bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ventricular Tachycardia With Participation of the Left Bundle‐Purkinje System in Patients With Structural Heart Disease: Identification of Slow Conduction During Sinus Rhythm
Authors: REITHMANN CHRISTOPHER , HAHNEFELD ANTON , REMP THOMAS , STEINBECK GERHARD 
Published: June 2007

Introduction: Idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia (VT) originating from the left posterior fascicle can be eliminated by ablation at sites with abnormal diastolic potentials (DPs) during sinus rhythm. We investigated whether such DPs can also be recorded in patients with structural heart disease and VT involving the left bundle‐Purkinje system. Methods and Results: Eight patients (mean age 67 ± 11 years) with nonischemic cardiomyopathy (n = 5) or prior myocardial infarction (n = 3) presented with VT involving the left bundle‐Purkinje system (cycle length 376 ± 45 ms). Three types of VT were observed: macroreentrant VT with participation of both left bundle fascicles in three patients, fascicular VT involving the left posterior fascicle in two patients, and scar‐related VT with Purkinje fibers as part of the reentrant circuit in three patients. In all patients, abnormal isolated DPs of low amplitude with a QRS—earliest DP interval of 374 ± 86 ms were found during sinus rhythm in the mid‐ or inferior left ventricular septum in areas with Purkinje potentials. The abnormal DPs during sinus rhythm coincided or were in proximity to DPs during the VT in six patients. VT ablation targeting the sites with the earliest abnormal DPs during sinus eliminated the VT in 7 of 8 patients with freedom from VT recurrence in six patients during the follow‐up of 11 ± 5 months. Conclusions: Isolated DPs during sinus rhythm were found in proximity to the posterior Purkinje network in patients with VT involving the left bundle‐Purkinje system associated with heart disease and can be used to guide successful catheter ablation.
Hybrid Epicardial and Endocardial Ablation of Persistent or Permanent Atrial Fibrillation: A New Approach for Difficult Cases
Authors: PAK HUI‐NAM , HWANG CHUN , LIM HONG EUY , KIM JIN SEOK , KIM YOUNG‐HOON 
Published: June 2007

Background: Although percutaneous epicardial catheter ablation (PECA) has been used for the management of epicardial ventricular tachycardia, the use of PECA for atrial fibrillation (AF) has not yet been reported. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of a hybrid PECA and endocardial ablation for AF. Methods: We performed PECA for AF in five patients (48.6 ± 8.1 years old, all male, four redo ablation procedures of persistent AF with a risk of pulmonary vein (PV) stenosis, one de novo ablation of permanent [AF]) after an endocardial AF ablation guided by PV potentials and 3D mapping (NavX). Utilizing an open irrigation tip catheter, a left atrial (LA) linear ablation from the roof to the perimitral isthmus or localized ablation at the junction between the LA appendage and left‐sided PVs or ligament of Marshall (LOM) was performed. Results: PECA of AF was successful in all patients with an ablation time of <15 minutes. The left‐sided PV potentials were eliminated by PECA in all patients. Bidirectional block of the perimitral line was achieved in two of two patients and a left inferior PV tachycardia with conduction block to the LA was observed during the ablation in the area of the LOM in one patient. A hemopericardium developed in one patient, but was controlled successfully. During 8.0 ± 6.3 months of follow‐up, all patients have remained in sinus rhythm (four patients without antiarrhythmic drugs). Conclusion: A hybrid PECA of AF is feasible and effective in patients with redo‐AF ablation procedures and at risk for left‐sided PV stenosis or who are resistant to endocardial linear ablation.
