bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of Mitomycin C for postoperative endoscopic sinus surgery: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Numthavaj P. , Tanjararak K. , Roongpuvapaht B. , McEvoy M. , Attia J. , Thakkinstian A. 
Published: April 2013

BackgroundMitomycin C has recently been used to prevent nasal synechiae and sinus ostium stenosis after endoscopic sinus surgery.Objective of reviewTo compare nasal synechiae rate between topical Mitomycin C and saline or no treatment.Type of reviewSystematic review and meta‐analysis.Data sourcesMEDLINE, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials databases were used to identify studies up to January 2013.Evaluation methodData were independently extracted by two reviewers (PN and KT). Studies which compared topical Mitomycin C with control where the outcomes of interest were nasal synechiae or sinus ostium stenosis were included. Baseline study characteristics, quality of study, numbers of patients between treatment and control groups, outcomes, and adverse events were extracted. A multivariate meta‐analysis was separately applied for each outcome (nasal synechiae and maxillary sinus ostium stenosis).ResultsAmong 11 included studies, most studies used Mitomycin C dose of 0.4–0.5 mg/mL 1–5 mL in the middle meatus for 5 min duration. Eight studies reported synechiae with 281 and 281 nasal cavities received Mitomycin C and saline, respectively. For outcome of nasal synechiae, a multivariate meta‐analysis suggested that Mitomycin C was associated with a 66% (RR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.18–0.65) lower risk of nasal synechiae with moderate heterogeneity (I2 = 43%, 95% CI: 0–77%). Subgroup analyses by age and history of revision could reduce the degree of heterogeneity. Mitomycin C benefits were found in subgroups of age ≤ 40 years (RR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.05–1.50) and patients without any history of revision (RR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.06–0.58). Five studies with 134 and 140 nasal cavities for Mitomycin C and saline were included in pooling of maxillary sinus ostium stenosis. Mitomycin C was associated with 74% (RR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.12–0.54) lower risk of maxillary sinus ostium stenosis when compared with saline with low heterogeneity (I2 = 5%, 95% CI: 0–85%). There was no evidence of publication bias for both poolings.ConclusionApplying Mitomycin C topically after endoscopic sinus surgery could reduce the risk of nasal synechiae and maxillary sinus ostium stenosis in short term by 66% and 74%, respectively. The treatment effects may be more beneficial in patients aged 40 years or younger or in patients without history of revision. However, our results were based on pooling trials with questionable methodological quality. Further trials with good research methodology and long‐term follow‐up should be conducted to confirm our results.
Recognition of goblet cells upon endocytoscopy indicates the presence of gastric intestinal metaplasia
Authors: Chiu Philip Wai Yan , Ng Enders Kwok Wai , To Kai Fai , Teoh Anthony Yuen Bun , Lam Candice Chuen Hing , Chan Francis Ka Leung , Sung Joseph Jao Yiu , Lau James Yun Wong 
Published: April 2013

BackgroundGastric intestinal metaplasia (IM) is considered precancerous and is difficult to differentiate upon endoscopy. Endocytoscopy enables observation at a cellular level for focused biopsy. The present study examined the use of endocytoscopy for recognition of gastric IM.Patients and MethodsPatients with a history of gastric IM were recruited. We first carried out narrow band imaging (NBI) endoscopy to look for suspicious areas of gastric IM. A prototype endocytoscope with a magnification of 450× was used to re‐examine these areas. Areas examined were biopsied for histological comparison. Presence of goblet cells was considered as representative of IM upon endocytoscopy.ResultsTwenty patients were recruited with NBI demonstrating 102 suspicious lesions of gastric IM. Mean age of patients was 53.9 ± 7.6 years. Upon histology, 72 biopsies were confirmed as gastric IM, 15 showed IM and low‐grade dysplasia, whereas 15were diagnosed as chronic gastritis. Endocytoscopy image quality was significantly better for areas of IM as compared to gastritis (P < 0.05; OR 21.7 [95% CI 4.5–105.9]). The presence of goblet cells upon endocytoscopy achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 0.86 for gastric IM. Receiver operator characteristics curve achieved an area under curve of 0.8 with the presence of goblet cells under endocytoscopy as compared to 0.64 for NBI alone.ConclusionsPresence of goblet cells upon endocytoscopy indicates a diagnosis of gastric IM. Image quality of endocytoscopy, however, is suboptimal. Further developments in endocytoscopy should focus on image quality and staining methods to enhance differentiation between IM, dysplasia and early gastric cancer.
