bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Desflurane anaesthesia increases sister chromatid exchanges in human lymphocytes
Authors: Akin A. , Ugur F. , Ozkul Y. , Esmaoglu A. , Gunes I. , Ergul H. 
Published: November 2005

Background:  We investigated genotoxic effects of desflurane on the frequency of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients during and after anaesthesia.Methods:  Fifteen female patients, ASA classification I‐II, aged 26–54 years, undergoing elective surgery were enroled in this study. Anaesthesia was induced by injection of thiopental 5–7 mg/kg and fentanyl 1 µg/kg. Vecuronium 0.1 mg/kg was given to facilitate tracheal intubation. Anaesthesia was maintained with desflurane 5–6% in an oxygen/air mixture (FiO2 0.3). N2O was not used for any patient. Using a heparinized syringe, venous blood was collected in patients before anaesthesia. Additional venous blood samples were taken from all patients at 60 and 120 min after the initiation of anaesthesia. Post‐operative blood samples were taken and first, third, seventh and twelfth day samples were coded.Results:  Number of SCEs per cell at 60 and 120 min were significantly higher than the number of SCEs per cell before anaesthesia. In addition, number of SCEs per cell at 1, 3 and 7th post‐operative days were significantly higher than pre‐operative levels (P < 0.05). There was no difference between pre‐operative number of SCEs per cell and 12th post‐operative day levels (P > 0.05).Conclusion:  In the present study, because exposure to desflurane increased sister chromatid exchange in human lymphocytes in our group of patients, we conclude that this agent may be capable of producing genetic damage.
Ethical and practical problems in blood sampling for research purposes during pre‐hospital emergencies
Authors: Vester A. E. , Christensen E. F. , Andersen S. K. , Tønnesen E. 
Published: November 2005

Background:  Research in the pre‐hospital phase of emergencies involves certain ethical and practical challenges. Severely ill or injured patients are not able to give informed consent in the immediate stressful situation. The aim of this pilot study was to find an ethically acceptable method to carry out research in acutely ill or injured patients before any treatment was given in order to be able to study the acute and unmodified systemic inflammatory response to trauma.Methods:  Younger physicians were assigned to the mobile emergency care unit (MECU) on a volunteer basis. They drew blood samples ‘at the scene’ from patients exposed to accidental injury or from patients with acute medical emergencies. The ethical committee accepted that informed consent to blood analyses could be postponed until later or given by relatives. Pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines, catecholamines and cortisol were measured.Results:  During 6 months, the study group accompanied the MECU on approximately 500 call‐outs. Blood samples were drawn from 42 patients. Consent to the analysis of blood samples was obtained in 30 cases. In 20 cases, it was not possible to draw the blood sample before medication.Conclusion:  This pilot study showed that it was possible to conduct blood sampling from acutely ill patients ‘at the scene’. However, the present legislation on informed consent makes this type of research very time consuming. When patients die in hospital and no relatives can be found, consent cannot be obtained, and information from these severely affected patients is lost.
A comparison of the vertical infraclavicular and axillary approaches for brachial plexus anaesthesia
Authors: Rettig H. C. , Gielen M. J. M. , Boersma E. , Klein J. 
Published: November 2005

