bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Focus: China, tradition and modernity Introduction
Authors: FOKKEMA DOUWE 
Published: May 2003

This Introduction was written in November 2002, when the 16th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was being held where more than 2000 delegates (representing 66 million Party members) decided on future policies and changes in the leadership. The way these decisions were prepared and endorsed reminds us how China differs from Western democracies. However, apart from the political structures, to what extent is China different?The following five essays, all written by Chinese scholars, allow us a glimpse into contemporary Chinese culture through informative reports on philosophy, cultural studies, fiction, gender construction and women's poetry, and traditional Chinese medicine. Of course, these articles are far from covering all aspects, or even all major aspects, of Chinese culture, yet they offer us views of specific areas by experts who, from their insiders' vantage points, lead us into the heart of the intellectual debate in contemporary China.Although the authors of these essays, with few exceptions, hesitate to generalize on present conditions and possible future scenarios, their arguments have something in common and suggest, perhaps unknowingly, important clues for understanding Chinese culture. When reading these essays, I am struck by the following, recurrent aspects.
Climatic variability and the evolution of insect freeze tolerance
Authors: SINCLAIR BRENT J. , ADDO‐BEDIAKO A. , CHOWN STEVEN L. 
Published: May 2003

ABSTRACTInsects may survive subzero temperatures by two general strategies: Freeze‐tolerant insects withstand the formation of internal ice, while freeze‐avoiding insects die upon freezing. While it is widely recognized that these represent alternative strategies to survive low temperatures, and mechanistic understanding of the physical and molecular process of cold tolerance are becoming well elucidated, the reasons why one strategy or the other is adopted remain unclear. Freeze avoidance is clearly basal within the arthropod lineages, and it seems that freeze tolerance has evolved convergently at least six times among the insects (in the Blattaria, Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera). Of the pterygote insect species whose cold‐tolerance strategy has been reported in the literature, 29% (69 of 241 species studied) of those in the Northern Hemisphere, whereas 85%(11 of 13 species) in the Southern Hemisphere exhibit freeze tolerance. A randomization test indicates that this predominance of freeze tolerance in the Southern Hemisphere is too great to be due to chance, and there is no evidence of a recent publication bias in favour of new reports of freeze‐tolerant species. We conclude from this that the specific nature of cold insect habitats in the Southern Hemisphere, which are characterized by oceanic influence and climate variability must lead to strong selection in favour of freeze tolerance in this hemisphere. We envisage two main scenarios where it would prove advantageous for insects to be freeze tolerant. In the first, characteristic of cold continental habitats of the Northern Hemisphere, freeze tolerance allows insects to survive very low temperatures for long periods of time, and to avoid desiccation. These responses tend to be strongly seasonal, and insects in these habitats are only freeze tolerant for the overwintering period. By contrast, in mild and unpredictable environments, characteristic of habitats influenced by the Southern Ocean, freeze tolerance allows insects which habitually have ice nucleators in their guts to survive summer cold snaps, and to take advantage of mild winter periods without the need for extensive seasonal cold hardening. Thus, we conclude that the climates of the two hemispheres have led to the parallel evolution of freeze tolerance for very different reasons, and that this hemispheric difference is symptomatic of many wide‐scale disparities in Northern and Southern ecological processes.
Financing health care in Europe: context for the Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes Study
Authors: Knapp M. , Novick D. , Genkeer L. , Curran C. M. , McDaid D. ,   on behalf of the SOHO Study Group
Published: May 2003

Objective:   Exploration of the implications for mental health care of the health care funding environment in Europe, as context for the Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes (SOHO) Study.Method:  Data on health care financing for individual countries were sourced by review of the literature and personal communication with European country representatives.Results:  The main and complementary sources of health care finance are presented for the 10 European countries participating in the SOHO study.Conclusion:  A mixture of tax and social insurance funding mechanisms dominate general health care funding in Europe. These mechanisms in principle promote equity in access to all health care interventions, including those for mental health. However, current resource allocation to mental health care may not reflect fully the impact of mental health disorders. Further work is now under way to examine the contribution of non‐health sectors (such as social welfare) to the funding and provision of services.
Unit costs in international economic evaluations: resource costing of the Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes Study
Authors: Urdahl H. , Knapp M. , Edgell E. T. , Ghandi G. , Haro J. M. ,   on behalf of the SOHO Study Group
Published: May 2003

