bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Home percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy feeding: perceptions of patients, carers, nurses and dietitians
Authors: Brotherton Ailsa M. , Abbott Janice , Hurley Margaret A. , Aggett Peter J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractTitle.  Home percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy feeding: perceptions of patients, carers, nurses and dietitians Aim.  This paper is a report of a study to compare the perceptions of adult patients, family carers, nurses and dietitians regarding home percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy feeding.Background.  Healthcare professionals have a major role in patient selection for gastrostomy placement and the provision of aftercare but it is not clear if patients, their carers and healthcare professionals have similar perceptions of the initiation and delivery of feeding and of the care in general.Method.  A cross‐sectional mixed‐method study using purposive sampling, semi‐structured interviews and questionnaires was performed. Interviews were undertaken during 2005 with adult patients and carers of adults receiving home feeding. A questionnaire containing comparable questions was distributed to the lead district nurse and dietitian providing the individual patient's care. Binomial regression was used to analyse any differences in perceptions across the groups of respondents.Results.  Nurses and dietitians had similar perceptions of gastrostomy feeding in adults. Family carers’ perceptions matched those of professionals more closely than did those of patients. The greatest difference in perceptions was between patients and their family carers. Respondents’ views about success of feeding and the appropriateness of the feeding regimen were similar, but greater differences existed regarding quality of life, withdrawal of feeding and choice in decision‐making about tube placement.Conclusion.  There is a need for increased patient and carer involvement in decision‐making and for sufficient, appropriate information to facilitate informed decision‐making. Practitioners who involve carers in decision‐making, where patients lack capacity, need to be aware that carers may not represent the views of patients.
Heterochromatic and genetic features are consistent with recombination suppression of the self‐incompatibility locus in Antirrhinum
Authors: Yang Qiuying , Zhang Dongfen , Li Qun , Cheng Zhukuan , Xue Yongbiao 
Published: May 2007

SummarySelf‐incompatibility (SI) is a genetic mechanism to prevent self‐fertilization that is found in many species of flowering plants. Molecular studies have demonstrated that the S‐RNase and SLF/SFB genes encoded by the single polymorphic S locus, which control the pollen and pistil functions of SI in three distantly related families, the Solanaceae, Scrophulariaceae and Rosaceae, are organized in a haplotype‐specific manner. Previous work suggested that the haplotype structure of the two genes is probably maintained by recombination suppression at the S locus. To examine features associated with this suppression, we first mapped the S locus of Antirrhinum hispanicum, a member of the Scrophulariaceae, to a highly heterochromatic region close to the distal end of the short arm of chromosome 8. Both leptotene chromosome and DNA fiber fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses showed an obvious haplotype specificity of the Antirrhinum S locus that is consistent with its haplotype structure. A chromosome inversion was also detected around this region between A. majus and A. hispanicum. These results revealed that DNA sequence polymorphism and a heterochromatic location are associated with the S locus. Possible roles of these features in maintenance of the haplotype specificity involved in both self and non‐self recognition are discussed.
Directional Freezing of Equine Semen in Large Volumes
Authors: Saragusty J , Gacitua H , Pettit MT , Arav A 
Published: May 2007

ContentsDespite its potential impact on the horse industry, sperm cryopreservation is not an established technology throughout the industry, for a number of reasons that include a reduction in pregnancy rate and increased cost per pregnancy. We have evaluated a novel directional freezing technique, based on a multi‐thermal gradient (MTG), by comparing it with the conventional, controlled‐rate cryopreservation method (CRCM). Ninety‐seven ejaculates with ≥50% motility, collected from 31 stallions were each divided into two parts and subsequently frozen by either MTG or CRCM. Frozen samples were then stored in liquid nitrogen until thawing. The two treatments were evaluated by three methods: progressive linear motility (PLM), viability stain and hypoosmotic swelling (HOS) test. High correlation was found between the three evaluation methods for all post‐thaw samples. Eighty‐eight per cent of the ejaculates frozen by MTG had post‐thaw PLM ≥35%, whereas only 59% of the ejaculates frozen by CRCM had such motility. Post‐thaw evaluations of samples frozen by MTG and CRCM were: PLM – 50.2 ± 1.5% and 37.4 ± 1.5%, respectively; viability – 53.6 ± 1.5% and 39.5 ± 1.4%, respectively; membrane integrity, as evaluated by HOS – 36.2 ± 1.3% and 26.5 ± 1.1%, respectively. The differences according to all the evaluation methods were highly significant (p < 0.001), and the results indicate that freezing stallion semen by MTG is superior to CRCM.
Post‐streptococcal glomerulonephritis in Sydney: A 16‐year retrospective review
Authors: Blyth Christopher C , Robertson Peter W , Rosenberg Andrew R 
Published: May 2007

