bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Advances in the management of hereditary medullary thyroid cancer
Authors: MACHENS A. , UKKAT J. , BRAUCKHOFF M. , GIMM O. , DRALLE H. 
Published: December 2004

Abstract.This work draws on recent advances during the era of codon‐oriented prophylactic surgery for hereditary medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). Milestones included identification of RET (REarranged during Transfection) as the susceptibility gene, introduction of prophylactic surgery on evidence of a RET germline mutation, revelation of genotype–phenotype correlations within the MEN 2 spectrum and demonstration of age‐related progression of MTC. Novel surgical techniques, notably systemic microdissection and compartment‐oriented surgery, have greatly enhanced surgical cure. Uncovering molecular pathways from RET genotype to MEN 2 phenotype should provide treatment options for RET mutation carriers whose MTC currently is too advanced for cure.
Parathyroid surgery in familial hyperparathyroid disorders*
Authors: CARLING T. , UDELSMAN R. 
Published: December 2004

Abstract.The management of hyperparathyroidism (HPT) in the setting of familial HPT differs between the specific syndromes and is generally complex because of the underlying disease, which predisposes patients to persistent and recurrent HPT. The basic principles of surgery include achieving and maintaining normocalcaemia for the longest time possible, avoiding both iatrogenic hypocalcaemia and operative complications, and facilitating future surgery for recurrent disease. Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is treated with either subtotal parathyroidectomy or total parathyroidectomy with immediate heterotopic autotransplantation of parathyroid tissue. MEN2A, familial isolated HPT and HPT‐associated with the hyperparathyroidism‐jaw tumour (HPT‐JT) syndrome typically can be treated with parathyroidectomy, i.e. subtotal or less. The increased risk of parathyroid cancer in HPT‐JT requires special attention. Parathyroid surgery in familial HPT syndromes in the setting of underlying mutations in the calcium receptor (CASR) gene involves radical subtotal parathyroidectomy. Intraoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) measurements may help guide the extent of parathyroid resection, particularly in the case of multigland HPT. The vast majority of patients with familial HPT who require surgery are best served with bilateral cervical explorations. However, minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) techniques that have become routine for sporadic HPT at selected institutions may be extrapolated to a subset of cases of familial HPT.
Counselling in multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes: from individual experience to general guidelines
Authors: LIPS C. J. , HÖPPENER J. W. , VAN NESSELROOIJ B. P. , VAN DER LUIJT R. B. 
Published: December 2004

Abstract.Counselling of patients and closely related family members has to take a central place in management of hereditary diseases, like multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndromes including von Hippel‐Lindau (VHL) disease. In the strategy of health care, preventive medicine such as periodic clinical examination of families at‐risk needs a high priority, because in general it is assumed that continuity in attendance is cost‐effective. Counselling has to be based on individual medical experience of the doctor, adjusted to common guidelines and the findings in the family. Information leaflets, appropriate outpatient departments and an extensive network of specialists will facilitate continuity in care. Flow diagrams involving practical guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow up need to be applicable and after adjustment, should be accepted generally. Specially trained paramedics for counselling are required as a network that will guarantee periodic clinical examination and secure optimal prevention. Such paramedics will coordinate nationwide multidisciplinary guidance, and organize preventive and emergency cure for these patients. They will be supervised by expert clinicians in the field, and collaborate with specialists for social and psychological issues, patient organizations and clinical genetic centres. All of these professionals are responsible together for providing patients with up to date clinical information (via newsletters, Internet, etc.). Recently, in the Netherlands, a project was initiated to guarantee continuity in care and study the delivery of care. In order to realize this plan, funding has to be provided in the current research programme. In a future system support has to be obtained on a continuous base, preferably by the government and health care insurers and supervised by the national institute for health care.
Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and pregnancy: a review of ten cases
Authors: Castellá M. , Pujol M. , Juliá A. , Massague I. , Bueno J. , Ramón Grifols J. , Puig L. 
Published: December 2004

