bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Toxin-Antitoxin Genes of the Gram-Positive Pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae: So Few and Yet So Many
Authors: Chan Wai Ting , Moreno-Córdoba Inma , Yeo Chew Chieng , Espinosa Manuel 
Published: November 2012

SUMMARYPneumococcal infections cause up to 2 million deaths annually and raise a large economic burden and thus constitute an important threat to mankind. Because of the increase in the antibiotic resistance ofStreptococcus pneumoniaeclinical isolates, there is an urgent need to find new antimicrobial approaches to triumph over pneumococcal infections. Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems (TAS), which are present in most living bacteria but not in eukaryotes, have been proposed as an effective strategy to combat bacterial infections. Type II TAS comprise a stable toxin and a labile antitoxin that form an innocuous TA complex under normal conditions. Under stress conditions, TA synthesis will be triggered, resulting in the degradation of the labile antitoxin and the release of the toxin protein, which would poison the host cells. The three functional chromosomal TAS fromS. pneumoniaethat have been studied as well as their molecular characteristics are discussed in detail in this review. Furthermore, a meticulous bioinformatics search has been performed for 48 pneumococcal genomes that are found in public databases, and more putative TAS, homologous to well-characterized ones, have been revealed. Strikingly, several unusual putative TAS, in terms of components and genetic organizations previously not envisaged, have been discovered and are further discussed. Previously, we reported a novel finding in which a unique pneumococcal DNA signature, the BOX element, affected the regulation of the pneumococcalyefM-yoeBTAS. This BOX element has also been found in some of the other pneumococcal TAS. In this review, we also discuss possible relationships between some of the pneumococcal TAS with pathogenicity, competence, biofilm formation, persistence, and an interesting phenomenon called bistability.
Unilateral surgical treatment for patients with midportion Achilles tendinopathy may result in bilateral recovery
Authors: Alfredson Håkan , Spang Christoph , Forsgren Sture 
Published: November 2012

BackgroundBilateral midportion Achilles tendinopathy/tendinosis is not unusual, and treatment of both sides is often carried out. Experiments in animals suggest of the potential involvement of central neuronal mechanisms in Achilles tendinosis.ObjectivesTo evaluate the outcome of surgery for Achilles tendinopathy.MethodsThis observational study included 13 patients (7 men and 6 women, mean age 53 years) with a long duration (6–120 months) of chronic painful bilateral midportion Achilles tendinopathy. The most painful side at the time for investigation was selected to be operated on first. Treatment was ultrasound-guided and Doppler-guided scraping procedure outside the ventral part of the tendon under local anaesthetic. The patients started walking on the first day after surgery. Follow-ups were conducted and the primary outcome was pain by visual analogue scale. In an additional part of the study, specimens from Achilles and plantaris tendons in three patients with bilateral Achilles tendinosis were examined.ResultsShort-term follow-ups showed postoperative improvement on the non-operated side as well as the operated side in 11 of 13 patients. Final follow-up after 37 (mean) months showed significant pain relief and patient satisfaction on both sides for these 11 patients. In 2 of 13 patients operation on the other, initially non-operated side, was instituted due to persisting pain. Morphologically, it was found that there were similar morphological effects, and immunohistochemical patterns of enzyme involved in signal substance production, bilaterally.ConclusionUnilateral treatment with a scraping operation can have benefits contralaterally; the clinical implication is that unilateral surgery may be a logical first treatment in cases of bilateral Achilles tendinopathy.
Impact of universal health insurance coverage in Thailand on sales and market share of medicines for non-communicable diseases: an interrupted time series study
Authors: Garabedian Laura Faden , Ross-Degnan Dennis , Ratanawijitrasin Sauwakon , Stephens Peter , Wagner Anita Katharina 
Published: November 2012

