bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Optimal number of samples to test for institutional respiratory infection outbreaks in Ontario
Authors: PECI A. , MARCHAND-AUSTIN A. , WINTER A-J. , GUBBAY J. B. 
Published: November 2012

SUMMARYThe objective of this study was to determine the optimal number of respiratory samples per outbreak to be tested for institutional respiratory outbreaks in Ontario. We reviewed respiratory samples tested for respiratory viruses by multiplex PCR as part of outbreak investigations. We documented outbreaks that were positive for any respiratory viruses and for influenza alone. At least one virus was detected in 1454 (85·2%) outbreaks. The ability to detect influenza or any respiratory virus increased as the number of samples tested increased. When analysed by chronological order of when samples were received at the laboratory, percent positivity of outbreaks testing positive for any respiratory virus including influenza increased with the number of samples tested up to the ninth sample, with minimal benefit beyond the fourth sample tested. Testing up to four respiratory samples per outbreak was sufficient to detect viral organisms and resulted in significant savings for outbreak investigations.
Complex visual hallucinations in a Parkinson patient: don't blame James if it's Charles's fault
Authors: Segers Kurt 
Published: November 2012

ABSTRACTA patient with a history of Parkinson's disease and severe bilateral peripheral vision loss due to vitreous hemorrhages had complex visual hallucinations that persisted for three days and appeared every morning on awakening. The persistent nature of these hallucinations, the patient's preserved insight, and the presence of severe visual impairment was suggestive for Charles Bonnet syndrome rather than Parkinson-related hallucinations. A treatment with carbamazepine was started and proved to be successful. Physicians treating Parkinson patients should be familiar with Charles Bonnet syndrome and consider it as a potential alternative etiology for visual hallucinations, especially when the patient has severely impaired vision and when the hallucinations are sustained during wakefulness.
MODELLING THE INTRODUCTION OF WOLBACHIA INTO AEDES AEGYPTI MOSQUITOES TO REDUCE DENGUE TRANSMISSION
Authors: NDII MEKSIANIS Z. , HICKSON ROSLYN I. , MERCER GEOFFRY N. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractInfecting Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with the bacteria Wolbachia has been proposed as an innovative new strategy to reduce the transmission of dengue fever. Field trials are currently being undertaken in Queensland, Australia. However, few mathematical models have been developed to consider the persistence of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in the wild. This paper develops a mathematical model to determine the persistence of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes by considering the competition between Wolbachia-infected and non-Wolbachia mosquitoes. The model has four steady states that are biologically feasible: all mosquitoes dying out, only non-Wolbachia mosquitoes surviving, and two steady states where non-Wolbachia and Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes coexist. The stability of the steady states is determined with respect to the key parameters in the mosquito life cycle. A global sensitivity analysis of the model is also conducted. The results show that the persistence of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes is dominated by the reproductive rate, death rate, maturation rate and maternal transmission. For the parameter values where Wolbachia persists, it dominates the population, and hence the introduction of Wolbachia has great potential to reduce dengue transmission.
FROM CAUSAL MODELS TO COUNTERFACTUAL STRUCTURES
Authors: HALPERN JOSEPH Y. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractGalles & Pearl (l998) claimed that “for recursive models, the causal model framework does not add any restrictions to counterfactuals, beyond those imposed by Lewis’s [possible-worlds] framework.” This claim is examined carefully, with the goal of clarifying the exact relationship between causal models and Lewis’s framework. Recursive models are shown to correspond precisely to a subclass of (possible-world) counterfactual structures. On the other hand, a slight generalization of recursive models, models where all equations have unique solutions, is shown to be incomparable in expressive power to counterfactual structures, despite the fact that the Galles and Pearl arguments should apply to them as well. The problem with the Galles and Pearl argument is identified: an axiom that they viewed as irrelevant, because it involved disjunction (which was not in their language), is not irrelevant at all.
Mismatch Negativity Responses in Children With a Diagnosis of Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
Authors: Froud Karen , Khamis-Dakwar Reem 
Published: November 2012

Purpose
To evaluate whether a hypothesis suggesting that apraxia of speech results from phonological overspecification could be relevant for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS).

Method

High-density EEG was recorded from 5 children with CAS and 5 matched controls, ages 5–8 years, with and without CAS, as they listened to randomized sequences of CV syllables in two oddball paradigms: phonemic (/ba/, /pa/) and allophonic (/pa/, /p
h
a/).

Results
In the phonemic contrast condition, mismatch negativity (MMN) responses to oddball sounds were observed for the typically developing (comparison) group but not the CAS group, although a component similar to an immature mismatch response was apparent. The allophonic contrast did not elicit MMN responses in the comparison group, but in the CAS group, an MMN-like response was observed.

