bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fas (CD95) and bcl‐2 expression in active skin lesions of Behçet's disease
Authors: Bariş YS , Yildiz L , Şentürk N , Kandemır B 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTOver‐expression of bcl‐2 in lymphocytes has an important role in some immunological and inflammatory diseases. Fas (CD95) is a cell surface molecule that mediates receptor‐triggered apoptosis in various cells including autoreactive T cells. In this study we investigated bcl‐2 and Fas (CD95) expression in dermal lymphocytes in active skin lesions of Behçet's disease (BD) and in skin biopsy samples with chronic, non‐specific inflammations. Tissue sections of 29 skin lesions of Behçet's disease and of 10 chronic non‐spesific inflammatory process cases from the archives of the Ondokuz Mayıs University's Pathology Department were immunohistochemically stained for bcl‐2 and Fas (CD95), and lymphocytes in the dermal infiltrate were evaluated for cytoplasmic staining. bcl‐2 staining was observed in the skin lesions of 22 cases (75.8%) of Behçet's disease. bcl‐2 staining was detected in two (20%) control skin biopsy samples with non‐specific chronic inflammation. Fas (CD95) positivity was not detected in lymphocytes in Behçet's disease‐related skin lesions. Fas (CD95) staining was observed in only three skin biopsy samples with non‐specific chronic inflammation. bcl‐2 and Fas (CD95) staining values in Behçet's and non‐specific inflammation groups were significantly different (P < 0.01); differences in the bcl‐2 staining values between Behçet's patients with mucocutaneous involvement only and mucocutaneous and other systemic involvements were not significant (P > 0.05). Expression of bcl‐2 and loss of Fas (CD95) expression in dermal lymphocytes may play a role in the development of skin lesions and may account for the chronic course with periodic exacerbations in BD.
Treatment of nail psoriasis with 8% clobetasol nail lacquer: positive experience in 10 patients
Authors: Sánchez Regaña M , Martín Ezquerra G , Umbert Millet Pablo , Llambí Mateos F 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTBackground  Treatment of nail psoriasis is difficult. Several topical therapies have been employed with poor results because drug penetration is limited in this localization. Recently, a new formulation containing 8% clobetasol‐17‐propionate in a colourless nail lacquer vehicle has shown good results in the control of nail psoriasis.Objective  To determine the efficacy and safety of 8% clobetasol‐17‐propionate in a lacquer vehicle in nail psoriasis.Methods  Ten patients with both nail bed and matrix psoriasis were included in the study. They were treated with a colourless nail lacquer containing 8% clobetasol‐17‐propionate that was applied once daily for 21 days and then twice weekly for 9 months.Results  Within 4 weeks of therapy there was a reduction of all the nail alterations, including nail pain. Therapeutic response was directly related to the length of therapy. The nail parameters that responded best to therapy were onycholysis, pitting and salmon patches. Subungual hyperkeratosis and splinter haemorrhages on the other hand had moderate and poor improvement, respectively. The treatment was well tolerated in all of the patients and there were no local (i.e. atrophy and sobreinfection) or systemic secondary effects.Conclusions  The formulation containing 8% clobetasol‐17‐propionate is a safe, effective and cosmetically highly acceptable treatment for nail bed and matrix psoriasis.
Case mix measures and diagnosis‐related groups: opportunities and threats for inpatient dermatology
Authors: Hensen P , Fürstenberg T , Luger TA , Steinhoff M , Roeder N 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTObjective  The changing healthcare environment world‐wide is leading to extensive use of per case payment systems based on diagnosis‐related groups (DRG). The aim of this study was to examine the impact of application of different DRG systems used in the German healthcare system.Methods  We retrospectively analysed 2334 clinical data sets of inpatients discharged from an academic dermatological inpatient unit in 2003. Data were regarded as providing high coding quality in compliance with the diagnosis and procedure classifications as well as coding standards. The application of the Australian AR‐DRG version 4.1, the German G‐DRG version 1.0, and the German G‐DRG version 2004 was considered in detail. To evaluate more specific aspects, data were broken down into 11 groups based on the principle diagnosis.Main outcome measure  DRG cost weights and case mix index were used to compare coverage of inpatient dermatological services. Economic impacts were illustrated by case mix volumes and calculation of DRG payments.Results  Case mix index results and the pending prospective revenues vary tremendously from the application of one or another of the DRG systems. The G‐DRG version 2004 provides increased levels of case mix index that encourages, in particular, medical dermatology.Conclusions  The AR‐DRG version 4.1 and the first German DRG version 1.0 appear to be less suitable to adequately cover inpatient dermatology. The G‐DRG version 2004 has been greatly improved, probably due to proceeding calculation standards and DRG adjustments. The future of inpatient dermatology is subject to appropriate depiction of well‐established treatment standards.
A guide to antibiotic resistance in bacterial skin infections
Authors: Perera G , Hay R 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTThe emergence of bacterial resistance to commonly used antibiotics is not new. In this review we have tried to cover the ever increasing problems facing the treatment and containment of bacterial skin infections. We have tried to give an overview of the varied mechanisms by which bacteria gain and spread antimicrobial resistance, whilst dealing with the patterns of resistance exhibited by some of the commonly encountered organisms. Where there is evidence, we have formulated an approach on how to tackle antibiotic resistance. Where there is a lack of evidence we have formulated what we perceive to be appropriate guidelines.
Ichthyosis follicularis, alopecia and photophobia (IFAP) syndrome treated with acitretin
Authors: Khandpur S , Bhat R , Ramam M 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTWe describe a 3‐year‐old male patient with the ichthyosis follicularis, alopecia and photophobia (IFAP) syndrome, who developed cutaneous and ocular involvement in infancy. In addition, he had growth retardation and borderline intelligence; no other systemic involvement was found on detailed investigation. A moderate response to acitretin therapy (1 mg/kg) administered for 6 months was observed, with improvement in cutaneous features and corneal erosions and no change in alopecia or photophobia.
Effect of calcipotriol on epidermal cell populations in alefacept‐treated psoriatic lesions
Authors: Van Duijnhoven MWFM , Körver JEM , Vissers WHPM , Van Vlijmen‐Willems IMJJ , Pasch MC , Van Erp PEJ , Van de Kerkhof PCM 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTBackground and objectives  The effect of the established antipsoriatic treatment with topical calcipotriol (with a maximum of 100 g per week) in addition to systemic treatment with alefacept, a new biological agent for psoriasis, on epidermal cell populations in the psoriatic lesion was investigated using a combination of the Zenon labelling technique and microscopic image analysis. Epidermal cell populations were measured quantitatively with this sensitive method.Patients/methods  Frozen sections of non‐treated psoriatic epidermis and psoriatic epidermis treated with either alefacept intramuscular or alefacept intramuscular in combination with topical calcipotriol for 12 weeks were compared immunohistochemically. Antibodies against keratin 6, 10 and 15 were labelled with the Zenon technique, whereas antibodies against the Ki‐67 antigen and beta‐1 integrin were covalently Fluorescein Isothiocyanate (FITC)‐labelled. Using image analysis, these markers were measured in the epidermis in a standardized manner.Results and conclusions  Treatment of psoriasis with alefacept resulted in a good clinical response in several patients and in a normalization of epidermal expression of the immunohistochemical parameters for differentiation and proliferation. The addition of topical calcipotriol resulted in a faster clinical improvement with a similar overall clinical response and a similar response of epidermal cell populations as compared to treatment with alefacept monotherapy after 12 weeks of treatment. This study also suggests that the appearance of keratin 15 has a predictive value for the duration of remission. It can be concluded that the addition of a low‐dose calcipotriol treatment does not contribute to the clinical efficacy of alefacept, both at the clinical level and with respect to markers for epidermal proliferation and differentiation.
No allelic variant associations of the IL‐1 and TNF gene polymorphisms in the susceptibility to duodenal ulcer disease
Authors: Garcia‐Gonzalez M. A. , Savelkoul P. H. M. , Benito R. , Santolaria S. , Crusius J. B. A. , Peña A. S. , Lanas A. 
Published: August 2005

