bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Quantitative and morphological assessment of early gestational sacs using three‐dimensional ultrasonography
Authors: Lee W. , Deter R. L. , McNie B. , Powell M. , Balasubramaniam M. , Gonçalves L. F. , Espinoza J. , Romero R. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractObjectiveOur main objective was to determine the value of three‐dimensional ultrasonography (3DUS) and Virtual Organ Computer‐aided AnaLysis (VOCAL™) in the evaluation of gestational sac volume and morphology during early pregnancy.MethodsTwenty‐eight normal early pregnancies were scanned approximately every 2 weeks using transabdominal (TAS) and transvaginal (TVS) sonography. The VOCAL technique was used to create computerized surface models to classify gestational sac shapes as discoid or ellipsoid. Serial sac volume changes were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. Bland–Altman plots determined examiner bias and limits of agreement (LOA) for sac volume measurements. Gestational sac volumes were compared between the two‐dimensional (2D) ellipsoid and VOCAL techniques. Differences between volume measurements were tested using the two‐tailed paired t‐test with statistical significance at the P < 0.05 level.ResultsEach subject was examined at a mean ± SD menstrual age of 7.9 ± 0.6 weeks (Scan 1), 9.9 ± 0.6 weeks (Scan 2), and 11.9 ± 0.6 weeks (Scan 3). Sac volumes significantly increased over time from 22 ± 11 mL at Scan 1, to 57 ± 21 mL at Scan 2 and 116 ± 35 mL at Scan 3 (P < 0.001). Predominant sac shapes were classified as ellipsoid (76.2%) or discoid (23.8%). Additional descriptors included: concave (60.7%), irregular (53.6%), or smooth (7.1%), with 19% of the overall group having more than one additional shape attribute. Clinically acceptable volume measurement bias and agreement were found for the following comparisons: (1) TAS versus TVS; (2) interobserver volume measurements; and (3) intraobserver volume measurements. The VOCAL technique yielded slightly greater sac volumes (64 ± 45.4 mL) when compared to the 2D ellipsoid model (48.6 ± 36.8 mL) (28.9 ± 24.3% (95% limit of agreement range, − 18.7 to 76.5%), P < 0.001).ConclusionsReproducible sac volume measurements can be obtained using VOCAL with either TAS or TVS. Early gestational sacs variably appear as discoid or ellipsoid structures with a concave indentation from the placenta. Sac volumes can be underestimated if an ellipsoid shape is assumed. Morphological and quantitative analysis of the gestational sac may provide baseline parameters for studying patients at risk for early pregnancy failure. Copyright © 2006 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Malaria in pregnancy: Access to effective interventions in Africa
Authors: Yartey J.E. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractMalaria infection during pregnancy (MIP) poses substantial risks to the mother, her fetus and the newborn. Consequences of MIP include severe anemia, placental parasitemia and intrauterine growth retardation, which contribute to low birth weight, a principal cause of infant mortality in the African region. Effective interventions for the prevention and control of MIP include Intermittent preventive treatment (IPT), Insecticide treated nets (ITNs), and case management, and are being deployed by countries. The global political and fiscal environment is favorable with increasing resources to support the scale‐up of interventions. What is needed at country level is strong collaboration among malaria and reproductive health programs and partners, to maximize the use of available resources for scaling‐up to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Equally important is the need for continuous advocacy at all levels to keep malaria high on the global agenda and maintain the current global commitment and momentum.
Women's right to health and the Millennium Development Goals: Promoting partnerships to improve access
Authors: Shaw D. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe Millennium Development Goals (MGD) represent a commitment of 189 member states that adopted them during the Millennium Summit in September 2000. This UN General Assembly recognized that gender equality and women's empowerment are both central to achieving sustainable development by means of combating poverty, hunger and disease. Neither reproductive nor sexual health was explicitly articulated in the original MDGs and indicators—a critical omission, as globally women are more disadvantaged than men. However, a clear link exists between all of the MDGs and the reproductive and sexual health of women, who cannot contribute to sustainable development, unless their right to health is met through improved access. The FIGO 2006 World Report on Women's Health addresses many issues critical to the success of the MDGs, with a focus on how partnerships have become a crucial vehicle to improve access to health for women.
Role of information leaflets in improving the practice of informed consent for patients undergoing septoplasty
Authors: Winterton R I S , Alaani A , Loke D , Bem C 
Published: August 2006