ObjectiveIn 2001, Thailand implemented the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS), a public insurance system that aimed to achieve universal access to healthcare, including essential medicines, and to influence primary care centres and hospitals to use resources efficiently, via capitated payment for outpatient services and other payment policies for inpatient care. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of the UCS on utilisation of medicines in Thailand for three non-communicable diseases: cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.DesignInterrupted time-series design, with a non-equivalent comparison group.SettingThailand, 1998–2006.DataQuarterly purchases of medicines from hospital and retail pharmacies collected by IMS Health between 1998 and 2006.InterventionUCS implementation, April–October 2001.Outcome measuresTotal pharmaceutical sales volume and percent market share by licensing status and National Essential Medicine List status.ResultsThe UCS was associated with long-term increases in sales of medicines for conditions that are typically treated in outpatient primary care settings, such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, but not for medicines for diseases that are typically treated in secondary or tertiary care settings, such as heart failure, arrhythmias and cancer. Although the majority of increases in sales were for essential medicines, there were also postpolicy increases in sales of non-essential medicines. Immediately following the reform, there was a significant shift in hospital sector market share by licensing status for most classes of medicines. Government-produced products often replaced branded generic or generic competitors.ConclusionsOur results suggest that expanding health insurance coverage with a medicine benefit to the entire Thai population increased access to medicines in primary care. However, our study also suggests that the UCS may have had potentially undesirable effects. Evaluations of the long-term impacts of universal health coverage on medicine utilisation are urgently needed.
Computer templates in chronic disease management: ethnographic case study in general practice
Authors: Swinglehurst Deborah , Greenhalgh Trisha , Roberts Celia 
Published: November 2012

ObjectiveTo investigate how electronic templates shape, enable and constrain consultations about chronic diseases.DesignEthnographic case study, combining field notes, video-recording, screen capture with a microanalysis of talk, body language and data entry—an approach called linguistic ethnography.SettingTwo general practices in England.Participants and methodsEthnographic observation of administrative areas and 36 nurse-led consultations was done. Twenty-four consultations were directly observed and 12 consultations were video-recorded alongside computer screen capture. Consultations were transcribed using conversation analysis conventions, with notes on body language and the electronic record. The analysis involved repeated rounds of viewing video, annotating field notes, transcription and microanalysis to identify themes. The data was interpreted using discourse analysis, with attention to the sociotechnical theory.ResultsConsultations centred explicitly or implicitly on evidence-based protocols inscribed in templates. Templates did not simply identify tasks for completion, but contributed to defining what chronic diseases were, how care was being delivered and what it meant to be a patient or professional in this context. Patients’ stories morphed into data bytes; the particular became generalised; the complex was made discrete, simple and manageable; and uncertainty became categorised and contained. Many consultations resembled bureaucratic encounters, primarily oriented to completing data fields. We identified a tension, sharpened by the template, between different framings of the patient—as ‘individual’ or as ‘one of a population’. Some clinicians overcame this tension, responding creatively to prompts within a dialogue constructed around the patient's narrative.ConclusionsDespite their widespread implementation, little previous research has examined how templates are actually used in practice. Templates do not simply document the tasks of chronic disease management but profoundly change the nature of this work. Designed to assure standards of ‘quality’ care they contribute to bureaucratisation of care and may marginalise aspects of quality care which lie beyond their focus. Creative work is required to avoid privileging ‘institution-centred’ care over patient-centred care.
New species of Smittium and Stachylina and other trichomycetes in larval Diptera from streams in Nova Scotia, Canada 1This paper is dedicated to Jo-Ann Frost, one of the first students of these fungi in Nova Scotia, and to the numerous other undergraduates who have engaged with us in our studies of gut fungi, not only in the province, but wherever our studies have taken us.
Authors: White Merlin M. , Strongman D.B. 
Published: November 2012

