bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Relationship between arterial blood gas values, pulmonary function tests and treadmill exercise testing parameters in patients with COPD
Authors: YAZICI Mehmet , ARBAK Peri , BALBAY Oner , MADEN Emin , ERBAS Mete , ERBILEN Enver , ALBAYRAK Sinan , AKDEMIR Ramazan , UYAN Cihangir 
Published: September 2004

Objective:  There have been controversial reports regarding the relationship between exercise tolerance and resting pulmonary function in patients with COPD. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between resting pulmonary function tests (rPFT) and cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters (CETP) and their value in estimating exercise tolerance of patients.Methodology:  In total, 45 patients with COPD (nine females, 36 males; mean age 61.2 ± 11.2) and 21 healthy subjects (four females, 17 males; mean age 60.3 ± 9.7) as a control group were studied. COPD patients (group I) were divided into three subgroups according to their FEV1 (mild/group II: FEV1 60–79% of predicted; moderate/group III: FEV1 40–59%; severe/group IV: FEV1 < 40%). In controls FEV1 was ≥ 80%.Results:  There were significant correlations between FEV1 and CETP in group III (maximal O2 consumption (mVO2), r= 0.35, P < 0.005; total treadmill time (TTT), r= 0.31, P < 0.01; total metabolic equivalent values (TMET), r= 0.29, P < 0.01)) and in group IV (mVO2, r= 0.49, P < 0.001; TTT, r= 0.45, P < 0.005; TMET, r= 0.31, P < 0.01; peak heart rate (pHR), r= 0.29, P < 0.02; frequency of ventricular extrasystole (fVES), r=−0.27, P < 0.05). Additionally, in group IV there were significant correlations between PaO2 and CETP (mVO2, r= 0.41, P < 0.02; TTT, r= 0.38, P < 0.03; TMET, r= 0.31, P < 0.05; pHR, r= 0.29, P < 0.05; fVES, r=−0.28, P < 0.05).Conclusion:  There are significant correlations of resting FEV1% predicted and PaO2 values with CETP in patients with moderate and severe COPD and these parameters may also have a role as indicators of exercise tolerance in these COPD patients.
HOSPITAL PERSONNEL'S PERCEPTION AND KNOWLEDGE OF HOSPITAL ACQUIRED INFECTION CONTROL
Authors: Paul AL , Shaw SP , Rozanski EA 
Published: September 2004

Hospital acquired infections (HAI) are a major source of morbidity and mortality in human and veterinary hospitals. Research in human hospitals has shown that well focused staff education is an important step in limiting the development of HAI. Our hospital currently has no training program with respect to HAI. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the general knowledge of hospital staff concerning HAI as the first step in developing a hospital wide education program. Ninety doctors and technicians were given a questionnaire containing 15 questions about HAI. The questionnaires were hand distributed and immediately completed. Ten of the questions tested knowledge of HAI, while five questions concerned the individual's perception of HAI in our hospital. Answers were given as a range from strongly agree to strongly disagree or in the form of multiple choice.With respect to their perception of HAI, 66% of technicians and 50% of doctors believed that they possess a good working knowledge of HAI. Several areas for improvement in hospital staff knowledge were identified. Technicians were more likely than doctors to incorrectly believe that 1) routine environmental cultures are effective at preventing HAI (percent correct answer: technicians 30%, doctors 52%), 2) that all animals that aspirated gastric contents under anesthesia develop clinical evidence of pneumonia (percent correct answer: technicians 55%, doctors 84%), and 3) that animals with an indwelling urinary catheter should be treated with prophylactic antibiotics (percent correct answer: technicians 51%, doctors 90%). In addition, doctors were more likely to identify Amikacin as the antibiotic of choice for patients with HAI in our hospital (percent correct answer: technicians 27%, doctors 79%). Neither group was able to adequately identify the patients in the ICU as the primary reservoir for the multi‐drug resistant pathogens that cause HAI (percent correct answer: technicians 20%, doctors 15%). The discrepancy in knowledge between the two groups is likely explained by attendance of faculty, residents, and interns at one or more continuing education rounds sessions where HAI were discussed. This finding is contrary to what is frequently found in human hospitals where the nursing staff typically demonstrates superior knowledge of HAI when compared to doctors.The results of this study demonstrate that knowledge of HAI is not optimal in both the doctors and technicians in our hospital. Further better focused efforts are warranted to address the educational shortcomings evidenced by this study.
SERIAL DETERMINATION OF ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY IN DOGS WITH NATURALLY OCCURRING GASTRIC DILATION‐VOLVULUS
Authors: Walker TG , Chan DL , Rozanski EA , De Laforcade AM , Freeman LM 
Published: September 2004

