bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prognostic factors in Fournier gangrene
Authors: JEONG HEE JONG , PARK SEUNG CHOL , SEO ILL YOUNG , RIM JOUNG SIK 
Published: December 2005

Aims: Fournier gangrene is a rapidly progressive necrotizing fasciitis involving the genitalia. It can be treated with antibiotics and immediate debridement along with treatment of the predisposing condition. We evaluated the prognostic factors, clinical characteristics and treatment of patients of the Fournier gangrene.Methods: The subjects were 40 male patients diagnosed with Fournier gangrene who visited Wonkwang University Hospital, Iksan, Korea between January 1991 and December 2000. Their medical records were reviewed with respect to demographics, medical history, symptoms and signs, physical examination, laboratory data, bacteriology, extent of disease, clinical course, and therapy. The extent of disease was quantified for each patient using a modification of the diagram used to assess the extent of burns.Results: The average age was 55.3 years (range 29.6–92.8). Of the 40 patients, 11 died (36%) and 29 survived (64%). Anorectal infections were the underlying local disease most commonly associated with high mortality (75%). Although the most common associated illness was diabetes, it was not related to the prognosis (death rate: 20.0%). In contrast, the death rate was highest in chronic renal failure, reaching 50%. The mortality rate increased with the duration of symptoms before hospitalization. Patients with <6% surface area involvement were more likely to survive. On admission, serum blood urea nitrogen (s‐BUN) and serum creatinine were significantly higher in the patients who died.Conclusion: Survival is associated significantly with anorectal infection, chronic renal failure, the duration of symptoms before hospitalization, the extent of gangrene, and s‐BUN and creatinine level on admission.
Retrospective study of 101 cases with incidental prostate cancer stages T1a and T1b
Authors: MASUE NARUYASU , DEGUCHI TAKASHI , NAKANO MASAHIRO , EHARA HIDETOSHI , UNO HIROMI , TAKAHASHI YOSHITO 
Published: December 2005

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective study was to clarify the character of incidental prostate cancer, stages T1a and T1b.Methods: We analysed 101 cases of incidental prostate cancer. Incidental prostate cancer was diagnosed on the basis of normal digital rectal examination findings, a serum prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) level of less than 4.0 ng/mL, and no abnormal computed tomography or ultrasonography findings. All patients were treated at Gifu University Hospital or an affiliated hospital during the period January 1992 through December 2001.Results: There were 64 stage T1a cancers and 37 stage T1b cancers. The mean age of patients was 71.3 years (range 51–87 years). The mean serum PSA level was 1.63 ng/mL (range 0.2–4.0 ng/mL). Thirty‐five stage T1a patients (56.5%) and thirty‐two stage T1b patients (86.5%) underwent some type of treatment. Total prostatectomy was performed in eight stage T1a cases and fifteen stage T1b cases. Pathological diagnoses were as follows: pTx (n = 1), pT0 (n = 5) and pT2 (n = 2) for stage T1a cancers, and pT0 (n = 6), pT2 (n = 8) and pT3 (n = 1) for stage T1b cancers. Only one stage T1b cancer recurred.Conclusion: The outcome of patients with incidental prostate cancer was satisfactory; disease recurred in only one case of stage T1b cancer and there were no cases of PSA failure, although the pathological diagnosis in nine of the fifteen stage T1b cases (60.0%) treated with total prostatectomy was pT2 or pT3. Careful monitoring was indicated for stage T1a cancer, and some treatment was necessary for stage T1b cancer.
Utility of extracorporeal traction with nylon thread for easier vesicourethral anastomosis in laparoscopic prostatectomy
Authors: KONDO YUKIHIRO , MATSUZAWA ICHIRO , WATANABE JUN , HAMASAKI TSUTOMU , YOSHIDA KAZUHIRO , NISHIMURA TAIJI 
Published: December 2005