Conclusion
The authors propose that these preliminary findings are consistent with a view of CAS as a disorder that not only affects motor planning but also has a phonological component.
Synthesized Speech Intelligibility and Early Preschool-Age Children: Comparing Accuracy for Single-Word Repetition With Repeated Exposure
Authors: Pinkoski-Ball Carrie L. , Reichle Joe , Munson Benjamin 
Published: November 2012

Purpose
This investigation examined the effect of repeated exposure to novel and repeated spoken words in typical environments on the intelligibility of 2 synthesized voices and human recorded speech in preschools.

Method
Eighteen preschoolers listened to and repeated single words presented in human-recorded speech, DECtalk Paul, and AT&T Voice Michael during 5 experimental sessions. Stimuli consisted of repeated and novel words presented in each speech output condition during each session. Sessions took place in the presence of typically occurring noise in classroom or home settings.

Results
There was a significant main effect for voice as participants accurately identified significantly more words in the human-recorded speech and AT&T Voice than in the DECtalk speech output condition. When averaged across speech output conditions, children increased their accuracy as they participated in additional sessions. There was a statistically significant interaction between session and voice. DECtalk had a slightly larger effect of session than did AT&T Voice and human-recorded speech.
Impact of Typical Aging and Parkinson’s Disease on the Relationship Among Breath Pausing, Syntax, and Punctuation
Authors: Huber Jessica E. , Darling Meghan , Francis Elaine J. , Zhang Dabao 
Published: November 2012

PurposeThe present study examines the impact of typical aging and Parkinson’s disease (PD) on the relationship among breath pausing, syntax, and punctuation.MethodThirty young adults, 25 typically aging older adults, and 15 individuals with PD participated. Fifteen participants were age- and sex-matched to the individuals with PD. Participants read a passage aloud 2 times. Utterance length, location of breath pauses relative to punctuation and syntax, and number of disfluencies and mazes were measured.ResultsOlder adults produced shorter utterances, a smaller percentage of breaths at major boundaries, and a greater percentage of breaths at minor boundaries than did young adults, but there was no significant difference between older adults and individuals with PD on these measures. Individuals with PD took a greater percentage of breaths at locations unrelated to a syntactic boundary than did control participants. Individuals with PD produced more mazes than did control participants. Breaths were significantly correlated with punctuation for all groups.ConclusionsChanges in breath-pausing patterns in older adults are likely due to changes in respiratory physiology. However, in individuals with PD, such changes appear to result from a combination of changes to respiratory physiology and cognition.
Flaming to Reduce Inocula of the Boxwood Blight Pathogen, Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum, in Field Soil
Authors: Dart Norman L. , Arrington Sarah M. , Weeda Sarah M. 
Published: November 2012

Infested plant tissue can play a significant role in the epidemiology of boxwood blight in ornamental nursery systems. In an effort to reduce inoculum levels in an infested field in Carroll Co., Virginia, symptomatic plants were removed, collected into a pile, and destroyed by burning using a propane push flamer. The authors investigated whether soil flaming would be effective to reduce viable inocula of C. pseudonaviculatum in the upper layer of soil. Accepted for publication 4 October 2012. Published 26 October 2012.
The outcome of pregnancies in women with cystic fibrosis—single centre experience 1998–2011
Authors: Thorpe‐Beeston JG , Madge S , Gyi K , Hodson M , Bilton D 
Published: November 2012

ObjectiveTo describe the maternal and fetal outcomes of pregnancies in women with cystic fibrosis.DesignRetrospective study.SettingSingle obstetric hospital and adult cystic fibrosis centre.MethodsRetrospective case‐note review of pregnant women with cystic fibrosis referred for antenatal care and delivery.Main outcome measuresMaternal and fetal outcomes, mode of delivery, lung function and pregnancy complications.ResultsForty‐eight pregnancies were studied in 41 women. There were two miscarriages, 44 singleton pregnancies and two sets of twins. All babies were liveborn and survived. The mean gestational age at delivery was 35.9 ± 3.3 weeks. There were no fetal abnormalities or terminations of pregnancy. The median birthweight centile was 31.9 (interquartile range 14.9–55.6). Twenty‐five (52.1%) of the women had pancreatic insufficiency and 17 (35.4%) required insulin. There was a positive correlation between booking predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and gestational age at delivery (P < 0.01). Women with FEV1 ≤60% were more likely to deliver earlier and by caesarean section compared with women with FEV1 >60% (35.0 ± 3.2 weeks versus 37.1 ± 3.0 weeks; P = 0.02 and 75.0% versus 25.0%; P = 0.01). Three of the seven women with an FEV1 <40% died within 18 months of delivery. Four of the eight women with FEV1 40–50% died between 2 and 8 years after delivery.ConclusionPregnancy for women with cystic fibrosis is possible and results in favourable maternal and fetal outcomes, but the incidence of preterm delivery and caesarean section is increased. Women with pre‐existing poor lung function should be counselled antenatally to ensure that they understand the implications of their shortened life‐expectancy and parenthood.
Comparison between MICRO–CARD–FISH and 16S rRNA gene clone libraries to assess the active versus total bacterial community in the coastal Arctic
Authors: De Corte Daniele , Sintes Eva , Yokokawa Taichi , Herndl Gerhard J. 
Published: November 2012

