bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Complementary and alternative medicine used by persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders to alleviate symptom distress
Authors: Stake‐Nilsson Kerstin , Hultcrantz Rolf , Unge Peter , Wengström Yvonne 
Published: December 2011

Aim.  The aim of this study was to describe the complementary and alternative medicine methods most commonly used to alleviate symptom distress in persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders.Background.  People with functional gastrointestinal disorders face many challenges in their everyday lives, and each individual has his/her own way of dealing with this illness. The experience of illness often leads persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders to complementary and alternative medicine as a viable healthcare choice.Design.  Quantitative and describing design.Method.  A study‐specific complementary and alternative medicine questionnaire was used, including questions about complementary and alternative medicine methods used and the perceived effects of each method. Efficacy assessments for each method were preventive effect, partial symptom relief, total symptom relief or no effect.Results.  A total of 137 persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders answered the questionnaire, 62% (n = 85) women and 38% (n = 52) men. A total of 28 different complementary and alternative medicine methods were identified and grouped into four categories: nutritional, drug/biological, psychological activity and physical activity. All persons had tried at least one method, and most methods provided partial symptom relief.Conclusion.  Persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders commonly use complementary and alternative medicine methods to alleviate symptoms. Nurses have a unique opportunity to expand their roles in this group of patients.Relevance to clinical practice.  Increased knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine practices would enable a more comprehensive patient assessment and a better plan for meaningful interventions that meet the needs of individual patients.
Misdiagnosis of exercise‐induced bronchoconstriction in professional soccer players
Authors: Ansley L. , Kippelen P. , Dickinson J. , Hull J. H. K. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractBackground:Physicians typically rely heavily on self‐reported symptoms to make a diagnosis of exercise‐induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). However, in elite sport, respiratory symptoms have poor diagnostic value. In 2009, following a change in international sports regulations, all elite athletes suspected of asthma and/or EIB were required to undergo pulmonary function testing (PFT) to permit the use of inhaled β2‐agonists. The aim of this study was to examine the diagnostic accuracy of physician diagnosis of asthma/EIB in English professional soccer players.Methods:Sixty‐five players with a physician diagnosis of asthma/EIB were referred for pulmonary function assessment. Medication usage and respiratory symptoms were recorded by questionnaire. A bronchial provocation test with dry air was conducted in 42 players and a mannitol challenge in 18 players. Five players with abnormal resting spirometry performed a bronchodilator test.Results:Of the 65 players assessed, 57 (88%) indicated regular use of asthma medication. Respiratory symptoms during exercise were reported by 57 (88%) players. Only 33 (51%) of the players tested had a positive bronchodilator or bronchial provocation test. Neither symptoms nor the use of inhaled corticosteroids were predictive of pulmonary function tests’ outcome.Conclusion:A high proportion of English professional soccer players medicated for asthma/EIB (a third with reliever therapy only) do not present reversible airway obstruction or airway hyperresponsiveness to indirect stimuli. This underlines the importance of objective PFT to support a symptoms‐based diagnosis of asthma/EIB in athletes.
Hypothesis. The importance of a histological diagnosis when diagnosing and treating advanced cancer. Famous patient recovery may not have been from metastatic disease
Authors: Haines I. E. , Lowenthal R. M. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractOver the past 33 years, mystery has surrounded the diagnosis and treatment of a very influential Australian patient. In the long gap between amputation of his leg for osteogenic sarcoma and successful treatment for widespread tuberculosis, he was told he had advanced and incurable metastatic sarcoma. Details of his recovery and the treatments used have been extensively described. An alternative hypothesis is advanced to explain his recovery. This hypothesis is advanced for two reasons. The first is to underline the modern recognition of the need to consider diagnostic investigations, including biopsy, before assigning the diagnosis of advanced cancer to any patient. This principle is especially vital in cases where two diseases can present in the same way. The second is that there a risk that if diseases are incorrectly labelled, incorrect treatments may be given. This can lead to misleading interpretations being made about non‐traditional treatments providing ‘cures’, which can influence the decision‐making of patients seeking answers and even lead them away from potentially curative traditional treatments.
