bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nasal Nitric Oxide and Sinonasal Disease
Authors: Phillips P. Seamus , Sacks Raymond , Marcells George N. , Cohen Noam A. , Harvey Richard J. 
Published: January 2011

ObjectiveTo critically and systematically review the data available on the sinonasal application of nasal nitric oxide measurement, particularly its use as a diagnostic, prognostic, or treatment effect indicator.Data SourcesEMBASE 1980 to February 10, 2010; Medline 1950 to February 10, 2010; Cochrane Collaboration database; NHS Evidence Health Information Resources database.Review MethodsThe databases were searched using a search strategy designed to include manuscripts relevant both to nitric oxide measurement and sinus or nasal problems. A title search was carried out on these manuscripts to select those relevant to clinical or basic science aspects of nitric oxide measurement. A subsequent abstract search selected those manuscripts concerning the application of nitric oxide measurement to sinonasal problems. The manuscripts selected were subject to a full‐text review to extract data sets of nasal nitric oxide readings for different patient groups.ResultsInitially, 1088 manuscripts were selected. A title search found 335 manuscripts of basic scientific or clinical interest. An abstract search found 35 manuscripts directly relating to nitric oxide measurement in sinonasal disease. Full‐text analysis produced 20 studies with extractable data on nasal nitric oxide levels in clearly defined patient groups. Studies did not show sufficient homogeneity to enable substantial meta‐analysis of aggregated data.ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that nasal nitric oxide is not a clinically useful measure for sinonasal disease. Although there is some evidence that sinus surgery is associated with lowered nasal nitric oxide levels, there is no evidence that this is associated with deterioration in sinus health.
Greater Than 10-Year Results of Red-White Longitudinal Meniscal Repairs in Patients 20 Years of Age or Younger
Authors: Noyes Frank R. , Chen Ryan C. , Barber-Westin Sue D. , Potter Hollis G. 
Published: January 2011

Background: A prospective longitudinal investigation was conducted to determine the long-term outcome of single longitudinal meniscal repairs extending into the central avascular region in patients aged 20 years or younger. Purpose: To determine the long-term success rate and reoperation rate of meniscal repairs extending into the avascular zone. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Thirty-three meniscal repairs were performed using an inside-out multiple vertical divergent suture technique. A concomitant anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction was done in 18 patients. The mean follow-up was 16.8 years (range, 10.1-21.9 years). The long-term success rate was determined in 29 repairs (88%) by the presence of normal or nearly normal parameters from 2 validated knee rating systems, assessment of magnetic resonance imaging and weightbearing posteroanterior radiographs by independent physicians, and follow-up arthroscopy when required. A 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner with cartilage-sensitive pulse sequences was used, and T2 mapping was performed. A comparison was made between the short-term (mean, 4 years) and long-term outcomes. Results: Eighteen (62%) of the meniscal repairs had normal or nearly normal characteristics in all of the parameters assessed. Six repairs (21%) required partial arthroscopic resection, 2 had loss of joint space on radiographs, and 3 that were asymptomatic failed according to magnetic resonance imaging criteria, for a total of 11 documented failures (38%). There was no significant difference in the mean articular cartilage T2 scores in the healed menisci between the involved and contralateral tibiofemoral compartments in the same knee. There were no significant differences between short- and long-term evaluations for pain, swelling, jumping, patient knee condition rating, or the overall Cincinnati rating score. Conclusions: A chondroprotective joint effect was demonstrated in the healed menisci repairs, which warrants the procedure in select patients. The long-term evaluation of the anterior cruciate ligament–reconstructed knees with concurrent successful meniscal repairs demonstrated a low rate of radiographic arthritis.
Trends in Concussion Incidence in High School Sports
Authors: Lincoln Andrew E. , Caswell Shane V. , Almquist Jon L. , Dunn Reginald E. , Norris Joseph B. , Hinton Richard Y. 
Published: January 2011

