bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Role of salvage cytoreductive surgery in the treatment of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer after platinum‐based chemotherapy
Authors: Matsumoto Aya , Higuchi Toshihiro , Yura Shigeo , Mandai Masaki , Kariya Masatoshi , Takakura Kenji , Fujii Shingo 
Published: November 2006

AbstractObjectives:  The role of cytoreductive surgery, which is well established in the primary treatment for epithelial ovarian cancer, is controversial in recurrent disease. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical benefit of salvage surgical cytoreduction in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer after platinum‐based chemotherapy.Methods:  We conducted a retrospective analysis of 46 patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer treated at our department between 1988 and 2003. Twenty‐three patients underwent salvage cytoreductive surgery (cytoreductive group), and the other 23 patients were treated without surgery (control group).Results:  Patients in cytoreductive group had a median survival of 41.7 months after recurrence, which was significantly longer than control group (18.8 months; P < 0.01). The duration of stay at home and the period oral intake was preserved were significantly longer in the cytoreductive group. In the cytoreductive group, survival was influenced by the residual disease after surgery (residual tumor diameter, <2 cm vs >2 cm; median survival, 50 months vs 35.2 months; P < 0.05). However, the number of recurrent sites (solitary vs multiple) and the lengths of treatment‐free intervals after primary treatment (<6 months vs >6 months) showed no significant influence on survival.Conclusions:  The application of cytoreductive surgery might improve the prognosis of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer if the tumor was resectable. Preserved prognoses of platinum‐resistant disease with short treatment‐free interval demonstrated in this study suggest that the concept of maximum cytoreduction might be introduced in the treatment of recurrent disease in the future.
Corneal Graft and Cataract Surgery in Patients with Moderate to Severe Intellectual Disability
Authors: Cooke C. A. , Frazer D. G. , Jackson A. J. 
Published: November 2006

Background Intraocular surgery in patients with intellectual disability can be hazardous. Our aim was to determine the outcomes of surgery on all such patients seen in a consultant‐led service, and to assess the overall risks and benefits.Materials and Methods A retrospective chart review of patients with moderate to severe intellectual disability, operated upon over a 9‐year period was undertaken. Thirty‐four eyes of 21 patients were operated upon and procedures included four penetrating keratoplasties, five combined penetrating keratoplasties with cataract extractions, and 25 cataract extractions alone.Results Most patients achieved a beneficial outcome, noted by their carers, such as better mobility and social interaction. Three patients had major post‐operative complications, all associated with corneal grafts. Only seven patients were, within the context of conventional busy outpatient clinics, deemed capable of co‐operating with a formal visual acuity assessment either pre‐ or post‐operatively.Conclusions Cataract and corneal graft surgery in individuals with intellectual disability is beneficial, and referral to an ophthalmologist should be considered as intellectual disability need not necessarily be a contraindication for surgery. The authors recommend that these patients should be assessed in a dedicated ophthalmology clinic setting for the intellectually disabled, where there should be better facilities for appropriate visual assessment tailored to the patients’ abilities.
Service Use and Costs of Support 12 Years after Leaving Hospital
Authors: Hallam Angela , Beecham Jennifer , Knapp Martin , Carpenter John , Cambridge Paul , Forrester‐Jones Rachel , Tate Alison , Coolen‐Schrijner Pauline , Wooff David 
Published: November 2006

