bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of myocardial function in preterm infants with patent ductus arteriosus using tissue Doppler imaging
Authors: Parikh Ravikumar , Negrine Robert J. S. , Chikermane Ashish , Rasiah Shree Vishna , Ewer Andrew K. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractObjective:To assess myocardial function in preterm infants with different degrees of ductal patency in the first week of life using tissue Doppler imaging.Study design:Infants <30 weeks of gestation underwent echocardiography on day 3. A total of 72 infants were recruited into the study and categorised into three groups (i) haemodyamically significant ductus arteriosus, (ii) patent ductus arteriosus and (iii) no patent ductus arteriosus. Those with haemodynamically significant ductus arteriosus were treated with indometacin and echocardiography was repeated after 48–72 hours following treatment. Peak systolic and diastolic myocardial velocities were obtained using tissue Doppler imaging, and myocardial performance index was calculated.Results:Initial myocardial velocities were significantly lower and myocardial performance index significantly higher in the haemodynamically significant ductus arteriosus group compared with other groups. For the haemodynamically significant ductus arteriosus group, post-treatment myocardial velocities were higher and myocardial performance index lower than pre-treatment.Conclusion:Preterm infants with haemodynamically significant ductus arteriosus had lower myocardial velocities and higher myocardial performance index, suggesting relative systolic and diastolic myocardial dysfunction. Babies whose patent ductus arteriosus remained open despite indometacin had lower pre-treatment myocardial velocities and higher myocardial performance index than those babies whose patent ductus arteriosus closed, suggesting worse myocardial function in this group. Measurement of myocardial function using tissue Doppler imaging in preterm infants is feasible and may prove to be helpful in the management of babies with patent ductus arteriosus.
Team Echo: Observations and Lessons Learned in the Recovery Phase of the 2004 Asian Tsunami
Authors: Bridgewater Franklin H.G. , Aspinall Edward T. , Booth Joy P.M. , Capps Roger A. , Grantham Hugh J.M. , Pearce Andrew P. , Ritchie Brett K. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractThe 26 December 2004 Tsunami resulted in a death toll of >270,000 persons, making it the most lethal tsunami in recorded history. This article presents performance data observations and the lessons learned by a civilian team dispatched by the Australian government to “provide clinical and surgical functions and to make public health assessments”. The team, prepared and equipped for deployment four days after the event, arrived at its destination 13 days after the Tsunami. Aspiration pneumonia, tetanus, and extensive soft tissue wounds of the lower extremities were the prominent injuries encountered. Surgical techniques had to be adapted to work in the austere environment. The lessons learned included: (1) the importance of team member selection; (2) strategies for self-sufficiency; (3) personnel readiness and health considerations; (4) face-to-face handover; (5) coordination and liaison; (6) the characteristics of injuries; (7) the importance of protocols for patient discharge and hospital staffing; and (8) requirements for interpreter services.Whereas disaster medical relief teams will be required in the future, the composition and equipment needs will differ according to the nature of the disaster. National teams should be on standby for international response.
Feelings of rewards among family caregivers during ongoing palliative care
Authors: Henriksson Anette , Carlander Ida , Årestedt Kristofer 
Published: October 2013

AbstractObjectives:Palliative family caregivers appear to experience the rewards of caregiving concurrent with burdens and negative feelings. Relatively few studies have attended to the positive and rewarding aspects in palliative family caregiving. In addition, most studies on rewards are retrospective and examine the experiences of bereaved family caregivers. The present study aimed at describing feelings of reward among family caregivers during ongoing palliative care. A further aim was to compare the experience of rewards in relation to sex and age.Methods:The sample consisted of 125 family caregivers and took place in three specialist palliative care units and one hematology unit. Participants answered a questionnaire including demographic background questions and the Rewards of Caregiving Scale (RCS). Descriptive statistics were employed to describe characteristics of the participants and the level of rewards. A Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare differences between groups of different sex and age.Results:Palliative family caregivers reported general high levels of reward. The greatest source of rewards involved feelings of being helpful to patients. This was closely followed by giving something to patients that brought them happiness and being there for them. The smallest sources of rewards were related to personal growth, self-satisfaction, and personal meaning. There was also an association between rewards and age but not between men and women.Significance of results:Family caregivers experienced the rewards of caregiving during ongoing palliative care despite their unique and stressful situation. Feelings of reward seem to be about handling a situation in a satisfying way, feeling competent and confident to take care of the patient and thereby feeling proud. Support could preferably be designed to improve a family caregiver's ability to care and to facilitate the positive aspects and rewards of caregiving and focus on strengths and resources.
Snapshot of an acute palliative care unit in a tertiary cancer hospital
Authors: Reddy Akhila , Vidal Marieberta , de la Cruz Maxine , Yennurajalingam Sriram , Bruera Eduardo 
Published: October 2013

