made through a discount broker from 1991 to 1996, we find that households exhibit a strong preference for local investments. We test whether this locality bias stems from information or from simple familiarity. The average household generates an additional annualized return of 3.2% from its local holdings relative to its nonlocal holdings, suggesting that local investors can exploit local knowledge. Excess returns to investing locally are even larger among stocks not in the S&P 500 index (firms for which information asymmetries between local and nonlocal investors may be largest).
Financial Analyst Characteristics and Herding Behavior in Forecasting
Authors: CLEMENT MICHAEL B. , TSE SENYO Y. 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTThis study classifies analysts' earnings forecasts as herding or bold and finds that (1) boldness likelihood increases with the analyst's prior accuracy, brokerage size, and experience and declines with the number of industries the analyst follows, consistent with theory linking boldness with career concerns and ability; (2) bold forecasts are more accurate than herding forecasts; and (3) herding forecast revisions are more strongly associated with analysts' earnings forecast errors (actual earnings—forecast) than are bold forecast revisions. Thus, bold forecasts incorporate analysts' private information more completely and provide more relevant information to investors than herding forecasts.
Trading Volume, Information Asymmetry, and Timing Information
Authors: CHAE JOON 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates trading volume before scheduled and unscheduled corporate announcements to explore how traders respond to private information. I show that cumulative trading volume decreases inversely to information asymmetry prior to scheduled announcements, while the opposite relation holds for volume after the announcement. In contrast, trading volume before unscheduled announcements increases dramatically and shows little relation to proxies for information asymmetry. I investigate the behavior of market makers and find that they act appropriately by increasing price sensitivity before all announcements, implying that they extract timing information from their order books.
The Role of IPO Underwriting Syndicates: Pricing, Information Production, and Underwriter Competition
Authors: CORWIN SHANE A. , SCHULTZ PAUL 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTWe examine syndicates for 1,638 IPOs from January 1997 through June 2002. We find strong evidence of information production by syndicate members. Offer prices are more likely to be revised in response to information when the syndicate has more underwriters and especially more co‐managers. More co‐managers also result in more analyst coverage and additional market makers following the IPO. Relationships between underwriters are critical in determining the composition of syndicates, perhaps because they mitigate free‐riding and moral hazard problems. While there appear to be benefits to larger syndicates, we discuss several factors that may limit syndicate size.
IPO Pricing in “Hot” Market Conditions: Who Leaves Money on the Table?
Authors: DERRIEN FRANҪOIS 
Published: January 2005

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the impact of investor sentiment on IPO pricing. Using a model in which the aftermarket price of IPO shares depends on the information about the intrinsic value of the company and investor sentiment, I show that IPOs can be overpriced and still exhibit positive initial return. A sample of recent French offerings with a fraction of the shares reserved for individual investors supports the predictions of the model. Individual investors' demand is positively related to market conditions. Moreover, large individual investors' demand leads to high IPO prices, large initial returns, and poor long‐run performance.
Human placental lipid induces melanogenesis by increasing the expression of tyrosinase and its related proteins in vitro
Authors: Mallick Shampa , Singh Suman Kumar , Sarkar Chinmoy , Saha Bidisha , Bhadra Ranjan 
Published: January 2005

