bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of Iatrogenic Myocardial Injury on Coronary Microvascular Function in Patients Undergoing Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Lim Hong Euy , Choi Cheol Ung , Na Jin Oh , Choi Jong-Il , Kim Seong Hwan , Kim Jin Won , Kim Eung Ju , Han Seong Woo , Park Sang Weon , Rha Seung-Woon , Park Chang Gyu , Seo Hong Seog , Oh Dong Joo , Hwang Chun , Kim Young-Hoon 
Published: March 2013

Background—
Iatrogenic myocardial injury by radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) releases proinflammatory substances from damaged myocardium, and these may contribute to endothelial dysfunction in systemic vascular structure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of nonischemic myocardial damage on coronary microvascular function in patients undergoing atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation.

Methods and Results—

We included 49 patients who underwent AF ablation (paroxysmal AF=25, persistent AF=24) and 34 controls. Immediately before and after RFCA, index of microvascular resistance (IMR) was assessed at left anterior descending coronary artery, and blood samples were obtained for analyses of nitric oxide (NO), activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule, and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed at baseline, 1 day, 1 month, and 3 months after RFCA. Compared with baseline, IMR, activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule, and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase increased and NO decreased after RFCA. In 36 subjects with increasing IMR, E/E′ ratio increased at 1 day and returned to baseline level at 3 months after RFCA. Changes in activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase between baseline and after RFCA were independently related to the increase in IMR. In 14 subjects (28.6%), arrhythmia recurred. Using a cutoff value of 9.3 mm Hg/s, sensitivity was 56.7% and specificity was 91.2% for IMR change in predicting AF recurrence (
P
=0.028).

Conclusions—
Myocardial damage by RFCA provoked coronary microvascular dysfunction through systemic proinflammatory reaction that may contribute to transient diastolic dysfunction. This phenomenon may represent a mechanism for early recurrence of arrhythmia after RFCA.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://cris.nih.go.kr
. Unique identifier: KCT0000030.
Assessing Patient-Reported Outcomes and Preferences for Same-Day Discharge After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Authors: Kim Michael , Muntner Paul , Sharma Samin , Choi James W. , Stoler Robert C. , Woodward Mark , Mann Devin M. , Farkouh Michael E. 
Published: March 2013

Background—
Same-day discharge after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may be safe for some patients. Few data are available on patient-reported outcomes and preferences for same-day discharge after PCI.

Methods and Results

Between March 2008 and March 2010, a total of 298 patients undergoing elective PCI via femoral access at 2 medical centers (Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY, and Baylor Medical Center, Dallas, TX) were randomized to same-day (n=150) or next-day (n=148) discharge. The primary outcome was high patient coping during the 7 days after discharge defined as scores <20 on the validated postdischarge coping difficulty scale. Safety outcomes, clopidogrel adherence, and patient preferences were secondary outcomes. Before discharge, patients randomized to same-day and next-day discharge were similar with respect to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. High-coping ability, assessed 7 days after PCI, was present for 79% of patients randomized to same-day discharge and for 77% of patients randomized to next-day discharge. The difference in high coping ability, 2 (95% confidence interval, −7 to 11), did not cross the noninferiority threshold of −12% (
P
<0.001 that same-day discharge is not noninferior to next-day discharge). At 30 days after PCI, clopidogrel adherence, physician and emergency room visits, and hospitalization were similar in the 2 randomization groups. In addition, 80% and 68% of those randomized to same-day and next-day discharge, respectively, stated they would prefer same-day discharge if they were to have another PCI procedure.

Conclusions—
Same-day discharge after PCI was associated with patient-reported and clinical outcomes similar to those of next-day discharge and was preferred by most patients.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01230606
. Unique identifier: NCT01230606.
Strictly Lobar Microbleeds Are Associated With Executive Impairment in Patients With Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack
Authors: Gregoire Simone M. , Scheffler Grit , Jäger Hans R. , Yousry Tarek A. , Brown Martin M. , Kallis Constantinos , Cipolotti Lisa , Werring David J. 
Published: March 2013

Background and Purpose—
Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are a marker of small vessel diseases, including hypertensive arteriopathy and cerebral amyloid angiopathy, and may be associated with cognitive impairment. The relationship between CMBs and cognitive function in ischemic cerebrovascular disease remains uncertain. We, therefore, investigated the cognitive impact of CMBs in a cohort of patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack.

Methods—
All patients underwent detailed and comprehensive neuropsychological testing and standardized MRI, including fluid attenuation inversion recovery, T1, T2, and gradient-recalled echo T2*-weighted sequences. CMBs, white matter changes, lacunes, and territorial cortical infarcts (defined by standardized criteria) were identified, and associations with cognition assessed.

