bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Outcome of Patients With Low Ejection Fraction Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
Authors: Hillis Graham S. , Zehr Kenton J. , Williams Amy W. , Schaff Hartzell V. , Orzulak Thomas A. , Daly Richard C. , Mullany Charles J. , Rodeheffer Richard J. , Oh Jae K. 
Published: July 2006

Background—There are few data regarding medium-term outcome of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with severe left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction, particularly in the modern era, and even less assessing preoperative factors that might identify patients at highest risk.Methods and Results—Three hundred seventy-nine consecutive patients with LV ejection fraction ≤35%, who underwent isolated first CABG between 1995 and 1999 were studied. Potential preoperative and perioperative predictors of outcome were recorded and patients followed-up for a median of 3.8 years. The primary study end-point was all-cause mortality. The 30-day, 1-year, and 3-year survival rates were 94.5%, 88%, and 81%, respectively. The independent predictors of mortality were preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (hazard ratio [HR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97 to 0.99 per mL/min/1.73m2;P<0.001) and age (HR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.06 per year;P=0.005).Conclusions—Patients with significant LV systolic dysfunction undergoing isolated CABG using contemporary techniques have a good medium-term survival. Renal dysfunction is the strongest independent predictor of mortality.
Bottom‐Up Life‐Cycle:Assessment of Product Consumption in Belgium
Authors: Jansen Bart , Thollier Karine 
Published: July 2006

SummaryThe present study shows the results and methodology applied to the study of the identification of priority product categories for Belgian product and environmental policy. The main goal of the study was to gather insight into the consumption of products in Belgium and their related life‐cycle environmental impacts. The conclusions of this project on the product categories with major environmental contributions can be used to start up working groups involving stakeholders and initiate detailed product studies on the impact reduction potential that could be achieved by means of implementing product policy measures. Several ways of assessing product category environmental impacts and the effects of policy measures have been developed; ‘bottom‐up’ or ‘market‐life‐cycle assessment’ is one of these, and we tried this approach for the situation in Belgium. Simplified life‐cycle assessment (LCA) studies were conducted for representative average products within each function‐based product category and the results were multiplied with market statistics. Using this approach, we found that building construction, building occupancy, and personal transport are among the major categories for Belgium. The major drawbacks of this approach are the system‐level limitations and the existence of a broad spectrum of nonharmonized methods and datasets from which a sound preliminary selection had to be made. Consequently, the retrieval and selection of data was very time consuming and due to this we had to accept some major limitations in the study design. Nevertheless, the study has contributed to the development of a methodology for market‐LCA and elements that can be picked up in currently ongoing and future work. The study concludes that to improve the feasibility and acceptance of this type of study there is a need for the development of a harmonized methodology on market‐LCA, policy‐relevant impact indicators as well as a harmonized and stakeholder‐agreed‐upon LCA databases.
The Importance of Imports for Household Environmental Impacts
Authors: Peters Glen P. , Hertwich Edgar G. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryA promising way to reduce environmental impacts of consumer expenditure is through the encouragement of more sustainable consumption patterns. Consumers cause environmental impacts both directly, such as by fuel use in personal cars, and indirectly, by paying for the production of consumables. With increased international trade, the indirect environmental impacts are difficult to determine because a portion of the emissions occurs in different geographical regions. Many previous studies have unrealistically assumed that imports are produced using domestic production technology. For countries with diverging technology and energy mixes the likely errors are significant. This study applies a methodology that explicitly includes technology differences to the case of Norwegian households. It is found that a significant portion of pollution is embodied in Norwegian household imports. Further, a disproportionately large amount of pollution is embodied in imports from developing countries. Overall, as in previous studies, we find that mobility and food are most important in terms of household environmental impacts. By analyzing the imports in more detail we find that for some sectors the majority of emissions occur in foreign regions; in particular, this is true for food, business services, clothing, chemicals, furniture, cars, agriculture, textiles, and most manufactured products.
The β-glucan receptor dectin-1 functions together with TLR2 to mediate macrophage activation by mycobacteria
Authors: Yadav Mahesh , Schorey Jeffrey S. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractPattern recognition receptors (PRRs) play an essential role in a macrophage's response to mycobacterial infections. However, how these receptors work in concert to promote this macrophage response remains unclear. In this study, we used bone marrow–derived macrophages isolated from mannose receptor (MR), complement receptor 3 (CR3), MyD88, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and TLR2 knockout mice to examine the significance of these receptors in mediating a macrophage's response to a mycobacterial infection. We determined that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production in macrophage infected with Mycobacterium avium or M smegmatis is dependent on myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and TLR2 but not TLR4, MR, or CR3. Interestingly, the TLR2-mediated production of TNF-α by macrophages infected with M smegmatis required the β-glucan receptor dectin-1. A similar requirement for dectin-1 in TNF-α production was observed for macrophages infected with M bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), M phlei, M avium 2151-rough, and M tuberculosis H37Ra. The limited production of TNF-α by virulent M avium 724 and M tuberculosis H37Rv was not dependent on dectin-1. Furthermore, dectin-1 facilitated interleukin-6 (IL-6), RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T expressed and secreted), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) production by mycobacteria-infected macrophages. These are the first results to establish a significant role for dectin-1, in cooperation with TLR2, to activate a macrophage's proinflammatory response to a mycobacterial infection.
ProtRepeatsDB: a database of amino acid repeats in genomes
Authors: Kalita Mridul K , Ramasamy Gowthaman , Duraisamy Sekhar , Chauhan Virander S , Gupta Dinesh 
Published: July 2006