AbstractMost palliative care (PC) programs in the United States provide consultation services that assist the primary medical team with issues ranging from controlling patients' symptoms to initiating end-of-life discussions. This approach may be sufficient to address many patients' needs. However, for certain patients with complex medical and psychosocial issues, a better alternative is a more streamlined approach that can be provided in an acute palliative care unit (APCU), where the PC staff assumes the role of the primary team. An APCU is a specialized unit that delivers highly sophisticated care with professionals from various disciplines working together to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. However, descriptions of the process of delivering PC in the APCU are limited. In this special report, we portray a single day with a series of patients whose care was managed at our APCU to illustrate the unique components of an APCU that allow holistic care for patients with multiple complex medical and psychosocial issues.
Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and Innovation Climate: the Role of LMX Differentiation
Authors: Tordera Núria , González-Romá Vicente 
Published: October 2013

AbstractLeader-member Exchange (LMX) theory has been shown to be one of the most compelling theories for understanding the effects of leadership on organizational behavior. This theory proposes that leaders establish differentiated relationships with each of their subordinates according to the exchanges produced between them. Recently, the concept of LMX differentiation has been introduced into the theory to extend research from the dyadic to the group level. The present paper uses a longitudinal design to analyze the moderator role of LMX differentiation in the relationship between mean LMX and innovation climate in a sample of 24 healthcare teams. The results showed no direct effects of mean LMX on changes in innovation climate over time. However, they provide support for the moderator effect of LMX differentiation in this relationship, as it was stronger when LMX differentiation was low than when it was high.
Application of Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling to Predict Acetaminophen Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics in Children
Authors: Jiang X‐L , Zhao P , Barrett JS , Lesko LJ , Schmidt S 
Published: October 2013

Acetaminophen (APAP) is a widely used analgesic and antipyretic drug that undergoes extensive phase I and II metabolism. To better understand the kinetics of this process and to characterize the dynamic changes in metabolism and pharmacokinetics (PK) between children and adults, we developed a physiologically based PK (PBPK) model for APAP integrating in silico, in vitro, and in vivo PK data into a single model. The model was developed and qualified for adults and subsequently expanded for application in children by accounting for maturational changes from birth. Once developed and qualified, it was able to predict clinical PK data in neonates (0–28 days), infants (29 days to <2 years), children (2 to <12 years), and adolescents (12–17 years) following intravenous and orally administered APAP. This approach represents a general strategy for projecting drug exposure in children, in the absence of pediatric PK information, using previous drug‐ and system‐specific information of adults and children through PBPK modeling.CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology (2013) 2, e80; doi:10.1038/psp.2013.55; advance online publication 16 October 2013
Optical waves in a gradient negative-index lens of a half-infinite length
Authors: Ding Yi S. , Chan C. T. , Wang R. P. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractMaterials with negative permittivity and permeability can overcome the diffraction limit, thereby making the sub-wavelength imaging possible. In this study, we analyze the effects of gradient index on a half-infinite perfect lens. We assume that the sharp interface between the vacuum and the negative-index material is replaced by a smooth transition profile such that the index gradually changing from positive to negative. Interestingly, we find that if the graded index profile is modeled by a tanh function, we can have closed-form analytical solutions for this problem, which is a distinct advantage as numerical solutions are not accurate for evanescent waves with large transverse wave vectors. By analyzing the analytical formulas we confirm that a nonzero total absorption can occur even for a near-zero absorption coefficient in the steady-state limit and the image plane contains multiple sub-wavelength images of an object.
Universal phonon mean free path spectra in crystalline semiconductors at high temperature
Authors: Freedman Justin P. , Leach Jacob H. , Preble Edward A. , Sitar Zlatko , Davis Robert F. , Malen Jonathan A. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractThermal conductivity in non-metallic crystalline materials results from cumulative contributions of phonons that have a broad range of mean free paths. Here we use high frequency surface temperature modulation that generates non-diffusive phonon transport to probe the phonon mean free path spectra of GaAs, GaN, AlN and 4H-SiC at temperatures near 80 K, 150 K, 300 K and 400 K. We find that phonons with MFPs greater than 230 ± 120 nm, 1000 ± 200 nm, 2500 ± 800 nm and 4200 ± 850 nm contribute 50% of the bulk thermal conductivity of GaAs, GaN, AlN and 4H-SiC near room temperature. By non-dimensionalizing the data based on Umklapp scattering rates of phonons, we identified a universal phonon mean free path spectrum in small unit cell crystalline semiconductors at high temperature.
Observation of T2-like coherent optical phonons in epitaxial Ge2Sb2Te5/GaSb(001) films
Authors: Shalini A. , Liu Y. , Al-Jarah U.A.S. , Srivastava G. P. , Wright C. D. , Katmis F. , Braun W. , Hicken R. J. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractThe phonon spectrum of Ge2Sb2Te5is a signature of its crystallographic structure and underlies the phase transition process used in memory applications. Epitaxial materials allow coherent optical phonons to be studied in femtosecond anisotropic reflectance measurements. A dominant phonon mode with frequency of 3.4 THz has been observed in epitaxial Ge2Sb2Te5grown on GaSb(001). The dependence of signal strength upon pump and probe polarization is described by a theory of transient stimulated Raman scattering that accounts for the symmetry of the crystallographic structure through use of the Raman tensor. The 3.4 THz mode has the character of the 3 dimensional T2mode expected for the Ohpoint group, confirming that the underlying crystallographic structure is cubic. New modes are observed in both Ge2Sb2Te5and GaSb after application of large pump fluences and are interpreted as 1 and 2 dimensional modes associated with segregation of Sb.
Assessing Gestures in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Ellawadi Allison Bean , Weismer Susan Ellis 
Published: October 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine whether scoring of the gestures
point,
give,
and
show
were correlated across measurement tools used to assess gesture production in children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Method

