bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Seroprevalence of HIV in pregnant women in North India: a tertiary care hospital based study
Authors: Gupta Swati , Gupta Richa , Singh Sarman 
Published: November 2007

Abstract

Background
Estimating the seroprevalence of HIV in a low risk population such as pregnant women provides essential information for an effective implementation of AIDS control programmes, and also for the monitoring of HIV spread within a country. Very few studies are available from north India showing the current trend in HIV prevalence in the antenatal population;which led us to carry outthis study at a tertiary care hospital in north India

Methods
Blood samples from pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi were collected after informed consent and pre-test counseling. The samples were tested for HIV antibodies as per the WHO guidelines, over a period of four years from January 2003 to December 2006.

Results
Of the 3529 pregnant women tested in four years, 0.88% (CI 0.5 – 1.24) women were found to be HIV seroreactive. Majority of the seroreactive pregnant women (41.9%) were in the age group of 20–24 years followed by the 30–34 yrs (25.8%) and 25–29 years (22.6%) age group. The mean age of the HIV positive women was 24.9 years (SD ± 1.49 yrs). The HIV seroprevalence rates showed an increasing trend from 0.7% (CI 0.14 – 2.04) in 2003–2004 to 0.9% (CI 0.49 – 1.5) in 2005–2006. This prevalence rate indicates concern, as Delhi and its adjoining states are otherwise considered as 'low prevalence states'.

Conclusion
Seroprevalence of HIV infection was found to be increasing in the last four years amongst pregnant women of North India. These findings are in contrast to the national projections.
Power grip, pinch grip, manual muscle testing or thenar atrophy – which should be assessed as a motor outcome after carpal tunnel decompression? A systematic review
Authors: Geere Jo , Chester Rachel , Kale Swati , Jerosch-Herold Christina 
Published: November 2007

Abstract

Background
Objective assessment of motor function is frequently used to evaluate outcome after surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). However a range of outcome measures are used and there appears to be no consensus on which measure of motor function effectively captures change. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify the methods used to assess motor function in randomized controlled trials of surgical interventions for CTS. A secondary aim was to evaluate which instruments reflect clinical change and are psychometrically robust.

Methods
The bibliographic databases Medline, AMED and CINAHL were searched for randomized controlled trials of surgical interventions for CTS. Data on instruments used, methods of assessment and results of tests of motor function was extracted by two independent reviewers.

Results
Twenty-two studies were retrieved which included performance based assessments of motor function. Nineteen studies assessed power grip dynamometry, fourteen studies used both power and pinch grip dynamometry, eight used manual muscle testing and five assessed the presence or absence of thenar atrophy. Several studies used multiple tests of motor function. Two studies included both power and pinch strength and reported descriptive statistics enabling calculation of effect sizes to compare the relative responsiveness of grip and pinch strength within study samples. The study findings suggest that tip pinch is more responsive than lateral pinch or power grip up to 12 weeks following surgery for CTS.

Conclusion
Although used most frequently and known to be reliable, power and key pinch dynamometry are not the most valid or responsive tools for assessing motor outcome up to 12 weeks following surgery for CTS. Tip pinch dynamometry more specifically targets the thenar musculature and appears to be more responsive. Manual muscle testing, which in theory is most specific to the thenar musculature, may be more sensitive if assessed using a hand held dynamometer – the Rotterdam Intrinsic Handheld Myometer. However further research is needed to evaluate its reliability and responsiveness and establish the most efficient and psychometrically robust method of evaluating motor function following surgery for CTS.
Adoption of an innovation to repair aortic aneurysms at a Canadian hospital: a qualitative case study and evaluation
Authors: Danjoux Nathalie M , Martin Douglas K , Lehoux Pascale N , Harnish Julie L , Shaul Randi Zlotnik , Bernstein Mark , Urbach David R 
Published: November 2007

