bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Validation Study of Artificial Neural Network Models for Prediction of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Carriage
Authors: Hsu Cheng-Chuan , Lin Yusen E. , Chen Yao-Shen , Liu Yung-Ching , Muder Robert R. 
Published: June 2008

Objective.Use of active surveillance cultures for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) for all patients admitted to the intensive care unit has been shown to reduce nosocomial transmission. However, the cost-effectiveness and the utility of implementing use of active surveillance cultures nationwide remain controversial. We sought to develop an artificial neural network (ANN) model that would predict the likelihood of MRSA colonization.Setting.Two acute care hospitals, one in Pittsburgh (hospital A) and one in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (hospital B).Methods.Nasal cultures were performed for all patients admitted to the hospitals. A total of 46 potential risk factors in hospital A and 86 potential risk factors in hospital B associated with MRSA colonization were assessed. Culture results were obtained; 75% of the data were used for training our ANN model, and the remaining 25% were used for validating our ANN model. The culture results were the “gold standard” for determining the accuracy of the model predictions.Results.The ANN model predictions were accurate 95.2% of the time for hospital A (sensitivity, 94.3%; specificity, 96.0%) and 94.2% of the time for hospital B (sensitivity, 96.6%; specificity, 91.8%), integrating all potential risk factors into the model. Only 17 potential risk factors were needed for the hospital A ANN model (accuracy, 90.9%; sensitivity, 98.5%; specificity, 83.4%), and only 20 potential risk factors were needed for the hospital B ANN model (accuracy, 90.5%; sensitivity, 96.6%; specificity, 84.3%), if the minimal risk factor method was used. Cross-validation analysis showed an average accuracy of 85.6% (sensitivity, 91.3%; specificity, 80.0%).Conclusion.Our ANN model can be used to predict with an accuracy of more than 90% which patients carry MRSA. The false-negative rates were significantly lower than the false-positive rates in the ANN predictions, which can serve as a safety buffer in case of patient misclassification.
Detection of Methicillin-ResistantStaphylococcus aureusand Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci on the Gowns and Gloves of Healthcare Workers
Authors: Snyder Graham M. , Thorn Kerri A. , Furuno Jon P. , Perencevich Eli N. , Roghmann Mary-Claire , Strauss Sandra M. , Netzer Giora , Harris Anthony D. 
Published: June 2008

Objective.To assess the rate of and the risk factors for the detection of methicillin-resistantS. aureus(MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) on the protective gowns and gloves of healthcare workers (HCWs).Methods.We observed the interactions between HCWs and patients during routine clinical activities in a 29-bed medical intensive care unit at the University of Maryland Medical Center, an urban tertiary care academic hospital. Samples for culture were obtained from HCWs' hands prior to their entering a patient's room, from HCWs' disposable gowns and gloves after they completed patient care activities, and from HCWs' hands immediately after they removed their protective gowns and gloves.Results.Of 137 HCWs caring for patients colonized or infected with MRSA and/or VRE, 24 (17.5%; 95% confidence interval, 11.6%–24.4%) acquired the organism on their gloves, gown, or both. HCW contact with the endotracheal tube or tracheostomy site of a patient (P< .05), HCW contact with the head and/or neck of a patient (P< .05), and HCW presence in the room of a patient with a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and/or jejunostomy tube (P< .05) were associated with an increased risk of acquiring these organisms.Conclusions.The gloves and gowns of HCWs frequently become contaminated with MRSA and VRE during the routine care of patients, and particularly during care of the patient's respiratory tract and any associated indwelling devices. As part of a larger infection control strategy, including high-compliance hand disinfection, they likely provide a useful barrier to transmitting antibiotic-resistant organisms among patients in an inpatient setting.
Detection of endogenous DNA adducts, O6‐carboxymethyl‐2′‐deoxyguanosine and 3‐ethanesulfonic acid‐2′‐deoxycytidine, in the rat stomach after duodenal reflux
Authors: Terasaki Masaru , Totsuka Yukari , Nishimura Koichi , Mukaisho Ken‐ichi , Chen Kuan‐Hao , Hattori Takanori , Takamura‐Enya Takeji , Sugimura Takashi , Wakabayashi Keiji 
Published: June 2008

