bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Discontinuation and Duration of Antiepileptic Drug Therapy: A Retrospective Study of Factors for Specific Epileptic Syndromes
Authors: Kudo Tatsuya , Nishida Takuji , Yagi Kazuichi 
Published: December 2004

Summary:  Purpose: To study factors associated with discontinuation of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) and symptomatic/cryptogenic localization‐related epilepsy (S/CLRE) Methods: For the IGE study, 71 patients who were able to discontinue their AED (discontinued‐IGE group) were compared to 71 patients who continued AED therapy (continued‐IGE group) and 20 patients with seizure relapse after discontinuing AED (relapsed‐IGE group). For S/CLRE, 90 patients who were able to discontinue AED (discontinued‐S/CLRE group) were compared to 90 patients who continued AED (continued‐S/CLRE group) and 76 patients with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes who were able to discontinue AED (discontinued‐BECTS group). Results: Compared to the continued‐IGE group, the discontinued‐IGE group showed a weaker seizure propensity, better response to AEDs, more frequent epileptiform discharge suppression, and lower frequency of generalized tonic–clonic seizures (GTCs). Compared to the relapse‐IGE group, the discontinued‐IGE group had more frequent epileptiform discharge suppression. The discontinued‐S/CLRE group showed a weaker seizure propensity, better response to AEDs, more frequent epileptiform discharge suppression, and less frequent symptomatic signs compared to the continued‐S/C LRE group. Notably, the age at epilepsy onset was not a critical factor for discontinuing AEDs in both IGE and S/CLRE. Although the discontinued‐S/CLRE group had more frequent symptomatic signs, older age at epilepsy onset and less frequent epileptiform discharge suppression than the discontinued‐BECTS group, no difference was found in seizure propensity and response to AEDs between the two groups. Conclusions: Seizure propensity, epileptiform discharge, and response to AEDs should be considered to predict the possibility of terminating AED therapy in IGE or S/CLRE. In addition, attention should be paid to seizure pattern in IGE and symptomatic signs in LRE.
Effects of Seizures and Their Treatment on Fetal Brain
Authors: LaJoie Josiane , Moshé Solomon L. 
Published: December 2004

Summary:  Purpose: To describe the effects of pregnancy on seizures, the effects of seizures during pregnancy on the fetus, and the effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) on fetal brain and development. Methods: The available literature was reviewed and summarized. Results: There is a paucity of prospective studies. Retrospective studies indicate that, during pregnancy, alterations in seizure frequency can occur in an unpredictable fashion. Generalized tonic‐clonic seizures may have adverse effects on the fetus. It is unclear whether complex partial seizures or absence seizures have negative consequences. AEDs may have potentially detrimental effects on the fetus and its subsequent development, but the full spectrum and clinical significance are under investigation. Monotherapy is strongly encouraged. Conclusions: Dealing with the pregnant epileptic patient is a difficult and challenging task. Although there are several risks for the mother and the fetus, most epileptic women bear normal, healthy children.
POOR NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND INFLAMMATION: Linking Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Kidney Disease: Which is the Chicken and Which is the Egg?
Authors: Himmelfarb Jonathan 
Published: December 2004

ABSTRACTFor end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, cardiovascular disease remains the single most common cause of excess morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, although the prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors is high in the dialysis population, the extent and severity of associated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality remain disproportionate to traditional risk factor profiles. Consequently, considerable effort has been focused on “nontraditional” risk factors for cardiovascular events in this patient population. Among the examined nontraditional risk factors, increased oxidative stress as well as increased acute phase inflammation are postulated to be important contributors to uremic cardiovascular risk. Additional important uremic cardiovascular risk factors include malnutrition and endothelial dysfunction, both of which may be directly linked to the processes that cause increased oxidative stress and inflammation in uremia. In this context I review available data linking the pathogenesis of oxidative stress to acute phase inflammation and uremia. I also review data suggesting that oxidative stress in uremia directly contributes to the development of acute phase inflammation and that patients with higher levels of inflammation have higher levels of oxidative stress biomarkers. Similarly I review emerging data on the potential effects of antioxidant therapy on inflammatory biomarkers, as well as data suggesting that strategies to lower acute phase inflammation may also improve biomarkers of oxidative stress. Theoretical constructs evaluating the linkage of oxidative stress and inflammation in uremia and their contribution to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis are suggested.
POOR NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND INFLAMMATION: The Dose of Dialysis in Hemodialysis Patients: Impact on Nutrition
Authors: Schulman Gerald 
Published: December 2004

