bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of copper salt and thiourea concentrations on the formation of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films by spray pyrolysis
Authors: Kumar Y.B. Kishore , Bhaskar P. Uday , Babu G. Suresh , Raja V. Sundara 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThin films of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS), a potential candidate for absorber layer in thin film heterojunction solar cell, have been deposited by spray pyrolysis technique onto soda‐lime glass substrates held at a substrate temperature (Ts) of 643 K. The effect of copper salt and thiourea concentrations on the formation of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films is investigated. CZTS films formed under optimized conditions are found to be polycrystalline in nature with kesterite structure. The lattice parameters are found to be a = 0.543 nm and c = 1.086 nm. The optical band gap of these films is found to be 1.43 eV. It is found to increase with decrease in copper salt concentration in the solution.
Liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: the Hong Kong experience
Authors: Ng Kelvin K. , Lo Chung Mau , Chan See Ching , Chok Kenneth S. , Cheung Tan‐To , Fan Sheung Tat 
Published: September 2009

AbstractOrthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the best treatment option for selected patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with the background of cirrhosis since this treatment modality can cure both diseases at once. Over the years, the applicability of OLT for HCC has evolved. In Asia, including Hong Kong, a shortage of deceased donor liver grafts is a universal problem having to be faced in all transplant centers. Living‐donor liver transplant (LDLT) has therefore been developed to counteract organ shortage and the high prevalence of HCC. The application of LDLT for HCC is a complex process involving donor voluntarism, selection criteria for the recipient and justification with respect to long‐term survival in comparison to the result of deceased donor liver transplant. This article reviews the authors’ experience with OLT for HCC patients in Hong Kong, with emphasis on the applicability and outcome of LDLT for HCC. Donor voluntarism has a significant impact on the application of LDLT. “Fast‐track” LDLT in the setting of recurrence following curative treatment carries a high risk of recurrence even though the tumor stage fulfills the standard criteria. Although the survival outcome may be worse following LDLT than DDLT for HCC, LDLT is still the main treatment option for patients with transplantable HCC in Hong Kong, and a reasonable survival outcome can be achieved in selected patients with extended indications. It is particularly true that LDLT provides the only hope for patients with advanced HCC under the constricting problem of organ shortage.
Inferring textual entailment with a probabilistically sound calculus
Authors: HARMELING STEFAN 
Published: September 2009

AbstractWe introduce a system for textual entailment that is based on a probabilistic model of entailment. The model is defined using a calculus of transformations on dependency trees, which is characterized by the fact that derivations in that calculus preserve the truth only with a certain probability. The calculus is successfully evaluated on the datasets of the PASCAL Challenge on Recognizing Textual Entailment.
Recognizing entailment in intelligent tutoring systems
Authors: NIELSEN RODNEY D. , WARD WAYNE , MARTIN JAMES H. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis paper describes a new method for recognizing whether a student's response to an automated tutor's question entails that they understand the concepts being taught. We demonstrate the need for a finer-grained analysis of answers than is supported by current tutoring systems or entailment databases and describe a new representation for reference answers that addresses these issues, breaking them into detailed facets and annotating their entailment relationships to the student's answer more precisely. Human annotation at this detailed level still results in substantial interannotator agreement (86.2%), with a kappa statistic of 0.728. We also present our current efforts to automatically assess student answers, which involves training machine learning classifiers on features extracted from dependency parses of the reference answer and student's response and features derived from domain-independent lexical statistics. Our system's performance, as high as 75.5% accuracy within domain and 68.8% out of domain, is very encouraging and confirms the approach is feasible. Another significant contribution of this work is that it represents a significant step in the direction of providing domain-independent semantic assessment of answers. No prior work in the area of tutoring or educational assessment has attempted to build such domain-independent systems. They have virtually all required hundreds of examples of learner answers for each new question in order to train aspects of their systems or to hand-craft information extraction templates.