Lipoprotein lipase in aortic valve stenosis is associated with lipid retention and remodelling
Authors: Mahmut Ablajan , Boulanger Marie‐Chloé , Fournier Dominique , Couture Christian , Trahan Sylvain , Pagé Sylvain , Arsenault Benoît , Després Jean‐Pierre , Pibarot Philippe , Mathieu Patrick 
Published: April 2013

AbstractBackgroundCalcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is a chronic disorder characterized by a fibrocalcific remodelling. It is suspected that lipid retention within the aortic valve may be one important mechanism participating to aortic valve remodelling. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is implicated in lipid metabolism and may play a role in lipid retention within the aortic valve.MethodsIn 57 patients, CAVD were analysed for the expression of LPL by q‐PCR and immunohistochemistry. Expression of oxidized‐LDL (ox‐LDL) and decorin was also documented. In addition, a complete blood profile, including the size of LDL and high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) particles, were performed to find associations between the blood lipid profile and expression of ox‐LDL and LPL within CAVD.ResultsImmunohistochemistry studies revealed that LPL was expressed in stenotic aortic valves as a diffuse staining and also in dense cellular areas where macrophages were abundant. Expression of LPL co‐localized with decorin and ox‐LDL. In turn, valves with higher amount of ox‐LDL had elevated number of LPL transcripts. In addition, we documented that the small, dense HDL phenotype was associated with an elevated amount of ox‐LDL and LPL transcripts within CAVD. Furthermore, expression of LPL was associated with several indices of fibrocalcific remodelling of the aortic valve.ConclusionExpression of LPL within CAVD is related to the amount of ox‐LDL, which is, in turn, associated with the small, dense HDL phenotype. Lipid retention associated with smaller HDL particles may participate in the expression of LPL, whereby a fibrocalcific remodelling of the aortic valve is promoted.
Baseline comorbidities in a skin cancer prevention trial in Bangladesh
Authors: Argos Maria , Rahman Mahfuzar , Parvez Faruque , Dignam James , Islam Tariqul , Quasem Iftekhar , K. Hore Samar , T. Haider Ahmed , Hossain Zahid , I. Patwary Tazul , Rakibuz‐Zaman Muhammad , Sarwar Golam , La Porte Paul , Harjes Judith , Anton Kristen , Kibriya Muhammad G. , Jasmine Farzana , Khan Rashed , Kamal Mohammed , Shea Christopher R. , Yunus Muhammad , Baron John A. , Ahsan Habibul 
Published: April 2013

AbstractBackgroundEpidemiologic research suggests that increased cancer risk due to chronic arsenic exposure persists for several decades even after the exposure has terminated. Observational studies suggest that antioxidants exert a protective effect on arsenical skin lesions and cancers among those chronically exposed to arsenic through drinking water. This study reports on the design, methods and baseline analyses from the Bangladesh Vitamin E and Selenium Trial (BEST), a population‐based chemoprevention study conducted among adults in Bangladesh with visible arsenic toxicity.Materials and methodsBangladesh Vitamin E and Selenium Trial is a 2×2 full factorial, double‐blind, randomized controlled trial of 7000 adults having manifest arsenical skin lesions evaluating the efficacy of 6‐year supplementation with alpha‐tocopherol (100 mg daily) and L‐selenomethionine (200 μg daily) for the prevention of nonmelanoma skin cancer.ResultsIn cross‐sectional analyses, we observed significant associations of skin lesion severity with male gender (female prevalence odds ratio (POR) = 0·87; 95% CI = 0·79–0·96), older age (aged 36–45 years, POR = 1·27; 95% CI = 1·13–1·42; aged 46–55 years, POR = 1·44; 95% CI = 1·27–1·64 and aged 56–65 years, POR = 1·50; 95% CI = 1·26–1·78 compared with aged 25–35 years), hypertension (POR = 1·29; 95% CI = 1·08–1·55), diabetes (POR = 2·13; 95% CI = 1·32–3·46), asthma (POR = 1·55; 95% CI = 1·03–2·32) and peptic ulcer disease (POR = 1·20; 95% CI = 1·07–1·35).ConclusionsWe report novel associations between arsenical skin lesions with several common chronic diseases. With the rapidly increasing burden of preventable cancers in developing countries, efficient and feasible chemoprevention study designs and approaches, such as employed in BEST, may prove both timely and potentially beneficial in conceiving cancer chemoprevention trials in Bangladesh and beyond.