Aim:  Post‐streptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN) is a frequent cause of acute nephritis in children. Numerous studies have described PSGN in high‐risk populations yet few data describing PSGN in a low‐incidence population exist. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, complications and outcomes of PSGN in an urban Australian population.Methods:  A 16‐year retrospective review of case notes and laboratory data was conducted at a tertiary Sydney paediatric hospital.Results:  Thirty‐seven children were treated for PSGN with a mean age of 8.1 years (range 2.6–14.1 years). Twenty‐eight subjects (75.7%) had a history of a recent upper respiratory tract or skin infection. Hypertension and/or oedema was present in 29 subjects (78.4%). Streptococcal pharyngitis was identified as the likely source in 17 subjects (45.9%). Skin infections occurred less frequently. Antibodies against streptolysin O, streptokinase or deoxyribonuclease B were elevated when a single titre was measured in 35 subjects (94.6%). Thirty subjects (81.1%) developed renal impairment (median peak creatinine, 95 µmol/L, range 39–880 µmol/L). No correlation was demonstrated between peak creatinine, age, ethnicity, streptococcal titres and serum complement levels. The mean length of admission was 8.2 days. Seven subjects (18.9%) had a complicated course with three subjects requiring dialysis. Only one subject has ongoing renal dysfunction.Conclusion:  Significant differences are seen in a low‐incidence urban Australian population with PSGN when compared with endemic or epidemic disease in high‐risk populations. The higher rates of complications that were seen compared with previously studied populations need further clarification.
Administration of pamidronate helps prevent immediate postparathyroidectomy hungry bone syndrome
Authors: DAVENPORT ANDREW , STEARNS MICHAEL P 
Published: May 2007

SUMMARY:Background  Despite the use of vitamin D analogues and oral calcium supplements, hypocalcaemia following surgical parathyroidectomy is a common problem, because of the so‐called hungry bone syndrome.Methods  The aim of this audit was to determine whether the change in clinical practice by the administration of pamidronate before parathyroidectomy, in addition to standard perioperative management, could prevent severe postoperative hypocalcaemia.Results  The postoperative course of 37 end‐stage renal failure patients on regular dialysis referred for total parathyroidectomy were reviewed. Twenty‐seven patients had been given pamidronate 24–48 h before surgery. Pamidronate reduced corrected serum calcium from 2.54 ± 0.18 mmol/L (mean ± SD) to 2.36 ± 0.18 before surgery (P < 0.05). Following surgery, serum calcium in the 10 patients given standard therapy alone fell to a nadir of 2.08 mmol/L (1.75–2.19) (median (interquartile range) by the first postoperative day, and all 10 patients required additional support with multiple boluses of intravenous calcium. In the pamidronate group, the lowest median postoperative calcium was 2.3 mmol/L (2.2–2.46), P < 0.05, and only two patients required additional support with intravenous calcium, χ2 = 27, P < 0.001). However, in the longer term the annual percentage increase in bone mineral density following parathyroidectomy was non‐statistically lower in the pamidronate group compared with the controls (lumbar spine (L1–L4), 0.041 ± 0.04 vs 0.058 ± 0.41, P = 0.23 and femoral neck, 0.03 ± 0.03 vs 0.107 ± 0.1, P = 0.15, respectively).Conclusion  Preoperative pamidronate in combination with high doses of oral alfacalcidol and calcium supplements can prevent symptomatic postoperative hypocalcaemia, reduce the requirement for intensive monitoring of calcium, reduce patient morbidity, and reduce hospital stay from 9.2 ± 1.9 to 5.7 ± 2.9 days, P < 0.05. However, in the longer term pamidronate may potentially delay bone remodelling.
Attitudes and perceptions regarding skin cancer and sun protection behaviour in an Irish population
Authors: Jones B , Oh C , Corkery E , Hanley R , Egan CA 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBackground  Although people seem to be well educated on the harmful effects of the sun, they continue to intentionally expose themselves without adequate protection.Aims  To ascertain baseline knowledge regarding skin cancer and review the sun protection behaviours in an Irish population and the effect of doctor‐based education on these behaviours.Methods  Two hundred participants were recruited for a questionnaire‐based study on their perceptions regarding skin cancer and their sun protection behaviour. They were divided into two groups, with one group receiving doctor‐based education following the initial survey, and a follow‐up questionnaire was carried out within 3 months.Results  Ninety per cent of participants knew that sun exposure was the major risk factor for skin cancer, and 95% knew that sun beds were not a safe way to tan. Despite this, <20% used regular sunscreen, and 30% had used or were currently using sun beds in order to tan.Conclusion  Our study indicated that although the participants’ knowledge of skin cancer and risk of sun exposure is high, their sun‐protective attitudes were not influenced by education in the clinical setting.
Single‐ or Double‐Blind Treatment With Balsamodendron tnukul and Nifedipine in Hypertensive Patients
Authors: Panneerselvam Jayabal , Sambandam Ganapathy , Nalini Namasivayam 
Published: May 2007

