bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Risk of Infection Associated With Intra-arterial Catheters for Cancer Chemotherapy
Authors: Raad Issam , Abi-Said Dima , Carrasco Cesar H. , Umphrey Jan , Hill Lou Anne 
Published: September 2009

AbstractObjective:To determine the frequency of, and risk factors for, infections associated with intra-arterial catheters used for cancer chemotherapy.Methods:Between September 1992 and September 1995, we conducted a surveillance study of all 807 intra-arterial catheters placed for chemotherapy at our center. The insertion site was disinfected with povidone iodine and alcohol, and the arterial catheter was placed using maximal sterile barrier precautions. Upon removal, all intravascular segments were submitted for semiquantitative culture.Results:No episodes of catheter-related bloodstream infection (95% confidence interval [CI95], 0%-1.6%) were observed. However, the risk of colonization (>15 colony-forming units) of arterial catheters was 15% (CI95, 12%-17%). Retrospective risk-factor analysis conducted on 224 intra-arterial catheters placed for chemotherapy in 1993 showed that colonization was associated significantly with duration of catheterization (median of 1 day for culture-negative catheters vs median of 4 days for culture-positive catheters, P<.001). Age, gender, prior radiotherapy, underlying cancer, neutropenia, and hypoalbuminemia were not associated with catheter colonization.Conclusion:Intra-arterial catheters for cancer chemotherapy placed under maximal sterile barrier precautions for a short period of time are associated with a very low risk of bloodstream infection.
Use of Amoxicillin-Clavulanate and Resistance in Escherichia coli Over a 4-Year Period
Authors: Natsch Stephanie , Conrad Christian , Hartmeier Cora , Schmid Beat 
Published: September 2009

AbstractObjective:To reduce the use of amoxicillin-clavulanate after high-resistance rates in Escherichia coli were detected.Design:Intervention study; the interventions were introduced successively over a 4-year period while closely monitoring the resistance patterns.Setting:A 260-bed acute-care hospital in Switzerland.Interventions:Introduction of therapeutic guidelines for specific departments or indications, which proposed alternative antibiotics to amoxicillin-clavulanate. The perioperative prophylactic use of amoxicillin-clavulanate was eliminated completely.Results:The absolute amount of amoxicillin-clavulanate consumed decreased by 23%, from 24.8 g per 100 patient days in 1992 to 18.5 g per 100 patient days in 1995. The number of courses, a parameter that takes the prophylactic use into account, decreased by 62% from 2.3 per 100 patient days in 1992 to 0.9 per 100 patient days in 1995. The percentage of sensitive strains increased from 54.9% (n=512) in 1992 and 54.0% (n=506) in 1993 to 72.1% (n=546) in 1994 and 83.1% (n=668) in 1995. No major changes were detected for other antimicrobials, such as cotrimoxazole, tetracycline, or cefuroxime, used in this 4-year period.Conclusions:A decrease in the use of amoxicillin-clavulanate was followed by an increase in susceptibility of E coli to it. It was not possible to prove a causative relationship. Only a temporal association was discovered. The reduction of the use of amoxicillin-clavulanate was achieved through the implementation of treatment guidelines, facilitated through a close collaboration among the clinical pharmacists, the infection control practitioner, the microbiology laboratory, and the physicians in charge of the respective departments.
Experience With Two Validation Methods in a Prevalence Survey on Nosocomial Infections
Authors: Gastmeier Petra , Kampf Günter , Hauer Thomas , Schlingmann Jürgen , Schumacher Martin , Daschner Franz , Rüden Henning 
Published: September 2009

