bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Profiling fetal cardiac function in twin–twin transfusion syndrome
Authors: Stirnemann J. J. , Mougeot M. , Proulx F. , Nasr B. , Essaoui M. , Fouron J. C. , Ville Y. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractObjectivesCardiomyopathy in the recipient twin is a marker of severity in twin–twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), making it a potentially valuable tool for staging the disease. This study aimed to provide a quantitative description of cardiac function in the recipient twin.MethodsConsecutive monochorionic pregnancies complicated with TTTS and treated by percutaneous laser coagulation underwent fetal echocardiography before surgery. An unsupervised classification analysis was conducted to identify groups of twins with similar cardiac profiles. The predictive value of the recipient twin's preoperative cardiac function based on these profiles was assessed, using perinatal death of at least one twin as the main outcome. The cardiac function profiles that we identified were compared with the current Quintero staging.ResultsA total of 107 pregnancies were included, with six of these lost to follow‐up; 63/107 complete cases were available for multivariate description of the recipient's cardiac function. Three different preoperative cardiac profiles were identified with increasing right and left myocardial performance index, decreasing right and left shortening fraction, and increasing ductus venosus pulsatility index. Although the three groups represented progressive stages of the syndrome‐related cardiomyopathy, no correlation was found with pregnancy outcome. Of Quintero Stage 1 cases, 55% showed significant alterations of cardiac function in the recipient twin.ConclusionsProgressive cardiomyopathy can be assessed quantitatively in the recipient twin and does not influence pregnancy outcome when fetoscopic laser coagulation is the first‐line treatment. Compared with the current staging, cardiac profiling allows discrimination of cases with significant myocardial dysfunction. Copyright © 2009 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cutting‐edge information for the management of acute pancreatitis
Authors: Takada Tadahiro , Hirata Koichi , Mayumi Toshihiko , Yoshida Masahiro , Sekimoto Miho , Hirota Masahiko , Kimura Yasutoshi , Takeda Kazunori , Isaji Shuji , Wada Keita , Amano Hodaka , Gabata Toshifumi , Arata Shinjyu , Hirota Morihisa , Yokoe Masamichi , Kiriyama Seiki , Nakayama Takeo , Otomo Kuni , Tanaka Masao , Shimosegawa Tooru 
Published: December 2009

AbstractConsidering that the Japanese (JPN) guidelines for the management of acute pancreatitis were published in Takada et al. (J HepatoBiliary Pancreat Surg 13:2–6, 2006), doubts will be cast as to the reason for publishing a revised edition of the Guidelines for the management of acute pancreatitis: the JPN guidelines 2010, at this time. The rationale for this is that new criteria for the severity assessment of acute pancreatitis were made public on the basis of a summary of activities and reports of shared studies that were conducted in 2008. The new severity classification is entirely different from that adopted in the 2006 guidelines. A drastic revision was made in the new criteria. For example, about half of the cases that have been assessed previously as being ‘severe’ are assessed as being ‘mild’ in the new criteria. The JPN guidelines 2010 are published so that consistency between the criteria for severity assessment in the first edition and the new criteria will be maintained. In the new criteria, severity assessment can be made only by calculating the 9 scored prognostic factors. Severity assessment according to the contrast‐enhanced computed tomography (CT) grade was made by scoring the poorly visualized pancreatic area in addition to determining the degree of extrapancreatic progress of inflammation and its extent. Changes made in accordance with the new criteria are seen in various parts of the guidelines. In the present revised edition, post‐endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis is treated as an independent item. Furthermore, clinical indicators (pancreatitis bundles) are presented to improve the quality of the management of acute pancreatitis and to increase adherence to new guidelines.
Rapid Development of Fasting‐Induced Hepatic Lipidosis in the American Mink (Neovison vison): Effects of Food Deprivation and Re‐Alimentation on Body Fat Depots, Tissue Fatty Acid Profiles, Hematology and Endocrinology
Authors: Rouvinen‐Watt Kirsti , Mustonen Anne‐Mari , Conway Rebecca , Pal Catherine , Harris Lora , Saarela Seppo , Strandberg Ursula , Nieminen Petteri 
Published: December 2009