Editor's note: This preliminary report on the results of treatment with a plant extract alone and in combination with a calcium channel blocker suggests that we should be alert to the potential benefit of some naturally occurring substances. These should be carefully evaluated for the treatment of hypertension and dyslipidemia. Foxglove and rauwolfia are just two examples of how careful observations led to useful therapeutic aspects.
This study assessed and compared the effects of Balsamodendron mukul (an extract of the gum of a small tree) and nifedipine (a calcium‐channel‐blocking reference drug) on blood pressure, lipids, lipoproteins, and phospholipids in randomly selected patients with essential hypertension. Fifty‐seven newly diagnosed hypertensive patients were randomly divided into three groups. They received either single‐blind B. mukul (1.5 g/d) or single‐blind nifedipine (10 mg/d) double‐blind therapy with nifedipine (10 mg/d) and B. mukul (1.5 g/d) for 6 weeks. These groups were compared with control subjects. On treatment with B. mukul, levels of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, plasma total cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, very low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, and phospho‐lipid levels were significantly reduced, and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly elevated, as compared with untreated hypertensive patients. Combined therapy with B. mukul and nifedipine was more beneficial than the treatment with B. mukul alone. Our study suggests that B. mukul may be an effective antihypertensive and hypolipidemic agent.
Genuine Episodic Memory Deficits and Executive Dysfunctions in Alcoholic Subjects Early in Abstinence
Authors: Pitel Anne Lise , Beaunieux Hélène , Witkowski Thomas , Vabret François , Guillery‐Girard Bérengère , Quinette Peggy , Desgranges Béatrice , Eustache Francis 
Published: May 2007

Background: Chronic alcoholism is known to impair episodic memory function, but the specific nature of this impairment is still unclear. Moreover, it has never been established whether episodic memory deficit in alcoholism is an intrinsic memory deficit or whether it has an executive origin. Thus, the objectives are to specify which episodic memory processes are impaired early in abstinence from alcohol and to determine whether they should be regarded as genuine memory deficits or rather as the indirect consequences of executive impairments.Methods: Forty recently detoxified alcoholic inpatients at alcohol entry treatment and 55 group‐matched controls underwent a neuropsychological assessment of episodic memory and executive functions. The episodic memory evaluation consisted of 3 tasks complementing each other designed to measure the different episodic memory components (learning, storage, encoding and retrieval, contextual memory, and autonoetic consciousness) and 5 executive tasks testing capacities of organization, inhibition, flexibility, updating, and integration.Results: Compared with control subjects, alcoholic patients presented impaired learning abilities, encoding processes, retrieval processes, contextual memory and autonoetic consciousness. However, there was no difference between the 2 groups regarding the storage capacities assessed by the rate of forgetting. Concerning executive functions, alcoholic subjects displayed deficits in each executive task used. Nevertheless, stepwise regression analyses showed that only performances on fluency tasks were significantly predictive of some of the episodic memory disorders (learning abilities for 40%, encoding processes for 20%, temporal memory for 21%, and state of consciousness associated with memories for 26%) in the alcoholic group.Discussion: At alcohol treatment entry, alcoholic patients present genuine episodic memory deficits that cannot be regarded solely as the consequences of executive dysfunctions. These results are in accordance with neuroimaging findings showing hippocampal atrophy. Moreover, given the involvement of episodic memory and executive functions in alcohol treatment, these data could have clinical implications.
Acute Ethanol Administration Rapidly Increases Phosphorylation of Conventional Protein Kinase C in Specific Mammalian Brain Regions in Vivo
Authors: Wilkie Mary Beth , Besheer Joyce , Kelley Stephen P. , Kumar Sandeep , O'Buckley Todd K. , Morrow A. Leslie , Hodge Clyde W. 
Published: May 2007

