bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Model to predict rebleeding following endoscopic therapy for non‐variceal upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage
Authors: Travis Anne C , Wasan Sharmeel K , Saltzman John R 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Following endoscopic therapy, up to 20% of patients with non‐variceal upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage experience rebleeding. The aim of the present study was to determine risk factors for recurrent hemorrhage in these patients.Methods:  This was a retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital between 1 July 1999 and 30 June 2004, with non‐variceal upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Patients were evaluated for rebleeding within 30 days of successful therapeutic endoscopy. Using the hospital's endoscopic database, 236 patients were identified. Risk factors were identified using multivariable logistic regression with backward selection. Internal validation was carried out using bootstrapping.Results:  Six risk factors were identified: failure to use a Proton pump inhibitor post‐procedure (P = 0.056), Endoscopically demonstrated bleeding (P = 0.053), Peptic ulcer as the bleeding source (P = 0.018), Treatment with epinephrine monotherapy (P = 0.0026), post‐procedure Intravenous or low molecular weight heparin use (P = 0.0014), and moderate or severe Cirrhosis (P = 0.032) (PEPTIC). The risk of rebleeding increased as the number of risk factors present increased. The observed rates of rebleeding were: 7.1%, 16.4%, 37.0%, 75.0% and 100% for zero, one, two, three or four risk factors, respectively (no patients had five or six risk factors present). The bias‐adjusted area under the receiver–operator characteristic curve for the number of risk factors predicting rebleeding was 0.69.Conclusions:  We have identified six easily remembered risk factors, which, when summed, predict recurrent hemorrhage following endoscopic therapy for non‐variceal upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
Granulocytapheresis versus methylprednisolone in patients with acute ulcerative colitis: 12‐month follow up
Authors: Bresci Giampaolo , Parisi Giuseppe , Mazzoni Alessandro , Scatena Fabrizio , Capria Alfonso 
Published: September 2008

AbstractAim:  To evaluate granulocytapheresis (GCAP) in active ulcerative colitis (UC), with particular attention to the long‐term effects of such treatment.Methods:  We included 80 patients with UC. Activity of the disease was evaluated by clinical activity index and endoscopic index. Patients were randomly divided in two groups: Group A received a five‐session (1 session/week) treatment with GCAP, Group B were treated with i.v. or i.m. methylprednisolone (MP). Concomitant therapy with oral 5‐aminosalicylic acid (5‐ASA) 2.4 g/day was maintained in both groups. Subjects who achieved a remission were clinically and endoscopically followed for 12 months after the end of GCAP or MP.Results:  Remission was observed in 72.5% of those treated with GCAP versus 50% of those treated with MP. After a 12‐month follow up, a sustained remission was recorded in 40% of those treated with GCAP and in 25% of those treated with MP. During the GCAP only a transient mild headache was recorded in 10% of patients, whereas side‐effects were observed in 50% of those treated with MP (P < 0.05).Conclusion:  GCAP results were superior to MP for the treatment of UC, even though no statistically significant difference was observed. Side‐effects in the GCAP group were significantly lower than in the MP group. This new therapeutic approach seems able to maintain the condition of remission for a longer time after a flare. In fact, the patients who had obtained a remission after a course of CGAP showed fewer relapses during the follow up compared to the patients treated with MP.
Marked elevation of serum mitochondrion‐derived markers in mild models of non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis in rats
Authors: Murayama Hiroshi , Ikemoto Masaki , Nagata Atsuo 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBackground and Aim:  In order to find sensitive serum markers in non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis, liver‐specific injury markers were thoroughly examined in mild models of NASH in rats.Methods:  Wistar and Sprague–Dawley rats were fed a choline‐deficient diet for 4 weeks, and serum activities of liver‐specific enzyme markers were examined. In the drug‐induced steatohepatitis model, tetracycline (0.4 mmol/kg) was given i.p. to rats and the course of hepatotoxicity was evaluated with serum markers, together with the accumulation of total lipid and thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances in the liver.Results:  In Wistar rats, serum activities of most enzymes tested were significantly increased. In Sprague–Dawley rats, in contrast, the serum level of ornithine carbamyltransferase and glutamate dehydrogenase were markedly elevated in the choline‐deficient diet group compared with the control diet groups, whereas other markers were not significantly increased. In the tetracycline‐induced steatohepatitis model, the extent of the increase was much higher in mitochondrial markers and the peak of the increase in these markers corresponded with the increase of hepatic total lipid and thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substance.Conclusions:  These observations show that serum mitochondrial enzyme markers are potent markers for non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis in rats and are possibly applicable to humans.
