bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Singapore Ministry of Health Clinical Practice Guidelines on Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attacks
Authors: Venketasubramanian N , Pwee K. H. , Chen C. P. L. ,   on behalf of the Singapore Ministry of Health Clinical Practice Guidelines Workgroup on Stroke and Transient Ischaemic Attacks
Published: May 2011

The primary aim of these guidelines is to assist individual clinicians, hospital departments, and hospital administrators to produce local protocols for the: assessment, investigation and immediate management of individuals with a transient ischemic attack or acute stroke (other than sub-arachnoid hemorrhage), and secondary prevention and risk factor management following a transient ischemic attack or acute stroke. The secondary aim of these guidelines is to suggest methods for implementation and clinical audit. The workgroup preparing these guidelines was formed by the Ministry of Health, Singapore. It comprised healthcare workers from relevant specialties, family medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, and a lay patient advocate. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network's Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management of Patients with Stroke were reviewed, updated, and modified to meet local needs. The final guidelines are made up of evidence-based recommendations covering the following areas – assessment, investigation, immediate management, secondary prevention, rehabilitation, and implications for service delivery. The guidelines were sent to professional organizations for comments and endorsements. The final version was circulated to all medical practitioners in Singapore. It is hoped that the guidelines will improve the care of patients with stroke and transient ischemic attack. Clinical quality improvement measures are proposed.
In the Business of Dying: Questioning the Commercialization of Hospice
Authors: Perry Joshua E. , Stone Robert C. 
Published: May 2011

In our society, some aspects of life are off-limits to commerce. We prohibit the selling of children and the buying of wives, juries, and kidneys. Tainted blood is an inevitable consequence of paying blood donors; even sophisticated laboratory tests cannot supplant the gift-giving relationship as a safeguard of the purity of blood. Like blood, health care is too precious, intimate, and corruptible to entrust to the market.The hospice movement in the United States is approximately 40 years old. During these past four decades, the concept of holistic, multidisciplinary care for patients (and their families) who are suffering from a terminal illness has evolved from a modest, grassroots constellation of primarily volunteer-run and community-governed endeavors to a multimillion dollar industry where the surviving nonprofits compete with for-profit providers, often publicly traded, managed by M.B.A.-trained executives, and governed by corporate boards. The relatively recent emergence of for-profit hospice reflects an increasing commercialization of health care in the United States, the potentially adverse impact of which has been well documented.
MAJOR SPONTANEOUS RENAL HAEMORRHAGE AS AN UNUSUAL COMPLICATION OF SYSTEMIC AMYLOIDOSIS
Authors: Dunlop Joanna , Cowie Alistair , Kalra Philip A. 
Published: May 2011

SUMMARYWe report the case of a patient with systemic amyloidosis who developed a life‐threatening spontaneous haemorrhage from an amyloid kidney. A review of the literature suggests that this is a rare complication of renal amyloidosis. However, the grossly abnormal renal angiography observed in our patient has previously been described in the literature. Therefore, spontaneous renal haemorrhage should be considered a risk in any systemic amyloid patient, especially in the differential diagnosis for those patients with the condition who present with an acute abdomen.
CLINICAL OUTCOME OF DIABETIC PERITONEAL DIALYSIS PATIENTS AND EVALUATION OF FACTORS AFFECTING MORTALITY: A SINGLE CENTRE’S EXPERIENCE FROM TURKEY
Authors: Koc Yener , Unsal Abdulkadir , Ahbap Elbis , Sakacı Tamer , Yilmaz Murvet 
Published: May 2011

SUMMARYThe purpose of this study is to analyse the outcome of the diabetic peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients and compare the findings of those remaining on treatment with those who withdrew from treatment. Participants were 61 patients starting PD between 2001 and 2009, data were evaluated retrospectively. PD treatment was withdrawn in 48 patients forming Group 1 = drop‐out; 26 F, mean age 59 ± 13 years; 13 patients in Group 2 = treatment; 4 F, mean age 50 ± 10 years, still receiving PD therapy. Demographics, laboratory and blood pressure data were compared in both groups. The causes for withdrawal were: death (54%), transfer to HD (33%), other causes (13%). Most frequent cause of death: cardiac events (57.7%), peritonitis and/or sepsis (38,4%). Transfer to HD – peritonitis (50%), insufficient PD (50%). Most frequent cause of peritonitis was Staph. Aureus in 42 instances in Group 1. We found positive correlation between mortality and age (p:0.008, r:0,345) and negative correlation between mortality and follow‐up time, pretreatment albumin, calcium and PTH, systolic and diastolic BP in the last follow‐up appointment.Cardiovascular events and peritonitis were the most important causes of withdrawal of patients. The presence of hypo‐parathyroidaemia, hypocalcaemia and hypo‐albuminaemia were associated with mortality.
THE ROLE OF PARICALCITOL ON PROTEINURIA
Authors: Aperis Georgios , Paliouras Christos , Zervos Angelos , Arvanitis Antonios , Alivanis Polichronis 
Published: May 2011

