bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association of ORMDL3, STAT6 and TBXA2R gene polymorphisms with asthma
Authors: Kavalar M. S. , Balantic M. , Silar M. , Kosnik M. , Korosec P. , Rijavec M. 
Published: October 2011

SummaryAsthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood. It is well known that genetic variability contributes to asthma risk. One of the most replicated asthma candidate genes is ORM1‐like 3 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (ORMDL3), which has been associated with childhood asthma susceptibility. Another asthma candidate gene is signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6), a regulator of IgE class switching. Gene coding thromboxane A2 receptor (TBXA2R), involved in chronic airway inflammation, has been associated with asthma in several genetic studies. We have studied the association of polymorphism rs4795405 in ORMDL3, rs324011 in STAT6 as well as rs8113232 and rs3786989 in TBXA2R with asthma risk, various asthma phenotypes and asthma‐related symptoms. The study group consisted of 154 children with asthma, in whom clinical parameters were measured and whose asthma control and atopic status were determined. A control group comprised 71 healthy children. Genotyping was performed using an allelic discrimination assay. The ORMDL3 polymorphism rs4795405 was suggestively associated with asthma risk. Furthermore, it was significantly associated with nonatopic asthma and asthma without rhinitis. No association was detected between the STAT6 polymorphism rs324011 or the TBXA2R polymorphisms rs8113232 and rs3786989 and asthma susceptibility. However, an association between rs324011 in STAT6 with recurrent wheezing in early childhood and a suggestive association between rs8113232 in TBXA2R with rhinitis in children with asthma were observed. Our results confirmed ORMDL3 as a candidate gene for childhood asthma susceptibility. STAT6 and TBXA2R polymorphisms were not associated with asthma risk, but they were associated with asthma‐related symptoms.
Postacute Stroke Rehabilitation Utilization: Are There Differences Between Rural‐Urban Patients and Taxonomies?
Authors: Jia Huanguang , Cowper Diane C. , Tang Yuhong , Litt Eric , Wilson Lauren 
Published: October 2011

AbstractPurpose: To assess the association between Veterans Affairs (VA) stroke patients’ poststroke rehabilitation utilization and their residential settings by using 2 common rural‐urban taxonomies.Methods: This retrospective study included all VA stroke inpatients in 2001 and 2002. Rehabilitation utilization referred to rehabilitation therapy received 12‐months poststroke hospitalization. Patients’ urban, rural, or isolated/highly rural status was determined using the Rural‐Urban Commuting Areas (RUCA) and VA Rural Urban (VARU) definitions based on patient residential ZIP code. Logistic regression models were fit for the rehabilitation outcome, adjusting for potential risk factors.Findings: Among the 8,296 stroke patients, 69.6%/61.1% were categorized as urban, 21.3%/37.5% as rural, and 9.1%/1.4% as isolated/highly rural by the RUCA/VARU definitions, respectively. Compared with their urban counterparts, the rural and/or isolated/highly rural patients were significantly more likely to be older, white, married, living further from the VA hospitals, not hospitalized for stroke directly from home, and not intubated. Compared with the rural patients, odds of receiving rehabilitation therapy were 1.2 times (RUCA) and 1.1 times (VARU) by the urban patients, and 0.53 times (VARU only) by the highly rural patients, after risk adjustment. The above comparisons were significant at P < .05.Conclusions: With both taxonomies, the rural patients were less likely to receive postacute stroke rehabilitant therapy than their urban counterparts. With the VARU, the highly rural patients were less likely to receive rehabilitation care than their rural counterparts. Different taxonomy may lead to different rural‐urban classification yields and different yields may lead to different outcomes and conclusions.
The Association of Sleep Duration and Depressive Symptoms in Rural Communities of Missouri, Tennessee, and Arkansas
Authors: Chang Jen Jen , Salas Joanne , Habicht Katherine , Pien Grace W. , Stamatakis Katherine A , Brownson Ross C. 
Published: October 2011

AbstractPurpose: To determine the association between sleep duration and depressive symptoms in a rural setting.Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional study using data from Wave 3 of the Walk the Ozarks to Wellness Project including 12 rural communities in Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee (N = 1,204). Sleep duration was defined based on average weeknight and weekend hours per day: short (<7), optimal (7‐8), and long (>8). The primary outcome was self‐reported elevated depressive symptoms. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted prevalence odds ratios (aPOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).Findings: Elevated depressive symptoms were common in this rural population (17%). Depressive symptoms were more prevalent among subjects with short (26.1%) and long (24%) sleep duration compared to those with optimal (11.8%) sleep duration. After adjusting for age, gender, race, education, employment status, income, and BMI, short sleep duration was associated with increased odds of elevated depressive symptoms (aPOR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.49, 3.01), compared to optimal sleep duration. Conversely, the association between long sleep duration and depressive symptoms was not statistically significant after covariate adjustment. Similar findings were observed when we excluded individuals with insomnia symptoms for analysis.Conclusions: This study suggests that short sleep duration (<7 hours per night) and depressive symptoms are common among rural populations. Short sleep duration is positively associated with elevated depressive symptoms. The economic and health care burden of depression may be more overwhelming among rural populations, necessitating the need to target modifiable behaviors such as sleep habits to improve mental health.
Endurance but not resistance training increases intra‐myocellular lipid content and β‐hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase activity in active elderly men
Authors: Ngo K. T. A. , Denis C. , Saafi M. A. , Feasson L. , Verney J. 
Published: October 2011