Audiovisual aid viewing immediately before pediatric induction moderates the accompanying parents’ anxiety
Authors: Berghmans Johan , Weber Frank , van Akoleyen Candyce , Utens Elisabeth , Adriaenssens Peter , Klein Jan , Himpe Dirk 
Published: December 2011

SummaryBackground:  Parents accompanying their child during induction of anesthesia experience stress. The impact of audiovisual aid (AVA) on parental state anxiety and assessment of the child’s anxiety at induction have been studied previously but need closer scrutiny.Methods:  One hundred and twenty parents whose children were scheduled for day‐care surgery entered this randomized, controlled study. The intervention group (n = 60) was exposed to an AVA in the holding area. Parental anxiety was measured with the Spielberger State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) at three time points: (i) on admission [T1]; (ii) in the holding area just before entering the operating theater [T2]; and (iii) after leaving [T3]. Additionally, at [T3], both parent and attending anesthetist evaluated the child’s anxiety using a visual analogue scale. The anesthetist also filled out the Induction Compliance Checklist.Results:  On the state anxiety subscale, APAIS parental anxiety at T2 (P = 0.015) and T3 (P = 0.009) was lower in the AVA intervention group than in the control group. After induction, the child’s anxiety rating by the anesthetist was significantly lower than by the parent, in both intervention and control groups.Conclusions:  Preoperative AVA shown to parents immediately before induction moderates the increase in anxiety associated with the anesthetic induction of their child. Present results suggest that behavioral characteristics seem better predictors of child’s anxiety during induction than anxiety ratings per se and that anesthetists are better than parents in predicting child’s anxiety during induction.
Microstructural morphology in early dermal denticles of hammerhead sharks (Elasmobranchii: Sphyrnidae) and related taxa
Authors: Mello Waldiney C. , de Carvalho Jorge J. , Brito Paulo M. M. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractMello, W.C., de Carvalho, J.J., Brito, P.M.M. 2011. Microstructural morphology in early dermal denticles of hammerhead sharks (Elasmobranchii: Sphyrnidae) and related taxa. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 00: 1–7.This study uses scanning electron microscopies to investigate and describe the microstructural diversity of dermal denticles in the family Sphyrnidae, which comprises all living hammerhead shark species, comparing them to other related taxa (i.e. Carcharhinus dussumieri, Carcharhinus plumbeus, Carcharhinus acronotus, Rhizoprionodon acutus, Negaprion brevirostris and Hemigaleus microstoma). The results reveal that sphyrnids present noticeable microstructures in the dermal denticles, distinguishing them from the other related species investigated. Additionally, scale patterns are the same in three distinct body regions (i.e. cephalic, branchial and dorsal fin). Species of Sphyrnidae that reach bigger total lengths and that are widely distributed (i.e. Sphyrna lewini and Sphyrna mokarran) presented more, smaller and nearly hexagonal microstructures that do not cover the entire scale surface, unlike species reaching smaller sizes and restricted to coastal habits (i.e. Sphyrna tiburo, Sphyrna tudes, Sphyrna media and Eusphyra blochii). The sphyrnid scales are similar to R. acutus and C. dussumieri rather than to the other species, but it is not possible to identify the sphyrnid species only by scale features. It is clear that a similar morphology of scales is not necessarily related to similar life habits, and that they are candidates to provide new characters in phylogenetical studies among sphyrnids.
Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model with an Application to House Price Returns*
Authors: Galvao JR. Antonio F. , Montes‐Rojas Gabriel , Park Sung Y. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractThis article studies quantile regression in an autoregressive dynamic framework with exogenous stationary covariates. We demonstrate the potential of the quantile autoregressive distributed lag model with an application to house price returns in the United Kingdom. The results show that house price returns present a heterogeneous autoregressive behaviour across the quantiles. Real GDP growth and interest rates also have an asymmetric impact on house prices variations.
