bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Optimized Perioperative Analgesia Reduces Chronic Phantom Limb Pain Intensity, Prevalence, and Frequency
Authors: Karanikolas Menelaos , Aretha Diamanto , Tsolakis Ioannis , Monantera Georgia , Kiekkas Panagiotis , Papadoulas Spyros , Swarm Robert A. , Filos Kriton S. 
Published: March 2011

Background
Severe preamputation pain is associated with phantom limb pain (PLP) development in limb amputees. We investigated whether optimized perioperative analgesia reduces PLP at 6-month follow-up.

Methods
A total of 65 patients underwent lower-limb amputation and were assigned to five analgesic regimens: (1) Epi/Epi/Epi patients received perioperative epidural analgesia and epidural anesthesia; (2) PCA/Epi/Epi patients received preoperative intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), postoperative epidural analgesia, and epidural anesthesia; (3) PCA/Epi/PCA patients received perioperative intravenous PCA and epidural anesthesia; (4) PCA/GA/PCA patients received perioperative intravenous PCA and general anesthesia (GA); (5) controls received conventional analgesia and GA. Epidural analgesia or intravenous PCA started 48 h preoperatively and continued 48 h postoperatively. The results of the visual analog scale and the McGill Pain Questionnaire were recorded perioperatively and at 1 and 6 months.

Results
At 6 months, median (minimum-maximum) PLP and P values (intervention groups vs. control group) for the visual analog scale were as follows: 0 (0-20) for Epi/Epi/Epi (P = 0.001), 0 (0-42) for PCA/Epi/Epi (P = 0.014), 20 (0-40) for PCA/Epi/PCA (P = 0.532), 0 (0-30) for PCA/GA/PCA (P = 0.008), and 20 (0-58) for controls. The values for the McGill Pain Questionnaire were as follows: 0 (0-7) for Epi/Epi/Epi (P < 0.001), 0 (0-9) for PCA/Epi/Epi (P = 0.003), 6 (0-11) for PCA/Epi/PCA (P = 0.208), 0 (0-9) for PCA/GA/PCA (P = 0.003), and 7 (0-15) for controls. At 6 months, PLP was present in 1 of 13 Epi/Epi/Epi, 4 of 13 PCA/Epi/Epi, and 3 of 13 PCA/GA/PCA patients versus 9 of 12 control patients (P = 0.001, P = 0.027, and P = 0.009, respectively). Residual limb pain at 6 months was insignificant.

Conclusions
Optimized epidural analgesia or intravenous PCA, starting 48 h preoperatively and continuing for 48 h postoperatively, decreases PLP at 6 months.
Plating Cells for Microinjection: Figure 1.
Authors: Dean David A. , Gasiorowski Joshua Z. 
Published: March 2011

INTRODUCTIONThe efficient delivery of exogenous DNA to cells for expression and function studies is an essential technique of modern cell biology, and direct delivery of genetic material by microinjection remains a reliable means of transfection. This protocol describes the general procedures needed to culture cells for microinjection. Coverslips need to be marked so that microinjected cells can be identified at desired time points after injection. Coverslips can be etched by the user, as described here, or pre-etched coverslips can be purchased. Once the coverslips have been etched and sterilized, cells can be plated onto them and allowed to grow.
DNA Sample Preparation and Loading Sample into Pipettes for Microinjection of Cells
Authors: Dean David A. , Gasiorowski Joshua Z. 
Published: March 2011

INTRODUCTIONThe efficient delivery of exogenous DNA to cells for expression and function studies is an essential technique of modern cell biology, and direct delivery of genetic material by microinjection remains a reliable means of transfection. This protocol describes in general the preparation and loading of plasmid DNA for microinjections. Plasmid DNA can be purified by traditional means such as cesium chloride density ultracentrifugation, or by commercially available resin-based purification kits. The resulting preparation can then be delivered into microinjection needles either by backfilling or by a forward-filling approach.
Off-Line Desalting of Peptide Mixtures: Figure 1.
Authors: Link Andrew J. , LaBaer Joshua 
Published: March 2011