Background  There have been major changes in the provision and organization of services for people with intellectual disabilities in England over the last 30 years, particularly deinstitutionalization and the development of the mixed economy of care. The experiences of the people who participated in the Care in the Community Demonstration Programme in the mid‐1980s provide evidence of the immediate and longer‐term effects of the reprovision policy.Methods  Cross‐sectional and longitudinal evidence was gathered on service use and costs for over 250 people 12 years after they left long‐stay hospitals for community living arrangements. Comparisons were made with the situation in hospital, and 1 and 5 years after leaving. Relationships between costs after 12 years and individual characteristics assessed before people left hospital were explored.Results  Community care at the 12‐year follow‐up remained more expensive than hospital‐based support, although the average cost was lower than at either of the 1‐ or 5‐year community follow‐up points. Service users were living in a wide variety of accommodation settings. Management responsibility fell on National Health Service (NHS) trusts, local authorities, voluntary agencies, or to private organizations or individuals. After standardizing for users’ skills and abilities, costs in minimum support accommodation were significantly lower than those in residential and nursing homes, costs in staffed group homes significantly higher, and costs in hostels slightly lower. When looking at differences between individuals, no relationship was found between costs and outcomes although, overall, people were better off in the community than they had been when in hospital.Conclusions  Reprovision planning for hospital and other institutional modes of care requires major and long‐term commitment of resources. Quality of life improvements can be achieved at a cost little different in the long‐run from that for hospital care. The link between needs and costs (reflecting the services intended to meet those needs) would be made stronger through the individualization of care.
A panel of microsatellite markers to study sperm precedence patterns in the emperor dragonfly Anax imperator (Odonata: Anisoptera)
Authors: HADRYS HEIKE , TIMM JANNE , STREIT BRUNO , GIERE SANDRA 
Published: November 2006

AbstractOdonates were the first group of organisms where sperm competition and last male sperm precedence have been identified. With the development of 10 microsatellites for the emperor dragonfly Anax imperator, the function and priority patterns of the multiple sperm storage organs of females can be studied and compared between species in natural populations. In addition, two microsatellite loci developed for the sister species Anax parthenope, are also highly polymorphic in A. imperator. For the presented 12 microsatellite loci, the number of alleles per locus ranged from two to 24. Observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.07 to 0.88.
Ultrasound and clinical predictors for Caesarean delivery after labour induction at term
Authors: TAN Peng Chiong , SUGUNA Subramaniam , VALLIKKANNU Narayanan , HASSAN Jamiyah 
Published: November 2006

AbstractObjective:  To assess the relationship of ultrasound assessment for amniotic fluid, fetal weight, cervical length, cervical funneling and clinical factors on the risk of Caesarean delivery after labour induction at term.Methods:  On hundred and fifty‐two women scheduled for labour induction at term agreed to participate. Sonography was performed to obtain fetal biometry, amniotic fluid index and cervical length and to detect funneling at the internal cervical os. The sonographic findings were concealed. Study women received standard care during labour induction.Results:  On univariate analysis using Fisher's exact test, parity, cervical length and Bishop score were associated with Caesarean delivery. Following multivariable logistic regression analysis, only nulliparity (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 5.2 (95% CI 2.2–12.2): P < 0.001) and transvaginal ultrasound‐determined cervical length of more than 20 mm (AOR 2.8 (95% CI 1.0–7.4): P = 0.04) were independent predictors of Caesarean delivery in labour induction. Maternal age, maternal height, gestational age, indication for labour induction, amniotic fluid index, cervical funneling and ultrasound‐estimated fetal weight did not predict Caesarean delivery.Conclusion:  In women who had undergone labour induction at term with a singleton fetus, nulliparity and cervical length of more than 20 mm on transvaginal sonography were independent predictors of Caesarean delivery. This information is helpful for pre‐induction counselling.
Fractional Brownian motion and the halo mass function
Authors: Pan Jun 
Published: November 2006

Abstract
Fractional Brownian motion with index α is introduced to construct the fractional excursion set model. A new mass function with single parameter α is derived within the formalism, of which the Press–Schechter (PS) mass function is a special case when α= 1/2. Although the new mass function is computed assuming spherical collapse, comparison with the Sheth–Tormen (ST) fitting function shows that the new mass function of α≈ 0.435 agrees with the ST function remarkably well in the high-mass regime, while it predicts more low-mass haloes than the ST function but less than the PS function. The index α is the Hurst exponent, the exact value of which in the context of structure formation is modulated by properties of the smoothing window function and the shape of the power spectrum. It is conjectured that the halo merging rate and merging history in the fractional set theory might be imprinted with the interplay between haloes at small scales and their large-scale environment. Also, the mass function in the high-mass regime can be a good tool to detect the non-Gaussianity of the initial density fluctuation.
Role of recombinant activated factor VII as hemostatic support in orthopedic surgery
Authors: INGERSLEV JØRGEN , SØRENSEN BENNY 
Published: November 2006