AbstractObjective:To determine whether an investigator effect remained on the first German study on the prevalence of nosocomial infections Nosokomiale Infektionen in Deutschland Erfassung und Prävention (NIDEP), despite extensive validation efforts.Design:Two validation methods were applied: bedside validation and validation by case studies. In both cases, the results of the four investigators were compared with the diagnosis of gold standard observers.Setting:Validation measures were applied before, intermittently, during, and at the end of the surveillance period in 72 acute-care hospitals with 14,966 patients.Results:The overall sensitivity in the bedside-validation periods was 89.0%; the overall specificity was 99.5%. For validation by case studies, overall sensitivity was 95.6%, and overall specificity was 92.8%. At the end of the surveillance, a remarkable investigator effect was found.Conclusion:Despite validation results that were assessed as satisfactory, based on available literature, an investigator effect was observed. This underlines the need for data validation and the formulation of recommendations for data validation. Clarification of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for pneumonia and primary bloodstream infection and the inclusion of some diagnostic test results may reduce or prevent an investigator effect in future studies.
Australian Bachelor of Midwifery students' mental health literacy: An exploratory study
Authors: McCann Terence V. , Clark Eileen 
Published: September 2009

AbstractMany pregnant and post‐partum women experience mental health problems, but midwives are frequently ill‐equipped to provide support. The purpose of this study, conducted in Melbourne, Australia, was to examine first‐year Bachelor of Midwifery students' mental health literacy about post‐partum women with schizophrenia, using the vignette of “Mary”. A non‐probability sample of 38 commencing students was used. The results showed that the students had a mainly lay person‐informed conceptualization of mental health interventions for post‐partum women. They acknowledged that Mary had a mental health problem that might have a more favorable outcome with professional support, but this agreement did not extend to their understanding of the consequences of the failure to receive professional help. They believed that negative outcomes were less likely and positive outcomes were just as likely for Mary than for others in the community. The findings highlight the need for mental health theory and clinical subjects to be incorporated in midwifery curricula.
Use of educational games in the health professions: A mixed‐methods study of educators' perspectives in the UK
Authors: Blakely Gillian , Skirton Heather , Cooper Simon , Allum Peter , Nelmes Pam 
Published: September 2009

AbstractEducational games have been shown to be effective in supporting learning, especially to reinforce knowledge, and students are generally positive about the use of games. The aim of this mixed‐methods study that was conducted in the UK was to explore educators' views towards the use of educational games in the health sciences. The data were collected via semistructured interviews with 13 health educators and an online survey that was completed by 97 health educators. Three factors influence the use of classroom games: reflective practice, the impact of games on students, and the impact of logistical factors. Educators assess their own performance and the impact of the games on students when planning their use; however, large classes and the need for preparation time have a negative impact on educators' willingness to use games. Similar constraints might restrict the use of active learning strategies, such as simulation, that are crucial for enabling health professionals to develop competence. These issues require consideration when planning educational methods.
TRANSFUSION COMPLICATIONS: Transfusion‐transmitted babesiosis in Rhode Island
Authors: Asad Shadaba , Sweeney Joseph , Mermel Leonard A. 
Published: September 2009

BACKGROUND: Babesiosis is caused by an intraerythrocytic protozoan transmitted by ticks. Blood transfusion is another mode of transmission.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study based on babesiosis cases reported to the Rhode Island Department of Health between 1999 and 2007. Additional cases were also identified.RESULTS: Twenty‐one cases of transfusion‐transmitted babesiosis (TTB) were identified from 1999 through 2007. From 2005 through 2007, the incidence approached one case per 9000 units of blood transfused. One of 21 (5%) TTB cases was diagnosed in July, in sharp contrast to 65 of 152 (43%) of the total babesiosis cases diagnosed during July in Rhode Island. Many cases were identified when a complete blood count with a differential was routinely requested and parasites were noted by laboratory technologists. Most patients with TTB had underlying conditions known to predispose to symptomatic infection.CONCLUSION: Blood transfusion is an important mode of Babesia transmission. The current screening method of omitting donors with a history of babesiosis may be effective in preventing some, but not all, cases of TTB and current processing of blood products does not eradicate this parasite. Thus, a better screening test is needed. Alternatively, pathogen reduction technology could be utilized to prevent this mode of transmission.
IL‐6 Stimulates but is not essential for stratum corneum formation and permeability barrier development during gestation
Authors: Jiang Yan J. , Lu Biao , Crumrine Debbie , Elias Peter M. , Feingold Kenneth R. 
Published: September 2009

