bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Perioperative inflammatory response and protein S‐100β concentrations – relationship with post‐operative cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients
Authors: LI Y‐C. , XI C‐H. , AN Y‐F. , DONG W‐H. , ZHOU M. 
Published: January 2012

BackgroundOne major concern in about one third of elder patients after total hip‐replacement surgery is post‐operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Previous studies have suggested that cognitive impairment is accompanied with changes in serum S‐100β protein (S‐100β) and inflammatory markers. Thus, the aim of the current study was to investigate the value of serum S‐100β and interleukin(IL)‐1β, IL‐6, tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), and C‐reactive protein (CRP) in reflecting POCD after total hip‐replacement surgery.MethodsForty‐two elderly patients were enrolled, and 37 patients completed the follow‐up. Serum S‐100β protein and IL‐1β, IL‐6, TNF‐α, and CRP were determined pre‐operatively, as well as 1 h and 6 h post‐operatively. Neuropsychological tests were performed pre‐operatively, as well as on day 1, 3, and 7 post‐operatively.ResultsSeventeen (45.9%, 17/37) patients developed POCD 1 day after surgery, and three (8.1%, 3/37) developed POCD 7 days after surgery. [Correction added after publication 7 February 2012: in the preceding sentence (54.1%, 17/37) was corrected to (45.9%, 17/37)]. Patients with POCD 1 day after surgery had significantly higher serum levels of IL‐6 at 6 h (135 ± 32 pg/ml vs. 91 ± 29 pg/ml, P < 0.05) and S‐100β at 1 h (1872 ± 385 pg/ml vs. 1289 ± 143 pg/ml, P < 0.05. No significant post‐operative change was detected in levels of TNF‐α, IL‐1, or CRP.ConclusionThe serum levels of pro‐inflammatory marker IL‐6 and S‐100β protein increased after total hip‐replacement in elderly patients, and such increase may serve as predicting parameters for the occurrence of POCD.
Effect of amiodarone on dispersion of ventricular repolarization in a canine congestive heart failure model
Authors: Zhou Shu‐Xian , Fang Chang , Zheng Shao‐Xin , Zhang Yu‐Ling , Lei Juan , Wang Jing‐Feng 
Published: January 2012

Summary
The effects of amiodarone on ventricular electrophysiological parameters, especially the dispersion of ventricular repolarization, were investigated in a canine model of congestive heart failure (CHF).
Dogs were randomized to either a control, amiodarone, CHF, or CHF+amiodarone group. Dogs in the CHF and CHF+amiodarone groups underwent 4–5 weeks of rapid ventricular pacing; dogs in the control and amiodarone groups underwent sham operation only. Amiodarone (20 mg/kg per day) was administered orally, beginning on postoperative Day 1, in the treatment groups; ventricular electrophysiological variables were evaluated 4–5 weeks after rapid pacing or sham operation.
In CHF dogs, the transmural dispersion ventricular repolarization time (TDVRT) increased significantly. Amiodarone significantly decreased the TDVRT in CHF dogs. The ventricular fibrillation threshold (VFT) decreased in the CHF group. Amiodarone increased the VFT in CHF dogs.
The TDVRT increased in CHF dogs, but amiodarone decreased TDVRT and increased VFT in these dogs. These results suggest a beneficial effect of amiodarone on malignant arrhythmias and may provide the basis for its use in CHF patients.
My child is unique; the pharmacokinetics are universal
Authors: Anderson Brian J. 
Published: January 2012

SummaryThe pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters that are important for dosing (e.g., clearance and volume) are well known. They are used in universal mathematical formulae that describe the time course of drug concentration. Additional formulae can be used to describe major covariate effects in children, such as size and maturation. PK parameters describing the time–concentration profile of a drug after administration are those for a typical individual in a population. These parameters are associated with variability. Further, any one individual may not be typical of the population studied. While size and maturation are two important considerations in children and assist with dosing estimation, there are also a number of additional PK covariates (e.g., organ function, disease, drug interactions, pharmacogenetics), and identifying these sources of variability allows us to individualize drug dose. Pharmacology is not simply an application of PK, and determinants of drug dose also require an understanding of the variability associated with pharmacodynamic response and a balancing of beneficial effects against unwanted effects. Each child is unique in this respect.
Intralocus sexual conflict and offspring sex ratio
Authors: Katsuki Masako , Harano Tomohiro , Miyatake Takahisa , Okada Kensuke , Hosken David J. 
Published: January 2012

