bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
ABO-incompatible heart transplants
Authors: Hageman M , Michaud N , Chinnappan I , Klein T , Mettler B 
Published: June 2014

A month-old baby girl with blood type O positive received a donor heart organ from a donor with blood type B. This was the first institutional ABO-incompatible heart transplant. Infants listed for transplantation may be considered for an ABO-incompatible heart transplant based on their antibody levels and age. The United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) protocol is infants under 24 months with titers less than or equal to 1:4.1 This recipient’s anti-A and anti-B antibodies were monitored with titer assays to determine their levels; antibody levels less than 1:4 are acceptable pre-transplant in order to proceed with donor and transplant arrangements.1 Immediately prior to initiating cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), a complete whole body exchange transfusion of at least two-times the patient’s circulating blood volume was performed with packed red blood cells (pRBC), fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and 25% albumin. Titer assays were sent two minutes after initiation of full CPB and then hourly until the cross-clamp was removed. Institutionally, reperfusion of the donor heart is not restored until the antibody level from the titer assay is known and reported as less than 1:4; failing to achieve an immulogically tolerant recipient will provide conditions for hyperacute rejection. The blood collected during the transfusion exchange was immediately processed through a cell saver so the pRBC’s could be re-infused to the patient during CPB, as necessary. The remainder of the transplant was performed in the same fashion as an ABO-compatible heart transplant. The patient has shown no signs of rejection following transplantation.
Endovascular management of proximal lower limb deep venous thrombosis – A prospective study with six-month follow-up
Authors: Patra S , Srinivas BC , Nagesh CM , Reddy B , Manjunath CN 
Published: June 2014

Background Catheter-directed thrombolysis with assisted mechanical thrombolysis is the standard of medical care for proximal deep vein thrombosis. We studied the immediate and intermediate (six months) safety and effectiveness of catheter-directed thrombolysis in patients with proximal lower limb deep vein thrombosis. Methodology Thirty consecutive patients aged between 20 and 70 years with proximal lower limb deep vein thrombosis formed the study group. Catheter-directed thrombolysis was done with streptokinase infuse through a catheter kept in the ipsilateral popliteal vein. Unfractionated heparin was given along with streptokinase. Mechanical thromboaspiration using guiding catheter was performed in addition to thrombolytic therapy. After six months, post-thrombotic syndrome and deep venous patency were assessed by using Villalta scale and duplex ultrasound, respectively. Results Thirty patients with proximal lower limb deep vein thrombosis were treated with catheter-directed thrombolysis. Mean age of the study patients was 41.7 ± 15 years. Mean duration of illness was 13.3 ± 12 days. The mean duration of thrombolysis was 4.5 ± 1.3 days. Grade III (complete) lysis was achieved in 10 (33%) and Grade II (50–90%) lysis in 20 (67%) of patients. Patients with significant residual lesion in Grade II lysis following catheter-directed thrombolysis underwent percutaneous transluminal angioplasty alone (12/20) or venous stenting (8/20). All patients improved clinically following catheter-directed thrombolysis or assisted catheter-directed thrombolysis. Four patients (13%) developed pulmonary embolism during course of hospital stay and among them two (6.5%) patients died. Eleven patients (37%) had minor bleeding or hematoma at local site, and seven (23%) developed anemia requiring blood transfusion and four (13%) patients had thrombocytopenia. After six months, iliofemoral patency was found in 20 (72%) and post-thrombotic syndrome was seen in six (21%) patients. Two (6.5%) patients died during follow-up due to nephrotic syndrome and carcinoma breast. Conclusion Catheter-directed thrombolysis and conventional manual aspiration thrombectomy are an effective treatment for proximal lower extremity deep vein thrombosis with good short and intermediate outcome.
Multi-disciplinary team meetings in stroke rehabilitation: an observation study and conceptual framework
Authors: Tyson SF , Burton L , McGovern A 
Published: June 2014

Objective: To explore how multi-disciplinary team meetings operate in stroke rehabilitation. Design: Non-participant observation of multi-disciplinary team meetings and semi-structured interviews with attending staff. Setting and participants: Twelve meetings were observed (at least one at each site) and 18 staff (one psychologist, one social worker; four nurses; four physiotherapists four occupational therapists, two speech and language therapists, one stroke co-ordinator and one stroke ward manager) were interviewed in eight in-patient stroke rehabilitation units. Results: Multi-disciplinary team meetings in stroke rehabilitation were complex, demanding and highly varied. A model emerged which identified the main inputs to influence conduct of the meetings were personal contributions of the members and structure and format of the meetings. These were mediated by the team climate and leadership skills of the chair. The desired outputs; clinical decisions and the attributes of apparently effective meetings were identified by the staff. A notable difference between the meetings that staff considered effective and those that were not, was their structure and format. Successful meetings tended to feature a set agenda, structured documentation; formal use of measurement tools; pre-meeting preparation and skilled chairing. These features were often absent in meetings perceived to be ineffective. Conclusions: The main features of operation of multi-disciplinary team meetings have been identified which will enable assessment tools and interventions to improve effectiveness to be developed.
Irradiation enhances expression of cxcr4 in murine glioma cells via HIF-1α-independent pathway
Authors: Zhou Wei , Xu Yangyang , Li Xingang , Gao Ge , Jiang Zheng , Shao Zhenyu 
Published: June 2014