Background: Understanding the risk and trends of sports-related concussion among 12 scholastic sports may contribute to concussion detection, treatment, and prevention. Purpose: To examine the incidence and relative risk of concussion in 12 high school boys’ and girls’ sports between academic years 1997-1998 and 2007-2008. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Data were prospectively gathered for 25 schools in a large public high school system. All schools used an electronic medical record-keeping program. A certified athletic trainer was on-site for games and practices and electronically recorded all injuries daily. Results: In sum, 2651 concussions were observed in 10 926 892 athlete-exposures, with an incidence rate of 0.24 per 1000. Boys’ sports accounted for 53% of athlete-exposures and 75% of all concussions. Football accounted for more than half of all concussions, and it had the highest incidence rate (0.60). Girls’ soccer had the most concussions among the girls’ sports and the second-highest incidence rate of all 12 sports (0.35). Concussion rate increased 4.2-fold (95% confidence interval, 3.4-5.2) over the 11 years (15.5% annual increase). In similar boys’ and girls’ sports (baseball/softball, basketball, and soccer), girls had roughly twice the concussion risk of boys. Concussion rate increased over time in all 12 sports. Conclusion: Although the collision sports of football and boys’ lacrosse had the highest number of concussions and football the highest concussion rate, concussion occurred in all other sports and was observed in girls’ sports at rates similar to or higher than those of boys’ sports. The increase over time in all sports may reflect actual increased occurrence or greater coding sensitivity with widely disseminated guidance on concussion detection and treatment. The high-participation collision sports of football and boys’ lacrosse warrant continued vigilance, but the findings suggest that focus on concussion detection, treatment, and prevention should not be limited to those sports traditionally associated with concussion risk.
Clinical Ethics in the ICU: A Case of Attempted Suicide
Authors: Bartlett Virginia L. , Killu Claude , Finder Stuart , Hackner Dani 
Published: January 2011

Vignette: A 57-year-old man was brought into the emergency department by paramedics for altered mental status. He was noted to be in his usual state of health the morning of the event when he became confused, vomited, and was observed to fall on the floor without trauma to the head. His baseline health was notable for diabetes mellitus, schizoaffective disorder, history of one prior hospitalization in 2009 for lithium toxicity, hyperlipidemia, and genital herpes. The patient’s wife, at bedside, denied that he used tobacco, alcohol, or street drugs. Living with him in the community, his wife indicated that the patient had a progressive brain disease and possibly early dementia, but she denied any impairment of activities of daily living. The spouse brought to the hospital a signed living will requesting no extraordinary measures in case of a coma with little hope of recovery. His “living will” also specified that he would refuse mechanical ventilation or tube feeding even for reversible conditions. The patient was found to have severe acidosis, multiorgan dysfunction, transaminases elevated to the 6000 U/L level, and an acetaminophen level of 465 mg/L. Shortly after routine therapy was initiated, a signed note was brought in from the patient’s home stating the following: “I am doing this before my brain disease overtakes me.” Clinical ethics is urgently consulted about whether to proceed with emergent dialysis, mechanical ventilation, and evaluation for liver transplantation. We present 3 perspectives on whether to treat and how to proceed in the setting of a potential suicide attempt with an advance directive limiting care options.
Critical Conversations
Authors: Dupree Erin S. , Kohli-Seth Roopa , Benjamin Ernest , Ng Philip , Killu Claude , Tanabe Ryoko , Hackner Dani 
Published: January 2011