Ecology Letters (2012)AbstractMales and females frequently have different fitness optima for shared traits, and as a result, genotypes that are high fitness as males are low fitness as females, and vice versa. When this occurs, biasing of offspring sex‐ratio to reduce the production of the lower‐fitness sex would be advantageous, so that for example, broods produced by high‐fitness females should contain fewer sons. We tested for offspring sex‐ratio biasing consistent with these predictions in broad‐horned flour beetles. We found that in both wild‐type beetles and populations subject to artificial selection for high‐ and low‐fitness males, offspring sex ratios were biased in the predicted direction: low‐fitness females produced an excess of sons, whereas high‐fitness females produced an excess of daughters. Thus, these beetles are able to adaptively bias sex ratio and recoup indirect fitness benefits of mate choice.
Abundance of microbial genes associated with nitrogen cycling as indices of biogeochemical process rates across a vegetation gradient in Alaska
Authors: Petersen Dorthe Groth , Blazewicz Steven J. , Firestone Mary , Herman Donald J. , Turetsky Merritt , Waldrop Mark 
Published: January 2012

SummaryNitrification and denitrification processes are crucial to plant nutrient availability, eutrophication and greenhouse gas production both locally and globally. Unravelling the major environmental predictors for nitrification and denitrification is thus pivotal in order to understand and model environmental nitrogen (N) cycling. Here, we sampled five plant community types characteristic of interior Alaska, including black spruce, bog birch, tussock grass and two fens. We assessed abundance of functional genes affiliated with nitrification (bacterial and archaeal amoA) and denitrification (nirK/S and nosZ) using qPCR, soil characteristics, potential nitrification and denitrification rates (PNR and PDR) and gross mineralization rates. The main chemical and biological predictors for PNR and PDR were assigned through path analysis. The potential N cycling rates varied dramatically between sites, from some of the highest (in fens) to some of the lowest (in black spruce) measured globally. Based on path analysis, functional gene abundances were the most important variables to predict potential rates. PNR was best explained by bacterial amoA gene abundance followed by ammonium content, whereas PDR was best explained directly by nosZ gene abundance and indirectly by nirK/S gene abundance and nitrate. Hence, functional gene abundance is a valuable index that integrates recent environmental history and recent process activity, and therefore is a good predictor of potential rates. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of the relative importance of different biological and chemical factors in driving the potential for nitrification and denitrification across terrestrial ecosystems.
Genomic and functional analysis of Vibrio phage SIO‐2 reveals novel insights into ecology and evolution of marine siphoviruses
Authors: Baudoux A.‐C. , Hendrix R. W. , Lander G. C. , Bailly X. , Podell S. , Paillard C. , Johnson J. E. , Potter C. S. , Carragher B. , Azam F. 
Published: January 2012

SummaryWe report on a genomic and functional analysis of a novel marine siphovirus, the Vibrio phage SIO‐2. This phage is lytic for related Vibrio species of great ecological interest including the broadly antagonistic bacterium Vibrio sp. SWAT3 as well as notable members of the Harveyi clade (V. harveyi ATTC BAA‐1116 and V. campbellii ATCC 25920). Vibrio phage SIO‐2 has a circularly permuted genome of 80 598 bp, which displays unusual features. This genome is larger than that of most known siphoviruses and only 38 of the 116 predicted proteins had homologues in databases. Another divergence is manifest by the origin of core genes, most of which share robust similarities with unrelated viruses and bacteria spanning a wide range of phyla. These core genes are arranged in the same order as in most bacteriophages but they are unusually interspaced at two places with insertions of DNA comprising a high density of uncharacterized genes. The acquisition of these DNA inserts is associated with morphological variation of SIO‐2 capsid, which assembles as a large (80 nm) shell with a novel T = 12 symmetry. These atypical structural features confer on SIO‐2 a remarkable stability to a variety of physical, chemical and environmental factors. Given this high level of functional and genomic novelty, SIO‐2 emerges as a model of considerable interest in ecological and evolutionary studies.
Variation in transport explains polymorphism of histidine and urocanate utilization in a natural Pseudomonas population
Authors: Zhang Xue‐Xian , Chang Hao , Tran Sieu L. , Gauntlett Jonathan C. , Cook Gregory M. , Rainey Paul B. 
Published: January 2012

