bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Systematic review of incidence studies of Parkinson's disease
Authors: Twelves Dominique , Perkins Kate S.M. , Counsell Carl 
Published: February 2003

AbstractIncidence studies of Parkinson's disease (PD) are important for both health‐care planning and epidemiological research. This report reviews the methods and results of previous incidence studies of PD and makes recommendations for future studies. Original articles that described the incidence of PD were located using several strategies. The methods were summarised, and the results of studies with similar methodologies were compared on a standardised population. Twenty‐five incidence studies were included. Each used different methods to identify incident patients, although most screened both primary care and hospital records. Only eight studies were prospective, and only two of these had any follow‐up. The diagnostic criteria for PD varied (11 studies used two or more cardinal motor features, four used the UK Brain Bank criteria), as did the exclusion criteria and the definition of an incident case. In 16 studies, attempts were made to confirm the diagnosis by examination of patients by a specialist as part of the study. None of the studies used identical methods, but five were sufficiently similar to merit comparison. Four of these gave a similar incidence (16–19/100,000/year), but one from Italy had a much lower incidence (8.4/100,000), the reason for which was unclear. Five studies found significantly greater incidence in men. This review highlights the difficulties in performing good quality incidence studies of PD. Further incidence studies using standardised methods are required. A set of minimal scientific criteria has been devised to improve the quality and consistency of future studies.
Automatic assessment of levodopa‐induced dyskinesias in daily life by neural networks
Authors: Keijsers Noël L.W. , Horstink Martin W.I.M. , Gielen Stan C.A.M. 
Published: February 2003

AbstractWe developed an objective and automatic procedure to assess the severity of levodopa‐induced dyskinesia (LID) in patients with Parkinson's disease during daily life activities. Thirteen patients were continuously monitored in a home‐like situation for a period of approximately 2.5 hours. During this time period, the patients performed approximately 35 functional daily life activities. Behavior of the patients was measured using triaxial accelerometers, which were placed at six different positions on the body. A neural network was trained to assess the severity of LID using various variables of the accelerometer signals. Neural network scores were compared with the assessment by physicians, who evaluated the continuously videotaped behavior of the patients off‐line. The neural network correctly classified dyskinesia or the absence of dyskinesia in 15‐minute intervals in 93.7, 99.7, and 97.0% for the arm, trunk, and leg, respectively. In the few cases of misclassification, the rating by the neural network was in the class next to that indicated by the physicians using the AIMS score (scale 0–4). Analysis of the neural networks revealed several new variables, which are relevant for assessing the severity of LID. The results indicate that the neural network can accurately assess the severity of LID and could distinguish LID from voluntary movements in daily life situations. © 2002 Movement Disorder Society
Experimental parkinsonism is associated with increased pallidal GAD gene expression and is reversed by site‐directed antisense gene therapy
Authors: Schneider Jay S. , Wade Timothy V. 
Published: February 2003

AbstractThe levels of mRNA encoding the two isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65 and GAD67) were measured throughout the pallidal complex in normal and acutely (i.e., 1 month duration) and chronically (i.e., 5 years duration) parkinsonian 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine hydrochloride (MPTP) ‐treated monkeys as well as in monkeys exposed to MPTP but asymptomatic for parkinsonism. GAD65 mRNA labeling was modestly increased in the mid/caudal internal globus pallidus (GPi) but not in the external globus pallidus (GPe) in parkinsonian monkeys, compared with normal and asymptomatic monkeys. GAD67 mRNA expression was highly increased in the mid/caudal GPi, and modestly increased in the GPe in parkinsonian monkeys compared with normal and asymptomatic animals. Infusion of GAD67 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides bilaterally into the GPi resulted in a transient reversal of akinesia and bradykinesia that was not produced by infusion of missense oligodeoxynucleotides. These data emphasize the role of GAD enzyme (particularly GAD67) and GABA in the GPi for the expression of parkinsonian motor signs and suggest that selective manipulation of GABAergic neurotransmission in the GPi may have therapeutic potential for treating parkinsonism. © 2002 Movement Disorder Society
Putting people first: How VSP achieves high employee satisfaction year after year
Authors: Leuchars Elaine , Harrington Shauna , Erickson Carrie 
Published: February 2003

