bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Difficult ventilation from increased abdominal pressure
Authors: GHAFFARI SINA 
Published: August 2006

SummaryAirway management is one of the most important responsibilities of every anesthesiologist. A problematic situation arises when a patient is intubated correctly but not being ventilated. A case of a 4‐year‐old child who was involved in a car accident, presented for an exploratory laparotomy. Although she was successfully intubated, she could not be ventilated. The situation only improved after a large volume of fluid (urine) was drained from the abdomen.
A new method for conservation planning for the persistence of multiple species
Authors: Nicholson Emily , Westphal Michael I. , Frank Karin , Rochester Wayne A. , Pressey Robert L. , Lindenmayer David B. , Possingham Hugh P. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractAlthough the aim of conservation planning is the persistence of biodiversity, current methods trade‐off ecological realism at a species level in favour of including multiple species and landscape features. For conservation planning to be relevant, the impact of landscape configuration on population processes and the viability of species needs to be considered. We present a novel method for selecting reserve systems that maximize persistence across multiple species, subject to a conservation budget. We use a spatially explicit metapopulation model to estimate extinction risk, a function of the ecology of the species and the amount, quality and configuration of habitat. We compare our new method with more traditional, area‐based reserve selection methods, using a ten‐species case study, and find that the expected loss of species is reduced 20‐fold. Unlike previous methods, we avoid designating arbitrary weightings between reserve size and configuration; rather, our method is based on population processes and is grounded in ecological theory.
Evaluation of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to differentiate Escherichia coli populations in secondary environments
Authors: Sigler Von , Pasutti Lauren 
Published: August 2006

SummaryThe development of methodology to differentiate mixed populations of Escherichia coli in the secondary habitat might improve monitoring of fecal pollution indicators and facilitate the development of strategies to mitigate bacterial pollution. The objective of this study was to determine the ability of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) to differentiate mixed assemblages of E. coli in the natural environment. After confirming the identity of 184 environmental bacterial isolates as E. coli, each was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the β‐glucuronidase gene (uidA) followed by DGGE fingerprinting. The ability of DGGE to discriminate individual isolates at the strain level was determined by comparing fingerprints to those resulting from a standard, library‐dependent fingerprinting method, BOX‐PCR. Computerized analysis of fingerprints indicated that DGGE and BOX‐PCR identified 15 and 21 unique phylotypes respectively. Rank–abundance plots comparing the numerical distribution of unique E. coli phylotypes detected by both methods revealed no difference in resolution at the population level. In water and sediment samples from two beaches, DGGE effectively distinguished indigenous E. coli populations with an average rate of correct classification (site‐based) of 83%. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of uidA genes isolated and PCR‐amplified from environmental samples appears to be an effective tool to differentiate unique E. coli populations and should be useful to characterize E. coli dynamics in the secondary environment.
Autotrophic CO2 fixation via the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle in different lineages within the phylum Aquificae: evidence for two ways of citrate cleavage
Authors: Hügler Michael , Huber Harald , Molyneaux Stephen J. , Vetriani Costantino , Sievert Stefan M. 
Published: August 2006

SummaryAutotrophic carbon fixation was characterized in representative members of the three lineages of the bacterial phylum Aquificae. Enzyme activity measurements and the detection of key genes demonstrated that Aquificae use the reductive tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle for autotrophic CO2 fixation. This is the first time that strains of the Hydrogenothermaceae and ‘Desulfurobacteriaceae’ have been investigated for enzymes of autotrophic carbon fixation. Unexpectedly, two different mechanisms of citrate cleavage could be identified within the Aquificae. Aquificaceae use citryl‐CoA synthetase and citryl‐CoA lyase, whereas Hydrogenothermaceae and ‘Desulfurobacteriaceae’ use ATP citrate lyase. The first mechanism is likely to represent the ancestral version of the reductive TCA cycle. Sequence analyses further suggest that ATP citrate lyase formed by a gene fusion of citryl‐CoA synthetase and citryl‐CoA lyase and subsequently became involved in a modified version of this pathway. However, rather than having evolved within the Aquificae, our phylogenetic analyses indicate that Aquificae obtained their ATP citrate lyase through lateral gene transfer. Aquificae play an important role in biogeochemical processes in a variety of high‐temperature habitats. Thus, these findings substantiate the hypothesis that autotrophic carbon fixation through the reductive TCA cycle is widespread and contributes significantly to biomass production particularly in hydrothermal habitats.
Abundance, distribution and potential activity of methane oxidizing bacteria in permafrost soils from the Lena Delta, Siberia
Authors: Liebner Susanne , Wagner Dirk 
Published: August 2006