The endogenous DNA adducts O6‐carboxymethyl‐deoxyguanosine (O6‐CM‐dG) and 3‐ethanesulfonic acid‐deoxycytidine (3‐ESA‐dC) are produced from N‐nitroso bile acid conjugates, such as N‐nitrosoglycocholic acid (NO‐GCA) and N‐nitrosotaurocholic acid (NO‐TCA), respectively. Formation of these DNA adducts in vivo was here analyzed by 32P‐postlabeling in the glandular stomach of rats subjected to duodenal content reflux surgery. In this model, all duodenal contents, including bile acid conjugates, flow back from the jejunum into the gastric corpus. The levels of O6‐CM‐dG found at 4 and 8 weeks after surgery were 40.9 ± 9.4 and 56.3 ± 3.2 per 108 nucleotides, respectively, whereas the sham operation groups had values of 5.8 ± 2.3 and 5.9 ± 0.5 per 108 nucleotides. Moreover, adduct spots corresponding to 3‐ESA‐dC were detected in both duodenal reflux and sham operation groups and levels in the duodenal reflux groups were around four‐fold elevated at 11.2 ± 1.0 and 8.9 ± 1.0 per 108 nucleotides after 4 and 8 weeks, respectively. When the duodenal reflux animals were treated with a nitrite trapping agent, thiazolidine‐ 4‐carboxylic acid (thioproline, TPRO), the levels of O6‐CM‐dG and 3‐ESA‐dC were reduced to the same levels as in the sham operation animals. These observations suggest that NO‐TCA and NO‐GCA are formed by nitrosation of glycocholic acid and taurocholic acid, respectively, and these nitroso compounds produce DNA adducts in the glandular stomach of rats subjected to duodenal content reflux surgery. (Cancer Sci 2008; 99: 1741–1746)
Are adolescents chronically sleep‐deprived? An investigation of sleep habits of adolescents in the Southwest of Germany
Authors: Loessl B. , Valerius G. , Kopasz M. , Hornyak M. , Riemann D. , Voderholzer U. 
Published: June 2008

AbstractBackground  Adolescent sleep receives increasing attention. Several studies have shown that adolescents generally do not sleep enough. This survey assessed adolescents’ sleep patterns, and results were compared with sleep logs.Methods  A total of 818 students aged 12–18 attending three different school types were asked to complete a questionnaire, adapted from the ‘School Sleep Habits Survey’, and filled in a sleep protocol over 2 weeks. Information on sleep patterns and demographic data were obtained additionally.Results  A total of 601 students completed the questionnaire (i.e. 73.5% return rate), 55.1% female and 44.9% male. Average sleep duration during the week amounted to 8.04 ± 0.89 h and 9.51 ± 1.65 h on weekends. Sleep duration times on school days decreased from an average 8.64 ± 0.83 h for the age category 12–13 years to 7.83 ± 0.72 h for students above 16 years. 91.6% of all students slept less than 9.2 h per night during the week. Data from the 153 returned sleep logs showed even lower sleep times (7.75 ± 0.82 h for school nights).Conclusions  The main hypothesis that students sleep on average considerably less than the recommended 9 h during weekdays was confirmed. Bedtimes changed throughout the week with the latest on Friday and Saturday nights and the least sleep around midweek. There were no significant group differences regarding school type and environment (rural vs. urban). Interestingly, the majority reported only little daytime sleepiness and no impaired performance. Results regarding the consequences of chronic sleep deprivation in the literature are inconclusive. The impact on physiological parameters, especially metabolic functions, requires further investigations.
Depletion of RNase HI activity in Escherichia coli lacking DNA topoisomerase I leads to defects in DNA supercoiling and segregation
Authors: Usongo Valentine , Nolent Flora , Sanscartier Patrick , Tanguay Cynthia , Broccoli Sonia , Baaklini Imad , Drlica Karl , Drolet Marc 
Published: June 2008

SummaryGyrase‐mediated hypernegative supercoiling is one manifestation of R‐loop formation, a phenomenon that is normally suppressed by topoisomerase I (topA) in Escherichia coli. Overproduction of RNase HI (rnhA), an enzyme that removes the RNA moiety of R‐loops, prevents hypernegative supercoiling and allows growth of topA null mutants. We previously showed that topA and rnhA null mutations are incompatible. We now report that such mutants were viable when RNase HI or topoisomerase III was expressed from a plasmid‐borne gene. Surprisingly, DNA of topA null mutants became relaxed rather than hypernegatively supercoiled following depletion of RNase HI activity. This result failed to correlate with the cellular concentration of gyrase or topoisomerase IV (the other relaxing enzyme in the cell) or with transcription‐induced supercoiling. Rather, intracellular DNA relaxation in the absence of RNase HI was related to inhibition of gyrase activity both in vivo and in extracts. Cells lacking topA and rnhA also exhibited properties consistent with segregation defects. Overproduction of topoisomerase III, an enzyme that can carry out DNA decatenation, corrected the segregation defects without restoring supercoiling activity. Collectively these data reveal (i) the existence of a cellular response to loss of RNase HI that counters the supercoiling activity of gyrase, and (ii) supercoiling‐independent segregation defects due to loss of RNase HI from topA null mutants. Thus RNase HI plays a more central role in DNA topology than previously thought.
Does magnifying endoscopy improve the diagnosis of erosive esophagitis?
Authors: Amano Yuji , Yamashita Haruhiro , Koshino Kenji , Ohshima Tadayuki , Miwa Hiroto , Iwakiri Ryuichi , Fujimoto Kazuma , Manabe Noriaki , Haruma Ken , Kinoshita Yoshikazu 
Published: June 2008

