bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Incidence of and Risk Factors for Airway Complications Following Endotracheal Intubation for Bronchiolitis
Authors: Jorgensen Jeffrey , Wei Julie L. , Sykes Kevin J. , Klem Stephen A. , Weatherly Robert A. , Bruegger Daniel E. , Latz Adriane D. , Nicklaus Pamela J. 
Published: August 2007

OBJECTIVETo identify risk factors predisposing to postextubation complications and the incidence of subglottic stenosis following endotracheal intubation for bronchiolitis.STUDY DESIGN AND SETTINGA review of 144 consecutive infants and children intubated for bronchiolitis between 2000 and 2005 at a regional children's hospital.RESULTSThe mean age at diagnosis was 6.4 months. Follow‐up data were available in 93 patients (64.6%), and average length of follow‐up was 9.3 months. One hundred and three patients (71.5%) had positive RSV detection. Average duration of intubation was 5.5 days. Twenty‐six patients (18.1%) required reintubation during the same admission. Children intubated for less than 3 days and those greater than 12 months of age were more likely to experience postextubation difficulties. Approximately 40% of patients experienced postextubation difficulties. Subglottic pathology was found on endoscopy in 6 patients (4%). There were no cases of long‐term subglottic stenosis.CONCLUSIONImmediate postextubation complications are common after bronchiolitis, especially in patients intubated for less than 3 days and greater than 12 months of age. We found no evidence of long‐term subglottic stenosis in this population.
Comparison of Cytokine Levels in Bilateral Ear Effusions in Patients with Otitis Media Secretoria
Authors: Matkovic Svjetlana , Vojvodic Danilo , Baljosevic Ivan 
Published: August 2007

OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study was to clarify the site of primary pathology in otitis media with effusion.STUDY DESIGN AND SETTINGThe levels of the inflammatory mediators TNF‐α, TNF‐β, IL‐1β, IL‐8, IL‐6, IL‐4, IL‐2, IL‐5, IL‐10, and IFN‐7 were measured in 54 pairs (108 samples) using specific enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs).RESULTSThe levels of pro‐inflammatory cytokines TNF‐α, TNF‐β, IL‐1β, IL‐8, anti‐inflammatory cytokines IL‐5, IL‐4, IL‐10, IL‐6, and cytokines with immunoregulatory potential IFN‐7, IL‐2 were different between both ears of the same patient.CONCLUSIONThe results suggest that in one individual both ears have different immunological processes or rates and this has implications on using the opposite ear as a control in clinical trials.SIGNIFICANCEProfiles of interlink of examined cytokines within the samples of both ear effusions were significantly different. A significant bilateral difference was found in the levels of IFN‐7.
Wireless Upper Esophageal Monitoring for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR)
Authors: Friedman Michael , Schalch Paul , Vidyasagar Ramakrishnan , Kakodkar Kedar A. , Mazloom Narges , Joseph Ninos J. 
Published: August 2007

OBJECTIVESTo confirm feasibility of transnasal placement of a wireless pH‐monitoring capsule in the upper esophagus, and to determine the positive predictive value of LPR and GERD signs and symptoms for diagnosis of LPR in patients with OSAHS.STUDY DESIGNProspective, nonrandomized, IRB‐approved study of 89 OSAHS patients with and without symptoms and signs of LPR.METHODSAfter complete history including QOL survey and fiberoptic laryngoscopy, patients underwent transnasal placement of the pH‐monitoring capsule and wireless data collection for 24 hours.RESULTS77 of 89 consecutive patients underwent successful placement of wireless pH‐monitoring capsule (86.5% success rate) and completed the study. 55 (71.4%) OSAHS patients had positive pH studies. 10.4% of these patients reported no symptoms or signs of LPR, indicating occult disease.CONCLUSIONSuccess rates of placement, tolerability, morbidity, and complications are excellent. Wireless upper esophageal pH monitoring is safe and effective for diagnosing LPR in patients with OSAHS.
Effect of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor on Laryngeal Wound Healing in Rabbits
Authors: Schroeder James W. , Rastatter Jeffrey C. , Walner David L. 
Published: August 2007