Objective:  We present unit costs corresponding to resource information collected in the Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes (SOHO) Study.Method:  The SOHO study is a 3‐year, prospective, observational study of health outcomes associated with antipsychotic treatment in out‐patients treated for schizophrenia. The study is being conducted across 10 European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK) and includes over 10 800 patients and over 1000 investigators. To identify the best available unit costs of hospital admissions, day care and psychiatrist out‐patient visits, a tariff‐based approach was used.Results:  Unit costs were obtained for nine of the 10 countries and were adjusted to 2000 price levels by consumer price indices and converted to US$ using purchasing power parity rates (and on to €).Conclusion:  The paper illustrates the need to balance the search for sound unit costs with pragmatic solutions in the costing of international economic evaluations.
The European Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes Study: baseline findings across country and treatment
Authors: Haro J. M. , Edgell E. T. , Frewer P. , Alonso J. , Jones P. B. ,   on behalf of the SOHO Study Group
Published: May 2003

Objective:  To describe the baseline findings and study population of the Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes (SOHO) Study.Method:  The SOHO study is an ongoing, large, prospective, long‐term observational study of schizophrenia treatment in 10 European countries. The study population consists of out‐patients who initiate therapy or change to a new antipsychotic.Results:  A total of 1096 investigators enrolled 10 972 patients. Approximately 60% of patients were men and the mean age was 40 years. Patients treated with clozapine and more than one antipsychotic are more severely ill, patients receiving depot medications have a history of non‐compliance, and patients receiving their first antipsychotic for schizophrenia are most likely to receive an atypical agent.Conclusion:  The SOHO study population appears to represent European out‐patients with schizophrenia in whom a treatment decision is required. Baseline findings reflect European clinical practice with respect to patients treated with individual antipsychotics.
The Clinical Global Impression–Schizophrenia scale: a simple instrument to measure the diversity of symptoms present in schizophrenia
Authors: Haro J. M. , Kamath S. A. , Ochoa S. , Novick D. , Rele K. , Fargas A. , Rodríguez M. J. , Rele R. , Orta J. , Kharbeng A. , Araya S. , Gervin M. , Alonso J. , Mavreas V. , Lavrentzou E. , Liontos N. , Gregor K. , Jones P. B. ,   on behalf of the SOHO Study Group
Published: May 2003

Objective:  To describe the development and validation of the Clinical Global Impression–Schizophrenia (CGI‐SCH) scale, designed to assess positive, negative, depressive and cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia.Method:  The CGI‐SCH scale was adapted from the CGI scale. Concurrent validity and sensitivity to change were assessed by comparison with the Positive and Negative Symptom Severity (PANSS) and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scales. To evaluate inter‐rater reliability, all patients were assessed by two clinicians.Results:  Symptoms were assessed in 114 patients. Correlation coefficients between the CGI‐SCH and the GAF and PANSS scores were high (most above 0.75), and were highest for positive and negative symptoms. Reliability was substantial (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC > 0.70) in all but one dimension (depressive dimension, ICC = 0.64).Conclusion:  The CGI‐SCH scale is a valid, reliable instrument to evaluate severity and treatment response in schizophrenia. Given its simplicity, brevity and clinical face validity, the scale is appropriate for use in observational studies and routine clinical practice.
A Rasch model analysis to test the cross‐cultural validity of the EuroQoL‐5D in the Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes Study
Authors: Prieto L. , Novick D. , Sacristán J. A. , Edgell E. T. , Alonso J. ,   on behalf of the SOHO Study Group
Published: May 2003