Controlling Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci
Authors: Boyce John M. , Mermel Leonard A. , Zervos Marcus J. , Rice Louis B. , Potter-Bynoe Gail , Giorgio Christina , Medeiros Antone A. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractAfter controlling an epidemic of vanB-type vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), we contained a subsequent vanA E faecium outbreak by using prospective laboratory-based surveillance, placing patients with VRE in private rooms, requiring the use of both gowns and gloves by all personnel entering the patients' rooms, and conducting prevalence surveys of patients on affected wards.
The Need for Surveillance for Antimicrobial Resistance
Authors: Lorian Victor 
Published: September 2009

AbstractCurrently, collection of bacterial susceptibility data is very incomplete; national or international susceptibility data simply do not exist. The large volume of scientific publications on this subject contributes to the perception that bacterial resistance to antimicrobials is extensive and growing. However, only a very few papers address the epidemiology of bacterial resistance. Those papers that do report quantitatively on this topic are from hospitals that are systematically different from hospitals that do not publish. No one can deny the existence and the importance of drug resistance, but the sensational reports from the media are grossly untrue. Multidrug-resistant bacteria affect an extremely small proportion of patients. Most antibiotics still are highly effective and cure the majority of infections. It is proposed that medical microbiology laboratories report their susceptibility data on eight common species that constitute 68.5% of all isolates. Such reports could be analyzed and published yearly.
Nosocomial Colonization and Its Impact on Hospital-Acquired Infections
Authors: Mayhall C. Glen 
Published: September 2009

We are pleased to bring to our readership the contents of a symposium on nosocomial colonization held on January 14-16, 1994, in Clearwater, Florida, under the aegis of the University of South Florida College of Medicine and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.The symposium was developed with the following goals: (1) to provide an up-to-date over view of the factors important in microbial colonization of human nonsterile surfaces or tissues, especially skin, nose, oropharynx, and gastrointestinal tract; (2) to provide an understanding of the impact of colonization upon the development of nosocomial infections; and (3) to provide an appreciation of how to control or manage colonization to prevent nosocomial infections.
Control of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus at a University Hospital: One Decade Later
Authors: Jernigan John A. , Clemence Mark A. , Stott Geraldine A. , Titus Maureen G. , Alexander Carolyn H. , Palumbo Carol M. , Farr Barry M. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractObjective:To investigate the cause of increasing rates of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection at a university hospital.Design:Review of data collected by prospective hospitalwide surveillance regarding rates of nosocomial MRSA colonization and infection.Setting:A 700-bed university hospital providing primary and tertiary care.Patients:Patients admitted to the hospital between 1986 and 1993 who were found to be infected or colonized with MRSA.Main Outcome Measurement:Rates of MRSA infection and colonization.Results:MRSA infection or colonization was identified in 399 patients (0.18%) admitted during the 8-year study. There was no correlation between the annual rates of MRSA and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infections (P=.66). The frequency of both nosocomial and non-nosocomial cases increased significantly over the last 4 years of the study (P<.001 for trend). The ratio of patients who had acquired MRSA nosocomially to those admitted who already were infected or colonized decreased significantly during the study period (P=.002 for trend). There was a significant increase in the frequency of patients with MRSA being transferred from nursing homes and other chronic care facilities (P=.011). A cost-benefit analysis suggested that surveillance cultures of patients transferred from other healthcare facilities would save between $20,062 and $462,067 and prevent from 8 to 41 nosocomial infections.Conclusions:An increase in the incidence of nosocomial MRSA infection was associated with an increased frequency of transfer of colonized patients from nursing homes and other hospitals. The lack of correlation between rates of MRSA and MSSA infections suggested that MRSA infections significantly increased the overall rate of staphylococcal infection. Screening cultures of transfer patients from facilities with a high prevalence of MRSA may offer significant benefit by preventing nosocomial infections and reducing patient days spent in isolation.
