bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Retrospective review of ilioinguinal‐iliohypogastric nerve block with general anesthesia for herniotomy in ex‐premature neonates
Authors: Thong Sze Y. , Lim Suan L. , Ng Agnes Suah Bwee 
Published: August 2011

SummaryObjectives and aims:  We examine the efficacy and complications of general anesthesia with ilioinguinal‐iliohypogastric nerve block performed on ex‐premature neonates undergoing inguinal herniotomy.Background:  The ex‐premature neonate has many co‐morbidities and is at risk of postoperative apnea and bradycardia. Anesthesia techniques aimed to provide good surgical conditions include general anesthesia and central neuroaxial techniques. There are still significant complications after these techniques and none is superior.Methods/Materials:  A retrospective search of our department’s computer database was conducted on ex‐premature neonates, post‐menstrual age of 48 weeks and under, who received general anesthesia and ilioinguinal‐iliohypogastric nerve block for bilateral inguinal herniotomy from 1997 to 2009.Results:  Eighty‐two neonates were selected. All medical notes were traced and information including the demographics, co‐morbidities and perioperative data were obtained. The mean gestational age was 30.3 weeks (sd ± 3.2) and the mean post‐conception age was 40.0 weeks (sd ± 3.1). Mean birth weight was 1284 g (sd ± 518) and mean weight at the time of surgery was 2795 g (sd ± 958). Thirty‐two (39.0%) neonates had apnea of prematurity, which required caffeine treatment. Thirty‐five (42.7%) neonates required intubation for ventilatory support preoperatively. There was a good success rate of the ilioinguinal‐iliohypogastric nerve block in 73 (89.0%) patients. They were deemed successful clinically by the attending anesthesiologist. No perioperative rescue opioid was required. Four neonates had postoperative apnea requiring intervention.Conclusion:  Ilioinguinal‐iliohypogastric nerve block has a success rate similar to other techniques and when combined with general anesthesia, provides a viable alternative technique of anesthesia in these high‐risk patients.
Manifestation of Long QT syndrome with normal QTc interval under anesthesia: a case report
Authors: Mandal Banashree , Kaur Gurpreet , Batra Yatindra K. , Mahajan Sachin 
Published: August 2011

SummaryPatients with congenital Long QT are known to have normal QT interval in symptom‐free period and in the early years of life. Precipitating factors like surgical stress, interactions with anesthetic agents prolonging QT interval, and electrolyte imbalances can manifest with life threatening arrhythmias in congenital or acquired Long QT syndrome. We report a case of concealed LQTS manifesting under anesthesia and its subsequent perioperative course.
Comparing incident diabetes as defined by fasting plasma glucose or by HbA1c. The AusDiab, Inter99 and DESIR studies
Authors: Soulimane S. , Simon D. , Shaw J. E. , Zimmet P. Z. , Vol S. , Vistisen D. , Magliano D. J. , Borch‐Johnsen K. , Balkau B. 
Published: August 2011