SUMMARYThe purpose of this overview is to collect available literature on the use of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in conjunction with orthopedic surgery, and to describe and discuss the efficacy of rFVIIa in such procedures. The review deals with surgical procedures carried out in patients with hemophilia complicated by the presence of inhibitors (alloantibodies) against the missing coagulation factor as well as procedures carried out in persons with no pre‐existing coagulation disorder. One randomized controlled clinical trial has been performed in hemophilia patients with inhibitors, but no other controlled studies were identified. Data collected show that rFVIIa is highly efficacious in the prevention and management of surgical bleeds in most hemophilia patients with inhibitors when frequent bolus injections of 100 µg/kg body weight of rFVIIa was adopted, while data from cases managed with a continuous infusion technology were less clear. In particular, the optimal infusion rate of rFVIIa needs clarification. In orthopedic patients with no known pre‐existing coagulation disorder, data gathered during the review show that rFVIIa reduces the blood loss in severe blunt trauma, while the effect on bleeding by rFVIIa in elective orthopedic procedures needs further clarification.
The use of recombinant activated factor VII in pediatric coagulation disorders
Authors: HANRAHAN JEFFERY , MATHEW PRASAD 
Published: November 2006

SUMMARYRecombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) is one of the mainstays of treatment in hemophilia patients with inhibitors to factor VIII or IX, and has been a boon to such patients in the management of acute clinical bleeding situations, as prophylaxis for surgical procedures and also in the treatment of life‐ or limb‐threatening bleeding. Given its efficacy in achieving hemostasis in hemophilia, rFVIIa has found its way in the management of non‐hemophilia‐associated bleeding situations, including use in children, where it has been found to be efficacious in a variety of bleeding conditions associated with congenital factor VII deficiency, qualitative platelet defects, in profuse bleeding associated with liver disorders, coagulopathy, and in bleeding triggered by surgery or trauma. However, randomized trials in children using rFVIIa are lacking, and post‐marketing surveillance for adverse effects in the off‐label uses in children is needed. To capture such off‐label uses in children, a registry has been set up through the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
Growth Phase-Dependent Effect of Clindamycin on Production of Exoproteins by
Streptococcus pyogenes
Authors: Sawai Jun , Hasegawa Tadao , Kamimura Takuya , Okamoto Akira , Ohmori Daisuke , Nosaka Nobuyuki , Yamada Keiko , Torii Keizo , Ohta Michio 
Published: November 2006

ABSTRACT

The administration of high-dose clindamycin plus benzylpenicillin has been recommended for the treatment of streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome caused by
Streptococcus pyogenes
, and clindamycin has been found to be more effective than beta-lactams in retrospective analyses of human cases. Although therapeutic doses of clindamycin have also been shown to be effective against experimental infections and clindamycin has great efficacy against the production of bacterial exoproteins, we recently reported that the level of production of some exoproteins was unchanged or even increased by a subinhibitory dose of clindamycin when it is added upon the initiation of bacterial culture and the treated cultures were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. In this study we further examined the effect of clindamycin on the production of exoproteins by adding it to
Streptococcus pyogenes
cultures during various growth phases. We found that the levels of production of some proteins, NAD
+
glycohydrolase, streptolysin O, and streptococcal inhibitor of complement, were increased when clindamycin was added at early-log-phase growth, which was the result that was seen when clindamycin was added at the beginning of culture. However, clindamycin inhibited the production of most types of proteins when it was administered to
Streptococcus pyogenes
cultures at mid-log-phase growth. In
csrS
- or
mga
-knockout bacterial strains, the increase in exoproteins seen in parental strains was considerably inhibited. Our study indicates that the in vitro effect of clindamycin on the production of exoproteins greatly depends on the growth phase of bacteria and some regulatory factors of
Streptococcus pyogenes
that are involved in this phenomenon.
Activities of Antimicrobial Peptides and Synergy with Enrofloxacin against
Mycoplasma pulmonis
Authors: Fassi Fehri Lina , Wróblewski Henri , Blanchard Alain 
Published: November 2006