SummaryRecent studies have reported the association of a pro‐inflammatory profile of genetic polymorphisms in IL‐1B, IL‐1RN, TNF‐A, and IL‐10 genes with an increased risk of non‐cardia gastric cancer. Because gastric cancer and duodenal ulcer are mutually exclusive outcomes of Helicobacter pylori infection, we aimed to investigate possible allelic variant associations of several functional polymorphisms in the IL‐1B, IL‐1RN, TNFA, and LTA genes in the susceptibility to duodenal ulcer. Genomic DNA from 118 patients with duodenal ulcer and 97 healthy controls was typed for the IL‐1B polymorphisms at positions −511, −31, and +3954, the VNTR polymorphism in intron 2 of the IL‐1RN gene, the TNFA−308, TNFA −238, and the NcoI and BsI LTA polymorphisms by PCR, SSCP and TaqMan assays. H. pylori infection and non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) use was investigated in patients and controls. Logistic regression analysis identified H. pylori infection (OR: 12.86; 95%CI: 3.85–43), NSAID use (OR: 11.95; 95%CI: 4.19–34.05), and family history‐ulcer (OR: 3.79; 95%CI: 1.68–8.54) as independent risk factors for duodenal ulcer. When the effect of the combinations of IL‐1 and TNF genotypes was studied we found that the distribution of all possible combinations of these eight polymorphisms was similar in duodenal ulcer patients and controls. The simultaneous carriage of alleles IL‐1RN*2/IL‐1B −31T/IL‐1B −511C/IL‐IB +3954C/TNF‐HaplotypeE negative (termed in some studies as ‘low‐producing’ alleles) was increased in H. pylori‐positive duodenal ulcer patients compared to H. pylori‐infected healthy controls (10.5% vs. 5.9%) although the difference did not reach statistical significance (OR: 1.85; 95%CI: 0.57–5.99, P = 0.41). Moreover, no differences were found with respect to H. pylori status, NSAID use, age, gender, smoking habit, type of complication, recurrence of the ulcer, and need for surgical treatment. Our data show no association between allelic variants of IL‐1 and TNF gene polymorphisms in the susceptibility to and final outcome of duodenal ulcer.
Complement factor B allotypes in the susceptibility and severity of coeliac disease in patients and relatives
Authors: Da Rosa Utiyama S. R. , Da Silva Kotze L. M. , De Messias Reason I. T. 
Published: August 2005