Objective To investigate levels of chemokine (C–X–C motif) receptor 4 (cxcr4) mRNA and protein in X-irradiated glioma cells. Methods Murine malignant glioma GL261 cells transfected with hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α miRNA or control miRNA were irradiated with X-radiation. Cxcr4 mRNA and protein were analysed using real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively. Results Levels of cxcr4 protein in GL261 cells increased in a radiation dose-dependent manner 48 h after 0, 5, 10 and 15 Gy X-irradiation. Irradiation of both HIF-1α knockdown cells and control cells resulted in a significant increase in cxcr4 mRNA levels, compared with nonirradiated cells, at 24 h after 5 Gy X-irradiation. Conclusion Irradiation enhances expression of cxcr4 in glioma cells via a HIF-1α-independent pathway.
Resting-state brain activation correlates with short-time antidepressant treatment outcome in drug-naïve patients with major depressive disorder
Authors: Wang Li-Juan , Kuang Wei-Hong , Xu Jia-Jun , Lei Du , Yang Yan-Chun 
Published: June 2014

Objective A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study (fMRI) to investigate pretreatment regional differences in brain function, in patients with early treatment responsive (ERD) and early treatment nonresponsive (END) major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods Patients with MDD and healthy control subjects underwent fMRI. Intrinsic neural activity at baseline was evaluated via amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF). Antidepressant treatment was initiated after MRI. All patients received selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor type antidepressants at the minimum effective dose. Results There were significant differences in brain activity between patients ( n = 56) and control subjects ( n = 33). Brain activity in patients with ERD ( n = 26) differed from those with END ( n = 30) in the lingual gyrus and cerebellum. There was a significantly correlation between activity in these regions and disease duration in patients with ERD, and with amelioration of depressive symptoms in patients with END. Conclusions Brain regions related to the neural mechanism of MDD early treatment outcome were identified. These regions may have important implications for the treatment of MDD.
Mitochondrial DNA damage is associated with damage accrual and disease duration in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Authors: López-López L , Nieves-Plaza M , del R Castro M , Font YM , Torres-Ramos CA , Vilá LM , Ayala-Peña S 
Published: June 2014

Objective To determine the extent of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients compared to healthy subjects and to determine the factors associated with mtDNA damage among SLE patients. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed in 86 SLE patients (per American College of Rheumatology classification criteria) and 86 healthy individuals matched for age and gender. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from subjects to assess the relative amounts of mtDNA damage. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay was used to measure the frequency of mtDNA lesions and mtDNA abundance. Socioeconomic-demographic features, clinical manifestations, pharmacologic treatment, disease activity, and damage accrual were determined. Statistical analyses were performed using t test, pairwise correlation, and Pearson’s chi-square test (or Fisher’s exact test) as appropriate. Results Among SLE patients, 93.0% were women. The mean (SD) age was 38.0 (10.4) years and the mean (SD) disease duration was 8.7 (7.5) years. SLE patients exhibited increased levels of mtDNA damage as shown by higher levels of mtDNA lesions and decreased mtDNA abundance as compared to healthy individuals. There was a negative correlation between disease damage and mtDNA abundance and a positive correlation between mtDNA lesions and disease duration. No association was found between disease activity and mtDNA damage. Conclusion PBMCs from SLE patients exhibited more mtDNA damage compared to healthy subjects. Higher levels of mtDNA damage were observed among SLE patients with major organ involvement and damage accrual. These results suggest that mtDNA damage have a potential role in the pathogenesis of SLE.
Immunoglobulin-like transcripts 6 (ILT6) polymorphism influences the anti-Ro60/52 autoantibody status in south Indian SLE patients
Authors: Devaraju P , Witte T , Schmidt RE , Gulati R , Negi VS 
Published: June 2014

