bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of eustachian tube function in tympanoplasty
Authors: Prasad Kishore Chandra , Hegde Mahesh Chandra , Prasad Sampath Chandra , Meyappan Hari 
Published: April 2009

ObjectiveA clinically useful test for eustachian tube function (ETF) is still lacking. Here we plan to evaluate the mucociliary function of the ET by saccharin and methylene blue test, and compare the outcome of surgery with normal and abnormal ET functions.Study DesignCase series with planned data collection.SettingDepartment of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore (Manipal University), a tertiary care center in South India.Subjects and MethodsThis study comprised 86 patients diagnosed with mucosal chronic otitis media in quiescent/inactive stage. All were subjected to a detailed clinical examination and investigations. Preoperative evaluation of ETF was compared with postoperative outcome of surgery, and the results were analyzed.ResultsThe saccharin test and methylene blue dye test had a good correlation in evaluating ETF. The mean value for saccharin perception time and the clearance time for methylene blue were 17.5 and 8.1 minutes, respectively. ETF was best in anterior, worst among posterior, and intermediate in subtotal perforations. Type 1 tympanoplasty was successful in 94 percent with normal ETF and in 68 percent with partial dysfunction.ConclusionThe saccharin test is a simple, cost‐effective, and valuable diagnostic tool to assess the mucociliary function of the ET. The outcome of middle ear surgery would be a success in normal ETF, whereas in partial dysfunction the outcome need not necessarily be a failure.
The Effects of Epidural Betamethasone on Blood Glucose in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Gonzalez Peter , Laker Scott R. , Sullivan William , Harwood Jeri E.F. , Akuthota Venu 
Published: April 2009

ObjectiveTo determine the effects of lumbosacral transforaminal and caudal epidural betamethasone injections on blood glucose levels in diabetic subjects. The hypothesis is that epidural steroid injections result in transient elevation of blood glucose levels in diabetic subjects.DesignThis is a prospective, observational cohort. Twelve diabetic subjects (6 non–insulin‐dependent and 6 insulin‐dependent) receiving lumbosacral or caudal epidural betamethasone injections for neurogenic claudication or radicular pain were studied. Spinal level and approach were decided based on symptoms, pathology, and magnetic resonance imaging findings. Subjects recorded their finger stick blood glucose levels twice daily for 3 days before the injection, the day of the injection, and 3 days after the injection.SettingA tertiary, university‐based, spine center.ParticipantsInclusion criteria included diabetic subjects (age 18 years) with the ability and willingness to monitor and report their blood glucose. Exclusion criteria included epidural steroid injections (ESIs) within the previous 2 months or peripheral corticosteroid injections within the previous 2 weeks. Nineteen subjects initially enrolled, and 12 successfully completed the study.InterventionsAfter informed consent was obtained, subjects underwent fluoroscopically guided lumbosacral transforaminal ESIs (TFESIs) or caudal ESIs, using contrast to confirm targeted needle placement and to rule out vascular uptake.Main Outcome MeasuresSubjects recorded morning and evening blood glucose (mg/dL) via glucometer.ResultsThere was a 106 mg/dL average elevation in blood glucose level on the evening of the injection day. The blood glucose elevation remained statistically significant for 3 days after the injection (P < .002). Blood glucose remained elevated through postinjection day 2, though these elevations were not statistically significant.ConclusionsLumbosacral transforaminal and caudal epidural betamethasone injections are associated with statistically significant elevations in blood glucose levels in diabetic subjects. This effect peaked on the day of the injection and lasted approximately 2 days.
Movement Accuracy Changes Muscle‐Activation Strategies in Female Subjects During a Novel Single‐Leg Weight‐Bearing Task
Authors: Madhavan Sangeetha , Shields Richard K. 
Published: April 2009

ObjectiveUnderstanding of how female subjects learn to move accurately during a resisted weight‐bearing task is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the muscle activation patterns used by female subjects in learning a novel single‐leg squat (SLS) task under visual and nonvisual conditions.DesignProspective training study.SettingUniversity research setting.ParticipantsTen healthy young female participants.InterventionSubjects tracked a sinusoidal target (knee displacement) during a resisted SLS exercise during the course of 4 days, under eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) conditions with the use of a custom‐designed weight‐bearing exercise device.Main Outcome MeasurementThe accuracy of performance in tracking the target and electromyographic activity (EMG) of 5 muscles around the knee were monitored.ResultsSubjects improved their accuracy of performance by day 2 (40% decrease in error) and retained the accuracy on day 4. Error during the EC condition was 3 times greater than EO condition. Quadriceps‐to‐hamstrings coactivation ratio increased with the improved accuracy from the learning. Absence of visual feedback was accompanied by a decrease in the quadriceps‐to‐hamstrings coactivation ratio for this task.ConclusionThe muscle synergistic activity around the knee changes as the accuracy of the task improves during a resisted weight‐bearing task. This activation pattern represents a feed forward control plan that the central nervous system adopted to optimize accurate weight‐bearing knee displacement. Rehabilitation specialists should consider manipulating the visual feedback and accuracy of performance when developing weight‐bearing rehabilitation training protocols to improve neuromuscular control in female patients.
A real options approach for evaluating the implementation of a risk‐sensitive capital rule in banks
Authors: Nordal Kjell Bjørn 
Published: April 2009