SummaryThe alternative pathway of complement plays an important role in the pathogenesis of coeliac disease (CD), where factor B (BF) is central to its activation. CD is a gluten‐sensitive enteropathy that results from a complex interplay between genetic, immunologic, and environmental factors. In this study we evaluated the association of BF allotypes with the susceptibility and severity of CD, and with the presence of autoantibodies. Seventy‐six non‐related patients (56 female; 20 male; 2–77 years) and 150 first‐degree relatives (87 female, 63 male; 2–75 years) were investigated. As controls, 97 healthy individuals were included (67 female;, 30 male; 1–71 years). The BF allotypes were determined by high‐voltage agarose gel electrophoresis, followed by specific immunofixation. Disease severity was evaluated by anti‐endomisial antibody (IgA‐EmA) titres and histological findings of intestinal mucosa, which showed a high correlation (r = 0.8; P < 0.00001) in samples collected simultaneously. IgA‐EmA was detected in all CD patients ingesting gluten, and in 13.3% of the relatives. The IgA‐EmA, smooth muscle, mitochondrial, liver‐kidney microsomal, nuclear, gastric parietal cells, and thyroid microsome antibodies were tested by indirect immunofluorescence. A significant decrease in BF S (P = 0.026) and an increasing tendency in BF SF allotype (P = 0.06) were observed in CD patients when compared to their relatives. On the other hand, BF S frequency was increased (P = 0.001 RR = 2.32) and BF SF (P = 0.002) decreased in the relatives when compared to the controls. No differences were observed in the distribution of BF phenotypes amongst the CD patients and the control group, and no association was found with CD severity or with the presence of autoantibodies. These results suggest BF SF as a CD susceptibility marker, and BF S as a protection marker of the disease amongst CD families in the Brazilian population.
The MCP‐1 −2518 (A to G) single nucleotide polymorphism is not associated with myocardial infarction in the Czech population
Authors: Cermakova Z. , Petrkova J. , Arakelyan A. , Drabek J. , Mrazek F. , Lukl J. , Petrek M. 
Published: August 2005

SummaryMonocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)‐1 is the key chemokine in the process of atheroslerotic vascular inflammation. Examining already reported association between coronary artery disease (CAD) and the SNP A/G in the MCP‐1 gene (position −2518), 139 Czech patients with CAD manifested as myocardial infarction (MI) and 359 unrelated healthy control (C) subjects were genotyped by PCR‐SSP. Genotype and allele frequencies were not different in MI and C groups (allele G: MI, 20.5%; C, 23.8%, OR = 0.8, P > 0.05). No differences were detected when the patients were subdivided based on sex or the age of MI first occurrence. Further, no relationship was observed between circulating MCP‐1 levels and carriage of the G allele. The data do not support a role for the MCP‐1 −2518 single nucleotide polymorphism in susceptibility to CAD manifested by myocardial infarction.
STABILITY ANALYSIS OF A FLUID FLOW MODEL FOR TCP LIKE BEHAVIOR
Authors: MICHIELS WIM , NICULESCU SILVIU-IULIAN 
Published: August 2005

This note focuses on the stability analysis of some classes of nonlinear time-delay models, encountered as fluid models for TCP/AQM network. By combining analytical and numerical tools, the attractors of these models, as well as the local and global behaviors of the solutions are studied. Among others, the presence of a chaotic attractor is shown, which supports the proposition that TCP itself as a deterministic process can cause or contribute to chaotic behavior in a network. The main goals of the paper are firstly to provide qualitative and quantitative information on the dynamics of the models under consideration, and secondly to illustrate the capabilities of computational tools for stability and bifurcation analysis of delay differential equations to analyze fluid flow models.
Coronary artery bypass surgery in high-risk patients
Authors: Kunt Alper Sami , Darcın Osman Tansel , Andac Mehmet Halit 
Published: August 2005

Abstract

Background
In high-risk coronary artery bypass patients; off-pump versus on-pump surgical strategies still remain a matter of debate, regarding which method results in a lower incidence of perioperative mortality and morbidity. We describe our experience in the treatment of high-risk coronary artery patients and compare patients assigned to on-pump and off-pump surgery.

Methods
From March 2002 to July 2004, 86 patients with EuroSCOREs > 5 underwent myocardial revascularization with or without cardiopulmonary bypass. Patients were assigned to off-pump surgery (40) or on-pump surgery (46) based on coronary anatomy coupled with the likelihood of achieving complete revascularization.

Results
Those patients undergoing off-pump surgery had significantly poorer left ventricular function than those undergoing on-pump surgery (28.6 ± 5.8% vs. 40.5 ± 7.4%, respectively, p < 0.05) and also had higher Euroscore values (7.26 ± 1.4 vs. 12.1 ± 1.8, respectively, p < 0.05). Differences between the two groups were nonsignificant with regard to number of grafts per patient, mean duration of surgery, anesthesia and operating room time, length of stay intensive care unit (ICU) and rate of postoperative atrial fibrillation

Conclusion
Utilization of off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) does not confer significant clinical advantages in all high-risk patients. This review suggest that off-pump coronary revascularization may represent an alternative approach for treatment of patients with Euroscore ≥ 10 and left ventricular function ≤ 30%.
FiatFlux – a software for metabolic flux analysis from 13C-glucose experiments
Authors: Zamboni Nicola , Fischer Eliane , Sauer Uwe 
Published: August 2005