AbstractBackgroundPriority setting in health care is a challenge because demand for services exceeds available resources. The increasing demand for less invasive surgical procedures by patients, health care institutions and industry, places added pressure on surgeons to acquire the appropriate skills to adopt innovative procedures. Such innovations are often initiated and introduced by surgeons in the hospital setting. Decision-making processes for the adoption of surgical innovations in hospitals have not been well studied and a standard process for their introduction does not exist. The purpose of this study is to describe and evaluate the decision-making process for the adoption of a new technology for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (endovascular aneurysm repair [EVAR]) in an academic health sciences centre to better understand how decisions are made for the introduction of surgical innovations at the hospital level.MethodsA qualitative case study of the decision to adopt EVAR was conducted using a modified thematic analysis of documents and semi-structured interviews. Accountability for Reasonableness was used as a conceptual framework for fairness in priority setting processes in health care organizations.ResultsThere were two key decisions regarding EVAR: the decision to adopt the new technology in the hospital and the decision to stop hospital funding. The decision to adopt EVAR was based on perceived improved patient outcomes, safety, and the surgeons' desire to innovate. This decision involved very few stakeholders. The decision to stop funding of EVAR involved all key players and was based on criteria apparent to all those involved, including cost, evidence and hospital priorities. Limited internal communications were made prior to adopting the technology. There was no formal means to appeal the decisions made.ConclusionThe analysis yielded recommendations for improving future decisions about the adoption of surgical innovations. ese empirical findings will be used with other case studies to help develop guidelines to help decision-makers adopt surgical innovations in Canadian hospitals.
Sarcoidosis
Authors: Nunes Hilario , Bouvry Diane , Soler Paul , Valeyre Dominique 
Published: November 2007

AbstractSarcoidosis is a multisystemic disorder of unknown cause characterized by the formation of immune granulomas in involved organs. It is an ubiquitous disease with incidence (varying according to age, sex, race and geographic origin) estimated at around 16.5/100,000 in men and 19/100,000 in women. The lung and the lymphatic system are predominantly affected but virtually every organ may be involved. Other severe manifestations result from cardiac, neurological, ocular, kidney or laryngeal localizations. In most cases, sarcoidosis is revealed by persistent dry cough, eye or skin manifestations, peripheral lymph nodes, fatigue, weight loss, fever or night sweats, and erythema nodosum. Abnormal metabolism of vitamin D3 within granulomatous lesions and hypercalcemia are possible. Chest radiography is abnormal in about 90% of cases and shows lymphadenopathy and/or pulmonary infiltrates (without or with fibrosis), defining sarcoidosis stages from I to IV. The etiology remains unknown but the prevailing hypothesis is that various unidentified, likely poorly degradable antigens of either infectious or environmental origin could trigger an exaggerated immune reaction in genetically susceptible hosts. Diagnosis relies on compatible clinical and radiographic manifestations, evidence of non-caseating granulomas obtained by biopsy through tracheobronchial endoscopy or at other sites, and exclusion of all other granulomatous diseases. The evolution and severity of sarcoidosis are highly variable. Mortality is estimated at between 0.5–5%. In most benign cases (spontaneous resolution within 24–36 months), no treatment is required but a regular follow-up until recovery is necessary. In more serious cases, a medical treatment has to be prescribed either initially or at some point during follow-up according to clinical manifestations and their evolution. Systemic corticosteroids are the mainstay of treatment of sarcoidosis. The minimal duration of treatment is 12 months. Some patients experience repeated relapses and may require long-term low-dose corticosteroid therapy during years. Other treatments (immunosuppressive drugs and aminoquinolins) may be useful in case of unsatisfactory response to corticosteroids, poor tolerance and as sparing agents when high doses of corticosteroids are needed for a long time. In some strictly selected cases refractory to standard therapy, specific antiTNF-αagents may offer precious improvement. Some patients benefit from topical corticosteroids.
Population phylogenomic analysis of mitochondrial DNA in wild boars and domestic pigs revealed multiple domestication events in East Asia
Authors: Wu Gui-Sheng , Yao Yong-Gang , Qu Kai-Xing , Ding Zhao-Li , Li Hui , Palanichamy Malliya G , Duan Zi-Yuan , Li Ning , Chen Yao-Sheng , Zhang Ya-Ping 
Published: November 2007

Abstract
Background
Previously reported evidence indicates that pigs were independently domesticated in multiple places throughout the world. However, a detailed picture of the origin and dispersal of domestic pigs in East Asia has not yet been reported.

