bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A randomised controlled trial of ursodeoxycholic acid and S‐adenosyl‐l‐methionine in the treatment of gestational cholestasis
Authors: Roncaglia Nadia , Locatelli Anna , Arreghini Alessandra , Assi Francesca , Cameroni Irene , Pezzullo John C. , Ghidini Alessandro 
Published: December 2004

Objective  To compare the efficacy of S‐adenosyl‐l‐methionine and ursodeoxycholic acid in improving serum biochemical abnormalities in gestational cholestasis.Design  Randomised clinical trial.Setting  University hospital.Population  All women at <36 weeks of gestation with severe gestational cholestasis during June 1996 to December 2001.Methods  Enrolled women were randomly assigned oral S‐adenosyl‐l‐methionine 500 mg twice daily or oral ursodeoxycholic acid 300 mg twice daily until delivery.Main outcome measures  Reduction in the concentration of serum bile acids. Other variables considered included obstetric and neonatal outcome, clinical symptoms and other laboratory measurements (serum levels of transaminases and bilirubin). The two groups were compared using Student's t test, Wilcoxon's signed rank sum test and Fisher's exact test, with a two‐tailed P < 0.05 being considered significant.Results  Of the 46 women enrolled, 24 received ursodeoxycholic acid and 22 S‐adenosyl‐l‐methionine. At enrolment, gestational age, duration of therapy, rate of nulliparity, pruritus score and biochemical characteristics were similar between the groups. Both therapies significantly and equally improved pruritus. Women receiving ursodeoxycholic acid had a significantly greater improvement in the concentration of serum bile acids (P= 0.001), aspartate aminotransferase (P= 0.01), alanine aminotransferase (<0.001) and bilirubin (P= 0.002) compared with those receiving S‐adenosyl‐l‐methionine. Duration of therapy was significantly greater in women receiving ursodeoxycholic acid compared with S‐adenosyl‐l‐methionine (P= 0.04), whereas gestational age at delivery and rate of prematurity were similar in the two groups.Conclusions  In women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, ursodeoxycholic acid is more effective than S‐adenosyl‐l‐methionine at improving the concentration of serum bile acids and other tests of liver function, whereas both therapies are equally effective at improving pruritus.
Effect of timing and type of treatment on the risk of mother to child transmission of Toxoplasma gondii
Authors:   European Multicentre Study on Congenital Toxoplasmosis,   Participants are listed on page 119
Published: December 2004

Objective To determine the effects on mother to child transmission of the timing and type of prenatal treatment, taking into account gestational age at maternal seroconversion.Design Prospective cohort study.Setting European centres offering prenatal screening for toxoplasmosis.Population Children born to a cohort of pregnant women with toxoplasma infection.Methods We determined the effects on mother to child transmission of the interval between seroconversion and start of treatment (treatment delay), and the type of treatment, taking into account gestational age at maternal seroconversion.Main outcome measure Congenital infection status confirmed by toxoplasma IgG results at one year postnatal age.Results Of 1208 women analysed, 72% were first prescribed spiramycin, 19% pyrimethamine–sulphonamide and 9% (mostly infected during the last trimester) were untreated. The odds ratios for mother to child transmission for all women treated after a delay of four to seven weeks was 0.77 (95% CI 0.34–1.69), and after eight weeks or more was 1.33 (0.56–2.89) compared with less than four weeks. The odds ratio per week of treatment delay was 1.01 (0.93–1.08). There was no evidence that transmission risk differed in women first treated with pyrimethamine–sulphonamide versus spiramycin: odds ratio 1.10 (0.63–1.91) or in untreated versus treated women: odds ratio 0.57 (0.27–1.17).Conclusion We were unable to demonstrate a beneficial effect of the timing or type of prenatal treatment on the risk of mother to child transmission but we could not exclude a clinically important effect. Randomised controlled trials are required to determine the effect of prenatal treatment on mother to child transmission.
The relationship between asthma and allergic rhinitis: exploring the basis for a common pathophysiology
Authors: Vignola A. M. , Chanez P. , Bousquet J. 
Published: December 2004