INTRODUCTIONReversed-phase-trapping (desalting) cartridges are used for concentrating and desalting peptide samples before analysis by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI–MS). They provide a robust and efficient method for concentrating very dilute peptide solutions. Because large volumes of wash buffer can be used to wash away unbound salts and other contaminants, the trapping cartridges are frequently used to clean peptide samples before mass spectrometry analysis, as described in this protocol.
A Negative Effector of Blue Light-Induced and Gravitropic Bending in Arabidopsis
Authors: Knauer Torsten , Dümmer Michaela , Landgraf Frank , Forreiter Christoph 
Published: March 2011

Abstract
Although sessile, plants are able to grow toward or away from an environmental stimulus. Important examples are stem or leaf orientation of higher plants in response to the direction of the incident light. The responsible photoreceptors belong to the phototropin photoreceptor family. Although the mode of phototropin action is quite well understood, much less is known of how the light signal is transformed into a bending response. Several lines of evidence indicate that a lateral auxin gradient is responsible for asymmetric cell elongation along the light gradient within the stem. However, some of the molecular key players leading to this asymmetric auxin distribution are, as yet, unidentified. Previously, it was shown that phototropin gets autophosphorylated upon illumination and binds to a scaffold protein termed NPH3 (for nonphototropic hypocotyl 3). Using a yeast three-hybrid approach with phototropin and NPH3 as a bait complex, we isolated a protein, termed EHB1 (for enhanced bending 1), with a so far unknown function, which binds to this binary complex. This novel interacting factor negatively affects hypocotyl bending under blue light conditions in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and thus seems to be an important component regulating phototropism. Interestingly, it could be shown that the gravitropic response was also affected. Thus, it cannot be ruled out that this protein might also have a more general role in auxin-mediated bending toward an environmental stimulus.
Identification of the UMP Synthase Gene by Establishment of Uracil Auxotrophic Mutants and the Phenotypic Complementation System in the Marine DiatomPhaeodactylum tricornutum
Authors: Sakaguchi Toshiro , Nakajima Kensuke , Matsuda Yusuke 
Published: March 2011

AbstractUridine-5′-monophosphate synthase (UMPS), the critical step of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway, which is a housekeeping plastid process in higher plants, was investigated in a marine diatom, the most crucial primary producer in the marine environment. A mutagenesis using an alkylation agent, N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea, was carried out to the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Cells were treated with 1.0 mg mL−1 N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea and were screened on agar plates containing 100 to 300 mg L−1 5-fluoroorotidic acid (5-FOA). Two clones survived the selection and were designated as Requiring Uracil and Resistant to FOA (RURF) 1 and 2. The 50% effective concentration of 5-FOA on growth of RURF1 was about 5 mm, whereas that in wild-type cells was 30 μm. The ability to grow in the absence of uracil was restored by a P. tricornutum gene that potentially encoded UMPS or the human umps gene, HUMPS. Because the P. tricornutum gene was able to restore growth in the absence of uracil, it was designated as ptumps, encoding a major functional UMPS in P. tricornutum. RNA interference to the ptumps targeting the 5′ region of ptumps resulted in the occurrence of a clear RURF phenotype in P. tricornutum. This RNA interference phenotype was reverted to the wild type by the insertion of HUMPS, confirming that the ptumps encodes UMPS. These results showed direct evidence of the occurrence of novel-type UMPS in a marine diatom and also revealed the potential usage of this gene silencing and complementation system for molecular tools for this organism.
Outcomes of a new residential scheme for adults with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan: a 2‐year follow‐up
Authors: Chou Y‐C. , Pu C. , Kröger T. , Lee W. , Chang S. 
Published: March 2011