SUMMARYParicalcitol is a synthetic vitamin D analogue acting on vitamin D receptor (VDR). The result is inhibition of PTH synthesis and secretion. Paricalcitol appears also to block the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system. We evaluated the role of paricalcitol in the management of proteinuria of various aetiology. A total of 19 patients participated. Most had diabetic nephropathy; however patients with other types of glomerulopathy leading to proteinuria were also included. Paricalcitol 1–2 μg daily, according to response, was administered for three months. Serum Ca, PO4, Ca × PO4, PTH, creatinine clearance and albumin, as well as 24 hour urine protein were measured before and after treatment. Five out of 19 patients did not respond to the treatment. The remaining 14 patients had an average 32.9% reduction of proteinuria. The drug was well tolerated. Paricalcitol appears to have a role in the treatment of proteinuria. However, our study raises a question regarding why some patients do not respond to paricalcitol. Patients with proteinuria due to diabetic nephropathy seem to respond better than patients with glomerulopathy.
PARICALCITOL IN SECONDARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM AND THE SURVIVAL BENEFIT IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE
Authors: Al‐Baaj Fouad , Yadav Punit , Al‐Rifai Adriece 
Published: May 2011

SUMMARYSecondary hyperparathyroidism is a characteristic feature of chronic kidney disease, which develops early in the course of chronic kidney disease, often in a progressive way. It occurs as the renal function continues to decline and is encountered following a series of biochemical abnormalities, which are responsible for initiation and maintenance of increased parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion.Several agents are used in the management of secondary hyperparathyroidism. Paricalcitol is a new generation selective vitamin D receptor activator that lowers PTH levels by exerting a less hypercalcaemic and hyperphosphataemic effect. In addition, there is emerging evidence of the benefit of paricalcitol in preventing intravascular calcification and proteinuria.
PAIN IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE: PREVALENCE, CAUSE AND MANAGEMENT
Authors: Kafkia Theodora , Chamney Melissa , Drinkwater Anna , Pegoraro Marisa , Sedgewick John 
Published: May 2011

SUMMARYPain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience and is the most common symptom experienced by renal patients. It can be caused by primary co‐morbid diseases, renal replacement therapies, medication or treatment side effects, and its intensity varies from moderate to severe. Pain management in renal patients is difficult, since the distance between pain relief and toxicity is very small. This paper will provide an algorithm for pain management proposed using paracetamol, nonsteroid anti‐inflamatory drugs (NSAIDs), mild and stronger opioids as well as complementary techniques. Quality of Life (QoL) and overall enhancement of the patient experience through better pain management are also discussed. To improve pain management it is essential that nurses recognise that they have direct responsibilities related to pain assessment and tailoring of opioid analgesics and better and more detailed education.
Temporal changes in the stiffness of the remnant liver and spleen after donor hepatectomy as assessed by acoustic radiation force impulse: A preliminary study
Authors: Ninomiya Mizuki , Shirabe Ken , Ijichi Hideki , Toshima Takeo , Harada Noboru , Uchiyama Hideaki , Taketomi Akinobu , Yoshizumi Tomoharu , Maehara Yoshihiko 
Published: May 2011