Clinical, biochemical, immunological and virological profiles of, and differential diagnosis between, patients with acute hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis B with acute flare
Authors: Han Yongnian , Tang Qun , Zhu Wei , Zhang Xiaoqing , You Longying 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBackground and Aim:  In areas with high or intermediate endemicity for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, it is difficult to distinguish acute hepatitis B (AHB) from chronic hepatitis B with an acute flare (CHB‐AF) in patients whose prior history of HBV infection has been unknown. The present study aimed to screen laboratory parameters other than immunoglobulin M antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (IgM anti‐HBc) to discriminate between the two conditions.Methods:  A retrospective and prospective study was conducted in patients first presenting clinically as HBV‐related acute hepatitis to sort out acute self‐limited hepatitis B (ASL‐HB). Then, clinical and laboratory profiles were compared between patients with ASL‐HB and CHB‐AF. Parameters closely associated with ASL‐HB were chosen to evaluate sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive values and negative predictive values for diagnosing AHB.Results:  There were significant differences between patients with ASL‐HB and CHB‐AF in relation to clinical and laboratory aspects, with many outstanding differences in levels of serum HBV‐DNA, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) as well as IgM anti‐HBc. In particular, there was a greater difference between the two groups in low levels of HBeAg (ratio of the optical density of the sample to the cut‐off value [S/CO] <20) than in negativity for HBeAg (42.7% and 13.5% vs 49.3% and 45.9%). 1:10 000 IgM anti‐HBc had a sensitivity and specificity of 96.2% and 93.1%, respectively, for predicting ASL‐HB. Combining it with AFP, HBeAg or HBV‐DNA could improve diagnostic power. A combination of IgM anti‐HBc, HBV‐DNA and HBeAg had a predictive value of 98.9% and a negative predictive value of 100.0%, similar to that of a combination of IgM anti‐HBc and HBV‐DNA. Adding AFP to the combinations of IgM anti‐HBc and HBV‐DNA or HBeAg could further heighten the positive predictive value. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the combination of IgM anti‐HBc, HBV‐DNA and AFP were both 100.0%.Conclusions:  (i) There are significant differences with respect to clinical, biochemical, immunological and virological aspects between ASL‐HB and CHB‐AF. (ii) Of several diagnostic combinations, IgM anti‐HBc jointing HBV‐DNA is most effective and most practicable in distinguishing ASL‐HB from CHB‐AF. (iii) A low HBeAg level is more useful than negative HBeAg in differential diagnosis between ASL‐HB and CHB‐AF. (iv) In those patients with a high level of IgM anti‐HBc, serum AFP level >10× upper reference limit could rule out a probability of ASL‐HB.