Report of 457 sporotrichosis cases from Jilin province, northeast China, a serious endemic region
Authors: Song Y. , Li S.‐S. , Zhong S.‐X. , Liu Y.‐Y. , Yao L. , Huo S.‐S. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractBackground  Most reported sporotrichosis cases came from South American countries, the USA, India and Japan. This mycosis is also endemic in Northeast China. However, the situation is not clear for international researchers due to lack of large series reported in English.Objectives  To report and analyse 457 sporotrichosis cases.Methods  Retrospective study of 457 cases of sporotrichosis diagnosed by fungal culture at the First Hospital of Jilin University from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2009.Results  In this series, the male: female ratio was 1:1.42. Mean age was 41.2 years. Cases from age group 51–60 years accounted for most of the cases (22.54%). A total of 434 patients lived in rural areas (94.97%). The onset of symptoms in 67.61% cases happened in cold seasons (winter and spring). History of trauma presented in 133 cases (29.1%). The mean duration of the symptoms before the presentation was 6.41 months. A total of 190 (41.58%) showed lymphocutaneous form, 252 patients (55.14%) showed fixed form, 8 patients (1.75%) showed disseminated cutaneous sporotrichosis and the clinical form of 7 patients (1.53%) could not be defined. Extremities and nodules were the most frequently involved sites and founded manifestation. Main histopathology findings were suppurative granuloma, tuberculoid granuloma and mixed inflammatory granuloma. A total of 75 cases (19.74%) had fungal elements revealed by Periodic Acid‐Schiff staining. Patients responded well to potassium iodide (KI), itraconazole, terbinafine and combinations of these agents with a mean course of 2.17 months to resolve.Conclusion  As the first report of a large series of sporotrichosis cases from China to be published in English literature, our study indicated a serious sporotrichosis endemic situation in Jilin province, Northeast China, with epidemiological and clinical characteristics similar to those of previous Chinese reports, but different from those in other countries. KI, itraconazole and terbinafine are effective for the treatment.
Efficacy and safety of rituximab treatment in Indian pemphigus patients
Authors: Kanwar A.J. , Tsuruta D. , Vinay K. , Koga H. , Ishii N. , Dainichi T. , Hashimoto T. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractBackground  Pemphigus is a potentially fatal autoimmune epidermal bullous disorder. Various treatment modalities have been described to treat pemphigus. In cases where the disease fails to respond to conventional therapy, rituximab has been shown to be effective.Objective  To study the efficacy of rituximab in the treatment of resistant or severe pemphigus in Indian patients.Methods  Patients with pemphigus were treated with intravenous rituximab 1000 mg in adults or 375 mg/m2 body surface area in children by two doses, 15 days apart in this open labelled pilot study. Anti‐desmoglein1 (anti‐Dsg1) antibodies and anti‐desmoglein3 (anti‐Dsg3) antibodies were measured at the start of therapy and at the end of the follow‐up period. The outcome was studied in terms of control of disease activity (CD), complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR) and time to disease control (TDC) as defined by the consensus statement from the International Pemphigus Committee.Results  A total of 9 (90%) of 10 patients responded to the treatment. Three (30%) had CR of disease and were off all treatment. Four (40%) patients had CR and were on low dose oral prednisolone. Two (20%) patients had PR and were on low dose prednisolone. One patient died of sepsis. The mean TDC was 8 weeks. Response to treatment showed good correlation with index values of anti‐Dsg1 antibody. Infusion‐related angioedema and sepsis were seen as complications due to rituximab administration.Conclusion  Rituximab is effective in treating resistant and severe pemphigus in Indian patients. Acute complications can occur during rituximab infusion and require close monitoring.
Emotional reactivity and regulation in anxious and nonanxious youth: a cell‐phone ecological momentary assessment study
Authors: Tan Patricia Z. , Forbes Erika E. , Dahl Ronald E. , Ryan Neal D. , Siegle Greg J. , Ladouceur Cecile D. , Silk Jennifer S. 