AbstractI evaluate a bank's incentives to implement a risk‐sensitive regulatory capital rule. The decision making is analyzed within a real options framework where optimal policies are derived in terms of threshold levels of credit risk. I provide a numerical example for the implementation of internal ratings based models for credit risk (the IRB approach) under the new Basel Accord (Basel II).
Fish consumption and the incidence of cerebrovascular disease
Authors: Montonen Jukka , Järvinen Ritva , Reunanen Antti , Knekt Paul 
Published: April 2009

Studies of the beneficial role of fish consumption in the prevention of CVD are not consistent in their findings, particularly those studies that focus on the risk of stroke. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the consumption of different types of fish and the subsequent incidence of cerebrovascular disease (CVA). We prospectively evaluated the association between consumption of different types of fish and CVA in 3958 men and women aged 40–79 years who were free of heart disease and had participated in a health examination survey from 1967 to 1972. A total of 659 incident cases of CVA occurred during a follow-up until the end of 1994. A dietary history interview method provided data on habitual consumption of fish and other foods over the preceding year at baseline. Total fish intake did not predict CVA, but consumption of salted fish suggested an increased risk of intracerebral haemorrhage. The relative risk of intracerebral haemorrhage between the highest tertile of salted fish consumption and non-consumers was 1·98 (95 % CI 1·02, 3·84;Pfor trend = 0·06) after adjustment for age, sex, energy intake, smoking, BMI, physical activity, geographic area, occupation, diabetes, use of post-menopausal hormones, serum cholesterol, hypertension, and consumptions of butter, vegetables, fruits and berries. The relationship between fish consumption and stroke risk is not straightforward. How the fish is prepared for consumption may play an important role, affecting the association.
Rumen phosphorus metabolism in sheep
Authors: DIAS R. S. , LOPEZ S. , SILVA T. , PARDO R. M. P. , SILVA FILHO J. C. , VITTI D. M. S. S. , KEBREAB E. , FRANCE J. 
Published: April 2009

SUMMARYThe objective of the present study was to examine the effect of the level of phosphorus (P) intake on ruminal P kinetics in sheep. Twelve Santa Inês male sheep (average body weight 36 kg) were fed a basal diet consisting of roughage (coast cross hay), concentrate mixture (cassava meal, soya bean meal and urea) and a mineral premix. The treatments consisted of the basal diet supplemented with 0, 1·5, 3 or 4·5 g/kg dry matter (DM) of mono-ammonium phosphate to provide increasing P levels representing treatments T0, T1, T2 and T3, respectively. The P content of experimental diets was 1·5; 2·0; 2·5 and 3·0 g P/kg DM, and considered highly deficient, deficient, adequate and in excess, respectively, compared with standard recommended allowances. Animals were injected with32P and thereafter samples of blood were collected over 7 days, while samples of rumen fluid and saliva were collected 4 and 6 days after injection. Phosphorus intake affected P concentration in ruminal fluid, whereas P concentration in saliva was not affected. The values for P turnover time in the rumen were 1·42, 1·23, 1·18 and 1·04 days, whereas values of endogenous P entry into the rumen were 1·05, 1·37, 1·53 and 1·91 g/day for T0, T1, T2 and T3, respectively, both affected by P intake. The specific activity (SA) of P in saliva, rumen and plasma were also all affected by P intake. The relationship between saliva and rumen SA emphasizes that most endogenous P in the rumen came from saliva. The possibility of an extra P source besides saliva contributing to endogenous P in the rumen is discussed. It is concluded from the results that, regardless of P intake, the flow of endogenous P into the rumen contributes to ensure a minimum supply of this essential element, which may be important in matching the requirements of the rumen microbes.
Dialogue Amidst Multiformity: A Habermasian Breakthrough in the Development of Anglican Eucharistic Liturgies
Authors: Douglas Brian , Lovat Terence 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThis article argues that a breakthrough is possible in the development of Anglican eucharistic liturgies. A dialogue approach holds out the promise of distancing the process of liturgical development from party spirit and particular interest, and focusing it instead on the self-reflection and intersubjectivity of communicative action, while also recognizing the multiformity of philosophical assumptions underlying the Anglican eucharistic tradition. Such a process has potential to emancipate the Anglican eucharistic tradition from conflict and centre attention on a more critical self-reflection on the discourse of the tradition. Eucharistic liturgies in use in Australia are considered in terms of their underlying philosophical assumptions, and recommendations are made for the use of a dialogue approach based on Habermas’s theory of communicative action.
Rhizobitoxine producers gain more poly-3-hydroxybutyrate in symbiosis than do competing rhizobia, but reduce plant growth
Authors: Ratcliff William C , Denison R Ford 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
Legume sanctions against rhizobia that fix less nitrogen should exert a strong selection for more beneficial genotypes of rhizobia, but strains providing little host benefit are common. One reason may be that some rhizobia chemically manipulate the host, undermining the efficacy of sanctions. Here we show that the ethylene inhibitor, rhizobitoxine (Rtx), is an example of such a manipulation. Rtx-producing rhizobia decreased legume growth, but benefited relative to an isogenic, non-producing strain on the same plant by accumulating 47% more of the storage lipid poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB).
Emic Perspectives on Quality of Life: The Case of the Danish Wadden Sea Festival
Authors: Liburd Janne J. , Derkzen Petra 
Published: April 2009