AbstractBackground  The Taiwanese government launched a new programme in November 2004 to support adults with intellectual disabilities living in smaller facilities. This paper aims to evaluate the service outcomes of this new residential scheme over 2 years including those residents who moved from an institution and those who moved from their family.Methods  A one‐group repeated‐measures analysis was conducted for five interviews after the adults with intellectual disabilities entered the new environment. Forty‐nine adults were initially studied (T1) and 29 adults remained in the homes until the end of the study (T5).Results  This study found significant improvements over the 2 years in the residents' quality of life and family contact. The results also highlight a decrease in maladaptive behaviour among the residents moving from institution and an increase in choice making and family contact among the residents moving from family. No significant changes in adaptive behaviour and community inclusion were found.Conclusion  Results revealed that further policy changes and financial support including service quality assurance are required in order to improve service outcomes for adults living in the new residential scheme.
Low‐cost protocol for the production of autologous serum eye drops by blood collection and processing centres for the treatment of ocular surface diseases
Authors: Partal A. , Scott E. 
Published: March 2011

Objectives: To create a low‐cost protocol for the production of autologous serum eye drops (ASEs) by blood collection and processing centres using standard equipment and staff already available. The protocol must observe local and federal regulatory authorities' requirements for good manufacturing practice. Aim: The final aim is to improve accessibility to ASEs for patients who need them and to implement similar production parameters at all institutions producing ASEs. Background: Despite evidence of the beneficial effects of ASEs in the treatment of severe ocular surface diseases, ASEs are not approved by most federal regulatory bodies in the United States or Europe. In some countries, such as the United States, access to ASEs is extremely limited and cost‐prohibitive. Blood processing centres are in optimal position to help in increasing accessibility and lowering the cost of these products. Materials/Methods: Standard blood processing equipment, staff and materials were chosen for the protocol. The protocol was designed to minimise the risk of contamination as much as possible. Results: A low‐cost, open system protocol for production of ASEs was generated that can be implemented by most blood collection and processing centres in the United States and Europe. Conclusion: Efforts should be made to propagate a similar protocol for the production of ASEs in blood centres capable of collecting and processing blood products, making this service affordable and uniformly accessible to patients.
Irreversible immunoexpression of matrix metalloproteinase‐9 in proximal tubular epithelium of renal allografts with acute rejection
Authors: Kitajima Kazuki , Koike Junki , Nozawa Shiari , Yoshiike Miki , Takagi Masayuki , Chikaraishi Tatsuya 
Published: March 2011

Kitajima K, Koike J, Nozawa S, Yoshiike M, Takagi M, Chikaraishi T. Irreversible immunoexpression of matrix metalloproteinase‐9 in proximal tubular epithelium of renal allografts with acute rejection. Clin Transplant 2011: 25: E336–E344. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Abstract:  Background:  Matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) is the most important member of the MMP family responsible for the development and progression of various renal diseases. Our study aims to investigate the localization of MMP‐9 in human renal allografts and to assess whether MMP‐9 immunostaining is contributory to detect pathological change in renal biopsy.Methods:  We examined 150 renal allograft biopsies (48 baseline and 102 follow‐up) from 49 transplants and analyzed the associations of clinical and histopathological data with the MMP‐9 staining intensity using a semi‐quantitative scoring.Results:  MMP‐9 immunostaining in proximal tubule epithelium was negative before transplantation, but positive in biopsies with episodes, particularly with acute cellular rejection (ACR) and acute calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) toxicity. Tubulitis was the most significant association factor (p < 0.0001) with increased MMP‐9 staining intensity. The expression in proximal tubules remained augmented in allografts recovered from ACR episodes, while it was disappeared or diminished in those recovered from acute CNI toxicity or ischemia/reperfusion effects.Conclusion:  These findings suggest the necessary participation of MMP‐9 in the pathogenesis of tubulitis and the subsequent stage of pathogenesis in ACR. Up‐regulation of MMP‐9 expression in the proximal tubule could be a new indicator of tubular injury and a predictive factor for the prognosis of renal allograft.
Growth of a nation part II: impact of recipient obesity on whole‐organ pancreas transplantation
Authors: Fridell Jonathan A. , Mangus Richard S. , Taber Tim E. , Goble Michelle L. , Milgrom Martin L. , Good Jason , Vetor Ryan , Powelson John A. 
Published: March 2011