Purpose: Vesicourethral anastomosis in laparoscopic prostatectomy is a very difficult procedure. Our purpose in this study was to evaluate a new method using extracorporeal bladder neck traction with nylon thread for vesicourethral anastomosis during laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.Materials and methods: A total of 10 patients underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy by this technique, and we evaluated anastomosis time, operative time, and postoperative status of vesicourethral anastomosis.Results: It was possible to shorten both anastomosis time and operative time by this procedure, and to obtain a hermetic anastomosis without higher risk of incontinence, stricture, or leakage.Conclusions: Extracorporeal bladder neck traction with nylon thread is a very useful procedure to carry out easier vesicourethral anastomosis, especially for a surgeon's initial experience in laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.
Decrease in parvalbumin‐expressing neurons in the hippocampus and increased phencyclidine‐induced locomotor activity in the rat methylazoxymethanol (MAM) model of schizophrenia
Authors: Penschuck Silke , Flagstad Peter , Didriksen Michael , Leist Marcel , Michael‐Titus Adina T. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractTreatment of rats with methylazoxymethanol (MAM) on gestational day (GD)17 disrupts corticolimbic development in the offspring (MAM‐GD17 rats) and leads to abnormalities in adult MAM‐GD17 rats resembling those described in schizophrenic patients. The underlying changes in specific cortical and limbic cell populations remain to be characterised. In schizophrenia, decreases in inhibitory γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)‐containing interneurons that express the calcium‐binding protein parvalbumin have been reported in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. In this study we analysed the expression of parvalbumin (PV), calretinin (CR) and calbindin (CB) in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of MAM‐GD17 rats. Exposure in utero to MAM led to a significant decrease in the number of neurons expressing PV in the hippocampus, but not the prefrontal cortex. Neurons expressing CR or CB were not affected in either structure. The neurochemical changes in MAM‐GD17 rats were accompagnied by increased hyperlocomotion after administration of phencyclidine (PCP), analogous to the hypersensitivity of schizophrenic patients to PCP. Therefore, the developmental MAM‐GD17 model reproduces key neurochemical and behavioural features that reflect cortical and subcortical dysfunction in schizophrenia, and could be a useful tool in the development of new antipsychotic drugs.
Loss of retinal progenitor cells leads to an increase in the retinal stem cell population in vivo
Authors: Coles Brenda L. K. , Horsford D. Jonathan , McInnes Roderick R. , van der Kooy Derek 
Published: December 2005

AbstractRetinal stem cells [with the potential to produce either neural retinal progenitors or retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) progenitors] exist in the mammalian eye throughout life, and indeed the greatest absolute increase in the stem population occurs postnatally. The stem cells proliferate embryonically and thus may help to build the retina initially, but in postnatal mammals they clearly do not proliferate to regenerate the retina in response to injury. Using Chx10orJ/orJ and Mitfmi/mi mice, with small eye phenotypes due to the reduction of the neural retinal progenitor population and the retinal pigmented epithelial progenitor population, respectively, we now report that the retinal stem cell population, when assayed from the ciliary margin, increases 3–8‐fold in both mutants. These findings suggest that the mammalian retinal stem cell population may be capable of responding to genetically induced signals from the progenitor populations.
LTP in the lateral amygdala during cocaine withdrawal
Authors: Goussakov Ivan , Chartoff Elena H. , Tsvetkov Evgeny , Gerety Lyle P. , Meloni Edward G. , Carlezon William A. , Bolshakov Vadim Y. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractThe amygdala plays key roles in several aspects of addiction to drugs of abuse. This brain structure has been implicated in behaviours that reflect drug reward, drug seeking, and the aversive effects of drug withdrawal. Using a model that involves repeated cocaine injections to approximate ‘binge’ intoxication, we show in rats that during cocaine withdrawal, the impact of rewarding brain stimulation is attenuated, as quantified by alterations in intracranial self‐stimulation (ICSS) behaviour. These behavioural signs of withdrawal are accompanied by enhancements of glutamatergic synaptic transmission within the lateral amygdala (LA) that occlude electrically induced long‐term potentiation (LTP) in tissue slices. Synaptic enhancements during periods of cocaine withdrawal are mechanistically similar to LTP induced with electrical stimulation in control slices, as both forms of synaptic plasticity involve an increase in glutamate release. These results suggest that mechanisms of LTP within the amygdala are recruited during withdrawal from repeated exposure to cocaine. As such, they raise the possibility that the development and maintenance of addictive behaviours may involve, at least in part, mechanisms of synaptic plasticity within specific amygdala circuits.
Striatal modulation of cAMP‐response‐element‐binding protein (CREB) after excitotoxic lesions: implications with neuronal vulnerability in Huntington's disease
Authors: Giampà Carmela , DeMarch Zena , D'Angelo Vincenza , Morello Maria , Martorana Alessandro , Sancesario Giuseppe , Bernardi Giorgio , Fusco Francesca R. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractRecent evidence has shown that the activity of cAMP responsive element‐binding protein (CREB) and of CREB‐binding protein (CBP) is decreased in Huntington's disease (HD) [Steffan et al. (2000)Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 97, 6763–6768; Gines et al. (2003)Hum. Mol. Genet., 12, 497–508; Rouaux et al. (2004) Biochem. Pharmacol., 68, 1157–1164; Sugars et al. (2004)J. Biol. Chem., 279, 4988–4999]. Such decrease is thought to reflect the impaired energy metabolism observed in a HD mouse model, where a decline in striatum cAMP levels has been observed [Gines et al. (2003)Hum. Mol. Genet., 12, 497–508]. Increased levels of CREB have also been demonstrated to exert neuroprotective functions [Lonze & Ginty (2002)Neuron, 35, 605–623; Lonze et al. (2002)Neuron, 34, 371–385]. Our study aimed to investigate the distribution of CREB in the neuronal subpopulations of the striatum in normal rats compared to the HD model of quinolinic acid lesion. Twenty‐five Wistar rats were administered quinolinic acid 100 mm into the right striatum, and killed after 24 h, 48 h, 1 week, 2 weeks, and six weeks, respectively. The contralateral striata were used as controls. Dual‐label immunofluorescence was employed using antibodies against phosphorylated CREB and each of the different neuronal subpopulations markers. Our results show that activated CREB levels decrease progressively in projection neurons and parvalbumin (PARV) and calretinin (CALR) interneurons, whereas such levels remain stable in cholinergic and somatostatin interneurons. Thus, we speculate that the ability of cholinergic interneurons to maintain their levels of CREB after excitotoxic lesions is one of the factors determining their protection in Huntington's disease.
Early vs late intraoperative administration of tropisetron for the prevention of nausea and vomiting in children undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy
Authors: GROSS DOMINIQUE , REUSS SUZANNE , DILLIER CLAUDIA M. , GERBER ANDREAS C. , WEISS MARKUS 
Published: December 2005

