bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Scutellaria baicalensis decreases ritonavir-induced nausea
Authors: Aung Han , Mehendale Sangeeta , Chang Wei-Tien , Wang Chong-Zhi , Xie Jing-Tian , Yuan Chun-Su 
Published: December 2005

AbstractBackgroundProtease inhibitors, particularly ritonavir, causes significant gastrointestinal disturbances such as nausea, even at low doses. This ritonavir-induced nausea could be related to its oxidative stress in the gut. Alleviation of drug-induced nausea is important in effectively increasing patients' compliance and improving their quality of life. Conventional anti-emetic drugs can only partially abate the symptoms in these patients, and their cost has also been a concern. Rats respond to nausea-producing emetic stimuli by increasing consumption of non-nutritive substances like kaolin or clay, a phenomenon known as pica. In this study, we used this rat pica model to evaluate the effects ofScutellaria baicalensis, a commonly used oriental herbal medicine, on ritonavir-induced nausea.ResultsRats treated with 20 mg/kg ritonavir significant caused increases of kaolin consumption at 24 to 48 hr (P< 0.01). Pretreatment with 0.3 and 3 mg/kgScutellaria baicalensisextract significantly decreased ritonavir-induced kaolin intake in a dose-related manner (P< 0.01). Compared to vehicle treatment, the extract completely prevented ritonavir-induced kaolin consumption at dose 3 mg/kg. The area under the curves (AUC) for kaolin intake from time 0 to 120 hr for vehicle only, ritonavir only, SbE 0.3 mg/kg plus ritonavir, and SbE 3 mg/kg plus ritonavir were 27.3 g•hr, 146.7 g•hr, 123.2 g•hr, and 32.7 g•hr, respectively. The reduction in area under the curves of kaolin intake from time 0 to 120 hr between ritonavir only and SbE 0.3 mg/kg plus ritonavir, ritonavir only and SbE 3 mg/kg plus ritonavir were 16.0% and 77.7%, respectively.ConclusionScutellaria baicalensissignificantly attenuated ritonavir-induced pica, and demonstrated a potential in treating ritonavir-induced nausea.
The effects of a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet on the polycystic ovary syndrome: A pilot study
Authors: Mavropoulos John C , Yancy William S , Hepburn Juanita , Westman Eric C 
Published: December 2005

Abstract

Background
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder affecting women of reproductive age and is associated with obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and insulin resistance. Because low carbohydrate diets have been shown to reduce insulin resistance, this pilot study investigated the six-month metabolic and endocrine effects of a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet (LCKD) on overweight and obese women with PCOS.

Results
Eleven women with a body mass index >27 kg/m2 and a clinical diagnosis of PCOS were recruited from the community. They were instructed to limit their carbohydrate intake to 20 grams or less per day for 24 weeks. Participants returned every two weeks to an outpatient research clinic for measurements and reinforcement of dietary instruction. In the 5 women who completed the study, there were significant reductions from baseline to 24 weeks in body weight (-12%), percent free testosterone (-22%), LH/FSH ratio (-36%), and fasting insulin (-54%). There were non-significant decreases in insulin, glucose, testosterone, HgbA1c, triglyceride, and perceived body hair. Two women became pregnant despite previous infertility problems.

Conclusion
In this pilot study, a LCKD led to significant improvement in weight, percent free testosterone, LH/FSH ratio, and fasting insulin in women with obesity and PCOS over a 24 week period.
Thickness of the human cranial diploe in relation to age, sex and general body build
Authors: Lynnerup Niels , Astrup Jacob G , Sejrsen Birgitte 
Published: December 2005

Abstract

Background
Earlier studies have addressed the human total cranial vault thickness and generally found no correlation with sex, age or body weight. However, the thickness of the diploe has not been investigated. Our study has determined the diploeic thickness of the human cranial vault using modern autopsy material.

Methods
The diploeic bone thickness was measured in 64 individuals (43 males, 21 females) autopsied at our institute. The thickness was measured by X-raying biopsies trephined at four specific locations on the skull. Complete medical records and pathologic autopsy results were available.

Results
There was a statistically significant difference in diploeic thickness between males and females in the frontal region only. Diploeic thickness was highly correlated with total cranial vault bone thickness, except for the left euryon in females. Subsequent analyses failed to reveal any correlations between the diploeic thickness and age and height and weight of the individual.

