bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Infant morbidity following amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling for prenatal karyotyping
Authors: Cederholm Maria , Haglund Bengt , Axelsson Ove 
Published: March 2005

Objective  To investigate whether amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling increase the risk of postural deformities, limb reduction defects, respiratory problems in the newborn, fetal and infant mortality, prematurity, low birthweight and fetal distress, and to investigate the impact of gestational length at the time of the procedure.Design  A population‐based cohort study.Setting  Sweden, 1991–1996.Population  All women, 35 to 49 years old, with single births (n= 71,586). The women were classified as exposed to amniocentesis (n= 21,748) or chorionic villus sampling (n= 1984) or not exposed (n= 47,854).Methods  Infant outcomes were collected from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, the Swedish Hospital Discharge Register, the Swedish Malformation Register and the Swedish Cause of Death Register. Odds ratios were calculated with logistic regression analyses.Main outcome measures  Crude and adjusted odds ratios of postural deformities, limb reduction defects, respiratory problems in the newborn, fetal and infant mortality, prematurity, low birthweight and fetal distress. Women exposed to amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling were compared with non‐exposed women.Results  An increased risk of musculoskeletal deformities (OR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.11–1.57) including club foot and hip dislocation was found in the amniocentesis group, especially for amniocentesis prior to 14 weeks of gestation. Respiratory disturbances such as neonatal pneumonia, meconium aspiration, atelectasis and tachypnea were found more often in the amniocentesis group (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.02–1.24), with the greatest risk at 14 and 15 weeks of gestation. For the chorionic villus sampling group, no significant associations were found. No increase regarding limb reduction defects, fetal and infant mortality, prematurity, low birthweight and fetal distress was found in either the amniocentesis or the chorionic villus sampling group.Conclusions  Among women aged 35–49 years, amniocentesis before 14 weeks of gestation increases the risk of postural deformities. Amniocentesis at 14 and 15 weeks increases the risk of respiratory disturbances. For chorionic villus sampling, a larger study group is needed before such risks can be ruled out.
Incomplete functional recovery after delirium in elderly people: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Andrew Melissa K , Freter Susan H , Rockwood Kenneth 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Background
Delirium often has a poor outcome, but why some people have incomplete recovery is not well understood. Our objective was to identify factors associated with short-term (by discharge) and long-term (by 6 month) incomplete recovery of function following delirium.

Methods
In a prospective cohort study of elderly patients with delirium seen by geriatric medicine services, function was assessed at baseline, at hospital discharge and at six months.

Results
Of 77 patients, vital and functional status at 6 months was known for 71, of whom 21 (30%) had died. Incomplete functional recovery, defined as ≥10 point decline in the Barthel Index, compared to pre-morbid status, was present in 27 (54%) of the 50 survivors. Factors associated with death or loss of function at hospital discharge were frailty, absence of agitation (hypoactive delirium), a cardiac cause and poor recognition of delirium by the treating service. Frailty, causes other than medications, and poor recognition of delirium by the treating service were associated with death or poor functional recovery at 6 months.

Conclusion
Pre-existing frailty, cardiac cause of delirium, and poor early recognition by treating physicians are associated with worse outcomes. Many physicians view the adverse outcomes of delirium as intractable. While in some measure this might be true, more skilled care is a potential remedy within their grasp.
Gluten-free diet may alleviate depressive and behavioural symptoms in adolescents with coeliac disease: a prospective follow-up case-series study
Authors: Pynnönen Päivi A , Isometsä Erkki T , Verkasalo Matti A , Kähkönen Seppo A , Sipilä Ilkka , Savilahti Erkki , Aalberg Veikko A 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
Background
Coeliac disease in adolescents has been associated with an increased prevalence of depressive and disruptive behavioural disorders, particularly in the phase before diet treatment. We studied the possible effects of a gluten-free diet on psychiatric symptoms, on hormonal status (prolactin, thyroidal function) and on large neutral amino acid serum concentrations in adolescents with coeliac disease commencing a gluten-free diet.