AbstractHepatic lipidosis is a common pathological finding in the American mink (Neovison vison) and can be caused by nutritional imbalance due to obesity or rapid body weight loss. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the timeline and characterize the development of hepatic lipidosis in mink in response to 0–7 days of food deprivation and liver recovery after 28 days of re‐feeding. We report here the effects on hematological and endocrine variables, body fat mobilization, the development of hepatic lipidosis and the alterations in the liver lipid classes and tissue fatty acid (FA) sums. Food deprivation resulted in the rapid mobilization of body fat, most notably visceral, causing elevated hepatosomatic index and increased liver triacylglycerol content. The increased absolute amounts of liver total phospholipids and phosphatidylcholine suggested endoplasmic reticulum stress. The hepatic lipid infiltration and the altered liver lipid profiles were associated with a significantly reduced proportion of n‐3 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) in the livers and the decrease was more evident in the females. Likewise, re‐feeding of the female mink resulted in a more pronounced recovery of the liver n‐3 PUFA. The rapid decrease in the n‐3/n‐6 PUFA ratio in response to food deprivation could trigger an inflammatory response in the liver. This could be a key contributor to the pathophysiology of fatty liver disease in mink influencing disease progression.
Efficacy and safety of a single intrathecal methylprednisolone bolus in chronic complex regional pain syndrome
Authors: Munts Alexander G. , van der Plas Anton A. , Ferrari Michel D. , Teepe‐Twiss Irene M. , Marinus Johan , Van Hilten Jacobus J. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractActivated immune cells in the spinal cord may play an important role in the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain, such as occurs in response to peripheral inflammation or tissue injury. Immune activation may therefore serve as a therapeutic target for immune modulating drugs like corticosteroids. This double‐blind randomized placebo‐controlled parallel‐group trial aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of a single intrathecal administration of 60 mg methylprednisolone (ITM) in chronic patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The primary outcome measure was change in pain (pain intensity numeric rating scale; range 0–10) after 6 weeks. With 21 subjects per group the study had a 90% power to detect a clinically relevant difference (≥2 points). After 21 patients (10 on ITM) were included, the trial was stopped prematurely after the interim analysis had shown that ITM had no effect on pain (difference in mean pain intensity numeric rating scale at 6 weeks 0.3, 95% confidence interval −0.7 to 1.3) or any other outcome measure. We did not find any difference in treatment‐emergent adverse events between the ITM and placebo group. We conclude that a single bolus administration of ITM is not efficacious in chronic CRPS patients, which may indicate that spinal immune activation does not play an important role in this phase of the syndrome.
Transabdominal amnioinfusion in preterm premature rupture of membranes
Authors: Singla Anshuja , Yadav Poonam , Vaid Neelam B. , Suneja Amita , Faridi Mohammad M.A. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of transabdominal amnioinfusion on prolongation of pregnancy, and maternal and neonatal outcomes in preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM).MethodsWe conducted a prospective randomized controlled study of women with pPROM during singleton live pregnancy—between 26 and 33 + 6 weeks—whose amniotic fluid index (AFI) was less than the 5th percentile. The study group underwent transabdominal amnioinfusion at admission and then weekly if their AFI fell below the 5th percentile again. The control group received expectant management.ResultsThe difference in the mean interval from pPROM to delivery between the groups was not statistically significant. Neonatal and maternal outcomes were significantly improved in the study group compared with the control group (fetal distress [10% vs 37%]; early neonatal sepsis [17% vs 63%]; neonatal mortality [17% vs 63%]; spontaneous delivery [83% vs 53%]; and postpartum sepsis [7% vs 33%]).ConclusionTransabdominal amnioinfusion reduced fetal distress, early neonatal sepsis, and neonatal mortality. In the study group, more participants delivered spontaneously and there were fewer cases of postpartum sepsis, although the pPROM–delivery interval was not increased.
Starch granule size distribution in wheat grain in relation to shading after anthesis
Authors: LI W. , YAN S. , YIN Y. , WANG Z. 
Published: December 2009