AbstractAim:  Endurance and resistance training (ET and RT, respectively) in older subjects have been proven beneficial against metabolic or cardiovascular disorders and against sarcopaenia respectively. Like ET, RT may also increase muscle oxidative capacities. In addition, it could be questioned whether RT, similarly to ET, is able to increase muscle energetic stores such as intra‐myocellular lipids (IMCL) and glycogen contents. To evaluate a possible ET‐ and RT‐induced parallel increase in oxidative capacity and energetic stores, active elderly men (72 ± 2 years) were submitted to a 14‐week training programme (three times week−1) combining lower body endurance and upper body resistance.Methods:  Muscle samples were collected in ET vastus lateralis (VLat) and RT deltoid (Del) muscles before and after training. IMCL and glycogen contents were assessed by histochemistry (Oil Red O and periodic acid‐Schiff staining, respectively) and by biochemical assay for glycogen. Citrate synthase (CS, marker of mitochondrial citric acid cycle), β‐hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase (β‐HAD, beta‐oxidation) and phosphofructokinase (PFK, glycolytic pathway) activities were determined and so was the capillary interface index (LC/PF).Results:  Both training regimens significantly increased CS and LC/PF in ET‐VLat and RT‐Del. IMCL content and β‐HAD activity increased (P < 0.05) only in ET‐VLat, whereas PFK activity increased (P < 0.05) only in RT‐Del. Glycogen content was not significantly altered in response to training in both muscles.Conclusion:  Unlike RT, which induced an increase in PFK, ET is able to increase IMCL content and β‐oxidation capacity in active elderly men, even though both training may improve CS activity and LC/PF.
A double‐blind randomised controlled trial assessing the efficacy of topical lidocaine in extended flexible endoscopic nasal examinations
Authors: Bonaparte J.P. , Javidnia H. , Kilty S. 
Published: October 2011

Clin. Otolaryngol. 2011, 36, 550–557Objective:  To test the hypothesis that using lidocaine nasal spray will result in improved pain and comfort outcomes during an extended flexible endoscopic nasal examination.Design:  A split‐body, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled randomised trial. After receiving a rinse of oral mouthwash (Listerine®), patients were randomised to receive placebo in one nasal cavity and 30 mg of topical lidocaine in the other.Setting:  A tertiary care centre outpatient Otolaryngology clinic.Participants:  Twenty‐two patients who required an extended bilateral flexible endoscopic nasal examination. An extended nasal examination consisted of an examination of a minimum of two osteomeatal regions on each side of the nasal cavity.Main outcome measures:  Discomfort and pain were assessed using a 100‐mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Our study utilised the definition of pain based on International Association for the Study of Pain. Pain was defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. Discomfort was defined as the overall unpleasant experience of the procedure. This included all aspects of the examination such as the pain or other negative sensations associated with the examination, any side effects associated with the application of the nasal sprays as well as any anxiety associated with the examination. A Wilcoxon sign‐rank test was used for the primary outcome measures.Results:  There was a significant reduction in discomfort scores on the treatment side of the nasal cavity compared with the control side (median VAS score of 18.6 mm versus 44.6 mm; P = 0.01). The change in pain between the treatment side compared with the control side did not reach our definition of statistical significance (5.1 mm versus 9.2 mm; P = 0.05). Patients with an active or uncontrolled inflammatory disorder of the nasal cavity experienced a significantly greater reduction in pain compared to those without an inflammatory condition (median change of the VAS score, −15.6 versus +1.0; P = 0.01).Conclusions:  After a rinse with oral mouthwash, the use of lidocaine results in a significant reduction in the discomfort associated with an extended bilateral flexible endoscopic nasal examination. Patients undergoing such an examination would benefit from the application of lidocaine after masking the negative flavour using oral mouthwash.
Efficient aerobic succinate production from glucose in minimal medium with Corynebacterium glutamicum
Authors: Litsanov Boris , Kabus Armin , Brocker Melanie , Bott Michael 
Published: October 2011