Vignette A 36-year-old homeless man was brought in to the emergency room with altered mental status and was unable to give a history. Based on prior emergency visits, he has a history of IV drug abuse and alcohol abuse. His vital signs on arrival are the following: HR of 110 (regular), BP of 102/58, temperature of 98.0, and respiratory rate of 8/min. His Glasgow Coma Scale score is 7. Physical examination results are that he is grossly obtunded, responds only to deep painful stimuli, is nonverbal, and moves all extremities. Pupils are small, 2 to 3 mm, and reactive. His heart reveals regular tachycardia. Lungs are clear to auscultation. Abdomen is within normal limits. His extremities are warm to touch. Skin reveals ecchymosis. His initial head CT finding is negative for bleeding, infarct, or mass. He has severe metabolic acidosis, and the urine toxin screen result is positive for cocaine and opiates. His creatinine kinase enzyme is greater than 20,000 IU/L. Peripheral venous access attempts are unsuccessful. The right internal jugular vein is accessed via a needle with ultrasound guidance, but a guidewire failed to pass on multiple attempts. The emergency physician inserts a right femoral line triple lumen catheter without ultrasound. The patient is intubated via an endotracheal tube for airway protection and admitted to the medical ICU.
Octahedrally coordinated vacancies in tourmaline: a theoretical approach
Authors: Bosi F. 
Published: January 2011

AbstractBond-valence theory is used to explore the local arrangements involving vacancies at the Y and Z sites in the tourmaline structure. The local bond-valence requirements of all possible local arrangements around the O8, O7, O6, O3 and O1 anion-sites have been determined for Y- and Z-site vacancies locally associated with Li1+, Mg2+, Al3+, Fe2+, Fe3+, B3+ and Si4+. The results show that arrangements involving tetrahedrally coordinated TR3+-cations and octahedrally coordinated YR2+- and ZR2+-cations around O8, 07 and O6 can be ruled out, together with arrangements involving vacancies and YLi1+. As the occurrence of a Y-site vacancy (Y☐) is more in accord with the valence-sum rule than the occurrence of a Z-site vacancy (Z☐), Y☐ is more likely to occur than Z☐ in tourmaline. Local arrangements involving vacancies around O1- and O3-sites can be stable for OH−, but not for O2−. Of particular interest in this regard are the arrangements [YR3+YR3+Y☐]−O1(OH−) and [ZR3+ZR3+Y☐]−O3(OH−), which yield the smallest deviations from the valence-sum rule. Coupling these stable arrangements with 2 × [TSi4+ZR3+Y☐]−O6(O2−) forms larger vacancy clusters: [Y(R3+)2−O1(OH−)−y(☐)− O3(OH−)−O6(O2−)2−(ZR3+TSi4+)2]. In tourmaline, vacancies are more favoured to occur at Y rather than at Z, in tandem with OH− at O3 and O1, R3+ at Y and Z and Si4+ at T.
Bridging the gap between risk and recovery: a human needs approach
Authors: Roychowdhury Ashimesh 
Published: January 2011

SummaryThere is an inexorable drive in psychiatric services in the UK, including forensic services, towards organising and delivering care based on the principles of the recovery model. Hence recovery, and its subjective and objective measures, is the goal of these services and the standard by which the quality of the service is evaluated. At the same time, all psychiatric services are expected to practise evidence-based risk assessment and management practices and can be subject to severe criticism or sanctions if they do not do so. In this paper I set out the view that the values that underlie the recovery approach and the clinical risk assessment approach appear to be polar opposites. However, an understanding of human behaviour using a humanneeds model is an explanatory paradigm that underlies both the recovery model and the understanding of risk behaviour, and can thus unify these two approaches. Therefore a more explicit integration of this model into forensic care would be beneficial and there should be more research directed to the correlates of recovery-oriented measures and risk-related measures.
Bubble-assisted Assembly of Nanocrystals into Hierarchical Structures
Authors: Hu Chaoquan 
Published: January 2011

Abstract
Alkaline-earth carbonates (M = Ca, Sr, and Ba) with delicate hierarchical structures were prepared via self-assembly of nanocrystals in solution without using any surfactant at room temperature. The CO2 generated during the coprecipitation is believed to play an important role in the formation of these structures.
Influence of Guanidine, Imidazole, and Some Heterocyclic Compounds on Dissolution Rates of Amorphous Silica
Authors: Kawano Motoharu , Hwang Jinyeon 
Published: January 2011