The Development of Renewable Electricity Policy in the Province of Ontario: The Influence of Ideas and Timing
Authors: Rowlands Ian H. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis article examines the development of policy to promote renewable electricity in the province of Ontario (Canada) between 1995 and 2006. Drawing upon both the role of ideas in policy development and a “multiple streams approach,” it is argued that changes in the problem, policy, and politics streams—and their coupling by key political entrepreneurs—account for two significant shifts in Ontario's efforts to promote the increased use of renewable electricity. The first shift occurred on July 3, 2003 when the Ontario Commissioner of Alternative Energy, Steve Gilchrist, announced that sole dependence upon free markets to support renewable electricity was being displaced by a new commitment to a renewable portfolio standard. The second shift occurred on March 21, 2006 when the Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty, announced that dependence upon a bidding system to promote renewable electricity was being supplemented by a commitment to feed‐in tariffs. A focus upon the evolution of ideas, combined with an appreciation for timing, continues to provide the explanation for the development of renewable electricity policy in Ontario.
“Getting the Word Out”: Policy Bloggers Use Their Soap Box to Make Change
Authors: McKenna Laura 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis study examines policy bloggers, a subset of the political blogosphere. These bloggers focus on one policy area and attempt to “get the word out” concerning the importance of their policy area and policy recommendations. Information was gathered from in‐depth interviews with nine policy bloggers and content analysis of their blogs during the summer of 2006. Findings show that policy bloggers engage in six activities on their blog: filtering information, providing expertise, forming networks, gaining attention, framing arguments, and using windows of opportunity. They rarely urge their readers to partake in political activity. Nearly all received attention from major media sources, and some gained a significant daily readership. Despite these victories, their blogs were primarily labors of love, bringing in little money or professional rewards.
The International Quotidian Dialysis Registry: Annual Report 2007
Authors: NESRALLAH Gihad E. , SURI Rita S. , CARTER Shannon T. , MOIST Louise M. , GARG Amit X. , AWARAJI Christian , LINDSAY Robert M. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIn view of the need to study both intermediate and definitive outcomes associated with daily and extended‐hours hemodialysis (HD), our group has undertaken the design and implementation of an international registry to collect data describing the treatments and outcomes of patients treated with these regimens. The International Quotidian Dialysis Registry began recruiting patients in June 2004. There are currently 229 patients enrolled in the registry, up from 199 last year. The projected growth is 2000 patients by 2008. This paper constitutes the third annual report of progress of patient and center recruitment, and includes descriptive data drawn from the 3 primary patient groups currently tracked by the registry: home nocturnal, home short‐daily, and in‐center short‐daily HD. As the cohort grows, patients will be compared with control subjects drawn from their respective national registries, and comparative analyses will follow.
Hepatitis C virus infection in dialysis patients
Authors: SUŁOWICZ Władysław , RADZISZEWSKI Andrzej , CHOWANIEC Eve 
Published: June 2007

AbstractHepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global health problem, common worldwide, leading to acute and chronic hepatitis and its consequences of hepatocirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients on hemodialysis belong to the high‐risk group of HCV infection. The prevalence of HCV infection in dialysis patients ranges from 4% to more than 70% in some countries. The main reasons for such a high incidence of infections are a high prevalence of HCV infection in the general population, lack of standard infection precautions and effective vaccination, inadequate disinfection procedures of dialysis machines and other medical equipment, as well as spread of infection from patient to patient, especially in dialytic centers with a high percentage of infected patients. The diagnostic procedures useful in the evaluation of HCV infection are detection of anti‐HCV antibodies, identification of HCV RNA, counts of virus copies, and identification of its genome. From the 6 major genotypes and multiple subtypes of the HCV, genotypes 1a and 1b are the most common in Europe and Japan, and 1b is responsible for more severe liver disease and aggressive course leading to liver fibrosis. Antiviral therapy of HCV+ dialysis patients with interferon‐α (INF‐α) gives slightly better results than in the general population, but is poorly tolerated and associated with side effects. Although ribavirin in not recommended for dialysis patients, the addition of small doses of this compound to pegylated INF is discussed, especially for patients in whom previous infection treatment failed.