SummaryCorynebacterium glutamicum, an established industrial amino acid producer, has been genetically modified for efficient succinate production from the renewable carbon source glucose under fully aerobic conditions in minimal medium. The initial deletion of the succinate dehydrogenase genes (sdhCAB) led to an accumulation of 4.7 g l−1 (40 mM) succinate as well as high amounts of acetate (125 mM) as by‐product. By deleting genes for all known acetate‐producing pathways (pta‐ackA, pqo and cat) acetate production could be strongly reduced by 83% and succinate production increased up to 7.8 g l−1 (66 mM). Whereas overexpression of the glyoxylate shunt genes (aceA and aceB) or overproduction of the anaplerotic enzyme pyruvate carboxylase (PCx) had only minor effects on succinate production, simultaneous overproduction of pyruvate carboxylase and PEP carboxylase resulted in a strain that produced 9.7 g l−1 (82 mM) succinate with a specific productivity of 1.60 mmol g (cdw)−1 h−1. This value represents the highest productivity among currently described aerobic bacterial succinate producers. Optimization of the production conditions by decoupling succinate production from cell growth using the most advanced producer strain (C. glutamicumΔpqoΔpta‐ackAΔsdhCABΔcat/pAN6‐pycP458Sppc) led to an additional increase of the product yield to 0.45 mol succinate mol−1 glucose and a titre of 10.6 g l−1 (90 mM) succinate.
Glacier Variability (1967‐2006) in the Teton Range, Wyoming, United States1
Authors: Edmunds Jake , Tootle Glenn , Kerr Greg , Sivanpillai Ramesh , Pochop Larry 
Published: October 2011

Edmunds, Jake, Glenn Tootle, Greg Kerr, Ramesh Sivanpillai, and Larry Pochop, 2011. Glacier Variability (1967‐2006) in the Teton Range, Wyoming, United States. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(1): 187‐196. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00607.xAbstract:  Glacier area and volume changes were quantified through the use of historical aerial photographs in Wyoming’s Teton Range. Glacier area changes in the Teton Range were estimated for three glaciers using unrectified aerial photography from 1967 to 2006. The total surface area of the three glaciers was 0.53 km2 in 1967 and 0.40 km2 in 2006, a decrease of 25% during the 39‐year period. The smallest glacier, Teepe, experienced the greatest area loss (60 ± 3%), whereas the largest glacier, Teton Glacier, lost 17 ± 3% of the 1967 area. For the current research, aerial photography from 1967 to 2002 was used to estimate glacier volume loss using stereoscopy techniques. The aerial photographs provide a finer resolution when compared with other datasets including satellite imagery (e.g., Landsat). Volume loss for the three glaciers was estimated to be 3.20 ± 0.46 million cubic meters over the period of 1967 to 2002. In assessing the primary climatic driver of the glacier ice loss, observed summer (June, July, and August) temperature data showed a statistically significant increase in temperatures when comparing the period of study (1968 to 2006) with historical temperatures from 1911 to 1967. When comparing spring (April 1st Snow Water Equivalent) snowpack for the period of study with historical records beginning in 1931, a significant difference in snowpack was not observed.
Intraoperative microwave inactivation in‐situ of malignant tumors in the scapula
Authors: Hu Yong‐cheng , Ji Jing‐tao , Lun Deng‐xing 
Published: October 2011

Objective:  To explore the feasibility and effect of microwave in situ inactivation of malignant primary or metastatic tumors in the scapula.Methods:  Seventeen patients (12 men, 5 women, mean age 48 years [range, 13–59 years]) with malignant primary or metastatic tumors involving the scapula were treated by microwave inactivation between June 1998 and February 2008. There were12 malignant primary bone and 5 metastatic tumors. In 14 cases Area Sl was involved and in 3 cases both Areas S1 and S2. All 17 cases were by making a dorsal arc‐ or “∩‐” shaped incision to expose the tumor, protecting the surrounding soft tissues with a copper grid, and then heated the tumors locally with 2450 MHz microwave to 50°C for 20 min, after which all or some of the necrotic tumor tissue was removed, preserving the support role of the scapula.Results:  The operation time was 60–180 min (mean 120 min) and blood loss was 300–1000 mL (mean 460 mL). No serious intraoperative or postoperative complications occurred in any patient. The patients were followed up for 3 months to 10 years (mean 4.2 years). Three patients with Ewing's sarcoma in the scapula had pulmonary, cerebral and systemic multiple metastases and died 8∼24 months after surgery. Three patients with malignant fibrous histiocytoma died of pulmonary and systemic multiple metastases 10∼22 months after surgery; one patient had recurrence 6 months after surgery and survived with tumor. Five patients with metastatic tumor in the scapula died of non‐scapular metastatic tumor 6∼14 months after surgery. The other five patients with primary malignant bone tumors had no recurrence or metastasis during follow‐up. Three cases had restricted extension of the shoulder joint with unrestricted protraction and retroflexion after surgery.Conclusion:  In situ microwave inactivation features simple surgery, reliable effects and patient acceptability, making it an ideal surgical method for malignant tumors in the scapula.
Adding vancomycin to bone cement: research on its influence on mechanical and fixation strength using rabbit femoral prostheses
Authors: Yang Yu‐hui , Wang Jin‐cheng , Pei Yan‐ling 
Published: October 2011