SummaryThe methane oxidation potential of active layer profiles of permafrost soils from the Lena Delta, Siberia, was studied with regard to its respond to temperature, and abundance and distribution of type I and type II methanotrophs. Our results indicate vertical shifts within the optimal methane oxidation temperature and within the distribution of type I and type II methanotrophs. In the upper active layer, maximum methane oxidation potentials were detected at 21°C. Deep active layer zones that are constantly exposed to temperatures below 2°C showed a maximum potential to oxidize methane at 4°C. Our results indicate a dominance of psychrophilic methanotrophs close to the permafrost table. Type I methanotrophs dominated throughout the active layer profiles but their number strongly fluctuated with depth. In contrast, type II methanotrophs were constantly abundant through the whole active layer and displaced type I methanotrophs close to the permafrost table. No correlation between in situ temperatures and the distribution of type I and type II methanotrophs was found. However, the distribution of type I and type II methanotrophs correlated significantly with in situ methane concentrations. Beside vertical fluctuations, the abundance of methane oxidizers also fluctuated according to different geomorphic units. Similar methanotroph cell counts were detected in samples of a flood plain and a polygon rim, whereas cell counts in samples of a polygon centre were up to 100 times lower.
Prevention of parastomal hernia using preperitoneal mesh: a prospective observational study
Authors: Marimuthu K. , Vijayasekar C. , Ghosh D. , Mathew G. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractObjective  Parastomal hernia is a common complication after stoma formation. The objective of the study was to see whether placing prophylactic preperitoneal mesh could reduce the incidence of parastomal hernia.Method  Patients having elective bowel surgery requiring permanent stoma were included in this study. The time required for mesh insertion, day of stoma function, and early complications were recorded. Follow up was at 6 weeks, 3‐monthly for the first year and at 6‐monthly intervals thereafter.Results  Eighteen patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were followed up for 6–28 months (mean 16.05). The time taken for mesh placement was 12–22 min (mean 14). One patient had to have revision surgery on day 1 for stomal necrosis – the mesh was left in situ in that instance. This patient developed superficial laparotomy wound infection. During the follow up, no patients developed parastomal hernia, stomal prolapse, stenosis, retraction, fistula or obstruction.Conclusion  The early results, in this group of patients, show that prophylactic polypropylene mesh insertion at the time of permanent stoma formation is encouraging and long‐term results are awaited.
A single common urgent pathway for all colorectal referrals reduces time to diagnosis and treatment
Authors: Scott M. A. , Knight A. , Brown K. , Novell J. R. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractObjective  Guidelines for the urgent referral of patients with suspected colorectal cancer were introduced in 2000. They aimed to facilitate the prompt diagnosis and treatment of patients with symptoms suggestive of malignant disease. Recent assessment of these guidelines has suggested that although they identify 9–14% of patients with colorectal cancer, they may be used inappropriately and may lead to delays in treatment for those patients with cancers whose symptoms do not fit the guidelines. We aimed to assess the effect of introducing a single pathway for all referrals irrespective of indicated urgency.Method  All referral letters to a single consultant colorectal surgeon over a 6‐month period were coded ‘urgent’ irrespective of the indicated urgency on the original referral letter. Data was collected prospectively on 47 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer identified over the trial period. Patient demographics, the mode of presentation, urgency of referral and waiting times were documented.Results  Following the introduction of the common urgent referral pathway, no patient waited longer than 62 days from referral to treatment or 31 days from the decision to treat to first treatment, thus meeting government targets introduced in 2005.Conclusion  The introduction of the urgent referral guidelines has accelerated the referral pathway for patients with symptoms suggestive of colorectal cancer, although this is at the expense of the majority of patients who present via conventional pathways. The introduction of a common urgent pathway allows prompt diagnosis and treatment and is of particular benefit for the majority of patients not referred via the 2‐week standard. Until a more accurate method of identifying the highest risk patients is implemented, we suggest that all patients are seen on an urgent basis.
Justification for staging of epidermoid anal carcinoma after salvage surgery: a pathological guideline
Authors: Haboubi N. Y. , Edilbe M. W. , Hill J. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe currently accepted first line treatment for epidermoid anal cancer is chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Tumour size and adjacent organ involvement are the key in the pretreatment assessment for T1–T4 tumours respectively. Residual or recurrent disease following initial CRT, is best treated by salvage anorectal excision. Pathological staging systems of resections were historically validated when surgery was the primary treatment and are therefore in need of revision. We propose a new pathological staging system for salvage anorectal excision specimens to allow improved prognostic guidelines postoperatively.
NIA0004 Unsaturated fatty acids diminish the detrimental effects of saturated fatty acids on insulin signalling in human muscle by decreasing de novo ceramide production
Authors: Sabin MA , Holly JMP , Hunt LP , Turner SJ , Grohmann MJ , Crowne EC , Stewart CEH , Shield JPH 
Published: August 2006