Results—

Three hundred twenty patients with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack were included. Of these, 72 (22.5%) had at least 1 CMB. Of all the cognitive domains tested, only executive impairment was more prevalent in patients with CMBs than without (38% versus 25%;
P
=0.039). In univariate analysis, the presence of strictly lobar (but not deep) CMBs was associated with executive impairment (odds ratio, 2.49; 95% confidence interval, 1.16–5.36;
P
=0.019). In adjusted multivariate analyses, the presence (OR, 2.34; 95% confidence interval, 1.08–5.09;
P
=0.031) and number (OR, 1.33; 95% confidence interval, 1.04–1.69;
P
=0.022) of strictly lobar CMBs were significantly associated with executive impairment. CMBs were not associated with impairment in other cognitive domains.

Conclusions—
Strictly lobar CMBs are independently associated with executive dysfunction in patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. Our findings suggest that a microangiopathy related to strictly lobar CMBs (eg, cerebral amyloid angiopathy) contributes to cognitive impairment in this population.
Subclinical Hyperthyroidism Is a Risk Factor for Poor Functional Outcome After Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Wollenweber Frank Arne , Zietemann Vera , Gschwendtner Andreas , Opherk Christian , Dichgans Martin 
Published: March 2013

Background and Purpose—
Subclinical hyperthyroidism is associated with adverse cardiovascular events, including stroke and atrial fibrillation. However, its impact on functional outcome after stroke remains unexplored.

Methods—
A total of 165 consecutively recruited patients admitted for ischemic stroke were included in this observational prospective study. Blood samples were taken in the morning within 3 days after symptom onset, and patients were divided into the following 3 groups: subclinical hyperthyroidism (0.1< thyroid-stimulating hormone ≤0.44 μU/mL), subclinical hypothyroidism (2.5≤ thyroid-stimulating hormone <20 μU/mL), and euthyroid state (0.44< thyroid-stimulating hormone <2.5 μU/mL). Patients with overt thyroid dysfunction were excluded. Follow-up took place 3 months after stroke. Primary outcome was functional disability (modified Rankin Scale), and secondary outcome was level of dependency (Barthel Index). Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for possible confounders. Variables previously reported to be affected by thyroid function, such as atrial fibrillation, total cholesterol, or body mass index, were included in an additional model.

Results—
Nineteen patients (11.5%) had subclinical hyperthyroidism, and 23 patients (13.9%) had subclinical hypothyroidism. Patients with subclinical hyperthyroidism had a substantially increased risk of functional disability 3 months after stroke compared with subjects with euthyroid state (odds ratio, 2.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.02–6.82, adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, and time of blood sampling). The association remained significant, when including the baseline NIHSS, TIA, serum CRP, atrial fibrillation, body mass index, and total cholesterol as additional variables (odds ratio, 3.95; 95% confidence interval, 1.25–12.47), and was confirmed by the secondary outcome (Barthel Index: odds ratio, 9.12; 95% confidence interval, 2.08–39.89).

