bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hospitalisation of high‐care residents of aged care facilities: are goals of care discussed?
Authors: Lane H. , Zordan R. D. , Weiland T. J. , Philip J. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractBackgroundResidents of residential aged care facilities (RACF) are commonly hospitalised towards the end of life. Determining the hospitalisation experiences, including the discussion of goals of treatment, is essential to best plan care including planning for end‐of‐life care for this population.AimTo document hospital presentation characteristics, course, outcomes and care planning for high‐care residents of RACF.MethodsA retrospective review of medical records was conducted for all high‐care residents aged >64 years presenting to a metropolitan hospital over a 6‐month period.ResultsOne hundred and eighty‐six high‐care residents of RACF presented to hospital 228 times. Transfer paperwork documented resuscitation status for 49 (21%) presentations, and a medical enduring power of attorney or advanced care plan for 85 (37%). Patients had high rates of comorbidities (average Charlson comorbidity index score = 3), polypharmacy (93%), impaired mobility (89%), impaired cognition (81%) and incontinence (76%). Resuscitation status was documented in 50 (55%) and family discussion in 38 (42%) of 91 admissions exceeding 48 h. Documented family discussion was significantly associated with complications or new events occurring during admission (odds ratio 1.56, 95% confidence interval 1.07–2.26).ConclusionThere were low rates of documentation of resuscitation status or family discussion for this highly vulnerable population. Neither hospitals nor community providers appear to take responsibility for future care planning. Acute hospitals could play a greater role in care planning because discussion around course of illness and goals of treatment may enhance patient management, satisfaction and reduce hospitalisations.
Treatment with unfunded drugs in oncology: the impact of access programmes and clinical trials
Authors: Tie J. , Gibbs P. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractBackgroundWhere proven cancer therapies remain unfunded, patients are faced with difficult decisions regarding personally covering some or all of the treatment cost. Clinical trials provide an alternative form of access to unfunded drugs.AimsTo examine the patient population and utilisation of the colorectal cancer cetuximab Interim Access Programme (IAP) in Australia.MethodsWe retrospectively analysed de‐identified data collected as part of the costsharing colorectal cancer cetuximab IAP in Australia, which extended from June 2005 until November 2009. The impact of the CO20 clinical trial that opened in early 2008 and provided free access to cetuximab was also examined.ResultsEight hundred and fifty‐eight patients received ≥1 treatment on the IAP. The median age of participants was lower than the general colorectal cancer population (61 vs 71 years). A greater uptake by males was limited to patients over 65 years old. Socioeconomic status correlated with programme enrolment, and there appeared to be lower uptake among regional patients. The majority (93%) of patients received combination treatment with irinotecan, with a trend towards increasing use of single‐agent cetuximab over time. The median time‐on‐treatment was longer in patients treated with combination therapy than with monotherapy (12 vs 8 weeks). The CO20 trial had minimal impact on IAP enrolment and approximately doubled the number of Australian patients receiving cetuximab.ConclusionsPatients' age and gender in older patients impacted on participation in the IAP. Both the IAP and the CO20 trial contributed to a substantial proportion of Australian patients accessing an unfunded treatment, with an estimated 50% of the eligible patient population receiving cetuximab.
Gastroenterology training in Australia: a perspective from the coal face
Authors: De Cruz P. , Leung C. , Raftopoulos S. , Allen P. B. , Burgell R. , Rode A. , Rosenbaum J. , Bell S. J , Hebbard G. S. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractBackgroundThe Royal Australasian College of Physicians is developing curricula for training.AimsWe surveyed gastroenterology trainees on their training experience to establish whether training needs were being met.MethodsAn online anonymous survey of all gastroenterology trainees in 2009.ResultsNinety‐one per cent of trainees responded (105/115). Of these, 92% were adult, and 8% were paediatric trainees. Seventy four were core, and 31 were noncore trainees. Of those who had completed core training, the majority (86%) felt that their training had prepared them adequately for independent practice as a gastroenterologist. However, most respondents felt that core advanced training should be 3 years instead of 2 years. The majority (86%) saw a benefit in moving between hospitals during core training. Of the trainees managing inpatients, 57% were managing 10 or more per day, and 63% had three or more consultant ward rounds per week. The top three noncore fellowships were advanced endoscopy (44%), hepatology (28%) and inflammatory bowel disease (17%). Sixty‐one per cent and 39% were undertaking a clinical and research fellowship respectively. Seventy‐two per cent of core trainees attended up to three endoscopy lists per week, and 76% were on the on‐call urgent endoscopy roster. For on‐call endoscopy, 27% of third‐year noncore trainees and 5% of core trainees were unsupervised.ConclusionsThe majority of trainees felt that their core training would prepare them adequately for independent practice as gastroenterologists. Overall, trainees valued movement between hospitals during training and felt that core training should be 3 years. Some trainees had inadequate consultant support for out‐of‐hours emergency endoscopy.