Skin and Mucous Membrane Contacts With Blood During Surgical Procedures: Risk and Prevention
Authors: Tokars Jerome I. , Culver David H. , Mendelson Meryl H. , Sloan Edward P. , Farber Bruce F. , Fligner Denise J. , Chamberland Mary E. , Marcus Ruthanne , McKibben Penny S. , Bell David M. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractObjective:To study the epidemiology and preventability of blood contact with skin and mucous membranes during surgical procedures.Design:Observers present at 1,382 surgical procedures recorded information about the procedure, the personnel present, and the contacts that occurred.Setting:Four US teaching hospitals during 1990.Participants:Operating room personnel in five surgical specialties.Main Outcome Measures:Numbers and circumstances of contact between the patient's blood (or other infective fluids) and surgical personnel's mucous membranes (mucous membrane contacts) or skin (skin contacts, excluding percutaneous injuries).Results:A total of 1,069 skin (including 620 hand, 258 body, and 172 face) and 32 mucous membrane (all affecting eyes) contacts were observed. Surgeons sustained most contacts (19% had ≥1 skin contact and 0.5% had ≥1 mucous membrane-eye contact). Hand contacts were 72% lower among surgeons who double gloved, and face contacts were prevented reliably by face shields. Mucous membrane-eye contacts were significantly less frequent in surgeons wearing eyeglasses and were absent in surgeons wearing goggles or face shields. Among surgeons, risk factors for skin contact depended on the area of contact: hand contacts were associated most closely with procedure duration (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 9.4; ≥4 versus <1 hour); body contacts (arms, legs, and torso) with estimated blood losses (adjusted OR, 8.4; ≥1,000 versus <100 mL); and face contacts, with orthopedic service (adjusted OR, 7.5 compared with general surgery).Conclusion:Skin and mucous membrane contacts are preventable by appropriate barrier precautions, yet occur commonly during surgery. Surgeons who perform procedures similar to those included in this study should strongly consider double gloving, changing gloves routinely during surgery, or both.
The Risk of Infection Associated With Epidural Analgesia
Authors: Brooks Kathy , Pasero Chris , Hubbard Lex , Coghlan Raymond H 
Published: September 2009

AbstractFour infections were identified among 4,832 patients receiving epidural analgesia (an attack rate of 0.08%). The infections involved cesarean-section patients and occurred within a 9-month period. Findings suggest that the risk of infection is decreased by maintaining a closed system for the duration of the analgesia course.
An Overview of Nosocomial Infection Control in Brazil
Authors: Pannuti Claudio S. , Grinbaum Renato S. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractBrazil is the largest country in Latin America, with a population of 146 million people. The socioeconomic development and the distribution of population and health services varies widely within the country. There are approximately 1.2 million hospital admissions per month, 80% of them paid by a government healthcare program that follows the diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) model. The Ministry of Health has been trying to establish a nationwide nosocomial infection control program since 1983. Most Brazilian hospitals now have some kind of infection control activity, but only a few of them have complete programs. Infrastructural deficiencies, the scarcity of well-trained healthcare workers, and the widespread occurrence of multiresistant Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative bacteria are some of the challenges faced by Brazilian hospitals in the control of nosocomial infection.
Infection Control in a Country with Annual Inflation of 3,600%
Authors: Wey Sergio B. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThe economic crisis that has been seen worldwide affects developing countries such as Brazil even more severely. Worsening budget shortfalls for the healthcare system progressively threaten patient care. Infection control programs also are affected, and basic preventive policies are not implemented. Infection control practitioners face lack of equipment and poor microbiological support. In contrast, the motivation of the infection control people can be maintained through training courses, conferences, and meetings. Administrative support may be the most important single factor determining success in decreasing the infection control rate and should be (but is not always) provided, given that several infection control measures are cost effective.
Mupirocin Resistance: Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology
Authors: Bradley Suzanne F. , Ramsey Mary A. , Morton Teresa M. , Kauffman Carol A. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThe antistaphylococcal activity of topical mupirocin has made it an attractive agent for the treatment of asymptomatic colonization with Staphylococcus aureus. Increasing use has been associated with the emergence of mupirocin resistance in staphyloccoci, and failure of therapy has been associated with the isolation of strains exhibiting high-level resistance (MIC >500 μg/mL). Fortunately, low-level mupirocin resistance (MIC <100 μg/mL) occurs most commanly. Because a novel gene encoding for mupirocin resistance resides in both low-level and high-level resistant strains, the emergence of low-level mupirocin resistance may not be as epidemiologically insignificant as previously thought.