Conclusion
Males overall have a thicker diploe, albeit this difference is statistically significant only in the frontal region. We could not discern any trends as pertains to diploeic thickness versus age, height or weight. Since the thickness of the diploe may be an important parameter in biomechanical modelling of the cranial vault, this means that the diploe can be built into such models based on the total cranial thickness, except for the frontal region where the sexual dimorphism must be taken into account. Our findings are consistent with previous studies relating the total cranial thickness to the same parameters, in that we found a high correlation between diploeic and total cranial thickness (except at the left euryon for females). Finally, we recommend that future studies try to incorporate CT or MR scan imaging, rather than point sampling, in order to achieve a total assessment of the dimensionalities of the diploe.
A procedure for localisation and electrophysiological characterisation of ion channels heterologously expressed in a plant context
Authors: Hosy E , Duby G , Véry A-A , Costa A , Sentenac H , Thibaud J-B 
Published: December 2005

Abstract

Background
In silico analyses based on sequence similarities with animal channels have identified a large number of plant genes likely to encode ion channels. The attempts made to characterise such putative plant channels at the functional level have most often relied on electrophysiological analyses in classical expression systems, such as Xenopus oocytes or mammalian cells. In a number of cases, these expression systems have failed so far to provide functional data and one can speculate that using a plant expression system instead of an animal one might provide a more efficient way towards functional characterisation of plant channels, and a more realistic context to investigate regulation of plant channels.

Results
With the aim of developing a plant expression system readily amenable to electrophysiological analyses, we optimised experimental conditions for preparation and transformation of tobacco mesophyll protoplasts and engineered expression plasmids, that were designed to allow subcellular localisation and functional characterisation of ion channels eventually in presence of their putative (possibly over-expressed) regulatory partners. Two inward K+ channels from the Shaker family were functionally expressed in this system: not only the compliant KAT1 but also the recalcitrant AKT1 channel, which remains electrically silent when expressed in Xenopus oocytes or in mammalian cells.

Conclusion
The level of endogenous currents in control protoplasts seems compatible with the use of the described experimental procedures for the characterisation of plant ion channels, by studying for instance their subcellular localisation, functional properties, structure-function relationships, interacting partners and regulation, very likely in a more realistic context than the classically used animal systems.
Cell surface expression of intermediate filament proteins vimentin and lamin B1 in human neutrophil spontaneous apoptosis
Authors: Moisan Eliane , Girard Denis 
Published: December 2005

Abstract
Neutrophils represent an important source of autoantigens for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated with vasculitis. To date, two cytoskeletal proteins, vinculin and vimentin, have been reported to be expressed on the cell surfaces of activated macrophages, platelets, and apoptotic T lymphocytes. However, such cell surface expression has never been studied in human neutrophils. As we recently demonstrated that different cytoskeletal proteins were cleaved in apoptotic neutrophils, we hypothesized that some of these were expressed on the cell surface of apoptotic neutrophils. Herein, we found that among vinculin, paxillin, gelsolin, vimentin, lamin B1, α-tubulin, and β-tubulin, only the two intermediate filament (INFIL) proteins, vimentin and lamin B1, are expressed on the cell surface of 24-h aged neutrophils [spontaneous apoptosis (SA)]. By monitoring intracellular expression of vimentin and lamin B1 during SA, we found that these two proteins were cleaved and that such cleavage was reversed by the pan caspase inhibitor N-benzyloxy-carbonyl-V-A-D-O-methylfluoromethyl ketone (z-VAD-fmk). When neutrophil apoptosis was delayed or suppressed by lipopolysaccharide or the cytokines granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte macrophage (GM)-CSF, or interleukin-4, the loss of intracellular expression of vimentin and lamin B1 was prevented. The INFIL proteins were absent from the cell surface when neutrophil apoptosis was delayed. Addition of z-VAD-fmk significantly decreased the cell surface expression of vimentin and lamin B1 during SA. This study provides the first evidence that apoptotic neutrophils express cytoskeletal proteins on their surface, opening the possibility that these cells may participate in the development of autoantibodies directed against cytoskeletal proteins, a condition frequently reported in several inflammatory diseases.
Neutrophil chemorepulsion in defined interleukin-8 gradients in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Tharp William G , Yadav R , Irimia D , Upadhyaya A , Samadani A , Hurtado O , Liu S Y , Munisamy S , Brainard D M , Mahon M J , Nourshargh S , van Oudenaarden A , Toner M G , Poznansky Mark C 
Published: December 2005

Abstract
We report for the first time that primary human neutrophils can undergo persistent, directionally biased movement away from a chemokine in vitro and in vivo, termed chemorepulsion or fugetaxis. Robust neutrophil chemorepulsion in microfluidic gradients of interleukin-8 (IL-8; CXC chemokine ligand 8) was dependent on the absolute concentration of chemokine, CXC chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2), and was associated with polarization of cytoskeletal elements and signaling molecules involved in chemotaxis and leading edge formation. Like chemoattraction, chemorepulsion was pertussis toxin-sensitive and dependent on phosphoinositide-3 kinase, RhoGTPases, and associated proteins. Perturbation of neutrophil intracytoplasmic cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentrations and the activity of protein kinase C isoforms modulated directional bias and persistence of motility and could convert a chemorepellent to a chemoattractant response. Neutrophil chemorepulsion to an IL-8 ortholog was also demonstrated and quantified in a rat model of inflammation. The finding that neutrophils undergo chemorepulsion in response to continuous chemokine gradients expands the paradigm by which neutrophil migration is understood and may reveal a novel approach to our understanding of the homeostatic regulation of inflammation.
The issue of risk in complex adaptive systems: the case of low-dose radiation induced cancer
Authors: Feinendegen L E , Neumann R D 
Published: December 2005