Abstract

Background
Genome wide and cross species comparisons of amino acid repeats is an intriguing problem in biology mainly due to the highly polymorphic nature and diverse functions of amino acid repeats. Innate protein repeats constitute vital functional and structural regions in proteins. Repeats are of great consequence in evolution of proteins, as evident from analysis of repeats in different organisms. In the post genomic era, availability of protein sequences encoded in different genomes provides a unique opportunity to perform large scale comparative studies of amino acid repeats. ProtRepeatsDB http://bioinfo.icgeb.res.in/repeats/ is a relational database of perfect and mismatch repeats, access to which is designed as a resource and collection of tools for detection and cross species comparisons of different types of amino acid repeats.

Description
ProtRepeatsDB (v1.2) consists of perfect as well as mismatch amino acid repeats in the protein sequences of 141 organisms, the genomes of which are now available. The web interface of ProtRepeatsDB consists of different tools to perform repeat s; based on protein IDs, organism name, repeat sequences, and keywords as in FASTA headers, size, frequency, gene ontology (GO) annotation IDs and regular expressions (REGEXP) describing repeats. These tools also allow formulation of a variety of simple, complex and logical queries to facilitate mining and large-scale cross-species comparisons of amino acid repeats. In addition to this, the database also contains sequence analysis tools to determine repeats in user input sequences.

Conclusion
ProtRepeatsDB is a multi-organism database of different types of amino acid repeats present in proteins. It integrates useful tools to perform genome wide queries for rapid screening and identification of amino acid repeats and facilitates comparative and evolutionary studies of the repeats. The database is useful for identification of species or organism specific repeat markers, interspecies variations and polymorphism.
Expression of target and reference genes in Daphnia magna exposed to ibuprofen
Authors: Heckmann Lars-Henrik , Connon Richard , Hutchinson Thomas H , Maund Steve J , Sibly Richard M , Callaghan Amanda 
Published: July 2006

Abstract

Background
Transcriptomic techniques are now being applied in ecotoxicology and toxicology to measure the impact of stressors and develop understanding of mechanisms of toxicity. Microarray technology in particular offers the potential to measure thousands of gene responses simultaneously. However, it is important that microarrays responses should be validated, at least initially, using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR). The accurate measurement of target gene expression requires normalisation to an invariant internal control e.g., total RNA or reference genes. Reference genes are preferable, as they control for variation inherent in the cDNA synthesis and PCR. However, reference gene expression can vary between tissues and experimental conditions, which makes it crucial to validate them prior to application.