Conclusions—
Subclinical hyperthyroidism is a risk factor for poor outcome 3 months after ischemic stroke.
Views and Values on Family among Filipinos: An Empirical Exploration
Authors: Morillo Hannah M. , Capuno Joseph J. , Mendoza Amado M. 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
The Filipino family provides an interesting study because familism is embedded in its social sphere, translating its relational quality outside the family. Being family-centred, child-centric, having close ties, and a large family size (Medina, 2001; Miralao, 1994) are some basic elements of families in the Philippines. Applying regression on the data from the World Values Survey for the Philippines in 1996 and 2001, this study aims to explore the correlates of views on family values among Filipinos, specifically those concerning the traditional nuclear family set-up, the woman’s roles within family, and the reciprocal relationship of the parent and child. While the results show that Filipinos generally share family values, especially on those related to child rearing for both parents, and child-bearing, there are indications that such views also differ across educational attainment, geographic location, social class, and ethnic groups. Disparities in views could be reflecting shifting family values, which could then help explain current polarising policy debates on issues on the reproductive health, divorce, and migration.
Living in His Father’s Shadow: Exploring Healing Justice and Reconciliation in Cambodia with Duch’s Son
Authors: Nou Leakhena 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
Nearly four decades after the Khmer Rouge genocide, the Cambodian people have found some solace to a tragic past that forever has defined their personal and collective identities. The first of five defendants on trial in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (the ECCC), Kaing Guek Eav (alias Duch, Chief Warden of S-21) was found guilty of crimes against humanity and Grave Breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and sentenced to life imprisonment on 3 February 2012. Aside from his criminal reputation as the head executioner of S-21, what other legacy does Duch leave behind? In particular, what psycho-emotional legacy does he leave his children? This paper focuses on the social and political legacy passed on to Duch’s eldest son as it affects the possibilities for his contributing to reconciliation, forgiveness, and ‘healing justice’ in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia. The paper also warns against casting perpetrators’ children as bystanders to their own history or as being guilty of their parents’ crimes, and provides an alternative Khmer Rouge narrative: that of the children of perpetrators and how their identities fit within the larger Cambodian national identity and search for justice.
Profitability and the Roots of the Global Crisis: Marx’s ‘Law of the Tendency of the Rate of Profit to Fall’ and the US Economy, 1950–2007
Authors: Smith Murray E.G. , Butovsky Jonah 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
The relevance of Marx’s theory of value and his ‘law of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall’ to the analysis of the financial crisis of 2007–8 and the ensuing global slump is affirmed. The hypertrophic growth of unproductive constant capital, including the wages of ‘socially necessary’ unproductive labour and tax revenues, is identified as an important manifestation of an historical-structural crisis of capitalism, alongside the increasing weight of fictitious capital and the proliferation of fictitious profits in the lead-up to the financial crisis. These phenomena have obscured the deepest roots of the global slump in the long-term profitability problems of productive capital – that is, in a crisis of surplus-value production. With these considerations taken into account, a better empirical assessment of trends in the composition of capital becomes possible, and with it a more accurate understanding of the impact of the ongoing displacement of living labour from production on the average rate of profit and the future of US and global capitalism.
Modeling Land Surface Processes and Heavy Rainfall in Urban Environments: Sensitivity to Urban Surface Representations
Authors: Li Dan , Bou-Zeid Elie , Baeck Mary Lynn , Jessup Stephen , Smith James A. 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
High-resolution simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) are used in conjunction with observational analyses to investigate land surface processes and heavy rainfall over the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. Analyses focus on a 6-day period, 21–26 July 2008, which includes a major convective rain event (23–24 July), a prestorm period (21–22 July), and a dry-down period (25–26 July). The performance of WRF in capturing land–atmosphere interactions, the bulk structure of the atmospheric boundary layer, and the rainfall pattern in urban environments is explored. Results indicate that WRF captures the incoming radiative fluxes and surface meteorological conditions. Mean profiles of potential temperature and humidity in the atmosphere are also relatively well reproduced, both preceding and following the heavy rainfall period. However, wind features in the lower atmosphere, including low-level jets, are not accurately reproduced by WRF. The biases in the wind fields play a central role in determining errors in WRF-simulated rainfall fields. The study also investigates the sensitivity of WRF simulations to different urban surface representations. It is found that urban surface representations have a significant impact on the surface energy balance and the rainfall distribution. As the impervious fraction increases, the sensible heat flux and the ground heat flux increase, while the latent heat flux decreases. The impact of urban surface representations on precipitation is as significant as that of microphysical parameterizations. The fact that changing urban surface representations can significantly alter the rainfall field suggests that urbanization plays an important role in modifying the regional precipitation pattern.
A Three-Component Model of the Control Error in Manual Tracking of Continuous Random Signals
Authors: Gerisch Hans , Staude Gerhard , Wolf Werner , Bauch Gerhard 
Published: March 2013

Objective: The performance of human operators acting within closed-loop control systems is investigated in a classic tracking task. The dependence of the control error (tracking error) on the parameters display gain, kdisplay, and input signal frequency bandwidth, fg, which alter task difficulty and presumably the control delay, is studied with the aim of functionally specifying it via a model. Background: The human operator as an element of a cascaded human–machine control system (e.g., car driving or piloting an airplane) codetermines the overall system performance. Control performance of humans in continuous tracking has been described in earlier studies. Method: Using a handheld joystick, 10 participants tracked continuous random input signals. The parameters fg and kdisplay were altered between experiments. Results: Increased task difficulty promoted lengthened control delay and, consequently, increased control error. Tracking performance degraded profoundly with target deflection components above 1 Hz, confirming earlier reports. Conclusion: The control error is composed of a delay-induced component, a demand-based component, and a novel component: a human tracking limit. Accordingly, a new model that allows concepts of the observed control error to be split into these three components is suggested. Application: To achieve optimal performance in control systems that include a human operator (e.g., vehicles, remote controlled rovers, crane control), (a) tasks should be kept as simple as possible to achieve shortest control delays, and (b) task components requiring higher-frequency (>1 Hz) tracking actions should be avoided or automated by technical systems.
Clinical Significance of BRAF Mutation in Thyroid Papillary Cancer
Authors: Fernandez Ignacio J. , Piccin Ottavio , Sciascia Silvia , Cavicchi Ottavio , Repaci Andrea , Vicennati Valentina , Fiorentino Michelangelo 
Published: March 2013