Background and Objectives  A series of women with pregnancy‐associated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, is presented. This study will focus on the relationship between thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and pregnancy and on maternal and neonatal outcomes.Materials and Methods  Among forty‐six consecutive patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, nine pregnant patients were identified.Results  Seven patients presented an acute single episode associated with pregnancy and two patients had a chronic relapsing form of the disease. None of these two patients were diagnosed during pregnancy or in the postpartum period. There was one maternal death. Fetal mortality was 33%.Conclusions  The recurrence is rare in women who had the prior episode related to pregnancy. The risk of death for these patients seems not higher than that of the remaining patients in the series. Preterm delivery and intrauterine fetal death were frequent complications of these pregnancies.
Influence of blood prestorage conditions and white blood cell filtration on the bacterial load of blood deliberately inoculated with Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative pathogens
Authors: Siblini L. , Lafeuillade B. , Ros A. , Garraud O. , Pozzetto B. 
Published: December 2004

Background and Objectives  Currently, the bacterial contamination of blood constitutes one of the major infectious risks of transfusion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bactericidal effect of blood on various bacterial species and to determine the influence of prestorage conditions and white blood cell (WBC) filtration on the reduction of the bacterial load in isolated red blood cells (RBCs).Materials and Methods  The growth kinetics of eight different species of bacteria were studied at 20 °C in deliberately contaminated RBC units. Further experiments evaluated the effect of prestorage conditions and WBC filtration on the viability of two model bacteria (Klebsiella oxytoca and Staphylococcus epidermidis) in comparison to previous results obtained with Yersinia enterocolitica.Results  For bacteria susceptible to the bactericidal effect of blood (mainly Gram‐negative rods), a reduction of the bacterial load was obtained within 2 h of prestorage at 20 °C. When the prestorage period was prolonged beyond 3 h at 20 °C, rapid growth was observed with some Enterobacteriaceae. Whereas WBC filtration reduced dramatically the viability of Y. enterocolitica, it had only a minimal effect on the viability of S. epidermidis and K. oxytoca. However, the two latter species of bacteria did not survive prolonged storage at 4 °C.Conclusions  Experiments conducted under realistic conditions are needed to determine whether it would be worthwhile recommending the rapid storage of RBCs at 4 °C after WBC reduction of the blood product.
Plasticity in the self‐incompatibility system of Solanum carolinense
Authors: TRAVERS STEVEN E. , MENA‐ALI JORGE , STEPHENSON ANDREW G. 
Published: December 2004

Abstract Solanum carolinense has a gametophytic self‐incompatibility (GSI) system that is typical of the Solanaceae in which pistils produce specific S‐RNase proteins that disrupt the growth of pollen tubes sharing the same S‐allele. However, unlike most self‐incompatible plants Solanum carolinense is a weed. Self‐incompatibility is uncommon in weeds because disturbed habitats require frequent recolonization (hence populations are repeatedly founded by few individuals bearing a limited number of S‐alleles), effective population sizes are small (supporting few S‐alleles) and habitats are ephemeral (so there is limited time for the migration of additional S‐alleles into populations). We carried out a series of greenhouse experiments using clonal replicates (rhizome cuttings) of plants from two natural populations of S. carolinense to determine if there is variation in the strength of GSI within these populations. We found that the growth rate of self‐pollen tubes and self‐fertility increases with floral age. That is, flowers become more self‐compatible as they age. Moreover, we found that self‐fertility increases on plants in which the first 20 flowers receive no cross pollen. That is, when few or no fruits are produced on the first 20 flowers, self‐pollination is more likely to result in fruit/seed set. Finally, we found that genotypes differ in their degree of self‐fertility indicating that there is broadsense heritability for plasticity in the strength of self‐incompatibility. These findings indicate that some genotypes of S. carolinense are capable of producing self‐seed when cross pollen is scarce, even though the plants have a functional GSI system.
ENDOSCOPIC COAGULATION THERAPY IS USEFUL FOR IMPROVING ENCEPHALOPATHY IN CIRRHOTIC PATIENTS WITH GASTRIC ANTRAL VASCULAR ECTASIA
Authors: Zushi Shinichiro , Imai Yasuharu , Fukuda Kazuto , Yabuta Takamasa , Tsujino Seiko , Yamada Takuya , Kurokawa Masanori 
Published: December 2004