The ischemia‐reperfusion seen in dogs with gastric dilatation‐volvulus (GDV) could cause oxidative stress, decrease antioxidant capacity, and predispose patients to higher morbidity and mortality. Elevated lactate levels in dogs with GDV have been previously found to be a negative prognostic indicator. The purpose of this study was to serially evaluate oxidant and antioxidant concentrations in dogs with GDV and to determine if there is a correlation between the degree of antioxidant depletion and lactate levels.Dogs presenting to the Tufts Emergency Service that had not been treated with corticosteroids or fluids prior to admission and were not receiving antioxidant supplementation were eligible for the study. Blood samples were collected at the time of initial catheter placement pre‐operatively (Time 0), and then 24 and 48 hours after surgery. The samples were analyzed for concentrations of oxidants [malondialdehyde (MDA), oxygen radical trapping capacity (ORAC) and F2 isoprostanes] and antioxidants (α‐tocopherol, γ ‐tocopherol, vitamin C, and glutathione peroxidase). ANOVA with repeated measures was used to evaluate differences in the variables over the 48‐hour period and Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between 2 continuous variables.To date, 8 dogs have been enrolled in the study (1 female and 7 males, with a mean age of 8.0±2.2 years). All dogs have survived to discharge. The chart below indicates differences in parameters measured during hospitalization.

Variable
Time 0 median (range)
24 hours median (range)
48 hours median (range)
P Value

MDA (nmol/L)
0.725 (0.532–1.250)
0.500 (0.423–0.870)
0.512 (0.388–0.890)
0.008

α‐tocopherol (ug/ml)
16.350 (3.800–29.400)
11.300 (6.760–30.800)
12.950 (7.850–40.400)
0.000

γ‐tocopherol (ug/ml)
0.402 (0.138–0.776)
0.293 (0.000–0.500)
0.300 (0.000–0.503)
0.501

Mean plasma lactate upon admission was 4.3 mmol/L (range 2.1–7.2 mmol/L). There was a positive correlation between γ‐tocopherol and lactate (r=0.784, P=0.012) but there were no correlations between lactate and MDA or α‐tocopherol. Additional dogs are currently being enrolled in the study and analyses of the other variables (ORAC, F2 isoprostanes, vitamin C, and glutathione peroxidase) are pending. These preliminary results support the hypothesis of alterations in oxidant and antioxidant parameters in dogs with GDV.
EFFECTS OF 3 SEDATIVE COMBINATIONS ON FRACTIONAL SHORTENING IN NORMAL CATS
Authors: Day TK , Downs BL 
Published: September 2004

Objective: To determine if 1) administration of a neuroleptanalgesia sedative combination (hydromorphone‐diazepam) would result in alteration of heart rate and fractional shortening parameters and 2) if administration of a neuroleptanalgesia sedative combination (hydromorphone‐diazepam) prior to administration of a dissociative sedative combination (ketamine‐diazepam) would blunt increases in heart rate and fractional shortening parameters previously reported with the use of dissociative‐based sedation.Design: Single blinded, randomized, crossover design.Animals: Eleven privately owned healthy cats with normal echocardiograms.Procedure: All cats received each of the following injections with at least one week separating each treatment: Treatment A (TA) – saline IM followed in 15 minutes by diazepam (0.2 mg/kg IM) and hydromorphone (0.2 mg/kg IM) combined in the same syringe; Treatment B (TB) – saline IM followed in 15 minutes by ketamine (6 mg/kg IM) and diazepam (0.2 mg/kg IM) combined in the same syringe; Treatment C (TC) – diazepam and hydromorphone combined in the same syringe followed in 15 minutes by ketamine and diazepam combined in the same syringe. Echocardiograms were performed using the right parasternal position 15 minutes after the second injection. Heart rate (HR) and parameters to determine fractional shortening (FS) in the short axis view were recorded in triplicate for each treatment group. An analysis of variance for repeated measures with a Fisher's LSD protected t‐test was used for statistical analysis.Results: Fractional shortening was significantly increased in each treatment group compared to baseline (p<0.05). There was a significant increase in FS between TA and TB (p<0.05), TA and TC (p<0.05), but not between TB and TC (p=0.9). Heart rate was not significantly increased between baseline and TA. There was a significant increase in HR between baseline and both TB and TC (p<0.05), but not between TB and TC (p<0.05)Conclusion: The increase in fractional shortening induced by dissociative‐based chemical restraint in normal cats is not blunted by the prior administration of a neuroleptanalgesia combination. The increase in fractional shortening following administration of the neuroleptanalgesia combination may have been due to an indirect increase in sympathetic tone (stress response).
EFFICACY OF GASTRIC ACID‐LOWERING THERAPY IN THE DOG
Authors: Bersenas AME , Mathews KA 
Published: September 2004