AbstractVSP is the nation's largest provider of eyecare benefits, with nearly 37 million members in its
plan—more than any other healthcare organization in the country. Over the past decade, VSP has seen its
workforce nearly triple, from 868 to 2,100 employees. During the same period, the company engaged in a
multi‐pronged effort to preserve and even improve its close‐knit culture and high employee
engagement. The result has been a sustained period of high employee satisfaction with VSP as a place to work.VSP's HR department recently stepped back to assess the results of its own efforts since its inception in
1992 and, in particular, to identify those programs it considered to be most successful in nurturing the high
levels of employee satisfaction that the company enjoys. We report here on our major areas of focus and a number of
the satisfaction‐enhancing employee programs that have helped put VSP on Fortune's
list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” for the last three years. © 2003 Wiley
Periodicals, Inc.
Effects of cyazofamid against Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin on Chinese cabbage
Authors: Mitani Shigeru , Sugimoto Koji , Hayashi Hiroyuki , Takii Yasuko , Ohshima Takeshi , Matsuo Norifusa 
Published: February 2003

AbstractCyazofamid (4‐chloro‐2‐cyano‐N,N‐dimethyl‐5‐p‐tolylimidazole‐1‐sulfonamide) is a novel fungicide with high levels of activity against Oomycetes fungi and Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin. The effects of cyazofamid were investigated against P brassicae, the causal agent of clubroot disease in Chinese cabbage. Cyazofamid at 0.3 mg litre−1 inhibited resting spore germination of this pathogen by about 80%. Cyazofamid at 3–10 mg litre−1 exhibited fungicidal activity to resting spores of P brassicae 1–10 days after treatment. When cyazofamid was applied to infested soil, both root‐hair infections and club formation caused by P brassicae were strongly inhibited at 1–3 mg kg−1 dry soil. These results suggest that cyazofamid directly inhibits resting spore germination, thereby leading to the inhibition of root‐hair infection and club formation. Cyazofamid at 3 mg kg−1 dry soil also exhibited complete control of clubroot disease. The effect of broadcast soil application using a dust formulation at 2 kg AI ha−1 (equivalent to 1.3 mg AI kg−1 dry soil), and plug seedling tray application by a suspension concentrate formulation at 200 and 400 mg AI tray−1 (30 × 60 × 4 cm3) against P brassicae was also evaluated. Cyazofamid exhibited good efficacy against the pathogen. The sequential treatment including plug seedling tray application with cyazofamid and pre‐plant broadcast soil application with the fungicide fluazinam also exhibited excellent levels of control. These results indicate that cyazofamid has a high potential to be an effective fungicide for the control of clubroot disease.© 2003 Society of Chemical Industry
Monitoring of atrazine treatment on soil bacterial, fungal and atrazine‐degrading communities by quantitative competitive PCR
Authors: Martin‐Laurent Fabrice , Piutti Séverine , Hallet Stéphanie , Wagschal Isabelle , Philippot Laurent , Catroux Gérard , Soulas Guy 
Published: February 2003

AbstractWe report the development of quantitative competitive (QC) PCR assays for quantifying the 16S, 18S ribosomal and atzC genes in nucleic acids directly extracted from soil. QC‐PCR assays were standardised, calibrated and evaluated with an experimental study aiming to evaluate the impact of atrazine application on soil microflora. Comparison of QC‐PCR 16S and 18S results with those of soil microbial biomass showed that, following atrazine application, the microbial biomass was not affected and that the amount of 16S rDNA gene representing ‘bacteria’ increased transitorily, while the amount of 18S rDNA gene representing fungi decreased in soil. In addition, comparison of atzC QC‐PCR results with those of atrazine mineralisation revealed that, in response to atrazine treatment, the amount of atzC gene increased transitorily in soil pre‐treated with atrazine, suggesting that accelerated atrazine biodegradation in soil could be due to a transient increase in the size of the atrazine mineralising community.© 2003 Society of Chemical Industry
Learning performances of honeybees (Apis mellifera L) are differentially affected by imidacloprid according to the season
Authors: Decourtye Axel , Lacassie Eric , Pham‐Delègue Minh‐Hà 
Published: February 2003