Introduction Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disorder with complex etiology. Loss of immune tolerance against self-antigens results in activation of the immune system to produce autoantibodies, which in turn contribute to the clinical manifestations of the disease. Immune cells harbor a plethora of regulatory receptors. Immunoglobulin-like transcripts (ILTs) exhibit both immune activation and inhibitory properties. Genetic defects in genes encoding these receptors may predispose to development of autoimmune diseases secondary to loss of their function. The aim of our study was to analyze the presence or absence of the 6.7 kb segment in the ILT6 gene and its association with susceptibility to SLE and its different manifestations. Method A total of 188 SLE patients and 192 age-, sex similar-, ethnicity-matched controls were recruited. They were genotyped to test the presence or absence of the 6.7 kb segment of the ILT6 gene by polymerase chain reaction. Results The mutant allele lacking the 6.7 kb gene segment had an equal frequency in patients as well as controls (20% and 18%, respectively). The mutant allele was not associated with SLE or its clinical manifestations. However, the mutant allele was associated with the presence of anti-Ro60 ( p = 0.0005, OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.8–7.1) and anti-Ro52 ( p = 0.0027, OR 2.99, 95% CI 1.5–6.06) autoantibodies. Conclusion ILT6 deletion polymorphism does not appear to be a lupus susceptibility gene in South Indian Tamils, but may behave as a genetic modifier of autoantibody phenotype by influencing the production of anti-Ro60 and anti-Ro52 autoantibodies and thus indirectly contribute to autoimmune responses in SLE.
An Empirical Insight into Different Stages of Capital Budgeting
Authors: Batra Roopali , Verma Satish 
Published: June 2014

In today’s highly turbulent and volatile business environment where companies are exposed to a multitude of risks, only globally competitive and professionally managed companies can thrive and grow. In such a competitive environment, the capital budgeting decisions made by a company are critical to a firm’s long-term survival. Is the Indian corporate sector using theoretically sound and sophisticated capital budgeting techniques for decision making purposes? Are the Indian firms adopting risk analysis techniques for handling various risks in investments? These issues have been the focus of research studies over the past so many years. The most prevalent emphasis of previous capital budgeting surveys continues to be mainly on financial analysis and project selection stage of capital budgeting. The article reviews the past capital budgeting survey literature till the year 2012 and brings to light some of the neglected areas of capital budgeting. It is noticed that project definition and cash flow estimation (identification and development) (Stage I), project implementation (Stage III) and project review (post audit and control) (Stage IV) are the specifically neglected areas of the capital budgeting process. Further Indian studies encompassing the overall stages of capital budgeting process still remain relatively unexplored. The main aim of the present study is to not only provide an insight on the past literature, but also explore the CFOs opinions and perceptions about the relative difficulty and significance of different stages of capital budgeting in India, particularly in an era of full-fledged globalization and cutthroat competition, where companies are being exposed to various degrees of risk. The study is based on a primary survey of CFOs of 77 Indian companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange. The study further endeavours to evaluate the impact of different company related variables of size of capital budget, nature of industry, company age, CEO education and CEO age on the level of difficulty of different stages of capital budgeting.
The Long-Run Performance of Graded IPOs in the Indian Capital Market
Authors: Dhamija Sanjay , Arora Ravinder Kumar 
Published: June 2014

Initial public offering (IPO) grading was introduced in India as an additional tool to help the retail investors in making the investment decisions. The primary objective of this article is to establish the relation between the assigned grade and the long-term performance of the IPO. With a few exceptions, graded IPOs in the Indian capital market during 2007–2010 have underperformed the benchmark over the long run. There is a substantial variation in performance across grades. IPOs graded relatively higher have not performed better than those graded relatively lower. Mandatory grading of IPOs does not appear to serve the interests of investors. As IPO grading was introduced by the regulator six years back, not much literature is available in Indian context analyzing the relation between the IPO grade and the long-term performance of the IPO. This article establishes that in the present form IPO grading is not serving the interest of the retail investors for whose benefits it was introduced.
Stock Market Performance and Macroeconomic Factors: The Study of Indian Equity Market
Authors: Tripathi Vanita , Seth Ritika 
Published: June 2014

There has been an extensive debate on the relationship between real economy and stock market performance especially in the context of emerging markets. This article examines the causal relationships between the stock market performance and select macroeconomic variables in India, using monthly data from July 1997 to June 2011. We use factor analysis, ADF and PP Unit root tests, Regression, ARCH model, Granger causality and Johansen Co-integration test for data analysis. Impulse Response analysis has also been performed to check the response of stock market to shocks created in the real economy. We find a significant correlation among stock market indicators and macroeconomic factors. We identified three principal factors through Factor analysis viz Inflation, Interest rate and Exchange rate. The overall explanatory power of the regression model is 23.8%, 23.3% and 16.9% respectively for Sensex, Market capitalization and Market Turnover. There is uni directional causality from stock market to real economy. We find five co-integrating relationships between stock market and macro-economic variables. These results suggest that the stock prices movement is not only the result of behaviour of key macroeconomic variables but it is also one of the important reasons of movement in other macro dimension in the economy.
A multiple case study on the effects of temperamental traits in Chinese preschoolers learning English
Authors: Sun He , de Bot Kees , Steinkrauss Rasmus 
Published: June 2014

