bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Synergistic impact of low serum albumin on intensive care unit admission and high blood urea nitrogen during intensive care unit stay on post‐intensive care unit mortality in critically ill elderly patients requiring mechanical ventilation
Authors: Pan Sheng‐Wei , Kao Hsin‐Kuo , Yu Wen‐Kuang , Lien Te‐Cheng , Chen Yen‐Wen , Wang Jia‐Horng , Kou Yu Ru 
Published: June 2012

Aims:  To identify intensive care unit (ICU) risk factors for post‐ICU 6‐month (PI6M) mortality in critically ill elderly patients requiring mechanical ventilation (MV).Methods:  The present study was a retrospective observational study carried out in a respiratory ICU from December 2008 to December 2009. Medical records of patients aged ≥70 years and receiving MV were reviewed. Risk factors of PI6M mortality were assessed by multivariate Cox regression.Results:  Of 120 patients enrolled, 46 (38%) died in the PI6M period. As compared with survivors, non‐survivors had lower serum albumin levels on ICU admission, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate, higher peak blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels during ICU stay (ICU‐peak BUN), a higher ratio of prolonged steroid use and longer MV length in ICU. Independent risk factors of PI6M mortality were low albumin on admission (hazard ratio [HR] 3.53 per g/dL decrease, 95% CI [1.97–6.33], P < 0.001) and high ICU‐peak BUN (HR 1.11 per 10‐mg/dL increase, [1.04–1.18], P = 0.001). The HR for PI6M mortality was 7.88 [2.97–20.91] for patients with both risk factors (albumin ≤2.8 g/dL and ICU‐peak BUN >72 mg/dL) as compared with those without. For patients with high ICU‐peak BUN (>72 mg/dL), PI6M survival was better for those with a reduction in BUN level to ≤72 mg/dL at ICU discharge than those without.Conclusions:  Low serum albumin level on ICU admission and high BUN level during ICU stay are two independent risk factors, especially their combination, of PI6M mortality in critically ill elderly patients requiring MV. Furthermore, patients with a reduction in high BUN have a better PI6M survival. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2013; 13: 107–115.
Using phonocardiography to investigate maternal cardiac reserve function in gestational hypertension and pre‐eclampsia
Authors: Shao Yong , Zhang Ying‐hong , Liu Ou Mamie 
Published: June 2012

AbstractAim:  This study used phonocardiography to investigate maternal cardiac reserve function in gestational hypertension and pre‐eclampsia.Method:  Ninety‐nine pregnant women with gestational hypertension (50 cases) and pre‐eclampsia (49 cases) were included in the study; 99 normotensive pregnant women acted as controls. Using phonocardiography, cardiac reserve function parameters for all participants were recorded: heart rate, the ratio of the first heart sound magnitude to the second heart sound magnitude (S1/S2) and the ratio of the diastolic duration to the systolic duration (D/S).Results:  The average values for S1/S2 in the pre‐eclampsia and gestational hypertension groups were 4.3 ± 2.2 and 2.2 ± 1.1 respectively. The average D/S of the pre‐eclampsia and gestational hypertension groups were 1.1 ± 0.3 and 1.4 ± 0.3 respectively. Cases of postnatal adverse maternal outcomes were only observed in the pre‐eclampsia group. A small proportion (2 out of 28) suffered cardiac‐related complications, with one of these two patients dying from cardiac failure. Both these cases had notably poor cardiac reserve function (S1/S2 > 5.00 and D/S < 1) before delivery. The index S1/S2 increases and the index D/S decreases with increasing severity of hypertension‐complicated pregnancies.Conclusions:  Our findings indicate that cardiac reserve function declines with the increasing severity of hypertension during pregnancy. Phonocardiography is a useful, convenient and clinically worthwhile technique to monitor cardiac reserve function parameters of pregnant women with pre‐eclampsia.
Serial magnetic resonance imaging of placenta percreta with bladder involvement during pregnancy and postpartum: A case report
Authors: Ueda Yusuke , Kondoh Eiji , Kakui Kazuyo , Hamanishi Junzo , Ueda Masashi , Nishikawa Ai , Tatsumi Keiji , Konishi Ikuo 
Published: June 2012