AbstractTo establish the sublethal concentrations domain, acute and chronic oral tests were conducted on caged honeybee workers (Apis mellifera L) using imidacloprid and a metabolite, 5‐OH‐imidacloprid, under laboratory conditions. The latter showed a 48‐h oral LD50 value (153 ng per bee) five times higher than that of imidacloprid (30 ng per bee). Chronic feeding tests indicated that the lowest observed effect concentrations (LOEC) of imidacloprid and of 5‐OH‐imidacloprid on mortality of winter bees were 24 and 120 µg kg−1 respectively. Behavioural effects of imidacloprid and 5‐OH‐imidacloprid were studied using the olfactory conditioning of proboscis extension response at two periods of the year. Winter bees surviving chronic treatment with imidacloprid and 5‐OH‐imidacloprid had reduced learning performances. The LOEC of imidacloprid was lower in summer bees (12 µg kg−1) than in winter bees (48 µg kg−1), which points to a greater sensitivity of honeybees behaviour in summer bees, compared to winter bees.© 2003 Society of Chemical Industry
Impact of alternative respiration and target‐site mutations on responses of germinating conidia of Magnaporthe grisea to Qo‐inhibiting fungicides
Authors: Avila‐Adame Cruz , Köller Wolfram 
Published: February 2003

AbstractQo‐inhibiting fungicides act as respiration inhibitors by binding to the Qo center of cytochrome b. Sensitivities of fungi to Qo inhibitors can be influenced by the induction of alternative respiration or by mutational changes of the cytochrome b target site. Previous studies on both mechanisms in Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) Barr were focused on the mycelial stage of the pathogen. The present study describes the expression and impact of both resistance mechanisms during the stage of conidia germination. In the absence of a host, alternative respiration provided a >500‐fold rescue from azoxystrobin during the germination of conidia derived from four wild‐type isolates of M grisea. This rescue potential during conidia gemination was substantially more pronounced than for mycelial growth. However, the pronounced effectiveness of alternative respiration during conidia germination was not apparent when barley leaves were protected with azoxystrobin prior to inoculation with conidia. In a comparison of a wild‐type strain and an alternative respiration‐deficient mutant, azoxystrobin efficacies in suppressing symptom development differed by a factor of two, with full disease control achieved for both genotypes at 1 µg ml−1 azoxystrobin. In contrast, conidia derived from two QoI‐resistant target site mutants were highly resistant to azoxystrobin and trifloxystrobin and fully capable of infecting leaf surfaces protected with 10 µg ml−1 of azoxystrobin. Both target‐site mutants had emerged spontaneously in the presence of high azoxystrobin doses when residual mycelial growth was supported by alternative respiration. The effective silencing of alternative respiration in protective applications of Qo‐inhibiting fungicides might constitute a strategy of slowing the emergence of highly resistant target site mutants.© 2003 Society of Chemical Industry
Relative effects of the insecticide thiamethoxam on the predator Podisus nigrispinus and the tobacco whitefly Bemisia tabaci in nectaried and nectariless cotton
Authors: Torres Jorge B , Silva‐Torres Christian S A , Barros Reginaldo 
Published: February 2003

