bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Predictors of Unusual ECG Characteristics in Cavotricuspid Isthmus‐Dependent Atrial Flutter Ablation
Authors: HOFFMAYER KURT S. , YANG YANFEI , JOSEPH STEPHEN , MCCABE JAMES M. , BHAVE PRASHANT , HSU JONATHAN , NG RAMFORD K. , LEE BYRON K. , BADHWAR NITISH , LEE RANDALL J. , TSENG ZIAN H. , OLGIN JEFFREY E. , NARAYAN SANJIV M. , MARCUS GREGORY M. , SCHEINMAN MELVIN M. 
Published: May 2011

Background:
An unusual 12‐lead electrocardiographic pattern may be present in patients with cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI)‐dependent flutter.
Objective:
Using baseline patient characteristics and echocardiography, we sought to study predictors of unusual electrocardiogram (ECG) characteristics in patients with CTI‐dependent atrial flutter.
Methods:
This was a dual‐center, retrospective cohort study of 147 patients undergoing electrophysiology study and ablation for CTI‐dependent atrial flutter.
Results:
Among this cohort, 23 patients (16%) had unusual 12‐lead ECG characteristics. Using multivariate logistic regression, we found two clinical predictors for having an unusual ECG pattern. A clockwise (CW) pattern at time of electrophysiology study was the strongest predictor of an unusual ECG pattern (odds ratio 15.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.0–59.4, P < 0.005). In addition, patients with decreased systolic function had a 3.5 greater odds (95% CI 1.1–11.5, P = 0.037) of having an unusual ECG pattern.
Conclusions:
Our data demonstrate that among patients suffering from CTI‐dependent atrial flutter who are referred for ablation, 16% will have unusual ECG patterns. Patients with CW atrial activation and left ventricle dysfunction have greater odds of manifesting unusual patterns by surface electrocardiogram. (PACE 2011; 34:1251–1257)
First‐year oral health and dentistry student perceptions of future professional work
Authors: Anderson V. , Kang M. , Foster Page L. 
Published: May 2011

AbstractObjectives:  To explore and compare how pre‐doctoral dentistry (BDS) and oral health (BOH) students characterise their future professional work at the start and end of their first‐year professional programme.Materials and methods:  All BDS and BOH students were given an anonymous survey on the first and last days of their 2009 course. Start and end surveys (ES) were completed by 75% of BDS (51) and 83% of BOH students (33). This paper examines students’ responses to two questions asking them to identify a situation characterising their future professional work and a professional difficulty they would likely encounter. Student responses were analysed inductively to identify key themes and confirm each theme’s ‘weighting’ based on frequency of mention.Results:  Students’ answers to both questions revealed eight characterisations of future professional work involving the following: restorative tasks, patient‐related concerns, patient emotion and behaviour, population‐level/public health concerns, disease prevention and monitoring, communication, teamwork and self‐management. In ES responses, BDS students emphasised restorative tasks as central to a dentist’s work, and in both surveys perceived ‘dealing with patients’ as a central difficulty. In contrast, BOH students’ answers to both questions revealed a patient care emphasis, and in both surveys, BOH students emphasised patient‐related concerns as a likely difficulty.Conclusion:  Bachelor of Dentistry students characterised their work as primarily interventive, and BOH students, as primarily patient‐centred, communicative, and preventive. Whilst BDS students apparently valued restorative capabilities, BOH students valued the ability to ensure patient well‐being. Further research will examine students’ differing perceptions and how these change over time.
Loss of PKCδ results in characteristics of Sjögren’s syndrome including salivary gland dysfunction
Authors: Banninger GP , Cha S , Said MS , Pauley KM , Carter CJ , Onate M , Pauley BA , Anderson SM , Reyland ME 
Published: May 2011