Objective:  Fatty acids (FAs) are raised in obesity and saturated FAs have adverse effects on insulin signalling. We investigated this further using in vitro differentiated myotubes derived from 6 normal‐weight prepubertal children.Methods:  We examined the effect of 24‐hour exposure to 750 μM palmitate, and/or 2000 μM oleate on the phosphorylation of the key insulin‐signalling molecule AKT (pAKT) in response to 100ng/mL insulin (by Western immunoblotting). We then determined whether palmitate must be metabolized to have its effect (using bromopalmitate – a non‐metabolizable form of palmitate) and whether a ceramide synthase inhibitor (Fumonisin B1) could block palmitate‐induced effects. Intracellular ceramide levels were then quantified by Thin Layer Chromatography and radiolabelling studies were utilized to assess the effects of oleate on palmitate‐induced ceramide production.Results:  Palmitate significantly decreased insulin‐stimulated pAKT (mean (SEM) %change vs. control; −38.7% (11.7); P < 0.001), whilst oleate was without effect (−1.8% (14.0); P = 0.55). Together, oleate reversed the reduction seen with palmitate alone (+35.6% (18.4); P = 0.27). Bromopalmitate did not cause a similar decrease in pAKT (+10.7% (5.6); P = 0.23) and addition of 1 μM Fumonisin B1 prevented the palmitate‐induced effects. 750 μM palmitate led to a 2.2 fold increase in intracellular ceramide levels while only minimal increases were seen with bromopalmitate/oleate. Radiolabelling studies demonstrated that the addition of 375 μM oleate to 375 μM14C‐palmitate led to a significant decrease in de novo14C‐ceramide production compared to palmitate alone (101.6 (21.6) vs. 371.5(122.4); P < 0.001).Conclusions:  These data suggest that saturated FAs have detrimental effects on insulin signalling in human muscle, by promoting de novo ceramide production, and that unsaturated FAs confer a degree of protection against these effects.
NIA0005 Long‐term weight maintenance: does diet composition matter? A randomized, prospective trial
Authors: Delbridge EA , Prendergast LA , Pritchard JE , Proietto J 
Published: August 2006