Published: December 2011

Background:  Reviews have highlighted anxious youths’ affective disturbances, specifically, elevated negative emotions and reliance on ineffective emotion regulation strategies. However, no study has examined anxious youth’s emotional reactivity and regulation in real‐world contexts.Methods:  This study utilized an ecological momentary assessment approach to compare real‐world emotional experiences of 65 youth with generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, or social phobia (ANX) and 65 age‐matched healthy controls (CON), ages 9–13 years.Results:  Hierarchical linear models revealed that ANX reported higher levels of average past‐hour peak intensity of nervous, sad and upset emotions than CON youth but similar levels during momentary reports of current emotion. As expected, ANX youth reported more frequent physiological reactions in response to a negative event; however, there were no group differences in how frequently they used cognitive–behavioral strategies. Avoidance, distraction and problem solving were associated with the down‐regulation of all negative emotions except nervousness for both ANX and CON youth; however, group differences emerged for acceptance, rumination and physiological responding.Conclusions:  In real‐world contexts, ANX youth do not report higher levels of momentary negative emotions but do report heightened negative emotions in response to challenging events. Moreover, ANX youth report no differences in how frequently they use adaptive regulatory strategies but are more likely to have physiological responses to challenging events. They are also less effective at using some strategies to down‐regulate negative emotion than CON youth.
Research Review: Structural language in autistic spectrum disorder – characteristics and causes
Authors: Boucher Jill 
Published: December 2011

Background:  Structural language anomalies or impairments in autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) are theoretically and practically important, although underrecognised as such. This review aims to highlight the ubiquitousness of structural language anomalies and impairments in ASD, and to stimulate investigation of their immediate causes and implications for intervention.Method:  Studies of structural language in ASD are reviewed (based on a search of the literature and selected as meeting defined inclusion criteria), and explanatory hypotheses are discussed.Results:  Some individuals with ASD never acquire language. Amongst those who do, language abilities range from clinically normal (ALN) to various degrees of impairment (ALI). Developmental trajectories and individual profiles are diverse, and minority subgroups have been identified. Specifically: language is commonly but not always delayed and delayed early language is always characterised by impaired comprehension and odd utterances, and sometimes by deviant articulation and grammar. Nevertheless, by school age an ‘ASD‐typical’ language profile emerges from group studies, with articulation and syntax least affected, and comprehension, semantics and certain facets of morphology most affected. Thus, even individuals with ALN have poor comprehension relative to expressive language; also semantic‐processing anomalies and idiosyncratic word usage. It is argued that impaired socio‐emotional‐communicative relating, atypical sensory‐perceptual processing, and uneven memory/learning abilities may underlie shared language anomalies across the spectrum; and that varying combinations of low nonverbal intelligence, semantic memory impairment and comorbidities including specific language impairment (SLI), hearing impairment, and certain medical syndromes underlie ALI and variation in individual profiles.Conclusions:  Structural language is universally affected in ASD, due to a complex of shared and unshared causal factors. There is an urgent need for more research especially into the characteristics and causes of clinically significant language impairments.
Platelet‐derived growth factor receptor‐β‐positive telocytes in skeletal muscle interstitium
Authors: Suciu Laura C. , Popescu Bogdan O. , Kostin Sawa , Popescu Laurentiu M. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractTelocytes (TCs) represent a new cell type recently described in mammalian skeletal muscle interstitium as well as in other organs. These have a specific morphology and phenotype, both in situ and in vitro. Telocytes are cells with long and slender cell prolongations, in contact with other interstitial cells, nerve fibres, blood capillaries and resident stem cells in niches. Our aim was to investigate the potential contribution of TCs to micro‐vascular networks by immunofluorescent labelling of specific angiogenic growth factors and receptors. We found that in human skeletal muscle TCs were constantly located around intermediate and small blood vessels and endomysial capillaries. Epi‐fluorescence and laser confocal microscopy showed that TCs express c‐kit, platelet‐derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR)‐β and VEGF, both in situ and in vitro. Telocytes were constantly located in the perivascular or pericapillary space, as confirmed by double staining of c‐kit/CD31, PDGFR‐β/CD31 and PDGFR‐β/α‐smooth muscle actin, respectively. Electron microscopy (EM) differentiated between pericytes and other cell types. Laminin labelling showed that TCs are not enclosed or surrounded by a basal lamina in contrast to mural cells. In conclusion, a) PDGFR‐β could be used as a marker for TCs and b) TCs are presumably a transitional population in the complex process of mural cell recruitment during angiogenesis and vascular remodelling.