Aims: The current study tests Clarke’s (1999) findings on phases and variations of the English development of young second-language learners in a Chinese English as a Foreign Language setting and explores the cause of these variations under the following questions: 1) What verbal and non-verbal behavior can be observed in Chinese preschoolers in an English-learning classroom? 2) What variation can be observed among the children in such a class? 3) To what extent can the observed variation be interpreted on the basis of the children’s temperament? Methodology: Four Chinese children have been followed longitudinally in China and their developmental pattern and variation were compared with what has been found in Clarke’s study. The variation has been related to children’s different temperamental scores. Data and Analysis: The four three-year-old English learners in China were videoed and audio-recorded in class for five months. Their class data were transcribed with CLAN software and analyzed with SPSS software. Their temperamental information was provided by the parents by filling in the New York Longitudinal Study questionnaire. The temperamental traits were analyzed with the software MentalList 2. Findings: During the initial five months, the four Chinese preschoolers’ English-learning behavior developed from non-verbal reactions, such as non-verbal repetitions to verbal reactions, such as English responses, generally being in line with the first two phases outlined by Clarke. Children varied significantly in terms of time of entry into the verbal phase, in the extent of interaction with teachers and peers and in learning style. Temperamental traits such as adaptability and mood were found to be related to differences in development. A higher level of adaptation, a higher level of activity, more initial reactions and a positive mood were found to be related with more verbal and non-verbal repetitions and responses. A lower level of activity and fewer initial reactions were shown to be related to a smaller amount of verbal and non-verbal production. Finally, a negative mood and a higher threshold of responsiveness seem to have led to the teacher misreading a child’s needs and thus hampered that child’s motivation and incidental learning. Originality: Temperamental traits have been introduced into child foreign language development and successfully shown to capture the difference of children’s learning behaviors. Implications: Data on temperamental characteristics might enable the teachers to get to know the young learners more quickly and better and thus support their teaching and facilitate their teaching handover.
Carotid sinus malfunction presenting with presyncopal episodes during radiation therapy for head and neck cancer
Authors: Georgakopoulos John , Katsilieris John , Papaloucas Christos , Kelekis Nikolaos , Kouloulias Vassilis 
Published: June 2014

Lesson We report the case of a 67-year-old Caucasian man with unexplained presyncopal episodes during radiation therapy for oropharyngeal cancer.
Measuring the acute cardiovascular effects of shisha smoking: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Kadhum Murtaza , Jaffery Ali , Haq Adnaan , Bacon Jenny , Madden Brendan 
Published: June 2014

Objectives To investigate the acute cardiovascular effects of smoking shisha. Design A cross-sectional study was carried out in six shisha cafes. Participants smoked shisha for a period between 45 min (minimum) and 90 min (maximum). The same brand of tobacco and coal was used. Setting London, UK. Participants Participants were those who had ordered a shisha to smoke and consented to have their blood pressure, heart rate and carbon monoxide levels measured. Excluded subjects were those who had smoked shisha in the previous 24 h, who smoke cigarettes or who suffered from cardiorespiratory problems. Main outcome measures Blood pressure was measured using a sphygmomanometer. Pulse was measured by palpation of the radial artery. Carbon monoxide levels were obtained via a carbon monoxide monitor. These indices were measured before the participants began to smoke shisha and after they finished or when the maximum 90 min time period was reached. Results Mean arterial blood pressure increased from 96 mmHg to 108 mmHg ( p < 0.001). Heart rate increased from 77 to 91 bpm ( p < 0.001). Carbon monoxide increased from an average of 3 to 35 ppm ( p < 0.001). A correlation analysis showed no relationship between carbon monoxide and the other indices measured. Conclusion The acute heart rate, blood pressure and carbon monoxide levels were seen to rise significantly after smoking shisha. The weak correlation between carbon monoxide levels and the other variables suggests that carbon monoxide levels had not contributed to their significant increase.
Matriptase-2 is essential for hepcidin repression during fetal life and postnatal development in mice to maintain iron homeostasis
Authors: Willemetz Alexandra , Lenoir Anne , Deschemin Jean-Christophe , Lopez-Otin Carlos , Ramsay Andrew J. , Vaulont Sophie , Nicolas Gaël 
Published: June 2014

Key Points
Matriptase-2 is required for hepcidin suppression in fetuses and neonates to ensure iron mobilization to avoid iron deficiency and anemia. In matriptase-2–deficient mice, the constant developmental hyperhepcidinemia is not explained by increased level of hepatic hemojuvelin.