AbstractBackground and Aims:  Low‐grade erosive esophagitis (i.e. Los Angeles grade A) is the most predominant type of esophagitis in Japan. It is unclear whether all the mucosal breaks detected by conventional endoscopy are indicative of esophageal mucosal erosion. Hospital‐based, cross‐sectional, cross‐over, observational study was assigned to investigate the value of magnifying endoscopy for diagnosis of erosive esophagitis.Methods:  From August to December 2006, 178 consecutive patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms were enrolled at three university hospitals and one national medical center in western Japan. Before endoscopy, all participants were requested to answer questionnaires concerning their symptoms. Experienced endoscopists performed an endoscopic diagnosis of each patient first with a conventional standard view and then with a magnifying view. Endoscopic diagnostic concordance between conventional and magnifying endoscopic view for erosive esophagitis was calculated. Relationship between a variety of symptoms and erosive esophagitis was also evaluated.Results:  Erosive esophagitis was identified using conventional and magnifying endoscopy in 14.6% and 17.4% of patients, respectively. Eleven false‐negative and six false‐positive diagnoses using conventional endoscopy occurred among the 178 enrolled patients. The weighted kappa value of diagnostic concordance for erosive esophagitis between the two endoscopic views was 0.76. The prevalence of erosive esophagitis in patients with reflux‐, dysmotility‐, and ulcer‐like symptoms was 20.7%, 24.1%, and 15.2%, respectively.Conclusions:  Magnifying endoscopy did not significantly improve the diagnostic sensitivity of erosive esophagitis over non‐magnifying, conventional endoscopy. Erosive esophagitis was frequently identified in patients that did not have reflux symptoms.
Cause and effect relationship of malnutrition with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis: Prospective case–control study
Authors: Midha Shallu , Singh Namrata , Sachdev Vikas , Tandon Rakesh Kumar , Joshi Yogendra Kumar , Garg Pramod Kumar 
Published: June 2008

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Patients with chronic pancreatitis are often malnourished. The role of malnutrition in the pathogenesis of chronic pancreatitis is unclear. The aim of the present article was to study prospectively the cause and effect relationship of malnutrition with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis in a case–control study.Methods:  Consecutive patients with chronic pancreatitis underwent anthropometry, nutritional and dietary assessments. For dietary assessment, food frequency questionnaire and 24‐hour dietary recall methods were used. Primary outcome measure was cause and effect relationship of malnutrition with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis.Results:  Of 201 patients with chronic pancreatitis, 120 had idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (mean age 29.60 years, 74 males) who formed the study group. None of the patients consumed cassava. The nutritional status and dietary intake of the patients before the onset of chronic pancreatitis were comparable with those of controls with 20.6% of patients and 22.5% of controls being malnourished (body mass index [BMI] < 18.5). After the onset of chronic pancreatitis, 56.5% of patients lost weight and significantly more patients became malnourished compared with controls (45.8% vs 22.5%; P < 0.001). The causes of weight loss were diabetes, higher calories from proteins, and pseudocyst.Conclusion:  Malnutrition was not a cause of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis and weight loss occurred as an effect of chronic pancreatitis. Cassava was not found to be a cause of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis.
Beliefs about the genetics of suicide in Canadian students: Cross‐language validation of the Beliefs in the Inheritance of Risk Factors for Suicide Scale (BIRFSS)
Authors: Voracek Martin , Fisher Maryanne L. , Loibl Lisa Mariella , Tan Hasan , Sonneck Gernot 
Published: June 2008