Objective:  To compare the influence of different methods of adding vancomycin on the strength of bone cement used for fixing rabbits' femoral prostheses.Methods:  Eighteen New Zealand white rabbits (36 femora) were allocated to three groups of six rabbits (12 femora) each: a control group, an experimental group 1 and experimental group 2. The bone cement used in the control group was mixed manually without vancomycin; in experimental group 1 it was mixed manually with 5% (2 g/40 g) vancomycin; and in experimental group 2 it was mixed in a vacuum with 5% (2 g/40 g) vancomycin. The cement combinations were then used to fill the marrow cavity of rabbit femurs to fix prostheses. An electronic universal testing machine (EUTM) was used to test the pullout force of the prostheses with bone cement 48 hours later. Student's paired t‐test was used for statistical analysis.Results:  It was found that the maximum load of pullout force was 559.3 ± 82.3 N in the control group; 523.6 ± 86.5 N in experimental group 1; and 645.1 ± 105.9 N in experimental group 2. Statistical analysis showed there was no significant difference between the control group and experimental group 1 (P > 0.05). However, there were significant differences between the control group and experimental group 2 (P < 0.05); and between experimental group 1 and experimental group 2 (P < 0.05).Conclusion:  When bone cement and vancomycin were mixed manually in a low concentration (<5%) vancomycin had no influence on the strength of the bone cement. However, bone cement and vancomycin mixed at the same concentrations in a vacuum did have a statistically significant effect on the strength of the bone cement.
Ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration of a lung mass via a transesophageal approach using endobronchial ultrasound bronchoscope
Authors: Verma Akash , Kang Yeh Rim , Kim Hojoong , Um Sang‐Won 
Published: October 2011

AbstractDiagnostic accuracy, safety and minimal invasiveness are well established advantages of the endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) technique when used for lung cancer staging. Combining it with transesophageal ultrasound can offer complete mediastinal staging, extending the reach of this technique to lymph node stations that are inaccessible even by mediastinoscopy. Traditionally this has been achieved by arranging a bronchoscopist and gastroenterologist to perform the procedure on two separate occasions using two separate expensive systems. Performing the procedure with a single physician (pulmonologist) using a single scope offers logistical advantages. For this reason, the practice of fine needle aspiration (FNA) via both the transbronchial and transesophageal approach by a pulmonologist using the single EBUS scope has emerged and is likely to grow and become widely accepted in future. The present case reports illustrate the additional applicability of allowing direct puncture of a lung mass using transesophageal FNA done by a pulmonologist using a single EBUS scope as a part of the combined approach.
Ethnic differences of medicines-taking in older adults: a cross cultural study in New Zealand
Authors: Bassett-Clarke Debbie , Krass Ines , Bajorek Beata 
Published: October 2011

AbstractObjectivesThe literature identifies many barriers to medicines use, including bio-psycho-social issues, but less is known regarding ethno-cultural barriers, which are important in culturally diverse nations. The aim of this study was to explore ethnic differences in attitudes to medicines and medicines-taking, focusing on the main constituents of the New Zealand (NZ) population: NZ European, Māori (the indigenous people of NZ), Pacific and Asian peoples.MethodsA qualitative study involving a series of focus groups was conducted. Participants (&gt;50 years old) taking medicines were recruited from various community-based groups. The focus group discussions were transcribed verbatim and analysed for key themes via manual inductive coding and constant comparison.Key findingsTwenty focus groups (n = 100 participants) were conducted. Three key common themes emerged: (1) conception of a medicine; (2) self-management of medication; and (3) seeking further medicines information. In general, NZ European participants had a very narrow view of what a medicine is, were motivated to source medicines information independently and were very proactive in medicines management. At the other end of the spectrum, Pacific peoples expressed a broad view of what constitutes a medicine, were not motivated to source medicines information independently and were not proactive in medicines management, tending to instead rely on healthcare professionals for answers. The findings from the various ethnic groups highlight differences in attitudes to medicines per se and medicines-taking; these influences on medication-taking behaviour need to be considered in the provision of pharmaceutical care.ConclusionEthnic differences in attitudes to medicines and medicines-taking are apparent, although there are some commonalities in terms of needs regarding support and advice around medicines' use. This will help inform the development of resources and communication tools to assist pharmacists in providing pharmaceutical care to diverse patient populations.