Diabet. Med. 28, 1311–1318 (2011)AbstractAim  We examined the ability of fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c to predict 5‐year incident diabetes for an Australian cohort and a Danish cohort and 6‐year incident diabetes for a French cohort, as defined by the corresponding criteria.Methods  We studied 6025 men and women from AusDiab (Australian), 4703 from Inter99 (Danish) and 3784 from DESIR (French), not treated for diabetes and with fasting plasma glucose < 7.0 mmol/l and HbA1c < 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) at inclusion. Diabetes was defined as fasting plasma glucose ≥ 7.0 mmol/l and/or treatment for diabetes or as HbA1c ≥ 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) and/or treatment for diabetes.Results  For AusDiab, incident fasting plasma glucose‐defined diabetes was more frequent than HbA1c‐defined diabetes (PMcNemar < 0.0001), the reverse applied to Inter99 (PMcNemar < 0.007) and for DESIR there was no difference (PMcNema = 0.17). Less than one third of the incident cases were detected by both criteria. Logistic regression models showed that baseline fasting plasma glucose and baseline HbA1c predicted incident diabetes defined by the corresponding criteria. The standardized odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for HbA1c were a little higher than for fasting plasma glucose, but not significantly so. They were respectively, 5.0 (4.1–6.1) and 4.1 (3.5–4.9) for AusDiab, 5.0 (3.6–6.8) and 4.8 (3.6–6.3) for Inter99, 4.8 (3.6–6.5) and 4.6 (3.6–5.9) for DESIR.Conclusions  Fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c are good predictors of incident diabetes defined by the corresponding criteria. Despite Diabetes Control and Complications Trial‐alignment of the three HbA1c assays, there was a large difference in the HbA1c distributions between these studies, conducted some 10 years ago. Thus, it is difficult to compare absolute values of diabetes prevalence and incidence based on HbA1c measurements from that time.
Alien and native plant life‐forms respond differently to human and climate pressures
Authors: Marini Lorenzo , Battisti Andrea , Bona Enzo , Federici Germano , Martini Fabrizio , Pautasso Marco , Hulme Philip E. 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTAim  To investigate whether differences in the elevational trend in native and alien species richness were dependent on climate or human pressures. Specifically we tested whether life‐form and/or alien/native status modifies the response of plant species richness to human population and temperature along: (1) a complete elevational gradient, and (2) within separate elevational bands that, by keeping temperature within a narrow range, elucidate the effects of human pressures more clearly.Location  Two provinces (c. 7507 km2) on the southern border of the European Alps (Italy), subdivided into 240 contiguous sampling cells (c. 35.7 km2).Methods  We used an extensive dataset on alien and native species richness across an elevation gradient (20–2900 m a.s.l.). Richness of natives and naturalized aliens were separately related to temperature, human population and Raunkiaer life‐form using general linear mixed models. Life‐form describes different plant strategies for survival during seasons with adverse cold/arid conditions.Results  The relationship between species richness and temperature for natives was strongly dependent on life‐form, while aliens showed a consistent positive trend. Similar trends across alien and native life‐forms were found for the relationship between species richness and human population along the whole gradient and within separate elevational bands.Main conclusions  The absence of life‐form‐dependent responses amongst aliens supports the hypothesis that the distribution of alien plant species richness was more related to propagule pressure and availability of novel niches created by human activities than to climatic filtering. While climate change will potentially contribute to relaxing species thermal constraints, the response of alien species to future warming will also be contingent on changes in anthropogenic pressures.
Native and naturalized range size in Pinus: relative importance of biogeography, introduction effort and species traits
Authors: Procheş Şerban , Wilson John R. U. , Richardson David M. , Rejmánek Marcel 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTAim  Pine trees (genus Pinus) represent an ancient lineage, naturally occurring almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere, but introduced and widely naturalized in both hemispheres. As large trees of interest to forestry, they attract much attention and their distribution is well documented in both indigenous and naturalized ranges. This creates an opportunity to analyse the relationship between indigenous and naturalized range sizes in the context of different levels of human usage, biological traits and the characteristics of the environments of origin.Location  Global.Methods  We combined and expanded pre‐existing data sets for pine species distributions and pine species traits, and used a variety of regression techniques (including generalized additive models and zero‐inflated Poisson models) to assess which variables explained naturalized and indigenous range sizes.Results  Indigenous and naturalized range sizes are positively correlated but there are many notable exceptions. Some species have large indigenous ranges but small or no naturalized ranges, whereas others have small indigenous ranges, but have naturalized in many regions. Indigenous range is correlated to factors such as seed size (−), age at first reproduction (−), and latitude (+, supporting Rapoport's rule), but also to the extent of coverage of species in the forestry literature (+). Naturalized range size is strongly influenced by the extent of coverage of species in the forestry literature (+), a proxy for propagule pressure. Naturalization was also influenced by average elevation in the indigenous range (−) and age at first reproduction (−).Main conclusions  The macroecological and evolutionary pressures facing plant groups are not directly transferable between indigenous and naturalized ranges. In particular, there are strong biases in species naturalization and expansion in invasive ranges that are unrelated to factors determining indigenous range size. At least for Pinus, a new set of macroecological patterns are emerging which are profoundly influenced by humans.
Banded Regularization of Autocovariance Matrices in Application to Parameter Estimation and Forecasting of Time Series
Authors: Bickel Peter J. , Gel Yulia R. 
Published: August 2011