ABSTRACTMultiple lines of evidence have indicated that the dose of hemodialysis impacts upon patient outcome. Among these outcome measures, nutrition is inextricably linked to the adequacy of the treatment. All of the methods of determining dialysis adequacy are based on assessing the removal of toxic substances retained in renal failure, the majority of which are derivatives of protein metabolism. Urea kinetics, employing urea as a surrogate for quantifying the elimination of small molecular weight nitrogenous substances, is the method that has been most thoroughly validated to date as defining a dose range for thrice‐weekly hemodialysis: Both inadequate and optimal levels of hemodialysis dose have been identified by prospective, randomized clinic trials utilizing Kt/Vurea as the index of adequacy. The impact of urea kinetics on nutritional status during thrice‐weekly hemodialysis is discussed. Recently, in an attempt to improve outcome beyond that achievable with thrice‐weekly hemodialysis, alternative regimens, consisting of daily treatments, have received increasing interest. In order to compare the dose of hemodialysis associated with these regimens with conventional thrice‐weekly regimens in terms of removal of small molecular weight substances, standard Kt/Vurea, a parameter that combines treatment dose with treatment frequency, and thus allows for various intermittent therapies to be compared to continuous therapy, must be used. In addition, membrane flux and middle molecule removal, factors that have not yet been well defined as parameters of adequacy during thrice‐weekly regimens, may be shown to be important indices with longer hemodialysis treatments, particularly daily nocturnal hemodialysis. The impact that these alternative regimens have had on nutritional status in hemodialysis patients and how they compare to conventional therapy are important considerations.
Alcohol-dependent patients attempting and not attempting suicide: a comparison
Authors: Pektaş Özkan , Mirsal Hasan , Kalyoncu Ayhan , Ünsalan Nasibe , Beyazyürek Mansur 
Published: December 2004

Background:Alcohol dependence is a psychiatric disorder associated with an increased risk of suicidal behaviour. This is also associated with an increased number of suicide risk factors.Objective:The current study examined the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of a number of alcohol-dependent patients who attempted suicide.Methods:We studied a consecutive series of 377 alcohol-dependent patients in our in-patient clinics. Their alcohol-use histories were assessed through semistructured interviews. The Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale were administered to all patients. Serum total cholesterol levels, mean corpuscular volume, the liver enzymes gamma glutamyl transferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase were routinely measured. In the statistical analyses, Student's t-test and chi-squared tests were applied.Results:Of the 377 alcohol-dependent patients, 89 (23.6%) had histories of attempted suicide. Thirty-four (42.5%) of the 80 female alcohol-dependent patients and 55 (18.5%) of the 297 male alcohol-dependent patients had attempted suicide; this gender difference was statistically significant (χ2 = 27.7, P < 0.001). A greater proportion of the suicide attempters than of the non-attempters met the Diagnostic Statistical Manual IV criteria for another psychiatric disorder (60.6%, n = 54, vs. 40.6%, n = 117; χ2 = 14.8; df = 6; P < 0.05). The difference of total cholesterol levels between female (mean = 144.0, SD = 58.3; mean = 158.0, SD = 83.9; t = 4.5; P < 0.05) and male (mean = 133.7, SD = 50.5; mean = 163.6, SD = 69.7; t = 11.7; P < 0.01) attempters and non-attempters was statistically significant.Conclusion:These results suggest that suicide attempts in alcohol-dependent patients are associated with more profound biopsychosocial pathology and decreased serum cholesterol levels.
Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test in patients with bleeding peptic ulcers
Authors: Lin Hwai‐Jeng , Lo Wen‐Ching , Perng Chin‐Lin , Li Anna Fen‐Yau , Tseng Guan‐Ying , Sun I‐Chen , Ou Yueh‐Hsing 
Published: December 2004