A Multicentre, Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Phase III Study to Investigate Extending the Time for Thrombolysis in Emergency Neurological Deficits (EXTEND)
Authors: Ma Henry , Parsons Mark W. , Christensen Soren , Campbell Bruce C. V. , Churilov Leonid , Connelly Alan , Yan Bernard , Bladin Chris , Phan Than , Barber Alan P. , Read Stephen , Hankey Graeme J. , Markus Romesh , Wijeratne Tissa , Grimley R. , Mahant N. , Kleinig Tim , Sturm John , Lee A. , Blacker D. , Gerraty Richard , Krause M. , Desmond P. M. , McBride S. J. , Carey Leanne , Howells David W. , Hsu C. Y. , Davis Stephen M. , Donnan Geoffrey A. ,   on behalf of the EXTEND investigators
Published: December 2011

Background and hypothesis Thrombolytic therapy with tissue plasminogen activator is effective for acute ischaemic stroke within 4·5 h of onset. Patients who wake up with stroke are generally ineligible for stroke thrombolysis. We hypothesized that ischaemic stroke patients with significant penumbral mismatch on either magnetic resonance imaging or computer tomography at three- (or 4·5 depending on local guidelines) to nine-hours from stroke onset, or patients with wake-up stroke within nine-hours from midpoint of sleep duration, would have improved clinical outcomes when given tissue plasminogen activator compared to placebo. Study design EXtending the time for Thrombolysis in Emergency Neurological Deficits is an investigator-driven, Phase III, randomized, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Ischaemic stroke patients presenting after the three- or 4·5-h treatment window for tissue plasminogen activator and within nine-hours of stroke onset or with wake-up stroke within nine-hours from the midpoint of sleep duration, who fulfil clinical (National Institutes of Health Stroke Score ≥4–26 and prestroke modified Rankin Scale <2) will undergo magnetic resonance imaging or computer tomography. Patients who also meet imaging criteria (infarct core volume <70 ml, perfusion lesion : infarct core mismatch ratio >1·2, and absolute mismatch >10 ml) will be randomized to either tissue plasminogen activator or placebo. Study outcome The primary outcome measure will be modified Rankin Scale 0–1 at day 90. Clinical secondary outcomes include categorical shift in modified Rankin Scale at 90 days, reduction in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Score by 8 or more points or reaching 0–1 at day 90, recurrent stroke, or death. Imaging secondary outcomes will include symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage, reperfusion and or recanalization at 24 h and infarct growth at day 90.
‘Next‐base’ effect on PCR amplification
Authors: Ben‐Dov Eitan , Shapiro Orr H. , Kushmaro Ariel 
Published: December 2011

SummaryThe base adjacent to the 3′ end of universal PCR primers targeting the 16S rRNA gene is often variable and apparently biases the microbial community composition as represented by PCR‐based surveys. To test this hypothesis, four templates of 44 bases each and two complementary primers (21 bases) were designed to differ only in the bases adjacent to the primers, and their amplification efficiencies were evaluated using quantitative PCR. For extension temperatures of 72°C, 73°C and 74°C, improvement in initial amplification efficiency was observed for templates with guanine or cytosine at the position contiguous to the primers. However, no clear preference was observed when extension temperature was lowered to 70°C. Shortening the primers by one base, so that the variable position was located two base pairs downstream from the primer, attenuated but did not eliminate this bias. A conformational change of the quaternary polymerase – primer – template – dNTP complex upon commencing of polymerization is thought to be a rate‐limiting step. A possible explanation for the observed bias is the stabilization of this complex by the adjacent guanine or cytosine. Reducing PCR extension temperature to 70°C minimizes amplification biases caused by variable template‐contiguous bases to the 3′ end of universal PCR primers. Next‐base nucleotide composition should be taken in consideration in designing primers targeting 16S rRNA or other functional genes used in microbial ecology studies.