SummaryThe paper addresses a ‘large p–small n’ problem in a time series framework and considers properties of banded regularization of an empirical autocovariance matrix of a time series process. Utilizing the banded autocovariance matrix enables us to fit a much longer auto-regressive AR(p) model to the observed data than typically suggested by the Akaike information criterion, while controlling how many parameters are to be estimated precisely and the level of accuracy. We present results on asymptotic consistency of banded autocovariance matrices under the Frobenius norm and provide a theoretical justification on optimal band selection by using cross-validation. Remarkably, the cross-validation loss function for banded prediction is related to the conditional mean-square prediction error and, thus, may be viewed as an alternative model selection criterion. The procedure proposed is illustrated by simulations and application to predicting the sea surface temperature index in the Niño 3.4 region.
Estimation of Direct Effects for Survival Data by using the Aalen Additive Hazards Model
Authors: Martinussen Torben , Vansteelandt Stijn , Gerster Mette , Hjelmborg Jacob von Bornemann 
Published: August 2011

SummaryWe extend the definition of the controlled direct effect of a point exposure on a survival outcome, other than through some given, time-fixed intermediate variable, to the additive hazard scale. We propose two-stage estimators for this effect when the exposure is dichotomous and randomly assigned and when the association between the intermediate variable and the survival outcome is confounded only by measured factors, which may themselves be affected by the exposure. The first stage of the estimation procedure involves assessing the effect of the intermediate variable on the survival outcome via Aalen’s additive regression for the event time, given exposure, intermediate variable and confounders. The second stage involves applying Aalen’s additive model, given the exposure alone, to a modified stochastic process (i.e. a modification of the observed counting process based on the first-stage estimates). We give the large sample properties of the estimator proposed and investigate its small sample properties by Monte Carlo simulation. A real data example is provided for illustration.
Penalized Classification using Fisher’s Linear Discriminant
Authors: Witten Daniela M. , Tibshirani Robert 
Published: August 2011

SummaryWe consider the supervised classification setting, in which the data consist of p features measured on n observations, each of which belongs to one of K classes. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is a classical method for this problem. However, in the high dimensional setting where p≫n, LDA is not appropriate for two reasons. First, the standard estimate for the within-class covariance matrix is singular, and so the usual discriminant rule cannot be applied. Second, when p is large, it is difficult to interpret the classification rule that is obtained from LDA, since it involves all p features. We propose penalized LDA, which is a general approach for penalizing the discriminant vectors in Fisher’s discriminant problem in a way that leads to greater interpretability. The discriminant problem is not convex, so we use a minorization–maximization approach to optimize it efficiently when convex penalties are applied to the discriminant vectors. In particular, we consider the use of L1 and fused lasso penalties. Our proposal is equivalent to recasting Fisher’s discriminant problem as a biconvex problem. We evaluate the performances of the resulting methods on a simulation study, and on three gene expression data sets. We also survey past methods for extending LDA to the high dimensional setting and explore their relationships with our proposal.
Corticosteroid‐induced gene expression in allergen‐challenged asthmatic subjects taking inhaled budesonide
Authors: Kelly MM , King EM , Rider CF , Gwozd C , Holden NS , Eddleston J , Zuraw B , Leigh R , O'Byrne PM , Newton R 
Published: August 2011