ABSTRACTBackground.  Helicobacter pylori has been linked to chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, gastric cancer and mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Invasive tests are less sensitive than noninvasive tests in diagnosing H. pylori infection in patients with bleeding peptic ulcers. The H. pylori stool antigen test has been useful in diagnosing H. pylori in patients with peptic ulcers before and after eradication of H. pylori. The aim of this study was to evaluate the H. pylori stool antigen test in patients with bleeding peptic ulcers.Methods.  Patients with bleeding and nonbleeding peptic ulcers underwent a rapid urease test, histology, bacterial culture and H. pylori stool antigen test. Positive H. pylori infection was defined as a positive culture or both a positive histology and a positive rapid urease test. Helicobacter pylori stool antigen was assessed with a commercial kit (Diagnostec H. pylori antigen EIA Kit, Hong Kong).Results.  Between October 2000 and April 2002, 93 patients with bleeding peptic ulcers (men/women: 78/15, gastric ulcer/duodenal ulcer: 58/35) and 59 patients with nonbleeding peptic ulcers (men/women: 47/12, gastric ulcer/duodenal ulcer: 30/29) were enrolled in this study. Forty‐seven (50.5%) patients with bleeding peptic ulcers and 30 (50.8%) patients with nonbleeding peptic ulcers, were found to be infected with H. pylori (p > .1). Helicobacter pylori stool antigen tests were positive in 54 (58.1%) and 30 (50.8%) patients with bleeding peptic ulcers and nonbleeding peptic ulcers, respectively (p > .1). The sensitivity (82% vs. 93%), specificity (68% vs. 93%), positive predictive value (74% vs. 93%), negative predictive value (77% vs. 93%) and diagnostic accuracy (75% vs. 93%) were all lower in patients with bleeding vs. nonbleeding peptic ulcers. The specificity, positive predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy of the H. pylori stool antigen test in patients with bleeding peptic ulcers were significantly lower than those in patients with nonbleeding peptic ulcers (p = .01, p = .02 and p = .003, respectively).Conclusion.  The H. pylori stool antigen test is not reliable for diagnosing H. pylori infection in patients with bleeding peptic ulcers.
Multicenter Comparison of Rapid Lateral Flow Stool Antigen Immunoassay and Stool Antigen Enzyme Immunoassay for the Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Children
Authors: Kato Seiichi , Ozawa Kyoko , Okuda Masumi , Nakayama Yoshiko , Yoshimura Norikazu , Konno Mutsuko , Minoura Takanori , Iinuma Kazuie 
Published: December 2004

ABSTRACTBackground and Aim.  The stool antigen enzyme immunoassay (EIA) methods are widely used for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori infection. Recently, a novel, rapid stool antigen test, the lateral flow immunoassay (LFI) method, has been developed. The primary purpose of this study was to compare the EIA method with the LFI method for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in children.Materials and Methods.  Stool specimens from children being evaluated for H. pylori infection were also examined using the LFI (ImmunoCard STAT! HpSA) and EIA methods (Premier Platinum HpSA). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the test were based on the 13C‐labeled urea breath test.Results.  One hundred and eighty‐two children and adolescents, 3–17 years of age (mean 9.2 years), were studied. In addition, 29 patients who received eradication therapy were re‐evaluated 2 or 3 months post‐treatment. The 13C‐labeled urea breath test was positive in 64 patients (35.2%). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the LFI method were 90.6% (95% CI = 80.7–96.5%), 95.8% (92.1–99.4%), and 94.0% (90.5–97.4%), respectively and for the EIA method, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 96.8% (95% CI, 89.0–99.6%) and 99.2% (97.5–100%), and 98.3% (96.5–100%), respectively. There were no significant differences in results among the age groups 3–5, 6–10 and 11–17 years. As for the assessment of H. pylori eradication, the results of the LFI and EIA methods agreed with those of 13C‐urea breath test in 27/29 and 29/29 patients, respectively.Conclusions.  The LFI stool antigen method showed a good sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for diagnosing H. pylori infection in children. This novel method may be useful in clinical practice as an office‐based test because it is rapid, reliable and easy to perform.
Comparison of two Different Stool Antigen Tests for the Primary Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Turkish Patients with Dyspepsia
Authors: Erzin Y. , Altun S. , Dobrucali A. , Aslan M. , Erdamar S. , Dirican A. , Kocazeybek B. 
Published: December 2004