Diabetes as a risk factor for dementia and mild cognitive impairment: a meta‐analysis of longitudinal studies
Authors: Cheng G. , Huang C. , Deng H. , Wang H. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractThis study examined the association of diabetes with the onset of dementia (including Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD) and any dementia) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by using a quantitative meta‐analysis of longitudinal studies. EMBASE and MEDLINE were searched for articles published up to December 2010. All studies that examined the relationship between diabetes and the onset of dementia or MCI were included. Pooled relative risks were calculated using fixed and random effects models. Nineteen studies met our inclusion criteria for this meta‐analysis, and 6184 subjects with diabetes and 38 530 subjects without diabetes were included respectively. All subjects were without dementia or MCI at baseline. The quantitative meta‐analysis showed that subjects with diabetes had higher risk for AD (relative risk (RR):1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20–1.77), VD (RR: 2.48, 95% CI: 2.08–2.96), any dementia (RR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.31–1.74) and MCI (RR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.02–1.45) than those without. The quantitative meta‐analysis showed that diabetes was a risk factor for incident dementia (including AD, VD and any dementia) and MCI.
NPY modulates PYY function in the regulation of energy balance and glucose homeostasis
Authors: Zhang L. , Nguyen A. D. , Lee I.‐C. J. , Yulyaningsih E. , Riepler S. J. , Stehrer B. , Enriquez R. F. , Lin S. , Shi Y.‐C. , Baldock P. A. , Sainsbury A. , Herzog H. 
Published: February 2012

Aims: Both the neuronal‐derived neuropeptide Y (NPY) and the gut hormone peptide YY (PYY) have been implicated in the regulation of energy balance and glucose homeostasis. However, despite similar affinities for the same Y receptors, the co‐ordinated actions of these two peptides in energy and glucose homeostasis remain largely unknown.Methods: To investigate the mechanisms and possible interactions between PYY with NPY in the regulation of these processes, we utilized NPY/PYY single and double mutant mouse models and examined parameters of energy balance and glucose homeostasis.Results: PYY−/− mice exhibited increased fasting‐induced food intake, enhanced fasting and oral glucose‐induced serum insulin levels, and an impaired insulin tolerance, − changes not observed in NPY−/− mice. Interestingly, whereas PYY deficiency‐induced impairment in insulin tolerance remained in NPY−/−PYY−/− mice, effects of PYY deficiency on fasting‐induced food intake and serum insulin concentrations at baseline and after the oral glucose bolus were absent in NPY−/−PYY−/− mice, suggesting that NPY signalling may be required for PYY's action on insulin secretion and fasting‐induced hyperphagia. Moreover, NPY−/−PYY−/−, but not NPY−/− or PYY−/− mice had significantly decreased daily food intake, indicating interactive control by NPY and PYY on spontaneous food intake. Furthermore, both NPY−/− and PYY−/− mice showed significantly reduced respiratory exchange ratio during the light phase, with no additive effects observed in NPY−/−PYY−/− mice, indicating that NPY and PYY may regulate oxidative fuel selection via partly shared mechanisms. Overall, physical activity and energy expenditure, however, are not significantly altered by NPY and PYY single or double deficiencies.Conclusions: These findings show significant and diverse interactions between NPY and PYY signalling in the regulation of different aspects of energy balance and glucose homeostasis.