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are the cornerstone of asthma pharmacotherapy and, acting via the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), reduce inflammatory gene expression. While this is often attributed to a direct inhibitory effect of the GR on inflammatory gene transcription, corticosteroids also induce the expression of anti‐inflammatory genes in vitro. As there are no data to support this effect in asthmatic subjects taking ICS, we have assessed whether ICS induce anti‐inflammatory gene expression in subjects with atopic asthma.EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Bronchial biopsies from allergen‐challenged atopic asthmatic subjects taking inhaled budesonide or placebo were subjected to gene expression analysis using real‐time reverse transcriptase‐PCR for the corticosteroid‐inducible genes (official gene symbols with aliases in parentheses): TSC22D3 [glucocorticoid‐induced leucine zipper (GILZ)], dual‐specificity phosphatase‐1 (MAPK phosphatase‐1), both anti‐inflammatory effectors, and FKBP5 [FK506‐binding protein 51 (FKBP51)], a regulator of GR function. Cultured pulmonary epithelial and smooth muscle cells were also treated with corticosteroids before gene expression analysis.KEY RESULTS Compared with placebo, GILZ and FKBP51 mRNA expression was significantly elevated in budesonide‐treated subjects. Budesonide also increased GILZ expression in human epithelial and smooth muscle cells in culture. Immunostaining of bronchial biopsies revealed GILZ expression in the airways epithelium and smooth muscle of asthmatic subjects.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Expression of the corticosteroid‐induced genes, GILZ and FKBP51, is up‐regulated in the airways of allergen‐challenged asthmatic subjects taking inhaled budesonide. Consequently, the biological effects of corticosteroid‐induced genes should be considered when assessing the actions of ICS. Treatment modalities that increase or decrease GR‐dependent transcription may correspondingly affect corticosteroid efficacy.
Hematopoietic stem cells from poor and good mobilizers are qualitatively equivalent
Authors: Jiang Liuyan , Malik Sunny , Litzow Mark , Gastineau Dennis , Micallef Ivana , Roy Vivek , Solberg Lawrence , Zubair Abba C. 
Published: August 2011

BACKGROUND: Marrow damage from chemo‐ and radiation therapies has been suggested to affect quality and quantity of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) products. We tested the hypothesis that CD34+ cells (HSCs) from low mobilizers are qualitatively inferior to HSCs from high mobilizers.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: HSC quality was defined by proportion of primitive HSC subsets (CD34+CD38−, CD34+HLA‐DR−, and CD34+ in G0 stage of cell cycle), the proportion of HSCs that express CXCR4 and CD26 homing proteins, and days to neutrophil and platelet (PLT) engraftments after transplant. HSC content and CD34 subsets analyses were performed using flow cytometry following the ISHAGE protocol. We evaluated the HSC quantity and quality of 139 autologous filgrastim‐mobilized HSC products. Patients were categorized into low, moderate, and high mobilizers if their total HSC collection was less than 3 × 106, 3 × 106 or more and less than 5 × 106, and 5 × 106/kg or more, respectively.RESULTS: The median number of primitive CD34 subsets increases with increasing HSC numbers and this association was significant (p = 0.001). However, when the ratios of the primitive CD34 subsets to total HSC counts were compared among the mobilization groups, the ratios were not significantly different. Coexpression of neither CD26 nor CXCR4 with CD34 antigen correlated with HSC mobilization. Evaluation of days to neutrophil engraftment among the mobilization groups did not show a significant difference (p = 0.1). However, days to PLT engraftment among the mobilization groups was significantly different (p = 0.05).CONCLUSION: The quality of HSCs from low mobilizers was comparable to HSCs from high mobilizers.
Acute exacerbation of subclinical pulmonary fibrosis after red blood cell transfusion: a case report
Authors: Woodske Matthew , Donahoe Michael P. , Yazer Mark , Lee Janet S. 
Published: August 2011