Seventy-eight children with ASD between the ages of 23 and 37 months participated. Correlational analyses were conducted to determine whether performance of 3 key gestures related to joint attention and behavior regulation (
point, give, show
) were correlated across 3 different measurement tools: the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, the Early Social Communication Scale, and the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Gestures. To establish whether different measures were related at different points in development, children were subdivided into 2 groups based on their expressive language levels.

Results
The scoring of gesture performance was not entirely consistent across assessment methods. The score that a child received appeared to be influenced by theoretical perspective, gesture definition, and assessment methodology, as well as developmental level.

Conclusion
When assessing the gestures of children with ASD, clinicians should determine what aspects of gesture they are interested in profiling, gather data from multiple sources, and consider performance in light of the measurement tool.
Language Learning of Children With Typical Development Using a Deductive Metalinguistic Procedure
Authors: Finestack Lizbeth H. 
Published: October 2013

Purpose
In the current study, the author aimed to determine whether 4- to 6-year-old typically developing children possess requisite problem-solving and language abilities to produce, generalize, and retain a novel verb inflection when taught using an explicit, deductive teaching procedure.

Method
Study participants included a cross-sectional sample of 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old children with typical cognitive and language development. The 66 participants were randomly assigned to either a deductive or inductive teaching condition in which they were taught a novel gender morphological inflection across 4 sessions. Learning was assessed on the basis of performance on learning, generalization, and maintenance probes.

Results
Across all age groups, children were more likely to successfully use the novel gender form when taught using the deductive procedure than if taught using the inductive procedure (Φ range: .33–.73). Analyses within each age group revealed a robust effect for the 5-year-old children, with less consistent effects across the other age groups.

Conclusions
Study results suggest that 4- to 6-year-old children with typical language and cognitive abilities are able to make use of a deductive language teaching procedure when learning a novel gender inflection. Evidence also suggests that this effect is driven by expressive and receptive language ability.
Comparison of Vocal Loading Parameters in Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers
Authors: Remacle Angélique , Morsomme Dominique , Finck Camille 
Published: October 2013

Purpose
Although a global picture exists of teachers' voice demands in general, few studies have compared specific groups of teachers to determine whether some are more at risk than others. This study compared the vocal loadings of kindergarten and elementary school teachers; professional and nonprofessional vocal load were determined for both groups.

Method
Twelve kindergarten and 20 elementary school female teachers without voice problems were monitored during 1 workweek using the Ambulatory Phonation Monitor. Vocal loading parameters analyzed were F0, SPL, time dose, distance dose, and cycle dose.

Results
Comparisons between the groups showed significantly higher cycle dose and distance dose for kindergarten teachers than for elementary school teachers, in both professional and nonprofessional environments. Professional and nonprofessional voice use comparisons showed significant differences for all parameters, indicating that vocal load was higher in the professional environment for both groups.