Results
Population phylogenomic analysis was conducted in domestic pigs and wild boars by screening the haplogroup-specific mutation motifs inferred from a phylogenetic tree of pig complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences. All domestic pigs are clustered into single clade D (which contains subclades D1, D2, D3, and D4), with wild boars from East Asia being interspersed. Three haplogroups within D1 are dominant in the Mekong region (D1a2 and D1b) and the middle and downstream regions of the Yangtze River (D1a1a), and may represent independent founders of domestic pigs. None of the domestic pig samples from North East Asia, the Yellow River region, and the upstream region of the Yangtze River share the same haplogroup status with the local wild boars. The limited regional distributions of haplogroups D1 (including its subhaplogroups), D2, D3, and D4 in domestic pigs suggest at least two different in situ domestication events.

Conclusion
The use of fine-grained mtDNA phylogenomic analysis of wild boars and domestic pigs is a powerful tool with which to discern the origin of domestic pigs. Our findings show that pig domestication in East Asia mainly occurred in the Mekong region and the middle and downstream regions of the Yangtze River.
Genome-wide expression profiling and bioinformatics analysis of diurnally regulated genes in the mouse prefrontal cortex
Authors: Yang Shuzhang , Wang Kai , Valladares Otto , Hannenhalli Sridhar , Bucan Maja 
Published: November 2007

Abstract
Background
The prefrontal cortex is important in regulating sleep and mood. Diurnally regulated genes in the prefrontal cortex may be controlled by the circadian system, by sleep:wake states, or by cellular metabolism or environmental responses. Bioinformatics analysis of these genes will provide insights into a wide-range of pathways that are involved in the pathophysiology of sleep disorders and psychiatric disorders with sleep disturbances.

Results
We examined gene expression in the mouse prefrontal cortex at four time points during a 24 hour (12 hour light:12 hour dark) cycle using microarrays, and identified 3,890 transcripts corresponding to 2,927 genes with diurnally regulated expression patterns. We show that 16% of the genes identified in our study are orthologs of identified clock, clock controlled or sleep/wakefulness induced genes in the mouse liver and suprachiasmatic nucleus, rat cortex and cerebellum, or Drosophila head. The diurnal expression patterns were confirmed for 16 out of 18 genes in an independent set of RNA samples. The diurnal genes fall into eight temporal categories with distinct functional attributes, as assessed by Gene Ontology classification and analysis of enriched transcription factor binding sites.

Conclusion
Our analysis demonstrates that approximately 10% of transcripts have diurnally regulated expression patterns in the mouse prefrontal cortex. Functional annotation of these genes will be important for the selection of candidate genes for behavioral mutants in the mouse and for genetic studies of disorders associated with anomalies in the sleep:wake cycle and circadian rhythm.
Tumor Residual After Surgical Cytoreduction in Prediction of Clinical Outcome in Stage IV Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: A Gynecologic Oncology Group Study
Authors: Winter William E. , Maxwell G. Larry , Tian Chunqiao , Sundborg Michael J. , Rose G. Scott , Rose Peter G. , Rubin Stephen C. , Muggia Franco , McGuire William P. 
Published: November 2007