Biliary phenotype of hepatocellular carcinoma after preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization
Authors: Nishihara Yunosuke , Aishima Shinichi , Kuroda Yousuke , Iguchi Tomohiro , Taguchi Kenichi , Asayama Yoshiki , Taketomi Akinobu , Kinukawa Naoko , Honda Hiroshi , Tsuneyoshi Masazumi 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is now the mainstay of treatment for non‐curative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and hoped to have chemotherapeutic and ischemic effects; however, the histopathological changes of HCC caused by TACE have not been sufficiently discussed so far. We aimed to assess the morphological and immunohistochemical features of HCC treated with TACE by immunostaining cytokeratin (CK) 7, CK14, CK19 and vimentin, and to correlate these data with observed clinicopathological characteristics.Methods:  Eighty cases of surgically resected HCC with preoperative TACE and 146 cases of HCC resected without TACE as a control were analyzed.Results:  The incidences of intrahepatic metastasis, poorly differentiated histology, multinucleated giant cells, mitotic figures and cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in the TACE group were significantly higher than those in the non‐TACE group. The TACE group showed reactivity for CK7 in 56.3% (45/80) of patients, CK14 in 12.5% (10/80), CK19 in 23.8% (19/80) and vimentin in 6.3% (5/80) of patients. CK19 expression in the TACE group was significantly higher than in the non‐TACE group (P = 0.0423). There was no correlation between immunoreactivity and the number of times TACE was carried out, but the expression of CK19 and vimentin in the massive necrotic group was higher than that in the mild necrotic group (P = 0.0197, P = 0.0229, respectively). Only TACE was an independent determinant of CK19 expression in all cases by multivariate analysis.Conclusions:  These results suggest that preoperative TACE may have an impact on the biliary phenotype of HCC. Some post‐therapeutic HCC patients might develop HCC with a biliary phenotype indicating more aggressive malignancies.
Cutaneous gastric electrical stimulation alters gastric motility in dogs: New option for gastric electrical stimulation?
Authors: Yin Jieyun , Ouyang Hui , Wang Zhishun , Chen Jiande DZ 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBackground and Aim:  We investigated the effects of cutaneous gastric electrical stimulation (CGES) on gastric myoelectrical activity, postprandial antral contractions and gastric tone in dogs.Methods:  CGES was carried out via abdominal surface electrodes over the stomach. After an overnight fast, gastric slow waves were recorded from the serosal electrodes in six dogs at a frequency of 4.4 cycles/min (c.p.m.) or 10 c.p.m. Nine dogs were used for the measurement of postprandial antral contractions. Gastric tone at baseline and during CGES was measured in six of the dogs.Results:  We found that: (i) CGES at 4.4 c.p.m. decreased slow wave frequency (5.1 vs 4.6 c.p.m., P < 0.05) and increased slow wave power (−6.2 vs 2.7 c.p.m., P < 0.05); CGES at 10 c.p.m. increased slow wave frequency (5.1 vs 9.2 dB, P < 0.05) and decreased normal slow waves (85.4% vs 60.0%, P < 0.05); (ii) CGES at 10 c.p.m. significantly suppressed postprandial antral contractions (P < 0.01); (iii) CGES had no effects on gastric tone.Conclusions:  CGES is capable of altering gastric slow waves and inhibiting gastric motility. It may have therapeutic potential for treating eating disorders, such as obesity. However, clinical studies are needed to explore the potential of CGES.
Multi‐center survey regarding the management of anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy for endoscopic procedures in Japan
Authors: Fujishiro Mitsuhiro , Oda Ichiro , Yamamoto Yorimasa , Akiyama Junichi , Ishii Naoki , Kakushima Naomi , Fujiwara Junko , Morishita Shinji , Kawachi Hiroshi , Taniguchi Hirokazu , Gotoda Takuji 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBackground:  A guideline on the management of anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy for endoscopic procedures has been established from Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society in 2005. However, it is unknown whether consensus on the management of these conditions is obtained among endoscopists in daily practice owing to the guideline.Methods:  To study the current practice on the management, survey questionnaires were sent to 13 representative endoscopists of 13 middle or high‐volume hospitals in the Tokyo area.Results:  Responses were obtained from all 13 endoscopists. The results showed that only five (38%) and six (46%) hospitals had their own standard protocols regarding the management for endoscopic biopsy and endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), respectively. There was a wide variation among endoscopists in terms of discontinuation of each agent. When the patients had a major risk of thromboembolism due to discontinuation of anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents, seven (54%) and five (38%) endoscopists, respectively, never took a biopsy. Similar numbers of endoscopists never carried out EMR. During discontinuation of anticoagulants or antiplatelet agents for biopsy and EMR, three (23%) and three (23%) endoscopists, respectively, experienced patients with thromboembolic events.Conclusions:  There is still a wide variation and confusion among endoscopists after establishment of our national guideline. A robust national guideline with clearer description based on the scientific evidence is needed.