SummaryMost patients with asthma also have rhinitis, and the same inflammatory cells and mechanisms are present in bronchial and nasal mucosa, thus leading to the concept of ‘one airway, one disease’. This concept is further substantiated by evidence of nasal inflammation in asthma, and bronchial inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in rhinitis. Endobronchial allergen challenge induces nasal and bronchial symptoms as well as reductions in pulmonary function and nasal patency. Likewise, treating rhinitis can improve the symptoms of asthma. There are some notable pathophysiological differences between the nose and the bronchi, for example airway remodelling appears to be less extensive in the nasal mucosa than in the bronchial mucosa. But, in spite of this, it is widely recognized that interrelated mechanisms contribute across the asthma–rhinitis disease spectrum. Of particular note is that the same pro‐inflammatory mediators (e.g. cysteinyl leukotrienes, cytokines, histamine) are involved in nasal and bronchial inflammation, in patients with rhinitis and asthma. It appears there are ‘bidirectional’ relationships between nasal and bronchial inflammation, and that biological events occurring in the nose or lung promote widespread responses, thus mimicking a systemic disease.
Aggregation in Natural Language Generation
Authors: Dalianis Hercules 
Published: December 2004

The content of real‐world databases, knowledge bases, database models, and formal specifications is often highly redundant and needs to be aggregated before these representations can be successfully paraphrased into natural language. To generate natural language from these representations, a number of processes must be carried out, one of which is sentence planning where the task of aggregation is carried out. Aggregation, which has been called ellipsis or coordination in Linguistics, is the process that removes redundancies during generation of a natural language discourse, without losing any information.The article describes a set of corpus studies that focus on aggregation, provides a set of aggregation rules, and finally, shows how these rules are implemented in a couple of prototype systems. We develop further the concept of aggregation and discuss it in connection with the growing literature on the subject. This work offers a new tool for the sentence planning phase of natural language generation systems.
The Ethiopian Crisis of 1999–2000: Lessons Learned, Questions Unanswered
Authors: Hammond Laura , Maxwell Daniel 
Published: December 2004

During 1999–2000, Ethiopia was brought to the edge of a major disaster, with some 10 million people estimated to be in need of food assistance at the height of the crisis. A repeat of the catastrophic famine of 1984–5 was avoided, but the numbers of people affected, the loss of life and the destruction of livelihoods made this one of the most serious crises in the Horn of Africa in the past 15 years. The humanitarian community has been slow to recognise the lessons of 1999–2000, and there have been surprisingly few attempts to conduct a serious, post–event evaluation of the overall crisis and response. The label ‘famine averted’ seems to summarise the crisis to the satisfaction of most parties involved.This paper reviews the crisis, the events that led up to it and the response effort. It examines the factors that contributed to making this crisis so serious, in order to draw conclusions and note issues that are relevant to current thinking about disaster preparedness and response — in Ethiopia and elsewhere. Some of the lessons learned from the 1999–2000 crisis are not new. However, the very fact that mistakes have been repeated should be a lesson to the humanitarian community.
Symmetrical Patterns from Dynamics
Authors: Chung K. W. , Chan H. S. Y. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractAutomatic generation of symmetrical patterns belonging to all seventeen wallpaper groups is considered from a dynamical system's point of view. A pseudo‐code of the algorithm is provided to generate the computer graphics. The method is shown to be able to create unlimited varieties of patterns and demonstrates the possibility of relaxing the crystallographic restriction to produce aperiodic patterns.
Is environmental policy a secondary trade barrier? An empirical analysis
Authors: Ederington Josh , Minier Jenny 
Published: December 2004

Abstract Should international trade agreements be extended to include negotiations over environmental policy? The answer depends on whether countries distort levels of environmental regulations as a secondary means of providing protection to domestic industries; our results suggest that they do. Previous studies of this relationship have treated the level of environmental regulation as exogenous, and found a negligible correlation between environmental regulation and trade flows. In contrast, we find that, when the level of environmental regulation is modelled as an endogenous variable, its estimated effect on trade flows is significantly higher than previously reported. JEL Classification: F1, F14, F18Est‐ce que la politique environnementale est une barrière commerciale secondaire? Une analyse empirique Est‐ce que les accords commerciaux internationaux doivent être étendus pour couvrir la politique environnementale? La réponse dépend du degré de distorsion que les pays introduisent dans leur politique environnementale pour protéger leurs industries nationales. Nos résultats suggèrent que cet impact est important. Des études antérieures de cette relation ont traité la politique environnementale comme exogène, et ont montré qu’il existe une co‐relation négligeable entre politique environnementale et flux commerciaux. Au contraire, nous révélons que, quand la politique environnementale est considérée comme variable endogène, son effet sur les flux commerciaux est plus élevé de manière significative que ce qu’on a noté antérieurement.
Rationalized subjective equilibria in repeated games
Authors: Hidetsugu Oishi 
Published: December 2004