Oral Diseases (2011) 17, 601–609Objectives:  Chronic infiltration of lymphocytes into the salivary and lacrimal glands of patients with Sjögren’s Syndrome (SS) leads to destruction of acinar cells and loss of exocrine function. Protein kinase C‐delta (PKCδ) is known to play a critical role in B‐cell maintenance. Mice in which the PKCδ gene has been disrupted have a loss of B‐cell tolerance, multiple organ lymphocytic infiltration, and altered apoptosis. To determine whether PKCδ contributes to the pathogenesis of SS, we quantified changes in indicators of SS in PKCδ−/− mice as a function of age. Salivary gland histology, function, the presence of autoantibodies, and cytokine expression were examined.Materials and methods:  Submandibular glands were examined for the presence of lymphocytic infiltrates, and the type of infiltrating lymphocyte and cytokine deposition was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Serum samples were tested by autoantibody screening, which was graded by its staining pattern and intensity. Salivary gland function was determined by saliva collection at various ages.Results:  PKCδ−/− mice have reduced salivary gland function, B220+ B‐cell infiltration, anti‐nuclear antibody production, and elevated IFN‐γ in the salivary glands as compared to PKCδ+//+ littermates.Conclusions:  PKCδ−/− mice have exocrine gland tissue damage indicative of a SS–like phenotype.
Comparison of the Changes in Sexual Function of Premenopausal and Postmenopausal Women Following Transvaginal Mesh Surgery
Authors: Long Cheng-Yu , Hsu Chun-Shuo , Wu Ming-Ping , Lo Tsia-Shu , Liu Cheng-Min , Tsai Eing-Mei 
Published: May 2011

Abstract

Introduction
The effect of transvaginal mesh (TVM) surgery on sexual function between premenopausal and postmenopausal women remains controversial.

Aim
To compare the changes in sexual function of premenopausal and postmenopausal women following TVM repair.

Methods
One hundred and fifty-two consecutive women with symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse (POP) stages II to IV were referred for TVM procedures at our hospitals. Sixty-eight women were included because they were sexually active and had complete follow-up. All subjects were divided into the premenopausal (N = 36) and postmenopausal (N = 32) groups. Preoperative and postoperative assessments included pelvic examination using the POP quantification (POP-Q) system and a personal interview with the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6), and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7).

Main Outcome Measures
The FSFI, UDI-6, and IIQ-7 questionnaires.

Results
The mean age, rates of hypertension, and previous hysterectomy were significantly higher in the postmenopausal group (P &lt; 0.05) compared with the premenopausal group. As for the POP-Q analysis, there was a significant improvement at points Aa, Ba, C, Ap, and Bp (P &lt; 0.001) in both groups except for total vaginal length (P &gt; 0.05). Similarly, the UDI-6 and IIQ-7 scores significantly decreased postoperatively (P &lt; 0.01). After POP surgery, the score of the dyspareunia domain decreased significantly in the premenopausal group (P &lt; 0.01) but was not the case for the postmenopausal group (P &gt; 0.05). There were no significant changes in other domains and total scores in both groups (P &gt; 0.05). However, higher rates of worsening dyspareunia and total scores were noted in the premenopausal group (P = 0.03 vs. 0.033).

Conclusion
TVM procedure is effective for the anatomical restoration of POP. However, individual domain of FSFI such as dyspareunia may worsen in the premenopausal women. Additionally, our results revealed that over one third of premenopausal women could have a worsening sexuality domain postoperatively, with significantly higher rate of deteriorated dyspareunia and total FSFI scores than postmenopausal women.
The Cognitive Science of Visual‐Spatial Displays: Implications for Design
Authors: Hegarty Mary 
Published: May 2011

AbstractThis paper reviews cognitive science perspectives on the design of visual‐spatial displays and introduces the other papers in this topic. It begins by classifying different types of visual‐spatial displays, followed by a discussion of ways in which visual‐spatial displays augment cognition and an overview of the perceptual and cognitive processes involved in using displays. The paper then argues for the importance of cognitive science methods to the design of visual displays and reviews some of the main principles of display design that have emerged from these approaches to date. Cognitive scientists have had good success in characterizing the performance of well‐defined tasks with relatively simple visual displays, but many challenges remain in understanding the use of complex displays for ill‐defined tasks. Current research exemplified by the papers in this topic extends empirical approaches to new displays and domains, informs the development of general principles of graphic design, and addresses current challenges in display design raised by the recent explosion in availability of complex data sets and new technologies for visualizing and interacting with these data.
Real‐Time Monitoring of Blood Flow and Intravesical Pressure in the Rat Bladder
Authors: SAITO Motoaki , OHMASA Fumiya , TSOUNAPI Panagiota , INOUE Seiya , KINOSHITA Yukako , DIMITRIADIS Fotios , SATOH Keisuke 
Published: May 2011