Background:  High protein diets confer weight loss and metabolic advantages over high carbohydrate diets in the short‐to‐medium term. Little has been published on long‐term use of high protein diets, especially in the context of weight maintenance following significant weight loss.Methods:  The study consisted of two phases. The first phase saw patients provided with a very low energy diet for 12 weeks. Patients who lost >10% of their body weight progressed to the second phase in which they were randomly allocated to a high carbohydrate (HC) (55% carbohydrate) or high protein (HP) diet (30% protein) to maintain their weight loss. Patients were followed up monthly for 12 months. Anthropometric and cardiovascular risk factors were measured.Results:  A total of 173 overweight or obese people (88 males, 85 females) aged 43 years (SD = 10.6); weight 112.2 kg (±24.6); Body Mass Index 39.2 kg/m2 (±7.7) were enrolled. 151 patients (87.3%) completed phase I and entered phase II. There was no significant difference between the weight loss recorded during phase I for each group after randomization (mean weight loss 18.5 kg ±6.9 kg and 17.7 ± 5.0 respectively). On average, patients from both groups were reasonably successful in maintaining their weight loss at completion of phase II (HC 14.7 ± kg 12.5 vs. HP 14.8 kg ± 9.7), with no significant difference between the groups.Conclusion:  Although a high protein diet compares favourably to a high carbohydrate diet in the short‐to‐medium term, in this study a high protein diet exhibited no advantage over a higher carbohydrate diet in achieving weight maintenance over a 12 month period.
AW0007 Histamine, a new regulator of adipogenesis?
Authors: Hegyi K , Toth S , Falus A 
Published: August 2006

Background:  The key role of histamine in maintaining normal body weight is well established, just as the importance of cAMP‐responsive binding protein (CREB), a histamine mediator and a key transcription factor in adipogenesis. Our goal was to study if histamine has a role in adipocyte differentiation, too and if CREB is involved in this process.Methods:  Primary embryonic fibroblasts of wild type and histamine‐deficient, histidine‐decarboxylase gene‐targeted mice were used. Adipogenesis was induced by a low‐potent induction cocktail of IBMX, insulin and dexamethasone applied according to the standard differentiation protocol either at stage of confluence or 2 days after it. Differentiation process was monitored by phase contrast microscope and verified by Oil Red O staining. CREB expression and activity was measured by TaqMan qRT‐PCR and Western blot, and cytoplasmic cAMP was determined by ELISA.Results:  Histamine‐deficient embryonic fibroblasts differentiated better into adipocytes regardless the time point of induction compared to wild type ones. Enhanced constitutive CREB activity was detected in histamine‐free cells, whereas the expression did not change. Basal cytoplasmic cAMP levels were significantly higher in cells lacking histamine.Conclusion:  These data suggest a newly recognized role for histamine in adipocyte differentiation. Histamine‐free undifferentiated embryonic fibroblasts show enhanced potential to form adipocytes indicating that histamine is involved in the induction of adipogenesis. Histamine is likely to exert its effect through controlling basal cAMP levels and thus CREB activity, a key inducer of adipocyte differentiation. Therefore histamine appears to be a newly identified regulator of adipogenesis, by helping maintain basal CREB activity.
Environmental correlates of physical activity in youth – a review and update
Authors: Ferreira I. , Van Der Horst K. , Wendel‐Vos W. , Kremers S. , Van Lenthe F. J. , Brug J. 
Published: August 2006

SummaryObesogenic environments are thought to underlie the increased obesity prevalence observed in youth during the past decades. Understanding the environmental factors that are associated with physical activity (PA) in youth is needed to better inform the development of effective intervention strategies attempting to halt the obesity epidemic. We conducted a systematic semi‐quantitative review of 150 studies on environmental correlates of youth PA published in the past 25 years. The ANalysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework was used to classify the environmental correlates studied. Most studies retrieved used cross‐sectional designs and subjective measures of environmental factors and PA. Variables of the home and school environments were especially associated with children’s PA. Most consistent positive correlates of PA were father’s PA, time spent outdoors and school PA‐related policies (in children), and support from significant others, mother’s education level, family income, and non‐vocational school attendance (in adolescents). Low crime incidence (in adolescents) was characteristic of the neighbourhood environment associated with higher PA. Convincing evidence of an important role for many other environmental factors was, however, not found. Further research should aim at longitudinal and intervention studies, and use more objective measures of PA and its potential (environmental) determinants.
The Mobility of English School Children*
Authors: Machin Stephen , Telhaj Shqiponja , Wilson Joan 
Published: August 2006