SummaryBackground:  Tropisetron is a long‐acting 5HT3 receptor antagonist and was shown to be effective in the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after tonsillectomy. The aim of the study was to compare the effects of early vs late intraoperative administration of tropisetron with regard to prevention of PONV during the first 48 h after extubation.Methods:  In a randomized double‐blind study, we investigated 120 children aged 1–12 years undergoing general anesthesia for tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy. Patients received 0.1 mg·kg−1 tropisetron (maximum 2 mg) immediately after inhalational induction (early) and establishment of intravenous access or after the end of surgery before extubation (late). PONV and the need for antiemetic rescue medications were recorded within the following 48 h. Patient data were analyzed using t‐test, chi‐squared test (significance level of α = 0.05) and Spearman rank correlation test.Results:  The overall incidence of vomiting was 55.3%, with 60% (36/60) in the early treatment and 51.6% (31/60) in the late treatment group (P = 0.46). The observed time course 48 h postoperatively showed no difference regarding the number of vomiting episodes between the two groups and the need for antiemetic rescue medication. The incidence of nausea was higher in the late application group in the first 6 h after extubation (P = 0.001) and higher in the early application group between 24 and 48 h after extubation (P = 0.02). Morphine and the age over 3 years had a strong influence on the incidence of vomiting.Conclusion:  The intraoperative time point (early vs late) of intravenous administration of a single prophylactic dose of tropisetron has no impact on the incidence of PONV during the first 48 h after tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy in children.
Comparison of three sites to check the pulse and count heart rate in hypotensive infants
Authors: SARTI ARMANDO , SAVRON FABIO , RONFANI LUCA , PELIZZO GLORIA , BARBI EGIDIO 
Published: December 2005