SummaryWe collected surface‐ and deep‐water samples (maximum depth 300 m) during the spring–summer transition in the coastal Arctic along a transect in the Kongsfjorden (Ny‐Ålesund, Spitsbergen, Norway) to determine the structure of the active versus total marine bacterioplankton community using different approaches. Catalysed reporter deposition–fluorescence in situ hybridization combined with microautoradiography (MICRO–CARD–FISH) was used to determine the abundance and activity of different bacterial groups. The bacterial communities were dominated by members of Alphaproteobacteria followed by Bacteroidetes, whereas Gammaproteobacteria were present at low abundance but exhibited a high percentage of active cells taking up leucine. The clone libraries of 16S rRNA genes (16S rDNA) and 16S rRNA from two different depths were used to decipher the bacterial community structure. Independently of the type of clone libraries analysed (16S rDNA‐ or 16S rRNA‐based), four major and four minor taxonomic groups were detected. The bacterioplankton community was mainly dominated at both the DNA and the RNA levels by Alphaproteobacteria followed by Gammaproteobacteria. The Rhodobacteriaceae were the most abundant members of the Alphaproteobacteria in both DNA and RNA clone libraries, followed by the SAR11 clade, which was only detectable at the 16S rDNA level. Moreover, there was a general agreement between the results obtained with both techniques, although some specific phylogenetic groups, such as SAR11 and Roseobacter, deviated substantially from this relation. These discrepancies are most likely linked to different physiological states among members of the bacterioplankton community. Combined, MICRO–CARD–FISH and DNA and RNA clone libraries, however, allowed for accurately quantifying different bacterial groups and their activity as well as a detailed phylogenetic insight into the fractions of present versus metabolically active bacterial groups.
Chronic ketamine exposure induces permanent impairment of brain functions in adolescent cynomolgus monkeys
Authors: Sun Lin , Li Qi , Li Qing , Zhang Yuzhe , Liu Dexiang , Jiang Hong , Pan Fang , Yew David T. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractKetamine, a non‐competitive N‐methyl‐D‐aspartic acid receptor antagonist, has emerged as an increasingly popular drug among young drug abusers worldwide. Available evidence suggests that ketamine produces acute impairments of working, episodic and semantic memory along with psychotogenic and dissociative effects when a single dose is given to healthy volunteers. However, understanding of the possible chronic effects of ketamine on behavior, cognitive anomalies and neurochemical homeostasis is still incomplete. Although previous human studies demonstrate that ketamine could impair a range of cognitive skills, investigation using non‐human models would permit more precise exploration of the neurochemical mechanisms which may underlie the detrimental effects. The current study examined the abnormalities in behavior (move, walk, jump and climb) and apoptosis of the prefrontal cortex using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated biotinylated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and apoptotic markers, including Bax, Bcl‐2 and caspase‐3 in adolescent male cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) after 1 or 6 months of sub‐anesthetic ketamine administration (1 mg/kg, i.v.). Results showed that ketamine decreased locomotor activity and increased cell death in the prefrontal cortex of monkeys with 6 months of ketamine treatment when compared with the control monkeys. Such decreases were not found in the 1‐month ketamine‐treated group. Our study suggested that ketamine administration of recreational dose in monkeys might produce permanent and irreversible deficits in brain functions due to neurotoxic effects, involving the activation of apoptotic pathways in the prefrontal cortex.
The Important but Underappreciated Transgastric Right Ventricular Inflow View for Transesophageal Echocardiographic Evaluation of Cardiac Implantable Device Infections
Authors: Allred Clint , Crandall Mark , Auseon Alex 
Published: November 2012

Device infection is a potential complication of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices. We report a case of a 40‐year‐old man with nonischemic cardiomyopathy, status post biventricular implantable cardiac defilbrillator placement on continuous home dobutamine, who presented with methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. Transesophageal echocardiography showed a 2.4 cm vegetation near the right ventricular (RV) apex that was only seen in the transgastric RV inflow view. This case demonstrates an atypical distal location for a vegetation and illustrates the importance of obtaining multiple views, including the transgastric RV inflow view, when evaluating for device wire vegetations.
Nocebo as a potential confounding factor in clinical trials for Parkinson's disease treatment: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Stathis P. , Smpiliris M. , Konitsiotis S. , Mitsikostas D. D. 
Published: November 2012

