bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clinical significance of serologic markers related to red blood cell autoantibodies production after red blood cell transfusion—severe autoimmune hemolytic anemia occurring after transfusion and alloimmunization: successful treatment with rituximab
Authors: Sigler Erica , Shvidel Lev , Yahalom Vered , Berrebi Alain , Shtalrid Mordechai 
Published: April 2009

BACKGROUND: The association of autoantibody formation with blood transfusion was previously noted. Severe autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) diagnosed after red blood cell (RBC) transfusion determined us to undertake this study and investigate the incidence and clinical significance of autoantibodies occurring after transfusion by a retrospective review of blood bank and medical records.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We report a lymphoma patient who developed severe autohemolysis after blood transfusion and alloantibody production. The hemolysis was refractory to steroids and chemotherapy and ceased after rituximab. We also retrospectively assessed the blood bank records for a 2‐year period to identify the patients who developed autoantibodies after blood transfusion and examined laboratory, clinical features, and outcome.RESULTS: From January 2005 through December 2006, 375 direct antiglobulin tests (DATs) and 3409 indirect antiglobulin tests (IATs) were found to be positive. Thirty‐eight patients with positive DATs and IATs had demonstrable RBC warm‐type autoantibodies occurring after blood transfusion; 27 of them had also one or more alloantibodies. Clinical and laboratory signs of hemolysis were absent in all patients (except the case reported). In another 5 patients alloantibodies were retrieved from RBC eluate and serum without evidence of autoantibodies; therefore, a delayed serologic transfusion reaction was diagnosed.CONCLUSION: RBC autoantibodies are quite commonly found after blood transfusion. Nevertheless, clinically significant AIHA is a rare but at times a life‐threatening phenomenon. We describe a first case of successful treatment with rituximab of refractory posttransfusion AIHA. Rituximab must be further evaluated for this indication.
Neuroprotective Effects of Diazepam, Carbamazepine, Phenytoin and Ketamine after Pilocarpine‐induced Status Epilepticus
Authors: Cunha Alexandra Olimpio Siqueira , Mortari Márcia Renata , Liberato José Luiz , Dos Santos Wagner Ferreira 
Published: April 2009

Abstract:  Cell damage and spatial localization deficits are often reported as long‐term consequences of pilocarpine‐induced status epilepticus. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective effects of repeated drug administration after long‐lasting status epilepticus. Groups of six to eight Wistar rats received microinjections of pilocarpine (2.4 mg/µl, 1 µl) in the right dorsal hippocampus to induce a status epilepticus, which was attenuated by thiopental injection (35 mg/kg, i.p.) 3 hrs after onset. Treatments consisted of i.p. administration of diazepam, ketamine, carbamazepine, or phenytoin at 4, 28, 52, and 76 hr after the onset of status epilepticus. Two days after the treatments, rats were tested in the Morris water maze and 1 week after the cognitive tests, their brains were submitted to histology to perform haematoxylin and eosin staining and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunofluorescence detection. Post‐status epilepticus rats exhibited extensive gliosis and cell loss in the hippocampal CA1, CA3 (70% cell loss for both areas) and dentate gyrus (60%). Administration of all drugs reduced cell loss in the hippocampus, with best effects observed in brains slices of diazepam‐treated animals, which showed less than 30% of loss in the three areas and decreased GFAP immunolabelling. Treatments improved spatial navigation during training trials and probe trial, with exception of ketamine. Interestingly, in the probe trial, only diazepam‐treated animals showed preference for the goal quadrant. Our data point to significant neuroprotective effects of repeated administration of diazepam against status epilepticus‐induced cell damage and cognitive disturbances.
Human- and Plant-Pathogenic
Pseudomonas
Species Produce Bacteriocins Exhibiting Colicin M-Like Hydrolase Activity towards Peptidoglycan Precursors
Authors: Barreteau Hélène , Bouhss Ahmed , Fourgeaud Martine , Mainardi Jean-Luc , Touzé Thierry , Gérard Fabien , Blanot Didier , Arthur Michel , Mengin-Lecreulx Dominique 
Published: April 2009

