bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prospective study of prevalence of overactive bladder symptoms and child‐bearing in women of reproductive age
Authors: Palma Thais , Raimondi Marina , Souto Sophia , Fozzatti Celina , Palma Paulo , Riccetto Cássio 
Published: June 2013

AbstractAimThe aim of the study was to verify the presence of overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) symptoms in premenopausal women and relate them with child‐bearing data.Material and MethodsWe interviewed 1050 women aged 20–45 years in the area of Campinas, Brazil, to investigate the prevalence of OAB symptoms. In this study we used the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire – Overactive Bladder (ICIQ‐OAB) questionnaire (International Continence Society standard), in its validated Portuguese version and a specific questionnaire for the demographics.ResultsOverall, multiparous and primiparous women showed significantly higher scores in the ICIQ‐OAB questionnaire than nulliparous women. Multiparous women also presented more frequency than nulliparous women (P < 0.0001). Nulliparous women presented less nocturia than primiparous or multiparous women (P < 0.0001). No significant differences were found in urgency (P = 0.0682), and multiparous women presented more urgency incontinence than nulliparous ones (P = 0.0313).ConclusionsNulliparous women presented fewer OAB symptoms than primiparous women. Multiparous women presented more symptoms than the other two groups. There were no significant differences between cesarean and vaginal delivery, but the scores of women who had vaginal delivery were higher than those who had cesareans. Both types of delivery were related to higher ICIQ‐OAB scores (more severe symptoms) than those of nulliparous women.
New findings and concepts about the G‐spot in normal and absent vagina: Precautions possibly needed for preservation of the G‐spot and sexuality during surgery
Authors: Thabet Saeed Mohamad Ahmad 
Published: June 2013

AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to extend the clinicohistological study to involve the whole normal and absent vagina for confirming the presence of the G‐spot and its relation to the surrounding organs and sexuality and to identify certain precautions for its preservation during surgery.Material and MethodsThis study was a descriptive randomized prospective study conducted at Kasr El Aini School of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt. The G‐spot was examined in 1500 women, 500 of them having vaginal and vulval surgery done for gynecological reasons. The G‐spot was examined for its clinical and histological features and for determining the effect of surgery on its state and function.ResultsThe G‐spot was found to be present in all women. It was a localized spot in 58% and diffuse in 42% of cases. Associated ejaculation was reported in all cases of the localized type and in 24.5% of the diffuse types. Clinical examination was found to be associated with certain local response in 52.7% of the local types. The G‐spot was also found to be connected to the hymen in 100%, the urethra in 52.7%, the vulva in 82.2% and the cervix in 10.8% of cases. The mean of the sex scores and sexuality were significantly decreased in surgery involving the G‐spot area. Recorded figures were 93.6 ± 3.4 and 88.2 ± 3.3 before and after surgery, respectively. The corresponding figures in the cases having a general spot were 86.4 ± 4.4 and 84.5 ± 2.4, respectively. The G‐spot was found in cases of absent vagina to be localized in 59%, generalized in 28.2% and absent in 12.8% of cases.ConclusionsThe G‐spot is actually present in all women. It is originally related to the lower urinary tract and it is connected to different parts of the genital tract. It may be localized or generalized. Its integrity is essential for obtaining normal physiological sexuality. Surgery may affect the integrity of the G‐spot, so surgical precautions must be carried out to maintain the integrity of this spot and the patient's sexuality.
Clinical, Sociodemographic, and Service Provider Determinants of Guideline Concordant Colorectal Cancer Care for Appalachian Residents
Authors: Fleming Steven T. , Mackley Heath B. , Camacho Fabian , Seiber Eric E. , Gusani Niraj J. , Matthews Stephen A. , Liao Jason , Yang Tse‐Chuan , Hwang Wenke , Yao Nengliang 
Published: June 2013

AbstractBackgroundColorectal cancer represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in Appalachia where high mortality from colorectal cancer is more prevalent. Adherence to treatment guidelines leads to improved survival. This paper examines determinants of guideline concordance for colorectal cancer.MethodsColorectal cancer patients diagnosed in 2006‐2008 from 4 cancer registries (Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina) were linked to Medicare claims (2005‐2009). Final sample size after exclusions was 2,932 stage I‐III colon, and 184 stage III rectal cancer patients. The 3 measures of guideline concordance include adjuvant chemotherapy (stage III colon cancer, <80 years), ≥12 lymph nodes assessed (resected stage I‐III colon cancer), and radiation therapy (stage III rectal cancer, <80 years). Bivariate and multivariate analyses with clinical, sociodemographic, and service provider covariates were estimated for each of the measures.ResultsRates of chemotherapy, lymph node assessment, and radiation were 62.9%, 66.3%, and 56.0%, respectively. Older patients had lower rates of chemotherapy and radiation. Five comorbidities were significantly associated with lower concordance in the bivariate analyses: myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, respiratory diseases, dementia with chemotherapy, and diabetes with adequate lymph node assessment. Patients treated by hospitals with no Commission on Cancer (COC) designation or lower surgical volumes had lower odds of adequate lymph node assessment.ConclusionsClinical, sociodemographic, and service provider characteristics are significant determinants of the variation in guideline concordance rates of 3 colorectal cancer measures.
Characterization of Orgasmic Difficulties by Women: Focus Group Evaluation
Authors: Kingsberg Sheryl A. , Tkachenko Natalia , Lucas Johna , Burbrink Amy , Kreppner Wayne , Dickstein Jodi B. 
Published: June 2013