Changes in hemoglobin and albumin concentration during nocturnal home hemodialysis
Authors: AGAR John W. M. , PIERRATOS Andreas 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe hemoglobin (Hb) and the serum albumin (S.Alb) concentration commonly rise during seated, conventional thrice‐weekly 4 to 4.5 hr hemodialysis (CHD) as a result of rapid fluid removal from the intravascular compartment. Conversely, in long, slow, recumbent nocturnal home hemodialysis (NHHD), the intra‐dialytic S.Alb concentration has been shown to fall. In normal human physiology, plasma volume expansion rapidly follows recumbency and is sustained until a resumption of an upright position re‐induces plasma volume contraction. The plasma protein dilution of recumbency has been suggested as the mechanism behind this finding in NHHD. Our retrospective analysis of 585 consecutive measurements of predialysis and postdialysis S.Alb and Hb taken from 71 NHHD patients confirmed an intra‐dialytic fall in S.Alb (0.99% in alternate night NHHD and 1.4% in 6 nights/week NHHD) compared with an 8.4% rise in a control group of 104 CHD patients (p<0.001). Although the NHHD intra‐dialytic Hb rose (3.8% in alternate night NHHD and 2.6% in 6 nights/week NHHD), this rise was significantly greater (8%) in CHD patients (p<0.001), and as physiological data confirm that recumbent dilution for albumin is greater than that for Hb, this may provide the explanation. We conclude that NHHD provides a more physiological volume milieu with the normal physiological dilution mechanisms of recumbency still operating despite the slow, steady volume reduction that accompanied longer hour and more frequent dialysis. These mechanisms are subverted, however, in CHD by the more‐aggressive plasma contraction needed to attain adequate control of the intravascular volume in the face of shorter hour, less‐frequent dialysis.
Subcortical cognitive impairment in dialysis patients
Authors: PEREIRA Arema A. , WEINER Daniel E. , SCOTT Tammy , CHANDRA Priya , BLUESTEIN Robyn , GRIFFITH John , SARNAK Mark J. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractGiven the high burden of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in dialysis patients, we hypothesized that cognitive testing would reveal subtle abnormalities in subcortical brain function, a measure frequently associated with cerebrovascular disease. Detailed neurocognitive testing was performed in 25 hemodialysis patients. All patients had Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores >24 and had no history of cerebrovascular disease. Where appropriate, scores were normalized for age, gender, and education. One‐sample t tests were used to compare differences in cognitive function between dialysis patients and normative data. The mean age was 57 years, and the mean MMSE was 27.5. Fourteen subjects (56%) were females, and 15 white (60%). Results of the North American Adult Reading Test, a measure of verbal intelligence, were comparable with the general population. Similarly, measures of cortical function, namely retention and recognition scores from the Word List Learning subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale‐III, were preserved when compared with normative data where reference = 10. Significant deficits were seen on tests assessing subcortical function: scores (mean±standard deviation) for block design, and symbol coding subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale‐III were 7.0±1.7 and 7.7±3.1, respectively (p<0.001 for both comparisons with normative data). Similarly, adjusted scores on the trails A and B tests were 40.5±8.3 and 41.8±11.3, respectively (p<0.001 for both comparisons with normative data where reference= 50). These results suggest that, despite relatively normal MMSE scores, mild cognitive impairment may be prevalent in hemodialysis patients. The pattern of cognitive dysfunction is primarily subcortical in nature.
Internet use by end‐stage renal disease patients
Authors: SETO Emily , CAFAZZO Joseph A. , RIZO Carlos , BONERT Michael , FONG Edwin , CHAN Christopher T. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractInformation on the prevalence and predictors of use of the Internet by patients can be applied to the design and promotion of healthcare Internet technologies. To our knowledge, few studies on Internet use by end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have been reported. The objectives of this study are to ascertain the prevalence and predictors of Internet use by ESRD patients among different dialysis modalities. A questionnaire surveying Internet use was delivered in person to 199 conventional hemodialysis patients (57 returned), and mailed to 170 peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients (42 returned), and 65 nocturnal home hemodialysis (NHD) patients (43 returned). Of the respondents, most (58%) have used the Internet to find information on their health condition. The strong majority (76%) of these patients have easy access to the Internet. A higher proportion of NHD patients (86%) used the Internet compared with the PD patients (60%) (p=0.02). Internet use was found to be more prevalent with younger (p<0.001), more educated (p=0.001), and Canadian‐born patients (p=0.005). The high prevalence of Internet use and easy access to the Internet by ESRD patients suggest that future Internet information and communication systems for healthcare management in ESRD will likely be well adopted by this patient population.