ABSTRACT

Genes encoding proteins that exhibit similarity to the C-terminal domain of
Escherichia coli
colicin M were identified in the genomes of some
Pseudomonas
species, namely,
P. aeruginosa, P. syringae
, and
P. fluorescens
. These genes were detected only in a restricted number of strains. In
P. aeruginosa
, for instance, the colicin M homologue gene was located within the ExoU-containing genomic island A, a large horizontally acquired genetic element and virulence determinant. Here we report the cloning of these genes from the three
Pseudomonas
species and the purification and biochemical characterization of the different colicin M homologues. All of them were shown to exhibit Mg
2+
-dependent diphosphoric diester hydrolase activity toward the two undecaprenyl phosphate-linked peptidoglycan precursors (lipids I and II) in vitro. In all cases, the site of cleavage was localized between the undecaprenyl and pyrophospho-MurNAc moieties of these precursors. These enzymes were not active on the cytoplasmic precursor UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide or (or only very poorly) on undecaprenyl pyrophosphate. These colicin M homologues have a narrow range of antibacterial activity. The
P. aeruginosa
protein at low concentrations was shown to inhibit growth of sensitive
P. aeruginosa
strains. These proteins thus represent a new class of bacteriocins (pyocins), the first ones reported thus far in the genus
Pseudomonas
that target peptidoglycan metabolism.
If you build it, will they come? Using a mobile safety centre to disseminate safety information and products to low-income urban families
Authors: Gielen A C , McDonald E , Frattaroli S , McKenzie L B , Backes B , Glenshaw M , Shields W , Bulzacchelli M T ,   for the CareS (Children are Safe) Mobile Safety Center Partnership
Published: April 2009

Objective:To examine the utilisation-related outcomes associated with visiting the Johns Hopkins CareS (ChildrenareSafe) Mobile Safety Center (MSC), a 40-foot vehicle designed to deliver effective injury prevention interventions and education to low-income urban families.Design and setting:Utilisation-related data were collected when the MSC was accessible at a community health centre and at community events from August 2004 to July 2006 in Baltimore City.Subjects:Adults bringing their child for well child care at a community health centre and MSC visitors at community events.Interventions:Low-cost safety products and free personalised educational services are provided on the MSC, which replicates a home environment and contains interactive exhibits.Main outcome measures:Perceived benefits of visiting the MSC; products and services received.Results:MSC visitors (n = 83) and non-visitors (n = 127) did not differ in sociodemographic and injury-related characteristics; 96% of visitors reported learning something new as a result of their visit and 98% would recommend the MSC. During the first 2 years of operation, the MSC made 273 appearances, serving 6086 people. Home child safety products accounted for 71% of the 559 products distributed; educational materials made up 87% of the 7982 services received. Car safety seats accounted for 23% of the products distributed; installations made up 4% of the services received.Conclusions:This approach to disseminating injury prevention interventions holds promise for enhancing the appeal of safety information and increasing the protection of children.
Working conditions of bus drivers in the private sector and bus crashes in Kandy district, Sri Lanka: a case–control study
Authors: Jayatilleke A U , Nakahara S , Dharmaratne S D , Jayatilleke A C , Poudel K C , Jimba M 
Published: April 2009

Objective:To explore the effects of working conditions of private-bus drivers on bus crashes in Kandy district, Sri Lanka.Methods:A case–control study was carried out from August to September 2006. All private-bus drivers registered in Kandy district and involved in crashes reported to the police between November 2005 and April 2006 (n = 63) were selected as cases. Two control groups were included: private-bus drivers working on the same routes as the case drivers (n = 90) and private-bus drivers selected randomly from other routes of the district (n = 111). Data were collected using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Associations between working conditions and crashes were analysed using logistic regression.Results:A strong association was observed between drivers’ disagreements about working hours and bus crashes (matched controls, adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 5.98, 95% CI 1.02 to 34.90; unmatched controls, AOR 18.74, 95% CI 2.00 to 175.84). A significant association was also observed between low salaries (<US$100) and private-bus crashes (matched controls, AOR 1.01, 95% CI 0.40 to 2.54; unmatched controls, AOR 3.09, 95% CI 1.26 to 7.57).Conclusions:Drivers’ disagreements about working hours and low salaries were significant risk factors for private-bus crashes in Kandy district, Sri Lanka. Therefore, new legislation for private-bus owners on the working hours and salaries of their drivers to prevent private-bus crashes is recommended.
Methodological approaches used to assess the relationship between parental supervision and child injury risk
Authors: Petrass L A , Finch C F , Blitvich J D 
Published: April 2009