SummaryBackground:  Current international guidelines state that heart rate counted at the brachial pulse must be absent or <60 b.min−1 to diagnose cardiac arrest. Some data suggest that this site may not be the best to check cardiac activity. Hypotension is a likely real scenario of the need for chest compressions in infants. We compared the performance of three sites of pulse palpation (brachial, carotid, and femoral) for detecting and counting heartbeat in hypotensive infants.Methods:  In an operating theater of a pediatric teaching hospital in Italy, we studied 40 anesthetized hypotensive infants just prior to surgery, checked by two doctors and two nurses by a cross‐sectional, repeated‐measures study design. Each examiner, blind to the monitoring data of the patient, was asked to find the infant's arterial pulse within 10 s and count heart rate for 15 s. During each examination, the order of the three sites was randomized.Results:  Among successful detections, femoral pulse palpation resulted as the most successful, rapid, and accurate site to detect and count heart rate in hypotensive infants.Conclusions:  Femoral palpation proved to be the best site for detecting heartbeat and counting heart rate in hypotensive infants. These findings challenge the current guidelines. More data are needed, but the current standard of brachial pulse assessment is debatable.
A trial of fresh autologous whole blood to treat dilutional coagulopathy following cardiopulmonary bypass in infants
Authors: FRIESEN ROBERT H. , PERRYMAN KATHY M. , WEIGERS KIM R. , MITCHELL MAX B. , FRIESEN RICHARD M. 
Published: December 2005

SummaryBackground:  Transfusion of fresh whole blood is superior to blood component therapy in correcting coagulopathies in children following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB); however, a supply of fresh homologous whole blood is difficult to maintain. We hypothesized that transfusion of fresh autologous whole blood obtained prior to heparinization for CPB and infused following CPB would be associated with improved coagulation function when compared with standard therapy.Methods:  A total of 32 infants 5–12 kg undergoing noncomplex open cardiac surgery were randomly assigned to either the treatment or control group. In the treatment group, 15 ml·kg−1 of autologous whole blood was collected into a CPDA bag prior to heparinization while 15 ml·kg−1 of 5% albumin was infused intravenously. After reversal of heparin, coagulation tests were drawn in both groups, and the autologous whole blood was infused over 20 min in the treatment group.Results:  The treatment group had greater (P < 0.05) improvement in platelet count, prothrombin time, and fibrinogen than the control group.Conclusions:  We conclude that collection of fresh autologous whole blood prior to heparinization and reinfusion following CPB is associated with greater improvement of coagulation status after CPB in infants.
Sexually responsive vascular tissue of the vulva
Authors: YANG CLAIRE C. , COLD CHRISTOPHER J. , YILMAZ UGUR , MARAVILLA KENNETH R. 
Published: December 2005

OBJECTIVETo better understand the genital changes that occur during the female sexual response, using a gross anatomical and histological study of the vascular tissue of the vulva, supplemented with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).MATERIALS AND METHODSSeven cadaveric vulvectomy specimens were used; they were serially sectioned in coronal, sagittal, and axial planes, and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Selected blocks were stained with elastic Masson's trichrome. Axial MR images were taken of two healthy women with intact sexual functioning using a gadolinium‐based blood‐pool contrast agent. A 1.5 T system was used for all MRI studies, with images taken at baseline and during sexual arousal while viewing an erotic videotape.RESULTSThere are five vascular compartments of the female external genitalia, found in the clitoris, clitoral bulbs, labia minora, urethra, and vestibule/vagina. Of these five compartments, two distinct types of vascular tissue were identified, i.e. erectile and non‐erectile/specialized genital. The erectile tissue compartments had the greatest change in blood volume during sexual arousal, as assessed by MRI.CONCLUSIONSThe vulva contains a substantial amount of vascular tissue. These specialized tissues show a variable, but unified response to sexual arousal.
The functional effects of a c‐kit tyrosine inhibitor on guinea‐pig and human detrusor
Authors: BIERS SUZANNE M. , REYNARD JOHN M. , DOORE TRACYANN , BRADING ALISON F. 
Published: December 2005

OBJECTIVETo describe the effect of a specific c‐kit receptor inhibitor (imatinib mesylate) on human detrusor strips in vitro and guinea‐pig cystometry in vivo, and to show histological data suggesting differences in the distribution of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC)‐like cells in ‘normal’ and overactive human detrusor, as these cells have been identified as possible mediators of spontaneous activity and excitability in bladder smooth muscle.MATERIALS AND METHODSSpecimens of human detrusor were stained immunohistochemically with a c‐kit antibody. Human detrusor strips were mounted in a superfused organ‐bath apparatus, and smooth muscle contraction was evoked with carbachol and electrical field stimulation in the presence and absence of imatinib mesylate. Also, guinea‐pig urodynamic studies were conducted before and after i.v. administration of imatinib mesylate, and changes in bladder variables and spontaneous activity were recorded.RESULTSImatinib mesylate (10−6M) inhibited evoked smooth muscle contraction and spontaneous activity in overactive human detrusor, with less effect on normal human tissue. Imatinib mesylate (10−5M) improved bladder capacity, compliance, voided volumes, urinary frequency, and reduced contraction thresholds and spontaneous activity during guinea‐pig cystometry. c‐kit labelling showed significantly more ICC‐like cells in overactive human detrusor than in normal specimens.CONCLUSIONc‐kit receptor blockers have inhibitory effects on guinea‐pig and overactive human detrusor, possibly via c‐kit receptors on bladder ICC‐like cells. This and the possibility that there are more ICC‐like cells in overactive bladder suggest that the c‐kit receptor may provide a novel target for treating detrusor overactivity.
A single‐nucleotide polymorphism in the XPG gene, and tumour stage, grade, and clinical course in patients with nonmuscle‐invasive neoplasms of the urinary bladder
Authors: SAKANO SHIGERU , KUMAR RAJIV , LARSSON PER , ONELÖV ERIK , ADOLFSSON JAN , STEINECK GUNNAR , HEMMINKI KARI 
Published: December 2005