This paper sets out to probe how a cultural festival can enhance quality of life (QoL) and identifies possible drivers in the process. The Wadden Sea Festival in Denmark is based on the idea of integrating the coastal environment in the presentation of contemporary art. Specifically, unique tidal differences are utilised to stage a range of performances. The Wadden Sea Festival was designed to create regional, national and international liaisons between artists and cultural institutions and to enhance local residents'sense of place and collective identity while also attracting visitors to the region. Recognising the articulated aims of the festival, we explore how a cultural festival, and more specifically contemporary art, may positively influence the QoL of participants, residents and visitors alike. Participant-observation and in-depth interviews formed the basis for this exploratory research. We elicit and illustrate how the festival generated feelings of positive energy and integrity among individual artists and discuss these elements in relation to theoretical conceptualisations of QoL. Adopting a highly contextualised and qualitative approach, we argue that emic perspectives are needed to understand the immaterial elements of QoL. Further, an emic approach allows for deep narratives and opens up for multidimensional perspectives that could be applied in different cultural settings.
Fluoroscopically guided percutaneous vertebroplasty: Assessment of radiation doses and implementation of procedural routines to reduce operator exposure
Authors: von Wrangel A. , Cederblad Å. , Rodriguez-Catarino M. 
Published: April 2009

Background: Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) is a fluoroscopically guided procedure for the treatment of painful vertebral compression fractures and metastases. Routine legal personal dosimetry repeatedly showed dosimeter doses exceeding 1 mSv/month for the only radiologist performing PVP at our hospital. Based on the nature of the procedure, this raised concern about potentially high doses to the eyes and fingers. Purpose: To assess radiation doses to the operator, and to evaluate possibilities for dose reduction. Material and Methods: Measurements of scattered radiation in simulated thoracic and lumbar PVP procedures were performed using two anatomical phantoms—thorax and lower trunk—and a radiation survey meter. The standard position of the operator was determined as being 50 cm from the irradiated area of the phantom. The protection ability of lead-free gloves was evaluated during the simulations. Operator doses to fingers and eyes during 10 clinical PVP procedures performed by a single operator were measured, and the annual dose was calculated. Routine personal dosimetry was performed using thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) badges beneath the lead apron, and doses to fingers and eyes were measured with small TLD tablets. Results: During simulations, the measured operator dose rate arising from lateral fluoroscopy at the thorax and lumbar level was reduced by a factor of 4–5 when the X-ray tube was moved from the operator's side of the patient to the opposite side. Wearing protective gloves reduced radiation dose to the hands by 30–40%. The mean doses arising from the 10 clinical PVP procedures to the right and left hands, using protection gloves, were 2.0 mSv and 4.8 mSv, respectively. The mean dose to the eyes was 0.23 mSv. The mean effective dose to the patients was 12 mSv. Conclusion: Placing the X-ray tube on the side of the patient opposite to the operator and the use of radiation protection gloves significantly reduces radiation exposure to the operator. In phantom simulations, the dose was reduced by a factor of 4–5. Knowledge of fluoroscopy equipment, radiation physics, and protection is essential in order to reduce exposure.
Automatic identification of species-specific repetitive DNA sequences and their utilization for detecting microbial organisms
Authors: Koressaar Triinu , Jõers Kai , Remm Maido 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
Motivation: The concentration of pathogen DNA in biological samples is often very low. Therefore, the sensitivity of diagnostic tests is always a critical factor.
Results: We have developed a novel computational method that identifies species-specific repeats from microbial organisms and automatically designs species-specific PCR primers for these repeats. We tested the methodology on 30 randomly chosen microbial species and we demonstrate that species-specific repeats longer than 300 bp exist in all these genomes. We also used our methodology to design species-specific PCR primers for 86 repeats from five medically relevant microbial species. These PCR primers were tested experimentally. We demonstrate that using species-specific repeats as a PCR template region can increase the sensitivity of PCR in diagnostic tests.
Availability and Implementation: A web version of the method called MultiMPrimer3 was implemented and is freely available at http://bioinfo.ut.ee/multimprimer3/.
Contact: maido.remm@ut.ee
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
BIPA: a database for protein–nucleic acid interaction in 3D structures
Authors: Lee Semin , Blundell Tom L 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
Summary:BIPA is a database for protein–nucleic acid interactions in 3D structures. The database provides various physicochemical features of protein–nucleic acid interface such as size, shape, residue propensity, secondary structure composition and intermolecular interactions. The database also contains multiple structural alignments of nucleic acid-binding protein families with annotations of local environments in order to allow definition of features that influence acceptability of mutations at a particular position in a protein family. A web interface has been designed to present the results of these analyses and facilitate navigation of protein–nucleic acid interfaces.
Availability: http://www-cryst.bioc.cam.ac.uk/bipa
Contact: semin@cryst.bioc.cam.ac.uk
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Cross species analysis of microarray expression data
Authors: Lu Yong , Huggins Peter , Bar-Joseph Ziv 
Published: April 2009