ObjectiveTo correlate the presence of BRAF V600E mutation with clinicopathological parameters.Study DesignCase‐control study.SettingBRAF mutation represents the most common oncogenic event in sporadic papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). There are, however, significant discrepancies regarding the overall frequency and its relationship with clinicopathological parameters of poor outcome. We analyzed BRAF mutation in a cohort of patients affected by PTCs to identify its association with clinical variables.Subjects and MethodsWe analyzed retrospectively a series of 304 patients, treated for PTC from 1999 to 2011 at Bologna University Hospital. We searched BRAF mutation by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by PCR and direct sequencing.ResultsBRAF mutation was found in 77.4% of classical PTCs, 31.9% of the follicular variant, and 72.2% of high tall cell PTCs, being significantly associated, at univariate analysis, with recurrence, stage, multicentricity, histologic subtype, extrathyroidal extension, nodule dimension, body mass index, and American Thyroid Association (ATA) risk stratification. Furthermore, higher T, but not N or M, stage was associated with BRAF mutation. In the multivariate analysis, the BRAF mutation was significantly associated only with the ATA risk stratification, in turn showing a significant negative association with recurrence‐free survival time with Cox multivariate analysis.ConclusionOur results indicate that BRAF mutation identifies a subset of PTC with increased risk of recurrence. The presence of BRAF mutation might be a valuable diagnostic and prognostic marker of the disease. To confirm the diagnostic usefulness of this marker, further studies should be carried out.
Fetal kidney programming by severe food restriction: Effects on structure, hormonal receptor expression and urinary sodium excretion in rats
Authors: Vaccari Barbara , Mesquita Flavia F , Gontijo Jose AR , Boer Patricia A 
Published: March 2013

Introduction: The present study investigates, in 23-day-old and adult male rats, the effect of severe food restriction in utero on blood pressure (BP), and its association with nephron structure and function changes, angiotensin II (AT1R/AT2R), glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid (MR) receptor expression. Materials and methods: The daily food supply to pregnant rats was measured and one group ( n=15) received normal quantity of food (NF) while the other received 50% of that (FR50%) ( n=15). Kidneys were processed to AT1R, AT2R, MR, and GR immunolocalization and for western blotting analysis. The renal function was estimated by creatinine and lithium clearances in 12-week-old offspring. Results: By stereological analyses, FR50% offspring present a reduction of nephron numbers (35%) with unchanged renal volume. Expression of AT1R and AT2R was significantly decreased in FR50% while the expression of GR and MR increased in FR50%. We also verified a pronounced decrease in urinary sodium excretion accompanied by increased BP in 12-week-old FR50% offspring. Conclusion: The current data suggest that changes in renal function are conducive to excess sodium tubule reabsorption, and this might potentiate the programming of adult hypertension. It is plausible to arise in the current study an association between decreasing natriuresis, reciprocal changes in renal AngII and steroid receptors with the hypertension development found in FR50% compared with age-matched NF offspring.
Dementia: The need for attitudinal change
Authors: O’Sullivan Grace , Hocking Clare , Spence Deb 
Published: March 2013

Objective To undertake a systematic inquiry into the experience of living with dementia in the community. Design Action research, underpinned by critical hermeneutics, brought together action and reflection, theory and practice to generate knowledge. Data were gathered by interviews and observations in participants’ homes, and focus group discussions in community settings. Participants Eleven people with mild to moderate dementia and their primary caregiver aged 59–84, living in Auckland, New Zealand. Results The findings reveal a conflict between living positively with dementia, and enduring the negative attitudes that typify the dominant social discourse. The central argument arising from the findings is the significance of personal attitudes. Conclusions Implications for policy makers, health care providers, and caregivers highlight the need to change the ways in which dementia is perceived. The pursuit of positive attitudes will do much to change social perceptions and enable people with dementia to live with a sense of well-being.
Hyers-Ulam stability of a generalized additive set-valued functional equation
Authors: Jang Sun Young , Park Choonkil , Cho Young 
Published: March 2013

AbstractIn this paper, we define a generalized additive set-valued functional equation, which is related to the following generalized additive functional equation:f(x1+⋯+xl)=(l−1)f(x1+⋯+xl−1l−1)+f(xl)for a fixed integerlwithl>1, and prove the Hyers-Ulam stability of the generalized additive set-valued functional equation.MSC:39B52, 54C60, 91B44.