AbstractWhether to manage placenta previa percreta surgically or conservatively has been a controversial issue. A 30‐year‐old woman with placenta percreta with bladder involvement was treated conservatively. A planned cesarean section was performed at 33 weeks' gestation. A 1768‐g female infant was delivered through a transverse fundal uterine incision with the placenta left inside the uterus. The following morning, a massive postpartum hemorrhage occurred, and was successfully treated with transarterial embolization. The placenta was never expelled and spontaneously disappeared 4 months after surgery. We demonstrate serial magnetic resonance imaging of the placenta percreta during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Can measurement of maternal anti‐cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin‐M antibody levels be used to screen for cytomegalovirus infection in embryos and fetuses?
Authors: Yoshida Masashi , Matsuda Hideo , Yoshinaga Yosuke , Asai Kazuhiko , Kawashima Akihiro , Sei Kiguna , Furuya Kenichi 
Published: June 2012

AbstractAims:  Our study aims to estimate whether measurement of maternal anti‐cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin‐M antibody (CMV‐IgM) levels are useful as a screening method for achieving early detection of congenital CMV infection.Material and Methods:  Levels of maternal CMV‐IgM were measured by enzyme immunoassay in all (n = 2865) pregnant women who visited our hospital in the first trimester during the period from January 2005 to December 2009.Results:  Among them, 21 individuals (0.73%) had a CMV‐IgM titer of ≥0.08 and were judged to be CMV‐IgM‐positive. Informed consent was obtained from all 21 individuals to perform the confirmation test that quantifies the levels of cytomegalovirus DNA (CMV‐DNA) in amniotic fluid by real‐time polymerase chain reaction. However, only one (0.03%) of the 21 individuals was CMV‐DNA‐positive (CMV‐DNA concentration, 1.0 × 104 copies/ml).Conclusion:  In order to detect congenital CMV infection in early pregnancy, it is considered appropriate to use ultrasound for close examination of embryo or fetal symptoms indicative of CMV instead of performing serological screening based on CMV‐IgM.
Characterization of placental transfer of polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins, dibenzofurans and polychlorinated biphenyls in normal pregnancy
Authors: Tsukimori Kiyomi , Morokuma Seiichi , Hori Tsuguhide , Takahashi Koji , Hirata Teruaki , Otera Yuka , Fukushima Kotaro , Kawamoto Toshihiro , Wake Norio 
Published: June 2012

AbstractAim:  Prenatal exposure to dioxins may result in many adverse health effects. However, the mechanisms by which dioxins are transferred from mother to fetus through the placenta are not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in dioxin concentrations between maternal blood, the placenta, and cord blood in normal pregnant women, and to identify which individual congeners of these compounds are transferred from mother to fetus through the placenta.Material and Methods:  Samples were collected from 19 pregnant Japanese women. Specific congeners of seven polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins (PCDDs), 10 polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and four non‐ortho polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were analyzed.Results:  The TEQ concentrations of PCDDs, PCDFs, and non‐ortho PCBs were 8.03, 3.39, and 3.95 pg TEQ/g lipid, respectively, in the maternal blood; 8.78, 3.61, and 0.87 pg TEQ/g lipid in the placenta; and 4.33, 1.25, 1.08 pg TEQ/g lipid in the cord blood. Among specific congeners, 1,2,3,7,8‐PentaCDD and 2,3,4,7,8‐PentaCDF exhibited a placenta to maternal blood ratio greater than 1.0, while OctaCDD exhibited the greatest cord blood to placenta ratio. The cord blood to maternal blood ratio of total PCDDs was significantly higher than that of total PCDFs and total non‐ortho PCBs.Conclusion:  The dioxin concentration in cord blood was approximately half of the amount in maternal blood, despite congeners showing a high toxic equivalency factor accumulating in the placenta. PCDDs were transferred more readily than PCDFs and non‐ortho PCBs from maternal blood to the fetus through the placenta.
Risk factors of cesarean delivery at prenatal care, admission and during labor in low‐risk pregnancy: Multivariate logistic regression analysis
Authors: Yang Yun Seok , Hur Myung Haeng , Kim Soo Young 
Published: June 2012