Please cite this paper as: IL‐6 Stimulates but is not essential for stratum corneum formation and permeability barrier development during gestation. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: e31–e36.Abstract:  The regulation of epidermal ontogenesis is a complex process. Previous studies have shown that cytokines (IL‐1, TNFα and IL‐6) regulate permeability barrier homeostasis in adult mice. Recently, we reported that IL‐1 and TNFα accelerate stratum corneum (SC) formation and permeability barrier development in foetal rodents. Here, we determined whether IL‐6 also regulates SC formation and permeability barrier development during late gestation. Using a rat skin explant model, we demonstrated that IL‐6 accelerates permeability barrier formation in a time‐ and dose‐dependent fashion. This acceleration of barrier formation is attributable to (a) accelerated lamellar membrane maturation, (b) formation of a multi‐layer SC and (c) enhanced expression of epidermal differentiation markers. When comparing epidermis of IL‐6‐deficient (knockout mice) and wild‐type foetal mice at days 16–18, we could not detect any abnormalities in either SC formation or the expression of differentiation markers in knockout (KO) mice. In parallel, the basal expression levels of IL‐6 mRNA in epidermis and IL‐6 protein in amniotic fluid were very low, with only a minimal change in IL‐6 receptor mRNA levels in epidermis of days 16–22 foetal mice. These low IL‐6 levels may account, at least in part, for the absence of epidermal abnormalities in IL‐6 KO mice. In conclusion, exogenous IL‐6 accelerates epidermal ontogenesis, but it is not essential for normal epidermal maturation.
The efficacy of chlorhexidine gluconate in canine skin preparation – practice survey and clinical trials
Authors: Evans L. K. M. , Knowles T. G. , Werrett G. , Holt P. E. 
Published: September 2009

Objectives:To determine the use in practice and efficacy of different concentrations of chlorhexidine gluconate for canine pre‐operative skin preparation.Methods:Questionnaires were used to establish which antiseptics and techniques were used for patients undergoing elective neutering. In a clinical study, five different concentrations of chlorhexidine gluconate – 0 per cent (tap water, as a control) 1, 2, 3 and 4 per cent – were tested on 50 dogs undergoing elective ovariohysterectomies and orchidectomies.Results:A variety of preparation practices occurred but only 21 per cent of the veterinary nurses surveyed were aware of the concentration and contact time they used whilst preparing animals. The clinical study revealed there was a significant difference (P<0·001) between the different concentrations used. All concentrations of chlorhexidine were significantly more effective than the control tap water. There was a tendency towards increasing efficacy as concentration increased from 1 to 4 per cent but this was not statistically significant.ClinicalSignificance:The lack of significant differences in efficacy between the different concentrations of chlorhexidine gluconate means that current practices may be adequate, although if the chlorhexidine gluconate concentrations and contact times used are unknown, they may be lower than those tested here and, possibly, ineffective, especially if contact times are short.
Current and future use of the mannitol bronchial challenge in everyday clinical practice
Authors: Porsbjerg Celeste , Backer Vibeke , Joos Guy , Kerstjens Huib Adrianus Marie , Rodriguez‐Roisin Roberto 
Published: September 2009