Results
We evaluated 10 candidate reference genes for QPCR in Daphnia magna following a 24 h exposure to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) ibuprofen (IB) at 0, 20, 40 and 80 mg IB l-1. Six of the 10 candidates appeared suitable for use as reference genes. As a robust approach, we used a combination normalisation factor (NF), calculated using the geNorm application, based on the geometric mean of three selected reference genes: glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, ubiquitin conjugating enzyme and actin. The effects of normalisation are illustrated using as target gene leukotriene B4 12-hydroxydehydrogenase (Ltb4dh), which was up-regulated following 24 h exposure to 63–81 mg IB l-1.

Conclusions
As anticipated, use of the NF clarified the response of Ltb4dh in daphnids exposed to sublethal levels of ibuprofen. Our findings emphasise the importance in toxicogenomics of finding and applying invariant internal QPCR control(s) relevant to the study conditions.
Incidence trend and risk factors for campylobacterinfections in humans in Norway
Authors: Sandberg Marianne , Nygård Karin , Meldal Hege , Valle Paul Steinar , Kruse Hilde , Skjerve Eystein 
Published: July 2006

Abstract

Background
The objectives of the study were to evaluate whether the increase in incidence of campylobacteriosis observed in humans in Norway from 1995 to 2001 was statistically significant and whether different biologically plausible risk factors were associated with the incidence of campylobacteriosis in the different counties in Norway.

Methods
To model the incidence of domestically acquired campylobacteriosis from 1995 to 2001, a population average random effect poisson model was applied (the trend model). To case data and assumed risk-factor/protective data such as sale of chicken, receiving treated drinking water, density of dogs and grazing animals, occupation of people in the municipalities and climatic factors from 2000 and 2001, an equivalent model accounting for geographical clustering was applied (the ecological model).

Results
The increase in incidence of campylobacteriosis in humans in Norway from 1995 to 2001 was statistically significant from 1998. Treated water was a protective factor against Campylobacter infections in humans with an IRR of 0.78 per percentage increase in people supplied. The two-level modelling technique showed no evidence of clustering of campylobacteriosis in any particular county. Aggregation of data on municipality level makes interpretation of the results at the individual level difficult.

Conclusion
The increase in incidence of Campylobacter infections in humans from 1995 to 2001 was statistically significant from 1998. Treated water was a protective factor against Campylobacter infections in humans with an IRR of 0.78 per percentage increase in people supplied. Campylobacter infections did not appear to be clustered in any particular county in Norway.
Testicular infarction secondary to protein S deficiency: a case report
Authors: McKay Damian , Marron Conor , Brown Robin 
Published: July 2006

Abstract

Background
Protein S deficiency is an inherited cause of thrombophilia. We present the second reported case in the literature of a man developing testicular infarction secondary to protein S deficiency.

Case presentation
A 63 year old man presented with sudden onset of pain in his left hemi-scrotum. Despite oral warfarin therapy the plasma INR was only 1.4 at presentation. Doppler ultrasound scan of the scrotum confirmed absent blood flow to the left testis with increased echogenicity. Orchidectomy was performed to remove the necrotic testis. Post-operatively the patient did well and was referred to the Regional Haemophilia and Thrombosis Centre for further management.

Conclusion
The case highlights a rare but potential complication of protein S deficiency and demonstrates the importance of adequate anticoagulation in these patients.
Comparative genomics of Drosophila and human core promoters
Authors: FitzGerald Peter C , Sturgill David , Shyakhtenko Andrey , Oliver Brian , Vinson Charles 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
Background
The core promoter region plays a critical role in the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. We have determined the non-random distribution of DNA sequences relative to the transcriptional start site in Drosophila melanogaster promoters to identify sequences that may be biologically significant. We compare these results with those obtained for human promoters.