AbstractAim:  Risk assessment for cesarean delivery is not a one‐time assessment, but rather a procedure that continues throughout pregnancy and labor. The objective of this study was to develop models to determine risk factors of cesarean delivery in three stages in low‐risk pregnancy.Material and Methods:  The period from pregnancy to childbirth was divided into three stages, including prenatal care, admission and labor. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to develop three risk assessment models according to these stages, which were compared by areas under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.Results:  We developed three predictive models with different risk factors. The ability of each model to determine the risk of cesarean delivery differed according to the three stages. The ROC curve values differed significantly between the labor (model III) and prenatal care (model I) or admission (model II) models (z = 11.43, P < 0.001; z = 8.18, P < 0.001, respectively). There was also a difference in the ROC between models I and II (z = 6.76, P < 0.001).Conclusion:  This study shows that the models constructed for the more advanced stages of pregnancy were the more accurate risk factors of cesarean delivery. Therefore, the risk assessment model for cesarean delivery should be differently adapted according to each stage.
Early semantic and phonological effects on temporal‐ and muscle‐specific motor resonance
Authors: Meister Ingo G. , Wu Allan D. , Deblieck Choi , Iacoboni Marco 
Published: June 2012

AbstractPrevious studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) explored the relationships between linguistic processing and motor resonance, i.e. the activation of the motor system while perceiving others performing an action. These studies have mainly investigated a specific linguistic domain, i.e. semantics, whereas phonology has been largely neglected. Here we used single‐pulse TMS to compare the effects of semantic and phonological processing with motor resonance effects. We applied TMS to the primary motor hand area while subjects observed object‐oriented actions and performed semantic and phonological tasks related to the observed action. Motor evoked potentials were recorded in two hand muscles, one of them more involved in the execution of the observed actions than the other one, at three different timepoints (0, 200 and 400 ms after stimulus onset). The results demonstrated increased corticospinal excitability that was muscle‐specific (i.e. restricted to the hand muscle involved in the observed action), hemisphere‐specific (left), and time‐specific (400 ms after stimulus onset). The results suggest an additive effect of independent semantic and phonological processing on motor resonance. The novel phonological effect reported here expands the links between language and the motor system and is consistent with a theory of shared control for hand and mouth. Furthermore, the timing of the semantic effect suggests that motor activation during semantic processing is not an ‘epiphenomenon’ but rather is essential to the construction of meaning.
Efficacy and safety of ‘true’ cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) as a pharmaceutical agent in diabetes: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Ranasinghe P. , Jayawardana R. , Galappaththy P. , Constantine G. R. , de Vas Gunawardana N. , Katulanda P. 
Published: June 2012

Diabet. Med. 29, 1480–1492 (2012)AbstractAims  Diabetes is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Studies have frequently looked at dietary components beneficial in treatment and prevention. We aim to systematically evaluate the literature on the safety and efficacy of Cinnamomum zeylanicum on diabetes.Methods  A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted in the following databases; PubMed, Web of Science, Biological Abstracts, SciVerse Scopus, SciVerse ScienceDierect, CINAHL and The Cochrane Library. A meta‐analysis of studies examining the effect of C. zeylanicum extracts on clinical and biochemical parameters was conducted. Data were analysed using RevMan v5.1.2.Results  The literature search identified 16 studies on C. zeylanicum (five in‐vitro, six in‐vivo and five in‐vivo/in‐vitro). However, there were no human studies. In‐vitro C. zeylanicum demonstrated a potential for reducing post‐prandial intestinal glucose absorption by inhibiting pancreatic α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase, stimulating cellular glucose uptake by membrane translocation of glucose transporter‐4, stimulating glucose metabolism and glycogen synthesis, inhibiting gluconeogenesis and stimulating insulin release and potentiating insulin receptor activity. The beneficial effects of C. zeylanicum in animals include attenuation of diabetes associated weight loss, reduction of fasting blood glucose, LDL and HbA1c, increasing HDL cholesterol and increasing circulating insulin levels. Cinnamomum zeylanicum also significantly improved metabolic derangements associated with insulin resistance. It also showed beneficial effects against diabetic neuropathy and nephropathy, with no significant toxic effects on liver and kidney and a significantly high therapeutic window.Conclusion  Cinnamomum zeylanicum demonstrates numerous beneficial effects both in vitro and in vivo as a potential therapeutic agent for diabetes. However, further randomized clinical trials are required to establish therapeutic safety and efficacy.
Development of associations among central adiposity, adiponectin and insulin sensitivity from adolescence to young adulthood
Authors: Rasmussen‐Torvik L. J. , Pankow J. S. , Jacobs D. R. , Steinberger J. , Moran A. , Sinaiko A. R. 
Published: June 2012