SummaryLipids, particularly sphingolipids, are emerging as novel regulators of cellular activity. A placental total lipid fraction (PTLF), the total lipid prepared from an hydroalcoholic extract of fresh term human placenta, was previously shown to have a pigment‐inducing activity in an animal model. The PTLF contains sphingolipids which stimulate DNA synthesis and melanin formation with marked morphological changes in B16F10 melanoma cells. In order to identify the mechanism underlying the increased melanin synthesis, B16F10 cells were treated with PTLF to assess the catalytic activities of tyrosinase (i.e. tyrosine hydroxylase and DOPA oxidase), the key regulatory enzyme of melanin synthesis. Tyrosine hydroxylase (estimated by the release of 3H2O) as well as DOPA oxidase (measured spectrophotometrically and also in non‐denaturing gels), was stimulated significantly by PTLF. Western blot analysis demonstrated an increase in the expression of tyrosinase, tyrosinase related proteins 1 and 2 (TRP1 and TRP2) at the protein level and RT‐PCR analysis revealed stimulated transcription of tyrosinase, TRP1 and TRP2 mRNAs in PTLF‐treated B16F10 cells. Actinomycin D and cycloheximide, inhibitors of transcription and translation, respectively, inhibited PTLF‐induction of tyrosinase activity with a corresponding decrease in melanogenesis. In all cases, the response to PTLF was similar to that induced by α‐melanocyte stimulating hormone, a well‐known stimulator of melanogenesis. Thus, these results provide the basis of action of PTLF stimulated melanogenesis in B16F10 cells showing that this placental extract is a strong inducer of pigmentation at the transcriptional and translational levels.
Widespread expression of the bovine Agouti gene results from at least three alternative promoters
Authors: Girardot Michael , Martin Juliette , Guibert Sylvain , Leveziel Hubert , Julien Raymond , Oulmouden Ahmad 
Published: January 2005

SummaryIn wild‐type mice, it is well known that Agouti is only expressed in skin where it controls the banded‐hair phenotype. As a first step to investigate the physiological role of Agouti in cattle, we isolated the corresponding gene and studied its expression pattern. We found no evidence of coding‐region sequence variation within and between eight breeds representing a large panel of coat colour phenotypes. We detected by northern hybridization two Agouti mRNA isoforms in brain, heart, lung, liver, kidney, spleen and a third in skin. We characterized the full‐length Agouti transcript in skin and isolated the 5′UTR of two mRNAs expressed in the other tissues. The three mRNAs have the same coding region but differ by their 5′ untranslated regions. Upstream regulatory sequences display two alternative promoters involved with the broad expression in tissues other than skin. Interestingly, these sequences are highly homologous to upstream sequences of the orthologous human (76–85% identity) and pig (82–86% identity) ASIP genes. In addition to its potential role in pigmentation (as seen in mice), we suggest that bovine Agouti could be involved in various physiological functions. Furthermore, the significant homology between cattle, pig and human regulatory sequences indicate that these orthologous genes are regulated alike. Lastly, since the 5′UTR of many eukaryotic mRNAs are physiologically relevant, their impact on bovine Agouti mRNA performance is discussed.
Decreased expression of Apaf‐1 with progression of melanoma
Authors: Mustika Rita , Budiyanto Arief , Nishigori Chikako , Ichihashi Masamitsu , Ueda Masato 
Published: January 2005

SummaryDefects in apoptotic system may contribute in the pathogenesis and resistance of malignant melanoma cells to chemotherapy. Apoptotic protease‐activating factor‐1 (Apaf‐1) is a cell death effector that acts with cytochrome c and caspase‐9 to mediate apoptosis. Recently it was shown that metastatic melanomas often lose Apaf‐1 and are concomitantly resistant to apoptosis. It is not known, however, whether Apaf‐1 protein is lost during melanoma progression from localized to metastatic tumor. To this end, we evaluated Apaf‐1 protein expression by immunohistochemistry in 10 cases of human nevi, 11 melanomas in situ, 26 primary melanomas and 15 metastases. Significant decreases in Apaf‐1 expression was observed when comparing nevi and melanomas (chi‐square = 33.719; P < 0.0001). Moreover, primary melanomas with greater tumor thickness showed lesser expression of Apaf‐1 (chi‐square = 16.182; P < 0.003). Intriguingly, we were unable to detect Apaf‐1 expression in lesions of metastatic melanomas. These data demonstrated that there is an inverse correlation between Apaf‐1 expression and pathologic stage of melanoma. This suggests that the decreased expression of Apaf‐1 seen in correlation with melanoma progression renders melanoma more resistant to chemotherapy.
Outcome following treatment for Helicobacter pylori in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis
Authors: Albanidou‐Farmaki E , Giannoulis L , Markopoulos A , Fotiades S , Aggouridaki X , Farmakis K , Papanayotou P 
Published: January 2005