AbstractObjectives:  Asthma is a disease associated with inflammation, airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and airflow limitation. Clinical diagnosis and management of asthma often relies on assessment of lung function and symptom control, but these factors do not always correlate well with underlying inflammation. Bronchial challenge tests (BCTs) assess AHR, and can be used to assist in the diagnosis and management of asthma.Data Source:  Data presented at the symposium ‘Use of inhaled mannitol for assessing airways disease’ organised by the Allied Respiratory Professionals Assembly (9) of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) at the ERS Congress, Berlin 2008.Results:  Indirect challenge tests such as exercise testing, hypertonic saline or adenosine 5′‐monophosphate (AMP) are more specific though less sensitive than direct challenge tests (such as methacholine) for identifying patients with active asthma. Indirect BCTs may be used to diagnose exercise‐induced bronchoconstriction or AHR consistent with active asthma, to evaluate AHR that will respond to treatment with anti‐inflammatory drugs and to determine the effectiveness and optimal dosing of such therapy. An ideal indirect challenge test should be standardised and reproducible, and the test result should correlate with the degree of airway inflammation. The mannitol BCT provides a standardised and rapid point‐of‐need test to identify currently active asthma, and is clinically useful in the identification of patients with asthma who are likely to benefit from inhaled corticosteroid therapy.Conclusion:  In the future, mannitol BCT may be added to lung function and symptom assessment to aid in the everyday management of asthma.Please cite this paper as: Porsbjerg C, Backer V, Joos G, Kerstjens HAM and Rodriguez‐Roisin R. Current and future use of the mannitol bronchial challenge in everyday clinical practice. The Clinical Respiratory Journal 2009; 3: 189–197.
The role of vascular endothelial growth factor SNPs as predictive and prognostic markers for major solid tumors
Authors: Jain Lokesh , Vargo Craig A. , Danesi Romano , Sissung Tristan M. , Price Douglas K. , Venzon David , Venitz Jürgen , Figg William D. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
Angiogenesis is crucial for development and metastasis of tumors, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key mediator of this process. The importance of VEGF in tumorigenesis and tumor progression makes it an attractive target for the development of anticancer therapies. Inhibition of angiogenesis has shown promising clinical efficacy; however, not all patients treated with antiangiogenic agents derive benefit from them. Some patients are predisposed to refractory disease, whereas others develop resistance after initial response. Patients may also have different severity of drug-related adverse events. Optimization of drug administration based on disease status and individual responsiveness is important in limiting the treatment failure and minimization of side-effects. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in VEGF may alter VEGF protein concentrations, influence the process of angiogenesis, and may relate to interindividual variation in the risk and progression of selected tumors, and their resistance to treatments. This review examines the role of SNPs in the VEGF gene as predictive and prognostic markers for major solid tumors, including the breast, non-small cell lung, colorectal, and prostate cancers. Selected VEGF SNPs seem to be associated with risk of these cancers; however, there is lack of unanimity in findings, in part influenced by differences in study design and analysis. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(9):2496–508]
Developing a health and human rights training program for french speaking Africa: lessons learned, from needs assessment to a pilot program
Authors: Chastonay Philippe , Klohn Axel Max , Zesiger Véronique , Freigburghaus Franziska , Mpinga Emmanuel Kabengele 
Published: September 2009

Abstract

Background
The importance of human rights education has widely been recognized as one of the strategies for their protection and promotion of health. Yet training programs have not always taken into account neither local needs, nor public health relevance, nor pedagogical efficacy.
The objectives of our study were to assess, in a participative way, educational needs in the field of health and human rights among potential trainees in six French-speaking African countries and to test the feasibility of a training program through a pilot test. Ultimately the project aims to implement a health and human rights training program most appropriate to the African context.

Methods

Needs assessment was done according to four approaches: Revue of available data on health and human rights in the targeted countries; Country visits by one of the authors meeting key institutions; Focus group discussions with key-informants in each country; A questionnaire-based study targeting health professionals and human rights activists.

Pilot training program: an interactive e-learning pilot program was developed integrating training needs expressed by partner institutions and potential trainees.

Results
Needs assessment showed high public health and human rights challenges that the target countries have to face. It also showed precise demands of partner institutions in regard to a health and human rights training program. It further allowed defining training objectives and core competencies useful to potential employers and future students as well as specific training contents.
A pilot program allowed testing the motivation of students, the feasibility of an interactive educational approach and identifying potential difficulties.