Diabet. Med. 29, 1153–1158 (2012)AbstractObjective  To examine associations of central adiposity, serum adiponectin and clamp‐derived insulin sensitivity in a single longitudinal cohort from early adolescence to young adulthood.Methods  The cohort was examined three times at mean ages 15 years (n = 308), 19 years (n = 218) and 22 years (n = 163). Insulin sensitivity was measured with the euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp. Circulating adiponectin was measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Computed tomography scans were used at mean age 22 to compute subcutaneous and visceral abdominal fat volume. Partial Pearson correlations and linear regression were used to examine cross‐sectional associations at each examination.Results  The moderate negative correlation between waist circumference and adiponectin was significant and essentially unchanged from mean age 15 (−0.32, P < 0.0001) to mean age 22 (−0.29, P < 0.002), whereas the negative correlation between waist circumference and insulin sensitivity and the positive correlation between adiponectin and insulin sensitivity increased steadily in magnitude to mean age 22 (−0.29, P = 0.0002; and 0.32, P < 0.0001, respectively). In regression models including both visceral and subcutaneous fat, only visceral fat was significantly associated with insulin sensitivity, while only subcutaneous fat was nearly significantly associated with adiponectin.Conclusions  This study shows that the significant negative relationship between waist circumference and adiponectin predated the development of significant relationships between insulin sensitivity and both waist circumference and adiponectin. It also shows that adiponectin is more closely related to subcutaneous fat and insulin sensitivity is more closely related to visceral fat in young adults.
Comparing alcohol affordability in 65 cities worldwide
Authors: Kan Ming‐Yue , Lau Maggie 
Published: June 2012

AbstractIntroduction and AimsTo develop a measure of alcohol affordability (AA) and compare the AA of 65 cities worldwide.Design and MethodsIn this paper, AA is defined as the proportion of median daily income needed to buy a certain quantity of certain alcoholic beverages. The income data and the price of alcoholic beverages were drawn from the Union Bank of Switzerland survey and the Economist Intelligence Unit respectively.ResultsA large majority of cities (87.7%, n = 57) had a high level of AA. The top 20 ranking was occupied by European and American cities with Tokyo in the Western Pacific region being the exception. All cities belonging to high‐income countries had high levels of AA. However, two cities with low‐level AA came from low‐middle‐income countries instead of low‐income countries.Discussion and ConclusionsThe findings have shown that alcohol consumption is highly affordable in many cities. If price policy is being considered as policy instrument of alcohol control, it is in urgent need of price adjustments. More specifically, the new emerging economies play a significant role in the world alcohol control movement because of their bright economic performance with huge population size. Further studies on AA, especially periodical monitoring and its impacts on alcohol consumption and alcohol related health problems, should be conducted so as to facilitate the formulation and evaluation price measure of alcohol control.
Predictors of hospital nurses' intent to stay: a cross‐sectional questionnaire survey in Shanghai, China
Authors: Wang L. , Tao H. , Ellenbecker C.H. , Liu X.H. 
Published: June 2012