ABSTRACTAim.  To assess the reliability of two different enzyme immunoassays in detecting the Helicobacter pylori status in stool specimens of Turkish patients with dyspepsia.Materials and methods.  One hundred and fifty‐one patients [74 with nonulcer dyspepsia (NUD), 64 with duodenal ulcer (DU) and 13 with gastric cancer] who were admitted to the endoscopy unit of Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy because of dyspepsia were enrolled in the study. Helicobacter pylori infection was confirmed in all patients by histology, rapid urease test and culture. A patient was classified as being H. pylori‐positive if the culture alone or both the histology and the rapid urease test were positive and as negative only if all of these tests remained negative. Stool samples were obtained from patients to assess the reliability of a monoclonal (FemtoLab H. pylori) and a polyclonal (Premier Platinum HpSA) stool antigen test and to compare the diagnostic accuracies of these two tests. A χ2 test was used for statistical comparisons.Results.  Using cut‐off values of 0.19 for FemtoLab H. pylori and 0.16 for Premier Platinum HpSA, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy were 93%, 90%, 98%, 68% and 93% for the monoclonal test and 84%, 67%, 94%, 40% and 81% for the polyclonal test, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of the monoclonal test were significantly greater than those of the polyclonal test (χ2 = 3.98; p < .05 for sensitivity and χ2 = 15.67; p = .000 for specificity, χ2 = 15.78; p = .000 for negative predictive value and χ2 = 6.37; p = .012 for diagnostic accuracy). The bacterial load did not affect the sensitivity of either test.Conclusions.  The monoclonal FemtoLab H pylori test, using a cut‐off 0.19, is a very sensitive, specific and easy to perform diagnostic tool for the primary diagnosis of H. pylori infection in Turkish patients with dyspepsia.
Antioxidant Metabolism in Asymptomatic Leaves of Verticillium‐infected Pepper Associated with an Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus
Authors: Garmendia I. , Goicoechea N. , Aguirreolea J. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThe arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus deserticola can alleviate the deleterious effect of Verticillium dahliae on the growth and yield of pepper when pathogen attack occurs during the vegetative stage of growth. As biotic stresses can alter the activity of reaction oxygen species scavenger enzymes, our first objective was to determine if V. dahliae caused biochemical changes in asymptomatic leaves even before the onset of first visible symptoms of the disease in plants, laying special emphasis on antioxidant enzymes. The second aim was to assess if AMF modified the metabolism in leaves of Verticillium‐inoculated plants. Results showed that V. dahliae caused metabolic changes in asymptomatic leaves even before plants had developed disease symptoms, but there were some differences between non‐mycorrhizal and mycorrhizal plants. Non‐mycorrhizal pepper inoculated with the pathogen exhibited an early enhancement of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, which was not co‐ordinated with increases in any peroxidase activity. The presumably subsequent accumulation of H2O2 could be related to the quick progress of the disease observed in these plants. On the other hand, mycorrhizal plants did not show simultaneous co‐ordination among different antioxidant enzymes, but they had more balanced SOD, catalase and guaiacol peroxidase activities in leaves during the first month after pathogen inoculation than non‐mycorrhizal ones. This fact could be related to the longer maintenance of photosynthetic rates in pathogen‐infected plants associated with AMF observed in previous studies.
Indole‐related Compounds Induce the Resistance to Rice Blast Fungus, Magnaporthe grisea in Barley
Authors: Ueno M. , Kihara J. , Honda Y. , Arase S. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractWhen barley leaves pretreated with indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA), tryptamine and tryptophan solutions at 50 μg/ml, which did not show antifungal activity, were inoculated with Magnaporthe grisea spores 24 h after chemical pretreatments, both blast lesion and infection‐hypha formations were significantly inhibited. Such resistance to M. grisea in barley was induced from 12 h after the pretreatment. In barley leaves pretreated with IAA, tryptamine and tryptophan at 50 μg/ml, phenylalanine ammonia‐lyase (PAL), peroxidase and chitinase activities were already significantly enhanced before M. grisea inoculation, when compared with that in distilled water (DW)‐treated leaves as a control. In chemical‐pretreated leaves, furthermore, H2O2 generation was observed by M. grisea inoculation before lesion formation, but not in DW‐pretreated leaves as a control even by M. grisea inoculation. These results suggested that indole‐related compounds IAA, tryptamine and tryptophan can protect barley from M. grisea as functioning as the plant activator. Studies on indole‐related compounds may contribute to develop new plant activators for disease control.
Detection of Acidovorax avenae ssp. avenae in Rice Seeds Using BIO‐PCR
Authors: Song W. Y. , Kim H. M. , Hwang C. Y. , Schaad N. W. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThe bacterium, Acidovorax avenae ssp. avenae causes several important plant diseases including bacterial stripe of rice, bacterial stalk rot of corn, bacterial leaf blight of oats, and red stripe of sugarcane and millet. Although the organism is seed‐borne in rice, no reliable seed assay is available. A semiselective liquid medium based on d‐sorbitol and l‐pyroglutamic acid (SP medium), and two sets of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers were designed for use in a BIO‐PCR assay for detection of A. avenae ssp. avenae in rice seeds. External primer set, Aaaf3 and Aaar2, and internal primer set, Aaaf5 and Aaar2, designed from a 619 bp fragment of the internal transcribed spacer region of the 16S–23S rDNA of A. avenae ssp. avenae strain CAa4 were specific at the subspecies level. A nested‐PCR assay produced the expected DNA product from 58 rice strains tested but not with DNA from 27 strains of A. avenae ssp. avenae from corn and other hosts. Furthermore, the primers failed to amplify a PCR product from two strains of A. avenae ssp. cattleyae, 10 strains of A. avenae ssp. citrulli, or 64 other bacteria. When A. avenae ssp. avenae was enriched prior to PCR by incubating washings of naturally contaminated rice seeds for 12 h in SP liquid medium, populations of the pathogen increased over 1000‐fold, whereas populations of saprophytic bacteria remained stable. Populations of the target bacterium routinely reached PCR‐detectable levels after seed samples containing as few as 1–2 target cells and up to 104 cfu of other bacteria were soaked overnight in phosphate buffer and then enriched for 12 h in SP liquid medium. Assays of 64 naturally infected rice seed samples resulted in 53 being positive by BIO‐PCR and 34 by classical PCR. The BIO‐PCR assay provides a sensitive, reliable tool for the specific detection of A. avenae ssp. avenae in rice seeds.The use of trade, firm or corporation names in this publication (or page) is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the United States Department of Agriculture or the Agricultural Research Service of any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable.
Sonographic imaging of the sciatic nerve and its division in the popliteal fossa in children
Authors: SCHWEMMER ULRICH , MARKUS CHRISTIAN KARL , GREIM CLEMENS ALEXANDER , BREDERLAU JÖRG , TRAUTNER HERBERT , ROEWER NORBERT 
Published: December 2004

