bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Foreign body reaction involving a Mantoux test site
Authors: Kim Youngjin , Dawes‐Higgs Elizabeth , Zagarella Samuel 
Published: July 2005

SUMMARYA 41‐year‐old woman presented with a history of a solitary pustular erythematous lesion occurring at the site of a Mantoux test performed 10 months previously. The histopathology examination revealed a suppurative and foreign body giant cell reaction to numerous keratin flakes. Culture of the tissue was negative for both aerobic and anaerobic organisms including mycobacteria. We postulate that the reaction in our patient may have been secondary to the implantation of epidermal keratin or the entrapment of hair into the dermis during the intradermal injection of tuberculin purified protein derivative.
Toxic epidermal necrolysis secondary to angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma
Authors: Jones Brad , Vun Yin , Sabah Muna , Egan Conleth A 
Published: July 2005

SUMMARYA 67‐year‐old man presented with a history of lymphadenopathy, fevers and separate skin eruptions of erythrodermic spongiotic dermatitis initially and subsequent toxic epidermal necrolysis. Initial lymph node biopsies showed non‐specific granulomatous changes, and skin biopsies and bone marrow aspirate were not diagnostic. His toxic epidermal necrolysis responded well to 3 days of intravenous immunoglobulin. The patient was discharged from hospital and reviewed regularly as an outpatient. Due to persisting lymphadenopathy, further lymph node biopsy led to the diagnosis of angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma, a rare form of peripheral T‐cell lymphoma with a poor prognosis. At the time of diagnosis his condition deteriorated rapidly and he died soon after.
Blue rubber bleb naevus syndrome associated with cortical blindness
Authors: Shannon Jack , Auld John 
Published: July 2005

SUMMARYAn 83‐year‐old woman was admitted for investigation of sudden loss of vision. Extensive plum‐purple papules and nodules involved her skin and lips but not mucosae. A cutaneous biopsy demonstrated irregular vascular cavernous channels in the dermis and subcutis; deeper vessels displayed smooth muscle. Blue rubber bleb naevus syndrome was diagnosed. This patient had no gastrointestinal symptoms, no family history of blue rubber bleb naevus syndrome, and only developed cutaneous signs after 60 years of age. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain found multiple cerebral and cerebellar cavernomas with two larger foci of haemorrhage in both occipital lobes, with the largest in the right occipital lobe being associated with calcification. These most likely represent bleeding in relation to cavernomas believed to be the cause of decreased vision, predominantly in the left eye.
In vitro decondensation of the sperm chromatin in Holothuria tubulosa (sea cucumber) not affecting proteolysis of basic nuclear proteins
Authors: Del Valle Luis J. 
Published: July 2005

Sea urchin and sea star oocyte extracts contain proteolytic activities that are active against sperm basic nuclear proteins (SNBP). This SNBP degradation has been related to the decondensation of sperm chromatin as a possible model to male pronuclei formation. We have studied the presence of this proteolytic activity in Holothuria tubulosa (sea cucumber) and its possible relationship with sperm nuclei decondensation. The mature oocyte extracts from H. tubulosa contain a proteolytic activity to SNBP located in the macromolecular fraction of the egg‐jelly layer. SNBP degradation occurred both on sperm nuclei and on purified SNBP, histones being more easily degraded than protein Øo (sperm‐specific protein). SNBP degradation was found to be dependent on concentration, incubation time, presence of Ca2+, pH, and this activity could be a serine‐proteinase. Thermal denaturalization of the oocyte extracts (80°C, 10–15 min) inactivates its proteolytic activity on SNBP but does not affect sperm nuclei decondensation. These results would suggest that sperm nuclei decondensation occurs by a mechanism different from SNBP degradation. Thus, the sperm nuclei decondensation occurs by a thermostable factor(s) and the removal of linker SNBP (H1 and protein Øo) will be a first condition in the process of sperm chromatin remodeling.
Comparison of serum cardiac troponin T and creatine kinase MB isoenzyme mass concentrations in asphyxiated term infants during the first 48 h of life
Authors: Boo Nem‐Yun , Hafidz Hasri , Nawawi Hapizah M , Cheah Fook‐Choe , Fadzil Yong‐Junina , Abdul‐Aziz Bilkis B , Ismail Zulkifli 
Published: July 2005