Helicobacter pylori eradication may induce de novo, but transient and mild, reflux esophagitis: Prospective endoscopic evaluation
Authors: Take Susumu , Mizuno Motowo , Ishiki Kuniharu , Nagahara Yasuhiro , Yoshida Tomowo , Yokota Kenji , Oguma Keij , Okada Hiroyuki , Yamamoto Kazuhide 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBackgrounds and Aim:  The effect on reflux esophagitis of eradicating Helicobacter pylori is variable and not fully defined. We previously reported that in patients who have reflux esophagitis associated with duodenal ulcer, a significant improvement in the pre‐existing reflux esophagitis occurred after H. pylori was eradicated. In the present study, we asked whether H. pylori eradication leads to de novo development of reflux esophagitis in peptic ulcer patients.Methods:  Prospective post‐eradication evaluations were conducted in 1195 H. pylori‐positive patients with peptic ulcer diseases who were confirmed not to have reflux esophagitis by endoscopic examination before eradication therapy. After eradication therapy, endoscopy and a urea breath test were performed yearly.Results:  A total of 1187 patients were followed for up to 10.0 years (a mean of 3.6 years). Reflux esophagitis developed in 279 of 1000 patients cured of infection and in 26 of 187 patients who had persistent infection (P < 0.0001, Fisher's exact test). The esophagitis was mild (Los Angeles grade A) in most patients, transient in approximately one‐half, and rarely necessitated long‐term medication for the condition. Cure of infection, alcohol consumption, younger age, and high body mass index were identified as significant factors for the risk of developing non‐transient reflux esophagitis.Conclusions:  Cure of H. pylori infection may increase the risk of developing reflux esophagitis in patients with peptic ulcer, but the esophagitis is mostly mild and transient, and long‐term medication is rarely required. Thus, H. pylori eradication therapy need not be withheld for fear of provoking reflux esophagitis.
Review Article: Adiponectin: Its role in kidney disease
Authors: SHEN YVONNE Y , PEAKE PHILIP W , CHARLESWORTH JOHN A 
Published: September 2008

SUMMARYThe multifactorial glycoprotein, adiponectin has demonstrable insulin‐sensitizing, anti‐atherogenic and anti‐inflammatory properties. However, despite the prevalence of both insulin‐resistance and vascular disease in patients with end‐stage kidney disease, levels of adiponectin are high. Adiponectin circulates in different sizes (the high‐molecular‐weight (HMW) isoform is thought to be the most insulin‐sensitizing type) and binds to two receptors, adiponectin receptors (AdipoR) 1 and 2. The adiponectin/receptor system appears to be upregulated in end‐stage kidney disease possibly as an appropriate counter‐regulatory response to the uraemic milieu. In contrast, adiponectin and its HMW isoform, AdipoR mRNA expression on peripheral blood mononuclear cells decrease after kidney transplantation, likely secondary to immunosuppression and/or an improvement in glomerular filtration rate and the uraemic environment. Adiponectin has also been detected in the urine of patients with proteinuric kidney disease. The presence of AdipoR on an immortal cell line of proximal tubular epithelial cells (HK‐2) and an increased amount of intact HMW isoform in the urine of patients with various forms of proteinuria lead us to speculate about the potential role of urinary adiponectin. This review will also discuss the structure and function of adiponectin and its potential relevance to patients with kidney disease and the different factors that may influence the metabolism of this protein in kidney failure.
Ophthalmic imaging today: an ophthalmic photographer's viewpoint – a review
Authors: Bennett Timothy J , Barry Chris J 
Published: September 2008

AbstractOphthalmic imaging has changed dramatically since the 1960s with increasingly complex technologies now available. Arguably, the greatest changes have been the development of the digital camera and the speed, processing power and storage of electronic data. Already, ophthalmic practices in many major institutions overseas have paperless medium storage and electronically generated reporting from all equipment that use a computer interface. It is hard to remember the widespread use of photographic film with its attendant costs, or even to remember the days before optical coherence tomography (OCT). These latest technical improvements in ophthalmic imaging are now standard in large Australian institutions and becoming more widespread in smaller private practices. The technicians that operate and maintain this ever‐increasing plethora of gadgetry have seen their work practices change from the darkroom to the complexities of data‐based imaging and storage. It is a fitting time to examine the contemporary state of ophthalmic imaging and what lies on the horizon as we move towards 2020.