The guts of non-predaceous invertebrates in aquatic and moist terrestrial habitats are often colonized by an ecological group of microorganisms called trichomycetes. Taxonomically, these endobionts are currently a diverse, polyphyletic assemblage including both zygomycetous fungi as well as protistan species. Trichomycetes are worldwide in distribution and are from varied habitats, but the species inventory of gut fungi from hosts in Canada is far from complete. We summarize the findings from our earliest surveys (from 1997 to 2005) and collections of candidate dipteran hosts in Nova Scotia. Nine new species of gut fungi are added to the inventory list, including the following seven Smittium spp.: Smittium aggregatum, Smittium gronthidium, Smittium papillum, Smittium pavocaudatum, Smittium radiculans, Smittium sparsum, and Smittium verticillatum, and the following two Stachylina spp.: Stachylina brevicellaris and Stachylina subgrandis. Four of the other 13 Harpellales, Pennella digitata, Smittium megazygosporum, Stachylina penetralis, and Zancudomyces culisetae are reported for the first time in Atlantic Canada. Also recorded is Paramoebidium curvum, with many more specimens of this genus from various locations and hosts included as Paramoebidium spp. only. We suggest that future collections of Diptera, to further document and discover trichomycetes, are warranted across the varied host habitats that abound not only in eastern Canada but the rest of the country as well.
Balanced partition scheme for distributed caching systems to solve load imbalance problems
Authors: Wang Wenyuan , Zhang Zheng 
Published: November 2012

Distributed caching system is usually used to alleviate database load in constructing an enterprise web application system. It helps to speed up dynamic web applications. In order to improve the utilization of caching cluster, an appropriate data partitioning and placement scheme is usually applied. This paper proposes a Balanced Partition Scheme (BPS) to solve load imbalance problems and highly skewed data requests in web application.
In the BPS, which is based on consistent hash algorithm, the partition and placement schemes are designed respectively to guarantee a system's load balance even when the requests of this system are highly skewed. The range of hash function is divided into several groups equally and those groups will be relocated when caching nodes are overloaded. The implementation and evaluation of the BPS is also presented in this paper. The effectiveness of the BPS has been verified in the simulation experiment and the BPS can successfully solve load imbalance problems when faced with a large number of get/set requests.
Paclitaxel-Coated Balloons Reduce Restenosis After Femoro-Popliteal Angioplasty
Authors: Werk Michael , Albrecht Thomas , Meyer Dirk-Roelfs , Ahmed Mohammed Nabil , Behne Andrea , Dietz Ulrich , Eschenbach Götz , Hartmann Holger , Lange Christian , Schnorr Beatrix , Stiepani Heiner , Zoccai Giuseppe Biondi , Hänninen Enrique Lopez 
Published: November 2012

Background—
Peripheral percutaneous transluminal angioplasty is fraught with a substantial risk of restenosis and reintervention. A drug-eluting balloon (DEB) based on a novel coating was compared with uncoated balloons in patients undergoing femoro-popliteal percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.

Methods and Results—

Patients with symptomatic femoro-popliteal atherosclerotic disease undergoing percutaneous transluminal angioplasty were randomized to paclitaxel-coated IN.PACT Pacific or uncoated Pacific balloons. The primary end point was late lumen loss at 6 months assessed by blinded angiographic corelab quantitative analyses. Secondary end points were binary restenosis and Rutherford class change at 6 months, and target lesion revascularization plus major adverse clinical events (major adverse events=death, target limb amputation, or target lesion revascularization) at 6 and 12 months. Eighty-five patients (91 cases=interventional procedures) were randomized in 3 hospitals (44 to DEB and 47 to uncoated balloons). Average lesion length was 7.0±5.3 and 6.6±5.5cm for DEB and control arm, respectively. Procedural success was obtained in all cases. Six-month quantitative angiography showed that DEB were associated with significantly lower late lumen loss (−0.01mm [95% CI, −0.29; 0.26] versus 0.65mm [0.37; 0.93],
P
=0.001) and fewer binary restenoses (3 [8.6%] versus 11 [32.4%],
P
=0.01). This translated into a clinically relevant benefit with significantly fewer major adverse events for DEB versus uncoated balloons up to 12 months (3 [7.1%] versus 15 [34.9%],
P
<0.01) as well as target lesion revascularizations (3 [7.1%] versus 12 [27.9%],
P
=0.02).

Conclusions—
Use of IN.PACT Pacific DEB is associated with significant reductions in late lumen loss and restenoses at 6 months, and reinterventions after femoro-popliteal percutaneous transluminal angioplasty up to 1 year of follow-up.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT01083030.
Adiposity, Adipokines, and Risk of Incident Stroke in Older Men
Authors: Wannamethee S. Goya , Shaper A. Gerald , Whincup Peter H. , Lennon Lucy , Sattar Naveed 
Published: November 2012

Background and Purpose—
The association between adiposity and adipocytes and risk of stroke in older adults is uncertain. We have examined the association between adiposity measures and adipocytes (adiponectin and leptin) with incident stroke events in older men.