Objective: This prospective study aimed to compare serum creatine kinase MB isoenzyme (CK‐MB) mass concentrations and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) concentrations during the first 48 h of life in asphyxiated term infants. Methods: Serum cTnT and CK‐MB mass concentrations of 50 term infants with clinical features of perinatal asphyxia were measured at birth and at 12, 24 and 48 h of age by chemiluminescence immunoassay. These infants were followed up until discharge or death. Cord blood CK‐MB and cTnT concentrations of 50 healthy term infants were also assayed. Results: At birth, asphyxiated infants had significantly higher concentrations of cTnT and CK‐MB than controls (P < 0.0001). Serum cTnT of asphyxiated infants with low ejection fraction <60% was significantly higher at 12 and 24 h than those with normal ejection fraction (P < 0.05). Asphyxiated infants with congestive cardiac failure had significantly higher serum cTnT concentration during the first 48 h of life than those without congestive cardiac failure (P ≤ 0.04). Serum cTnT concentrations during the first 48 h of life were significantly higher in asphyxiated infants who died than those who survived (P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in serum CK‐MB mass concentrations between asphyxiated infants with and without these complications (P ≥ 0.1). Conclusion: Unlike CK‐MB, serum cTnT concentrations are significantly higher in asphyxiated infants who die or develop cardiac dysfunction.
Drug treatment of neonatal seizures by neonatologists and paediatric neurologists
Authors: Carmo Kathryn Browning , Barr Peter 
Published: July 2005

Objective:  To survey anti‐epileptic drug (AED) treatment of early‐onset neonatal seizures by neonatologists and paediatric neurologists. Methods:  A self‐administered questionnaire was posted to Australian and New Zealand neonatologists and paediatric neurologists. Participants were given the hypothetical case of a full‐term infant with early‐onset seizures following perinatal asphyxia and asked to nominate their preferred AED for treatment of three seizure episodes during the first 24 h. Results:  One hundred and seven (57%) of 187 individuals answered the questionnaire:  neonatologists responded more often than neurologists (χ2 (1,187) = 7.18, P = 0.007). Phenobarbitone was used by 95% of the respondents to treat the first episode of seizures and 75% of them used an appropriate loading dose (20 mg/kg). Phenobarbitone was used by 84 and 40% of the respondents to treat the second‐ and third‐seizure episodes, respectively. Neonatologists used phenobarbitone, phenytoin and a benzodiazepine with equal frequency to treat a third episode of seizures, whereas neurologists rarely used a benzodiazepine. Neonatologists used significantly larger total doses of phenobarbitone than neurologists. Very few respondents used pyridoxine to treat recurrent seizures that were historically linked to perinatal asphyxia and hypoxic–ischaemic encephalopathy. Neonatologists were more likely than neurologists to discontinue AED within a few days of seizure cessation (χ2 (1,106) = 11.60, P = 0.0006). Conclusions:  Australian and New Zealand neonatologists and paediatric neurologists generally use phenobarbitone to treat neonatal seizures presumed to be owing to hypoxic–ischaemic encephalopathy, though they do not always use appropriate doses. Neonatologists use phenobarbitone, phenytoin or a benzodiazepine for second and third episodes of seizures, whereas neurologists tend not to use benzodiazepines. Neonatologists use larger total doses of phenobarbitone than neurologists in pursuit of seizure control. Neonatologists discontinue AED earlier than neurologists.
Laparoscopy compared with laparotomy for the surgical staging of endometrial carcinoma
Authors: Wong Chung K. , Wong Yuen H. , Lo Leslie S. F. , Tai Chark M. , Ng Tai K. 
Published: July 2005