Objectives: Because there is little information available about blood flow in the voiding cycle of the bladder, we performed a study in which we simultaneously monitored blood flow and intravesical pressure during the micturition cycle in a rat model.Methods: Approximately 300 g male Wistar rats were used in this study. Cystometric studies were performed according to our previous report, and simultaneously blood flow was monitored.Results: Before the micturition reflex occurred, a significant increase in bladder blood flow was observed, and this increased blood flow continued during the micturition reflex. Under the maximum contraction pressure, blood flow rapidly decreased (within 10% compared to the max level). This low level of blood flow continued for more than half a minute.Conclusion: Our data indicated that the blood flow in the bladder was dynamically changed during voiding. This technique may represent a strong tool to investigate bladder function under drug administrations and/or pathophysiological conditions.
Plasma D‐dimer level in the perioperative period in non‐small‐cell lung cancer
Authors: Wang Zhe , Fu Junke , Diao Dongmei , Dang Chengxue 
Published: May 2011

AbstractBackground:  There has been little research on perioperative hypercoagulability in non‐small‐cell lung cancer patients. The D‐dimer can be used to evaluate the hypercoagulability in cancer patients.Methods:  Eighty‐five non‐small‐cell lung cancer patients were included in the study. The plasma D‐dimer levels during the preoperative and 3rd and 9th day postoperative period were prospectively examined and analyzed along with the clinicopathological characteristics.Results:  The medians (interquartile range) of the preoperative, 3rd and 9th day postoperative D‐dimer levels were 1.09 (0.77) mg/L, 3.35 (2.31) mg/L and 4.1 (2.55) mg/L respectively (P= 0.00). The preoperative D‐dimer level was related with the stage (P= 0.004). The preoperative and the 3rd day postoperative D‐dimer levels were both related to patient age (P= 0.014, P= 0.034). The 3rd day postoperative D‐dimer levels were arbitrarily stratified into three groups, adenocarcinoma dominated the high and low groups while squamous cell carcinoma dominated the median one (exact P= 0.02). The pneumonectomy group did not show a higher 3rd day postoperative D‐dimer level than the lobectomy group (P= 0.064).Conclusion:  Non‐small‐cell lung cancer patients had increasing hypercoagulability within the first 9 postoperative days. Preoperative hypercoagulability was close related with tumor stage. Heterogeneity existed among postoperative hypercoagulability.
Randomization tests for quantifying species importance to ecosystem function
Authors: Gotelli Nicholas J. , Ulrich Werner , Maestre Fernando T. 
Published: May 2011

Summary1. Quantifying the contribution of different species to ecosystem function is an important challenge. We introduce simple randomization tests (and software) for quantifying the average effect of species on ecosystem variables measured in multiple plots with and without the presence of a particular species. These randomization tests formalize the analysis of uncontrolled ‘natural experiments’ and quantify species effects in standardized deviation units.2. We tested the method with data on ecosystem function in biological soil crust assemblages of lichens in semi‐arid gypsum outcrops in central Spain. In sixty‐three 50 cm × 50 cm sample plots, we measured the presence and percentage cover of 17 species of lichens and the levels of five important ecosystem variables (organic carbon, total nitrogen, urease activity, phosphatase activity and β‐glucosidase activity). The randomization tests revealed 13 positive and six negative associations between species presence and ecosystem function.3. We used data from an independent microcosm experiment on ecosystem function and species composition to validate these results. Microcosms that had higher levels of organic carbon and total nitrogen also had higher average species effect scores (measured from the survey data) for the species that were present in each experimental treatment.4. As in all natural experiments, strong species interactions, effects of unmeasured abiotic variables on species occurrence and reciprocal effects of ecosystem variables on species occurrence can potentially confound estimates of species importance. Nevertheless, the method we propose provides a simple index and statistical test of species importance that can form the basis for additional hypothesis tests and experimental studies of species occurrence and ecosystem function.
Dyssynchrony, Contractile Function, and Response to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
Authors: Knappe Dorit , Pouleur Anne-Catherine , Shah Amil M. , Cheng Susan , Uno Hajime , Hall W. Jackson , Bourgoun Mikhail , Foster Elyse , Zareba Wojciech , Goldenberg Ilan , McNitt Scott , Pfeffer Marc A. , Moss Arthur J. , Solomon Scott D. ,   for the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial–Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Investigators
Published: May 2011