Background:  This prospective, randomized study compared the efficacy of the vertical infraclavicular and axillary approaches using a single injection blockade of the brachial plexus. The primary endpoint was complete blockade in dermatomes C5‐Th1, while secondary endpoints included onset time, motor block, block performance time, surgical success rate, patient satisfaction, and side‐effects/complications.Methods:  Sixty patients, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I or II, scheduled for surgery of the forearm or hand received either a vertical infraclavicular (n = 30) or an axillary block (n = 30). A single injection of 0.5 ml/kg ropivacaine 7.5 mg/ml was made after electrolocalization of nerve fibres corresponding to the median nerve at maximum 0.5 mA (2 Hz, 0.1 ms). Onset and distribution of analgesia and motor block were assessed at 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 60 min after the local anaesthetic injection. A complete block was defined as analgesia in all dermatomes (C5‐Th1) at 60 min post‐injection.Results:  The vertical infraclavicular approach provided complete blockade in 29 patients (97%) and the axillary approach in 23 patients (77%). Analgesia in C5‐C6 dermatomes and corresponding motor block occurred significantly more frequently in the vertical infraclavicular approach, which also had the shortest onset time. Block procedure was quicker in the axillary approach. Side‐effects were similar in both groups, and there were no permanent sequelae. Patient satisfaction was equally high in both groups.Conclusion:  The vertical infraclavicular approach provides a more complete block than the axillary approach when using a single injection technique and equal volumes/doses of local anaesthetic.
Monitoring urinary bladder volume and detecting post‐operative urinary retention in children with an ultrasound scanner
Authors: Rosseland L. A. , Bentsen G. , Hopp E. , Refsum S. , Breivik H. 
Published: November 2005

Background:  Post‐operative urinary retention (PUR) is associated with a risk of over‐distension and permanent detrusor damage. The prevention of PUR by routine catheterization may increase the risk of urinary tract infection. Post‐operative monitoring of the bladder volume is a reliable method in adults, but has not been evaluated for reliability in children.Methods:  Forty‐eight patients who, according to current clinical guidelines, required urinary bladder emptying were scanned before catheterization using the Bladderscan®. Volumes estimated with ultrasound were compared with volumes measured after emptying the bladder with a catheter. Bladder emptying was controlled by concomitant fluoroscopy in 20 children.Results:  The mean difference between the ultrasound estimates and the catheter‐emptied urine volumes was 4 ml [standard deviation (SD) = 25 ml] in 26 children above the age of 3 years and −18 ml (SD = 19 ml) in 22 younger children. In the subpopulation in whom complete bladder emptying could be confirmed by fluoroscopy (14 children; median age, 3 years; range, 1–11 years), the mean difference between the ultrasound estimates and the catheter‐emptied volumes was −11 ml (SD = 24 ml).Conclusions:  This study confirms agreement between the ultrasound scanner estimates of urinary bladder volume and the urine volume measured by emptying the bladder. Reliability was good in children above the age of 3 years. The volume was underestimated in younger children. Thus, routine monitoring of urinary bladder volume with an ultrasound scanner is a non‐invasive, pain‐free and reliable way of preventing over‐distension of the urinary bladder in children after surgery and other procedures under general anaesthesia.
Midazolam depresses carotid body chemoreceptor activity
Authors: Kim C. , Shvarev Y. , Takeda S. , Sakamoto A. , Lindahl S. G. E. , Eriksson L. I. 
Published: November 2005