Exceeding hemoglobin target levels in US hemodialysis patients receiving epoetin, 1999 to 2002
Authors: FOLEY Robert N. , ZHANG Rui , GILBERTSON David T. , DUNNING Stephan , ISHANI Areef , COLLINS Allan J. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractDespite emerging concerns that exceeding anemia targets with erythropoiesis stimulating agents may be risky for hemodialysis patients, the magnitude of and risk factors for the problem have received little attention, particularly regarding year‐to‐year comparisons. We studied monthly hemoglobin and epoetin levels in 41,101 patients aged at least 65 years who initiated hemodialysis between 1999 and 2002, with upper targets defined by hemoglobin levels of 120 and 130 g/L, respectively. While baseline hemoglobin values and epoetin doses rose from year to year, their rates of change during follow‐up declined (p<0.0001). Similar patterns were seen after reaching hemoglobin levels of 110 g/L; comparing 1999 to 2002, the proportions reaching 120 and 130 g/L in the ensuing 9 months increased from 90% to 96% (p<0.0001) and from 56% to 69%, respectively (p<0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed that, while more recent years of dialysis inception and initial epoetin dose were associated with all 3 outcomes, higher baseline hemoglobin levels were associated with reaching levels of 110 and 120 g/L, but not 130 g/L. Exceeding hemoglobin level targets has become widespread in the United States and is associated with changes in epoetin dosing practices.
Distribution patterns of the Q and B biotypes of Bemisia tabaci in the Mediterranean Basin based on microsatellite variation
Authors: Simón B. , Cenis J. L. , De La Rúa P. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractAt least five of the biotypes described in the Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) complex are known to be present in the Mediterranean Basin area. Only two of them, however, are economically relevant, that is, biotypes B and Q. Biological and genetic differences between the two biotypes have been well studied, but less is known about their patterns of genetic variation and population structure. To address these issues, a study was undertaken based on variation at six microsatellite loci among a subset of nine B. tabaci populations (five belonging to the Q and four to the B biotype). The data obtained show that (i) these loci showed considerable polymorphism in the Q and B biotypes populations although the presence of null alleles can obscure the picture; (ii) the Iberian‐Q, Canarian‐Q, and Egyptian‐B populations exhibit heterozygosity excess as a result of bottleneck events; (iii) the low genetic differentiation between the Israeli, Iberian Peninsula, and Italian populations suggest that these populations share a common gene pool; (iv) the genetic distances between the Canarian‐Q population and the geographically close population from Morocco indicates spatial isolation and a limited gene flow; and finally (v) the microsatellite data for the B populations indicate that the whiteflies from Egypt and Israel have a close phylogenetic relationship, but the source of these biotype B invasions into the Mediterranean area remains unknown.
Effect of intravitreal injections and volume changes on intraocular pressure: clinical results and biomechanical model
Authors: Kotliar Konstantin , Maier Mathias , Bauer Svetlana , Feucht Nikolaus , Lohmann Chris , Lanzl Ines 
Published: June 2007

Abstract.Purpose:  Intravitreal injections are used extensively to treat retinal diseases. Performing an intravitreal injection increases intraocular volume by the amount of fluid brought into the eye. Whether this influences intraocular pressure (IOP) was investigated here.Methods:  A biomechanical model relying on 3‐dimensional elasticity theory was developed to determine the short‐term effect of volume changes on IOP. We calculated the effect for intravitreal injections of 0.1 ml in myopic, emmetropic and hyperopic eyes. Our calculations were compared with IOP measurements obtained immediately after intravitreal injection of 4 mg triamcinolone in 0.1 ml solution (IVTA) in 22 patients. Shortly after the measurement had been taken, IOP was reduced by paracentesis.Results:  Immediately after IVTA, measured IOP was elevated by a mean of 40.6 ± 12.1 mmHg compared with initial pressure (p < 0.001). Measured and calculated IOP were comparable. Eyes with shorter axial length had higher IOP immediately after the injection (p < 0.05).Conclusions:  The effect of injected volumes on IOP can be calculated with a biomechanical model. Our results show that paracentesis might be recommended when injecting 0.1 ml of a substance to avoid a short‐term increase in IOP. As intravitreal injections are mostly applied in diseases that are due to vascular compromise, it might be prudent not to impair perfusion in those eyes, even for short periods of time.