Objective:To describe and rate the quality of methodological approaches used to measure parental supervision in relation to injury risk in children aged 0–14 years.Design:A systematic review of the literature related to supervision and injury risk.Methods:A comprehensive search of electronic databases from the earliest records available to the end of 2007, and supplemental hand-searching of relevant journals, reference lists of studies identified through database searches, and bibliographies of systematic and non-systematic reviews. A classification scale was used to rate the methodological quality of studies.Results:30 papers met the inclusion criteria. They varied substantially in quality, and no meta-analyses or randomised controlled trials were identified. Fifteen studies used self-report approaches, asking parents or care givers to report through recording diaries, interviews and questionnaires and were considered of low quality; 11 studies reconstructed injury outcomes retrospectively. Observational studies were conducted in both laboratory and natural settings (n = 6), and these studies were generally of higher quality than self-report methods.Conclusions:The quality of many supervision and child injury risk studies is low to moderate. Further development of methodological approaches is needed to improve studies of the relationship between supervision and child injury risk.
Analysis of the childhood fatal drowning situation in Bangladesh: exploring prevention measures for low-income countries
Authors: Rahman A , Mashreky S R , Chowdhury S M , Giashuddin M S , Uhaa I J , Shafinaz S , Hossain M , Linnan M , Rahman F 
Published: April 2009

Objective:To determine the epidemiology of child drowning in order to propose possible interventions for Bangladesh and other similar low-income countries.Design:Population-based cross-sectional study.Setting:Rural and urban communities in Bangladesh.Subjects:About 352 000 children 0–17 years were selected from over 171 000 households, using multistage cluster sampling.Main outcome measures:Incidence of fatal drowning.Results:Drowning was the leading cause of death (28.6 per 100 000 child-years) in children aged 1–17 years. The highest incidence (86.3 per 100 000 child-years) was in children aged 1–4 years. More than two-thirds of drownings occurred in ponds and ditches. Most drownings (85%) happened in daylight. In more than one-third of cases of drowning, the child was alone. In the two-thirds of cases in which the child was accompanied, almost half were with children who were 10 years or below. Only 7% of drowned children over 4 years of age knew how to swim.Conclusions:Drowning is a major cause of childhood mortality in Bangladesh. Creating drowning-safe homes, improving supervision of children, modifying the environment, and developing water safety skills for children and the community may be effective interventions for drowning prevention.
Structural analysis of the Velardeña mining district, Mexico: a faulted Au–Ag-rich hydrothermal system
Authors: Pinet Nicolas , Tremblay Alain 
Published: April 2009

Epithermal Au–Ag veins of the Velardeña mining district (north-central Mexico) correspond to narrow, fault-controlled, high-grade structures that are continuous along strike for several kilometres. The veins converge toward the Guardarraya intrusion where carbonate-hosted deposits are found at the contact with surrounding limestones. The mineralized structures are cut by Basin and Range normal faults showing apparent vertical displacement up to 320 m. Paleostress reconstructions in the Velardeña mining district suggest that mineralized structures formed during a NNE-directed extensional event that predated the Basin and Range faulting event (ENE-directed). Basin and Range normal faulting is responsible for surface exposures of various Au–Ag mineralizations formed at different crustal depths, thus enabling studies of the entire hydrothermal system—from low-grade breccia zones in the volcanic cover rocks to deeper base-metal-rich deposits.
Measurement and calculation of 13C and 15N NMR chemical-shift tensors of a push–pull ethylene
Authors: Amini Saeed K. , Tafazzoli Mohsen , Jenkins Hilary A. , Goward Gillian R. , Bain Alex D. 
Published: April 2009