Financial, nonfinancial and editors' conflicts of interest in high‐impact biomedical journals
Authors: Bosch Xavier , Pericas Juan M. , Hernández Cristina , Doti Pamela 
Published: April 2013

AbstractPurposeTo assess financial, nonfinancial and editors' conflicts of interest (COI) disclosure policies among the most influential biomedical journals publishing original research.Materials and methodsWe conducted a cross‐sectional study of 399 high‐impact biomedical journals in 27 biomedical categories of the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) in December 2011. Information relevant to COI and requirements for disclosures that was publicly available on journal websites was collected.ResultsWhile financial COI disclosures were required by 358 (89·7%) and nonfinancial by 280 (70·2%) journals, 155 (38·8%) required editors' disclosures. Journals in the first decile of the JCR classification scored significantly higher than those in the second decile for all disclosure policies. Ninety (22·6%) journals were published by Elsevier and 59 (14·8%) by Wiley‐Blackwell, with Elsevier scoring significantly better in financial disclosure policies (P = 0·022). Clinical journals scored significantly higher than basic journals for all disclosure policies. No differences were observed between open‐access (n = 25) and nonopen‐access (n = 374) journals for any type of disclosure. Somewhat incoherently, authors' disclosure statements were included in some published manuscript in 57·1% of journals without any COI disclosure policies.ConclusionsAuthors' financial COI disclosures were required by about 90% of high‐impact clinical and basic journals publishing original research. Unlike recent studies showing a significantly lower prevalence of nonfinancial compared with financial disclosures, the former were required by about 70% of journals, suggesting that editors are increasingly concerned about nonfinancial competing interests. Only 40% of journals required disclosure of editors' COI, in conflict with the recommendations of the most influential editors' associations.
Practising case‐based learning in oral medicine for dental students in China
Authors: Du G.‐F. , Li C.‐Z. , Shang S.‐H. , Xu X.‐Y. , Chen H.‐Z. , Zhou G. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractIntroductionTeacher‐centred education dominates dental education in China. Student‐centred education has recently been introduced in the School of Stomatology, Wuhan University, and the effectiveness of such methods needs to be tested. The purpose of this study is to compare the learning outcomes of case‐based learning (CBL) and lecture‐based education (LBE) in an oral medicine curriculum.Materials and methodsWe chose oral leukoplakia as the learning subject for dental students. Forty fourth‐year dental students participated in the study. First, they were presented to basic knowledge of oral leukoplakia and related oral mucosal diseases. Then, they were divided into a CBL group (n = 20) and an LBE group (n = 20) by random numbers. The groups experienced the remaining course in separate groups. All students answered a questionnaire on their satisfaction with the education and the same standardised written test to analyse their learning outcomes.ResultsBoth CBL and LBE courses were well accepted by students according to the satisfactory scores of the questionnaire. The test scores of the CBL group (90.00 ± 6.69) were significantly higher (P < 0.01) than those of the LBE group (83.00 ± 6.77). The percentage of high test score (test score ≥ 85) of the CBL group (85%) was also significantly higher (P < 0.01) than that of the LBE group (45%).ConclusionsIn this example, CBL was found to be more effective than LBE to teach dental students. These findings suggest that CBL should be added in our future oral medicine curriculum for dental students.