OBJECTIVEStudy the effects of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on laryngeal wound healing in a rabbit model. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, blinded.METHODSThe anterior cricoid cartilage of 10 rabbits was split and a VEGF‐soaked collagen sponge was sewn between the cut edges. In 10 control animals, the collagen sponge was soaked with phosphate‐buffered saline solution. The larynx was harvested on day 10. The degree of epithelial closure, the degree of soft tissue closure, and the presence of inflammatory cells was graded.RESULTSThere was complete epithelial closure in the control group. There was a slightly higher, but not statistically significant, grade of soft tissue closure in the experimental group. The experimental group had a lower but not statistically significant acute inflammatory response score.CONCLUSIONSThe topical application of VEGF through an implanted collagen sponge to an anterior, subglottic incision in a rabbit has no significant effect on tracheal luminal epithelial closure, acute inflammatory response, or soft tissue repair at postsurgical day 10.
Energy utilization and growth performance of broilers receiving diets supplemented with enzymes containing carbohydrase or phytase activity individually or in combination
Authors: Olukosi Oluyinka A. , Cowieson Aaron J. , Adeola Olayiwola 
Published: August 2007

Energy utilization in broilers as influenced by supplementation of enzymes containing phytase or carbohydrase activities was investigated. Day-old male broilers (480) were allocated to four slaughter groups, thirty broilers in the initial slaughter group and 150 broilers in each of the final slaughter groups on days 7, 14 and 21. Broilers in each of the final slaughter groups were allocated to five treatments in a randomized complete block design, each treatment had six replicate cages of five broilers per replicate cage. The diets were maize–soyabean based with wheat as a source of NSP. The treatments were: (1) positive control that met nutrient requirements of the day-old broiler chick; (2) negative control (NC) deficient in metabolizable energy and P; (3) NC plus phytase added at 1000 FTU/kg; (4) NC plus cocktail of xylanase, amylase and protease (XAP); and (5) NC plus phytase and XAP. Gain and gain:food were depressed (P < 0·05) in the NC diet. Phytase improved (P < 0·05) gain at all ages and gain:food at days 0–14 and days 0–21. There was improvement (P < 0·01) in net energy for production, energy retained as fat and protein from days 0 to 14 and from days 0 to 21 in phytase-supplemented diet compared with the NC diet. Net energy for production was more highly correlated with performance criteria than metabolizable energy and may be a more sensitive energy utilization response criterion to use in evaluating broiler response to enzyme supplementation.
The consequences of non-starch polysaccharide solubility and inclusion level on the health and performance of weaned pigs challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
Authors: Wellock I. J. , Fortomaris P. D. , Houdijk J. G. M. , Wiseman J. , Kyriazakis I. 
Published: August 2007

The inclusion of insoluble NSP (iNSP) in weaner pig diets has been reported to decrease post-weaning colibacillosis (PWC). Conversely, soluble NSP (sNSP) have been shown to exacerbate PWC. The present study investigated the effect of NSP solubility and inclusion level on the health and performance of newly weaned pigs challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), using NSP sources known not to affect digesta viscosity, in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial combination of NSP solubility (iNSP v. sNSP), inclusion level (low (L; 50 g/kg) v. high (H; 150 g/kg)) and ETEC challenge (infected v. sham). Infection had no effect on pig health, but reduced performance to a larger extent in pigs on the L diets compared with those on the H diets. The inclusion of sNSP significantly decreased the occurrence of diarrhoea (P < 0·001) and improved gut health, as indicated by a lower caecal digesta pH (P = 0·008) and increased (P = 0·002) Lactobacillus:coliform ratio, when compared with the iNSP diet on day 14 post-weaning. There was no effect of NSP solubility on ETEC shedding, digesta viscosity or pig performance. Pigs on the H diets had fewer cases of diarrhoea and shed fewer ETEC than those on the L diets. Increasing NSP inclusion significantly increased colonic Lactobacillus:coliform ratio, volatile fatty acid concentration and caecal digesta viscosity, but decreased performance. These results suggest that sNSP per se are not detrimental to pig health and that increasing the concentration of NSP in weaner diets that do not increase digesta viscosity may have a beneficial effect on gut health and protect against PWC.
RESISTING CONTROL OF NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES: DILEMMAS IN THE MASS TREATMENT OF SCHISTOSOMIASIS AND SOIL-TRANSMITTED HELMINTHS IN NORTH-WEST UGANDA
Authors: PARKER MELISSA , ALLEN TIM , HASTINGS JULIE 
Published: August 2007