Methods—
Prospective study of 3411 men aged 60 to 79 years with no previous diagnosis of myocardial infarction, heart failure, or stroke followed-up for an average of 9 years, during which there were 192 incident major stroke events.

Results—

In age-adjusted analyses, body mass index and waist circumference were not significantly associated with risk of stroke in older men, although obese men (body mass index >30 kg/m
2
) showed the lowest risk of stroke. Despite the strong positive correlation between leptin and body mass index and waist circumference, risk of stroke was significantly increased in those in the top quartile of the leptin distribution. The increased risk remained after adjustment for potential confounders, including systolic blood pressure (adjusted hazard ratios top quartile versus bottom quartile: 2.03; confidence interval, 1.27–3.27]). Further adjustment for markers of inflammation (c-reactive protein), endothelial dysfunction (von Willebrand factor), fibrinolytic activity (d-dimer), and γ-glutamyl transferase attenuated the increased risk, but risk remained significantly increased (adjusted hazard ratios, 1.73; confidence interval, 1.06–2.83]). By contrast, no association was seen between adiponectin and risk of stroke.

Conclusions—
Conventional adiposity measures were not associated with increased stroke risk in older men. However, leptin (a good marker of percent fat mass), but not adiponectin, predicted stroke, suggesting a link between fat mass and stroke risk.
Pilot Randomized Trial of Outpatient Cardiac Monitoring After Cryptogenic Stroke
Authors: Kamel Hooman , Navi Babak B. , Elijovich Lucas , Josephson S. Andrew , Yee Alan H. , Fung Gordon , Johnston S. Claiborne , Smith Wade S. 
Published: November 2012

Background and Purpose—
Observational studies indicate that outpatient cardiac monitoring detects previously undiagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) in 5% to 20% of patients with recent stroke. However, it remains unknown whether the yield of monitoring exceeds that of routine clinical follow-up.

Methods—
In a pilot trial, we randomly assigned 40 patients with cryptogenic ischemic stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack to wear a Cardionet mobile cardiac outpatient telemetry monitor for 21 days or to receive routine follow-up alone. After thorough investigation, we excluded patients with documented AF or other apparent stroke pathogenesis. We contacted patients and their physicians at 3 months and at 1 year to ascertain any diagnoses of AF or recurrent stroke or transient ischemic attack.

Results—
The baseline characteristics of our cohort broadly matched those of previous observational studies of monitoring after stroke. In the monitoring group, patients wore monitors for 64% of the assigned days, and 25% of patients were not compliant at all with monitoring. No patient in either study arm received a diagnosis of AF. Cardiac monitoring revealed AF in zero patients (0%; 95% confidence interval, 0%–17%), brief episodes of atrial tachycardia in 2 patients (10%; 95% confidence interval, 1%–32%), and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia in 2 patients (10%; 95% confidence interval, 1%–32%).

Conclusions—
In the first reported randomized trial of cardiac monitoring after cryptogenic stroke, the rate of AF detection was lower than expected, incidental arrhythmias were frequent, and compliance with monitoring was suboptimal. Our findings highlight the challenges of prospectively identifying stroke patients at risk for harboring paroxysmal AF and ensuring adequate compliance with cardiac monitoring.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique Identifier: NCT00715533
Real and Imaginary Dialogues in the Jesuit Mission of Sixteenth-century Japan
Authors: Rubiés Joan-Pau 
Published: November 2012