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of an information leaflet in improving patient understanding of the procedure and complications of septoplasty.Design: The baseline knowledge of a group of patients who had attended a pre-assessment clinic prior to septoplasty was assessed. The procedure and its complications were then verbally explained. The patients' knowledge was then re-assessed on the morning of surgery and any improvements noted. In the second arm of the study, an information leaflet was introduced at the time of verbal instruction and any differences in improvement in knowledge were assessed.Results: Data from the two groups were analysed using an analysis of covariance with differences in baseline (pre-instruction) knowledge controlled. Additional improvements in mean recall score following leaflet distribution were highly statistically significant when compared with mean recall in the control group (p<0.001).Conclusion: The use of information leaflets increases patients' knowledge about a surgical procedure and its potential complications.
Annual prevalence of diagnosed schizophrenia in the USA: a claims data analysis approach
Authors: WU ERIC Q. , SHI LIZHENG , BIRNBAUM HOWARD , HUDSON TERESA , KESSLER RONALD 
Published: August 2006

Background. Schizophrenia is a debilitating chronic mental illness. However, the annual prevalence of schizophrenia is not well understood because of under-representation of schizophrenia patients in epidemiological surveys. This study used multiple administrative claims databases to estimate the annual prevalence of diagnosed schizophrenia in the USA.Method. The annual prevalence of diagnosed schizophrenia in the USA was estimated for different health insurance coverage groups. The prevalence for privately insured individuals was calculated from an administrative claims database of approximately 3 million privately insured beneficiaries covering the period 1999–2003. The prevalence for Medicaid enrollees was calculated from California Medicaid claims covering the period 2000–2002. The prevalence for Medicare and Medicaid/Medicare dual eligibles was estimated using a combination of both databases. Published statistics were used to estimate the prevalence of schizophrenia in the uninsured and veteran populations and to weight the prevalence rates obtained to the population of the USA.Results. The 12-month prevalence of diagnosed schizophrenia in the USA in 2002 was estimated at 5·1 per 1000 lives. The Medicaid population was identified with the highest prevalence rate among the populations studied. Sensitivity analyses taking into consideration the Veterans Affairs population only changed the estimate slightly to 5·3 per 1000 lives.Conclusion. Analyses of administrative claims data contribute to the understanding of the prevalence of diagnosed schizophrenia.
The feasibility and need for dimensional psychiatric diagnoses
Authors: HELZER JOHN E. , KRAEMER HELENA C. , KRUEGER ROBERT F. 
Published: August 2006

Background. It is our contention that both categorical and dimensional approaches to diagnosis are important for clinical work and research alike, and that each approach has its drawbacks and advantages. As the processes toward developing DSM-V and ICD-11 progress, we suggest that another exclusively categorical revision of psychiatric taxonomies will no longer be sufficient and that adding a dimensional component is a necessary step if these taxonomies are to continue serving the future clinical and research needs of psychiatry as they have so effectively done in the past.Method. We begin the paper with a review of terminology related to categories and dimensions and briefly review literature on advantages and disadvantages of both approaches.Results. A review of relevant literature supports both the need for and feasibility of augmenting traditional categorical diagnoses with dimensional information.Conclusion. We conclude with a proposal for preserving traditional categorical diagnostic definitions, but adding a dimensional component that would be reflective of and directly referable back to the categorical definitions. We also offer a specific proposal for adding a dimensional component to official taxonomies such as the DSM and the ICD in a way that fully preserves the traditional categorical approach.
A comparison of tissue doppler imaging and velocities of transmitral flow in children with elevated left ventricular preload
Authors: Harada Kenji , Tamura Masamichi , Yasuoka Kenji , Toyono Manatomo 
Published: August 2006