Methods
Nine adolescents with celiac disease, aged 12 to 16 years, were assessed using the semi-structured K-SADS-Present and Lifetime Diagnostic interview and several symptom scales. Seven of them were followed at 1 to 2, 3, and 6 months on a gluten-free diet.

Results
Adolescent coeliac disease patients with depression had significantly lower pre-diet tryptophan/ competing amino-acid (CAA) ratios and free tryptophan concentrations, and significantly higher biopsy morning prolactin levels compared to those without depression. A significant decrease in psychiatric symptoms was found at 3 months on a gluten-free diet compared to patients' baseline condition, coinciding with significantly decreased coeliac disease activity and prolactin levels and with a significant increase in serum concentrations of CAAs.

Conclusion
Although our results of the amino acid analysis and prolactin levels in adolescents are only preliminary, they give support to previous findings on patients with coeliac disease, suggesting that serotonergic dysfunction due to impaired availability of tryptophan may play a role in vulnerability to depressive and behavioural disorders also among adolescents with untreated coeliac disease.
2-Arachidonoyl-glycerol suppresses interferon-γ production in phorbol ester/ionomycin-activated mouse splenocytes independent of CB1 or CB2
Authors: Kaplan Barbara L F , Ouyang Yanli , Rockwell Cheryl E , Rao Gautham K , Kaminski Norbert E 
Published: March 2005

Abstract2-Arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG), an endogenous ligand for cannabinoid receptor types 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2), has previously been demonstrated to modulate immune functions including suppression of interleukin-2 expression and nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) activity. The objective of the present studies was to investigate the effect of 2-AG on interferon-γ (IFN-γ) expression and associated upstream signaling events. Pretreatment of splenocytes with 2-AG markedly suppressed phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate plus calcium ionophore (PMA/Io)-induced IFN-γ secretion. In addition, 2-AG suppressed IFN-γ steady-state mRNA expression in a concentration-dependent manner. To unequivocally determine the putative involvement of CB1 and CB2, splenocytes derived from CB1−/−/CB2−/− knockout mice were used. No difference in the magnitude of IFN-γ suppression by 2-AG in wild-type versus CB1/CB2 null mice was observed. Time-of-addition studies revealed that 2-AG treatment up to 12 h post-cellular activation resulted in suppression of IFN-γ, which was consistent with a time course conducted with cyclosporin A, an inhibitor of NFAT activity. Coincidentally, 2-AG perturbed the nuclear translocation of NFAT protein and blocked thapsigargin-induced elevation in intracellular calcium, suggesting that altered calcium regulation might partly explain the suppression of NFAT nuclear translocation and subsequent IFN-γ production. Indeed, Io partially attenuated the 2-AG-induced suppression of PMA/Io-stimulated IFN-γ production. Taken together, these data demonstrate that 2-AG suppresses IFN-γ expression in murine splenocytes in a CB receptor-independent manner and that the mechanism partially involves suppression of intracellular calcium signaling and perturbation of NFAT nuclear translocation.
Pattern of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Failure Dictates the Probability of a Positive Bone Scan in Patients With an Increasing PSA After Radical Prostatectomy
Authors: Dotan Zohar A , Bianco Fernando J. , Rabbani Farhang , Eastham James A. , Fearn Paul , Scher Howard I. , Kelly Kevin W. , Chen Hui-Ni , Schöder Heiko , Hricak Hedvig , Scardino Peter T. , Kattan Michael W. 
Published: March 2005