Objective:  To investigate the pan‐European, cross‐cultural validity of the EuroQol‐5D (EQ‐5D) for assessing quality of life in the Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes (SOHO) Study.Method:  The EQ‐5D items investigated were mobility, self‐care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. A Rasch rating scale model (a form of differential item functioning) was used to identify invariance of item calibrations for the 10 European countries participating in the SOHO study.Results:  There was general congruence in the EQ‐5D item calibration pattern. The rank of average EQ‐5D item calibrations was similar for all countries except Denmark. Denmark showed slight misfits for mobility and pain/discomfort.Conclusion:  The EQ‐5D is an appropriate measure of health‐related quality of life across European countries and translations.
Long‐term implant prognosis in patients with and without a history of chronic periodontitis: a 10‐year prospective cohort study of the ITI® Dental Implant System
Authors: Karoussis Ioannis K. , Salvi Giovanni E. , Heitz‐Mayfield Lisa J.A. , Brägger Urs , Hämmerle Christoph H.F. , Lang Niklaus P. 
Published: May 2003

Abstract:  Aim: The aim of this 10‐year study was to compare the failure, success and complication rates between patients having lost their teeth due to periodontitis or other reasons.Material and methods: Fifty‐three patients who received 112 hollow screw implants (HS) of the ITI® Dental Implant System were divided into two groups: group A – eight patients with 21 implants having lost their teeth due to chronic periodontitis; group B – forty five patients with 91 implants without a history of periodontitis. One and 10 years after surgical placement, clinical and radiographic parameters were assessed. The incidences of peri‐implantitis were noticed over the 10 years of regular supportive periodontal therapy.Results: Success criteria at 10 years were set at: pocket probing depth (PPD)≤5 mm, bleeding on probing (BoP−, bone loss<0.2 mm annually. The survival rate for the group with a past history of chronic periodontitis (group A) was 90.5%, while for the group with no past history of periodontitis (group B) it was 96.5%. Group A had a significantly higher incidence of peri‐implantitis than group B (28.6% vs. 5.8%). With the success criteria set, 52.4% in group A and 79.1% of the implants in group B were successful. With a threshold set at PPD≤6 mm, BoP− and bone loss<0.2 mm annually, the success rates were elevated to 62% and 81.3% for groups A and B, respectively. Relying purely on clinical parameters of PPD≤5 mm and BoP−, the success rates were at 71.4% and 94.5%, and with a threshold set at PPD≤6 mm and BoP−, these proportions were elevated to 81% and 96.7% for groups A and B, respectively.Conclusions: Patients with implants replacing teeth lost due to chronic periodontitis demonstrated lower survival rates and more biological complications than patients with implants replacing teeth lost due to reasons other than periodontitis during a 10‐year maintenance period. Furthermore, setting of thresholds for success criteria is crucial to the reporting of success rates.
FGF‐4 and titanium implants: a pilot study in rabbit bone
Authors: Franke Stenport Victoria , Johansson Carina B. , Sawase Takashi , Yamasaki Yasuharu , Oida Shinichiro 
Published: May 2003

Abstract:Aim: To evaluate the effect of a local single injection of amino‐terminally truncated recombinant human fibroblast growth factor‐4 (rhFGF‐4s) on titanium implant incorporation in a rabbit bone.Material and methods: Thirty‐six threaded titanium implants were inserted into the femur and tibia of six rabbits. Three weeks prior to implant insertion 10 μg of FGF‐4 in an altelocollagen carrier or the carrier alone was injected into the intended implant sites.Biomechanical evaluation by (i) resonance frequency analysis and (ii) peak removal torque measurements was performed after 6 weeks. The implants with surrounding tissue were processed to undecalcified ground sections followed by light‐microscopic quantifications of the bone in threaded area and the apical parts of the implants.Results: A general trend, however not statistically significant, with higher mean values obtained in the above‐mentioned tests was found. The FGF‐4‐treated implants revealed a significantly increased bone area in the apical part of the implants compared to the corresponding control implants.Conclusion: A local single injection of rhFGF‐4 may stimulate bone formation around titanium implants in bone. However, further research is required to confirm these results, understand the mechanisms of FGF, and establish optimal dose and delivery methods.
De novo alveolar bone formation adjacent to endosseous implants
Authors: Berglundh Tord , Abrahamsson Ingemar , Lang Niklaus P. , Lindhe Jan 
Published: May 2003