Conclusions
The higher vocal doses measured in kindergarten teachers suggest that particular attention should be paid to this specific group of teachers. Although nonprofessional vocal load is lower than professional vocal load, it is important to take both into account because of their cumulative effects.
Traumatic Lumbosacral Spondyloptosis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Akesen Burak , Mutlu Müren , Kara Kürşat , Aydınlı Ufuk 
Published: October 2013

Study Design Case report and review of the literature. Objective To report a case of traumatic L5–S1 spondyloptosis and review the literature. Method A 28-year-old man presented with severe low back pain, numbness at the soles of feet, and bowel and bladder dysfunction. Two days before admission, a tree trunk fell on his back while he was seated. A two-stage posterior-anterior procedure was performed. At the first stage, posterior decompression, reduction, and fusion with instrumentation were performed. At the second stage, which was performed 6 days after the first stage, the patient underwent anterior lumbar interbody fusion. The patient received physical therapy 1 week after the second stage. Results The patient's numbness improved immediately after the first posterior surgery. His fecal and urinary incontinence improved 6 months after discharge. He has been pain-free for a year and has returned to work. Conclusion A PubMed search was performed using the following keywords: lumbosacral spondyloptosis, lumbosacral dislocation, and L5–S1 traumatic dislocation. The search returned only nine reported cases of traumatic spondyloptosis. Traumatic spondyloptosis at the lumbosacral junction is a rare ailment that should be suspected in cases of high, direct, and posterior impact on the low lumbar area, and surgical treatment should be the standard choice of care.
Experiments with a Novel Content-Based Image Retrieval Software: Can We Eliminate Classification Systems in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis?
Authors: Menon K. Venugopal , Kumar Dinesh V.P. , Thomas Tessamma 
Published: October 2013

Study Design Preliminary evaluation of new tool. Objective To ascertain whether the newly developed content-based image retrieval (CBIR) software can be used successfully to retrieve images of similar cases of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) from a database to help plan treatment without adhering to a classification scheme. Methods Sixty-two operated cases of AIS were entered into the newly developed CBIR database. Five new cases of different curve patterns were used as query images. The images were fed into the CBIR database that retrieved similar images from the existing cases. These were analyzed by a senior surgeon for conformity to the query image. Results Within the limits of variability set for the query system, all the resultant images conformed to the query image. One case had no similar match in the series. The other four retrieved several images that were matching with the query. No matching case was left out in the series. The postoperative images were then analyzed to check for surgical strategies. Broad guidelines for treatment could be derived from the results. More precise query settings, inclusion of bending films, and a larger database will enhance accurate retrieval and better decision making. Conclusion The CBIR system is an effective tool for accurate documentation and retrieval of scoliosis images. Broad guidelines for surgical strategies can be made from the postoperative images of the existing cases without adhering to any classification scheme.
Multiplatform single-sample estimates of transcriptional activation
Authors: Piccolo Stephen R. , Withers Michelle R. , Francis Owen E. , Bild Andrea H. , Johnson W. Evan 
Published: October 2013

SignificanceWe present our Universal exPression Code (UPC) approach for deriving “barcodes,” which estimate the active/inactive state of genes in a sample. UPCs normalize for technological variance and standardize data so they can be combined across microarray and RNA-sequencing experiments with high concordance. Because our method is applied to one sample at a time and thus bypasses the need to standardize samples together, it is distinctively suitable for situations in which samples arrive serially rather than in batches. We demonstrate our method’s utility in various biomedical research applications and compare against technology-specific approaches.
Comparing a simple theoretical model for protein folding with all-atom molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Henry Eric R. , Best Robert B. , Eaton William A. 
Published: October 2013

Significance
Although protein folding has been studied extensively by both theory and simulations, there have been very few attempts to test theoretical models by comparison with properties actually measured in equilibrium and kinetic experiments or with folding mechanisms observed in fully atomistic simulations. Here we compare the folding mechanisms of an Ising-like model that quantitatively explains a wide range of experimental data with fully atomistic simulations from the Shaw group. Not only are the simplifying assumptions of the theoretical model consistent with the simulations, but the folding mechanisms are remarkably similar. One of the key assumptions, that the 3D structure of the folded protein determines folding mechanisms, is strongly supported by the analysis in the accompanying paper by Best et al. (16).
Drug resistance confounding prion therapeutics
Authors: Berry David B. , Lu Duo , Geva Michal , Watts Joel C. , Bhardwaj Sumita , Oehler Abby , Renslo Adam R. , DeArmond Stephen J. , Prusiner Stanley B. , Giles Kurt 
Published: October 2013

Significance
As people live longer, the prevalence and economic impact of neurodegenerative diseases rise. No cures or effective treatments exist for any of these fatal disorders, so identifying potential therapeutics that extend survival in animal models is vital. Many neurodegenerative illnesses have been shown to be caused by the accumulation of self-propagating misfolded proteins—the hallmark of prion diseases. We report the efficacy of 2-aminothiazoles, which were identified in cell-based screens as antiprion compounds, in extending the lives of prion-infected animals. Efficacy was limited by the development of drug-resistant prions, which is likely to have important implications for creating therapeutics in many different neurodegenerative diseases.