bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of specific rehabilitation for dizziness among patients in primary health care. A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Hansson Eva Ekvall , Ma°nsson Nils-Ove , Ha°kansson Anders 
Published: August 2006

Objective: To investigate whether specific rehabilitation for patients with dizziness has any effect on clinical balance measures and/or the apprehension of dizziness measured with a visual analogue scale (VAS). Design: Randomized controlled trial. Subjects: Forty-two patients, 50 years or older with dizziness of central or agerelated origin, identified in primary health care. Method: The patients were randomized to either an intervention or a control group. The intervention included balance training and vestibular rehabilitation in group sessions twice a week for six weeks. All patients were assessed at baseline, after six weeks and after three months with five different balance measures and visual analogue scale. Results: Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups comparing results at baseline and after six weeks regarding standing one leg eyes closed (SOLEC) on right foot (p 0.011). Results of SOLEC right foot after three months differed significantly between the groups (p -0.033) as did SOLEC left foot (p -0.035). No difference between the groups were found in the Romberg test, figure of eight, walking heel to toe, ‘stops walking when talking’, standing one leg eyes open or estimating the experience of dizziness measured with visual analogue scale. Conclusions: Balance training and vestibular rehabilitation improved the ability to stand on one leg with eyes closed in persons with dizziness aged 50 years or over.
Acute stroke unit care combined with early supported discharge. Long-term effects on quality of life. A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Fjærtoft Hild , Indredavik Bent , Johnsen Roar , Lydersen Stian 
Published: August 2006

Objectives: The aim of the present trial was to compare the effects of an extended stroke unit service (ESUS) with the effects of an ordinary stroke unit service (OSUS) on long-term quality of life (QoL). Design: One year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial with 320 acute stroke patients allocated either to OSUS (160 patients) or ESUS (160 patients) with early supported discharge and follow-up by a mobile team. The intervention was a mobile team and close co-operation with the primary health care service. All assessments were blinded. Main outcome measure: Primary outcome of QoL in this paper was measured by the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) at 52 weeks. Secondary outcomes measured at 52 weeks were differences between the groups measured by the Frenchay Activity Index, Montgomery-A ° sberg Depression Scale, Mini-Mental State Score and the Caregivers Strain Index. Results: The ESUS group had a significantly better QoL (mean score 78.9) assessed by global NHP after one year than the OSUS group (mean score 75.2) (p -0.048). There were no significant differences between the groups in the secondary outcomes, but a trend in favour of ESUS. Caregivers Strain Index showed a mean score of 23.3 in the ESUS group and 22.6 in the OSUS group (p -0.089). Conclusion: It seems that stroke unit treatment combined with early supported discharge in addition to reducing the length of hospital stay can improve long-term QoL. However, similar trials are necessary to confirm the benefit of this type of service.
Electrocardiogram Differentiation of Benign Early Repolarization Versus Acute Myocardial Infarction by Emergency Physicians and Cardiologists
Authors: Turnipseed Samuel D. , Bair Aaron E. , Kirk J. Douglas , Diercks Deborah B. , Tabar Poroshat , Amsterdam Ezra A. 
Published: August 2006

Abstract
Objectives:
ST‐segment elevation (STE) related to benign early repolarization (BER), a common normal variant, can be difficult to distinguish from acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The authors compared the electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretations of these two entities by emergency physicians (EPs) and cardiologists.
Methods:
Twenty‐five cases (13 BER, 12 AMI) of patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain were identified. Criteria for BER required four of the following: 1) widespread STE (precordial greater than limb leads), 2) J‐point elevation, 3) concavity of initial up‐sloping portion of ST segment, 4) notching or irregular contour of J point, and 5) prominent, concordant T waves. Additional BER criteria were 1) stable ECG pattern, 2) negative cardiac injury markers, and 3) normal cardiac stress test or angiography. AMI criteria were 1) regional STE, 2) positive cardiac injury markers, and 3) identification of culprit coronary artery by angiography in less than eight hours of presentation. The 25 ECGs were distributed to 12 EPs and 12 cardiologists (four in academic medicine, four in community practice, and four in community academics [health maintenance organization] in each physician group). The physicians were informed of the patients' age, gender, and race, and they then interpreted the ECGs as BER or AMI. Undercalls (AMI misdiagnosed as BER) and overcalls (BER misdiagnosed as AMI) were calculated for each physician group.
Results:
Cardiologists correctly interpreted 90% of ECGs, and EPs correctly interpreted 81% of ECGs. The proportion of undercalls (missed AMI/total AMI) was 2.8% for cardiologists (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.09% to 5.5%) compared with 9.7% for EPs (95% CI = 4.8% to 14.6%) (p = 0.02). The proportion of overcalls (missed BER/total BER) was 17.3% for cardiologists (95% CI = 11.4% to 23.3%) versus 27.6% for EPs (95% CI = 20.6% to 34.6%) (p = 0.03). The mean number of years in practice was 19.8 for cardiologists (95% CI = 19 to 20.5) and 11 years for EPs (95% CI = 10.5 to 12.0) (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Although correct interpretation was high in both groups, cardiologists, who had significantly more years of practice, had fewer misinterpretations than EPs in distinguishing BER from AMI electrocardiographically.
A Single Ventilator for Multiple Simulated Patients to Meet Disaster Surge
Authors: Neyman Greg , Irvin Charlene Babcock 
Published: August 2006