Genetically engineered rice containing larger amounts of nicotianamine to enhance the antihypertensive effect
Authors: Usuda Kanako , Wada Yasuaki , Ishimaru Yasuhiro , Kobayashi Takanori , Takahashi Michiko , Nakanishi Hiromi , Nagato Yasuo , Mori Satoshi , Nishizawa Naoko K. 
Published: September 2008

SummaryNicotianamine (NA), a metal chelator ubiquitous in higher plants, serves as an antihypertensive substance in humans. To engineer a novel antihypertensive rice that contains larger amounts of NA, the barley NA synthase gene, HvNAS1, was introduced into rice via Agrobacterium‐mediated transformation. The introduced HvNAS1 was driven by pGluB‐1, which induces strong gene expression in the endosperm of rice seeds. The NA content in transgenic rice seeds was up to fourfold greater than that in non‐transgenic rice seeds. The Cre/loxP DNA excision (CLX) system was used to remove the selectable marker gene for antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, the transgenic rice was crossed with a cleistogamous mutant to prevent gene transfer via pollen dispersal. These two modifications may minimize public concern with regard to the use of this transgenic rice.
Robustness: confronting lessons from physics and biology
Authors: Lesne Annick 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe term robustness is encountered in very different scientific fields, from engineering and control theory to dynamical systems to biology. The main question addressed herein is whether the notion of robustness and its correlates (stability, resilience, self‐organisation) developed in physics are relevant to biology, or whether specific extensions and novel frameworks are required to account for the robustness properties of living systems. To clarify this issue, the different meanings covered by this unique term are discussed; it is argued that they crucially depend on the kind of perturbations that a robust system should by definition withstand. Possible mechanisms underlying robust behaviours are examined, either encountered in all natural systems (symmetries, conservation laws, dynamic stability) or specific to biological systems (feedbacks and regulatory networks). Special attention is devoted to the (sometimes counterintuitive) interrelations between robustness and noise. A distinction between dynamic selection and natural selection in the establishment of a robust behaviour is underlined. It is finally argued that nested notions of robustness, relevant to different time scales and different levels of organisation, allow one to reconcile the seemingly contradictory requirements for robustness and adaptability in living systems.
The potential for non‐invasive study of mummies: validation of the use of computerized tomography bypost factumdissection and histological examination of a 17th century female Korean mummy
Authors: Lim Do‐Seon , Lee In Sun , Choi Ki‐Ju , Lee Soong Deok , Oh Chang Seok , Kim Yi‐Suk , Bok Gi Dae , Kim Myeung Ju , Yi Yang Su , Lee Eun‐Joo , Shin Dong Hoon 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe socio‐cultural antipathies of some descendants with regard to invasive examinations of age‐old human remains make permission for dissection of Korean mummies of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) difficult to obtain. Overcoming this obstacle necessitated the use of non‐invasive techniques, such as multi‐detector computerized tomography (MDCT) and endoscopic examination, enabling determination of the preservation status of internal organs of mummies without significantly damaging the mummies themselves. However, MDCT alone cannot clearly differentiate specific mummified organs. Therefore, in much the same way as diagnostic radiologists make their MDCT readings on living patients more reliable by means of comparison with accumulated post‐factum data from autopsies or histological studies, examinations of mummies by invasive techniques should not be decried as mere destruction of age‐old human remains. Rather, providing that due permission from descendants and/or other relevant authorities can be obtained, dissection and histological examination should be performed whenever opportunities arise. Therefore, in this study, we compared the radiological data acquired from a 17th century mummy with our dissection results for the same subject. As accumulation of this kind of data could be very crucial for correct interpretation of MDCT findings on Korean mummies, we will perform similar trials on other Korean mummies found in forthcoming days if conditions permit.