Background:  Although the contribution of the γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor system in peripheral chemosensation is unclear, immunohistochemistry has demonstrated the presence of GABA‐ergic receptors in mammalian carotid bodies. We hypothesized that an activation of the carotid body GABA receptors would counteract the depolarizing effect of hypoxia.Methods:  The carotid body with arterial supply and the carotid sinus nerve was removed en bloc from New Zealand White rabbits and placed in a perfusion chamber. The carotid body preparation was perfused via the cut common carotid artery with a modified Tyrode's solution at a rate of 3.5–4.5 ml/min with a constant pressure of 45 cmH2O. The carotid sinus nerve firing frequency (Hz) was recorded at two different oxygen tension levels during perfusion with midazolam of 1, 10 and 100 µg/l.Results:  The frequency was decreased by midazolam in a dose‐dependent manner (n = 8). Firing frequencies (mean ± SEM) at the low oxygen tension level decreased from 643.13 ± 67.2 Hz in the control to 554.5 ± 67.7 Hz (P = 0.054 vs. control), 509.01 ± 100.5 Hz (P < 0.012 vs. control) and 422.6 ± 77.3 Hz (P < 0.001 vs. control) during perfusion with midazolam of 1, 10 and 100 µg/l, respectively.Conclusion:  Midazolam depresses carotid body chemoreceptor activity in a dose‐dependent manner.
Intraspecific variation in the ultraviolet colour proportion of flowers in Brassica rapa L.
Authors: Yoshioka Y. , Horisaki A. , Kobayashi K. , Syafaruddin  , Niikura S. , Ninomiya S. , Ohsawa R. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractIn Brassica rapa L., intraspecific variation in the ultraviolet (UV) colour proportion invisible to humans but visible to insect pollinators, was investigated by UV‐photographing. After digitization of each photograph, the UV‐absorbing area (UVA) and total flower area (FA) were evaluated by means of image analysis. The ratio of UVA to FA represented the UV colour proportion (UVP). Nested anova indicated that the proportion of the variance caused by the genotypic effect was largest for UVP, and anova indicated that the F‐value for UVP was larger than that for FA. These results indicate that UVP is very stable within a genotype. That is, there was almost no additional variation caused by plants and branches. In contrast, UVP varies widely between genotypes with respect to FA. The large differences in the UVP of B. rapa flowers are likely to be distinguishable by insect pollinators, which might use these differences as visual cues in their foraging flight.
Molecular mapping determines that Hessian fly resistance gene H9 is located on chromosome 1A of wheat
Authors: Kong L. , Ohm H. W. , Cambron S. E. , Williams C. E. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractHessian fly [Mayetiola destructor (Say)] is one of the major insect pests of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) worldwide. Hessian fly resistance gene H9 was previously reported to condition resistance to Hessian fly biotype L that is prevalent in many wheat‐growing areas of eastern USA and an RAPD marker, OPO051000, linked to H9 in wheat was developed using wheat near‐isogenic lines (NILs). However, marker‐assisted selection (MAS) with RAPD markers is not always feasible. One of the objectives in this study was to convert an RAPD marker linked to the gene H9 into a sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker to facilitate MAS and to map H9 in the wheat genome. The RAPD fragment from OPO051000 was cloned, sequenced, and converted into a SCAR marker SOPO05909, whose linkage relationship with H9 was subsequently confirmed in two F2 populations segregating for H9. Linkage analysis identified one sequence tagged site (STS) marker, STS‐Pm3, and the eight microsatellite markers Xbarc263, Xcfa2153, Xpsp2999, Xgwm136, Xgdm33, Xcnl76, Xcnl117 and Xwmc24 near the H9 locus on the distal region of the short arm of chromosome 1A, contrary to the previously reported location of H9 on chromosome 5A. Locus Xbarc263 was 1.2 cM distal to H9, which itself was 1.7 cM proximal to loci Xcfa2153, Xpsp2999 and Xgwm136. The loci Xgwm136, Xcfa2153 and SOPO05909 were shown to be specific to H9 and not diagnostic to several other Hessian fly resistance genes, and therefore should be useful for pyramiding H9 with other Hessian fly resistance genes in a single genotype.
Segregation distortion for agronomic traits in doubled haploid lines of barley
Authors: Cistué L. , Echávarri B. , Batlle F. , Soriano M. , Castillo A. , Vallés M. P. , Romagosa I. 
Published: November 2005

AbstractFour barley doubled haploid populations were produced by anther culture from the reciprocal crosses between two six‐row barley cultivars, ‘Plaisant’ and ‘Orria’; the doubled haploid lines (DHLs) derived from each cross were subsequently assigned to weak or vigorous populations according to the weak or vigorous nature of the originating embryos. Well‐formed embryos at day 25 on the induction medium were considered vigorous, whereas embryos maturing later were considered weak. The classification of vigorous and weak was closely associated with the ratio of green to albino plantlets regenerated. A random set of 25 DHLs from each of the four populations were selected for field testing in a replicated trial. Furthermore, a second set consisting of a total of 454 unreplicated DHLs from the four populations were also field assessed for grain yield. Distortion during in vitro culture may impede regeneration of a random array of microspores from a given cross, and may bias genetic estimates of specific trait/marker association in genetic studies. However, no significant differences were detected in this study among the four populations for days to heading, height, grain yield and thousand‐kernel‐weight when measured on the replicated trial of 100 DHLs, nor for grain yield in the second collection of 454 entries. This suggests that the likelihood of producing improved agronomic pure lines is independent of the direction of crossing and, more importantly, independent of the time when embryos matured in the induction media, at least for these particular six‐row cultivars and for the anther culture method used.
Wound healing ability of Xenopus laevis embryos. I. Rapid wound closure achieved by bisectional half embryos
Authors: Yoshii Yasuko , Noda Masahiro , Matsuzaki Takashi , Ihara Setsunosuke 
Published: November 2005