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Female orgasmic disorder (FOD) is the second most prevalent sexual disorder in women. According to the most recent revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth edition (DSM-IV-TR), the term “marked distress” is central to the diagnosis of FOD. In practice, the term “distress” for use as a criterion for a clinical diagnosis is a medical construct and may not correlate with the language used by women with FOD to describe what they are experiencing.

Aim
The objective of this study was to explore the terminology used by women to describe their feeling associated with difficulties in achieving orgasm.

Methods
Women experiencing difficulties in achieving orgasm were invited to participate in a focus group. The focus groups included a characterization, picture sort and language exploration exercise and completing the Female Sexual Distress Scale-Desire, Arousal, Orgasm (FSDS-DAO) to determine the impact and emotional associations of decreased/lack of orgasms.

Main Outcome Measures
Patient reported terminology for characterization of their FOD, and validity of question 15 of FSDS-DAO.

Results
Sixty-seven percent (44/66) of the women used the word “frustrated” when asked, “What one word would you use to describe your orgasm difficulties?” In the language exploration exercise, the most common term used to describe emotions associated with decreased orgasm was “frustration.” Responses (0=never to 4=always) to question 15 (frustrated by problems with orgasm) of the FSDS-DAO, ranged from 1 to 4 (mean 3.0) indicating that women were very frustrated.

Conclusions
The term “frustrated” was the most relevant and common emotion women feel when they have difficulties in achieving orgasm. Additionally, the women consistently supported the content validity of question 15 of the FSDS-DAO. Despite the use of the term “distress” in the DSM-IV-TR criteria for FOD, the term reflects the medical construct required to become a sexual dysfunction and does not appear to be an accurate representation of most women's feelings of orgasm difficulties.
The number of markers and samples needed for detecting bottlenecks under realistic scenarios, with and without recovery: a simulation‐based study
Authors: Hoban Sean M. , Gaggiotti Oscar E. , Bertorelle Giorgio 
Published: June 2013

AbstractDetecting bottlenecks is a common task in molecular ecology. While several bottleneck detection methods exist, evaluations of their power have focused only on severe bottlenecks (e.g. to Ne ~10). As a component of a recent review, Peery et al. () analysed the power of two approaches, the M‐ratio and heterozygote excess tests, to detect moderate bottlenecks (e.g. to Ne ~100), which is realistic for many conservation situations. In this Comment, we address three important points relevant to but not considered in Peery et al. Under moderate bottleneck scenarios, we test the (i) relative advantage of sampling more markers vs. more individuals, (ii) potential power to detect the bottleneck when utilizing dozens of microsatellites (a realistic possibility for contemporary studies) and (iii) reduction in power when postbottleneck recovery has occurred. For the realistic situations examined, we show that (i) doubling the number of loci shows equal or better power than tripling the number of individuals, (ii) increasing the number of markers (up to 100) results in continued additive gains in power, and (iii) recovery after a moderate amount of time or gradual change in size reduces power, by up to one‐half. Our results provide a practical supplement to Peery et al. and encourage the continued use of bottleneck detection methods in the genomic age, but also emphasize that the power under different sampling schemes should be estimated, using simulation modelling, as a routine component of molecular ecology studies.
Competence and natural transformation in vibrios
Authors: Sun Yan , Bernardy Eryn E. , Hammer Brian K. , Miyashiro Tim 
Published: June 2013

SummaryNatural transformation is a major mechanism of horizontal gene transfer in bacteria. By incorporating exogenous DNA elements into chromosomes, bacteria are able to acquire new traits that can enhance their fitness in different environments. Within the past decade, numerous studies have revealed that natural transformation is prevalent among members of the Vibrionaceae, including the pathogen Vibrio cholerae. Four environmental factors: (i) nutrient limitation, (ii) availability of extracellular nucleosides, (iii) high cell density and (iv) the presence of chitin, promote genetic competence and natural transformation in Vibrio cholerae by co‐ordinating expression of the regulators CRP, CytR, HapR and TfoX respectively. Studies of other Vibrionaceae members highlight the general importance of natural transformation within this bacterial family.
Sclerotherapy for the mucoceles of the anterior lingual salivary glands with pingyangmycin
Authors: Cai Y , Wang R , Yang S‐F , Zhao Y‐F , Zhao J‐H 
Published: June 2013