Living systems exist in hierarchical levels of biological organization, ascending from the basic atomic-molecular level, to the cellular level, the tissue-organ level, and the whole organism. All levels and elements at each level communicate with each other though intricate intra-and intercellular signaling through many specified molecular interactions. These regulate homeostasis between the system levels and their individual elements. The probability of a defined effect at the basic atomic-molecular level per impact increment of a toxic agent, such as ionizing radiation, at that level appears constant at low doses, even if the probability constant may change as a consequence of a previous exposure. Thus, at a given state of the system, the incidence of effect at the atomic-molecular level increases linearly with the number of impact increments in terms of energy deposition events. Primary effects may amplify to damage and there are immediate attempts at repairing the damage from an effect. Amplification and propagation of damage at, and from, the basic to higher levels of biological organization meets resistance, the degree of which per impact increment is not constant. It changes with the number of impact increments. This resistance encompasses both physicochemical and biochemical reactions. The corresponding biochemical reactions express the physiological system's capacity to respond to perturbations of homeostasis at and between the various levels. Types and degrees of these responses depend on the system and the degree of homeostatic perturbation. At relatively mild to moderate degrees of perturbation, protective responses appear with a delay of hours and may last for months, shield also against endogenous non-radiogenic damage, and in doing so may prevail over radiogenic damage. With increasing degrees of homeostatic perturbation, damage eventually overwhelms adaptive protection. Thus, systems do not respond in a linear function of impact increments at the lowest level of biological organization. For assessing the probability of radiation damage per absorbed dose, i.e., risk, in complex adaptive systems, both damaging and protecting responses need attention, and to exclude one for the other is scientifically unjustified and misleading.
Profiles in Patient Safety: Confirmation Bias in Emergency Medicine
Authors: Pines Jesse M. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractConfirmation bias is a pitfall in emergency care and may lead to inaccurate diagnoses and inappropriate treatments and care plans. Because of the increasing severity and volume of emergency care, emergency physicians often must rely on heuristics, such as rule‐out protocols, as a guide to diagnosing and treating patients. The use of heuristics or protocols can be potentially misleading if the initial diagnostic impression is incorrect. To minimize cognitive dissonance, clinicians may accentuate confirmatory data and ignore nonconfirmatory data. Clinicians should recognize confirmation bias as a potential pitfall in medical decision making in the emergency department. Reliance on the scientific method, Bayesian reasoning, metacognition, and cognitive forcing strategies may serve to improve diagnostic accuracy and improve patient care.
Predicting Smoking Stage of Change among Emergency Department Patients and Visitors
Authors: Boudreaux Edwin D. , Hunter Gabrielle C. , Bos Karen , Clark Sunday , Camargo Carlos A. 
Published: December 2005

Abstract
Objectives:
Little is known about whether emergency department (ED) patients or those who accompany them (visitors) are interested in smoking cessation. The authors hypothesized that several variables would be associated with stage of change, including nicotine dependence, self‐efficacy, presence of a smoking‐related illness, and anticipated cessation‐related health improvement.
Methods:
For two 24‐hour periods, consecutive patients and visitors aged 18 years and older presenting to four Boston EDs were interviewed. The authors assessed a range of smoking‐related constructs. Exclusion criteria included severe illness, cognitive insufficiency, and acute distress.
Results:
One thousand ten subjects were screened (56% patients, 44% visitors). Two hundred thirty‐seven (23%) subjects were current smokers, with 57% being in precontemplation, 31% in contemplation, and 12% in preparation stages. When ordinal regression was used, the variables most strongly associated with stage of change were as follows: self‐efficacy (odds ratio [OR] = 5.1; p < 0.001), anticipated cessation‐related health improvement (OR = 2.7; p = 0.02), and having a smoking‐related health problem (OR = 1.9; p = 0.08).
Conclusions:
Because many disenfranchised Americans use the ED as a regular source of health care, increased attention to smoking in the ED setting holds tremendous public health potential. This study's results reinforce the validity of the stage‐of‐change model within the ED setting. Developers of ED‐initiated interventions will have to consider the heterogeneity in stage of change when designing their treatments.
Susceptibility of Recent Bacterial Isolates to Cefdinir and Selected Antibiotics among Children with Urinary Tract Infections
Authors: Bonsu Bema K. , Shuler Lori , Sawicki Laura , Dorst Pam , Cohen Daniel M. 
Published: December 2005