Changes in dental status and dental care utilization in the Swedish population over three decades: age, period, or cohort effects?
Authors: Ahacic Kozma , Thorslund Mats 
Published: June 2007

Abstract –  Objectives:  In cross‐sectional data, cohort effects give a false impression of changes in edentulousness over age and time. This study, therefore, corroborated cross‐sectional data with corresponding longitudinal analyses. Complete or partial edentulousness and yearly dental care utilization were studied from 1968 to 2002.Methods:  A nationally representative Swedish panel study allowed repeated cross‐sectional comparisons of ages 18–75 (5 waves n ≈ 5000), and ages 77+ at later waves (2 waves n ≈ 500). Cross‐sectional 10‐year age group differences in 5 waves, time‐lag differences between waves for age groups, and within‐cohort differences between waves for 10‐year birth cohorts were examined.Results:  Regular over time analysis revealed large decreases in edentulousness between waves. While cross‐sectional differences indicated an exponential curve‐linear age‐dependency, longitudinal differences revealed little decline, contradicting cross‐sectional results. Following the cohorts showed little change within cohorts but large differences between cohorts. Care utilization increased between 1968 and 2002 in older age groups but decreased somewhat in younger ones. In 1968, utilization was highly age‐related with lower utilization rates among older age groups. By 2000/2002, this had almost reversed. However, all cohorts had aged with little change in their rates of care utilization, while at the same time great between‐cohort differences were demonstrated.Conclusions:  For both edentulousness and dental care utilization, almost all variation originated before 1968. These cohort effects are probably the consequences of changes in dentistry going back several decades and they demonstrate the early socialization of health behavior.
Natural Aesthetics and Grace: the Reality of the World and the Reality of God
Authors: Gilbert Robert J. C. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractScientific disciplines seek a truthful description of how things are. One way to think of the way that science does this is to say that science seeks to show how things fit together. In doing this the scientist implicitly makes use of aesthetic and ideal categories, such that aesthetic relationships of things to each other in thought somehow stand for the actual relationships (involving energy, charge, mass and the like). This relationship of ideal thought in the medium of human language to the reality of the world is remarkable. Why is it that we can know anything truthful about the world on the basis of the way we talk to each other? Why is there anything instead of nothing? Scientific practice suggests ways in which these are the same question. It may be that the createdness of the world underlies all truthful human discourses, whether artistic or scientific, mechanical or philosophical.
Conserving What and for Whom? Why Conservation Should Help Meet Basic Human Needs in the Tropics
Authors: Kaimowitz David , Sheil Douglas 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTFor hundreds of millions of people, biodiversity is about eating, staying healthy, and finding shelter. Meeting these people's basic needs should receive greater priority in the conservation agenda. Wild and semi‐wild plants and animals contribute significantly to nutrition, health care, income, and culture in developing countries, and the poorest and most vulnerable people often rely on those resources most. Depleting those resources or making them inaccessible can impoverish these people even further. ‘Pro‐poor conservation’—that is, conservation that aims to support poor people—explicitly seeks to address basic human needs. Such an emphasis has many potential synergies with more conventional conservation goals. Nonetheless, pro‐poor conservation requires a distinct attitude to gauging conservation outcomes and a different approach to conservation science. Biologists can make a vital contribution.