ObjectivesTo determine if a ventilator available in an emergency department could quickly be modified to provide ventilation for four adults simultaneously.MethodsUsing lung simulators, readily available plastic tubing, and ventilators (840 Series Ventilator; Puritan‐Bennett), human lung simulators were added in parallel until the ventilator was ventilating the equivalent of four adults. Data collected included peak pressure, positive end‐expiratory pressure, total tidal volume, and total minute ventilation. Any obvious asymmetry in the delivery of gas to the lung simulators was also documented. The ventilator was run for almost 12 consecutive hours (5.5 hours of pressure control and more than six hours of volume control).ResultsUsing readily available plastic tubing set up to minimize dead space volume, the four lung simulators were easily ventilated for 12 hours using one ventilator. In pressure control (set at 25 mm H2O), the mean tidal volume was 1,884 mL (approximately 471 mL/lung simulator) with an average minute ventilation of 30.2 L/min (or 7.5 L/min/lung simulator). In volume control (set at 2 L), the mean peak pressure was 28 cm H2O and the minute ventilation was 32.5 L/min total (8.1 L/min/lung simulator).ConclusionsA single ventilator may be quickly modified to ventilate four simulated adults for a limited time. The volumes delivered in this simulation should be able to sustain four 70‐kg individuals. While further study is necessary, this pilot study suggests significant potential for the expanded use of a single ventilator during cases of disaster surge involving multiple casualties with respiratory failure.
Age determination in individual wild-caughtDrosophila serratausing pteridine concentration
Authors: Robson Simon K. A. , Vickers Mathew , Blows Mark W. , Crozier Ross H. 
Published: August 2006

SUMMARYFluorescence spectrophotometry can reliably detect levels of the pteridine 6-biopterin in the heads of individual Drosophila serrata Malloch 1927. Pteridine content in both laboratory and field captured flies is typically a level of magnitude higher than the minimally detectable level(meanlab=0.54 units, meanfield=0.44 units, minimum detectable level=0.01 units) and can be used to predict individual age in laboratory populations with high certainty (r2=57%). Laboratory studies of individuals of known age (from 1 to 48 days old)indicate that while pteridine level increases linearly with age, they also increase in a linear manner with rearing temperature and ambient light levels,but are independent of sex. As expected, the longevity of laboratory-reared males (at least 48 days) is higher than the range of predicted ages of wild-caught males based on individual pteridine levels (40 days). However, the predictive equation based on pteridine level alone suggested that a number of wild-caught males were less than 0 days old, and the 95% confidence limits for these predictions based on the inverse regression are broad. The age of the oldest wild-caught male is predicted to fall within the range of 2 to 50 days. The significant effects of temperature and light intensity determined in the laboratory study (effect sizes ω2=14.3 and 20.4%,respectively) suggests that the calibration of the age prediction equation for field populations would be significantly improved when combined with fine-scaled studies of habitat temperature and light conditions. The ability to determine relative age in individual wild-caught D. serratapresents great opportunities for a variety of evolutionary studies on the dynamics of natural populations.
Unraveling the mechanical properties of composite silk threads spun by cribellate orb-weaving spiders
Authors: Blackledge Todd A. , Hayashi Cheryl Y. 
Published: August 2006

SUMMARYOrb-web weaving spiders depend upon the mechanical performance of capture threads to absorb the energy of flying prey. Most orb-weavers spin wet capture threads with core fibers of flagelliform silk. These threads are extremely compliant and extensible due to the folding of their constituent proteins into molecular nanosprings and hydration by a surrounding coating of aqueous glue. In contrast, other orb-weavers use cribellate capture threads, which are composite structures consisting of core fibers of pseudoflagelliform silk surrounded by a matrix of fine dry cribellar fibrils. Based on phylogenetic evidence, cribellate capture threads predate the use of viscid capture threads. To better characterize how pseudoflagelliform and cribellar fibrils function, we investigated the mechanical performance of cribellate capture threads for three genera of spiders (Deinopis, Hyptiotes and Uloborus). These taxa spin very diverse web architectures, ranging from complete orbs to evolutionarily reduced triangle webs and cast nets. We found that the pseudoflagelliform core fibers of these webs were stiffer and stronger, but also less extensible, than flagelliform silk. However,cribellate capture threads achieved overall high extensibilities because the surrounding cribellar fibrils contributed substantially to the tensile performance of threads long after the core pseudoflagelliform fibers ruptured. In the case of Deinopis capture threads, up to 90% of the total work performed could be attributed to these fibrils. These findings yield insight into the evolutionary transition from cribellate to viscid capture threads.
Effect of parental age and associated size on fecundity, growth and survival in the yellow seahorseHippocampus kuda
Authors: Dzyuba Borys , Van Look Katrien J. W. , Cliffe Alex , Koldewey Heather J. , Holt William V. 
Published: August 2006