Aim:  Virtual touch tissue quantification (VTTQ) is an implementation of ultrasound acoustic radiation force impulse imaging that provides numerical measurements of tissue stiffness. We have evaluated the temporal changes of the remnant liver and spleen after living donor hepatectomy with special reference to the differences between right and left liver donation.Methods:  Nineteen living donors who received right lobectomy (small remnant liver [SRL] group; n = 7) or extended left and caudate lobectomy (large remnant liver [LRL] group; n = 12) were enrolled. They underwent measurement of liver and spleen VTTQ before and after donor surgery.Results:  Virtual touch tissue quantification of the remnant liver increased postoperatively until postoperative day (POD) 3–5, and the values in the SRL group were significantly higher than those in the LRL group at POD 3–9. The values of the spleen also increased after donor surgery and the values in the SRL group were significantly higher than those in the LRL group at POD 3–14. A significant positive correlation between postoperative maximum value of VTTQ and postoperative maximum total bilirubin levels was observed. In liver transplant recipients, there was a significant positive correlation between preoperative spleen VTTQ and the corresponding actual portal venous pressure that was measured at the time of transplant surgery.Conclusion:  Stiffness of the remaining liver and spleen in the smaller remnant liver group became harder than that in the larger remnant liver group. Perioperative measurement of liver and spleen VTTQ seems to be a useful means for assessing the physiology of liver regeneration.
MIND‐INDEPENDENCE AND THE LOGICAL SPACE OF WRIGHT'S REALIST‐RELEVANT AXES
Authors: SMITH DEBORAH C. 
Published: May 2011

abstractThis paper continues the work begun by Crispin Wright of identifying, articulating, and explaining the relations between various realist‐relevant axes that emerge when it is conceded that any predicate capable of satisfying a small range of platitudes is syntactically and semantically adequate to count as a truth predicate for a discourse. I argue that the fact that a given discourse satisfies the three realist‐relevant axes that remain if evidence‐transcendent truth and reference to evidence‐transcendent facts are ruled out by Dummettian meaning‐theoretic considerations is not sufficient for what I have elsewhere called “modest metaphysical realism.” I conclude that mind‐independence marks yet another realist‐relevant axis and explore the relationships between the proposed mind‐independence axis and the realist‐relevant axes identified by Wright.
THE MAIN PART AND PILLAR OF BERKELEY'S THEORY: IDEALISM AND PERCEPTUAL HETEROGENEITY
Authors: LENNON THOMAS M. 
Published: May 2011

abstractBerkeley subscribed to the principle of heterogeneity, that what we see is qualitatively and numerically different from what we touch. He says of this principle that it is “the main part and pillar of [his] theory.” The argument I present here is that the theory to which Berkeley refers is not just his theory of vision, but what that theory was the preparation for, which is nothing less than his idealism. The argument turns on the passivity of perception, which is what is at stake in the principle of heterogeneity. The author targeted by Berkeley's theory is Descartes, who explicitly denies heterogeneity.
The polarographic and spectral behaviour of some 1,4-benzodiazepine metabolites: application to differentiation of mixtures
Authors: Barrett J , Smyth W Franklin , Hart J P 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
Changes of ultraviolet absorption spectra with pH in solution were used to determine pKa values for four 1,4-benzodiazepine metabolites. 7-Acetamido-nitrazepam, desmethyl-diazepam and the chlordiazepoxide lactam all gave two pKa values, corresponding to protonation in acid and deprotonation of the neutral molecule in alkaline media. 7-Amino-nitrazepam gave three pKa values, the third one being due to an additional protonation in acid media. The spectra are explained by considering them to be superimposed spectra of the two benzene rings, one mono-substituted (band I) and one trisubstituted (band II), within the molecule. Sites of protonation and deprotonation are predicted and the differences in the observed pKa values explained. Differences in the pKa values or the polarographic behaviour between the parent compounds and some of their metabolites are then used to effect novel separations after solvent extractions from aqueous buffered solutions.
The effect of urea on the solubility of methyl p-hydroxybenzoate in aqueous sodium chloride solution
Authors: McDonald C , Lindstrom R E 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
The effects of sodium chloride and urea, separately and together, on the solubility of methyl p-hydroxybenzoate in water have been studied. Sodium chloride decreases and urea increases the solubility. Observed and calculated “salting-out” parameters have been obtained for addition of sodium chloride to the benzoate-urea-water systems. Good agreement was observed between calculated and observed values, and the change in the “salting-out” parameters as the concentration of urea altered may indicate dipole-ion interaction between urea and sodium chloride.
Sidetracked by emotion: Observers’ ability to discriminate genuine and fabricated sexual assault allegations
Authors: Peace Kristine A. , Porter Stephen , Almon Daniel F. 
Published: May 2011