Recurrence is very common if the mucoceles of the anterior lingual salivary glands (ALSGs) are treated by surgery due to its anatomic characteristics. Therefore, more effective and less invasive treatment methods are urgently required to be applied instead of surgery. In this study, 40 patients with the mucocele of the ALSGs received the intralesional injections of pingyangmycin, and the median number of injections per patient was 2.075 (range, 1–3). All cases completely recovered with no recurrence after follow‐up of more than 16 months. The complications included the local swelling, pain, and ulceration following injection, and all these symptoms resolved 7–10 days after the injection. Taken together, sclerotherapy with pingyangmycin is an effective and safe treatment method for the mucocele of the ALSGs and may be the primary treatment modality.
Visualizing Carbene Equilibria
Authors: Moss Robert A. , Wang Lei , Hoijemberg Pablo A. , Krogh‐Jespersen Karsten 
Published: June 2013

AbstractReviewed herein are equilibria between halocarbenes and halocarbanions, carbenes and carbene complexes and carbenes and O‐ylides. The transient species were visualized by laser flash photolysis coupled with UV–Visible spectroscopy. This methodology enabled the determination of equilibrium constants and the extraction of associated thermodynamic parameters. Parallel computational studies provided anticipated structures and energies for the transient species, as well as electronic absorption wavelengths and oscillator strengths.
Sequentially reweighted TV minimization for CT metal artifact reduction
Authors: Zhang Xiaomeng , Xing Lei 
Published: June 2013

Purpose:Metal artifact reduction has long been an important topic in x‐ray CT image reconstruction. In this work, the authors propose an iterative method that sequentially minimizes a reweighted total variation (TV) of the image and produces substantially artifact‐reduced reconstructions.Methods:A sequentially reweighted TV minimization algorithm is proposed to fully exploit the sparseness of image gradients (IG). The authors first formulate a constrained optimization model that minimizes a weighted TV of the image, subject to the constraint that the estimated projection data are within a specified tolerance of the available projection measurements, with image non‐negativity enforced. The authors then solve a sequence of weighted TV minimization problems where weights used for the next iteration are computed from the current solution. Using the complete projection data, the algorithm first reconstructs an image from which a binary metal image can be extracted. Forward projection of the binary image identifies metal traces in the projection space. The metal‐free background image is then reconstructed from the metal‐trace‐excluded projection data by employing a different set of weights. Each minimization problem is solved using a gradient method that alternates projection‐onto‐convex‐sets and steepest descent. A series of simulation and experimental studies are performed to evaluate the proposed approach.Results:Our study shows that the sequentially reweighted scheme, by altering a single parameter in the weighting function, flexibly controls the sparsity of the IG and reconstructs artifacts‐free images in a two‐stage process. It successfully produces images with significantly reduced streak artifacts, suppressed noise and well‐preserved contrast and edge properties.Conclusions:The sequentially reweighed TV minimization provides a systematic approach for suppressing CT metal artifacts. The technique can also be generalized to other “missing data” problems in CT image reconstruction.
High-Throughput Nano-Biofilm Microarray for Antifungal Drug Discovery
Authors: Srinivasan Anand , Leung Kai P. , Lopez-Ribot Jose L. , Ramasubramanian Anand K. 
Published: June 2013

ABSTRACT

Micro- and nanoscale technologies have radically transformed biological research from genomics to tissue engineering, with the relative exception of microbial cell culture, which is still largely performed in microtiter plates and petri dishes. Here, we present nanoscale culture of the opportunistic fungal pathogen
Candida albicans
on a microarray platform. The microarray consists of 1,200 individual cultures of 30 nl of
C. albicans
biofilms (“nano-biofilms”) encapsulated in an inert alginate matrix. We demonstrate that these nano-biofilms are similar to conventional macroscopic biofilms in their morphological, architectural, growth, and phenotypic characteristics. We also demonstrate that the nano-biofilm microarray is a robust and efficient tool for accelerating the drug discovery process: (i) combinatorial screening against a collection of 28 antifungal compounds in the presence of immunosuppressant FK506 (tacrolimus) identified six drugs that showed synergistic antifungal activity, and (ii) screening against the NCI challenge set small-molecule library identified three heretofore-unknown hits. This cell-based microarray platform allows for miniaturization of microbial cell culture and is fully compatible with other high-throughput screening technologies.