AbstractThe predaceous stinkbug Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) feeds on plants as well as on arthropod prey. The question arises whether feeding on plants might expose the predator to systemic insecticide via ingestion of the active ingredient or its metabolites through plant sap of treated plants. This interaction was investigated with nectaried and nectariless cotton plants cropped in pots and treated with the systemic insecticide thiamethoxam at 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg per plant as a root drench. Development of P nigrispinus fed on prey and on treated nectaried and nectariless cotton plants and confined at 15, 30 and 45 days after insecticide application, and adult reproduction from nymphs caged 30 days after treatment were determined. Podisus nigrispinus life history traits were unaffected by the type of cotton plant, nectaried or nectariless, but were significantly affected by insecticide dose and time after application. Developmental time was extended and fresh adult body weight was reduced by feeding on prey and treated plants. Nymphs caged on treated plants with the highest thiamethoxam concentration at 15 days after application produced only 13.2% of adults. Females emerged from nymphs caged on both plants and at all thiamethoxam concentrations at day 30 after application presented similar reproductive characteristics, except for age of first oviposition, which was delayed on plants treated with the highest thiamethoxam concentration. Thiamethoxam at 0.5 mg per plant restrained tobacco whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) colonization only during the first 15 days after application to either cotton plant, and similar immature densities were sampled at day 35 after application on treated and untreated plants. However, plants treated with 1.0 and 2.0 mg per plant as a drench and cropped in pots were protected from tobacco whitefly for up to 45 days after exposure to a whitefly colony.© 2003 Society of Chemical Industry
A laboratory evaluation of the palatability of legumes to the field slug,Deroceras reticulatumMüller
Authors: Brooks Andrew S , Crook Mitchell J , Wilcox Andrew , Cook Richard T 
Published: February 2003

AbstractSlugs are major pests of many crops, including winter wheat, in temperate climates, yet current methods of control are often unreliable. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential for common legume species to act as an alternative source of food, or trap crop, for the most damaging agricultural pest species, the grey field slug,Deroceras reticulatumMüller, thereby reducing damage to the wheat crop. A series of three controlled‐environment experiments were designed to assess this aim. Individual slugs were fed leaves of one of ten legume species together with winter wheat leaves for a 72‐h period. A clear hierarchy of acceptability was shown, with red clover, lucerne, lupin and white clover showing significantly higher Acceptability Indices than the other six species tested. Red clover produced the greatest reduction in mean wheat consumption (78%) from day 1 to day 3. When species were fed individually, red clover was consumed in significantly greater quantities than any of the other treatments: 40% more than white clover and 56% more than wheat. Furthermore, when fed with red clover the amount of wheat consumed was some 50% less than when the latter was fed alone. The results indicate that legumes vary greatly in their acceptability toD reticulatumand it is essential that a legume with a high Acceptability Index is chosen, which results in the least amount of wheat consumed.© 2003 Society of Chemical Industry
Therapeutic equivalence: fallacies and falsification
Authors: Garrett Andrew D. 
Published: February 2003

AbstractThe number of studies designed specifically to demonstrate therapeutic equivalence or alternatively non‐inferiority of pharmaceutical treatments has increased dramatically in recent years, during which time awareness of the methodological issues has increased. Regulatory authorities have been quick to recognize the need for specific support and have either published or initiated the creation of relevant guidance. Common misconceptions prevail however regarding sample size estimation and the choice of the most appropriate patient population to analyse while other areas such as equivalence margin specification and covariate adjustment have been neglected. This paper challenges some of the regulatory advice and the interpretation that others have made of this guidance with the aim of stimulating further debate. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sequential designs for phase III clinical trials incorporating treatment selection
Authors: Stallard Nigel , Todd Susan 
Published: February 2003

AbstractMost statistical methodology for phase III clinical trials focuses on the comparison of a single experimental treatment with a control. An increasing desire to reduce the time before regulatory approval of a new drug is sought has led to development of two‐stage or sequential designs for trials that combine the definitive analysis associated with phase III with the treatment selection element of a phase II study. In this paper we consider a trial in which the most promising of a number of experimental treatments is selected at the first interim analysis. This considerably reduces the computational load associated with the construction of stopping boundaries compared to the approach proposed by Follman, Proschan and Geller (Biometrics 1994; 50: 325–336). The computational requirement does not exceed that for the sequential comparison of a single experimental treatment with a control. Existing methods are extended in two ways. First, the use of the efficient score as a test statistic makes the analysis of binary, normal or failure‐time data, as well as adjustment for covariates or stratification straightforward. Second, the question of trial power is also considered, enabling the determination of sample size required to give specified power. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparison of stratification and adaptive methods for treatment allocation in an acute stroke clinical trial
Authors: Weir Christopher J. , Lees Kennedy R. 
Published: February 2003