SUMMARYGranule size distribution of wheat starch is an important characteristic that may affect the functionality of wheat products. Light intensity is one of the main factors affecting grain yield and quality. Two high-yield winter wheat cultivars were grown under shade to evaluate the effect of low light intensity after anthesis on starch granule size distribution and starch components in wheat grains at maturity. Shading caused a marked drop in both grain yield and starch yield and led to a significant reduction in the proportion (both by volume and by surface area) of B-type starch granules (⩽9·9 μm), with an increase in those of A-type starch granules (>9·9 μm). This would suggest that the production of B-type starch granules was more sensitive to shading than that of A-type starch granules. It was also found that the proportion by volume of A-type starch granules was significantly increased and that of B-type starch granules was significantly decreased by shading at different grain filling stages, especially at middle and late grain-filling stages. However, shading had little effect on the proportional number of B-type starch granules. The present results suggested that, under dim light conditions, the limited substrate for starch accumulation was mainly partitioned towards hypertrophy (larger granules) not hyperplasia (more) of starch granules.
‘MAYBE IT WAS HER FATE AND MAYBE SHE RAN OUT OF BLOOD’: FINAL CAREGIVERS' PERSPECTIVES ON ACCESS TO CARE IN OBSTETRIC EMERGENCIES IN RURAL INDONESIA
Authors: D'AMBRUOSO LUCIA , BYASS PETER , QOMARIYAH SITI NURUL 
Published: December 2009

SummaryMaternal mortality persists in low-income settings despite preventability with skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care. Poor access limits the effectiveness of life-saving interventions and is typical of maternal health care in low-income settings. This paper examines access to care in obstetric emergencies from the perspectives of service users, using established and contemporary theoretical frameworks of access and a routine health surveillance method. The implications for health planning are also considered. The final caregivers of 104 women who died during pregnancy or childbirth were interviewed in two rural districts in Indonesia using an adapted verbal autopsy. Qualitative analysis revealed social and economic barriers to access and barriers that arose from the health system itself. Health insurance for the poor was highly problematic. For providers, incomplete reimbursements, and low public pay, acted as disincentives to treat the poor. For users, the schemes were poorly socialized and understood, complicated to use and led to lower quality care. Services, staff, transport, equipment and supplies were also generally unavailable or unaffordable. The multiple barriers to access conferred a cumulative disadvantage that culminated in exclusion. This was reflected in expressions of powerlessness and fatalism regarding the deaths. The analysis suggests that conceiving of access as a structurally determined, complex and dynamic process, and as a reciprocally maintained phenomenon of disadvantaged groups, may provide useful explanatory concepts for health planning. Health planning from this perspective may help to avoid perpetuating exclusion on social and economic grounds, by health systems and services, and help foster a sense of control at the micro-level, among peoples' feelings and behaviours regarding their health. Verbal autopsy surveys provide an opportunity to routinely collect
information on the exclusory mechanisms of health systems, important information for equitable health planning.
THE IMPACT OF MATERNAL BIRTH MONTH ON REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE: CONTROLLING FOR SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CONFOUNDERS
Authors: KEMKES ARIANE 
Published: December 2009