Conclusion
In combining various approaches our study was able to show that training needs concentrate around tools allowing the identification of basic human rights violations in the health system, the analysis of their causes and coordinated responses through specific intervention projects.
E box motifs as mediators of proviral latency of human retroviruses
Authors: Terme Jean-Michel , Calvignac Sébastien , Duc Dodon Madeleine , Gazzolo Louis , Jordan Albert 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
The palindromic sequence motifs (CANNTG) known as E boxes are considered as binding sites for the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) class of DNA-binding proteins. Their presence has been reported in the long terminal repeats (LTR) of the HIV-1 and HTLV-1 proviruses. Their close proximity with the TATA region of both LTRs indicates that the bHLH proteins may act as important regulators of the function of proviral transcription. Indeed, observations on HIV-1 and recent results on HTLV-1 underline that these E boxes may be critically involved in the regulation of the proviral transcription of these human retroviruses. Indeed, of the two E boxes flanking the TATA sequences of the HIV-1 provirus, the 3' E box has been implicated in the transcriptional inhibition of viral gene expression. Such a role might also be played by the unique 5' E box present in the HTLV-1 LTR. In both cases, the expression of tissue-specfic bHLH proteins, like TAL1 might counteract the inhibitory effect exerted by E box proteins, thereby increasing proviral transcription. Finally, a phylogenetic study encompassing several subtypes of these two human retroviruses underlines that these E box motifs have recently appeared in the proviral LTRs and may be considered as potential mediators in the establishment of proviral latency.
Nouvelles données sur les royaumes de Lamuri et Barat
Authors: Montana Suwedi 
Published: September 2009

Suwedi Montana
In September 1995, while doing archaeological research in the province of Aceh, the author and his team discovered funerary inscriptions permitting them to advance new hypotheses concerning the sites of the kingdoms of Lamuri and Barat. The first, often cited by travellers, might be found near the present village of Lamreh (50 km to the east of Banda Aceh), where at least one of the stele found, dated 608 AH (1211 AD) would be several decades earlier than the previously known oldest inscription. Another tomb dated 790 AH (1388 AD) would allow one to think that the kingdom of Barat (cited by the Nagarakertagama in 1365) would be found in the vicinity of Lamno (93 km to the east of Banda Aceh). The author thinks that these discoveries attest to the presence of kingdoms converted to Islam 8 decades before the date up till now considered valid.
François Péron et Charles Lesueur à Timor. Une chasse au crocodile en 1803
Authors: Lombard-Jourdan Anne 
Published: September 2009

Anne Lombard Jourdan
The Europeans did not truly know Timor until the publication of the results of the Baudin expedition. Before the First Consulate sent a scientific mission to explore the coasts of New Holland (Australia), it was rare that the French travelled to Timor. Of the twenty-three learned persons who embarked on the Géographe and the Naturaliste only 5 returned to France. Nonetheless, this deadly expedition gave us the publication of Voyage de découvertes aux Terres Australes [The Discoveries of a Voyage in the Southern Lands] (2 volumes, Paris, 1807 and 1816 and Atlas) and rich documentation on ail aspects of the island of Timor, visited by the travelers on two occassions in 1801 and 1803. Working in difficult conditions, François Péron, the only naturalist on the expedition, and his friend and collaborator, the drawer Charles Lesueur, realised considerable results, with an attention and zealousness to which Cuvier paid hommage.
The author sets out to reconstitute faithfully the events and the conditions of the hunt which the two young erudites made in order to obtain a sample of a species of crocodile then unknown in Europe. They succeeded in bringing a skeleton of one such crocodile to Paris, which they left to the Natural History Museum and where it is still conserved today. Cuvier used « Péron's crocodile», which he named crocodilus biporcatus (two-boned crocodile), to write his monograph on this type of crocodile (1807).
Péron and Lesueur can also be credited with having collected a quantity of useful information for the schools of «anthropology» and «ethnology», scientific domains and words still unknown in 1800. Thanks to their hunting trip, they provide specific information about the attitude of the Timor people towards the crocodiles which they venerated as a sacred animal and which they were careful not to kill.
Le gambuh : grandeur, décadence et renaissance (?) du théâtre à Bali
Authors: Picard Michel 
Published: September 2009

Michel Picard
Gambuh is said to be classical Balinese theatre par excellence, the source of all the dramatic genres that are now seen on the island. Evoking gambuh conjures up the image of a bygone era of exquisite magnificence, of an art that has declined together with the princely courts due to the colonial conquest of Bali, but which, thanks to the interest of a few dedicated artists and scholars associated with the Idonesian government, has recently experienced a revival of sorts. Such is the commonly held opinion that I question in this article, which is not to be read as a study in ethno-musicology, but rather as a reflection on the evolution of theatre in Bali.