Increased neuronal firing in resting and sleep in areas of the macaque medial prefrontal cortex
Authors: Gabbott Paul L. , Rolls Edmund T. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThe medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of humans and macaques is an integral part of the default mode network and is a brain region that shows increased activation in the resting state. A previous paper from our laboratory reported significantly increased firing rates of neurons in the macaque subgenual cingulate cortex,Brodmann area (BA) 25, during disengagement from a task and also during slow wave sleep [E.T. Rollset al. (2003)J. Neurophysiology,90, 134–142]. Here we report the finding that there are neurons in other areas of mPFCthat also increase their firing rates during disengagement from a task, drowsiness and eye‐closure. During the neurophysiological recording of single mPFCcells (n = 249) inBAs 9, 10, 13 m, 14c, 24b and especially pregenual area 32, populations of neurons were identified whose firing rates altered significantly with eye‐closure compared with eye‐opening. Three types of neuron were identified: Type 1 cells (28.1% of the total population) significantly increased (mean + 329%;P ≪ 0.01) their average firing rate with eye‐closure, from 3.1 spikes/s when awake to 10.2 spikes/s when asleep; Type 2 cells (6.0%) significantly decreased (mean −68%;P < 0.05) their firing rate on eye‐closure; and Type 3 cells (65.9%) were unaffected. Thus, in many areas of mPFC, implicated in the anterior default mode network, there is a substantial population of neurons that significantly increase their firing rates during periods of eye‐closure. Such neurons may be part of an interconnected network of distributed brain regions that are more active during periods of relaxed wakefulness than during attention‐demanding tasks.
The delta subfamily of glutamate receptors: characterization of receptor chimeras and mutants
Authors: Orth Angela , Tapken Daniel , Hollmann Michael 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThe delta receptors, GluD1 and GluD2, are regarded as a subfamily of the ionotropic glutamate receptors solely because of sequence homology. While they play important roles in cerebellar function and high‐frequency hearing and appear to serve structural functions at synapses, ligand‐gated ion channel function has not been observed. However, we have previously shown that GluD2 can form functional ion channels when grafted with the ligand binding domain of a kainate receptor. In this study, we characterized this chimera as well as additional rat delta receptor chimeras and point mutants in more detail. We found that the kainate receptor ligand binding domain renders GluD1 functional as well, and GluD2 becomes a functional ion channel also when provided with an AMPA receptor ligand binding domain. Point mutations indicate that the GluD2 ion pore operates similarly but not identically to that of AMPA (α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methylisoxazole‐4‐propionic acid) and kainate receptors. GluD2 mutated at a conserved arginine within the linker region connecting the ligand binding domain to the ion pore domain displays spontaneous currents that occur in the absence of agonists and are inhibited by agonist application – a behavior reminiscent of that of the previously characterized lurcher mutant. Using our chimeric approach, we provide evidence that this inhibition of spontaneous currents by agonists may be caused by desensitization. Our results show that delta receptors have functional gating machineries and ion permeation pathways similar but not identical to those of AMPA and kainate receptors, while the key differences seem to be located within the ligand binding domain.
Effect of D‐cycloserine in conjunction with fear extinction training on extracellular signal‐regulated kinase activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala in rat
Authors: Gupta Subhash C. , Hillman Brandon G. , Prakash Anand , Ugale Rajesh R. , Stairs Dustin J. , Dravid Shashank M. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractD‐cycloserine (DCS) is currently under clinical trials for a number of neuropsychiatric conditions and has been found to augment fear extinction in rodents and exposure therapy in humans. However, the molecular mechanism of DCS action in these multiple modalities remains unclear. Here, we describe the effect of DCS administration, alone or in conjunction with extinction training, on neuronal activity (c‐fos) and neuronal plasticity [phospho‐extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (pERK)] markers using immunohistochemistry. We found that intraperitoneal administration of DCS in untrained young rats (24–28 days old) increased c‐fos‐ and pERK‐stained neurons in both the prelimbic and infralimbic division of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and reduced pERK levels in the lateral nucleus of the central amygdala. Moreover, DCS administration significantly increased GluA1, GluN1, GluN2A, and GluN2B expression in the mPFC. In a separate set of animals, we found that DCS facilitated fear extinction and increased pERK levels in the infralimbic prefrontal cortex, prelimbic prefrontal cortex intercalated cells and lateral nucleus of the central amygdala, compared with saline control. In the synaptoneurosomal preparation, we found that extinction training increased iGluR protein expression in the mPFC, compared with context animals. No significant difference in protein expression was observed between extinction‐saline and extinction‐DCS groups in the mPFC. In contrast, in the amygdala DCS, the conjunction with extinction training led to an increase in iGluR subunit expression, compared with the extinction‐saline group. Our data suggest that the efficacy of DCS in neuropsychiatric disorders may be partly due to its ability to affect neuronal activity and signaling in the mPFC and amygdala subnuclei.