Background: Protein kinase C (PKC) is a family of isoenzymes that regulate a variety of functions in the central nervous system including neurotransmitter release, ion channel activity, and cell differentiation. Growing evidence suggests that specific isoforms of PKC influence a variety of behavioral, biochemical, and physiological effects of ethanol in mammals. The purpose of this study was to determine whether acute ethanol exposure alters phosphorylation of conventional PKC isoforms at a threonine 674 (p‐cPKC) site in the hydrophobic domain of the kinase, which is required for its catalytic activity.Methods: Male rats were administered a dose range of ethanol (0, 0.5, 1, or 2 g/kg, intragastric) and brain tissue was removed 10 minutes later for evaluation of changes in p‐cPKC expression using immunohistochemistry and Western blot methods.Results: Immunohistochemical data show that the highest dose of ethanol (2 g/kg) rapidly increases p‐cPKC immunoreactivity specifically in the nucleus accumbens (core and shell), lateral septum, and hippocampus (CA3 and dentate gyrus). Western blot analysis further showed that ethanol (2 g/kg) increased p‐cPKC expression in the P2 membrane fraction of tissue from the nucleus accumbens and hippocampus. Although p‐cPKC was expressed in numerous other brain regions, including the caudate nucleus, amygdala, and cortex, no changes were observed in response to acute ethanol. Total PKCγ immunoreactivity was surveyed throughout the brain and showed no change following acute ethanol injection.Conclusions: These results suggest that ethanol rapidly promotes phosphorylation of cPKC in limbic brain regions, which may underlie effects of acute ethanol on the nervous system and behavior.
Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Sustained Monomorphic Ventricular Tachycardia in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Authors: RODRIGUEZ LUZ‐MARIA , SMEETS JOEP L.R.M. , TIMMERMANS CARL , BLOMMAERT DOMINIQUE , Van DANTZIG JAN M. , De MUINCK EBO , WELLENS HEIN J.J. 
Published: May 2007

Monomorphic VT in HCM. Introduction: Incessant monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) with a right bundle branch block morphology and a northwest axis is a rare arrhythmic complication in a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and apical left ventricular aneurysm. Methods and Results: The origin of this VT was localized using the following criteria: the presence of entrainment without fusion, equal internals from the stimulus to the beginning of the QRS complex and from the electrogram to the QRS complex during VT, and the first postpacing interval identical to the tachycardia cycle length. Radiofrequency energy applied to the septoapical part of the apical left ventricular aneurysm terminated the tachycardia within 2 seconds. Conclusion: Using criteria to guide radiofrequency (RF) ablation of VT in patients with coronary artery disease, an incessant monomorphic VT in a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was successfully ablated.
Virtual Bronchoscopy
Authors: McLennan G. , Namati E. , Ganatra J. , Suter M. , O'Brien E. E. , Lecamwasam K. , Van Beek E. J. R. , Hoffman E. A. 
Published: May 2007