Background—
Despite benefits of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with severe but less symptomatic heart failure, approximately 30% of patients do not fully respond to treatment. We hypothesized that a combined assessment of left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony and contractile function by strain-based imaging would identify patients who would most benefit from CRT.

Methods and Results—
We studied 1077 patients with New York Heart Association class I/II, LV ejection fraction ≤30% and QRS width ≥130 ms enrolled in the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial–Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy trial with sufficient echocardiographic image quality for cardiac deformation analysis (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator [ICD], n=416; CRT, n=661). Patients were assigned to CRT plus an ICD or to ICD alone in 3:2 random assignment. We assessed the degree to which baseline echocardiographic assessments of dyssynchrony, measured as the standard deviation of time-to-peak transverse strain over 12 segments, contractile function, measured as global longitudinal strain, or both predicted the effect of treatment on the primary outcome of death or heart failure. With 213 primary events occurring over a mean of 2.4 years, the benefit of CRT plus an ICD relative to ICD alone was greatest in patients with mild to moderate dyssynchrony (time-to-peak transverse strain standard deviation, 142 to 230 ms) and greater baseline contractile function (global longitudinal strain ≤−8.7%). Overall, those patients with mild to moderate dyssynchrony and those with best contractile function at baseline demonstrated the greatest benefit from CRT (adjusted hazards ratio, 0.20; 95% confidence interval, 0.09 to 0.44). Dyssynchrony and global longitudinal strain predicted response to CRT independent of each other, QRS width, LV ejection fraction, and presence versus absence of left bundle-branch block, although the observed benefit remained greatest in patients with left bundle-branch block.

Conclusions—
Both mechanical dyssynchrony and contractile function are important independent correlates of benefit from CRT.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT00180271.
Deictic Abstractions:On the Occasional References to Ideal Objectivities Producible with the Words “This” and “Thus”*
Authors: Sowa Rochus 
Published: May 2011

AbstractThis essay introduces the concept of deictic abstraction (deictic ideation), taking as a point of departure Husserl’s prototypical but insufficient description of the act of ideation in which a shade of color comes to givenness as an ideal object, i.e., a non-individual or abstract object, on the basis of a perceived individual object. This concept comprises not only color-ideation and ideations (abstractions) of universalities of the sensuous sphere (species infima of certain sounds, noises, smells, tastes), but all acts founded in perceptions in which ideal objects are directly referred to by means of demonstrative expressions (“this,” “like this,” “such,” etc.). This allows various types of deictic ideations or abstractions, corresponding to the degree of universality and the kind of ideal object concerned, to be brought to light through the analysis of particular cases of everyday acts of deictic abstraction, including deictic abstractions of predicative universals of the lowest level of universality (e.g., “this smell of perfume,” “a bug like this”); deictic abstractions of non-predicative universals, especially of universal ways (manners, schemata) of doing something (e.g., of tying a shoelace); and deictic abstractions of individual styles of doing something (e.g., of playing a musical composition in a typical individual way). Deictic abstractions not only turn out to be constitutive for the formation of perceptual concepts of the lower and lowest levels, but also prove to be foundational for all kinds of learning in which schemata of actions are acquired from a model (observational learning).
The Importance of Securing the Psychologically Impalpable: The Vicissitudes of the Perception of Expressiveness*
Authors: Giorgi Amedeo 
Published: May 2011