Incidence, causes and outcomes of lameness cases in a working military horse population: A field study
Authors: Putnam J. R. C. , Holmes L. M. , Green M. J. , Freeman S. L. 
Published: April 2013

SummaryReasons for performing studyLameness is a common problem in the horse. Despite this, information on the incidence of lameness in horses in theUKis restricted to studies of lameness in performance horses, racehorses or referral hospital populations.ObjectivesTo determine the overall incidence and common causes of lameness in a working horse population and incidence, duration and outcome of conditions observed.Study designProspective questionnaire study.MethodsQuestionnaires were used to record lameness episodes in 294 horses in an equine military establishment. Information recorded included age, years of service, type of work, causal lesion, time taken to return to work and outcome. Lameness problems could be reported by any staff involved in the horses' care and were diagnosed by a veterinary surgeon or qualified farrier. Trends between lame and nonlame populations were compared using Chi‐square analysis. Lameness diagnoses were grouped and analysed by disease category.ResultsCompleted questionnaires for 273 horses were analysed. The mean monthly incidence of lameness was 2.1%, equivalent to an annual rate of 25.4 cases per 100 horses per annum, with a mean of 1.2 lameness episodes per horse in the lame population. Horse age and duration of service were not significantly different between lame and nonlame populations. The most common diagnoses were cellulitis (18.6%), skin wounds (16.3%) and foot/shoeing problems (11.6%) and 88% of cases had returned to previous levels of work by the conclusion of the study.ConclusionsThis initial field study showed that lameness is a common occurrence in this working military horse population and the majority of cases make a full return to work. The most common causes of lameness identified in this study and outcomes of these conditions differ from existing literature.Potential relevanceThis study highlights the need for further studies of lameness in the wider horse population.
Effects of moisture control, addition of glucose, inoculation of lactic acid bacteria and crushing process on the fermentation quality of rice grain silage
Authors: Inoue Hidehiko , Tohno Masanori , Kobayashi Hisami , Matsuo Morinobu , Kojima Yoichiro , Ibuki Toshihiko , Uegaki Ryuichi 
Published: April 2013

AbstractTo identify the best ensiling process and moisture content for rice grain silage, we determined the effects of additive (i.e. no additive, glucose additive or lactic acid bacteria [LAB] inoculation), crushing process (non‐crushing or crushing) and moisture control (none [13.6%], 20.0, 27.5, 35.0, 42.5 or 50.0% moisture content [in fresh matter, FM]) on rough rice and brown rice. Forage rice harvested at the fully ripe stage was ensiled in small‐scale experiments, and the silage was stored for 60 days. Regardless of the use of additives or LAB inoculation, the pH values tended to decrease with increasing moisture content. LAB inoculation and crushing resulted in low pH values, low butyric acid contents, low ethanol contents and high lactic acid contents, and the lactic acid content increased to more than 2.0% in FM at moisture contents of 27.5% and higher. The parameters of fermentation quality (pH, lactic acid, butyric acid, volatile basic nitrogen and ethanol content) were affected by not only the main effect of additive, crushing process and moisture control but also two‐way or three‐way interaction effects. LAB inoculation and crushing improved the lactic acid fermentation under lower moisture conditions, that is, 27.5% moisture content. In both rough rice and brown rice, we suggest that the appropriate pretreatment is the combined use of LAB inoculation, crushing process and controlling 27.5% moisture content.