Abstract
This article takes as a starting point for a contextual exploration of the dialogue as a form of cross-cultural interaction the accounts of disputations between Francis Xavier and his companions and various Buddhist monks during the first years of the mission in Japan (1549-51). The essay considers the differences among a lay popular version of these disputations offered by Fernão Mendes Pinto, the account publicized by Francis Xavier in his letters to Europe, and the internal working documents produced by his companions Cosme de Torres and Juan Fernández during these encounters. The latter reflected the complexity of the exchanges that took place in Yamaguchi in September 1551, offering many echoes of Buddhist arguments that stretched the Christian theological capacity. More interesting still is the process by which the Jesuits came to reject the possibilities for convergence through analogy and chose instead to emphasize doctrinal and moral differences, often employing arguments that echoed, unwittingly, the recent divisions within European Christendom.
Polemic Dialogues between Christians and Muslims in the Seventeenth Century
Authors: Heyberger Bernard 
Published: November 2012

AbstractLiterary dialogues between Christians and Muslims can be traced back to the first centuries of Islam. Although the practice of disputation in themajlis(assembly) was no longer present in the Ottoman Empire, Catholic missionaries in the Middle East continued to write fictional dialogues in the seventeenth century. The authors we discuss here were convinced that it was possible to debate with Muslims, provided that the right type of interlocutor was chosen from among distinguished and educated men, with whom they shared a code of conduct and certain religious and intellectual concerns. This attitude may be the result of the typical Jesuit method ofaccommodatioand of their fieldwork experience in the Orient. Nevertheless, this positive approach was impeded by the impossibility that a Catholic priest could escape the culture of disputation and consider Islam as an ordinary subject of study.
The Symbolic Possession of the World: European Cartography in Mughal Allegory and History Painting
Authors: Koch Ebba 
Published: November 2012

Abstract
From their earliest contacts with Europeans, the Mughals sought to obtain maps, atlases, and globes. They were, however, concerned with cartography less as a scientific tool than as a means to convey messages of status and power. Both cartographically correct and cartographically manipulated globes feature prominently in the allegories of Emperor Jahāngīr. Emperor Shāh Jahān added another dimension: European cartographical devices were introduced into history painting, to structure the imperial landscape and to document the emperor’s conquests.
The Disruptive Presence of the Namban-jin in Early Modern Japan
Authors: Curvelo Alexandra 
Published: November 2012

AbstractWhen the Portuguese arrived in Japan around 1543, it was the first time in the history of the archipelago that Western foreigners had entered the country and settled there. These “barbarians from the south” (namban-jin) were considered strangers and viewed with curiosity and suspicion. In Tokugawa Japan (c. 1615-1868), politically marked by territorial unification and the centralization of power, the image of the Europeans that was created and visually registered on folding screens and lacquer-ware was used as a model to frame this presence by both the Japanese political and economic elites and those considered marginal to the existing social order.Nambanart, especially paintings, can be seen as a visual display of Japan’s self-knowledge and its knowledge of distant “neighbours.”
Hearing Psalm 102 within the Context of the Hebrew Psalter
Authors: Witt Andrew 
Published: November 2012

Abstract
Along with recent scholarship which is concerned with reading the book of Psalms as a whole, this article analyzes Psalm 102 within its canonical, literary context. It focuses on two main areas. First, the superscription. It identifies the speaker as the “afflicted,” who is a suffering royal Davidic figure associated with Psalms 88-89 and 101, 103. Second, the paper moves throughout the rest of the psalm, making observations concerning thematic and lexical relationships between the psalm and its immediate context. It concludes that Psalm 102, alongside 101, functions as a meditative response of the afflicted Davidic king to the questions posed in Psalm 89. As such, it provides an important literary hinge, without which the lamenting questions of Book III could not turn into affirmations of YHWH’s love and praise throughout Books IV-V.
The Fightin’ Mushites
Authors: Leuchter Mark 
Published: November 2012

Abstract
The Mushite priestly line, claiming Moses as their eponymous ancestor, held a dominant position in pre-monarchic Israelite religion. While anthropological and archaeological considerations explain how the Mushites may have come to power in their Transjordanian region of origin, these considerations do not account for the widespread presence of Mushites in the far northern, central, and Judahite cult sites. The present study proposes that the spread of Mushites across this wide geographic spectrum—and in a fairly brief period of time—may be attributed to their legacy as warriors at a time when success on the battlefield demonstrated fitness for cultic leadership. Traces of this legacy may be discerned in the narratives about Moses as well as in the traditions regarding the pre-monarchic cult sites where Mushite factions took up their posts.