Results
We determined the distribution of all 65,536 octamer (8-mers) DNA sequences in 10,914 Drosophila promoters and two sets of human promoters aligned relative to the transcriptional start site. In Drosophila, 298 8-mers have highly significant (p ≤ 1 × 10-16) non-random distributions peaking within 100 base-pairs of the transcriptional start site. These sequences were grouped into 15 DNA motifs. Ten motifs, termed directional motifs, occur only on the positive strand while the remaining five motifs, termed non-directional motifs, occur on both strands. The only directional motifs to localize in human promoters are TATA, INR, and DPE. The directional motifs were further subdivided into those precisely positioned relative to the transcriptional start site and those that are positioned more loosely relative to the transcriptional start site. Similar numbers of non-directional motifs were identified in both species and most are different. The genes associated with all 15 DNA motifs, when they occur in the peak, are enriched in specific Gene Ontology categories and show a distinct mRNA expression pattern, suggesting that there is a core promoter code in Drosophila.

Conclusion
Drosophila and human promoters use different DNA sequences to regulate gene expression, supporting the idea that evolution occurs by the modulation of gene regulation.
Asthma Coaching in the Pediatric Emergency Department
Authors: Smith Sharon R. , Jaffe David M. , Highstein Gabrielle , Fisher Edwin B. , Trinkaus Kathryn M. , Strunk Robert C. 
Published: July 2006

Objectives:
Coaching and monetary incentives have been used to modify medical behavior of individuals with several chronic diseases, including asthma. The authors performed a randomized, controlled trial of an intervention combining asthma coaching during an emergency department (ED) visit for asthma, and monetary incentive to improve follow‐up with primary care providers (PCP).
Methods:
Subjects were parents of children 2–12 years of age, with Medicaid or no medical insurance, receiving treatment for asthma in the ED. The primary outcome was a verified PCP visit for asthma within two weeks of the index ED visit. All parents received 15 for their time in the ED. Parents in the intervention group were told that they would receive an additional 15 monetary incentive if a PCP visit was completed. The coach engaged in a dialogue with the parent during the ED visit, and discussed the importance and advantages of seeking follow‐up care with the child's PCP. All parents received the usual discharge instructions, including advice to see the PCP within three days.
Results:
The authors enrolled 92 parents; outcome data were available for 86 (42 controls, 50 intervention). Demographic characteristics were similar in both groups. There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients who had follow‐up PCP visits between the intervention (22.0%; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 11.5% to 36.0%) and control (23.8%; 95% CI = 12.0% to 39.4%) groups (p = 0.99).
Conclusions:
An intervention combining asthma coaching during acute ED visits and a monetary incentive to return for a PCP visit does not appear to increase follow‐up with the PCP.
Clinical and Economic Factors Associated with Ambulance Use to the Emergency Department
Authors: Ruger Jennifer Prah , Richter Christopher J. , Lewis Lawrence M. 
Published: July 2006