We examined wound closure in ‘half embryos’ produced by the transverse bisection of Xenopus laevis embryos at the primary eye vesicle stage. Both the anterior‐ and posterior‐half embryos survived for more than 6 days, and grew into ‘half tadpoles’. Histology and videomicroscopy revealed that the open wound in the half embryo was rapidly closed by an epithelial sheet movement in the wound marginal zone. The time‐course of wound closure showed a downward convex curve: the wound area decreased to one‐fifth of the original area within 30 min, and the wound continued to contract slowly thereafter. The rapidity of closure of the epidermis as well as the absence of inflammatory cells are typical features of an embryonic type of wound healing. There was a dorso‐ventral polarity in the motility of the epidermis: the wound was predominantly closed by the ventral and lateral epidermis. The change in the contour of the wound edge with time suggested a complex mechanism involved in the wound closure that could not be explained only by the purse‐string theory. The present experimental system would be a unique and useful model for analyses of cellular movements in the embryonic epithelia.
Wound healing ability of Xenopus laevis embryos. II. Morphological analysis of wound marginal epidermis
Authors: Yoshii Yasuko , Matsuzaki Takashi , Ishida Hideki , Ihara Setsunosuke 
Published: November 2005

We previously showed that bisectional wounds made in Xenopus laevis embryos at the primary eye vesicle stage were rapidly closed. In this study, microscopic analyses, including scanning electron microscopy, on the morphology of the epidermis were conducted during wound closure in the half embryos. Bright fluorescence of Texas red‐phalloidin showing actin filaments started to be visualized at the cut edge 10 min after wounding. It increased with time, forming a distinguished, though discontinuous, bundle along the wound margin. The wound closure was completely inhibited by 20 µm cytochalasin B, and almost completely by 50 mm 2,3‐butanedione 2‐monoxime, an inhibitor to myosin ATPase activity. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the outer epidermal cells became extensively elongated in the radial direction, and the contour of the closing wound edge did not become smoother but remained ragged. Thus, a representative embryonic type of wound closure may be driven in Xenopus embryos by a complex mechanism, involving not only the actin ‘purse‐string’ but also an inward movement of individual cells. Anyhow, the wound closure is a movement of the epidermal sheet maintaining cell–cell contact, and not involving locomotion of single cells separated from the wound edge.
Laparoscopic management of complicated urachal remnants
Authors: Cutting Colin W.M. , Hindley Richard G. , Poulsen Johan 
Published: November 2005

OBJECTIVETo report our experience with a laparoscopic approach to managing symptomatic urachal anomalies.PATIENTS AND METHODSFive patients (median age 19 years, range 2–43) had a laparoscopic excision of a complicated urachal remnant between 2001 and 2004. Three ports were routinely used, although their positioning varied as our technique developed with experience. The urachal remnant was dissected from the umbilicus to the bladder dome and then removed intact.RESULTSAll five operations had no serious immediate complications and minimal blood loss. One patient developed a small peri‐umbilical haematoma after surgery and another had a persistent umbilical discharge at follow‐up, and required open excision of residual remnant tissue.CONCLUSIONSThe laparoscopic approach appears to be a safe and effective alternative to open surgery for this condition. Despite the slight risk of incomplete excision, the reduced morbidity of this procedure and better cosmetic result would appear advantageous.
FELLOW CITIZENS AND IMPERIAL SUBJECTS: CONQUEST AND SOVEREIGNTY IN EUROPE'S OVERSEAS EMPIRES
Authors: PAGDEN ANTHONY 
Published: November 2005