Background:  Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) is an uncommon but treatable cause of chronic gastrointestinal bleeding often associated with severe cirrhosis. Efficacy of endoscopic treatment is well known; however, long‐term outcome after endoscopic treatment is not clear.Methods:  We studied 16 cases of GAVE patients with liver cirrhosis that were endoscopically treated using heater probe unit or argon plasma coagulator. Endoscopic finding of GAVE and clinical finding of hepatic encephalopathy in particular was evaluated after endoscopic therapy.Results:  After endoscopic ablation therapy, mucosal vascular lesion of GAVE and rebleeding occurred in four patients during follow up; however, re‐treatment was effective and long‐term hemostasis was achieved. Moreover, a case report herein revealed the effectiveness of endoscopic therapy on hepatic encephalopathy of GAVE patients with cirrhosis. In the follow‐up study of 13 patients of GAVE with cirrhosis that suffered from encephalopathy, the coma level of nine patients was improved after endoscopic therapy.Conclusion:  Endoscopic treatment, such as heater probe coagulation and argon plasma coagulation therapy, are effective and useful for long‐term follow up. Also, the beneficial effect of endoscopic therapy on hepatic encephalopathy for GAVE with cirrhosis encourages us to find and treat the mucosal lesion intensively to improve the quality of life of such patients.
Student Involvement in University Life — Beyond Political Activism and University Governance: a view from Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: BATESON ROSITSA , TAYLOR JOHN 
Published: December 2004

AbstractSince the 1980s and early 1990s, much attention has focused on the position of students as stakeholders in the process of higher education. The importance of student evaluation is now widely recognised; in many countries, the move toward fee‐based funding has increased the power of students as ‘consumers’ of their education. At the same time, it is often asserted that students are reluctant to participate in university life, concerned primarily (sometimes exclusively) with obtaining their formal qualification and less with wider aspects of higher education. The views and attitudes prevalent in the student population and within institutions themselves on such issues vary widely. This debate is an international one, but is especially relevant in the rapidly changing higher education systems of Central and Eastern Europe.
The Effects of Disability on Labour Force Status in Australia
Authors: Wilkins Roger 
Published: December 2004

AbstractUsing the Australian Bureau of Statistics 1998 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, this study examines the effects of disability on four labour market outcomes: not in the labour force, unemployed, part‐time employed and full‐time employed. The detailed information on health available in the dataset also facilitates investigation of the dependence of effects on the characteristics of the disability, including severity, impairment type and age of onset. Disability is found to have substantial effects on labour force status, on average acting to decrease the probability of labour force participation by one‐quarter for males and one‐fifth for females. For males, the decrease in fulltime employment accounts for almost all of the decrease in labour force participation associated with disability; for females, disability has negative effects on both full‐time and part‐time employment. Analysis of disability characteristics shows that adverse effects on labour force status are increasing in the severity of the disability and are also worse for those with more than one type of impairment and for those who experience disability onset at older ages. There is evidence that the adverse effects of disability are lower for males who completed their education after the onset of the disability.
Problems of Fit: Changing Employment and Labour Regulation
Authors: Dickens Linda 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThis paper indicates key issues in identifying and assessing change in the employment relationship. It explores various challenges that the changing shape of employment poses for both legal regulation and regulation provided through collective bargaining. It suggests different rationales for seeking a better fit and discusses various adjustments and changes to achieve this. Finally, I argue that problems of fit (misfit), and the need for adaptation to which this gives rise, are relevant also to the study of industrial relations.
On the absence of a ‘Socio‐emotional Enablement’ discourse component in international socio‐economic development thought
Authors: Affolter Friedrich W. 
Published: December 2004