SummaryBased on a 1900 census sample of 34,166 post-reproductive females (≥45 years), the birth month effect was put to the test, for both lifetime fertility as well as child survival, controlling for maternal birth cohort (1826–1835, 1836–1845, 1846–1855), Duncan's SEI, urbanity, nativity, literacy and marital duration. Testing for potential cohort effects did not indicate a temporal trend in fertility by maternal birth month (seasonal Mann-Kendall test, p=0.578), while a minute increase in offspring survival was detected (p<0.001, Sen's estimator of slope=0.02, 95% CI=0.02 to 0.03). Further analyses of the maternal birth month effect on child survival were therefore seized. For lifetime fertility, ANOVA results indicated that maternal birth month was a major predictor for total offspring count (F11, 33606=1809.0, p<0.001), accounting for 37.2% of the total variability. In addition to main effects, a statistically significant interaction effect was observed (F538, 33606=2.2, p<0.001), with a corresponding effect size of η2=0.40. Planned contrasts revealed that birth-month-specific differences in fertility achieved statistical significance (F11, 31798=1712.9, p<0.001), while post-hoc multiple comparisons for literacy and nativity displayed an inverse relationship with fertility, which meets demographic expectations. Controlling for all factors of interest, models of cohort-specific offspring counts (independent ANOVAs for 1826–1835: F157, 3467=26.3, p<0.001; 1836–1845: F182, 10299=75.5, p<0.001; 1846–1855: F199, 19859=137.9, p<0.001) indicated that women born in the first half of the year (particularly, January, February, April and May) achieved above-average parity, while those born in the latter half (namely, July, October, November and December) displayed markedly lower fertility averages. These monthly disparities are in line with previous observations and appear to be linked to seasonal optimal ripening of the oocyte or seasonal preovulatory over-ripeness ovopathy (Jongbloet, 1992).
Invisible Enemies: Bacteriology and the Language of Politics in Imperial Germany
Authors: Gradmann Christoph 
Published: December 2009

The ArgumentThe text analyzes the related semantics of bacteriology and politics in imperial Germany. The rapid success of bacteriology in the 1880s and 1890s was due not least to the fact that scientific concepts of bacteria as “the smallest but most dangerous enemies of mankind” (R. Koch) resonated with contemporary ideas about political enemies. Bacteriological hygiene was expected to provide answers to social and political problems. At the same time metaphors borrowed from bacteriological terminology were incorporated into the political language of the time. While the “high command of our doctors” (F. J. Cohn) fought diseases, some contemporaries were identified with members of the evil species of “bacillus communis odii.”Both imperialistic politics and bacteriological science relied on images of inferior and invisible but potent enemies. Both were able to increase their prestige via a mutual interchange of their vocabularies.
Invisible Architectures
Authors: Rheinberger Hans-Jörg 
Published: December 2009

The ArgumentIn this essay I will sketch a few instances of how, and a few forms in which, the “invisible” became an epistemic category in the development of the life sciences from the seventeenth century through the end of the nineteenth century. In contrast to most of the other papers in this issue, I do not so much focus on the visualization of various little entities, and the tools and contexts in which a visual representation of these things was realized. I will be more concerned with the basic problem of introducing entities or structures that cannot be seen, as elements of an explanatory strategy. I will try to review the ways in which the invisibility of such entities moved from the unproblematic status of just being too small to be accessible to the naked or even the armed eye, to the problematic status of being invisible in principle and yet being indispensable within a given explanatory framework. The epistemological concern of the paper is thus to sketch the historical process of how the “unseen” became a problem in the modern life sciences. The coming into being of the invisible as a space full of paradoxes is itself the product of a historical development that still awaits proper reconstruction.
Locating Rods and Cones: Microscopic Investigations of the Retina in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Berlin and Würzburg
Authors: Schickore Jutta 
Published: December 2009

The ArgumentThis paper is concerned with the diversity of microscopic research in nineteenth-century life sciences. It examines how two researchers, Ernst Wilhelm Brücke and Heinrich Müller, investigated the structure and function of the retina. They did so in significantly different ways, thereby developing quite different accounts of this organ and its role in the process of vision. Both investigators were carrying out microscopic investigations, both were particularly concerned with interpreting their findings in terms of physiological function, and both employed the physical sciences in their microscopic research. Their approaches differed, however, with respect to the manner of handling and preparing the tissues, as well as with respect to the conceptual tools they applied to their findings.The cases indicate that the common tendency to associate microscopic research mainly with morphological studies of organic material is not appropriate. To understand nineteenth-century microscopy and its place in the sciences of life, close attention should be paid to the manner in which microscopic investigations were performed. It is only then that the flexibility and versatility of microscopic research comes into view.
Greenlandic schoolchildren’s compliance with national dietary guidelines
Authors: Niclasen Birgit , Schnohr Christina W 
Published: December 2009