AbstractAim: To evaluate and compare laparoscopic‐assisted surgical staging with conventional laparotomy for the treatment of endometrial carcinoma.Methods: From July 2001 to December 2003, a retrospective review of patients with endometrial carcinoma was carried out. The medical records of those patients who had undergone surgical staging with hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy (PLN) were evaluated. Primary outcome measures were operating time (OT), estimated blood loss, total number of lymph nodes yielded, intraoperative complications, postoperative complications, and length of hospital stay.Result: A total of 64 cases were identified. Two cases were excluded because of incomplete records. Two cases with para‐aortic lymphadenectomy and four cases with Wertheim's hysterectomy were excluded from the study. Thirty‐six patients underwent laparotomy with total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy and PLN (laparotomy group). Twenty patients underwent the same surgery by laparoscopy, of which 19 were successfully carried out (laparoscopy group). One case was converted to laparotomy. The mean OT in the laparoscopy group was longer when compared with the laparotomy group (211 min vs 94 min, P < 0.001). The mean estimated blood loss in the laparoscopy group was less (200 mL vs 513 mL, P < 0.001). The post‐operative hospital stay was shorter in the laparoscopy group (3.6 days vs 7.7 days, P < 0.001). The mean number of lymph nodes yielded was more in the laparoscopy group (26.1 vs 16.7, P = 0.004). Neither group had intraoperative complications and both had similar postoperative complication rates.Conclusion: Laparoscopic‐assisted surgical staging for endometrial carcinoma is associated with significantly less blood loss, shorter hospital stay, longer OT time, and more lymph nodes yielded when compared with laparotomy.
Report of 50 cases of eclampsia
Authors: Noraihan Mohd Nordin , Sharda Priya , Jammal Ahmad B. E. 
Published: July 2005

AbstractAim: To ascertain the characteristics, clinical features, and maternal fetal outcome in eclampsia in a tertiary referral center with 24 000 deliveries per year.Methods: This is a cross‐sectional study, in which 50 case notes were retrieved retrospectively and data was analyzed descriptively.Results: Eclampsia was significant in the Malay primipara patients (n = 14, P = 0.034) and the 20–24‐year‐old primipara patients (n = 11, P = 0.01). Most were significantly antepartum (64%) and preterm seizures (68%), and 16% were early onset (<31 weeks). Two‐thirds were booked and one‐third were inpatients. Twenty per cent did not have hypertension or pre‐eclampsia antenatally. Most presented with headache (66%) and hyper‐reflexia (48%). Only 16% presented with all three prodromal symptoms and 14% were asymptomatic. Half had diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of <110 mmHg and the level of DBP was not significantly associated with the presence of prodromal symptoms and signs. There was increased morbidity, operative intervention, admission to intensive care and more low birth weight babies. Most babies that weighed <2.5 kg had poor Apgar score at 1 min, but most babies had good Apgar score at 5 min (16 babies >2.5 kg, 22 babies ≤2.5 kg, P = 0.006). The corrected perinatal mortality was 40/1000.Conclusion: There was increased maternal and perinatal morbidity but no maternal mortality. Contributing factors are the atypical presentation, early onset of disease and the absence of risk factors. There is a need to develop new methods to identify this group of patients in an effort to further reduce the prevalence of this dangerous condition.
Aggressive angiomyxoma of the vulva extending into the pelvis: Report of two cases
Authors: Dragoumis Konstantinos , Drevelengas Antonios , Chatzigeorgiou Konstantinos , Assimakopoulos Efstratios , Venizelos Ioannis , Togaridou Eleonora , Mikos Themistoklis , Boulogianni Glykeria , Bontis John 
Published: July 2005

AbstractAggressive angiomyxoma is a rare soft‐tissue neoplasm found mainly in the female pelvis. Approximately 130 cases have been reported in the literature to date. In most cases treatment consists of surgical resection, but local recurrence rates remain high (36–72%). Therefore, long‐term follow up is necessary and magnetic resonance imaging seems to be the preferred method for detecting recurrence. We report our experience of a primary and a recurrent aggressive angiomyxoma.
Analysis of retroperitoneal tumors operated on in a gynecology clinic
Authors: Kayikcioglu Fulya , Haberal Ali , Caglar Gamze , Koc Sevgi , Gunes Muzeyyen 
Published: July 2005