Background:
Concern about ambulance diversion and emergency department (ED) overcrowding has increased scrutiny of ambulance use. Knowledge is limited, however, about clinical and economic factors associated with ambulance use compared to other arrival methods.
Objectives:
To compare clinical and economic factors associated with different arrival methods at a large, urban, academic hospital ED.
Methods:
This was a retrospective, cross‐sectional study of all patients seen during 2001 (N= 80,209) at an urban academic hospital ED. Data were obtained from hospital clinical and financial records. Outcomes included acuity and severity level, primary complaint, medical diagnosis, disposition, payment, length of stay, costs, and mode of arrival (bus, car, air‐medical transport, walk‐in, or ambulance). Multivariate logistic regression identified independent factors associated with ambulance use.
Results:
In multivariate analysis, factors associated with ambulance use included: triage acuity A (resuscitation) (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 51.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 33.1 to 79.6) or B (emergent) (OR, 9.2; 95% CI = 6.1 to 13.7), Diagnosis Related Group severity level 4 (most severe) (OR, 1.4; 95% CI = 1.2 to 1.8), died (OR, 3.8; 95% CI = 1.5 to 9.0), hospital intensive care unit/operating room admission (OR, 1.9; 95% CI = 1.6 to 2.1), motor vehicle crash (OR, 7.1; 95% CI = 6.4 to 7.9), gunshot/stab wound (OR, 2.1; 95% CI = 1.5 to 2.8), fell 0–10 ft (OR, 2.0; 95% CI = 1.8 to 2.3). Medicaid Traditional (OR, 2.0; 95% CI = 1.4 to 2.4), Medicare Traditional (OR, 1.8; 95% CI = 1.7 to 2.1), arrived weekday midnight–8 AM (OR, 2.0; 95% CI = 1.8 to 2.1), and age ≥65 years (OR, 1.3; 95% CI = 1.2 to 1.5).
Conclusions:
Ambulance use was related to severity of injury or illness, age, arrival time, and payer status. Patients arriving by ambulance were more likely to be acutely sick and severely injured and had longer ED length of stay and higher average costs, but they were less likely to have private managed care or to leave the ED against medical advice, compared to patients arriving by independent means.
Inhibition of Growth Hormone Receptor Gene Expression by Saturated Fatty Acids: Role of Krüppel-Like Zinc Finger Factor, ZBP-89
Authors: Thimmarayappa Jamuna , Sun Jinhong , Schultz Laura E. , Dejkhamron Prapai , Lu Chunxia , Giallongo Agata , Merchant Juanita L. , Menon Ram K. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe expression and function of the GH receptor is critical for the actions of pituitary GH in the intact animal. The role of systemic factors in the reduced expression of the GH receptor and consequent GH insensitivity in pathological states such as sepsis, malnutrition, and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus is unclear. In the current study, we demonstrate that saturated (palmitic and myristic; 50 μm) fatty acids (FA) inhibit activity of the promoter of the major (L2) transcript of the GH receptor gene; unsaturated (oleic and linoleic) FA (200 μm) do not alter activity of the promoter. Comparable effects with palmitic acid and the nonmetabolizable analog bromo-palmitic acid, and failure of triacsin C to abrogate palmitic acids effects on GH receptor expression indicate that this effect is due to direct action(s) of FA. Palmitic acid, but not the unsaturated FA linoleic acid, decreased steady-state levels of endogenous L2 mRNA and GHR protein in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. The effect of FA was localized to two cis elements located approximately 600 bp apart on the L2 promoter. EMSA and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays established that both these cis elements bind the Krüppel-type zinc finger transcription factor, ZBP-89. Ectopic expression of ZBP-89 amplified the inhibitory effect of FA on L2 promoter activity and on steady-state levels of endogenous L2 mRNA in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Mutational analyses of the two ZBP-89 binding sites revealed that both the sites are essential for palmitic acid’s inhibitory effect on the L2 promoter and for the enhancing effect of ZBP-89 on palmitic acid-induced inhibition of the L2 promoter. Our results establish a molecular basis for FA-induced inhibition of GH receptor gene expression in the pathogenesis of acquired GH insensitivity in pathological states such as poorly controlled diabetes mellitus and small for gestational age.
Fatty Acid Analysis of Archaeological Pottery Vessels Excavated in Tell Mastuma, Syria
Authors: Shimoyama Akira , Kisu Naoko , Harada Kaoru , Wakita Shigeo , Tsuneki Akira , Iwasaki Takuya 
Published: July 2006

Abstract
Fatty acids extracted from archaeological pottery vessels (B.C. 900—720 y) excavated at Tell Mastuma, Syria, are characteristic of individual vessels. The molecular-distribution patterns of n-fatty acids of these vessels are different from those of the underfloor soil and a human hand, indicating that the fatty acids recovered are proper to the samples. The lamps show a predominance of hexadecanoic and octadecanoic acids with a near absence of other acids in the patterns, suggesting that olive oil was used in the lamps. On the other hand, large pottery jars show a clear presence of nonanoic acid in their patterns. The acid presence is also strikingly noted in carbonized olive, suggesting that olive and/or a chemically olive-related material was stored in the jars. The relative concentration of cis-9-octadecenoic acid to octadecanoic acid decreases drastically from modern olive pulp to carbonized olive, and further in the jars and lamps. Apparently, a degradation of the acid had occurred intensely during burial in the soil. A comparison of the molecular-distribution patterns of the jars and lamps to the carbonized olive and olive pulp allows one to conclude that olive and its oil were commonly utilized at the tell.