Aim:  The genetics underlying suicidal behavior is becoming increasingly recognized and investigated. Convergent evidence towards this end has emerged from numerous research strategies (adoption, family, genome‐scan, geographic, immigrant, molecular genetic, surname, and twin studies of suicide). The topic‐related mental‐health literacy (i.e. knowledge and beliefs) of professionals and laypersons, however, may lag behind this research progress, and data on this question are scant. The aim of the present study was therefore to further validate, in a cross‐language setting, the novel 22‐item Beliefs in the Inheritance of Risk Factors for Suicide Scale (BIRFSS), originally developed in German, which assesses beliefs about the genetics of suicide.Methods:  Data were collected from a mixed student sample from Canada (n = 288; 70.5% females, 58.0% studying psychology as a major or minor).Results:  Factor analysis of BIRFSS items yielded a dominant first factor. Internal scale consistency was, however, only middling (lower than previously observed in Austrian samples). Although the structure of beliefs about the genetics of suicide seems to be complex, the Canadian sample's item‐performance indicators corresponded strongly to those obtained in Austrian samples, thus indicating cross‐sample and cross‐language robustness of item statistics.Conclusion:  For the Canadian sample, BIRFSS scores were positively related to overall and specific knowledge about suicide and general beliefs about genetic determinism (convergent validity), whereas they were not (or only trivially) related to the Big Five personality dimensions, lay theories of suicide, locus of control, social desirability, religiosity, and political orientation (discriminant validity), and to several key demographic variables. Supplemental findings, study limitations, application possibilities, user recommendations, and avenues for further inquiry are discussed.
Anterior cingulate cortex volume reduction in patients with panic disorder
Authors: Asami Takeshi , Hayano Fumi , Nakamura Motoaki , Yamasue Hidenori , Uehara Kumi , Otsuka Tatsui , Roppongi Tomohide , Nihashi Namiko , Inoue Tomio , Hirayasu Yoshio 
Published: June 2008

Aim:  Recent neuroimaging studies have suggested that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has an important role in the pathology of panic disorder. Despite numerous functional neuroimaging studies that have elucidated the strong relationship between functional abnormalities of the ACC and panic disorder and its symptoms and response to emotional tasks associated with panic disorder, there has been no study showing volumetric changes of the ACC or its subregions.Methods:  To clarify the structural abnormalities of ACC and its subregions, the combination of region of interest (ROI) and optimized voxel‐based morphometry (VBM) methods were performed on 26 patients with panic disorder, and 26 age and sex‐matched healthy subjects. In the ROI study, ACC was divided into four subregions: dorsal, rostral, subcallosal and subgenual ACC.Results:  The results of the manually traced ROI volume comparison showed significant volume reduction in the right dorsal ACC. VBM also showed a volume reduction in the right dorsal as well as a part of the rostral ACC as a compound mass.Conclusions:  Both manual ROI tracing and optimized VBM suggest a subregion‐specific pattern of ACC volume deficit in panic disorder. In addition to functional abnormalities, these results suggest that structural abnormalities of the ACC contribute to the pathophysiology of panic disorder.
Giant adrenal cyst in a pregnant woman: A case report
Authors: Balci Osman , Kuscu Esra 
Published: June 2008

AbstractIn this case report, a rare example of a pregnant woman with a huge adrenal cyst is reported. No other published reports were found to have an outcome like the present case. A 27‐year‐old primiparous patient admitted to our clinic with complaints of gaining weight, abdominal distension and dyspnea. On physical examination abdominal distension was prominent. She weighed 78 kg. At abdominal ultrasonography, there was an 11 week, single live fetus within the uterine cavity. There was also an approximately 30 x 40 cm sized cyst. The origin of the cyst could not be detected by ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging. It was suspected to originate from the ovaries. Tumor markers and other laboratory tests were normal. Laparotomy was planned. During laparotomy, it was observed that there was a huge, thin capsulated cystic lesion filling the abdomen. The uterus and bilateral ovaries were normal. Eleven liters of yellow‐colored fluid was drained from the cyst. At exploration, the cyst capsule was originating from a right adrenal lodge and was extirpated. The postoperative weight of the patient decreased to 67 kg. On the third postoperative day, the patient was discharged without any problems. The pathology result of the patient was reported as an epithelial adrenal cyst. The patient did not have any problems on antenatal follow up and had a cesarean delivery at term for cephalopelvic disproportion. A 3500 g, healthy female fetus was delivered.
Lethal endometrial recurrence after cone biopsy for microinvasive cervical adenocarcinoma
Authors: Singh Piksi , Scurry James , Proietto Anthony 
Published: June 2008