ABSTRACT

We showed in a previous study that associations of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are key components of the innate immune systems of all living species, with the fluoroquinolone enrofloxacin can successfully cure HeLa cell cultures of
Mycoplasma fermentans
and
M. hyorhinis
contamination. In the present work, the in vitro susceptibility of
M. pulmonis
, a murine pathogen, to enrofloxacin and four AMPs (alamethicin, globomycin, gramicidin S, and surfactin) was investigated, with special reference to synergistic associations and the effect of the mycoplasma cell concentration. Enrofloxacin and globomycin displayed the lowest MICs (0.4 μM), followed by gramicidin S (3.12 μM), alamethicin (6.25 μM), and surfactin (25 μM). When the mycoplasma cell concentration was varied from 10
4
to 10
8
CFU/ml, the MICs of enrofloxacin and globomycin increased while those of the three other molecules remained essentially constant. The minimal bactericidal concentration of enrofloxacin (0.8 μM) was also lower than those of the peptides (6.25 to 100 μM), but the latter killed the mycoplasma cells much faster than enrofloxacin (2 h versus 1 day). The use of the AMPs in association with enrofloxacin revealed synergistic effects with alamethicin and surfactin. Interestingly, the mycoplasma-killing activities of the two combinations enrofloxacin (MIC/2) plus alamethicin (MIC/4) and enrofloxacin (MIC/2) plus surfactin (MIC/16) were about 2 orders of magnitude higher than those of the three molecules used separately. These results support the interest devoted to AMPs as a novel class of antimicrobial agents and pinpoint their ability to potentiate the activities of conventional antibiotics, such as fluoroquinolones.
Proteolytic Stability of Insecticidal Toxins Expressed in Recombinant Bacilli
Authors: Yang Yankun , Wang Liwei , Gaviria Adelaida , Yuan Zhiming , Berry Colin 
Published: November 2006

ABSTRACT

The production of the vegetative mosquitocidal toxin Mtx1 from
Bacillus sphaericus
was redirected to the sporulation phase by replacement of its weak, native promoter with the strong sporulation promoter of the
bin
genes. Recombinant bacilli developed toxicity during early sporulation, but this declined rapidly in later stages, indicating the proteolytic instability of the toxin. Inhibition studies indicated the action of a serine proteinase, and similar degradation was also seen with the purified
B. sphaericus
enzyme sphericase. Following the identification of the initial cleavage site involved in this degradation, mutant Mtx1 proteins were expressed in an attempt to overcome destructive cleavage while remaining capable of proteolytic activation. However, the apparently broad specificity of sphericase seems to make this impossible. The stability of a further vegetative toxin, Mtx2, was also found to be low when it was exposed to sphericase or conditioned medium. Random mutation of the receptor binding loops of the
Bacillus thuringiensis
Cry1Aa toxin did, in contrast, allow production of significant levels of spore-associated protein in the form of parasporal crystals. The exploitation of vegetative toxins may, therefore, be greatly limited by their susceptibility to proteinases produced by the host bacteria, whereas the sequestration of sporulation-associated toxins into crystals may make them more amenable to use in strain improvement.
Cross-Species GacA-Controlled Induction of Antibiosis in Pseudomonads
Authors: Dubuis Christophe , Haas Dieter 
Published: November 2006

ABSTRACT

Signal extracts prepared from culture supernatants of
Pseudomonas fluorescens
CHA0 and
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
PAO stimulated GacA-dependent expression of small RNAs and hence of antibiotic compounds in both hosts.
Pseudomonas corrugata
LMG2172 and
P. fluorescens
SBW25 also produced signal molecules stimulating GacA-controlled antibiotic synthesis in strain CHA0, illustrating a novel,
N
-acyl-homoserine lactone-independent type of interspecies communication.
Cryptococcal Lipid Metabolism: Phospholipase B1 Is Implicated in Transcellular Metabolism of Macrophage-Derived Lipids
Authors: Wright Lesley C. , Santangelo Rosemary M. , Ganendren Ranjini , Payne Jackie , Djordjevic Julianne T. , Sorrell Tania C. 
Published: November 2006