Wang L., Tao H., Ellenbecker C.H. & Liu X.H. (2012) Predictors of hospital nurses' intent to stay: a cross‐sectional questionnaire survey in Shanghai, China. International Nursing RevieAim:  To investigate predictors of hospital nurses' intent to stay in the nursing profession.Methods:  A cross‐sectional survey design was adopted. Over 1000 nurses working in hospitals in Shanghai, China, were invited to complete a survey questionnaire between May and October 2009 and 919 nurses responded for an 82% response rate.Findings:  Regression models explained 41.3% of variance in nurse intent to stay. Although the proposed model hypothesized 18 predictors of intent to stay, only seven were statistically significant factors of nurse intent to stay: normative commitment, economic costs commitment, age, limited alternatives commitment, praise/recognition, professional advancement opportunities and the hospital classification. Of these, the strongest predictors were normative commitment, economic costs commitment and age, which explained 37.3% of variance in nurse intent to stay.Conclusion:  Possible strategies to improve nurses' intent to stay include employment practices that improve the work environment, increased wages and benefits, and greater professional opportunity for nurses' personal growth development and promotion. Healthcare organizations should establish an asserting and nurturing environment for nurses and improve nurses' normative commitment and economic costs commitment. Increased effort should be made to improve nurses' conditions in primary and secondary hospitals where nurses report a lower level of intent to stay in nursing.Study Limitations:  Participants came from a limited number of hospitals in Shanghai. A larger sample from different hospitals in Shanghai and other districts in Mainland China could have enhanced the generalizability of the results and increased the power of the study.
Contagious flexibility? A study on whether schedule flexibility facilitates work‐life enrichment
Authors: PEDERSEN VIVI BACH , JEPPESEN HANS JEPPE 
Published: June 2012

Pedersen, V. B. & Jeppesen, H. J. (2012). Contagious flexibility? A study on whether schedule flexibility facilitates work‐life enrichment. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 347–359.Schedule flexibility defines an important generating resource for work‐life enrichment; however, our knowledge about how such spillovers take place is limited. This multiple case study examines how workers from different working time contexts with varying levels of schedule flexibility experience work‐life interplay. Given the adopted explorative design, it is important to interpret the findings in a tentative light. Nonetheless, the study offers important insight into work‐life enrichment that may guide future research in this field. The findings indicate that schedule flexibility may act as a boundary‐spanning resource owing to the agency potential it offers workers. Thus, it seemed that flexible schedule opportunities enabled workers to engage more fully in personal life activities, which in turn had a positive influence on their work involvement through positive affect. Such positive role engagements appeared, however, to be greatly determined by workers’ boundary management and by time conditions of work and family. In conclusion, the major findings and limitation of the study are discussed against existing research and theory.
Interaction between endogenous and exogenous orienting in crossmodal attention
Authors: CHEN XIAOXI , CHEN QI , GAO DINGGUO , YUE ZHENZHU 
Published: June 2012

Chen, X., Chen, Q., Gao, D. & Yue, Z. (2012). Interaction between endogenous and exogenous orienting in crossmodal attention. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 303–308.Using a cue‐target paradigm, we investigated the interaction between endogenous and exogenous orienting in cross‐modal attention. A peripheral (exogenous) cue was presented after a central (endogenous) cue with a variable time interval. The endogenous and exogenous cues were presented in one sensory modality (auditory in Experiment 1 and visual in Experiment 2) whereas the target was presented in another modality. Both experiments showed a significant endogenous cuing effect (longer reaction times in the invalid condition than in the valid condition). However, exogenous cuing produced a facilitatory effect in both experiments in response to the target when endogenous cuing was valid, but it elicited a facilitatory effect in Experiment 1 and an inhibitory effect in Experiment 2 when endogenous cuing was invalid. These findings indicate that endogenous and exogenous cuing can co‐operate in orienting attention to the crossmodal target. Moreover, the interaction between endogenous and exogenous orienting of attention is modulated by the modality between the cue and the target.
Has The Accuracy of Macroeconomic Forecasts for Germany Improved?
Authors: Heilemann Ullrich , Stekler Herman O. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThis study asks whether the accuracy of macroeconomic forecasts for Germany has improved over time. We examine one-year-ahead forecasts of rates of real GDP growth and inflation for the years 1967-2010, by three major German forecasters and the OECD. We find that overall error levels are high but not much different from those of the U.S. and U.K. In the 1980s and 1990s accuracy improved somewhat, but has now returned to its 1970s level, indicating that it reflects the variance of growth and inflation. Benchmark comparisons with these predictions with ex post forecasts of a macroeconometric model indicate that accuracy can be improved, but it will be difficult to achieve.