Background and purposeNocebo refers to adverse events (AEs) generated by patient's negative expectations that medical treatment will likely harm instead of heal and can be assessed in placebo‐controlled randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We examined AEs following placebo administration in RCTs for Parkinson's disease (PD).MethodsAfter a systematic Medline search for RCTs for PD pharmacologic treatments published between 2000 and 2010, we assessed percentages of placebo‐treated patients reporting at least one AE or discontinuing due to placebo intolerance and searched for factors influencing nocebo's extent.ResultsData were extracted from 41 RCTs fulfilling search criteria. Of 3544 placebo‐treated patients, 64.7% (95% CI: 53.6–74.4) reported at least one AE and 8.8% (95% CI: 6.8–11.5) discontinued placebo treatment due to intolerance. The number of AEs per 100 person‐months was 25.9 (95% CI: 16.8–39.8). Nocebo dropout rate was positively related to study population size and year of publication. Increased number of AEs per 100 person‐months was negatively correlated with the duration of treatment. AE rates, dropout rates, and AEs per 100 person‐months in placebo‐ and active drug‐treated patients were strongly correlated (r = 0.941, 0.695, and 0.824, respectively).ConclusionsOur analysis indicates a significant dropout rate related to nocebo in trials for PD treatment. Adherence and efficacy may be adversely affected with additional implications for clinical practice.
Do increased summer precipitation and N deposition alter fine root dynamics in a Mojave Desert ecosystem?
Authors: Verburg Paul S. J. , Young Andrew C. , Stevenson Bryan A. , Glanzmann Isabelle , Arnone John A. , Marion Giles M. , Holmes Christopher , Nowak Robert S. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractClimate change is expected to impact the amount and distribution of precipitation in the arid southwestern United States. In addition, nitrogen (N) deposition is increasing in these regions due to increased urbanization. Responses of belowground plant activity to increases in soil water content and N have shown inconsistent patterns between biomes. In arid lands, plant productivity is limited by water and N availability so it is expected that changes in these factors will affect fine root dynamics. The objectives of this study were to quantify the effects of increased summer precipitation and N deposition on fine root dynamics in a Mojave Desert ecosystem during a 2‐year field experiment using minirhizotron measurements. Root length density, production, and mortality were measured in field plots in the Mojave Desert receiving three 25 mm summer rain events and/or 40 kg N ha−1 yr−1. Increased summer precipitation and N additions did not have an overall significant effect on any of the measured root parameters. However, differences in winter precipitation resulting from interannual variability in rainfall appeared to affect root parameters with root production and turnover increasing following a wet winter most likely due to stimulation of annual grasses. In addition, roots were distributed more deeply in the soil following the wet winter. Root length density was initially higher under canopies compared to canopy interspaces, but converged toward the end of the study. In addition, roots tended to be distributed more deeply into the soil in canopy interspace areas. Results from this study indicated that increased summer precipitation and N deposition in response to climate change and urbanization are not likely to affect fine root dynamics in these Mojave Desert ecosystems, despite studies showing aboveground plant physiological responses to these environmental perturbations. However, changes in the amount and possibly distribution of winter precipitation may affect fine root dynamics.
Evasion of CO2 from streams – The dominant component of the carbon export through the aquatic conduit in a boreal landscape
Authors: Wallin Marcus B. , Grabs Thomas , Buffam Ishi , Laudon Hjalmar , Ågren Anneli , Öquist Mats G. , Bishop Kevin 
Published: November 2012

AbstractEvasion of gaseous carbon (C) from streams is often poorly quantified in landscape C budgets. Even though the potential importance of the capillary network of streams as C conduits across the land–water–atmosphere interfaces is sometimes mentioned, low‐order streams are often left out of budget estimates due to being poorly characterized in terms of gas exchange and even areal surface coverage. We show that evasion of C is greater than all the total dissolved C (both organic and inorganic) exported downstream in the waters of a boreal landscape. In this study evasion of carbon dioxide (CO2) from running waters within a 67 km2 boreal catchment was studied. During a 4 year period (2006–2009) 13 streams were sampled on 104 different occasions for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). From a locally determined model of gas exchange properties, we estimated the daily CO2 evasion with a high‐resolution (5 × 5 m) grid‐based stream evasion model comprising the entire ~100 km stream network. Despite the low areal coverage of stream surface, the evasion of CO2 from the stream network constituted 53% (5.0 (±1.8) g C m−2 yr−1) of the entire stream C flux (9.6 (±2.4) g C m−2 yr−1) (lateral as DIC, DOC, and vertical as CO2). In addition, 72% of the total CO2 loss took place already in the first‐ and second‐order streams. This study demonstrates the importance of including CO2 evasion from low‐order boreal streams into landscape C budgets as it more than doubled the magnitude of the aquatic conduit for C from this landscape. Neglecting this term will consequently result in an overestimation of the terrestrial C sink strength in the boreal landscape.