ABSTRACT

Cryptococci survive and replicate within macrophages and can use exogenous arachidonic acid for the production of eicosanoids. Phospholipase B1 (PLB1) has a putative, but uninvestigated, role in these processes. We have shown that uptake and esterification of radiolabeled arachidonic, palmitic, and oleic acids by the
Cryptococcus neoformans
var.
grubii
H99 wild-type strain and its PLB1 deletion mutant strain (the
Δplb1
strain) are independent of PLB1, except under hyperosmolar stress. Similarly, PLB1 was required for metabolism of 1-palmitoyl lysophosphatidylcholine (LysoPC), which is toxic to eukaryotic cell membranes, under hyperosmolar conditions. During both logarithmic and stationary phases of growth, the physiologically relevant phospholipids, dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine, were taken up and metabolized via PLB1. Exogenous DPPC did not enhance growth in the presence of glucose as a carbon source but could support it for at least 24 h in glucose-free medium. Detoxification of LysoPC by reacylation occurred in both the H99 wild-type and the
Δplb1
strains in the presence of glucose, but PLB1 was required when LysoPC was the sole carbon source. This indicates that both energy-independent (via PLB1) and energy-dependent transacylation pathways are active in cryptococci. Phospholipase A
1
activity was identified by PLB1-independent degradation of 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoyl phosphatidylcholine, but the arachidonoyl LysoPC formed was not detoxified by reacylation. Using the human macrophage-like cell line THP-1, we demonstrated the PLB1-dependent incorporation of macrophage-derived arachidonic acid into cryptococcal lipids during cryptococcus-phagocyte interaction. This pool of arachidonate can be sequestered for eicosanoid production by the fungus and/or suppression of host phagocytic activity, thus diminishing the immune response.
Recruitment of Macrophages and Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes in Lyme Carditis
Authors: Montgomery Ruth R. , Booth Carmen J. , Wang Xiaomei , Blaho Victoria A. , Malawista Stephen E. , Brown Charles R. 
Published: November 2006

ABSTRACTLyme arthritis, caused by the spirocheteBorrelia burgdorferi, can be recurrent or prolonged, whereas Lyme carditis is mostly nonrecurring. A prominent difference between arthritis and carditis is the differential representation of phagocytes in these lesions: polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) are more prevalent in the joint, and macrophages predominate in the heart lesion. We have previously shown differential efficiency ofB. burgdorfericlearance by PMN and macrophages, and we now investigate whether these functional differences at the cellular level may contribute to the observed differences in organ-specific pathogenesis. When we infected mice lacking the neutrophil chemokine receptor (CXCR2−/−mice) with spirochetes, we detected fewer PMN in joints and less-severe arthritis. Here we have investigated the effects of the absence of the macrophage chemokine receptor CCR2 on the development and resolution of Lyme carditis in resistant (C57BL/6J [B6]) and sensitive (C3H/HeJ [C3H]) strains of mice. In B6 CCR2−/−mice, although inflammation in hearts is mild, we detected an increased burden ofB. burgdorfericompared to that in wild-type (WT) mice, suggesting reduced clearance in the absence of macrophages. In contrast, C3H CCR2−/−mice have severe inflammation but a decreasedB. burgdorferiburden compared to that in WT C3H mice both at peak disease and during resolution. Histopathologic examination of infected hearts revealed that infected C3H CCR2−/−animals have an increased presence of PMN, suggesting compensatory mechanisms ofB. burgdorfericlearance in the hearts of infected C3H CCR2−/−mice. The more efficient clearance ofB. burgdorferifrom hearts by CCR2−/−versus WT C3H mice suggests a natural defect in the recruitment or function of macrophages in C3H mice, which may contribute to the sensitivity of this strain toB. burgdorferiinfection.