Purpose. Assessing the credibility of reports of sexual victimization – often in the absence of corroboration – presents a significant challenge for legal decision makers. This study examined the accuracy of observers in discriminating genuine and fabricated sexual assault allegations. Further, we examined whether individual differences and cue utilization strategies influenced deception detection accuracy.Methods. Observers (N= 119) evaluated eight (four truthful and four deceptive) written allegations of sexual assault (counterbalanced), and completed a Credibility Assessment Questionnaire (CAQ) and individual differences measures.Results. Results indicated that overall accuracy was below chance (M= 45.3%), and a truth bias was evidenced. Examining the Big Five personality traits, we found that openness to experience and neuroticism were positively associated with accuracy, whereas extraversion was negatively related to accuracy. Further, judgement confidence was negatively associated with accuracy.Conclusions. The present study offers insights into observers’ perceptions of credibility regarding real‐life sexual assault allegations. Implications for legal decision making are discussed.
Identification and Characterization of the Chlamydia trachomatis L2
S
-Adenosylmethionine Transporter
Authors: Binet Rachel , Fernandez Reinaldo E. , Fisher Derek J. , Maurelli Anthony T. 
Published: May 2011

ABSTRACT

Methylation is essential to the physiology of all cells, including the obligate intracellular bacterium
Chlamydia
. Nevertheless, the methylation cycle is under strong reductive evolutionary pressure in
Chlamydia
. Only
Parachlamydia acanthamoebae
and
Waddlia chondrophila
genome sequences harbor homologs to
metK
, encoding the
S
-adenosylmethionine (SAM) synthetase required for synthesis of SAM, and to
sahH
, which encodes the
S
-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) hydrolase required for detoxification of SAH formed after the transfer of the methyl group from SAM to the methylation substrate. Transformation of a conditional-lethal Δ
metK
mutant of
Escherichia coli
with a genomic library of
Chlamydia trachomatis
L2 identified CTL843 as a putative SAM transporter based on its ability to allow the mutant to survive
metK
deficiency only in the presence of extracellular SAM. CTL843 belongs to the drug/metabolite superfamily of transporters and allowed
E. coli
to transport
S
-adenosyl-
l
-[methyl-
14
C]methionine with an apparent

K
m

of 5.9 µM and a
V
max
of 32 pmol min
−1
mg
−1
. Moreover, CTL843 conferred a growth advantage to a Δ
pfs E. coli
mutant that lost the ability to detoxify SAH, while competition and back-transport experiments further implied that SAH was an additional substrate for CTL843. We propose that CTL843 acts as a SAM/SAH transporter (SAMHT) serving a dual function by allowing
Chlamydia
to acquire SAM from the host cell and excrete the toxic by-product SAH. The demonstration of a functional SAMHT provides further insight into the reductive evolution associated with the obligate intracellular lifestyle of
Chlamydia
and identifies an excellent chemotherapeutic target.

IMPORTANCE
Obligate intracellular parasites like
Chlamydia
have followed a reductive evolutionary path that has made them almost totally dependent on their host cell for nutrients. In this work, we identify a unique transporter of a metabolite essential for all methylation reactions that potentially bypasses the need for two enzymatic reactions in
Chlamydia
. The transporter, CTL843, allows
Chlamydia trachomatis
L2 to steal
S
-adenosylmethionine (SAM) from the eukaryotic host cytosol and to likely remove the toxic
S
-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) formed when SAM loses its methyl group, acting as a SAM/SAH transporter (SAMHT). In addition to reflecting the adaptation of
Chlamydia
to an obligate intracellular lifestyle, the specific and central roles of SAMHT in
Chlamydia
metabolism provide a target for the development of therapeutic agents for the treatment of chlamydial infections.
A workforce-based study of occupational exposures and asthma symptoms in cleaning workers
Authors: Vizcaya David , Mirabelli Maria C , Antó Josep-Maria , Orriols Ramon , Burgos Felip , Arjona Lourdes , Zock Jan-Paul 
Published: May 2011