SUMMARYSeahorses, together with the pipefishes (Family Syngnathidae), are the only vertebrates in which embryonic development takes place within a specialised body compartment, the brood pouch, of the male instead of the female. Embryos develop in close association with the brood pouch epithelium in a manner that bears some resemblance to embryo-placental relationships in mammals. We have explored the hypothesis that parental body size and age should affect offspring postnatal growth and survival if brood pouch quality impacts upon prenatal embryonic nutrition or respiration. Using an aquarium population of the yellow seahorse, Hippocampus kuda, we show here that large parents produce offspring whose initial postnatal growth rates (weeks one to three) were significantly higher than those of the offspring of younger and smaller parents. Whereas 90% of offspring from the larger parents survived for the duration of the study (7 weeks), less that 50% of offspring from smaller parents survived for the same period. For the offspring of large parents,growth rates from individual males were negatively correlated with the number of offspring in the cohort (r=-0.82; P&lt;0.05); this was not the case for offspring from small parents (r=0.048; P&gt;0.9). Observations of embryos within the pouch suggested that when relatively few embryos are present they may attach to functionally advantageous sites and thus gain physiological support during gestation. These results suggest that male body size, and pouch size and function, may influence the future fitness and survival of their offspring.
Identification of two cationic amino acid transporters required for nutritional signaling during mosquito reproduction
Authors: Attardo Geoffrey M. , Hansen Immo A. , Shiao Shin-Hong , Raikhel Alexander S. 
Published: August 2006

SUMMARY
The defining characteristic of anautogenous mosquitoes is their requirement for a blood meal to initiate reproduction. The need for blood drives the association of vector and host, and is the primary reason why anautogenous mosquitoes are effective disease vectors. During mosquito vitellogenesis, a key process in reproduction, yolk protein precursor (YPP) gene expression is activated specifically in the fat body, the insect analogue of the vertebrate liver. We have demonstrated that blood meal derived amino acids (AAs) activate YPP genes via the target of rapamycin (TOR)-signal transduction pathway. Here we show, by stimulating fat bodies with balanced AA solutions lacking individual AAs, that specific cationic and branched AAs are essential for activation of the vitellogenin (vg) gene, the major YPP gene. Treatment of fat bodies with AA uptake inhibitors results in a strong inhibition of AA-induced vg gene expression proving that an active transport mechanism is necessary to transduce the AA signal. We identified two cationic AA transporters (CATs) in the fat body of Aedes aegyptifemales - Aa slimfast and iCAT2. RNAi knockdown of slimfast and iCAT2 results in a strong decrease in the response to AAs by the vg gene similar to that seen due to TOR inhibition. These data demonstrate that active uptake of specific AAs plays a key role in nutritional signaling during the onset of vitellogenic gene expression in mosquitoes and it is mediated by two cationic AA transporters.
Signalling pathways involved in hypertonicity- and acidification-induced activation of Na+/H+ exchange in trout hepatocytes
Authors: Ahmed Khaled H. , Pelster Bernd , Krumschnabel Gerhard 
Published: August 2006

SUMMARYIn trout hepatocytes, hypertonicity and cytosolic acidification are known to stimulate Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) activity, which contributes to recovery of cell volume and intracellular pH (pHi),respectively. The present study investigated the signalling mechanisms underlying NHE activation under these conditions. Exposing trout hepatocytes to cariporide, a specific inhibitor of NHE-1, decreased baseline pHi,completely blocked the hypertonicity-induced increase of pHi and reduced the hypertonicity-induced proton secretion by 80%. Changing extracellular pH (pHe)above and below normal values, and allowing cells to adjust pHi accordingly,significantly delayed alkalinization during hypertonic exposure, whereas following an acid load an enhanced pHi recovery with increasing pHe was seen. Chelating Ca2+, and thereby preventing the hypertonicity-induced increase in intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i), significantly diminished hypertonic elevation of pHi, indicating that Ca2+signalling might be involved in NHE activation. A reduction in alkalinization and proton secretion was also observed in the presence of the protein kinase A(PKA) inhibitor H-89 or the calmodulin (CaM) inhibitor calmidazolium. A complete inhibition of hypertonic- and acidification-induced changes of pHi concurrent with an increase in hypertonically induced proton efflux was seen with the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor chelerythrine. Recovery of pHi following sodium propionate addition was reduced by more than 60% in the presence of cariporide, was sensitive to PKA inhibition, and tended to be reduced by CaM inhibition. In conclusion, we showed that NHE-1 is the main acid secretion mechanism during hypertonicity and recovery following acid loading. In addition, Ca2+-, PKA- and CaM-dependent pathways are involved in NHE-1 activation for recovery of cell volume and pHi. On the other hand, PKC appeared to have an impact on NHE-independent pathways affecting intracellular acid-base homeostasis.
A critical understanding of the fractal model of metabolic scaling
Authors: Chaui-Berlinck José Guilherme 
Published: August 2006