Purpose Physicians often order periodic bone scans (BS) to check for metastases in patients with an increasing prostate-specific antigen (PSA; biochemical recurrence [BCR]) after radical prostatectomy (RP), but most scans are negative. We studied patient characteristics to build a predictive model for a positive scan. Patients and Methods From our prostate cancer database we identified all patients with detectable PSA after RP. We analyzed the following features at the time of each bone scan for association with a positive BS: preoperative PSA, time to BCR, pathologic findings of the RP, PSA before the BS (trigger PSA), PSA kinetics (PSA doubling time, PSA slope, and PSA velocity), and time from BCR to BS. The results were incorporated into a predictive model. Results There were 414 BS performed in 239 patients with BCR and no history of androgen deprivation therapy. Only 60 (14.5%) were positive for metastases. In univariate analysis, preoperative PSA (P = .04), seminal vesicle invasion (P = .02), PSA velocity (P < .001), and trigger PSA (P < .001) predicted a positive BS. In multivariate analysis, only PSA slope (odds ratio [OR], 2.71; P = .03), PSA velocity (OR, 0.93; P = .003), and trigger PSA (OR, 1.022; P < .001) predicted a positive BS. A nomogram for predicting the bone scan result was constructed with an overfit-corrected concordance index of 0.93. Conclusion Trigger PSA, PSA velocity, and slope were associated with a positive BS. A highly discriminating nomogram can be used to select patients according to their risk for a positive scan. Omitting scans in low-risk patients could reduce substantially the number of scans ordered.
Paclitaxel Decreases the Interstitial Fluid Pressure and Improves Oxygenation in Breast Cancers in Patients Treated With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: Clinical Implications
Authors: Taghian Alphonse G. , Abi-Raad Rita , Assaad Sherif I. , Casty Adrian , Ancukiewicz Marek , Yeh Eren , Molokhia Peryhan , Attia Khaled , Sullivan Timothy , Kuter Irene , Boucher Yves , Powell Simon N. 
Published: March 2005

Purpose It has been hypothesized that tumors with high interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) and/or hypoxia respond poorly to chemotherapy (CT) because of poor drug delivery. Preclinical studies have shown that paclitaxel reduces the IFP and improves the oxygenation (pO2) of tumors. Our aim is to evaluate the IFP and pO2 before and after neoadjuvant CT using sequential paclitaxel and doxorubicin in patients with breast cancer tumors of ≥ 3 cm. Patients and Methods Patients were randomly assigned, according to an institutional review board–approved phase II protocol, to receive neoadjuvant sequential CT consisting of either four cycles of dose-dense doxorubicin at 60 mg/m2 every 2 weeks followed by nine cycles of weekly paclitaxel at 80 mg/m2 (group 1) or vice versa, with paclitaxel administered before doxorubicin (group 2). Patients were re-evaluated clinically and radiologically. The IFP (wick-in-needle technique) and pO2 (Eppendorf) were measured in tumors at baseline and after completing the administration of the first and second drug. Results IFP and pO2 were measured in 54 patients at baseline and after the first CT. Twenty-nine and 25 patients were randomly assigned to groups 1 and 2, respectively. Paclitaxel, when administered first, decreased the mean IFP by 36% (P = .02) and improved the tumor pO2 by almost 100% (P = .003). In contrast, doxorubicin did not have a significant effect on either parameter. This difference was independent of the tumor size or response measured by ultrasound. Conclusion Paclitaxel significantly decreased the IFP and increased the pO2, whereas doxorubicin did not cause any significant changes. Tumor physiology could potentially be used to optimize the sequence of neoadjuvant CT in breast cancer.
The prediction of hallucinatory predisposition in non‐clinical individuals: Examining the contribution of emotion and reasoning
Authors: Allen Paul , Freeman Daniel , McGuire Philip , Garety Philippa , Kuipers Elizabeth , Fowler David , Bebbington Paul , Green Catherine , Dunn Graham , Ray Katarzyna 
Published: March 2005