AbstractGuanidine and imidazole are important functional molecules that constitute the side chain of basic amino acids (arginine and histidine); these molecules are capable of interacting with mineral surfaces. However, little information is available about the effect of these molecules on mineral dissolution, including amorphous silica. In this study, to evaluate the effect of these organic molecules on the dissolution rates of amorphous silica, dissolution experiments were performed in solutions containing these molecules and other related heterocyclic compounds. The dissolution experiments were conducted by the batch method using 0.1 g of amorphous silica and 100 mL of 0.1 mM NaCl solution with 0.0, 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0 mM of guanidine, imidazole, pyrazole, or pyrrole at pH values of 4, 5, and 6. The results demonstrated that these compounds can enhance the dissolution rate of amorphous silica, depending on their ionic speciation in the following order: guanidine = imidazole > pyrazole > pyrrole. When 10.0 mM solutions were used, both guanidine and imidazole greatly increased the dissolution rate with an enhancement factor of 5.5—6.5, pyrazole exhibited a smaller change in the dissolution rate with an enhancement factor of 1.5—2.4, and pyrrole exhibited no significant enhancement. ChemEQL calculations confirmed that guanidine (pK = 13.6) and imidazole (pK = 6.99) are fully protonated and mostly present as cationic species in a pH range of 4—6; therefore, these compounds are capable of interacting with the >SiO- sites of amorphous silica. Pyrazole (pK= 2.61) and pyrrole (pK = 0.4), however, existed mostly as neutral forms. The concentrations of cationic species of pyrazole and pyrrole were at least one and three orders of magnitude lower than those of fully protonated compounds, respectively; therefore, pyrazole and pyrrole were less reactive than the fully protonated compounds on the surfaces of amorphous silica.
Clay Minerals in Saprolite Overlying Hydrothermally Altered and Unaltered Rocks, Vera Epithermal Gold Deposit, Australia
Authors: Murphy David M. K. , Gilkes Robert J. 
Published: January 2011

AbstractDifferentiating clay minerals that formed in a supergene environment during deep chemical weathering from those that formed during hydrothermal alteration at higher temperatures associated with a mineralizing event is important in the exploration for epithermal Au deposits. The purpose of this study was to further elucidate this topic by comparing morphological and chemical properties of clay minerals in saprolite overlying epithermally altered bedrock at the Vera Au deposit, Queensland, Australia, with those of clay minerals in saprolite overlying bedrock adjacent to the epithermal alteration zone. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM) investigations identified kaolinite, illite, and interstratified illite-smectite, together with quartz, Fe and Ti oxide minerals, and the sulfate minerals jarosite, gypsum, alunite, and natroalunite. Kaolinite crystals within the weathered argillic alteration zone proximal to the epithermal quartz vein are generally larger (up to 3 μm in diameter) and better formed (subhedral to euhedral) than crystals in saprolite distal to the hydrothermal alteration zone, in which smaller (mostly <1 μm), subhedral to anhedral crystals dominate. Energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analysis of single crystals indicated that kaolinite within the alteration zone has an Al/Si ratio indistinguishable from reference kaolinite and has small Fe concentrations, whereas distal saprolitic kaolinite has smaller Al/Si and greater Fe/Si ratios, consistent with the formation of low-Fe kaolinite during hydrothermal alteration and higher-Fe kaolinite during weathering. Illite and interstratified illitesmectite (I-S) were distinguished from kaolinite by their morphology and greater K/Si and smaller Al/Si ratios. The Illite and I-S morphology ranged from thin irregular masses through lath-like crystals in hydrothermal samples to larger, irregularly shaped crystals. The Ca/Si and K/Si ratios of single crystals in Ca-saturated clay minerals were consistent with the I-S interstratification parameters determined from XRD patterns.
Quality indicators and specifications for key analytical-extranalytical processes in the clinical laboratory. Five years’ experience using the Six Sigma concept
Authors: Llopis Ma Antònia , Trujillo Gloria , Llovet Ma Isabel , Tarrés Ester , Ibarz Mercè , Biosca Carme , Ruiz Rosa , Kirchner Ma Jesus Alsina , Alvarez Virtudes , Busquets Glòria , Doménech Ma Vicenta , Figueres Carme , Minchinela Joana , Pastor Rosa Ma , Perich Carmen , Ricós Carmen , Sansalvador Mireia , Palmada Margarita Simón 
Published: January 2011