The Impact of US-Style Infection Control Programs in an Asian Country
Authors: Leu Hsieh-Shong 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThe impact of US-style infection control programs is global. There are many Asian countries that have translated US-style infection control programs into their own programs, but reports of those efforts are rarely published in English. This article describes the development of infection control in Taiwan and the development of intensive infection surveillance and control programs in a pioneer acute-care medical center that has 3,000 beds. The article also discusses problems that have arisen in translation of US infection control practices.
Colonization and Infection With Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Associated Factors and Eradication
Authors: Asensio Angel , Guerrero Antonio , Quereda Carmen , Lizán Maxima , Martinez-Ferrer Manuel 
Published: September 2009

AbstractObjectives:To identify characteristics associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization and infection, and to evaluate the efficacy of systemic and topical antimicrobials in the eradication of MRSA carriage among hospitalized patients.Design:A case-control study was done to identify associations. Odds ratios were estimated by unconditional multiple logistic regression. Cohort study was done to evaluate MRSA decolonization efficacy by an oral regimen. Patients infected or colonized with MRSA received a 5-day course of oral (166 mg/800 mg) trimethoprim-sulfametroxazole twice daily and 600 mg of rifampin once daily as decolonization treatment. The proportion of MRSA-free patients after decolonization treatment was determined. Persistence of clearing was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method.Setting:Ramón y Cajal Hospital, a 1,249-bed, tertiary-care teaching hospital in Madrid, Spain.Patients:One hundred ninety-two patients with hospital-acquired MRSA infection/colonization and 195 MRSA-free random controls.Results:Six factors were associated independently with MRSA infection/colonization: age (every 10 years of age, odds ratio [OR]=1.3); ward (surgical, OR=1; medical, OR=3.1; intensive care unit, OR=60); previous hospitalization (OR=6.9); coma (OR=25.3); invasive procedures (each, OR=1.7); 3 or more weeks of hospitalization (OR=3.8). We failed to show antibiotic therapy to be an independent risk factor for MRSA hospital infection/colonization. Overall, MRSA eradication was 64.2% by day 2 to 9 after completion of treatment. Kaplan-Meier product limit survival analysis showed that the probability of remaining MRSA-free was 65.3% (SE=0.09) at 32 days after completion of treatment.Conclusions:The results offer a rationale for reduction of MRSA infection/colonization in the hospital by interventions aimed at early identification of patients at higher risk, at prompt discharge of patients, and at preventing dissemination while performing invasive procedures. They also provide estimates of antibiotic treatment efficacy to reduce the reservoir of MRSA in the hospital.
The Microbiology of Colonization, Including Techniques for Assessing and Measuring Colonization
Authors: Greene John N. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractOrganisms living on our external and internal body surfaces are the first contact for many potentially pathogenic invaders. Factors that alter this microenvironment include antibiotics, the host immunity, and the various diseases of man and their treatment. Predicting when colonization leads to infection remains an important challenge for every clinician. The maintenance and breakdown of colonization resistance by changes in the native microflora and the body's natural mucosal coating by various extrinsic and intrinsic factors is reviewed in this article. Quantitative culture methods developed to improve the predictive value of a given sampling technique (most notably with bronchoscopy) is presented. Besides improving diagnostic capabilities, quantitative cultures can be used successfully as an epidemiologic tool for some outbreak investigations.
High-Level Disinfection or “Sterilization” of Endoscopes?