SummaryBackground:  High resolution ultrasound is a possible option for anesthetists to detect nerves. We tested the possibility of imaging the sciatic nerve and its division into the tibial and peroneal part using high resolution ultrasound in children.Methods:  Twelve children up to 45 kg body weight were randomly selected. Using a handheld ultrasound system with a 10 MHz linear array probe the popliteal fossa and the back of the thigh were examined and measured. The sciatic nerve and its division were depicted by ultrasound.Results:  The sciatic nerve and its division could be displayed in all children. The position of the nerve division showed large anatomical variation.Conclusions:  Ultrasound opens a window to detect the anatomy of the sciatic nerve in children. In addition, the surrounding anatomical structures can also be depicted. The results suggest a possibility of safe placement of a cannula for blockade of the sciatic nerve under visual control.
A Small Firm Approach to the Internationalisation of Universities: A Multinational Perspective
Authors: Sugden Roger 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThe paper draws on analysis of industrial economic development to contrast two models of internationalisation in universities. The first is based upon copying and serving large corporations. The suggestion is that adopting this approach would imply significant failures in the educational process. In the extreme, it would result in a world with a small number of first tier universities that fail to serve the interests of the communities and societies in which they operate. The second model is a type of networking, a so‐called multinational web. This draws on the behaviour of certain small firms. It envisages research and learning that is inclusive, enhanced by widened experiences, understanding and options. Rooted in the college of scholars approach, its emphasis is on democracy, positive freedom and multinationalism. These characteristics are illustrated and explored through a case: an on‐going experience of nurturing research and learning in industrial economics.