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to provide a new equilibrium concept of repeated games that involve incomplete information (rationalized subjective equilibrium) and a related framework (subjective game), and to analyse the relationships between players’ subjective images of games and the realized outcomes. We demonstrate the relationships among rationalized subjective equilibria, subjective equilibria, and original Nash equilibria by providing several examples. We also present several theorems analogous to the ordinary folk theorem and a simple application using the Cournot duopoly model. JEL Classification: C70, C72Equilibres subjectifs rationalisés dans des jeux répétés L’objectif de cet article est de proposer un nouveau concept d’équilibre dans les jeux répétés où l’information est incomplète (équilibre subjectif rationalisé) et un cadre d’analyse approprié( jeu subjectif ), ainsi que d’analyser les rapports entre les images subjectives que les acteurs ont des jeux et de leurs résultats. On montre les rapports entre équilibres subjectifs rationalisés, équilibres subjectifs, et équilibres à la Nash à l’aide de divers exemples. On présente aussi plusieurs théorèmes analogues au « ordinary folk theorem » et une application simple utilisant le modèle de duopole de Cournot.
Being high is better: effects of elevation and habitat on arctic ground squirrel demography
Authors: Gillis Elizabeth A. , Hik David S. , Boonstra Rudy , Karels Tim J. , Krebs Charles J. 
Published: December 2004

We investigated the effect of local environment on the demography and population dynamics of arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii plesius) by comparing reproduction, survival, and population trends of squirrels living in low elevation boreal forest and high elevation alpine tundra sites in southwestern Yukon Territory, Canada. Contrary to the trend for most birds and mammals, reproduction was significantly lower at the lower elevation and females living at higher elevation did not delay the age at which they first reproduced. Even though survival in the boreal forest was lower in summer than in the alpine, it was higher over winter so annual adult female survival was similar between sites.Sensitivity analysis of model parameters revealed that in the forest, population growth rate (λ) was most sensitive to small changes in adult active season survival whereas for the alpine population, λ was most sensitive to changes in juvenile winter survival. In their respective habitats, these parameters also showed high year to year variation and thus contributed greatly to the population trends observed. Even though ground squirrels persisted in the boreal forest, the measured demographic rates indicate the forest was sink habitat (λ<1) and may have relied on nearby grassy meadows for immigrants. In contrast, the alpine habitat maintained a ground squirrel population in the absence of immigration (λ=1).The variation in demographic rates between ground squirrels living at high and low elevation may arise from phenotypic responses of squirrels to different habitat structure. Arctic ground squirrels rely on sight to detect predators from a safe distance, and the boreal forest, with its lower visibility and higher predator density, appears to be suboptimal habitat.
Salt tectonics driven by differential sediment loading: stability analysis and finite‐element experiments
Authors: Gemmer Lykke , Ings Steven J. , Medvedev Sergei , Beaumont Christopher 
Published: December 2004

AbstractAt many continental margins, differential sediment loading on an underlying salt layer drives salt deformation and has a significant impact on the structural evolution of the basin. We use 2‐D finite‐element modelling to investigate systems in which a linear viscous salt layer underlies a frictional‐plastic overburden of laterally varying thickness. In these systems, differential pressure induces the flow of viscous salt, and the overburden experiences updip deviatoric tension and downdip compression. A thin‐sheet analytical stability criterion for the system is derived and is used to predict conditions under which the sedimentary overburden will be unstable and fail, and to estimate the initial velocities of the system. The analytical predictions are in acceptable agreement with initial velocity patterns of the numerical models.In addition to initial stability analyses, the numerical model is used to investigate the subsequent finite deformation. As the systems evolve, overburden extension and salt diapirism occur in the landward section and contractional structures develop in the seaward section. The system evolution depends on the relative widths of the salt basin and the length scale of the overburden thickness variation. In narrow salt basins, overburden deformation is localised and characterised by high strain rates, which cause the system to reach a gravitational equilibrium and salt movement to cease earlier than for wide salt basins. Sedimentation enhances salt evacuation by maintaining a differential pressure in the salt. Continued sedimentary filling of landward extensional basins suppresses landward salt diapirism. Sediment progradation leads to seaward propagation of the landward extensional structures and depocentres. At slow sediment progradation rates, the viscous flow can be faster than the sediment progradation, leading to efficient salt evacuation and salt weld formation beneath the landward section. Fast sediment progradation suppresses the viscous flow, leaving salt pillows beneath the prograding wedge.
A physician's guide to transfusion in autoimmune haemolytic anaemia
Authors: Petz Lawrence D. 
Published: December 2004