Equine keratomycosis in Japan
Authors: Wada Shinya , Hobo Seiji , Ode Hirotaka , Niwa Hidekazu , Moriyama Hidekazu 
Published: February 2012

AbstractObjective To describe the incidence, clinical progress, visual outcome, and laboratory findings of equine keratomycosis in Japan.Procedure Retrospective study of the medical records of horses clinically and mycologically diagnosed with keratomycosis at the Equine Hospitals of the Japan Racing Association from 2005 to 2011.Results The diagnosis of keratomycosis was confirmed in eight horses (40.0% of the 20 horses with infectious keratitis from which fungi and/or bacteria were isolated). Fungi recovered from corneal swabs were identified asAspergillus flavus(4),Aspergillus niger(1),Fusarium solani(1), andMortierella wolfii(2). All horses were treated medically with topical antifungals, and one horse was also treated surgically. The median of treatment period was 40 days. Two horses were rendered blind in the affected eye and the others retained vision.Conclusions Equine keratomycosis comprises a considerable portion of infectious keratitis in Japan, and the causative fungi that we isolated had been isolated previously from horses with keratomycosis in other regions with the exception ofM. wolfii. Culture and cytological examination of corneal lesions should be immediately performed on eyes with signs of keratitis, particularly on those not improving with antibacterial medication, as early initiation of aggressive antifungal treatment tended to result in better outcome and shorter treatment period.
Measurement of peri‐prostatic fat thickness using transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS): a new risk factor for prostate cancer
Authors: Bhindi Bimal , Trottier Greg , Elharram Malik , Fernandes Kimberly A. , Lockwood Gina , Toi Ants , Hersey Karen M. , Finelli Antonio , Evans Andrew , van der Kwast Theodorus H. , Fleshner Neil E. 
Published: February 2012

Study Type – Prognosis (cohort)Level of Evidence 2bWhat's known on the subject? and What does the study add?ADIPOSE tissue secretes various endocrine and paracrine mediators. Some authors have begun to consider whether peri‐prostatic fat (PPF) may interact with the prostate and play a role in carcinogenesis. It has recently been shown that the PPF quantity measured by CT is associated with more aggressive disease in patients undergoing radiation therapy.Our group studied a population not yet diagnosed with prostate cancer. By doing so we were able to identify PPF thickness on transrectal ultrasonography as a risk factor for prostate cancer detection upon biopsy, and as a risk factor for high‐grade disease. Our study also raises interesting questions about the underlying mechanisms of the association between PPF quantity and prostate cancer.OBJECTIVE
To determine if the amount of peri‐prostatic fat (PPF) on transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) is a risk factor for incident prostate cancer overall and high‐grade prostate cancer (Gleason ≥4).
PATIENTS AND METHODS
A prospectively maintained database of patients undergoing prostate biopsy at Princess Margaret Hospital for cancer suspicion was used.
All TRUS examinations were retrospectively reviewed upon ‘blinding’ to outcome.
PPF thickness, measured as the distance between the prostate and the pubic bone, was used as an index of the quantity of PPF.
PPF measurements, together with other prostate cancer risk factors, were evaluated against prostate cancer and high‐grade prostate cancer detection upon biopsy with univariable and multivariable logistic regression and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis.
RESULTS
Of the 931 patients, 434 (47%) were diagnosed with prostate cancer and 218 (23%) were diagnosed with high‐grade prostate cancer.
The mean (range) PPF thickness was 5.3 (0–15) mm.
Increasing PPF thickness was associated with prostate cancer and high‐grade prostate cancer diagnosis, with graded effect. When adjusting for other variables, the odds of detecting any prostate cancer and high‐grade prostate cancer increased 12% (odds ratio [OR] 1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02–1.23) and 20% (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.07–1.34), respectively, for each millimetre increase in PPF thickness.
The AUCs for the association of PPF with prostate cancer and high‐grade prostate cancer were 0.58 (95% CI 0.54–0.62) and 0.59 (95% CI 0.55–0.64), respectively.