Introduction: Gastric acid suppression is a recommended therapy for gastric ulceration. Human studies suggest that optimal healing of duodenal ulcers occurs at gastric pH >3 for 75% of the day. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of 4 gastric acid suppressants at recommended veterinary doses. Drug effect was based on the 24‐hour median pH and the percentage of time that the intragastric pH ≥3 in a 24 hour period.Methods: The study was conducted in 12 healthy Beagle dogs and was a double‐blind, randomized, multiple cross‐over comparison of a placebo (saline IV q12 h), ranitidine 2 mg/kg IV q12 h, famotidine 0.5 mg/kg IV q12 h, pantoprazole 1 mg/kg IV q24 h, and omeprazole (unblinded) ∼1 mg/kg PO q24 h. Continuous 24‐hour intragastric pH measurements were obtained via PEG tube. Prior to drug testing, 24‐hour pH measurements were recorded in fasted and fed dogs. Thereafter, dogs were fed standardized meals throughout the remainder of the study period. Drugs were administered for 1 week with a one‐week washout period between tests. Data were obtained on Day 0 (baseline), Day 2 and Day 6 of treatment. Following the randomized study, famotidine 0.5 mg/kg IV q8 h and omeprazole ∼1 mg/kg + bicarbonate q12 h via PEG tube were evaluated in 6 dogs, respectively. Appropriate statistical analyses were applied to calculate the 24‐hour median pH and percentage of time that the test drug maintained intragastric pH≥3 over 24 hours.Results: The 24‐hour median pH of fasted dogs was 4.44 vs. fed dogs 1.30 (p<0.0001). The % time pH≥3: fasted dogs 66.0% vs. fed dogs 13.3% (p<0.0001). The 24‐hour median pH was (bold denotes significance when compared to saline) ‐ saline pH 1.81, ranitidine Day 2–pH 2.53, Day 6–pH 2.05, famotidine Day 2–pH 2.83, Day 6–pH 3.68, pantoprazole Day 2–pH 3.11, Day 6–pH 3.49, omeprazole Day 2–pH 3.86, Day 6–pH 4.09. The % time pH≥3: saline 32.9%; ranitidine day 2 – 44.6%, Day 6 – 37.2%; famotidine: Day 2 – 48.9%, Day 6 – 60.1%; pantoprazole: Day 2 – 54.2%, Day 6 – 59.1%; omeprazole: Day 2 – 66.9%, Day 6 – 70.2%. The 24‐hour median pH of omeprazole + bicarbonate q12 h was 4.7 on Day 2 and 4.9 on Day 6; the % time pH ≥3 was 90.9% on Day 2 and 78.4% on Day 6, respectively. No significant difference was noted in any parameter comparing famotidine q8 h and q12 h.Conclusions: Fasted dogs had a significantly higher pH than fed dogs. Omeprazole was the only drug tested that approached the potential therapeutic efficacy for healing of duodenal ulcers when assessed by criteria for human patients. Variation existed amongst dogs in all drugs tested.
CLINICAL EFFECTS OF KETAMINE INFUSIONS IN AWAKE HORSES
Authors: Fielding C. Langdon , Brumbaugh Gordon W. , Matthews Nora S. , Peck Kenneth E. , Roussel Allen J. 
Published: September 2004