Abstract: Objective: To describe a model for the investigation of different phases of wound healing that are involved in the process resulting in osseointegration.Material and methods: The implants used for the study of early healing had a geometry that corresponded to that of a solid screw implant with an SLA surface configuration. A circumferential trough had been prepared within the thread region (intra‐osseous portion) that established a geometrically well‐defined wound compartment. Twenty Labrador dogs received 160 experimental devices totally to allow the evaluation of healing between 2 h and 12 weeks. Both ground sections and decalcified sections were prepared from different implant sites.Results: The experimental chamber used appeared to be conducive for the study of early phases of bone formation. The ground sections provided an overview of the various phases of soft and hard tissue formation, while the decalcified, thin sections enabled a more detailed study of events involved in bone tissue modeling and remodeling. The initially empty wound chamber became occupied with a coagulum and a granulation tissue that was replaced by a provisional matrix. The process of bone formation started already during the first week. The newly formed bone present at the lateral border of the cut bony bed appeared to be continuous with the parent bone, but woven bone was also found on the SLA surface at a distance from the parent bone. This primary bone that included trabeculae of woven bone was replaced by parallel‐fibered and/or lamellar bone and marrow. Between 1 and 2 weeks, the bone tissue immediately lateral to the pitch region, responsible for primary mechanical stability of the device, became resorbed and replaced with newly formed viable bone. Despite this temporary loss of hard tissue contact, the implants remained clinically stable at all times.Conclusion: Osseointegration represents a dynamic process both during its establishment and its maintenance. In the establishment phase, there is a delicate interplay between bone resorption in contact regions (between the titanium body and mineralized bone) and bone formation in ‘contact‐ free’ areas. During the maintenance phase, osseointegration is secured through continuous remodeling and adaptation to function.
Dualistic actions of cromakalim and new potent 2H‐1,4‐benzoxazine derivatives on the native skeletal muscle KATP channel
Authors: Tricarico Domenico , Barbieri Mariagrazia , Antonio Laghezza , Tortorella Paolo , Loiodice Fulvio , Camerino Diana Conte 
Published: May 2003

New 2H‐1,4‐benzoxazine derivatives were synthesized and tested for their agonist properties on the ATP‐sensitive K+ channels (KATP) of native rat skeletal muscle fibres by using the patch‐clamp technique. The novel modifications involved the introduction at position 2 of the benzoxazine ring of alkyl substituents such as methyl (–CH3), ethyl (–C2H5) or propyl (–C3H7) groups, while maintaining pharmacophore groups critical for conferring agonist properties.
The effects of these molecules were compared with those of cromakalim in the presence or absence of internal ATP (10−4 M). In the presence of internal ATP, all the compounds increased the macropatch KATP currents. The order of potency of the molecules as agonists was −C3H7 (DE50=1.63 × 10−8 M) >−C2H5 (DE50=1.11 × 10−7 M)>–CH3 (DE50=2.81 × 10−7 M)>cromak‐slim (DE50= 1.42 × 10−5 M). Bell‐shaped dose–response curves were observed for these compounds and cromakalim indicating a downturn in response when a certain dose was exceeded.
In contrast, in the absence of internal ATP, all molecules including cromakalim inhibited the KATP currents. The order of increasing potency as antagonists was cromakalim (IC50=1.15 × 10−8 M)–CH3 (IC50=2.6 × 10−8 M)>–C2H5 (IC50=4.4 × 10−8 M)>–C3H7 (IC50=1.68 × 10−7 M) derivatives.
These results suggest that the newly synthesized molecules and cromakalim act on muscle KATP channel by binding on two receptor sites that have opposite actions. Alternatively, a more simple explanation is to consider the existence of a single site for potassium channel openers regulated by ATP which favours the transduction of the channel opening. The alkyl chains at position 2 of the 2H‐1,4‐benzoxazine nucleus is pivotal in determining the potency of benzoxazine derivatives as agonists or antagonists.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 139, 255–262. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705233
Conventional‐type protein kinase C contributes to phorbol ester‐induced inhibition of rat myometrial tension
Authors: Kim Bokyung , Kim Yoon‐Sun , Ahn Jiyun , Kim Junghwan , Cho SungIl , Won Kyung‐Jong , Ozaki Hiroshi , Karaki Hideaki , Lee Sang‐Mok 
Published: May 2003