BACKGROUND: Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is associated with lung injury in susceptible hosts, although many cases do not meet criteria for transfusion‐related acute lung injury. Patients with underlying pulmonary fibrosis can exhibit precipitous deteriorations in respiratory status of unknown etiology defined as acute exacerbations due to superimposed lung injury syndrome. It is unclear whether RBC transfusion is associated with acute exacerbation of underlying pulmonary fibrosis.CASE REPORT: We describe a patient who underwent an uneventful elective left total hip replacement but developed anemia postoperatively. Twenty‐four hours after transfusion of her fifth nonleukoreduced AS‐5 RBC unit, she developed new bilateral airspace infiltrates associated with progressive hypoxemia. These RBC units were 35 to 38 days old. Despite supportive care and diuresis, the patient remained profoundly hypoxemic with infiltrates that progressed to fibrosis.RESULTS: The patient had mild subclinical lower‐lobe predominant interstitial pulmonary fibrosis but developed diffuse bilateral ground glass opacities with areas of consolidation 24 hours after receiving her last RBC unit. Transbronchial biopsy of the right lower lobe showed active organizing pneumonia and underlying interstitial fibrosis, supporting the clinical diagnosis of acute exacerbation of pulmonary fibrosis. The bronchoalveolar lavage showed progressive bloody effluent, consistent with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, a marker of lung injury. There was no evidence of viral inclusions, fungal elements, pneumocystis, or bacterial organisms.CONCLUSION: Transfusion of multiple units of aged RBCs was temporally associated with an acute exacerbation and rapid progression of underlying subclinical pulmonary fibrosis.
Hemolysis of red blood cells during processing and storage
Authors: Gkoumassi Effimia , Dijkstra‐Tiekstra Margriet J. , Hoentjen Dinie , de Wildt‐Eggen Janny 
Published: August 2011

BACKGROUND: During processing and storage, red blood cells (RBCs) undergo changes and cell injury resulting in hemolysis. Mostly, the separation of whole blood in top‐and‐bottom quadruple bag systems with break openings takes less than 4 minutes. However, longer separation times are not uncommon. The aims were to investigate whether hemolysis is increased in RBCs with longer separation time (RBCs>6 min) compared to regular RBCs (RBCsreg), to measure hemolysis increase during storage and to study whether frequency of hemolytic donations is donor dependent.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: RBCs>6 min (n = 172) and 172 matched controls were tested for hemolysis on Days 1 and 21 RBC units from each group were stored at 4 ± 2°C and tested again after 5 weeks. Donor dependency was retrospectively investigated for 100 hemolytic RBC units.RESULTS: RBCs>6 min exhibited a higher mean hemolysis rate than RBCsreg (0.058% vs. 0.033%). Four RBC units were hemolytic (>0.8%), all RBCs>6 min (2.36%). During storage, hemolysis in both groups increased with 0.24%. Hemolysis frequency did not seem to be donor dependent.CONCLUSIONS: Increased separation time is a useful screening tool for potentially increased hemolysis rate in RBCs. Hemolysis rate increased during storage equally in both groups. Hemolysis frequency appears donor independent.
How Many Mechanisms Are Needed to Analyze Speech? A Connectionist Simulation of Structural Rule Learning in Artificial Language Acquisition
Authors: Laakso Aarre , Calvo Paco 
Published: August 2011

AbstractSome empirical evidence in the artificial language acquisition literature has been taken to suggest that statistical learning mechanisms are insufficient for extracting structural information from an artificial language. According to the more than one mechanism (MOM) hypothesis, at least two mechanisms are required in order to acquire language from speech: (a) a statistical mechanism for speech segmentation; and (b) an additional rule‐following mechanism in order to induce grammatical regularities. In this article, we present a set of neural network studies demonstrating that a single statistical mechanism can mimic theapparentdiscovery of structural regularities, beyond the segmentation of speech. We argue that our results undermine one argument for the MOM hypothesis.
Suicide Behind Bars: Trends, Inconsistencies, and Practical Implications
Authors: Felthous Alan R. 
Published: August 2011

Abstract: The results of two comprehensive approaches are compared: the nationwide surveys of suicides in U.S. jails by Hayes and the international meta‐analyses of suicides in jails and prisons by Fazel et al. Factors are classified as demographic, situational, clinical, and methodical. More than 50% of U.S. jail suicide victims were men, white, unmarried, under 28 years of age, charged with minor or drug‐related offenses, and intoxicated with drugs or alcohol. Suicides significantly occurred in isolation. Suicide victims in the international study were significantly (p < 0.001) men, white, married, pretrial, and charged with or convicted of violent offenses. Psychiatric diagnosis, alcohol abuse, taking psychotropic medication, and suicidal ideation were also positively correlated in the international study, but suicide victims were distributed more evenly over age‐groups. Results of other studies illustrate the near universality of some findings. Three theories of suicide are briefly discussed.