AbstractAim: To evaluate the patients with retroperitoneal tumors that presented as pelvic mass and were operated on in our gynecology clinic.Methods: Records of 16 patients were analyzed retrospectively.Results: All patients had a palpable mass on physical examination and abdominal pain was the most frequent symptom. The median diameter of the tumors was 15 cm. The postoperative histopathology of the patients was leiomyosarcoma in nine, retroperitoneal fibrosis in three, and paraganglioma, hamartoma, and dermoid cyst in three patients. All the tumors were excised almost completely. The incorrect preoperative diagnosis of the patients in this study is due to the presentation of the patients with non‐specific symptoms and not considering the less common differential diagnosis of a pelvic mass.Conclusion: For clinical signs of vascular or rectal displacement, or where there is evidence of ureteric obstruction, retroperitoneal pathology should be kept in mind.
Multicellular organization in bacteria as a target for drug therapy
Authors: André Jean‐Baptiste , Godelle Bernard 
Published: July 2005

AbstractAntibiotic treatments are now reaching the limit of their efficiency, especially in hospitals where certain bacteria are resistant to all available drugs. The development of new drugs against which resistance would be slower to evolve is an important challenge. Recent advances have shown that a potential strategy is to target global properties of infections instead of harming each individual bacterium. Consider an analogy with multicellular organisms. In order to kill an animal two strategies are possible. One can kill each of its cells individually. This is what antibiotics do to get rid of bacterial infections. An alternate way, for instance, is to disorganize the hormonal system of animal's body, leading eventually to its death. This second strategy could also be employed against infections, in place of antibiotics. Bacteria are indeed often involved into coordinated activities within a group, and certain drugs are able to disorganize these activities by blocking bacterial communication. In other words, these drugs are able to target infections as a whole, rather than individuals within infections. The present paper aims at analysing the consequence of this peculiarity on the evolution of bacterial resistance. We use a mathematical model, based on branching process, to calculate the fixation probability of a mutant resistant to this type of drug, and finally to predict the speed of resistance evolution. We show that this evolution is several orders of magnitude slower than in the case of antibiotic resistance. The explanation is as follows. By targeting treatments against adaptive properties of groups instead of individuals, we shift one level up the relevant unit of organization generating resistance. Instead of facing billions of bacteria with a very rapid evolutionary rate, these alternate treatments face a reduced number of larger organisms with lower evolutionary potential. In conclusion, this result leads us to emphasize the strong potential of anti‐bacterial treatments aiming at disorganizing social traits of microbes rather than at killing every individual.
Spatial epidemiology and natural population structure of Campylobacter jejuni colonizing a farmland ecosystem
Authors: French Nigel , Barrigas Mishele , Brown Patrick , Ribiero Paulo , Williams Nicola , Leatherbarrow Howard , Birtles Richard , Bolton Eric , Fearnhead Paul , Fox Andrew 
Published: July 2005

SummaryRecent progress in determining the population structure of Campylobacter jejuni, and discerning associations between genotypes and specific niches, has emphasized the shortfall in our understanding of the ecology and epidemiology of this bacterium. We examined the natural structure of the C. jejuni community associated with cattle farmland in the UK by structured spatiotemporal sampling of habitats, including livestock and wild animal faeces, environmental water and soil, over a 10‐week period within a 100 km2 area. A total of 172 isolates were characterized using multilocus sequence typing into 65 sequence types (STs). Isolates from cattle faeces were significantly over‐represented in the ST‐61 complex, whereas isolates from wildlife faeces and water were more likely to belong to the ST‐45 complex and a number of unusual STs, many of which were first encountered during this study. Sampling within a narrow spatiotemporal window permitted the application of novel statistical methods exploring the relationship between the genetic relatedness and spatial separation of isolates. This approach showed that isolates from the same sampling squares and squares separated by <1.0 km were genetically more similar than isolates separated by greater distances. Our study demonstrates the potential of multilocus sequence typing combined with spatial modelling in exploring natural transmission pathways for C. jejuni.
Growth phase dependent regulation of protein composition in Rhodopirellula baltica
Authors: Gade Dörte , Stührmann Torben , Reinhardt Richard , Rabus Ralf 
Published: July 2005