ObjectivesTo study associations between use of cleaning products and asthma symptoms in cleaning workers.MethodsInformation on respiratory symptoms, history of asthma, workplaces, use of cleaning products and acute inhalation incidents were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire. 917 employees of 37 cleaning companies in Barcelona were studied. 761 (83%) were current cleaners, 86 (9%) former cleaners and 70 (8%) had never worked as cleaners. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the associations between specific exposures among current cleaners and wheeze without having a cold, chronic cough and current asthma. Associations with an asthma symptom score were also studied using negative binomial regression analyses to report mean ratios.ResultsAfter adjusting for sex, age, nationality and smoking status, the prevalence of current asthma was non-significantly higher among current (OR 1.9; 95% CI 0.5 to 7.8) and former cleaners (OR 1.9; CI 0.6 to 5.5) than in never cleaners. Cleaners working in hospitals during the last year had a significantly increased prevalence of wheeze, current asthma and a 1.8 (95% CI 1.2 to 2.8) times higher mean asthma score. Use of hydrochloric acid was strongly associated with asthma score (mean ratio 1.7; 95% CI 1.1 to 2.6). Use of ammonia, degreasers, multiple purpose products and waxes was also associated with asthma score.ConclusionsCleaning work in places with high demand for disinfection, high cleaning standards and use of cleaning products containing respiratory irritants is associated with higher risk of asthma symptoms. This suggests irritants have an important role in cleaning-related asthma.
THE REPRESENTATIVITY OF PRETZEL KNOTS
Authors: OZAWA MAKOTO 
Published: May 2011

In the previous paper, the representativity of a non-trivial knot K was defined as [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] is the set of all closed surfaces in S3 containing K and [Formula: see text] is the set of all compressing disks for F in S3. Then an inequality r(K) ≤ b(K) has shown, where b(K) denotes the bridge number of K. This shows that a (p, q, r)-pretzel knot has the representativity less than or equal to 3. In this paper, we will show that a (p, q, r)-pretzel knot has the representativity 3 if and only if (p, q, r) is either ±(-2, 3, 3) or ±(-2, 3, 5). We also show that an algebraic knot has the representativity less than or equal to 3.
Pancreatic Stellate Cells Radioprotect Pancreatic Cancer Cells through β1-Integrin Signaling
Authors: Mantoni Tine S. , Lunardi Serena , Al-Assar Osama , Masamune Atsushi , Brunner Thomas B. 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by a strong desmoplastic reaction where the stromal compartment often accounts for more than half of the tumor volume. Pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) are a central mediator of desmoplasia. There is increasing evidence that desmoplasia is contributing to the poor therapeutic response of PDAC. We show that PSCs promote radioprotection and stimulate proliferation in pancreatic cancer cells (PCC) in direct coculture. Our in vivo studies show PSC-dependent radioprotection in response to a single dose and to fractionated radiation. Abrogating β1-integrin signaling abolishes the PSC-mediated radioprotection in PCCs. Furthermore, this effect is independent of PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) but dependent on FAK. Taken together, we show for the first time that PSCs promote radioprotection of PCCs in a β1-integrin–dependent manner. Cancer Res; 71(10); 3453–8. ©2011 AACR.
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Mice Lacking Mucin 1 Have a Profound Defect in Tumor Growth and Metastasis
Authors: Besmer Dahlia M. , Curry Jennifer M. , Roy Lopamudra D. , Tinder Teresa L. , Sahraei Mahnaz , Schettini Jorge , Hwang Sun-Il , Lee Yong Y. , Gendler Sandra J. , Mukherjee Pinku 
Published: May 2011

Abstract
MUC1 is overexpressed and aberrantly glycosylated in more than 60% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas. The functional role of MUC1 in pancreatic cancer has yet to be fully elucidated due to a dearth of appropriate models. In this study, we have generated mouse models that spontaneously develop pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (KC), which are either Muc1-null (KCKO) or express human MUC1 (KCM). We show that KCKO mice have significantly slower tumor progression and rates of secondary metastasis, compared with both KC and KCM. Cell lines derived from KCKO tumors have significantly less tumorigenic capacity compared with cells from KCM tumors. Therefore, mice with KCKO tumors had a significant survival benefit compared with mice with KCM tumors. In vitro, KCKO cells have reduced proliferation and invasion and failed to respond to epidermal growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, or matrix metalloproteinase 9. Further, significantly less KCKO cells entered the G2–M phase of the cell cycle compared with the KCM cells. Proteomics and Western blotting analysis revealed a complete loss of cdc-25c expression, phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), as well as a significant decrease in nestin and tubulin-α2 chain expression in KCKO cells. Treatment with a MEK1/2 inhibitor, U0126, abrogated the enhanced proliferation of the KCM cells but had minimal effect on KCKO cells, suggesting that MUC1 is necessary for MAPK activity and oncogenic signaling. This is the first study to utilize a Muc1-null PDA mouse to fully elucidate the oncogenic role of MUC1, both in vivo and in vitro. Cancer Res; 71(13); 4432–42. ©2011 AACR.