The primary classes of drugs used for pain control in horses include the non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), the alpha‐2 agonists, and the opiates, but each of these drug classes has significant adverse effects. Ketamine hydrochloride is a non‐competitive antagonist at N‐methyl D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the spinal cord and has been used in both dogs and humans to provide analgesia. The purpose of this study was to identify a safe administration rate for a continuous infusion of ketamine to awake horses and describe the clinical effects of this infusion. Six horses were administered a continuous infusion of ketamine hydrochloride at a low dose (0.4 mg/kg/hr) and high dose (0.8 mg/kg/hr). Each infusion took place over 6 hours and the horses were monitored during infusion as well as for the 6 hours post‐infusion. The following parameters were evaluated: heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, activity level, and analgesic thresholds. Both the low dose and high dose rates were tolerated well by all horses with no signs of excitation or discomfort. Post‐infusion heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure were significantly decreased as compared to pre‐infusion values (p=0.02 and p=0.02, respectively) A significant increase in analgesic threshold was not identified.Subanesthetic infusions of ketamine to awake horses appear to be well tolerated and cause only mild changes in clinical parameters. Further research is needed to evaluate the analgesic potential of these infusions.
DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE IN ESCHERICHIA COLI FROM DOGS IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT WITH INCREASED DURATION OF STAY
Authors: Ogeer‐Gyles J , Mathews KA , Prescott J , Boerlin P 
Published: September 2004

Introduction: Antibiotic resistance develops in human patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) with increased duration of stay. The major selection factor is the use of antimicrobial agents. The hypothesis tested in this study was that antimicrobial resistance in fecal E. coli isolated from dogs increased with increased length of stay in the ICU.Methods: E. coli were isolated from rectal swabs collected on days 0 (D0, day of admission to the ICU), 3 (D3), 6 (D6), and 9 (D9) from all dogs housed in the ICU for 3 or more days. The E. coli were tested for resistance to nalidixic acid, enrofloxacin, cephalothin, cefoxitin, cefotaxime, ceftiofur, trimethoprim‐sulfa, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, tetracycline, ampicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanate. Thirty‐two patients were included in the study, 17 with D0‐D3 and 15 with D0‐D6 E. coli isolates. Five E. coli strains were isolated each sampling day and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility, resulting in a total of 60 outcomes per day per dog. The proportion of positive outcomes (resistance) was calculated for each day up to D6. Univariate ANOVA analysis was used to analyze the data.Results: The proportion of positive outcomes (resistance) increased from 9.3% on D0 to 14.7% on D3 to 27.9% on D6. Resistance to the frequently used ampicillin increased in a linear manner with increased duration of stay. The proportion of ampicillin‐resistant colonies increased from 19.6% on D0 to 39.1% on D3 to 68.7% on D6 (p=0.001). Resistance to the infrequently used amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, also increased significantly (p=0.026) and linearly. The increase in resistance to enrofloxacin was significant (p=0.046); but the increase in resistance to the precursor, nalidixic acid, was highly significant (p=0.020). No change in resistance to gentamicin was found. The remaining antibiotics tested showed an insignificant increase in resistance.Conclusions: Resistance to antibiotics increased in dogs with duration of stay in the ICU for 3 or more days. This linear trend was most significant with penicillin‐based beta‐lactams, which are frequently used in the ICU. Consequently, critically ill dogs may be at increased risk for developing opportunistic infections, caused by multi‐drug resistant organisms.
In Vivo Phosphorylation of Partner Switching Regulators Correlates with Stress Transmission in the Environmental Signaling Pathway ofBacillus subtilis
Authors: Kim Tae-Jong , Gaidenko Tatiana A. , Price Chester W. 
Published: September 2004