Authors: Muscarella Lawrence Freed 
Published: September 2009

AbstractControversy has surrounded the use of liquid chemical germicides to reprocess medical instruments that are damaged by heat sterilization. A review of the literature was performed to assess and compare the efficacy of disinfection and sterilization processes. The results of this review demonstrate that high-level disinfection of thoroughly cleaned endoscopes is not associated with a higher infection rate than is “sterilization.” While there may be a theoretical distinction between the highest level of disinfection and sterilization, thorough cleaning eliminates clinical differences between the two. High-level disinfection is quick, effective, inexpensive, and recommended whenever heat sterilization is not feasible. A low-temperature sterilization process should be considered only if it is comparable in cost to disinfection or if it offers demonstrated advantages without damaging the instrument. Neither disinfection nor sterilization is likely to be effective if the instrument is not cleaned thoroughly after use.
Control of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a Neonatal Intensive-Care Unit: Use of Intensive Microbiologic Surveillance and Mupirocin
Authors: Back Nancy A. , Linnemann Calvin C. , Staneck Joseph L. , Kotagal Uma R. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractObjective:To describe the epidemiology and the inter ventions used to control two methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) epidemics involving 46 infants with two fatalities in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).Setting:A 50-bed, level III NICU in a university hospital.Interventions:After traditional interventions failed to stop the first epidemic, an intensive microbiologic surveillance (IMS) program was developed. Cultures were obtained on all infants each week, and those colonized with MRSA were isolated. When an infant was found to be colonized with MRSA, cultures immediately were obtained on all surrounding infants. This was continued until no MRSA-colonized infants were found in the area. During the first epidemic, mupirocin was used in an attempt to eradicate the organism from the unit.Results:All infants, colonized and noncolonized, and parents of and personnel working with colonized infants were treated simultaneously with 5 days of mupirocin. This failed to eradicate MRSA in colonized infants. The spread of MRSA ceased in the unit, but a second epidemic occurred 4 months later. This time, IMS alone was successful in quickly containing the epidemic, and MRSA disappeared from the unit after all colonized infants were discharged. Plasmid analysis demonstrated that the same strain was responsible for both outbreaks.Conclusions:IMS and isolation are effective in containing the spread of MRSA in an NICU. The use of mupirocin failed to eradicate the organism.
Total Cholesterol, HDL-Cholesterol, and Risk of Nosocomial Infection: A Prospective Study in Surgical Patients
Authors: Delgado-Rodríguez Miguel , Medina-Cuadros Marcelino , Martínez-Gallego Gabriel , Sillero-Arenas María 
Published: September 2009

AbstractObjective:To study the relationship between serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total serum cholesterol, and nosocomial infection in patients undergoing general surgery.Design:Prospective cohort study, with an extended follow-up to 1 month after hospital discharge.Setting:The general surgery service of a tertiary hospital.Main Outcome Measure:Nosocomial infection, mainly surgical-site infection (SSI), urinary tract infection, respiratory tract infection (RTI), and bacteremia.Patients:1,267 surgery patients aged 10 to 92 years.Results:182 subjects acquired 194 nosocomial infections, a cumulative incidence of 14.5%; most (116, 62.3%) were postoperative wound infections. There was an increase in infection risk at low levels of HDL-C, and both low and high total cholesterol levels. After adjusting simultaneously for several confounders, including total cholesterol, low levels of HDL-C (≤20 mg/dL) yielded an odds ratio (OR) of 2.2 (95% confidence interval [CI95], 0.6-7.9) for SSI and an OR of 10.3 (CI95, 0.7-151.5) for RTI. Otherwise, no trend was observed between HDL-C levels and infection risk, and no increased risk of nosocomial infection was observed for HDL-C values in the range of 21 to 49 mg/dL. Serum cholesterol showed a U-shaped relationship with nosocomial infection risk. Both low levels (below 102 mg/dL) and high levels (above 290 mg/dL) of total cholesterol were associated with a higher risk of SSI (mainly those caused by gram-negative bacteria) and RTI in comparison with the reference group (139-261 mg/dL).Conclusions:Serum HDL-C and total cholesterol seem to be associated with the risk of nosocomial infection in surgical patients