AbstractThe follow up of microinvasive cervical adenocarcinoma treated conservatively is difficult because recurrences are often out of range and Pap smears difficult to interpret. A 30‐year‐old woman with a microinvasive adenocarcinoma with clear, but narrow, margins on cone biopsy was treated conservatively. After 2 years of close follow up in which no recurrence was detected, dilatation and curettage performed for infertility revealed adenocarcinoma invading secretory endometrium. The carcinoma resembled her cervical adenocarcinoma histologically, immunohistochemically and was HPV DNA 16 positive. A radical hysterectomy showed carcinoma involving the entire endometrium and the uppermost 3 mm of the endocervical canal, but sparing the remainder of the cervix. The patient died of disseminated carcinoma at the age of 34 years. The location of the recurrence was the reason it escaped detection for so long despite close follow up.
Hypothalamus, sexual arousal and psychosexual identity in human males: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study
Authors: Brunetti M. , Babiloni C. , Ferretti A. , Del Gratta C. , Merla A. , Olivetti Belardinelli M. , Romani G. L. 
Published: June 2008

AbstractIn a recent functional magnetic resonance imaging study, a complex neural circuit was shown to be involved in human males during sexual arousal [A. Ferretti et al. (2005) Neuroimage, 26, 1086]. At group level, there was a specific correlation between penile erection and activations in anterior cingulate, insula, amygdala, hypothalamus and secondary somatosensory regions. However, it is well known that there are remarkable inter‐individual differences in the psychological view and attitude to sex of human males. Therefore, a crucial issue is the relationship among cerebral responses, sexual arousal and psychosexual identity at individual level. To address this issue, 18 healthy male subjects were recruited. Their deep sexual identity (DSI) was assessed following the construct revalidation by M. Olivetti Belardinelli [(1994) Sci. Contrib. Gen. Psychol., 11, 131] of the Franck drawing completion test, a projective test providing, according to this revalidation, quantitative scores on ‘accordance/non‐accordance’ between self‐reported and psychological sexual identity. Cerebral activity was evaluated by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging during hard‐core erotic movies and sport movies. Results showed a statistically significant positive correlation between the blood oxygen level‐dependent signal in bilateral hypothalamus and the Franck drawing completion test score during erotic movies. The higher the blood oxygen level‐dependent activation in bilateral hypothalamus, the higher the male DSI profile. These results suggest that, in male subjects, inter‐individual differences in the DSI are strongly correlated with blood flow to the bilateral hypothalamus, a dimorphic brain region deeply implicated in instinctual drives including reproduction.
Action of dexmedetomidine on the substantia gelatinosa neurons of the rat spinal cord
Authors: Ishii Hideaki , Kohno Tatsuro , Yamakura Tomohiro , Ikoma Miho , Baba Hiroshi 
Published: June 2008

AbstractDexmedetomidine is a highly specific, potent and selective α2‐adrenoceptor agonist. Although intrathecal and epidural administration of dexmedetomidine has been found to produce analgesia, whether this analgesia results from an effect on spinal cord substantia gelatinosa (SG) neurons remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of dexmedetomidine on postsynaptic transmission in SG neurons of rat spinal cord slices using the whole‐cell patch‐clamp technique. In 92% of the SG neurons examined (n = 84), bath‐applied dexmedetomidine induced outward currents at −70 mV in a concentration‐dependent manner, with the value of effective concentration producing a half‐maximal response (0.62 μm). The outward currents induced by dexmedetomidine were suppressed by the α2‐adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine, but not by prazosin, an α1‐, α2B‐ and α2C‐adrenoceptor antagonist. Moreover, the dexmedetomidine‐induced currents were partially suppressed by the α2C‐adrenoceptor antagonist JP‐1302, while simultaneous application of JP‐1302 and the α2A‐adrenoceptor antagonist BRL44408 abolished the current completely. The action of dexmedetomidine was mimicked by the α2A‐adrenoceptor agonist oxymetazoline. Plots of the current–voltage relationship revealed a reversal potential at around −86 mV. Dexmedetomidine‐induced currents were blocked by the addition of GDP‐β‐S [guanosine‐5′‐O‐(2‐thiodiphosphate)] or Cs+to the pipette solution. These findings suggest that dexmedetomidine hyperpolarizes the membrane potentials of SG neurons by G‐protein‐mediated activation of K+channels through α2A‐ and α2C‐adrenoceptors. This action of dexmedetomidine might contribute, at least in part, to its antinociceptive action in the spinal cord.