Abstract
Background
Quantitative knowledge of intracellular fluxes is important for a comprehensive characterization of metabolic networks and their functional operation. In contrast to direct assessment of metabolite concentrations, in vivo metabolite fluxes must be inferred indirectly from measurable quantities in 13C experiments. The required experience, the complicated network models, large and heterogeneous data sets, and the time-consuming set-up of highly controlled experimental conditions largely restricted metabolic flux analysis to few expert groups. A conceptual simplification of flux analysis is the analytical determination of metabolic flux ratios exclusively from MS data, which can then be used in a second step to estimate absolute in vivo fluxes.

Results
Here we describe the user-friendly software package FiatFlux that supports flux analysis for non-expert users. In the first module, ratios of converging fluxes are automatically calculated from GC-MS-detected 13C-pattern in protein-bound amino acids. Predefined fragmentation patterns are automatically identified and appropriate statistical data treatment is based on the comparison of redundant information in the MS spectra. In the second module, absolute intracellular fluxes may be calculated by a 13C-constrained flux balancing procedure that combines experimentally determined fluxes in and out of the cell and the above flux ratios. The software is preconfigured to derive flux ratios and absolute in vivo fluxes from [1-13C] and [U-13C]glucose experiments and GC-MS analysis of amino acids for a variety of microorganisms.

Conclusion
FiatFlux is an intuitive tool for quantitative investigations of intracellular metabolism by users that are not familiar with numerical methods or isotopic tracer experiments. The aim of this open source software is to enable non-specialists to adapt the software to their specific scientific interests, including other 13C-substrates, labeling mixtures, and organisms.
Variation in structural location and amino acid conservation of functional sites in protein domain families
Authors: Pils Birgit , Copley Richard R , Schultz Jörg 
Published: August 2005

Abstract
Background
The functional sites of a protein present important information for determining its cellular function and are fundamental in drug design. Accordingly, accurate methods for the prediction of functional sites are of immense value. Most available methods are based on a set of homologous sequences and structural or evolutionary information, and assume that functional sites are more conserved than the average. In the analysis presented here, we have investigated the conservation of location and type of amino acids at functional sites, and compared the behaviour of functional sites between different protein domains.

Results
Functional sites were extracted from experimentally determined structural complexes from the Protein Data Bank harbouring a conserved protein domain from the SMART database. In general, functional (i.e. interacting) sites whose location is more highly conserved are also more conserved in their type of amino acid. However, even highly conserved functional sites can present a wide spectrum of amino acids. The degree of conservation strongly depends on the function of the protein domain and ranges from highly conserved in location and amino acid to very variable. Differentiation by binding partner shows that ion binding sites tend to be more conserved than functional sites binding peptides or nucleotides.

Conclusion
The results gained by this analysis will help improve the accuracy of functional site prediction and facilitate the characterization of unknown protein sequences.
stam – a Bioconductor compliant R package for structured analysis of microarray data
Authors: Lottaz Claudio , Spang Rainer 
Published: August 2005

Abstract
Background
Genome wide microarray studies have the potential to unveil novel disease entities. Clinically homogeneous groups of patients can have diverse gene expression profiles. The definition of novel subclasses based on gene expression is a difficult problem not addressed systematically by currently available software tools.

Results
We present a computational tool for semi-supervised molecular disease entity detection. It automatically discovers molecular heterogeneities in phenotypically defined disease entities and suggests alternative molecular sub-entities of clinical phenotypes. This is done using both gene expression data and functional gene annotations.
We provide stam, a Bioconductor compliant software package for the statistical programming environment R. We demonstrate that our tool detects gene expression patterns, which are characteristic for only a subset of patients from an established disease entity. We call such expression patterns molecular symptoms. Furthermore, stam finds novel sub-group stratifications of patients according to the absence or presence of molecular symptoms.

Conclusion
Our software is easy to install and can be applied to a wide range of datasets. It provides the potential to reveal so far indistinguishable patient sub-groups of clinical relevance.