CONCLUSION
The amount of PPF can be estimated with TRUS and is a predictor of prostate cancer and high‐grade prostate cancer at biopsy. To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate PPF quantity in patients without prior prostate cancer diagnosis.
Pharmacological preconditioning of ATP‐sensitive potassium channel openers on acute urinary retention‐induced bladder dysfunction in the rat
Authors: Ohmasa Fumiya , Saito Motoaki , Oiwa Harunori , Tsounapi Panagiota , Shomori Kohei , Kitatani Kazuyuki , Dimitriadis Fotios , Kinoshita Yukako , Satoh Keisuke 
Published: February 2012

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?Acute urinary retention (AUR) and catheterization for AUR (AURC) or drainage of the urine is a well established cause of bladder dysfunction. Previously, we reported that the induction of AURC significantly reduced contractile responses to both carbachol and KCl compared with a control group, and that this reduction was prevented by nicorandil and cromakalim in a dose‐dependent manner; however, although we reported a possible beneficial effect of nicorandil and cromakalim on bladder dysfunction caused by AURC, its molecular mechanism is still unknown.Our study establishes that nicorandil and cromakalim, but not glibenclamide, prevent AURC‐induced bladder dysfunction via up‐regulation of both KIR6.1 and KIR6.2 with a subsequent decrease in oxidative stress and decreased induction of apoptosis in the bladder.OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether ATP‐sensitive potassium (KATP) channel openers prevent bladder injury after acute urinary retention (AUR) and subsequent catheterization for AUR (AURC) in the rat.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Eight‐week‐old male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into five groups: a sham‐operated control group, an AUR group, and three AUR groups treated with: nicorandil (10 mg/kg); cromakalim (300 µg/kg); or glibenclamide (5 mg/kg).
AUR was induced by intravesical infusion of 3.0 mL of saline via cystostomy with simultaneous clamping of the penile urethra and, after 30 min of AUR, the bladder was allowed to drain for 60 min.
After the experimental period, bladder function was assessed using organ bath techniques (carbachol and KCl), and by measuring tissue levels of 8‐isoprostane, a marker of oxidative stress. The participation levels of KATP channel pores were investigated using ELISA and real‐time PCR methods, respectively.
The degree of apoptosis was estimated using the TUNEL method in the bladder smooth muscle and epithelium.
RESULTS
The AURC group showed significantly decreased contractile responses to carbachol and KCl, and significant increases in tissue 8‐isoprostane levels and apoptosis index in the epithelium compared with the control group.
Nicorandil and cromakalim, but not glibenclamide, significantly prevented these AURC‐induced alterations.
The expressions of KIR6.1 and KIR6.2 mRNAs were significantly up‐regulated by the induction of AURC.
Nicorandil and cromakalim, but not glibenclamide, significantly up‐regulated expressions of KIR6.1 and KIR6.2 mRNAs in the bladder compared with the AUR group.
CONCLUSION
Our data indicate that nicorandil and cromakalim, but not glibenclamide, prevent AURC‐induced bladder dysfunction via activation of KATP channels, with a subsequent decrease in oxidative stress and decreased induction of apoptosis.
Lazy Visibility Evaluation for Exact Soft Shadows
Authors: Mora F. , Aveneau L. , Apostu O. , Ghazanfarpour D. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractThis paper presents a novel approach to compute high quality and noise‐free soft shadows using exact visibility computations. This work relies on a theoretical framework allowing to group lines according to the geometry they intersect. From this study, we derive a new algorithm encoding lazily the visibility from a polygon. Contrary to previous works on from‐polygon visibility, our approach is very robust and straightforward to implement. We apply this algorithm to solve exactly and efficiently the visibility of an area light source from any point in a scene. As a consequence, results are not sensitive to noise, contrary to soft shadows methods based on area light source sampling. We demonstrate the reliability of our approach on different scenes and configurations.