Fridell JA, Mangus RS, Taber TE, Goble ML, Milgrom ML, Good J, Vetor R, Powelson JA. Growth of a nation part II: impact of recipient obesity on whole‐organ pancreas transplantation. Clin Transplant 2011: 25: E366–E374. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Abstract:  Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the USA. Consequently, there is an increasing number of obese diabetic patients who would otherwise be appropriate candidates for pancreas transplantation (PTx). This is a retrospective study of all PTx performed at Indiana University between 2003 and 2009 (n = 308) comparing recipients with body mass index (BMI) < 25, 25–29.9, and ≥30 kg/m2 Data included recipient and donor demographics, seven and 90‐d graft loss, one‐yr pancreas, kidney (for SPK only) and patient survival, causes of graft loss and death, peak amylase and lipase, length of stay, readmissions, complications, HbA1C, and c‐peptide. Of the 308 PTx, 100 (32%) were overweight and 42 (14%) were obese. Obese recipients were older and more likely to be men. Donor demographics were similar. There was no difference in seven‐d or 90‐d graft loss, one‐yr pancreas, kidney or patient survival, cause of graft loss or death, 30‐d peak amylase or lipase, HbA1C, or C‐peptide. The incidence of post‐transplant technical, immunological and infectious complications was similar except for an increased incidence of cytomegalovirus infection in the obese group. Two recipients returned to insulin therapy despite normal C‐peptide levels. Although technically challenging, PTx can be successful in select obese recipients with similar results compared to normal BMI recipients.
The Importance of Adequate Fixation for Immunofluorescent Staining of Bovine Embryos
Authors: Goossens K , Vandaele L , Wydooghe E , Thys M , Dewulf J , Peelman LJ , Van Soom A 
Published: March 2011

ContentsImmunofluorescent staining is often used to investigate the expression of specific proteins in pre‐implantation embryos. The success of this method is determined by the specificity of the antibodies, but also by the protocol used for fixation and permeabilization of the samples. In this study, different fixatives are compared in combination with immunofluorescent staining of caudal‐type homeobox 2 (CDX2), fibronectin 1 (FN1) and integrins (ITGs) on bovine blastocysts. For both CDX2 and the ITGs, the outcome of the staining was largely dependent on the fixation methods. Paraformaldehyde fixation was best for the intracellular CDX2 protein, whereas acetone fixation gave the best results for the transmembrane ITGs. No difference was observed for the FN1 staining between samples fixed with paraformaldehyde or acetone. These examples demonstrate that the choice of fixation and permeabilization agents is very important for the outcome of the experiment, and this choice is dictated by the (extra)cellular location of the protein under investigation. Inappropriate fixation and/or permeabilization methods can lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the site and amount of protein expression.
Intravenous thrombolytic therapy in patients with stroke mimics: baseline characteristics and safety profile
Authors: Chen Y. , Bogosavljevic V. , Leys D. , Jovanovic D. , Beslac‐Bumbasirevic L. , Lucas C. 
Published: March 2011

Background:  The decision to treat with intravenous (i.v.) rt‐PA a patient with acute cerebral ischaemia is based on clinical and imaging criteria recorded in emergency. In such an emergency situation stroke mimics may sometimes be misdiagnosed, and lead to an erroneous prescription of rtPA. The objective of this study was to determine the baseline profile and the outcome in patients with stroke mimics who received i.v. rtPA.Methods:  We analysed clinical characteristics, and outcomes in patients diagnosed at discharge as having a stroke mimic who received rtPA in the university hospitals of Lille and Belgrade.Results:  Amongst 488 patients, seven (1.4%) were diagnosed at discharge with stroke mimics: four had somatoform disturbances, one had migraine aura, one had Bell palsy, and one had a probable Todd’s palsy. Patients with stroke mimics were younger, and had milder deficits. Six were investigated by computed tomographic‐scan and the only one who had an emergency magnetic resonance imaging, had no abnormality on diffusion weighted images. Five patients had a modified Rankin scale 0–1 and there was no case of intracranial bleeding.Conclusion:  Patients with stroke mimics have a good safety profile when treated with rt‐PA. In case of doubt, physicians should not postpone thrombolysis, because its potential benefit in confirmed ischaemic stroke might be higher than the risk of complications in stroke mimics. A combined analysis of such small series of cases would be useful to have a better delineation of the clinical profile of these patients.
Social disparities in children's vocabulary in early childhood. Does pre‐school education help to close the gap?1
Authors: Becker Birgit 
Published: March 2011