AbstractHistorically, when psychology broke away from a philosophical mode of scholarship it strove to become a natural science. This meant that it largely imitated the concepts and practices of the natural sciences which included the use of abstract terms to designate many of its phenomena with the consequence that psychology is often more abstract and generic than it ought to be. Husserl has emphasized the role of the life-world as the ultimate basis of all knowledge and a serious consideration of its role implies that psychology’s manner of labeling its phenomena should be less abstract and closer to the way the phenomena are experienced in the lifeworld. If so, this means that psychology’s primary data should be physiognomies or the expressive characteristics intrinsic to objects and situations. However, the complexities involved in the perception of physiognomies create difficulties for the practice of science. It is suggested that certain Husserlian phenomenological contributions concerning categorial modes of experiencing could be helpful in meeting scientific criteria.
A Phenomenological Analysis of the Experience of Pivotal Moments in Therapy as Defined by Clients*
Authors: Giorgi Barbro 
Published: May 2011

AbstractThis study was concerned with the clarification of the experience of pivotal moments in therapy. By pivotal moment is understood an event within the therapeutic process that leads to enduring change experienced as an important improvement in the life-experience of the client. Retrospective descriptions of a therapeutic process were obtained from three clients in which a distinguishable chain of events could be discerned that the clients identified as a pivotal moment. The descriptive material was analyzed according to the descriptive phenomenological psychological method developed by Amedeo Giorgi on the basis of the philosophical phenomenology of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty. The results show that the pivotal moment is experienced as a figural moment within the therapeutic process where a serious challenge to old assumptions takes place, necessitating a break from old cognitive, affective and behavioral patterns in a context of trust and safety within the therapeutic relationship.
Citizens to Lords: A Social History of Western Political Thought From Antiquity to the Middle Ages
Authors: Kennedy Geoff 
Published: May 2011

AbstractThis article seeks to contextualise Ellen Meiksins Wood’s recent survey of classical and medieval political thought within the context of some of the prevailing approaches to the history of political thought. After an initial elaboration of Wood’s ‘political-Marxist’ approach to issues of historical development and contextualisation, I emphasise what is significant about Wood’s specific contribution to the study of Greek, Roman and medieval political ideas in particular, as well as to the history of political thought in general.
Editorial Introduction
Authors: Blackledge Paul 
Published: May 2011

AbstractChris Wickham’s Framing the Early Middle Ages is a towering comparative overview of Rome’s successor-states in the four centuries after its collapse in the West. Not only does it bring together evidence from across the continent in a way that will inform all subsequent serious discussions of the period, it also conceptualises an important, peasant-mode of production. Notwithstanding these strengths, Framing has been criticised for its structuralist, static characterisation of feudalism. The debates surveyed in this essay suggest that, while Wickham’s book will act as a milestone in the history of Europe, it should also act as a spur to further research and critical reflection on the period. Moreover, in the light of recent criticisms of Marxist historiography, Wickham’s book and the debate surrounding it point to the continued vibrancy of historical materialism.
Framing the Early Middle Ages
Authors: Haldon John 
Published: May 2011

AbstractChris Wickham’s important intervention in debates about the transformation of the Roman world from the fifth century onwards presents a vast array of evidence about the nature of social relations, the economy and the late-Roman and early-medieval state across the Mediterranean and Western-European world. Wickham is successful in taking into account both the high level of regional variation and differentiation across the Roman world and, at the same time, the various key unifying elements which bound these regions together. But, in arguing that the nature of the fiscal apparatus and structures of extraction, redistribution and consumption of surpluses of the late-Roman state were formative in the structure and appearance of the late-Roman élites in East and West as well as in the evolution of their early-medieval successors, a number of structural tensions in the model become apparent. This discussion highlights some of the issues at stake, while, at the same time, affirming the critical importance of the book, more especially its emphasis on the structural force of late-Roman institutions and social relations for the successor-states of the early-medieval West.