AbstractAchieving balance on prognostic factors between treatment groups in a clinical trial is important to ensure that any observed treatment effect may be attributed to the treatment itself. Improving the balance on prognostic factors also potentially increases the statistical power attained in a trial. Substantial imbalances may occur by chance if simple randomization is used. Allocation of the treatment according to stratified random blocks based on clinical features is the conventional approach to obtain treatment groups that are as similar as possible. An alternative approach, known as minimization (or more generally as adaptive stratification), has also been proposed. We assessed the feasibility of adaptive stratification in the context of a clinical trial of insulin to control plasma glucose level following acute stroke. We determined suitable settings for the parameters in the adaptive stratification procedure by simulation studies. Specifically, we assessed: the optimal probability for allocating a patient to the preferred (leading to least imbalance on prognostic factors) treatment group; the number of variables that could be incorporated in the adaptive stratification algorithm; the weighting that should be given to each variable; and whether interactions between variables should be included. We then compared the statistical power, across a range of simulated treatment effects, between trials where treatments were allocated by stratified random blocks and by adaptive stratification. Finally, we considered the importance of the method of analysis in realizing the gain in power which may potentially be achieved by allocating treatments using stratified random blocks or adaptive stratification. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sensitivity analysis for the estimation of rates of change with non‐ignorable drop‐out: an application to a randomized clinical trial of the vitamin D3
Authors: Matsuyama Yutaka 
Published: February 2003

AbstractThe vitamin D3trial was a repeated measures randomized clinical trial for secondary hyperparathyroidism in haemodialysis patients where the efficacy of the vitamin D3infusions for suppressing the secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) was compared among four dose groups over 12 weeks. In this trial, patients terminated the study before the scheduled end of the study due to their elevated serum calcium (Ca) level, that is, the administration of the vitamin D3was expected to cause hypercalcaemia as an adverse event. In this setting of monotone missingness, there is a potential for bias in estimation of mean rates of decline in PTH for each treatment group using the standard methods such as the generalized estimating equations (GEE) which ignore the observed past Ca histories. We estimated the treatment‐group‐specific mean rates of decline in PTH by the inverse probability of censoring weighted (IPCW) methods which account for the observed past histories of time‐dependent factors that are both a predictor of drop‐out and are correlated with the outcomes. The IPCW estimator can be viewed as an extension of the GEE estimator that allows for the data to be MAR but not MCAR. With missing data, it is rarely appropriate to analyse the data solely under the assumption that the missing data process is ignorable, because the assumption of ignorable missingness cannot be guaranteed to hold and is untestable from the observed data. We proposed a sensitivity analysis that examines how inference about the IPCW estimates of the treatment‐group‐specific mean rates of decline in PTH changes as we vary the non‐ignorable selection bias parameter over a range of plausible values. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stopping clinical trials because of treatment ineffectiveness: a comparison of a futility design with a method of stochastic curtailment
Authors: Whitehead John , Matsushita Tatsuru 
Published: February 2003

AbstractThis paper introduces a simple futility design that allows a comparative clinical trial to be stopped due to lack of effect at any of a series of planned interim analyses. Stopping due to apparent benefit is not permitted. The design is for use when any positive claim should be based on the maximum sample size, for example to allow subgroup analyses or the evaluation of safety or secondary efficacy responses. A final frequentist analysis can be performed that is valid for the type of design employed. Here the design is described and its properties are presented. Its advantages and disadvantages relative to the use of stochastic curtailment are discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.