Compared with transmitral velocities of flow, myocardial wall velocities obtained by tissue Doppler imaging are less influenced by left atrial pressure. The data supporting this assumption, however, are limited in patients with congenital cardiac disease. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of left ventricular preload on transmitral inflow and velocities assessed by tissue Doppler imaging. Tissue Doppler imaging, and conventional Doppler echocardiography with simultaneous invasive hemodynamic studies, were performed in 33 patients with a simple ventricular septal defect or patency of the arterial duct. Transmitral velocities (E, A) and mitral annular velocities (Ea, Aa) were measured, permitting calculation of the ratio of E to Ea. The ratio of pulmonary to systemic flows, and mean left atrial pressure, were also measured. In 10 of 33 patients, echocardiographic and hemodynamic studies were performed 4 to 5 months after surgery.The E and A values in the patients were greater than those in the controls (p < 0.01). In contrast, neither Ea nor Aa differed between the two group. The ratio of E to Ea in the patients increased significantly compared with that in the controls (8.9 ± 2.1 vs 7.3 ± 1.3, p < 0.01). The E value was directly related to mean left atrial pressure and the ratio of pulmonary to systemic flows. The velocities measured by Tissue Doppler imaging, however, had no significant relationship to either of these measurements. The ratio of E to Ea correlated well with mean left atrial pressure (r = 0.75, p < 0.01). In 10 post-operative patients, the values for E and A decreased from 119 ± 14 to 89 ± 10 cm/sec (p < 0.01) and from 91 ± 22 to 61 ± 9 cm/sec (p < 0.01), respectively. No significant changes were noted in the values of Ea and Aa. The ratio of E to Ea, and mean left atrial pressure, decreased from 10.3 ± 1.9 to 8.2 ± 1.5 (p < 0.01) and from 11.0 ± 1.8 to 7.4 ± 1.0 mmHg (p < 0.01), respectively. The percentage change in left atrial pressure correlated with the percent change in the ratio of E to Ea (r = 0.64, p < 0.05).The present study showed that the velocities obtained with tissue Doppler imaging are less dependent on mean left atrial pressure in children with elevated left ventricular preload caused by a left-to-right shunt.
Clinical features of isolated noncompaction of the myocardium in children
Authors: Neudorf Ulrich E. , Hussein Ahmad , Trowitzsch Eckart , Schmaltz Achim A. 
Published: August 2006

Isolated noncompaction of the myocardium, also known as “spongy myocardium”, is a rare disease in children and adults. It is suggested that, during early development of the heart, the primary spongy structure persists due to an arrest of compaction. No other cardiac malformations are found, but there are familial occurences, relations to genetic disorders or syndromes such as Melnick-needles-syndrome or Xq28-linked cardiomyopathy, and reports of conduction disorders.We have now diagnosed isolated noncompaction in seven children aged between five weeks and 5.5 years. Three are doing well with anticongestive therapy, while transplantation of the heart was performed in one. Three of the children have died, but in only one case due to cardiac failure.Our experience emphasises the need rapidly to establish the diagnosis, to search for associated extracardiac abnormalities, and to consider transplantation at an early stage.
Cardiac complications in children following infection with varicella zoster virus
Authors: Abrams Dominic , Derrick Graham , Penny Daniel J. , Shinebourne Elliot A. , Redington Andrew N. 
Published: August 2006