Purpose To identify factors predictive of poor prognosis in a similarly treated population of women with stage IV epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Patients and Methods A retrospective review of 360 patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IV EOC who underwent primary surgery followed by six cycles of intravenous platinum/paclitaxel was performed. A proportional hazards model was used to assess the association of potential prognostic factors with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results The median PFS and OS for this group of stage IV ovarian cancer patients was 12 and 29 months, respectively. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that histology, malignant pleural effusion, intraparenchymal liver metastasis, and residual tumor size were significant prognostic variables. Whereas patients with microscopic residual disease had the best outcome, patients with 0.1 to 1.0 cm residual disease and patients with 1.1 to 5.0 cm residual disease had similar PFS and OS. Patients with a residual size more than 5 cm had a diminished PFS and OS when compared with all other groups. Median OS for microscopic, 0.1 to 5.0 cm, and more than 5.0 cm residual disease was 64, 30, and 19 months, respectively. Conclusion Patients with more than 5 cm residual disease have the shortest PFS and OS, whereas patients with 0.1 to 1.0 and 1.1 to 5.0 cm have similar outcome. These findings suggest that ultraradical cytoreductive procedures might be targeted for selected patients in whom microscopic residual disease is achievable. Patients with less than 5.0 cm of disease initially and significant disease and/or comorbidities precluding microscopic cytoreduction may be considered for alternative therapeutic options other than primary cytoreduction.
The Politics of Scottish Housing Plans
Authors: Midwinter Arthur , Keating Michael , Taylor Peter 
Published: November 2007

The Scottish Housing Plan system was intended to bring about a radical change in the relationship between central and local government, by giving authorities greater scope to devise policies relative to local needs. In practice, Housing Plans provide a formal framework around which bargaining and negotiation takes place. Developments since 1979, however, have resulted in the abandonment of local government having a central, comprehensive role in housing provision.
The Housing Plan system has had an important influence on the pattern of central-local relations, but the original hopes for the Housing Plan system, of a more rational, integrated approach, remain unfulfilled. The air of technocratic dominance which featured heavily in the theoretical arguments for the system has been superseded by the operation of political bargaining. Housing Plans are a key mechanism within the policy framework, although not in the way intended by its progenitors.
Local Corporatism? The role of organisations and local movements in the local welfare state
Authors: Villadsen Søren 
Published: November 2007

With the very high level of local government activity in Scandinavia the role of local organisations, movements etc. becomes crucial. Very little research has been done to evaluate the importance of ‘organised politicisation’ at the local level, with some notable exceptions analysed in the article. Three rather different versions of local corporatism are evaluated in the light of results from a major research project covering local organisations, parties, local councils, and other agencies in Danish local politics.
Local corporatism is rejected as a useful, general concept, but it is considered useful in the attempt to construct a new framework including central-local, local and spatial relations.
Corticospinal Dysgenesis and Upper-Limb Deficits in Congenital Hemiplegia: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study
Authors: Bleyenheuft Yannick , Grandin Cécile B. , Cosnard Guy , Olivier Etienne , Thonnard Jean-Louis 
Published: November 2007