SummaryPhenotypic variation is a fundamental requirement for evolution by natural selection. While evidence of phenotypic variation in natural populations abounds, its genetic basis is rarely understood. Here we report variation in the ability of plant‐colonizing Pseudomonas to utilize histidine, and its derivative, urocanate, as sole sources of carbon and nitrogen. From a population of 164 phyllosphere‐colonizing Pseudomonas strains, 77% were able to utilize both histidine and urocanate (His+, Uro+) as growth substrates, whereas the remainder could utilize histidine, but not urocanate (His+, Uro‐), or vice versa (His‐, Uro+). An in silico analysis of the hut locus, which determines capacity to utilize both histidine and urocanate, from genome‐sequenced Pseudomonas strains, showed significant variation in the number of putative transporters. To identify transporter genes specific for histidine and urocanate, we focused on a single genotype of Pseudomonas fluorescens, strain SBW25, which is capable of utilizing both substrates. Site‐directed mutagenesis, combined with [3H]histidine transport assays, shows that hutTu encodes a urocanate‐specific transporter; hutTh encodes the major high‐affinity histidine transporter; and hutXWV encodes an ABC‐type transporter that plays a minor role in histidine uptake. Introduction of cloned copies of hutTh and hutTu from SBW25 into strains incapable of utilizing either histidine, or urocanate, complemented the defect, demonstrating a lack of functional transporters in these strains. Taken together our data show that variation in transport systems, and not in metabolic genes, explains a naturally occurring phenotypic polymorphism.
Lipid profiles in untreated patients with dermatomyositis
Authors: Wang H. , Tang J. , Chen X. , Li F. , Luo J. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractBackground and Objective  Altered lipid levels may occur in autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. However, serum lipid profiles in patients with dermatomyositis (DM) have not been investigated. Our aim was to identify lipid profiles in untreated DM patients, and to assess the relationship of the inflammatory condition of DM with lipid profiles.Methods  This work was designed and conducted as a case‐control study. Forty‐one DM patients and 41 age‐ and gender‐matched healthy controls were included. None of the patients had received corticosteroids or disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs prior to the study. Triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (LDL‐C) and high‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (HDL‐C), C‐reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were assessed using standard techniques.Results  Twenty‐nine patients (70.7%) had an increase level of TG, and 41.5% had a decrease level of HDL‐C. The levels of HDL‐C in DM were significantly lower than in controls (P < 0.01). The levels of TG, Non‐ HDL‐cholesterol and very LDL‐cholesterol (VLDL‐C) were significantly higher than in controls (P < 0.001, P < 0.001 and P < 0.05 respectively). The ratios of VLDL‐C/LDL‐C, TC/HDL‐C and LDL‐C/HDL‐C were significantly higher than in controls (P < 0.001). Spearman’s correlation test demonstrated that serum CRP levels correlated negatively with HDL‐C in DM(r = −0.420, P = 0.006).Conclusion  Dyslipoproteinemia is a common feature in patients with DM that is characterized by an increase in TG and a decrease in HDL‐C, suggesting a high risk of atherosclerosis. Inflammation might partly account for the changes of serum lipid profiles in DM.
Nutritional rehabilitation increases the resting energy expenditure of malnourished children with severe cerebral palsy
Authors: ARROWSMITH FIONA E , ALLEN JANE R , GASKIN KEVIN J , SOMERVILLE HELEN , BIRDSALL JOCELYN , BARZI FEDERICA , O’LOUGHLIN EDWARD V 
Published: January 2012