SummaryA strong case has recently been made by academics and policymakers to develop national programmes for the integrated control of Africa’s ‘neglected tropical diseases’. Uganda was the first country to develop a programme for the integrated control of two of these diseases: schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths. This paper discusses social responses to the programme in Panyimur, north-west Uganda. It shows that adults are increasingly rejecting free treatment. Resistance is attributed to a subjective fear of side-effects; divergence between biomedical and local understandings of schistosomiasis/bilharzia; as well as inappropriate and inadequate health education. In addition, the current procedures for distributing drugs at a district level are problematic. Additional research was carried out in neighbouring areas to explore the generalizability of findings. Comparable problems have arisen. It is concluded that the national programme will not fulfil its stated objectives of establishing a local demand for mass treatment unless it can establish more effective delivery strategies and promote behavioural change in socially appropriate ways. To do so will require new approaches to social, economic and political aspects of distribution. There are reasons why populations infected with the ‘neglected tropical diseases’ are themselves neglected. Those reasons cannot just be wished away.
MENARCHE AND FATHER ABSENCE IN A NATIONAL PROBABILITY SAMPLE
Authors: BOGAERT ANTHONY F. 
Published: August 2007

SummaryThe relation between women’s timing of menarche and father absence was examined in a national probability sample of Great Britain (NATSAL 2000; N>5000). Current body mass index (as a proxy for childhood weight) was examined as a potential mediator of this relationship, along with the potential moderating role that siblings (e.g. number of older brothers) had on this relationship. As in a number of previous studies, an absent father (but not an absent mother) during childhood predicted an earlier age of puberty (i.e. an early menarche). There was no evidence that weight mediated this relationship or that siblings moderated it. Both a lower body mass index and more siblings (e.g. more younger sisters and brothers) were independent predictors of a later timing of puberty. The results confirm that certain psychosocial factors (i.e. father absence; presence of siblings) may affect the timing of sexual maturation in adolescent girls.
PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PRACTICES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MALARIA CONTROL IN MUKONO DISTRICT UGANDA
Authors: MBONYE A. K. , BYGBJERG I. C. , MAGNUSSEN P. 
Published: August 2007

SummaryAvailable data in Uganda indicate a resurgence of malaria morbidity and mortality countrywide. This study assessed the burden of malaria, treatment and prevention practices in order initiate a policy debate on the scaling-up of current interventions. A triangulation of methods using a cross-sectional survey and key informant interviews was used to assess self-reported malaria at a household level in Mukono District, Uganda. A total of 5583 households were surveyed, and a high proportion (2897, 51·9%) reported a person with malaria two weeks prior to the survey. Only 546 households (9·8%) owned and used insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) for malaria prevention. Similarly, only a few households (86, 1·5%) used indoor residual spraying. Self-treatment with home-stocked drugs was high, yet there was low awareness of the effectiveness of expired drugs on malaria treatment. Self-reported malaria was associated with socioeconomic, behavioural and environmental factors, but more especially with household ownership of ITNs. These results will contribute to the current debate on identifying new approaches for scaling-up prevention interventions and effective case management, as well as selection of priority interventions for malaria control in Uganda.
Receptive (aural) vocabulary development in children with permanent bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment
Authors: Kiese-Himmel C 
Published: August 2007

AbstractObjective:The receptive (aural) vocabulary development of children with binaural-aided residual hearing was investigated in a prospective longitudinal analysis (repeated measures).Patient and methods:Thirty-three children with sensorineural hearing loss, without major co-morbidities (mean age at the first testing point, 56.2 months, standard deviation 19.0 months) were recruited from the 1994 German Goettinger Hearing Language Register. Their receptive vocabulary was measured using standardised tests (with reference to normal hearing child performance) on three separate test points (mean follow up, 18.7 months, standard deviation 5.0 months).Results:On average, the study group scored below the normal range at the first and second tests and made a significant improvement at the last test. The degree of hearing loss was found to be significantly correlated to vocabulary performance at all time points, with increasing correlation coefficients. At the third test, significant predictive variables for successful receptive vocabulary outcome were found to be: degree of hearing loss (t = 5.43;p < 0.0001); age at diagnosis (t = 2.29;p = 0.03); and nonverbal intelligence (t = 2.82;p = 0.009).Conclusion:If permanent childhood hearing impairment is mild and/or is detected early, and if the child grows up in a monolingual environment, the development of receptive vocabulary within the normal range is possible.
‘No Topic Has Been the Subject of More Confusion’: Two Books on the Relationship between International Politics and Law
Authors: ROTHMAN MAARTEN 
Published: August 2007