IMPORTANCE
Microorganisms are typically still grown in petri dishes, test tubes, and Erlenmeyer flasks in spite of the latest advances in miniaturization that have benefitted other allied research fields, including genomics and proteomics. Culturing microorganisms in small scale can be particularly valuable in cutting down time, cost, and reagent usage. This paper describes the development, characterization, and application of nanoscale culture of an opportunistic fungal pathogen,
Candida albicans
. Despite a more than 2,000-fold reduction in volume, the growth characteristics and drug response profiles obtained from the nanoscale cultures were comparable to the industry standards. The platform also enabled rapid identification of new drug candidates that were effective against
C. albicans
biofilms, which are a major cause of mortality in hospital-acquired infections.
Is the Nickel-Dependent Urease Complex of
Cryptococcus
the Pathogen’s Achilles’ Heel?
Authors: Morrow Carl A. , Fraser James A. 
Published: June 2013

ABSTRACT

The nitrogen-scavenging enzyme urease has been coopted in a variety of pathogenic organisms as a virulence factor, most notoriously to neutralize stomach acid and establish infection by the gastric pathogen
Helicobacter pylori
. The opportunistic fungal pathogen
Cryptococcus neoformans
also utilizes urease as a virulence factor, only in this case to invade the central nervous system (CNS) via the blood-brain barrier and cause life-threatening meningoencephalitis. A recent study [A. Singh, R. Panting, A. Varma, T. Saijo, K. Waldron, A. Jong, P. Ngamskulrungroj, Y. Chan, J. Rutherford, K. Kwon-Chung, mBio 4(3):e00220-13] genetically and biochemically characterizes the accessory proteins required for successful activation of the urease protein complex, including the essential nickel cofactor. The accessory proteins Ure4, Ure6, and Ure7 are all essential for urease function. Ure7 appears to combine the roles of two bacterial accessory proteins: it incorporates both the GTPase activity and nickel chaperone properties of UreE, a bacterial protein whose homolog is missing in the fungi. An accompanying nickel transporter, Nic1, is responsible for most, but not all, nickel uptake into the fungal cell. Mutants of the core urease protein Ure1, accessory protein Ure7, and transporter Nic1 are all attenuated for invasion of the CNS of mice, and urease activity may directly affect integrity of the tight junction of the endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier, the network of proteins that limits paracellular permeability. This work highlights the potential of urease, its accessory proteins, and nickel transport as potential chemotherapeutic targets.
Investigating community ownership of a text message programme to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy and provider-client communication: a mixed methods research protocol
Authors: Mbuagbaw Lawrence , Ongolo-Zogo Pierre , Thabane Lehana 
Published: June 2013

IntroductionMobile phone ownership and use are growing fastest in sub-Saharan Africa, and there is evidence that mobile phone text messages can be used successfully to significantly improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy and reduce treatment interruptions. However, the effects of many mobile health interventions are often reduced by human resource shortages within health facilities. Also, research projects generating evidence for health interventions in developing countries are most often conducted using external funding sources, with limited sustainability and adoption by local governments following completion of the projects. Strong community participation driven by active outreach programmes and mobilisation of community resources are the key to successful adoption and long-term sustainability of effective interventions. Our aim was to develop a framework for community ownership of a text messaging programme to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy; improve communication between patients and doctors and act as a reminder for appointments.Methods and analysisWe will use the exploratory sequential mixed methods approach. The first qualitative phase will entail focus group discussions with people living with HIV at the Yaoundé Central Hospital in Yaoundé, Cameroon (6–10 participants/group). The second quantitative phase will involve a cross-sectional survey (n=402). In this study, binary logistic regression techniques will be used to determine the factors associated with community readiness and acceptability of ownership. Data from both phases will be merged.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by the Yaoundé Central Hospital Institutional Review Board. The results of this paper will be disseminated as peer-reviewed publications at conferences and as part of a doctoral thesis.
Commerce, Culture, and Civilization in Greek Enlightenment and Contemporary European Thought
Authors: Kostantaras Dean 
Published: June 2013

Abstract
This article describes the interaction between Greek readers, writers, and publishers during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, giving particular attention to the challenges faced by the latter in obtaining financial support for their endeavors. These contingencies exerted a significant influence on the form and content of Greek discourse as expressed in one striking instance by the efforts made on the part of Greek intellectuals to publicly reimagine the role of commerce and its practitioners in the rise or rehabilitation of nations. In addition therefore to providing a revealing view of what one historian of the period has called “the linguistic construction of class,” the Greek literary preoccupation with commerce also serves as a valuable exhibit of “cultural transfer,” or the manner in which genres of thought originating in one setting may become naturalized within another to the point that they appear to have been generated from purely native sources and circumstances.