ABSTRACTThis article traces the association between the European overseas empires and the concept of sovereignty, arguing that, ever since the days of Cicero—if not earlier—Europeans had clung to the idea that there was a close association between a people and the territory it happened to occupy. This made it necessary to think of an “empire” as a unity—an “immense body,” to use Tacitus's phrase—that would embrace all its subjects under a single sovereign. By the end of the eighteenth century it had become possible, in this way, to speak of “empires of liberty” that would operate for the ultimate benefit of all their “citizens,” freeing them from previous tyrannical rulers and bringing them under the protection of more benign regimes. In such empires sovereignty could only ever be, as it had become in Europe, undivided. The collapse of Europe's “first” empires in the Americas, however, was followed rapidly by Napoleon's attempt to create a new kind of Empire in Europe. The ultimate, and costly, failure of this project led many, Benjamin Constant among them, to believe that the age of empires was now over and had been replaced by the age of commerce. But what in fact succeeded Napoleon was the modern European state system, which attempted not to replace empire by trade, as Constant had hoped, but to create a new kind of empire, one that sought to minimize domination and settlement, and to make a sharp distinction between imperial ruler and imperial subject. In this kind of empire, sovereignty could only be “divided.” Various kinds of divided rule were thus devised in the nineteenth century. Far, however, from being an improvement on the past, this ultimately resulted in—or at least contributed greatly to—the emergence of the largely fictional and inevitably unstable societies that after the final collapse of the European empires became the new states of the “developing world.”
ILLUSIONS OF POWER AND EMPIRE1
Authors: ROSENAU JAMES N. 
Published: November 2005

ABSTRACTSubsequent to the end of the Cold War, analysts groped for an understanding of the overall structures of world politics that marked the emergence of a new epoch. As a result, the concept of empire became a major preoccupation, with the economic and military power of the United States considered sufficient for regarding it as an empire. Due to the proliferation of new microelectronic technologies and for a variety of other specified reasons, however, the constraints inherent in the new epoch make it seem highly unlikely that the U.S. or any other country can ever achieve the status of an empire. In effect, the substantial shrinkage of time and distance in the current period has led to the replacement of the age of the nation‐state that originated with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 with the age of the networked individual. It is an age that has developed on a global scale and that has brought an end to the history of empires.
Out‐of‐Pocket Financial Burden for Low‐Income Families with Children: Socioeconomic Disparities and Effects of Insurance
Authors: Galbraith Alison A. , Wong Sabrina T. , Kim Sue E. , Newacheck Paul W. 
Published: November 2005

Objective. To determine whether socioeconomic disparities exist in the financial burden of out‐of‐pocket (OOP) health care expenditures for families with children, and whether health insurance coverage decreases financial burden for low‐income families.Data Source. The Household Component of the 2001 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.Study Design. Cross‐sectional family‐level analysis. We used bivariate statistics to examine whether financial burden varied by poverty level. Multivariate regression models were used to assess whether family insurance coverage was associated with level of financial burden for low‐income families. The main outcome was financial burden, defined as the proportion of family income spent on OOP health care expenditures, including premiums, for all family members.Data Collection/Extraction. We aggregated annual OOP expenditures for all members of 4,531 families with a child <18 years old. Family insurance coverage was categorized as follows: (1) all members publicly insured all year, (2) all members privately insured all year, (3) all members uninsured all year, (4) partial coverage, or (5) mix of public and private with no uninsured periods.Principal Findings. A regressive gradient was noted for financial burden across income groups, with families with incomes <100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) spending a mean of $119.66 OOP per $1,000 of family income and families with incomes 100–199 percent FPL spending $66.30 OOP per $1,000, compared with $37.75 for families with incomes >400 percent FPL. For low‐income families (<200 percent FPL), there was a 785 percent decrease in financial burden for those with full‐year public coverage compared with those with full‐year private insurance (p<.001).Conclusions. Socioeconomic disparities exist in the financial burden of OOP health care expenditures for families with children. For low‐income families, full‐year public coverage provides significantly greater protection from financial burden than full‐year private coverage.