Socio‐emotional well‐being, established through nurturing relationships and community experiences, enables children and adults to evolve into caring, nonviolent, emotionally healthy citizens.This paper analyses purposefully selected development texts, authored by three prominent contributors of socio‐economic development discourse: the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. On the basis of a socio‐emotional capacity development framework that draws from research produced in the areas of developmental psychology, biopsychology, brain research and peace psychology, the study evaluates texts’ tendencies to make socio‐emotionally conducive – or neglectful – programme recommendations.The study finds that United Nations conference reports indirectly acknowledge the relevance for socio‐emotional enablement and protection, in the context of discussions related to human and children's rights, education or women's empowerment. However, they only marginally discuss the need to foster socio‐emotional well‐being as a human capacity development rationale per se.The International Monetary Fund, while acknowledging responsibility for the social conduciveness of macro‐economic development interventions, does not address socio‐emotional capacity development issues. The World Bank's strategic plan and other strategy papers touch on issues of socio‐emotional capacity development only tangentially.The study concludes that the discourse communities authoring the selected development texts largely ignore the question of socio‐emotional capacity development. Their discourses ‘background’ discussions about the kind and nature of social structures necessary for nurturing socio‐emotional enablement. Developmental psychologists are challenged to ‘infect’ socio‐economic development discourse by calling for the effective integration of the theme of socio‐emotional well‐being into socio‐economic development publications.
Dilemmas and advances in corporate social responsibility in Brazil. The work of the Ethos Institute
Authors: Young Ricardo 
Published: December 2004

Abstract This article discusses the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Brazil from the perspective of the Ethos Institute of Business and Social Responsibility. The Institute is a not‐for‐profit, non‐governmental organization, that has played a leading role in the Brazilian CSR effort. In Brazil, CSR initiatives have a long tradition of philanthropy, a consequence of the country's great social inequalities. The increased attention to corporate social responsibility has paralleled growing concern about sustainable development and the intensifying activities of pressure groups (consumers, customers, investors, NGOs, labour unions, the media, among others) that have been increasing since the 1990s as natural resources are progressively becoming exhausted, social tensions rising and environmental conditions deteriorating worldwide. This article identifies problems and obstacles to the growth of corporate social responsibility in Brazil, as well as advances and alternatives for CSR and towards creating conditions for the country to be internationally competitive and sustainable in the financial, social and environmental areas.
A New Approach to Investigate the Pharmacokinetics of Traditional Chinese Medicine YL2000
Authors: Zhao Yu Nan , Ding Yi , Wang Ru Feng , Xing Dong Ming , Cheng Jie , Du Lijun 
Published: December 2004