AbstractMotivation: Many biological systems operate in a similar manner across a large number of species or conditions. Cross-species analysis of sequence and interaction data is often applied to determine the function of new genes. In contrast to these static measurements, microarrays measure the dynamic, condition-specific response of complex biological systems. The recent exponential growth in microarray expression datasets allows researchers to combine expression experiments from multiple species to identify genes that are not only conserved in sequence but also operated in a similar way in the different species studied.Results: In this review we discuss the computational and technical challenges associated with these studies, the approaches that have been developed to address these challenges and the advantages of cross-species analysis of microarray data. We show how successful application of these methods lead to insights that cannot be obtained when analyzing data from a single species. We also highlight current open problems and discuss possible ways to address them.Contact: zivbj@cs.cmu.edu
MICAlign: a sequence-to-structure alignment tool integrating multiple sources of information in conditional random fields
Authors: Xia Xuefeng , Zhang Song , Su Yu , Sun Zhirong 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
Summary: Sequence-to-structure alignment in template-based protein structure modeling for remote homologs remains a difficult problem even following the correct recognition of folds. Here we present MICAlign, a sequence-to-structure alignment tool that incorporates multiple sources of information from local structural contexts of template, sequence profiles, predicted secondary structures, solvent accessibilities, potential-like terms (including residue–residue contacts and solvent exposures) and pre-aligned structures and sequences. These features, together with a position-specific gap scheme, were integrated into conditional random fields through which the optimal parameters were automatically learned. MICAlign showed improved alignment accuracy over several other state-of-the-art alignment tools based on comparisons by using independent datasets.
Availability: Freely available at http://www.bioinfo.tsinghua.edu.cn/∼xiaxf/micalign for both web server and source code.
Contact: sunzhr@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Classification trees for species identification of fish-school echotraces
Authors: Fernandes Paul G. 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
Fernandes, P. G. 2009. Classification trees for species identification of fish-school echotraces. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1073–1080. Acoustic surveys provide valuable information on the abundance and distribution of many fish species, but are particularly effective for schooling pelagic fish of commercial importance. However, despite recent advances in multifrequency processing, the technique still requires some subjective judgement when allocating the acoustic data, fish-school echotraces, to particular species—the so-called “scrutiny process”. This is assisted by “ground truth” trawling and operator experience of relating trawl data to echotraces of particular fish schools. In this paper, a method to identify species based on “classification trees” is applied to data from a component of the International North Sea Herring Acoustic Survey. Classification trees may be considered as a variant of decision trees, and have properties that are intuitive to biologists, because they are similar to the keys used for the biological identification of species. The method described here incorporates a multifrequency fish-school filter, image analysis to isolate fish-school echotraces, and finally, a classification-tree system using the multifrequency information from the ground-truthed echotraces that can be translated into a processing tool for objective species allocation. The classification-tree system is compared with the traditional method of expert-based scrutiny. Unlike the latter, however, a measure of uncertainty is attributed to the classification-tree approach and this could be propagated through the acoustic-survey estimation procedure as a component of the total uncertainty in the abundance estimate.