Infection with varicella zoster virus, leading to chicken pox in susceptible hosts, is usually a benign self-limiting disease conferring immunity in those affected. Cardiac complications are rare, but when present may lead to severe morbidity or mortality.We have recently encountered three children, all of whom developed significant cardiac complications secondary to infection with varicella. Myocarditis has long been associated with such infection. The pathological mechanism is presumed similar to other cardiotropic viruses, where both direct cytopathic and secondary auto-immune effects contribute to myocardial cellular destruction and ventricular dysfunction. Complications include arrhythmias and progression to dilated cardiomyopathy.Pericarditis, and secondary pericardial effusion, related to infection with the virus is most commonly associated with secondary bacterial infiltration. Both cardiac tamponade and chronic pericardial constriction may result.Endocarditis complicating varicella has only been described in the last fifteen years, and is associated with the emergence of virulent strains of both streptococcus and staphylococcus, the two organisms most commonly associated with endocarditis. The exact mechanism by which varicella causes secondary bacterial endocarditis remains unclear.Whilst cardiac complications of infection with the varicella zoster virus are rare, the resulting complications are potentially life threatening. Evidence of varicella-induced carditis must be aggressively pursued in any child with signs of acute cardiac decompensation in whom chicken pox is confirmed or suspected.
Endogenous ADP-ribose enables calcium-regulated cation currents through TRPM2 channels in neutrophil granulocytes
Authors: Heiner Inka , Eisfeld Jörg , Warnstedt Maike , Radukina Natalia , Jüngling Eberhard , Lückhoff Andreas 
Published: August 2006

TRPM2 (transient receptor potential melastatin 2) is a Ca2+-permeable cation channel gated by ADPR (ADP-ribose) from the cytosolic side. To test whether endogenous concentrations of intracellular ADPR are sufficient for TRPM2 gating in neutrophil granulocytes, we devised an HPLC method to determine ADPR contents in HClO4 cell extracts. The reversed-phase ion-pair HPLC method with an Mg2+-containing isocratic eluent allows baseline resolution of one ADPR peak. Intracellular ADPR concentrations were approx. 5 μM in granulocytes and not significantly altered by stimulation with the chemoattractant peptide fMLP (N-formylmethionyl-leucylphenylalanine). We furthermore determined intracellular concentrations of cADPR (cyclic ADPR) with a cyclase assay involving enzymatic conversion of cADPR into NAD+ and fluorimetric determination of NAD+. Intracellular cADPR concentrations were approx. 0.2 μM and not altered by fMLP. In patch–clamp experiments, ADPR (0.1–100 μM) was dialysed into granulocytes to analyse its effects on whole-cell currents characteristic for TRPM2, in the presence of a low (&lt;10 nM) or a high (1 μM) intracellular Ca2+ concentration. TRPM2 currents were significantly larger at high than at low [Ca2+] (e.g. −225±27.1 versus −7±2.0 pA/pF at 5 μM ADPR), but no currents at all were observed in the absence of ADPR (ADPR concentration ≤0.3 μM). cADPR (0.1, 0.3 and 10 μM) was without effect even in the presence of subthreshold ADPR (0.1 μM). We conclude that ADPR enables an effective regulation of TRPM2 by cytosolic Ca2+. Thus ADPR and Ca2+ in concert behave as a messenger system for agonist-induced influx of Ca2+ through TRPM2 in granulocytes.
Identification of three crucial histidine residues (His115, His132 and His297) in porcine deoxyribonuclease II
Authors: Cheng Yu-Che , Hsueh Chin-Chen , Lu Shao-Chun , Liao Ta-Hsiu 
Published: August 2006

DNase II is an acid endonuclease that is involved in the degradation of exogenous DNA and is important for DNA fragmentation and degradation during cell death. In an effort to understand its catalytic mechanism, we constructed plasmids encoding nine different histidine (H)-to-leucine (L) mutants for porcine DNase II and examined the enzyme properties of the expressed mutant proteins. Of the mutants, all but H132L were secreted into the medium of expressing cells. Six of the mutated DNase II proteins (H41L, H109L, H206L, H207L, H274L and H322L) showed enzyme activity, whereas the H115L, H132L and H297L mutants exhibited very little activity. The H115L and H297L mutants were found to undergo correct protein folding, but were inactive. To further examine these mutants, we expressed H115A and H297A DNase II mutants; these mutants were inactive, but their DNase activities could be rescued with imidazole, indicating that His115 and His297 are likely to function as a general acid and a general base respectively in the catalytic centre of the enzyme. In contrast with the secreted mutants, the H132L mutant protein was found in cell lysates within 16 h after transfection. This protein was inactive, improperly folded and was drastically degraded via the proteosomal pathway after 24 h. The polypeptide of another substitution for His132 with lysine resulted in the misfolded form being retained in endoplasmic reticulum.
Body composition and the apoB/apoA-I ratio in migrant Asian Indians and white Caucasians in Canada
Authors: Smith Jessica , Cianflone Katherine , Al-Amri Maha , Sniderman Allan 
Published: August 2006