Much progress has been made in the pharmacology of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). However, the question on how to investigate pharmacokinetics of TCM extract remains. In this study, we selected a new TCM extract YL2000 developed in our laboratory as the research object and investigated both the pharmacokinetics of baicalin and berberine in YL2000 and the pharmacodynamics of YL2000 in febrile rats. The correlation analysis between the time-concentration curves of baicalin and berberine and the time-effect curve of YL2000 was conducted in plasma by statistical methods. The results showed that the time-effect data of anti-pyretic effect of YL2000 had a negative correlation (r=-0.8312, P<0.1) with the time-concentration data of baicalin in plasma, but had no correlation (r=0.01368, P>0.5) with berberine. These data suggested that baicalin could be selected as a marker of anti-pyretic effect, and that YL2000 could be used to treat fevers according to the disposition of baicalin in vivo. In this study, we also proposed that one or more active elements in TCM extracts could be selected to represent the pharmacokinetics of TCM extracts in vivo, combined with the pharmacodynamics of TCM extract.
Murder in the Market: Penal Aspects of Berber Customary Law in the Precolonial Moroccan Rif
Authors: Hart David 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThis article focuses on the penal customary law of the Aith Waryaghar tribe of the Moroccan Rif in the immediate precolonial period during the two-plus decades prior to the emergence from their ranks of the former qādī bin ʿAbd al-Krim, the leader of the Rifian War of 1921-1926. In it are discussed the results of my fieldwork on the related subjects of alliance, bloodfeud and vendetta in the region, with particular attention to the enormous ḥaqq fines levied by the tribal councillors of both the Aith Waryaghar and adjacent tribes for murders committed in the weekly tribal markets. These fines are compared with the contents of five Aith Waryaghar qānūns, customary law documents drawn up in Arabic, deriving from the same period and originally published by Col. Emilio Blanco Izaga in Spanish translation in 1939. Here, the qānūns are presented in order to provide written documentation for the reconstructed accounts given by my elderly informants in the period 1953-1965. The fit between the two sets of accounts is very close, particularly in the spirit of the law if not in the letter. For the major feature of these qānūns is precisely these same heavy fines. The contrast between them and the trifling ones for theft of livestock, for example, is also examined, as are other aspects of feud and vendetta. Finally, the reforming role of bin ʿAbd al-Krim is summarized along with his successful wartime endeavor to substitute the Shariʿa for customary law in the Rif in all major spheres, thereby preempting any Spanish follow-through on the French declaration of the Berber Dahir of 1930 in their own zone of Morrocco.
The Judicial Functions of the SulṬān in Civil Cases According to the Mālikīs up to the Sixth/Twelfth Century
Authors: Yanagihashi Hiroyuki 
Published: December 2004

AbstractIn the earliest Mālikī texts, civil cases in which the SulṬān plays a role can be divided into four groups: (i) those in which the SulṬān plays an instrumental role to help in claiming a right that is substantively endorsed by the fiqh; (ii) those in which the SulṬān is called upon to adjudicate for a practical reason; (iii) those in which the SulṬān adopts a solution required by equity; and (iv) those which fall under the SulṬān's exclusive jurisdiction. Whereas the earliest Mālikīs held that the SulṬān's judgment can be reversed by the qādī only if it is manifestly corrupt, later Mālikīs introduced the notion of delegation of judicial power and the idea that a mujtahid, a qādī or a muftī has a general right to redress an erroneous judgment.
Communal Legal Entities in a Muslim Setting Theory and Practice:
Authors: Cohen Amnon 
Published: December 2004

AbstractAlthough there is no term or concept in Islamic law that signifies a communal legal entity, traditional Muslim societies contained several communal entities, such as the Ṭāʾifa or “community”. Such an entity manifests itself in several documents from the sijill of sixteenth-century Jerusalem that deal with relations between the Jewish community and Muslim authorities. For example, when the Jews of Jerusalem attempted to lease a plot for their cemetery, they could not do so as a community, for no such legal entity existed. For this reason, they designated three individuals in whose name the lease was issued, perhaps in an effort to bridge the gap between theory and practice. This was not a mere legal fiction (ḥīla), for when Muslim waqf authorities subsequently determined that one of the three lessees had died, it declared one-third of the lease to be null and void. The Jewish community never challenged this ruling. As demonstrated in this article, the Jewish community applied the same stratagem to other financial matters.
Adaptation to Changing Circumstances: Perpetual Leases and Exchange Transactions in Waqf Property in Ottoman Algiers
Authors: Hoexter Miriam 
Published: December 2004

AbstractIslamic law allows for perpetual leases and exchange transactions of endowed property as an exceptional means to deal with the inalienability of Waqf assets in cases in which Waqf-property has become dilapidated. In this article I examine the use of these two transactions in connection with the largest public foundation in Ottoman Algiers — the Waqf al-ḥaramayn. These two transactions proliferated during the last few decades of Ottoman rule and were extended to assets which were fully intact, on the condition that the transaction was of material advantage to the Waqf. This policy was conditioned by a number of socio-economic factors particular to Algiers and its important public foundations.