Generalized Model‐Based Human Motion Recognition with Body Partition Index Maps
Authors: Deng Liqun , Leung Howard , Gu Naijie , Yang Yang 
Published: February 2012

AbstractContent‐based human motion analysis has captured extensive concerns of researchers from the domains of computer animation, human‐machine interaction, entertainment, etc. However, it is a non‐trivial task due to the spatial and temporal variations in the motion data. In this paper, we propose a generalized model (GM)‐based approach to model the variations and accurately recognize motion patterns. We partition the human character model into five parts, and extract the features of the submotions of each specific body part using clustering techniques. These features from the training trials in each class are combined to build the GM. We propose a new penalty based similarity measure for DTW to be used with the GMs for isolated motion recognition. On the other hand, from the GMs five body partition index maps are constructed and used for matching together with a flexible end point detection scheme during continuous motion recognition. In the experiments, we examine the effectiveness and efficiency of the approach in both isolated motion and continuous motion recognition. The results show that our proposed method has good performance compared with other state‐of‐the‐art methods in recognition accuracy and processing speed.
Exploring Different Parameters to Assess Left Ventricle Global and Regional Functional Analysis from Coronary CT Angiography
Authors: Silva Samuel , Santos Beatriz Sousa , Madeira Joaquim 
Published: February 2012

AbstractCoronary CT angiography is widely used in clinical practice for the assessment of coronary artery disease. Several studies have shown that the same exam can also be used to assess left ventricle (LV) function. Even though coronary CT angiography provides data concerning multiple cardiac phases, along the cardiac cycle, LV function is usually evaluated using just the end‐systolic and end‐diastolic phases. This unused wealth of data, mostly due to its complexity and the lack of proper tools, has still to be explored to assess if further insight is possible regarding regional LV functional analysis. Furthermore, different parameters can be computed to characterize LV function and though some are well known by clinicians others still need to be tested concerning their value in clinical scenarios. Based on these premises, we present several parameters characterizing global and regional LV function, computed for several cardiac phases over one cardiac cycle. The data provided by the computed parameters is shown using a set of visualizations allowing synchronized visual exploration of the different data. The main purpose is to provide means for clinicians to explore the data and gather insight over their meaning and their correlation with each other and with diagnosis outcomes.
Spatio‐Temporal Filtering of Indirect Lighting for Interactive Global Illumination
Authors: Chen Ying‐Chieh , Lei Su Ian Eugene , Chang Chun‐Fa 
Published: February 2012

AbstractWe introduce a screen‐space statistical filtering method for real‐time rendering with global illumination. It is inspired by statistical filtering proposed by Meyer et al. to reduce the noise in global illumination over a period of time by estimating the principal components from all rendered frames. Our work extends their method to achieve nearly real‐time performance on modern GPUs. More specifically, our method employs the candid covariance‐free incremental PCA to overcome several limitations of the original algorithm by Meyer et al., such as its high computational cost and memory usage that hinders its implementation on GPUs. By combining the reprojection and per‐pixel weighting techniques, our method handles the view changes and object movement in dynamic scenes as well.
Ciliary neurotrophic factor stimulates tyrosine hydroxylase activity
Authors: Shi Xiao , Woodward William R. , Habecker Beth A. 
Published: February 2012

J. Neurochem. (2012) 121, 700–704.AbstractTyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the rate‐limiting enzyme in norepinephrine synthesis, and its expression and activity are regulated by many factors in sympathetic neurons. Cytokines that act through gp130, such as ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) decrease norepinephrine production in sympathetic neurons by suppressing TH mRNA and stimulating degradation of TH protein, leading to the loss of enzyme. Their effect on the activity of TH is unclear, but recent in vivo observations suggest that cytokines may stimulate TH activity. We investigated this issue by quantifying TH protein levels and activity in cultured sympathetic neurons. We also examined the state of TH phosphorylation on serine 31 and 40, sites known to affect TH activity and degradation. We found that CNTF, acting through gp130, stimulated the rate of l‐3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine production while at the same time decreasing TH enzyme levels, thereby increasing the specific activity of the enzyme. We also found that phosphorylation of TH on Ser31 was increased, and phosphorylation on Ser40 was decreased, after four days of CNTF exposure. Our data are consistent with previous findings that Ser31 phosphorylation stimulates TH activity, whereas Ser40 phosphorylation can target TH for proteasomal degradation.