Background. Emotion, especially anxiety, has been implicated in triggering hallucinations. Reasoning processes are also likely to influence the judgments that lead to hallucinatory experiences. We report an investigation of the prediction of hallucinatory predisposition by emotion and associated processes (anxiety, depression, stress, self‐focused attention) and reasoning (need for closure, extreme responding).Method. Data were analysed from a questionnaire survey in a student population (N =327).Results. Higher levels of anxiety, self‐focus, and extreme responding were associated with hallucinatory predisposition. Interactions between these three variables did not strengthen the predictive effect of each. Depression, stress, and need for closure were not found to be predictors of hallucinatory experience in the regression analysis.Conclusion. Emotional and reasoning processes may both need to be considered in the understanding of hallucinatory experience.
Women's opinions about attending for breast cancer screening: Stability of cognitive determinants during three rounds of screening
Authors: Drossaert C. H. C. , Boer H. , Seydel E. R. 
Published: March 2005

Objectives. To examine the stability of beliefs and intentions towards repeat attendance at breast cancer screening, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The aims of the study were to examine whether and how cognitions changed in the course of the programme, and whether intentions that were assessed proximally were better predictors of behaviour than those assessed distally.Design and methods. A total of 2,657 women filled out a baseline questionnaire (T1), 2 months after being invited for an initial mammogram in the Dutch Breast Cancer Screening Programme. Actual attendance data in the second and third screening rounds were subsequently collected and follow‐up questionnaires were sent to parts of the sample at four points in time: shortly before (T2) and after (T3) the second screening round, and shortly before (T4) and after (T5) the third screening round.Results. Only minor changes in beliefs and intentions were found. In the assessments shortly before screening, women were somewhat less positive about attending than in the assessments shortly after screening. Throughout the course of the programme, women's opinions about attending remained positive. In fact, women became somewhat more convinced that they were vulnerable to getting breast cancer, and that participating in screening was beneficial to them. Actual attendance in subsequent rounds of screening was higher than expected. Proximal beliefs and intentions were only slightly more predictive of actual behaviour than distal beliefs.Conclusions. In organized breast cancer screening, beliefs and intentions remain positive and rather stable. Although our results should be interpreted with caution, due to little variation in behaviour, they suggest that the gap between intentions and behaviour could not be substantially reduced by proximal assessment of determinants.
Solubility of amino acids, sugars, and proteins
Authors: Macedo Eugénia Almeida 
Published: March 2005

Abstract
The importance of biomolecules is well recognized nowadays, owing to their application in many industrial processes, particularly in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.
Amino acids, carbohydrates, and proteins are the three types of biomolecules considered in this review. Solubilities of several amino acids and sugars have been measured in water and, more recently, in mixed solvents, both with or without salts. Experimental data on partition of proteins in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs), with polymers or salts, have also been reported in the literature. The experimental techniques used are briefly discussed. Regarding modeling, the complexity of these solutions is very high. Sugars form strong hydrogen bonds with one another and with water or other solvents like alcohols. Liquid solutions with amino acids or proteins present not only short-range interaction forces, but also long-range forces, owing to the appearance of charged species. The capabilities of different molecular models and group-contribution-based methods are shown.
Molecular Modeling
Authors: Profeta Salvatore 
Published: March 2005

AbstractChemistry, as the central science, utilizes models in virtually every aspect of the discipline. Integral to the progress of chemistry has been its ability to draw from physics, mathematics, statistics, and computer science to develop new subdisciplines, such as computational chemistry. As computing hardware has become faster and more accessible, so to have techniques to perform modeling and simulations of molecular systems. Software systems today assist researchers in the study of molecular systems and provide mechanisms for deriving a rigorous and consistent explanation for the chemical or biological behavior observed or help the researcher to develop a model for predictions.To appreciate the origins of molecular modeling, we examine how computational chemistry came to be developed. From its roots in modern quantum theory, in the early twentieth century, through the evolution of empirical, semiempirical, and nonempirical (or ab initio) methods, computational chemistry or molecular modeling techniques have grown from being the province of an esoteric specialist to a “must have” tool in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and polymer industries today.This article covers the major techniques of molecular modeling, including semiempirical and ab initio methods (eg, MNDO,AM1,PM3, SPARTAN), empirical force field or molecular mechanics techniques, molecular dynamics, and Monte Carlo simulation techniques (eg, MM3/4, MMFF, AMBER). Also reviewed are basic methods involved in the development of quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSAR). These include principal components analysis (PCA), partial least squares (PLS), comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA), and 3D database searching. The article closes with a table listing representative software systems for computer‐assisted molecular modeling (CAMM).
Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China. BY FRANK DIKÖTTER, LARS LAAMANN, and ZHOU XUN. [Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2004. 319 pp. $35.00. ISBN 0-226-14905-6.]
Authors: Madancy Joyce A. 
Published: March 2005