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to examine to what extent children and adolescents in Greenland comply with the national dietary guidelines, and to analyse the influence of habitation and family affluence on the compliance with dietary guidelines.DesignData were from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey in Greenland. The 2006 survey included 2462 students aged 11 to 17 years.ResultsThe proportion of students complying with the national dietary guidelines varied from 14 % to 87 % depending on the food item. Sweets and soft drinks had the lowest compliance. The oldest children had the following characteristics compared with the younger children: fewer ate traditional Greenlandic foods, fewer ate fruit, fewer ate breakfast daily on school days and more drank soft drinks frequently. More boys than girls ate traditional Greenlandic foods often, while more girls ate vegetables daily. The least favourable eating habits in general were found among children from low affluent families and children in villages.ConclusionsMany Greenlandic schoolchildren did not comply with the national dietary guidelines. Despite a higher intake of traditional foods as a whole, children in villages and less affluent children were less likely to comply with guidelines. A strong relationship between diet, family affluence and availability was found. The study findings indicate that factors such as availability, cost and seasonal variation are important to the intake of both imported and traditional Greenlandic foods. The findings should be taken into consideration when promoting the national guidelines.
Validation of an FFQ to estimate the intake of fatty acids using erythrocyte membrane fatty acids and multiple 3d dietary records
Authors: Zhang Bo , Wang Ping , Chen Chao-gang , He Qi-qiang , Zhuo Shu-yu , Chen Yu-ming , Su Yi-xiang 
Published: December 2009

AbstractObjectiveThe estimation of dietary intake in population-based studies is often assessed by the FFQ. The objective of our study is to evaluate the validity of an FFQ used to assess dietary fatty acid intake among middle-aged Chinese adults in Southern China.DesignThe method of triads was applied to obtain the validity coefficients (VC) of the FFQ for specific fatty acids. A subsample was randomly selected from an earlier cross-sectional study. The FFQ and 3d dietary records were used for dietary assessment, and the fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membranes was determined as the biomarker.ResultsThe Spearman correlation coefficients between the FFQ and 3d dietary records were moderate to good (r= 0·28–0·66). The VC of the FFQ estimated by the method of triads were 0·72, 0·61, 0·65, 0·75 and 0·67 for MUFA, totaln-6 fatty acids, α-linolenic acid, EPA and DHA, respectively. The VC could not be calculated for SFA, PUFA and totaln-3 fatty acids because of negative correlations among the three measurements. But, the correlations between the FFQ and the dietary records were moderate for these fatty acids.ConclusionsOur FFQ applied in Southern Chinese adults was valid to estimate their dietary fatty acid intake and was thus suitable for use in a large cohort study.
Television food advertising and the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity: a multicountry comparison
Authors: Goris Janny M , Petersen Solveig , Stamatakis Emmanuel , Veerman J Lennert 
Published: December 2009

AbstractObjectiveTo estimate the contribution of television (TV) food advertising to the prevalence of obesity among 6–11-year-old children in Australia, Great Britain (England and Scotland only), Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United States.DesignData from contemporary representative studies on the prevalence of childhood obesity and on TV food advertising exposure in the above countries were entered into a mathematical simulation model. Two different effect estimators were used to calculate the reduction in prevalence of overweight and obesity in the absence of TV food advertising in each country; one based on literature and one based on experts’ estimates.SettingSix- to eleven-year-old children in six Western countries.ResultsEstimates of the average exposure of children to TV food advertising range from 1·8 min/d in The Netherlands to 11·5 min/d in the United States. Its contribution to the prevalence of childhood obesity is estimated at 16 %–40 % in the United States, 10 %–28 % in Australia and Italy and 4 %–18 % in Great Britain, Sweden and The Netherlands.ConclusionsThe contribution of TV advertising of foods and drinks to the prevalence of childhood obesity differs distinctly by country and is likely to be significant in some countries.