Abstract

Background: The results of 5 years of experience (2004–2008) with process-based quality management using quality indicators for key laboratory processes (analytic and extra-analytic) in a group of clinical laboratories affiliated with the Catalan Health Institute are presented. Our purpose was to analyze the evolution of the indicators, identify processes that require corrective measures, and obtain specifica tions that are more robust than the preliminary ones proposed in a previous study by the same group.

Methods: The yearly average was recorded for each indicator in each laboratory, the yearly interlaboratory median was calculated, and the changes occurring were studied to determine their continuity in the 5-year period. For each indicator, the average of the yearly medians was calculated and the results transformed to the Six Sigma scale to estimate the degree of control over the related process. It was suggested to establish the yearly interlaboratory median as the desirable specification for each indicator.

Results: The medians for most indicators were stable during the period studied. Thus, the specifications proposed in the first study were considered robust in these cases. The Six Sigma statistic provided added value in this study because it enabled detection of processes that should be improved, in which case the specifications proposed were considered provisional despite their stability. After identifying processes that have the greatest impact on patient safety, the group set a specification of 0%, regardless of the actual specification obtained, although the members are conscious of the difficulty in attaining this level of quality. Certain processes that are in a period of change obtained specifications that are considered in a phase of consolidation.

Conclusions: The results for indicators related with sample collection indicate that the process is stable and well controlled. However, based on the results for Hemolyzed serum sample, the group saw the need for installing centrifuges in all phlebotomy centers and established a recommendation to unify the system for measuring hemolysis. The indicator External control exceeds acceptance limit clearly highlighted the need to rigorously monitor the analytic phase of the clinical laboratory. The values obtained for the indicator Reports from referred tests exceed delivery time show that there is considerable deviation regarding the expected report delivery time, whereas for in-house laboratory reports, delivery time is satisfactory.
B-type natriuretic peptide measurement in primary care; magnitude of associations with cardiovascular risk factors and their therapies. Observations from the STOP-HF (St. Vincent’s Screening TO Prevent Heart Failure) study
Authors: Conlon Carmel M. , Dawkins Ian , O’Loughlin Christina , Gibson Denise , Kelleher Cecily C. , Ledwidge Mark , McDonald Kenneth 
Published: January 2011

Abstract

Background: An effective prevention strategy for heart failure in primary care requires a reliable screening tool for asymptomatic ventricular dysfunction. Preliminary data indicate that B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) may be suitable for this task. However, for the most effective use of this peptide, the interrelationships between associated risk factors and their therapies on BNP, and in particular their magnitude of effect, needs to be established in a large primary care population. Therefore, the objective of the study was to establish the extent of the association between BNP, cardiovascular risk factors and their therapies.

Methods: BNP measurement and clinical review was preformed on 1122 primary care patients with cardiovascular risk factors. Multivariate analyses identified significant associates of BNP concentrations which were further explored to establish the magnitude of their association.

Results: Associates of BNP were age (1.36-fold increase in BNP/decade), female (1.28), β-blockers (1.90), myocardial infarction (1.36), arrhythmia (1.98), diastolic blood pressure; all p<0.01. A novel method was devised that plotted median BNP per sliding decade of age for the various combinations of these principal associates.

Conclusions: The data presented underline the importance of considering several clinical and therapeutic factors when interpreting BNP concentrations. Most of these variables were associated with increased concentrations, which may in part explain the observed false-positive rates for detecting ventricular dysfunction using this peptide. Furthermore, the design of studies or protocols using BNP as an endpoint or a clinical tool should take particular account of these associations. This analysis provides the foundation for age, risk factor and therapy adjusted reference ranges for BNP in this setting.