Jack L. Goldsmith and Eric A. Posner, The Limits of International Law, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN-13: 9780195314175, ISBN-10: 0195314174, 272 pp., £11.99 (pb).Thomas J. Schoenbaum, International Relations: The Path Not Taken. Using International Law to Promote World Peace and Security, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,2006, ISBN-13: 9780521681506, ISBN-10: 0521681502, 320 pp., £16.99 (pb).
Narrative in adolescent specific language impairment (SLI): a comparison with peers across two different narrative genres
Authors: Wetherell Danielle , Botting Nicola , Conti‐Ramsden Gina 
Published: August 2007

AbstractBackground: Narrative may provide a useful way in which to assess the language ability of adolescents with specific language impairment and may be more ecologically valid than standardized tests. However, the language of this age group is seldom studied and, furthermore, the effect of narrative genre has not been explored in detail.Methods & Procedures: A total of 99 typically developing adolescents and 19 peers with specific language impairment were given two different types of narrative task: a story‐telling condition and a conversational condition. Four areas of narrative (productivity, syntactic complexity, syntactic errors and performance) were assessed.Outcomes & Results: The group with specific language impairment was poorer on most aspects of narrative confirming recent research that specific language impairment is a long‐term disorder. A number of measures also showed interactions between group and genre, with story‐telling proving to be a disproportionately more difficult task for the specific language impairment group. Error analysis also suggested that the specific language impairment group was making qualitatively different errors to the typically developing group, even within a genre.Conclusions: Adolescents with specific language impairment are not only poorer at both types of narrative than peers, but also show different patterns of competence and error, and require more support from the narrative‐partner.Clinical Implications: Assessments of adolescents are less frequent than at younger ages. This is partly because of the sparsity of tests available in this age range. Qualitative analysis of narrative might prove a useful alternative. The findings suggest that in every‐day conversation, young people with specific language impairment manage their difficulties more discreetly and this might make them harder to identify in a mainstream setting.
Analysis of formant frequencies in patients with oral or oropharyngeal cancers treated by glossectomy
Authors: Kazi Rehan , Prasad Vyas M. N. , Kanagalingam Jeeve , Georgalas Christos , Venkitaraman Ramachandran , Nutting Christopher M. , Clarke Peter , Rhys‐Evans Peter , Harrington Kevin J. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractAims: To compare voice quality as defined by formant analysis using a sustained vowel in patients who have undergone a partial glossectomy with a group of normal subjects.Methods & Procedures: The design consisted of a single centre, cross‐sectional cohort study. The setting was an Adult Tertiary Referral Unit. A total of 26 patients (19 males) who underwent partial glossectomy and 31 normal volunteers (18 males) participated in the study. Group comparisons using the first three formant frequencies (F1, F2 and F3) using linear predictive coding (Laryngograph Ltd, London, UK) were performed. The existence of any significant difference of F1, F2 and F3 between the two groups using the sustained vowel /i/ and the effects of other factors, namely age, first presentation versus recurrence, site (oral cavity, oropharynx), subsite (anterior two‐thirds of the tongue, tongue base), stage, radiation, complication, and neck dissection, were analysed.Outcomes & Results: Formant frequencies F1, F2 and F3 were normally distributed. F1 and F2 were significantly different in normal males versus females. F1, F2 and F3 were not different statistically between male and female glossectomees. Comparison of only women showed significant differences between normal subjects and patients in F2 and F3, but none in F1. This was the opposite in men where F1 was significantly different. Age, tumour presentation, site, subsite, radiation and neck dissection showed no significant difference. Postoperative complications significantly affected the F1 formant frequency.Conclusions: The study found that the formant values in patients following a partial glossectomy were altered significantly as compared with the normal control subjects. Only gender and complications and not the age, site, subsite, radiation and neck dissection were seen to influence the formant scores.
Solution structure of Ca2+‐free rat β‐parvalbumin (oncomodulin)