SummaryPatients with autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA) frequently have anaemia of sufficient severity as to require a blood transfusion. However, it is impossible to find compatible blood when, as is frequently the case, the autoantibody in the patient's serum reacts with all normal red blood cells. Further, the autoantibody may mask the presence of a red cell alloantibody capable of causing a haemolytic transfusion reaction. Optimal patient management in this clinical setting requires special compatibility test procedures in the transfusion service laboratory. Equally important is that clinicians must understand the principles of the compatibility tests performed. Provided appropriate compatibility tests are performed, the indications for transfusion in patients with AIHA are not significantly different than for similarly anaemic patients without AIHA. Communication between clinicians and laboratory personnel are important to review the urgency of transfusion and the compatibility test methods used to select the optimal unit of red blood cells for transfusion.
Impairment of death‐inducing signalling complex formation in CD95‐resistant human primary lymphoma B cells
Authors: Lajmanovich Alicia , Irisarri Magdalena , Molens Jean‐Paul , Pasquier Marie‐Anne , Sotto Jean‐Jacques , Bensa Jean‐Claude , Leroux Dominique , Plumas Joël 
Published: December 2004

SummaryMultiple mechanisms exist by which tumour cells can escape CD95‐mediated apoptosis. Previous studies by our laboratory have shown that primary B cells from non‐Hodgkin's Lymphoma (B‐NHL) were resistant to CD95‐induced cell death. In the current study, we have analysed the mechanisms underlying CD95 resistance in primary human lymphoma B cells. We report that FADD (FAS‐associated death domain protein) and caspase‐8 were constitutively expressed in lymphoma B cells and that the CD95 pathway was blocked upstream to caspase‐8 activation. However, caspase‐8 was processed and functional after treatment with staurosporine (STS). We found that the expression levels of FLICE (FADD‐like interleukin‐1 beta‐converting enzyme)‐Inhibitory Protein (c‐FLIP) and Bcl‐2‐related proteins were heterogeneous in B‐NHL cells and were not related to CD95 resistance. Finally, we report the absence of a CD95‐induced signalling complex [death‐inducing signalling complex (DISC)] in lymphoma B cells, with no FADD and caspase‐8 recruitment to CD95 receptor. In contrast, DISC formation was observed in CD95‐resistant non‐tumoural (NT) B cells. Therefore, we propose that the absence of DISC formation in primary lymphoma B cells may contribute to protect these cells from CD95‐induced apoptosis.
Fludarabine, mitoxantrone and dexamethasone in the treatment of indolent B‐ and T‐cell lymphoid malignancies in Chinese patients
Authors: Ma Shing Y. , Au Wing Y. , Chim Chor S. , Lie Albert K. W. , Lam Clarence C. K. , Tse Eric , Leung Anskar Y. H. , Liang Raymond , Kwong Yok L. 
Published: December 2004