OBJECTIVES. Precision grasping critically relies on the integrity of the corticospinal tract as evidenced in congenital hemiplegia by the correlation found between corticospinal dysgenesis and hand-movement deficits. Therefore, corticospinal dysgenesis could be used to anticipate upper-limb deficits in young infants with congenital hemiplegia. However, most studies have quantified corticospinal dysgenesis by measuring the cross-sectional area of cerebral peduncles on T1 MRI, a measure biased by other structures present in the peduncles. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which this may have hampered the conclusions of previous studies. We also aimed to investigate the relationship between upper-limb deficits and a more accurate measure of corticospinal dysgenesis to provide a tool for anticipating upper-limb deficits in infants with congenital hemiplegia.
METHODS. To address this issue, we measured corticospinal tract areas in 12 patients with congenital hemiplegia and 12 matched control subjects by using the diffusion tensor imaging technique. Corticospinal dysgenesis was quantified by computing a symmetry index between the area of the contralateral and ipsilateral corticospinal tracts. This value was then compared with that resulting from the conventional MRI method.
RESULTS. The symmetry indexes gathered with these 2 methods were highly correlated, although the diffusion tensor imaging symmetry indexes were significantly smaller. This indicates that, in patients with congenital hemiplegia, the conventional MRI measurement has led to a systematic underestimate of corticospinal dysgenesis. These 2 estimates of corticospinal dysgenesis were also correlated with upper-limb impairments and disabilities. Although the symmetry index computed from peduncle measurements was correlated solely with deficits in stereognosis, the diffusion tensor imaging index correlated with stereognosis, digital and manual dexterities, and ABILHAND-Kids, a measure of manual ability in daily life activities.
CONCLUSIONS. The diffusion tensor imaging symmetry index provides a useful prognostic tool for anticipating upper-limb deficits and their consequences in daily life activities.
Population‐based analysis of left‐ and right‐sided diaphragmatic hernias demonstrates different frequencies of selected additional anomalies
Authors: Slavotinek Anne M. , Warmerdam Barbara , Lin Angela E. , Shaw Gary M. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractCongenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a common birth defect that can be subdivided into several different types depending on the anatomical structures affected. Several studies have demonstrated that right‐sided CDH (R‐CDH) and left‐sided CDH (L‐CDH) in humans are associated with different clinical presentations and outcomes. We hypothesized that R‐CDH and L‐CDH are phenotypically and pathogenically distinct, and that the frequency of associated anomalies would differ among patients with R‐CDH compared to patients with L‐CDH. Using population‐based data from ongoing studies in the California Birth Defects Monitoring Program (CBDMP), we compared 146 CDH cases, 38 with R‐CDH (26%) and 108 with L‐CDH (74%). The frequencies of atrial septal defect (1/38 R‐CDH and 20/108 L‐CDH cases; P = 0.015), bilateral pulmonary hypoplasia (22/108 L‐CDH cases and 15/38 R‐CDH cases; P = 0.029), abnormal skull or facial shape (17/108 L‐CDH patients and 1/38 R‐CDH cases; P = 0.043), assorted digital anomalies excluding syndactyly, polydactyly or absence of a digit (13/108 L‐CDH patients and 0/38 R‐CDH patients; P = 0.021) and assorted limb anomalies excluding limb reduction defects (18/108 L‐CDH patients and 0.38 R‐CDH patients; P = 0.004) all showed a statistically significant difference in frequency between R‐ and L‐CDH patients. This descriptive epidemiological study using newborn surveillance data represents the largest comparison of right and left‐sided CDH patients so far performed. Several anomalies as listed above were noted to be different in frequency between R‐ and L‐CDH patients, although the interpretation of the significant variability in the frequency of these anomalies is not yet established and the findings require replication. Birth defects monitoring programs can provide the interface for epidemiology and clinical genetics, which in this case, may generate hypotheses to establish the pathogenesis of CDH laterality. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Ring‐opening graft polymerization of L‐lactide onto starch granules in an ionic liquid
Authors: Xu Qi , Wang Qingrong , Liu Lijian 
Published: November 2007

AbstractA room temperature ionic liquid 1‐allyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride ([AMIM]Cl) was a promising direct solvent for starch and nonderivitizing solvent for starch‐effective dissolution, in which the ring‐opening graft polymerization (ROGP) of L‐lactide (L‐LA) onto starch chains was carried out homogeneously. The obtained starch grafted poly(L‐lactide) (starch‐g‐PLLA) was characterized by FTIR, 13C NMR, DSC, and WAXD, and the good adhesion between the two components was evidenced by SEM observations although the chains of grafted PLLA were not long. The grafting efficiency of PLLA reached 30% when the ROGP proceeded at 100°C for 10 h with L‐LA/starch 0.5 : 1 (wt/wt) and stannous octoate (Sn(Oct)2) as a catalyst, which was calculated according to a standard curve newly created by FTIR method. The homopolymerization of L‐LA and the disconnection of grafted PLLA from starch‐g‐PLLA were the main competition reactions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008