Migrant and native South Asians appear to be at increased risk of Type II diabetes mellitus and coronary disease. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between the most accurate summary index of the lipoprotein-related risk of vascular disease, the apoB (apolipoprotein B-100)/apoA-I (apolipoprotein A-I) ratio, and body composition in established migrant South Asians and white Caucasians living in Canada. Men and women living in Montreal, Canada between the ages of 20–60 years were recruited for participation in the study. Subjects were excluded if they had a history of cardiovascular disease or were taking lipid-lowering medication. Individuals identified themselves as Asian Indian or Caucasian. Anthropometric measurements were collected, including weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference and body fat percentage. Plasma samples were analysed for total cholesterol, HDL-C (high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol), apoA-I and apoB. Indian subjects had a substantially higher WHR (waist-to-hip ratio) than Caucasian subjects [men, 0.93±0.01 compared with 0.86±0.01 respectively (P&lt;0.001); women, 0.88±0.01 compared with 0.77±0.01 respectively (P&lt;0.0001)]. WHR correlated strongly with body fat percentage in Caucasians (men, r=0.63, P=0.0002; women, r=0.74, P&lt;0.0001). By contrast, there was no correlation in Indians (men, r=0.22, P value not significant; women, r=0.23, P value not significant). In addition, Indian men and women had a higher apoB/A-I ratio than Caucasians [men, 0.85±0.04 compared with 0.66±0.04 respectively (P=0.001); women, 0.73±0.04 compared with 0.56±0.03 respectively (P=0.0003)]. Of interest, there were also significant correlations between the apoB/apoA-I ratio and WHR in all of the groups, except the Indian women, which were stronger than the correlation of the apoB/apoA-I ratio with BMI. On the other hand, there was no significant relationship between the apoB/apoA-I ratio and the body fat percentage in any of the groups. In conclusion, the present study confirms that, as body fat percentage increases, the distribution of body fat differs between migrant Indians and Caucasians living in Canada. It also relates differences in body fat distribution to differences in the apoB/apoA-I ratio, providing at least part of the answer as to why South Asians may be at increased risk of vascular disease.
The Role of Part Structure in the Perceptual Localization of a Shape
Authors: Denisova Kristina , Singh Manish , Kowler Eileen 
Published: August 2006

The process of object localization may be accomplished with respect to a particular reference location, such as the center of gravity, COG (eg Vishwanath and Kowler, 2003 Vision Research43 1637 – 1653). Here, we investigated how part structure affects an object's reference location. The reference location was evaluated with a measure of the illusory displacement of an internal target element embedded within a larger object (Morgan et al, 1990 Vision Research30 1793 – 1810). To examine whether the reference location is different for shapes with part structure, two shapes were tested: circle (small and large; no part structure) and bell (shape with two parts, one larger than the other). Results were examined with respect to two predictions: either the location of an object is based on its shape as a whole, disregarding part structure (ie a single, overall COG), or the parts are processed separately (different COGs). With the circles, the results showed a systematic illusory displacement of the internal target toward the COG. With the bell, the illusion was significantly weaker than with both circles—even though the main part of the bell had the same size as the small circle, and its horizontal axis had the same extent as the large circle. Moreover, the distance judgments for the bell were consistent with a (weaker) reference point being located at the COG of the larger part, rather than at the COG of the entire bell. These results show that the part structure of a shape plays a role in the representation of its location, and that for complex shapes the perceived location of an embedded element depends more on the parts within which it is embedded, rather than on the whole shape.