Abstract Background: Cefdinir, an extended‐spectrum cephalosporin administered orally, is approved by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration for treatment of skin and respiratory tract infections. During the last two years at the authors' institution, this agent has been used as an off‐label treatment for urinary tract infections in children. Objectives: To evaluate antimicrobial susceptibility testing data in children to determine whether there is support for this prescribing practice. Methods: In this retrospective study (2003–2004), the authors compared the susceptibility patterns of urinary pathogens to cefdinir and selected antibiotics in children who were evaluated for urinary tract infections in an urban tertiary academic pediatric emergency department. Pathogens (community acquired vs. opportunistic or nosocomial) were categorized as susceptible, indeterminate, or resistant on the basis of antibiotic susceptibility breakpoints. The frequency of these categorizations for individual drugs was determined. Results: Seven hundred five isolates were recovered from urine during the study period. Pathogens isolated most frequently were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp, and Proteus spp. Of 431 isolates retained in the data set, 412 (95.6%) were susceptible to cefdinir. This rate was comparable or superior to rates observed for other antibiotics: 49.4% for ampicillin, 84.9% for trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole, 88.4% for cefazolin, 93.3% for nitrofurantoin, 94.2% for ticarcillin–clavulanate potassium, 97.5% for gentamicin, and 97.7% for ceftriaxone. Cefdinir, however, had lower activity (64.7%) against 17 bacterial isolates categorized as opportunistic or nosocomial pathogens. Conclusions: Cefdinir provides good coverage against common pathogens responsible for urinary tract infections in children and compares favorably with other oral and parenteral antibiotics that are used in the empiric treatment of this infection.
Using Queueing Theory to Increase the Effectiveness of Emergency Department Provider Staffing
Authors: Green Linda V. , Soares João , Giglio James F. , Green Robert A. 
Published: December 2005

Abstract
Objectives:
Significant variation in emergency department (ED) patient arrival rates necessitates the adjustment of staffing patterns to optimize the timely care of patients. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a queueing model in identifying provider staffing patterns to reduce the fraction of patients who leave without being seen.
Methods:
The authors collected detailed ED arrival data from an urban hospital and used a Lag SIPP queueing analysis to gain insights on how to change provider staffing to decrease the proportion of patients who leave without being seen. The authors then compared this proportion for the same 39‐week period before and after the resulting changes.
Results:
Despite an increase in arrival volume of 1,078 patients (6.3%), an average increase in provider hours of 12 hours per week (3.1%) resulted in 258 fewer patients who left without being seen. This represents a decrease in the proportion of patients who left without being seen by 22.9%. Restricting attention to a four‐day subset of the week during which there was no increase in total provider hours, a reallocation of providers based on the queueing model resulted in 161 fewer patients who left without being seen (21.7%), despite an additional 548 patients (5.5%) arriving in the second half of the study.
Conclusions:
Timely access to a provider is a critical dimension of ED quality performance. In an environment in which EDs are often understaffed, analyses of arrival patterns and the use of queueing models can be extremely useful in identifying the most effective allocation of staff.
Publication Bias of Randomized Controlled Trials in Emergency Medicine
Authors: Ospina Maria B. , Kelly Karen , Klassen Terry P. , Rowe Brian H. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractObjectives:To determine the publication status and time to publication of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were presented at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) meetings from 1995 to 2003. The impact of positive‐outcome bias, time‐lag bias, and gray literature bias also was assessed.Methods:Retrospective cohort study of RCT abstracts presented at nine SAEM scientific meetings. Electronic searches identified publications from the abstracts.Results:Of 4,399 abstracts, 383 (8.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.8% to 9.5%) were identified as RCTs. One hundred ninety‐four (50.7%; 95% CI = 45.7% to 55.7%) were subsequently published up to May 2004. The median time to publication was 32 months (95% CI = 23 to 41), with 59% of RCT abstracts published within five years of presentation. No evidence of positive‐outcome bias or time‐lag bias was identified; however, changes from abstract to manuscript were found. Manuscripts were less likely to endorse the experimental intervention than were abstracts (OR, 0.2; 95% CI = 0.0 to 0.6).Conclusions:The proportion of emergency medicine RCT abstracts published is slightly lower than that for other biomedical specialties; however, biases reported by investigators in other biomedical areas do not appear to be as problematic in emergency medicine research. Differences between conclusions from abstracts and manuscripts must be considered when employing meeting abstracts as a source of evidence for future research or for systematic reviews in emergency medicine.