AbstractChildren start school with differing levels of skills. Thus, children of different social origin have different probabilities of educational success right from the start of their school career. This paper analyses how the gap in language abilities of children with different social backgrounds develops from age three to five. A focus lies on the question whether pre‐school education can help to close this gap. The data of the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) show that children's score on a standardized vocabulary test strongly depends on their parents' education. These social differences remain stable or even increase slightly over the two‐year period. Using fixed effect models, it is demonstrated that children of higher educated parents can improve their vocabulary more strongly than children whose parents have a lower educational level. Participation in an early education institution positively affects the vocabulary development of children with lower educated parents while there is no significant pre‐school effect for children of higher educated parents. The results indicate that pre‐school attendance does not lead to a catching‐up process of children with lower educated parents. But without pre‐school attendance, the gap between children of higher and lower educated parents widens even further.
Do comprehensive schools reduce social mobility?1
Authors: Boliver Vikki , Swift Adam 
Published: March 2011

AbstractThis paper investigates the claim that the shift from a selective to a comprehensive school system had a deleterious effect on social mobility in Great Britain. Using data from the National Child Development Study, we compare the chances, for both class and income mobility, of those who attended different kinds of school. Where media attention focuses exclusively on the chances for upward mobility of those children from lowly origins who were (or would have been) judged worthy of selection into a grammar school, we offer more rounded analyses. We match respondents in a way that helps us to distinguish those inequalities in mobility chances that are due to differences between children from those due to differences between the schools they attended; we look at the effects of the school system on the mobility chances of all children, not merely those from less advantaged origins; and we compare comprehensive‐ and selective‐system schools, not merely comprehensive and grammar schools. After matching, we find, first, that going to a grammar school rather than a comprehensive does not make low‐origin children more likely to be upwardly mobile but it helps them move further if they are; second, that grammar schools do not benefit working‐class children, in terms of class mobility, more than they benefit service‐class children, but, in terms of income mobility, such schools benefit low‐income children somewhat more than they benefit higher‐income children – that benefit relating only to rather modest and limited movements within the income distribution. Finally, however, the selective system as a whole yields no mobility advantage of any kind to children from any particular origins: any assistance to low‐origin children provided by grammar schools is cancelled out by the hindrance suffered by those who attended secondary moderns. Overall, our findings suggest that comprehensive schools were as good for mobility as the selective schools they replaced.
State carnivals and the subvention of multiculturalism in Singapore1
Authors: Goh Daniel P.S. 
Published: March 2011

AbstractIncreasing attention is being paid to the specificities of Asian multiculturalism in relation to ethnic pluralism, citizenship and developmental state formation. This article examines these relationships by analysing three carnival events in colonial and postcolonial Singapore that were organized by the state to promote its official multiculturalism. Through its cultural logics of horizontal racial segmentation, cascading symbolic authority from the state to co‐opted communal representatives and multi‐modal ritual iteration, the 1937 King George VI coronation celebrations proffered an imperial multiculturalism based on mediating plural groups and procedural norms. Adopting the same cultural logics in the 1970s, the newly‐independent nation‐state revived and transformed Chingay, a creole Chinese religious procession, into an annual parade celebrating the nation as comprising racially plural groups bound together by the modern ethos of progress the developmental state exemplified. In the 2000s, Chingay has been turned into an international spectacle celebrating Singapore as a cosmopolitan global city of hybridizing multiculturalism. But indicative of new racial‐class segmentation, the old nation‐building pluralism is promoted by Racial Harmony Day carnivals held in suburban public housing neighborhoods. This bifurcated multiculturalism reflects the developmental state's attempts to deal with new citizenship trends as they grind against the old ethnic pluralism. While faced with the same issues globalization brings, this postcolonial multiculturalism is distinctively different from liberal multiculturalism, not least because the subvention of multiculturalism is achieved through the state appropriation of vernacular cultural practices through its carnivals.