Phorbol ester decreases muscle tension in the rat myometrium, and the effect is more potent in late‐pregnant myometrium than in nonpregnant myometrium. In the present study, we have examined the contribution of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms to the phorbol ester‐induced inhibition of tension in rat uterine smooth muscle.
Thymeleatoxin (THX), a selective activator of conventional‐type PKC (cPKC), and 12‐deoxyphorbol 13‐isobutyrate (DPB), an activator of pan PKC, inhibited the tension induced by high K+, and inhibitions were significantly increased in pregnant myometrium compared to nonpregnant myometrium. The inhibition by DPB and THX of high K+‐induced tension was significantly attenuated when PKC was downregulated by long‐term pretreatment with THX and inhibited by Go6976, a cPKC inhibitor.
Of the cPKCs, PKCα is predominantly expressed in the rat myometrium, as detected by Western blot analysis. The expression of PKCα gradually increases from the beginning of gestation, reaching a maximum at day 21 of pregnancy. Treatment with DPB induced PKCα to translocate from the cytosol to the membrane in the pregnant myometrium. PKCɛ and PKCζ, other dominant PKC isoforms in the rat myometrium, decrease during gestation, reaching a minimum in late pregnancy.
These results suggest that cPKC may be at least partly involved in the PKC‐mediated inhibition of muscle tension in the rat myometrium.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 139, 408–414. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705237
Low endotoxemia prevents the reduction of gastric blood flow induced by NSAIDs: role of nitric oxide
Authors: Calatayud Sara , Canet Amparo , Bello Regina , Hernández Carlos , Martí Miguel , Barrachina M Dolores 
Published: May 2003

The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the effects of low endotoxemia on gastric damage and blood flow has been evaluated in indomethacin‐treated rats.
Pretreatment (−1 h) with endotoxin (40 μg kg−1) reduced gastric damage induced by indomethacin (20 mg kg−1) in conscious rats.
Endotoxin prevented the reduction in gastric blood flow (laser Doppler flowmetry) induced by indomethacin in pentobarbital‐anaesthetised rats.
Pretreatment with an NO‐synthase (NOS) inhibitor (L‐NAME, 1 mg kg−1) reversed the protective effect of endotoxin on gastric blood perfusion.
Endotoxin did not modify the expression of mRNA for endothelial NOS or inducible NOS in the gastric corpus when evaluated 1 h postinjection. However, a 3.8‐fold increase in inducible NOS mRNA and a 61% reduction in endothelial NOS mRNA were observed in the gastric corpus 4 h after endotoxin administration.
Evaluation of both total and Ca2+‐dependent NOS activity by analysing the rate of conversion of L‐arginine to L‐citrulline in gastric corpus homogenates showed no differences between animals treated with endotoxin and those treated with saline 1 or 4 h beforehand. Ca2+‐independent NOS activity was almost non‐apparent in control as well as in endotoxin‐treated rats at all the time points analysed.
Low endotoxemia preserves blood perfusion and protects the gastric mucosa against the deleterious effects of indomethacin through the endogenous NO release. NO synthesis in response to endotoxin does not involve the inducible NOS, but probably depends on the post‐translational/biochemical regulation in vivo of a Ca2+‐dependent NOS, most probably endothelial NOS.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 139, 263–270. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705239