Methyl 3-dimethylamino-2-cyanocrotonate (MDACC) has a remarkably weak carbon–carbon double bond. It has strong electron-withdrawing groups on one end and electron-donating groups on the other: a so-called push–pull ethylene. To investigate this unusual electronic structure, we have determined the crystal structure and measured both the 13C and 15N NMR chemical-shift tensors. These measurements are supplemented by shielding-tensor calculations done with density functional methods. The large difference (approximately 100 ppm) between isotropic chemical shifts of the two alkenyl carbons reflects a large charge release from the electron-donating side of C=C double bond to the electron-withdrawing groups. Comparison of the calculated orientations of the principal components of the alkenyl carbons obtained from ab initio calculations shows that the primary changes in charge density occur in the molecular plane. On the other hand, smaller charge density changes above and below the plane of the C=C double bond establish the conjugation of donor and acceptor groups with π* and π molecular orbitals of the central double bond, respectively, which lowers the barrier to rotation about this bond.
THE CONTINUOUS STOP LOCATION PROBLEM IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS
Authors: SCHöBEL ANITA , HAMACHER HORST W. , LIEBERS ANNEGRET , WAGNER DOROTHEA 
Published: April 2009

In this paper we consider the location of stops along the edges of an already existing public transportation network. This can be the introduction of bus stops along some given bus routes, or of railway stations along the tracks in a railway network. The positive effect of new stops is given by the better access of the potential customers to public transportation, while the travel time increases due to the additional stopping activities of the trains. The latter leads to a negative effect for the customers. The goal is to cover all given demand points with a minimal amount of additional traveling time, where covering may be defined with respect to an arbitrary norm or gauge. This problem is NP-hard, even in the special case of Euclidean distances. In this paper, we derive a finite candidate set leading to a discrete set covering problem. Moreover, we identify network structures in which the coefficient matrix of the resulting set covering problem is totally unimodular, such that the problem can be solved efficiently in this case. Extensions of the problem are also discussed.
Sedimentation and subsidence in the South Caspian Basin, Azerbaijan
Authors: Green Tim , Abdullayev Nazim , Hossack Jake , Riley Greg , Roberts Alan M. 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
The South Caspian Basin is believed to contain more than 20 km of Mesozoic and Tertiary sediments deposited on oceanic or thinned continental crust. Mesozoic, Palaeogene and Oligo-Miocene sediments have not been penetrated within the South Caspian Basin itself but are exposed onshore in the basin margins. The Pliocene–Recent sequence has been mapped on a regionally extensive grid of two-dimensional (2D) seismic data and penetrated by recently drilled exploration wells, and is over 7 km thick. Most of this sequence (6 km) is formed of fluvial–lacustrine deltaic sediments of the Pliocene Productive Series that are deposited unconformably above a marine Miocene shale sequence and form the principal hydrocarbon reservoirs in the basin. The Productive Series is overlain by about 1 km of Late Pliocene–Recent marine sediments
The thickness of the Pliocene sedimentary sequence implies that relatively rapid, late Tertiary subsidence occurred in the South Caspian Basin; however, there is no geological evidence of a tectonic event capable of generating a major thermal subsidence event at this time. Modelling presented in this paper suggests that it is possible to account for the observed pattern of subsidence and sedimentation in the South Caspian Basin by a process of sediment loading and compaction on a thermally subsiding, late Mesozoic crust without the need for additional Tertiary subsidence mechanisms. Crucially, this model interprets the Pliocene Productive Series to have been deposited in a topographic depression, isolated from the global oceanic system, in which base level was controlled by local factors rather than by global sea level.
The drift history of Iran from the Ordovician to the Triassic
Authors: Muttoni Giovanni , Mattei Massimo , Balini Marco , Zanchi Andrea , Gaetani Maurizio , Berra Fabrizio 
Published: April 2009