Aim  The aim of this study was to measure resting energy expenditure (REE) and energy intake in children with quadriplegic cerebral palsy (CP), to relate these to anthropometric measurements, and to determine the influence of nutritional rehabilitation on REE.Methods  Fifty‐six children (20 females, 36 males; age range 3y 11mo–18y; mean age 10y; SD 3y 11mo) with CP (Gross Motor Function Classification System level V) participated in this cross‐sectional study. Children were excluded if they had a known metabolic disorder, genetic syndrome, or chromosomal abnormality. Thirty‐three of the children were tube fed and 23 were fed orally. A comparison group comprised 111 (42 females, 69 males) healthy children who had undergone anthropometric and REE measurements and were of similar age to the children with CP (4–19y). REE was measured by indirect calorimetry and energy intake was determined from weighed food records.Results  The REE in the children with CP was low (79.5%) compared with that predicted and highly variable (SD 38.4%). Fat‐free mass was the strongest predictor of REE, accounting for 27% of the variation. Energy intake as a percentage of REE in was greatly overestimated in oral‐fed children with CP (293%). In a subset of children with CP (n=14), an increased energy intake by gastrostomy tube feeding resulted in an increase in REE from 70.0% to 101.9% of that predicted.Interpretation  The REE of children with CP is low and variable and is not strongly related to any one anthropometric measurement. Food records in oral‐fed children with CP are of little value owing to their inaccuracy. This study provided support for the hypothesis that the low REE found in malnourished children with CP is partly due to a low energy intake.
Permian bryophytes of Western Gondwanaland from the Paraná Basin in Brazil
Authors: CHRISTIANO DE SOUZA ISABEL CORTEZ , RICARDI BRANCO FRESIA S. , VARGAS YELITZA LEÓN 
Published: January 2012

Abstract:  This study involves bryophyte fossils from the Teresina Formation (Permian–Guadalupian) collected in the Rio Preto Quarry in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. Two new genera are proposed, with two new species: Capimirinus riopretensis sp. nov. and Yguajemanus yucapirus sp. nov. C. riopretensis sp. nov. included a lateral sporophyte that was organically attached to a gametophyte and is thus one of the oldest pleurocarpous fossils known today. This discovery provides clear evidence of the evolution of mosses during the Permian, because an acrocarpous moss from this period was also found in India. The preservation of such a fragile structure demonstrates that no prefossilization displacement took place and that the sediments accumulated in a low‐energy, fresh‐water environment, similar to a lake fed by rain, and isolated from the direct influence of the sea. Campimirinus riopretensis may be placed within the earlier pleurocarps, and Yguajemanus yucapirus sp. nov. may belong to the Bryalean families. However, we were not able to place neither of these species in any existing family today.
Risk factors for postoperative complications after fast‐track abdominal hysterectomy
Authors: Nilsson Lena , Wodlin Ninnie Borendal , Kjølhede Preben 
Published: January 2012

BackgroundFast‐track regimen has been shown to reduce postoperative complications in gastrointestinal surgery.AimsWe investigated the incidence and type of postoperative complications and associated risk factors after benign abdominal hysterectomy undertaken in a fast‐track program.MethodsA prospective longitudinal cohort study. In five Swedish hospitals, a cohort of 162 women, ASA 1‐2, undergoing abdominal hysterectomy in a fast‐track program was prospectively studied. Surgery was performed under spinal or general anaesthesia. The fast‐track concept was standardised with discharge criteria and a restricted intravenous fluid regimen. Complications were systematically registered during the five‐week follow‐up period. Risk factors for complications were analysed using multiple logistic regression models.ResultsForty‐one (25.3%) developed postoperative complications, mainly infection and wound healing complications. The majority of the complications developed after discharge and were treated in the outpatient clinics. Four women (2.5%) were readmitted to hospital. Substantial risk factors for postoperative complications were obesity (OR 8.83), prior laparotomy (OR 2.92) and relative increase in body weight on the first postoperative day (OR 1.52).ConclusionsMinor infection and wound healing complications seem to be common in healthy women undergoing abdominal hysterectomy in a fast‐track program. Obesity is an important risk factor also in fast‐track abdominal hysterectomy. A modest increase in postoperative relative weight gain during the first postoperative day seemed to increase the risk of postoperative complications. This factor merits further study. Randomised studies are necessary to determine the impact of fast‐track program and perioperative fluid regimens on postoperative complications.
Perinatal Postmortems: What Is Important to Parents and How Do They Decide?
Authors: Breeze Andrew C. G. , Statham Helen , Hackett Gerald A. , Jessop Flora A. , Lees Christoph C. 
Published: January 2012