SUMMARYThe exponent of the scaling of metabolic rate with body mass has been the subject of debate for more than a century. The argument is at two levels, one concerning questions of empirical support for the exponent and the other, how to derive it theoretically. At this second level, the exponent is usually treated as the outcome of an underlying physical burden and approached as the search for a natural law emerging within energetic and geometric constraints. Recently, a model relying on fractal geometry was proposed as a general explanation for the phenomenon. In the present study, a reanalysis of the fractal model is performed to verify its validity. All the conditions that allow for the connection between the geometric proposition and the allometric exponent are evaluated, as well as the energy loss minimization procedure put forward in the model. It is demonstrated that the minimization procedure is mathematically incorrect and ill-posed. Also, it is shown that none of the connecting conditions are fulfilled. Therefore, it is concluded that the fractal model lacks self-consistency and correct statement: it relies on strong assumptions of homogeneity in morpho-physiological features among organisms instead of demonstrating them, as claimed by its authors. It is proposed that empiricists and theoreticians should rather evaluate the frameworks for addressing metabolic scaling phenomena.
Flight control in the hawkmothManduca sexta: the inverse problem of hovering
Authors: Hedrick T. L. , Daniel T. L. 
Published: August 2006

SUMMARYThe inverse problem of hovering flight, that is, the range of wing movements appropriate for sustained flight at a fixed position and orientation, was examined by developing a simulation of the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. Inverse problems arise when one is seeking the parameters that are required to achieve a specified model outcome. In contrast, forward problems explore the outcomes given a specified set of input parameters. The simulation was coupled to a microgenetic algorithm that found specific sequences of wing and body motions, encoded by ten independent kinematic parameters, capable of generating the fixed body position and orientation characteristic of hovering flight. Additionally, we explored the consequences of restricting the number of free kinematic parameters and used this information to assess the importance to flight control of individual parameters and various combinations of them.Output from the simulated moth was compared to kinematic recordings of hovering flight in real hawkmoths; the real and simulated moths performed similarly with respect to their range of variation in position and orientation. The simulated moth also used average wingbeat kinematics(amplitude, stroke plane orientation, etc) similar to those of the real moths. However, many different subsets of the available kinematic were sufficient for hovering flight and available kinematic data from real moths does not include sufficient detail to assess which, if any, of these was consistent with the real moth.This general result, the multiplicity of possible hovering kinematics,shows that the means by which Manduca sexta actually maintains position and orientation may have considerable freedom and therefore may be influenced by many other factors beyond the physical and aerodynamic requirements of hovering flight.
Visual stimulation of saccades in magnetically tetheredDrosophila
Authors: Bender John A. , Dickinson Michael H. 
Published: August 2006

SUMMARYFlying fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, perform `body saccades', in which they change heading by about 90° in roughly 70 ms. In free flight, visual expansion can evoke saccades, and saccade-like turns are triggered by similar stimuli in tethered flies. However, because the fictive turns in rigidly tethered flies follow a much longer time course, the extent to which these two behaviors share a common neural basis is unknown. A key difference between tethered and free flight conditions is the presence of additional sensory cues in the latter, which might serve to modify the time course of the saccade motor program. To study the role of sensory feedback in saccades, we have developed a new preparation in which a fly is tethered to a fine steel pin that is aligned within a vertically oriented magnetic field,allowing it to rotate freely around its yaw axis. In this experimental paradigm, flies perform rapid turns averaging 35° in 80 ms, similar to the kinematics of free flight saccades. Our results indicate that tethered and free flight saccades share a common neural basis, but that the lack of appropriate feedback signals distorts the behavior performed by rigidly fixed flies. Using our new paradigm, we also investigated the features of visual stimuli that elicit saccades. Our data suggest that saccades are triggered when expanding objects reach a critical threshold size, but that their timing depends little on the precise time course of expansion. These results are consistent with expansion detection circuits studied in other insects, but do not exclude other models based on the integration of local movement detectors.