Abstract

New Late Ordovician and Triassic palaeomagnetic data from Iran are presented. These data, in conjunction with data from the literature, provide insights on the drift history of Iran as part of Cimmeria during the Ordovician–Triassic. A robust agreement of palaeomagnetic poles of Iran and West Gondwana is observed for the Late Ordovician–earliest Carboniferous, indicating that Iran was part of Gondwana during that time. Data for the Late Permian–early Early Triassic indicate that Iran resided on subequatorial palaeolatitudes, clearly disengaged from the parental Gondwanan margin in the southern hemisphere. Since the late Early Triassic, Iran has been located in the northern hemisphere close to the Eurasian margin. This northward drift brought Iran to cover much of the Palaeotethys in approximately 35 Ma, at an average plate speed of
c
. 7–8 cm year
−1
, and was in part coeval to the transformation of Pangaea from an Irvingian B to a Wegenerian A-type configuration.
The Eo-Cimmerian (Late? Triassic) orogeny in North Iran
Authors: Zanchi Andrea , Zanchetta Stefano , Berra Fabrizio , Mattei Massimo , Garzanti Eduardo , Molyneux Stewart , Nawab Amir , Sabouri Jafar 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
The Eo-Cimmerian orogen results from the Late Triassic collision of Iran, a microplate of Gondwanan affinity, with the southern margin of Eurasia. The orogen is discontinuously exposed along the northern side of the Alborz Mountains of North Iran below the siliciclastic deposits of the Shemshak Group (Late Triassic–Jurassic). A preserved section of the external part of the belt crops out in the Neka Valley (eastern Alborz) south of Gorgan. Here the Mesozoic successions (Shemshak Group–Upper Cretaceous limestones) overlay a pre-Jurassic Eo-Cimmerian thrust stack with a sharp unconformity. The stack includes the Gorgan Schists, an Upper Ordovician–Lower Silurian low-grade metamorphic complex, overthrusted southward above a strongly deformed Late Palaeozoic–Middle Triassic succession belonging to north Iran. In the Talesh Mountains (western Alborz), the Shanderman Complex, previously interpreted as an ophiolitic remnant isolated along the Eo-Cimmerian suture, is considered an allochthonous nappe of deeply subducted continental crust. The new evidence for this is the occurrence of previously unknown eclogites dating to the Carboniferous, and probably related to the Variscan history of Transcaucasia. South of the Shanderman Complex, Upper Palaeozoic slates and carbonates occurring below the Lower Jurassic Shemshak Group also record the occurrence of an Eo-Cimmerian metamorphic event. Based on our new data, the Eo-Cimmerian structures exposed in the Alborz appear to be remnants of a collisional orogen consisting mainly of deformed continental crust where no ophiolites are preserved.
ECHO parameters of diastolic dysfunction
Authors: Schumacher A , Khojeini EV , Larson DF 
Published: April 2009

Most patients with cardiac disease have diastolic dysfunction which is characterized by impaired diastolic filling and/or abnormal diastolic relaxation. The trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) used routinely during open-heart surgical procedures has exceptional resolution that may permit the identification and grading of diastolic dysfunction. The goal of this study was to determine which echocardiography (ECHO) parameters can best describe diastolic dysfunction due to myocardial remodeling and fibrosis. Baseline transthoracic ECHO was performed on 3-month-old C57BL/6J female mice followed by administration of isoproterenol (2 μg/g/d) for 6 days. On day 7, transthoracic ECHO was performed to determine the change of left ventricular (LV) inflow parameters due to isoproterenol-mediated cardiac remodeling. The mid-LV region was stained with picrosirius red to quantify myocardial fibrosis and demonstrated a 5-fold increase in cardiac fibrosis ( p = 0.002). LV mass was increased by 36% ( p = 0.0016). Mitral valve flow Doppler peak velocities E and A were measured from a 4-chamber view. The E/A ratio did not change, but the E deceleration time, velocity time integral of the E-A complex (E-A VTI), E/E-A VTI ratio, isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT), and diastolic time all significantly increased. The corresponding tissue Doppler parameter, Ea/Aa ratio, decreased by 25% ( p = 0.035). The left atrial dimension and the ECHO index of left atrial pressure (E/Ea) significantly increased ( p < 0.02). These data suggest that, with a long-axis and a 4-chamber view, the clinician can adequately determine diastolic function in the open-heart surgical patient.