AbstractIn this paper, we examine links between pupil mobility and pupil and school characteristics at all levels of compulsory schooling in England. We derive measures of mobility from two academic years of the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) data, a unique national administrative pupil‐level longitudinal data source. Our findings suggest that mobile pupils are more socially disadvantaged than non‐mobile pupils and are significantly less likely to have a good prior education record. Moreover, we find that pupils are less likely to move if the school they attend has good average performance levels. Finally, when children move school, they are more likely to end up in a school with better Key Stage performance than the one they left, but this improvement is significantly more marked for children from better‐off backgrounds.
Economic Capabilities, Choices and Outcomes at Older Ages*
Authors: Banks James 
Published: August 2006

AbstractIntense policy and academic interest in the ‘economics of ageing’ has come about as a result of the demographic trends that have been experienced over the last 50 years and that are projected for the next 50 years. Key economic policy issues relate to the design of public pensions, welfare systems, healthcare and invalidity benefits, and the regulation of private pensions and other retirement saving. This paper presents an overview of the beginnings of a research agenda targeted towards increasing the empirical evidence on these issues in England and providing extensive data for subsequent research. The paper focuses on summarising some recent data on how individuals' economic circumstances, and in particular the ability and willingness to work, change from age 50 onwards. This will be a key factor in determining the ability of economic institutions to adjust to new socio‐demographic equilibria in which individuals are living for longer. Further issues for more extensive empirical research are also identified.
Financial Expectations, Consumption and Saving: A Microeconomic Analysis*
Authors: Brown Sarah , Taylor Karl 
Published: August 2006

AbstractWe explore the determinants of individuals' financial expectations using data from the British Household Panel Survey, 1991–2003. Our findings suggest that individuals' financial predictions are influenced by both the life cycle and the business cycle. We also investigate the extent to which the accuracy of past financial expectations affects current financial expectations. Regardless of the accuracy of the prediction, past financial optimism has a positive effect on current expectations formation whilst past financial pessimism has a negative effect. We also explore the relationship between financial realisations and expectations and we find that expectations tend to fall short of financial realisations. Finally, we investigate how financial expectations influence saving and consumption. Our findings suggest that financial optimism is inversely associated with saving and that current financial expectations serve to predict future consumption.
Effects of Family Policy Reforms in Norway: Results from a Joint Labour Supply and Childcare Choice Microsimulation Analysis*
Authors: Kornstad Tom , Thoresen Thor O. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractMothers of pre‐school children represent one part of the population that might be able to increase its labour supply. We discuss the effects of family policy changes that encourage the labour supply of these mothers, such as childcare fee reductions and increased availability of centre‐based care. The effects of policy changes are described by using a joint labour supply and childcare choice decision model. Detailed empirical results are provided with respect to mothers' labour supply, families' childcare choices, public expenditures, and distributions of income and money metric utility.
Targeted Interventions in Healthcare: The Role of Facility Placement*
Authors: Fernández Mercedes , Galiani Sebastián , Schargrodsky Ernesto 
Published: August 2006

AbstractAdequate targeting is a primary concern in the design of any social programme that attempts to reach a specific group in society. This paper studies the targeting of a healthcare‐centre programme aimed at the poor that relies on household self‐selection into the programme at the local level. We find that a key variable in determining utilisation of the health centres is location. Households living near a centre are substantially more likely to use it than households living further away. This points to the importance of facility placement in targeting self‐selected health programmes to the poor.