ABSTRACTExposure of bacteria to diverse growth-limiting stresses induces the synthesis of a common set of proteins which provide broad protection against future, potentially lethal stresses. AmongBacillus subtilisand its relatives, this general stress response is controlled by the σBtranscription factor. Signals of environmental and energy stress activate σBthrough a multicomponent network that functions via a partner switching mechanism, in which protein-protein interactions are governed by serine and threonine phosphorylation. Here, we tested a central prediction of the current model for the environmental signaling branch of this network. We used isoelectric focusing and immunoblotting experiments to determine the in vivo phosphorylation states of the RsbRA and RsbS regulators, which act in concert to negatively control the RsbU environmental signaling phosphatase. As predicted by the model, the ratio of the phosphorylated to unphosphorylated forms of both RsbRA and RsbS increased in response to salt or ethanol stress. However, these two regulators differed substantially with regard to the extent of their phosphorylation under both steady-state and stress conditions, with RsbRA always the more highly modified. Mutant analysis showed that the RsbT kinase, which is required for environmental signaling, was also required for the in vivo phosphorylation of RsbRA and RsbS. Moreover, the T171A alteration of RsbRA, which blocks environmental signaling, also blocked in vivo phosphorylation of RsbRA and impeded phosphorylation of RsbS. These in vivo results corroborate previous genetic analyses and link the phosphorylated forms of RsbRA and RsbS to the active transmission of environmental stress signals.
Processing of the Tail Lysozyme (gp5) of Bacteriophage T4
Authors: Ye Nanzhang , Nemoto Naoki 
Published: September 2004

ABSTRACT
The processing site of gp5 has been determined to be between residues Val-390 and His-391, instead of Ser-351 and Ala-352 as previously reported (H. Kanamaru, N. C. Gassner, N. Ye, S. Takeda, and F. Arisaka, J. Bacteriol. 181:2739-2744). Moreover, the maturation of gp5 is abolished by null mutations in other hub genes, indicating that cleavage requires the interactions of several baseplate proteins.
ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE: ENABLING INTEGRATION, AGILITY AND CHANGE
Authors: HOOGERVORST JAN 
Published: August 2004

Three core imperatives are essential for modern businesses and organizations: seamless integration of customer and operational processes, agility, and the ability to change. These imperatives are relevant in view of successfully executing strategic choices, but all too often not satisfied. Businesses and organizations are complex adaptive socio-technical systems and can be viewed from two fundamentally different perspectives: the functional (black-box) perspective and the constructional (white-box) perspective. Management and governance of businesses and organizations regard the functional, black-box perspective, which is inherently ill-suited for addressing the imperatives mentioned. It will be argued that establishing system integration, agility and change requires a focus on the system's design, hence necessitates the constructional perspective. The concept of architecture is considered fundamental for operationalizing the constructional perspective. Next to the more familiar notion of technology architecture, the concepts of business, organizational and information architecture are formally introduced and elucidated. Various domains within these architectures will be highlighted, whereby the importance of coherence and consistency is stressed, especially in view of the ability to change. Collectively, the four architectures are labeled Enterprise Architecture. Finally, enterprise architecture will be positioned as a crucial means for linking strategy development and execution.
Efficient Mining of Frequent Itemsets and a Measure of Interest for Association Rule Mining
Authors: Ahn Kwang-Il , Kim Jae-Yearn 
Published: August 2004

Association rule mining is an important research topic in data mining. Association rule mining consists of two steps: finding frequent itemsets and then extracting interesting rules from the frequent itemsets. In the first step, efficiency is important since discovering frequent itemsets is computationally time consuming. In the second step, unbiased assessment is important for good decision making. In this paper, we deal with both the efficiency of the mining algorithm and the measure of interest of the resulting rules. First, we present an algorithm for finding frequent itemsets that uses a vertical database. We also introduce a modified vertical data format to reduce the size of the database and an itemset reordering strategy to reduce the size of the intermediate tidsets. Second, we present a new measure to evaluate the interest of the resulting association rules. Our performance analysis shows that our proposed algorithm reduces the size of the intermediate tidsets that are generated during the mining process. The smaller tidsets make intersection operations faster. Using our interest-measuring test helps to avoid the discovery of misleading rules.
Monte Carlo indexing with McMaille
Authors: Le Bail A. 
Published: August 2004

A Monte Carlo code for indexing powder diffraction patterns is presented. Cell parameters are generated randomly and tested against an idealized powder profile generated from the extracted d’s and I’s. Limits with this program in solving problems associated with zeropoint errors and impurity lines are examined. Most problems (V<2000 Å3, cell parameters <20 Å) are solved in less than 1–15 min if the symmetry is as low as monoclinic (with a >2 GHz processor); more time is needed for triclinic cases. Attempts are shown to be successful for the indexation of two-phase samples in simple cases (combining orthorhombic or higher symmetries). © 2004 International Centre for Diffraction Data.Key words: powder diffraction, indexing, Monte Carlo