Objective:  The aim of the current study was to investigate any association of Helicobacter Pylori (HP) in recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) and the effect of eradication of the microorganism in the clinical course of the disease.Study design:  Forty‐eight patients with RAS were included in the study. Twenty‐six were women and 22 men, of average age 41.3 ± 2.44. Thirty‐four out of these 48 patients were HP positive and the rest 14 who were negative were used as a control group. The diagnosis of HP infection was based on the detection of specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), and immunoglubulin A (IgA) antibodies using the enzyme‐linked immunoabsorbent assay technique in the serum and the saliva of the patients. In all HP carriers an eradication therapy was administered. After a 2‐month period the patients were checked for HP status, using 13 C‐UBT. The follow up period was 6–12 months following the eradication therapy.Results:  At entry patients with HP infection suffered from more severe symptoms compared with HP negative patients (P < 0.05). After the administration of HP eradication therapy, patients who had become negative showed a remarkable improvement (62.5%) with reference to recurrence of RAS as well as to symptom intensity. In 29.2% of patients symptoms had disappeared and in 33.3% of patients there was a decrease in both the frequency of recurrence and the intensity of symptoms. After the eradication treatment, the periods between recurrence of RAS in patients who had become negative were statistically significantly longer compared with those before treatment (P < 0.001). Another important observation was that patients who became negative after eradication therapy were of comparable clinical status with those who were HP negative from the beginning of the study (P > 0.05).Conclusions:  These findings support the concept of a potential association between RAS and HP.
Impact of modified acidic soft drinks on enamel erosion
Authors: Attin T , Weiss K , Becker K , Buchalla W , Wiegand A 
Published: January 2005

Objective:  To evaluate the enamel erosive potential of modified acidic soft drinks under controlled conditions in an artificial mouth.Materials and methods:  From each of 144 bovine incisors one enamel sample was prepared. Labial surfaces of the samples were ground flat, polished and covered with adhesive tape, leaving an exposed area. The samples were distributed among four (A–D) groups for treatment with A: Coca‐Cola, B: Sprite; C: Sprite light, D: orange juice. Either 1.0 mmol l−1 calcium (Ca) or a combination (comb.) of 0.5 mmol l−1 calcium plus 0.5 mmol l−1 phosphate plus 0.031 mmol l−1 fluoride was added to the beverages. Samples of each group were subdivided into three subgroups (‐original; ‐Ca and ‐comb.) for treatment with original and modified drinks. De‐ and remineralization cycles were based on a standard protocol described earlier. Surface loss of the specimens was determined using profilometry after test procedure.Results:  In all subgroups, loss of enamel was observed. The enamel loss recorded for the samples rinsed with original Sprite and original orange juice was significantly higher compared with all other solutions (P = 0.001). Lowest enamel loss was recorded for the original Coca‐Cola group (P = 0.001). With the exception of Coca‐Cola, demineralization with the modified beverages led to significantly lower losses compared with the respective original solutions.Conclusion:  Modification of the test soft drinks with low concentrations of calcium or a combination of calcium, phosphate and fluoride may exert a significant protective potential with respect to dental erosion.
Herpes simplex virus type 1 shedding in the oral cavity of seropositive patients
Authors: Da Silva LM , Guimarães ALS , Victória JMN , Gomes CC , Gomez RS 
Published: January 2005

Objective:  Investigate the frequency of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1) reactivation in the oral cavity of seropositive patients with previous history of recurrent herpes labialis (recrudescent group) compared with those without any history of recrudescent lesions (asymptomatic HSV‐1 infection). In addition, the relation between recrudescence and the presence of the virus in the saliva was assessed.Materials and methods:  Fourteen individuals with previous history of herpes labialis (recrudescent group) and 11 HSV‐1 seropositive asymptomatic volunteers were included in the study. Swabs were performed periodically in all subjects and the presence of HSV‐1 DNA was identified by nested PCR.Results:  All the 25 subjects enrolled in the study, revealed at least one positive swab for HSV‐1. The frequency of HSV‐1 positivity in the group with recrudescent herpes labialis was not statistically different from the other group. Ten subjects of the recrudescent group presented with herpes labialis at least once during the study.Conclusions:  HSV‐1 shedding in the oral cavity occurs independently of herpes labialis recrudescence.