OBJECTIVETo evaluate whether the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), Asp1104His (G3507C), in the XPG gene affects malignant phenotypes of nonmuscle‐invasive urinary bladder neoplasms (NIBN), by investigating associations between the SNP and clinicopathological variables in patients with NIBN.PATIENTS AND METHODSThe 233 patients constituted newly diagnosed cases of primary NIBN in the Stockholm area. The Asp1104His polymorphism in the XPG gene was genotyped using a polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism technique.RESULTSThe GC + CC genotypes were more frequent in stage pT1 tumours at initial diagnosis than pTa (odds ratio 1.9, 95% confidence interval 1.0–3.5, P = 0.048). The difference was larger in the young group (4.6, 1.9–11.8, P = 0.001). In the young group, the GC + CC genotypes were significantly more frequent in high‐grade than in low‐grade tumours (3.1, 1.5–6.8, P = 0.004) whereas in the older group the genotypes were less frequent in high‐grade tumours (0.3, 0.1–0.7, P = 0.007). The XPG genotypes were not associated with tumour recurrence, stage progression or survival.CONCLUSIONThese results suggest that the SNP in the XPG gene might be related to tumour invasiveness in NIBN.
Permitting Protest: Parsing the Fine Geography of Dissent in America
Authors: MITCHELL DON , STAEHELI LYNN A. 
Published: December 2005

The ability to dissent and to protest is a cornerstone of western liberal democracies. But dissent always threatens to exceed its bounds and to become a threat. The issue facing liberal states, then, has not only been how to incorporate dissent, but also how to shape dissent. In this project, the politics of public space has assumed a central role, as material public spaces have become a primary venue for the shaping of dissent. This article examines the ways in which dissent is incorporated into the liberal democratic state through a case study of protest in Washington, DC. In that city, as in others throughout North America and Western Europe, protest permit systems have evolved as a bureaucratic means to actively shape, if not directly control, public dissent. And yet, even as permit systems are becoming fully regularized, debates over their legitimacy suggest that geographically based permit systems might be inadequate to the task of incorporating dissent. As we indicate, recent protest activity shows just how important geography is to regulating, incorporating and policing dissent, even as those protests expose just how blunt and how fragile a tool that geography is.Pouvoir être en désaccord et le manifester est l’une des pierres angulaires des démocraties libérales occidentales. Pourtant, le désaccord risque toujours de dépasser ses limites pour devenir une menace. La difficulté rencontrée par les États libéraux n’était pas tant d’intégrer la divergence d’opinion que de la façonner. Dans ce projet, la politique d’espace public a joué un rôle central, les espaces publics physiques étant devenus un site primordial pour ce façonnage. Les méthodes d’intégration du désaccord dans l’État démocratique libéral apparaissent à travers l’étude de cas de la protestation à Washington DC. Là, comme dans d’autres villes d’Amérique du Nord et d’Europe de l’Ouest, les systèmes d’autorisation de manifestation ont évolué en un moyen bureaucratique de façonner effectivement, si ce n’est maîtriser directement, le dissentiment public. Pourtant, tandis que ces systèmes se régularisent totalement, la mise en cause de leur légitimité suggère que les régimes d’autorisation de type géographique seraient inappropriés pour intégrer le désaccord. Récemment, l’activité de protestation a démontré l’importance de la géographie pour réguler, intégrer et contrôler le dissentiment, même si ces manifestations révèlent aussi combien la géographie est un outil limité et fragile.