SummaryThe treatment results of indolent lymphoid malignancies in Chinese are poorly reported. The efficacy of FND (fludarabine 25 mg/m2/d, ×3; mitoxantrone 10 mg/m2/d, ×1; dexamethasone 20 mg/d, ×5; monthly cycles, ×6) in 95 Chinese patients with indolent B‐cell malignancies (at diagnosis: 55, relapse/refractory disease: 40) and nine Chinese patients with T‐cell large granular lymphocyte leukaemia (T‐LGL leukaemia) (at diagnosis: two, refractory disease: seven) was evaluated. For B‐cell malignancies, the complete response (CR), partial response (PR) and overall response (OR) rates were 50·5%, 18% and 68·5% respectively. Better results were obtained for primary versus relapse/refractory disease (CR: 60% vs. 37·5%, P = 0·03; OR: 84% vs. 47·5%, P < 0·001; median progression‐free survival (PFS): 44 months vs. 22 months; 2‐year PFS: 66% vs. 47%, P = 0·039; overall survival (OS): not reached vs. 32%; 2‐year OS: 92% vs. 58%, P < 0·001). Responsive patients (CR/PR) had a better median PFS (44 months vs. 5 months, P < 0·001) and OS (67 months vs. 13 months, P < 0·001) than unresponsive patients. For T‐LGL leukaemia, the CR and molecular‐remission rates were 56% and 67% (median follow‐up: 23 months). FND is an active regimen for the treatment of indolent B‐ and T‐cell malignancies in Chinese patients, with results comparable with Western patients with similar indolent lymphomas.
Overexpression of the Ikaros 6 isoform is restricted to t(4;11) acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children and infants and has a role in B‐cell survival
Authors: Ruiz Anna , Jiang Jie , Kempski Helena , Brady Hugh J. M. 
Published: December 2004

SummaryThe Ikaros transcription factor has been shown to play an important role in the differentiation of both myeloid and lymphoid lineages. Mice heterozygous for a dominant negative (DN) ikaros isoform develop T‐cell leukaemia and lymphoma with 100% penetrance. Overexpression of DN Ikaros isoforms has been reported in some forms of leukaemia, such as childhood acute myelomonocytic and monocytic leukaemias, adult B‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemias (B ALL) and in childhood and adult pre‐B ALL. In this study, the expression of Ikaros isoforms in 49 infant and childhood leukaemia patients was analysed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. We found overexpression of the DN Ikaros 6 (Ik6) isoform in a subset of leukaemia patients harbouring t(4;11) translocations. To further study the consequences of Ik6 overexpression in B ALL, we inducibly expressed Ik6 in BaF3 cells and found that Ik6 overexpression delayed cell death after interleukin‐3 withdrawal, suggesting that overexpression of Ik6 found in t(4;11) B cells could contribute to leukaemogenesis by preventing the apoptosis of cells in an environment with reduced survival factors.
Transplantation of highly purified CD34+ progenitor cells from alternative donors in children with refractory severe aplastic anaemia
Authors: Benesch Martin , Urban Christian , Sykora Karl W. , Schwinger Wolfgang , Zintl Felix , Lackner Herwig , Lang Peter , Handgretinger Rupert 
Published: December 2004

SummaryWithout transplantation from a human leucocyte antigen‐identical family donor, refractory severe aplastic anaemia (SAA) has an unfavourable prognosis. Conventional transplantation from a matched unrelated donor carries a high rate of mortality. We transplanted large numbers of highly purified CD34+ cells from matched unrelated (n = 4), mismatched unrelated (n = 4) and mismatched related (n = 1) donors into nine children with refractory SAA. The grafts consisted of granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor‐mobilized peripheral positively selected CD34+ cells. A median of 15·1 × 106/kg CD34+ stem cells and 11 × 103/kg CD3+ T‐lymphocytes were infused. No additional pharmacological graft versus host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis was given. At a median follow‐up of 47 (range 37–72) months, eight patients (89%) were in complete remission with >90% donor chimaerism and no evidence of GVHD. One patient died on day +238 as a consequence of GVHD. The use of highly purified mobilized CD34+ stem cells warrants further clinical exploration in children with refractory SAA.
Thrombotic disease in systemic lupus erythematosus is associated with a maintained systemic platelet activation
Authors: Ekdahl Kristina N. , Bengtsson Anders A. , Andersson Jonas , Elgue Graciela , Rönnblom Lars , Sturfelt Gunnar , Nilsson Bo 
Published: December 2004

SummaryPatients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of thrombosis. Platelet‐induced extracellular phosphorylation of plasma proteins suggests that this is due to persistent activation of the platelets. We examined 30 SLE patients (15 with thrombotic disease), 18 non‐SLE patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and 50 healthy controls by analysing β‐thromboglobulin, activated factor XI‐antithrombin complexes and fibrinogen‐bound phosphate. All parameters were elevated in SLE patients, particularly those with thrombosis, but normal in DVT cases and healthy controls. We conclude that thrombotic disease in SLE patients is associated with a persistent systemic platelet activation that may lower the threshold for induction of thrombosis.