SummaryGrowth phase dependent changes of protein composition in the marine bacterium Rhodopirellula baltica were quantitatively monitored by applying the two‐dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D DIGE) technology. The number of regulated proteins (fold changes in protein abundance > |2|) increased from early (10) to late stationary growth phase (179), with fold changes reaching maximal values of 40. About 110 of these regulated protein spots were analysed by MALDI‐TOF‐MS and identified by mapping of peptide masses. Results indicate an opposing regulation of tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative pentose phosphate cycle, a downregulation of several enzymes involved in amino acid biosynthesis and an upregulation of the alternative sigma factor σ H in stationary phase. Interestingly, 26 proteins of unknown function were up‐ or downregulated in the stationary phase. Several proteins were specifically regulated during growth on solid surface (agar plates). These proteins could possibly be involved in the development of the different R. baltica morphotypes, i.e. motile swarmer cells and sessile cell aggregates (so‐called rosettes).
Diversity of bacteria associated with the coral Pocillopora damicornis from the Great Barrier Reef
Authors: Bourne David G. , Munn Colin B. 
Published: July 2005

SummaryThe microbial community associated with the reef building coral Pocillopora damicornis located on the Great Barrier Reef was investigated using culture‐independent molecular microbial techniques. The microbial communities of three separate coral colonies were assessed using clone library construction alongside restriction fragment length polymorphism and phylogenetic analysis. Diversity was also investigated spatially across six replicate samples within each single coral colony using 16S rDNA and rpoB‐DGGE analysis. Clone libraries demonstrated that the majority of retrieved sequences from coral tissue slurry libraries affiliated with γ‐Proteobacteria. This contrasted with clone libraries of seawater and coral mucus, which were dominated by α‐Proteobacteria. A number of retrieved clone sequences were conserved between coral colonies; a result consistent with previous studies suggesting a specific microbe–coral association. rpoB‐DGGE patterns of replicate tissue slurry samples underestimated microbial diversity, but demonstrated that fingerprints were identical within the same coral. These fingerprints were also conserved across coral colonies. The 16S rDNA‐DGGE patterns of replicate tissue slurry samples were more complex, although non‐metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) analysis showed groupings of these banding patterns indicating that some bacterial diversity was uniform within a coral colony. Sequence data retrieved from DGGE analysis support clone library data in that the majority of affiliations were within the γ‐Proteobacteria. Many sequences retrieved also affiliated closely with sequences derived from previous studies of microbial diversity of healthy corals in the Caribbean. Clones showing high 16S rDNA sequence identity to both Vibrio shiloi and Vibrio coralliilyticus were retrieved, suggesting that these may be opportunist pathogens. Comparisons of retrieved microbial diversity between two different sampling methods, a syringe extracted coral mucus sample and an airbrushed coral tissue slurry sample were also investigated. Non‐metric multidimensional scaling of clone library data highlighted that clone diversity retrieved from a coral mucus library more closely reflected the diversity of surrounding seawater than a corresponding coral tissue clone library.
Grazing impact of different heterotrophic nanoflagellates on eukaryotic (Ostreococcus tauri ) and prokaryotic picoautotrophs (Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus)
Authors: Christaki Urania , Vázquez‐Domínguez Evaristo , Courties Claude , Lebaron Phillipe 
Published: July 2005

SummaryAutotrophic picoplankton (<3 µm) composed of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes are the most abundant primary producers on Earth. In this study we examined the ingestion of the picoeukaryote Ostreococcus tauri by different marine heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) with various morphologies, swimming and feeding behaviours. Cultures of specific bacterivorous nanoflagellates (Rhynchomonas nasuta, Jakoba libera, and a culture of Cafeteria sp./Monosiga sp.) and natural nanoflagellate populations were used as grazers. For comparison with Ostreococcus, we used similar‐sized prokaryotes as prey, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus. We observed large species‐specific differences in terms of: use  of picoautotrophs among nanoflagellates, time lag between   prey   addition   and   prey   consumption (0–196 h), grazing rate (0–0.12 h−1), growth rate (0–0.3 h−1) and maximum abundance of HNF reached in experimental bottles (e.g. from 104 to 105 cells ml−1, for a natural coastal population and a Cafeteria sp./Monosiga sp. culture feeding Ostreococcus respectively). Overall, this study shows that the nanoflagellate community composition is conclusive for picoautotrophic community structure and, vice versa, the picoautotrophic community structure favours or inhibits the growth of some nanoflagellate groups.