In the burgeoning sub-field of narcotic history in China, Narcotic Culture stands out as a revision of the revisionist literature. Most scholars now concur that the nature and extent of China's narcotic “problem” has been grossly exaggerated over time, and recent scholarship has reinterpreted opiates as key components of social, economic and political developments in the late Qing and Republican eras. But Narcotic Culture goes well beyond this reassessment in an interpretation that relies on a wide range of archival and other primary sources, as well as a methodology that successfully blends history and anthropology. Dikötter, Laamann and Zhou take issue with the “narcophobic discourse” (p. 2) that has characterized the rhetoric of drug use and abuse in China and, even more significant, they dispute the assumption that various attempts to prohibit opium and other narcotics were positive developments that reflected state strength or rising Chinese nationalism. Instead, the authors build a strong case for their contention that it was prohibition that generated a social and economic disaster for many Chinese.The first half of the book is devoted to debunking what the authors term “the opium myth,” the idea that opium caused more harm than good and was largely responsible for the downfall of Chinese civilization. They establish that opium use was not confined to China, most Chinese opium smokers were not addicts, and many smokers sought the drug's valued medical benefits. They hypothesize that opium abuse in China was largely prevented by a smoking culture that valued decorum and encouraged complex and time consuming rituals. The authors also note that any valid historical examination of narcotics in China must have a global focus and should seek to extricate the drug from the multilayered socio-cultural meanings that have, at various times, transformed a legitimate medicine into a moral problem.
The Politics of Buddhist Organisations in Taiwan: 1989–2003. Safeguarding the Faith, Building a Pure Land, Helping the Poor. By ANDRÉ LALIBERTÉ . [London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004. xii+178 pp. ISBN 0-415-32235-9.] Establishing a Pure Land on Earth. The Foguang Buddhist Perspective on Modernization and Globalization. By STUART CHANDLER. [Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2004. xvii+371 pp. ISBN 0-8248-2746-5.]
Authors: Tarocco Francesca 
Published: March 2005

In open contrast to the abundance of studies concerning the first millennium of Chinese history, many aspects of the institutional, intellectual and cultural history of Chinese Buddhism during the past one thousand years remain, with some notable exceptions, largely unstudied. In particular, Western language scholarly accounts of Chinese Buddhism since the end of the 19th century are still rare and, with regards to the first part of the 20th century, largely limited to the efforts of one individual, the late American scholar, Holmes Welch (1921–1981). During the last ten or 15 years, however, there have been signs of a reversal of this tendency as an increasing number of researchers began to devote themselves to the study of modern and contemporary Chinese Buddhism. The lion's share of this emerging scholarly trend belongs to studies of Taiwanese rather than mainland Chinese Buddhism. This choice can partly be attributed to the increasing international visibility of Taiwanese Buddhist associations, but I also suspect that funding opportunities and a comparatively more welcoming research environment may have something to do with it!The two books under review are also concerned with contemporary Taiwanese Buddhism. Their authors adopt different but somehow complementary approaches. Whereas André Laliberté's instructive study of the attitudes towards the active political participation of Taiwanese Buddhist organizations focuses on the activities of the three main Taiwanese Buddhist organizations, namely the Buddha Light Mountain (or Foguangshan) monastic order, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Association (or Ciji gongdehui), and the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (Zhongguo fojiaohui), Stuart Chandler's engaging study focuses on Foguangshan and the views of its founder and charismatic leader, Ven. Xingyun.