Authors: Henzl Michael T. , Tanner John J. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractRelative to other parvalbumin isoforms, the mammalian β‐parvalbumin (oncomodulin) displays attenuated divalent ion affinity. High‐resolution structural data for the Ca2+‐bound protein have provided little insight into the physical basis for this behavior, prompting an examination of the unliganded state. This article describes the solution structure and peptide backbone dynamics of Ca2+‐free rat β‐parvalbumin (β‐PV). Ca2+removal evidently provokes significant structural alterations. Interaction between the D helix and the AB domain in the Ca2+‐bound protein is greatly diminished in the apo‐form, permitting the D helix to straighten. There is also a significant reorganization of the hydrophobic core and a concomitant remodeling of the interface between the AB and CD‐EF domains. These modifications perturb the orientation of the C and D helices, and the energetic penalty associated with their reversal could contribute to the low‐affinity signature of the CD site. By contrast, Ca2+removal causes a comparatively minor perturbation of the E and F helices, consistent with the more typical divalent ion affinity observed for the EF site. Ca2+‐free rat β‐PV retains structural rigidity on the picosecond–nanosecond timescale. At 20°C, the majority of amide vectors show no evidence for motion on timescales above 20 ps, and the average order parameter for the entire molecule is 0.92.
Amino‐acid interactions in psychrophiles, mesophiles, thermophiles, and hyperthermophiles: Insights from the quasi‐chemical approximation
Authors: Goldstein Richard A. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractWe investigate the mechanisms used by proteins to maintain thermostability throughout a wide range of temperatures. We use the quasi‐chemical approximation to estimate interaction strengths for psychrophiles, mesophiles, thermophiles, and hyperthermophiles. Our results highlight the importance of core packing in thermophilic stability. Although we observed an increase in the number of charged residues, the contribution of salt bridges appears to be relatively modest by comparison. We observed results consistent with a gradual loosening of structure in psychrophiles, including a weakening of almost all types of interactions.
Comparing the structure and dynamics of phospholamban pentamer in its unphosphorylated and pseudo‐phosphorylated states
Authors: Oxenoid Kirill , Rice Amanda J. , Chou James J. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractHuman phospholamban (PLN), a 30 kDa homopentamer in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membrane, controls the magnitude of heart muscle contraction and relaxation by regulating the calcium pumping activity of the SR Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA). When PLN is not phosphorylated, it binds and inhibits SERCA. Phosphorylation of PLN at S16 or T17 releases such inhibitory effect. It remains a matter of debate whether phosphorylation perturbs the structure of PLN, which in turn affects its interaction with SERCA. Here we examine by NMR spectroscopy the structure and dynamics of PLN pentamer with a physiologically relevant, phosphorylation‐mimicking mutation, S16E. Based on extensive NMR data, including NOEs, dipolar couplings, and solvent exchange of backbone amides, we conclude that the phosphorylation‐mimicking mutation does not perturb the pentamer structure. However,15NR1andR2relaxation rates and15N(1H) NOEs suggest subtle differences in the dynamics of the extramembrane portion of the protein.
The mutability of enzyme active‐site shape determinants
Authors: Miller Brian G. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractInvestigations of enzyme action typically focus on elucidating the catalytic roles of hydrogen bonding interactions between polar active‐site residues and substrate molecules. Less clear is the importance of non‐hydrogen bonding contacts to enzymatic rate accelerations. To investigate the importance of such interactions in a model system, six residues that participate in van der Waals contacts with substrate glucose within the active site of Escherichia coli glucokinase were individually randomized via site‐directed mutagenesis. In vivo selection in a glucokinase‐deficient bacterium was employed to identify amino acid substitutions that were complicit with enzyme activity. The results suggest that small residues, such as alanine and glycine, are largely immutable, whereas larger amino acids are more tolerant of diverse substitution patterns. Surprisingly, a glucokinase variant that contains glycine in place of six non‐hydrogen bonding contacts retains ∼1% of the wild‐type activity. These findings establish non‐hydrogen bonding shape determinants as highly appealing targets for widespread substitution during efforts to redesign the catalytic properties of natural enzymes.