Abstract:  Background:  Falling consent rates for postmortems, regardless of age of death, have been widely reported in recent years. The aim of this study was to explore parental attitudes to, and decision‐making about, a perinatal postmortem after termination for fetal abnormality, late miscarriage, or stillbirth.Methods:  A prospective self‐completion questionnaire was given to 35 women and their partners. The participants had experienced second or third trimester pregnancy loss in a single fetal medicine and delivery unit in the United Kingdom and were making decisions about having a postmortem. They were asked to complete a questionnaire about their attitudes to, and expectations of, a perinatal postmortem.Results:  Thirty‐one questionnaires were received from parents of 17 babies (49% of those asked; 16 from mothers, 15 from fathers). Parents of nine babies (53%) said they would agree to a full postmortem, of three babies to a limited postmortem, and of four babies to an external examination only; one couple were undecided. The most important issues for the parents in this study that related to their decisions about a postmortem centered on the need for information, both for future planning and about what had happened. Moderately important issues related to altruism, which is, improving medical knowledge and helping other parents experiencing similar bereavement. Among the lowest scoring issues were potential barriers, such as concerns about cultural or religious acceptability of a postmortem, funeral delays, and what would happen to the baby’s body.Conclusions:  Bereaved parents who participated in this study, where postmortem consent rates were relatively high, thought that their need for knowledge eclipsed assumed barriers when deciding whether or not to have a postmortem for their baby. (BIRTH 39:1 March 2012)
The Use of Ranolazine to Facilitate Electrical Cardioversion in Cardioversion‐Resistant Patients: A Case Series
Authors: MURDOCK DAVID K. , KALIEBE JEFF , LARRAIN GERMAN 
Published: January 2012

Background:

Occasionally atrial fibrillation (AF) is resistant to electrical cardioversion (EC). Ranolazine (RZ) is an antianginal agent, which inhibits abnormal late Na+ channel currents in cardiomyocytes and decreases Na+/Ca++ overload. RZ is a potent inhibitor of after‐depolarizations and triggered activity and prolongs atrial refractory periods. We postulated RZ could facilitate EC in patients resistant to EC.
Methods:

Over a 3‐year period, we identified 25 EC‐resistant patients who had been administered oral RZ shortly after failing attempted EC. The anterior‐posterior cardioversion approach was used and each patient had failed to be restored to sinus rhythm despite using up to the maximum output of a biphasic cardioversion device. Repeat EC was performed 3.5–4 hours after administration of 2 g of oral RZ using the same device, sedation, and lead placement.
Results: Sinus rhythm was successfully restored in 19 (76%) of 25 EC‐resistant patients. Three patients spontaneously converted before the second attempt at EC within 4 hours of the RZ dose. Of the 22 patients undergoing another attempt at EC, 16 were successfully converted to sinus rhythm. Five of the six patients who were refractory to repeat EC despite RZ had AF of unknown duration and each is now in permanent AF. No adverse effects were noted.
Conclusion:

RZ shows promise as a safe and convenient agent to facilitate EC in EC‐resistant patients. It appears to be most effective in patients whose AF duration is known to be less than 3 months. (PACE 2011;1–6)
Subclavian Venoplasty May Reduce Implant Times and Implant Failures in the Era of Increasing Device Upgrades
Authors: JI SANG YONG , GUNDEWAR SUSHEEL , PALMA EUGEN C. 
Published: January 2012

Background:
The incidence of subclavian venous occlusions (SCVOs) may be an increasing problem in the era of device upgrades, especially to cardiac resynchronization therapy. Venoplasty (VP) performed by the electrophysiologist as a way of managing SCVOs may be advantageous.
Methods:
We reviewed the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implants of the past 5 years at Montefiore Medical Center and searched for SCVOs that required intervention and compared cases where VP was performed with cases where it was not.
Results:
Of 1,853 ICD implants, 41 SCVOs (2.2%) requiring intervention were identified. Its incidence increased seven‐fold from 0.7% in 2005 to 5.2% in 2009. Twenty‐seven of the 41 SCVOs were found during a device upgrade. Of these 41 SCVOs, 18 underwent VP and 23 did not. In the VP group, there was a trend towards a shorter total procedure time, 2:31 hours versus 3:28 hours (P = 0.37), and the total fluoroscopy time was 30 minutes versus 27 minutes (P = 0.55). VP was successful in all 18 patients. Among the non‐VP group (n = 23), five (21.5%) had a failed implantation because of the inability to gain venous access and 10 (42.7%) had to be implanted on the contralateral side.
Conclusion:
The incidence of SCVOs requiring intervention is increasing in the era of device upgrades. VP performed by an electrophysiologist appears to be a safe and efficient approach to manage these SCVOs. VP seems to reduce the implant time and the need to implant on the other side as well as implant failure due to the inability to gain venous access. PACE 2012; 35:444–448)