SummaryVirtual bronchoscopy is evolving rapidly, and is becoming accepted into standard clinical practice. Virtual bronchoscopy is a term, which encompasses not only multi‐row detector X‐ray computerized tomography‐derived images, but also other computer graphics and computer vision‐derived value‐added digital imagery. Other imaging data sources used to create three‐dimensional image renderings of the bronchial tree include magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, the digital colour image taken at real bronchoscopy as part of macro‐optical imaging, and various emerging micro‐optical imaging modalities, such as catheter‐based confocal microscopy and optical coherence tomography. Software solutions now exist for providing simple renderings of the bronchial tree through which a fly‐through of the airway lumen along the centreline of the airway can be added (the fly‐through mimics the view that a real flexible bronchoscope affords the operator). The images so produced are visually accurate and with currently available software also analytically correct. More advanced virtual bronchoscopic applications, including image‐based pathfinding to mediastinal and peripheral lung structures, are also in development, and are finding their way into clinical studies. Exciting and synergistic data sets composed of image data from multiple image sources are also being constructed. One emerging issue is to enhance the understanding and reporting on these data sets, which are often complex, and which are full of useful as well as redundant information. The new discipline of eidomics will inform the non‐specialist end user, and act to predict important outcomes. These increasingly powerful tools will continue to advance the use of imaging in technology‐supported personalized medicine, to compliment the information from genomics.
Immediate Placement of Implants and Appliance in an Irradiated Patient: A Case Study
Authors: Brandt Robert Lewis , Balanoff William 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTPurpose  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the immediate placement of implants and appliance using hyperbaric oxygenation on a 45‐year‐old male with a history of sqaumous cell carcinoma of the floor of the mouth.Materials  Five Nobel Biocare implants between the mental foamina were used along with a course of pre‐ and postsurgical hyperbaric oxygenation.Results  After 39 months, the patient is symptom free and shows no signs of rejection.Conclusion  Using an accepted hyperbaric oxygenation protocol when placing and restoring immediate implants in this patient resulted in a successful treatment outcome.
Assessing Herbivory Rates of Leaf‐Cutting Ant (Atta colombica) Colonies Through Short‐Term Refuse Deposition Counts
Authors: Herz Hubert , Beyschlag Wolfram , Hölldobler Berthold 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTLeaf‐cutting ants (generaAttaandAcromyrmex) are considered dominant herbivores of Neotropical forests. However, so far quantitative, long‐term, and large‐scale assessments of their impact on these ecosystems are rare, because the available assessment methods were laborious and/or destructive. We describe a rapid, nondestructive, and inexpensive method to estimate the long‐term harvest ofAtta colombicacolonies. Workers ofA. colombicadump the colony refuse (exhausted fungal substrate) outside the nest. A single trail connects the refuse pile and the nest. In contrast to the foraging activity, the refuse deposition rate (the number of deposited refuse particles per minute) is diurnally constant and varies little on subsequent days. The number of refuse particles deposited per day was tightly correlated with the number of harvested fragments in nests of differing sizes (R2= 0.77,P< 0.0001). Therefore, the daily harvest of a particular colony can be calculated from short‐term counts (5 min) of the refuse deposition rate at any time of the day. Combining these data with information on average fragment size (weight and/or area) allows the calculation of the total daily amount of biomass and/or foliage area harvested by the colony. This new method facilitates quantifyingA. colombicaherbivory on scales of populations and ecosystems, or over long‐term scales.
Herbivory Rate of Leaf‐Cutting Ants in a Tropical Moist Forest in Panama at the Population and Ecosystem Scales
Authors: Herz Hubert , Beyschlag Wolfram , Hölldobler Berthold 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTLeaf‐cutting ants are frequently characterized as the major herbivores in the Neotropics, but quantitative data to back up this assumption are scarce. In this study, the consumption and herbivory rates for the entire leaf‐cutting ant (Atta colombica, Formicidae) population in an old secondary forest on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) in Panama were determined over 15 mo (on average 49 colonies). The number of harvested leaf fragments was calculated from monthly refuse deposition rates of the colonies and the regression between refuse deposition and harvesting rates. The inclusion of fragment characteristics (proportion of leaf fragments in the harvest, average fragment weight, and area) allowed us to calculate consumption and herbivory rates at colony, population, and ecosystem levels. TheA. colombicapopulation harvested 13.2 tons of biomass/yr and 13.1 ha of leaf area/yr, and deposited 9.4 tons of refuse material/yr. Rates varied considerably among colonies. At the ecosystem level,i.e., per forest area, herbivory rates were 132 kg biomass/ha/yr and 1310 m2foliage/ha/yr. For the area on BCI whereA. colombicaoccurs (100 ha), this is equivalent to 2.1 percent of the foliage area in the forest or 1.7 percent of the annual leaf‐area production. This value is considerably lower than previously published estimates of leaf‐cutting ant herbivory rates in tropical forests.