bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Factors of good outcome after discharge from support house (engoryou) for schizophrenia
Authors: SAKIYAMA SHINOBU , IIDA JUNZO , MINAMI YOSHITAKE , KISHIMOTO TOSHIHUMI 
Published: March 2003

AbstractTo restore mentally disabled persons to social activities, it is necessary to establish an appropriate facility and support system according to the severity of disorder. In the present study, in an attempt to obtain a guide to identifying conditions on which the use of the support house (engoryou) is effective, patients who had been discharged from the support house were divided into different groups by evaluation at discharge. The first group consisted of 30 patients who underwent continued social rehabilitation (recovery group); the second group consisted of 25 patients with discontinued social rehabilitation (the re‐hospitalization group), and their demographic factors were compared. The findings are summarized as follows: (i) the recovery group had a significantly shorter total hospitalization period and a smaller number of hospitalizations before entry into the facility, as compared to the re‐hospitalization group; (ii) the recovery group was significantly better than the re‐hospitalization group in terms of the score of ‘thought disorder’, although there was no difference in total Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score, at the time of entry into the facility; (iii) the recovery group was better than the re‐hospitalization group in terms of the Rehabilitation Evaluation Hall and Baker (REHAB) items ‘speech skills’ and ‘self‐care’ at the time of entry into the facility; (iv) the re‐hospitalization group experienced relapse of symptoms, mainly positive ones, at the time of the discontinuation of the use of the facility or re‐admission. These findings suggest that to make good use of the support house, the improvement of thought disturbance and self‐care must be managed appropriately and the prolongation of hospital stay must be prevented before entry into the facility.
Molecular phylogeny of Laminariales (Phaeophyceae) inferred from small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences
Authors: Boo Sung Min , Lee Wook Jae , Yoon Hwan Su , Kato Atsushi , Kawai Hiroshi 
Published: March 2003

SUMMARYIn order to elucidate the molecular phylogeny of the order Laminariales, complete small subunit (SSU) rDNA sequences were determined for 11 species, including representatives from all the families of the order: Pseudochorda gracilis Kawai et Nabata and P. nagaii (Tokida) Inagaki of the Pseudochordaceae, Chorda filum (L.) Stackhouse of the Chordaceae, Alaria fistulosa Postels et Ruprecht, Ecklonia cava Kjellman and Egregia menziesii (Turner) Areschoug of the Alariaceae, Agarum clathratum f. yakishiriense, I. Yamada, Kjell‐maniella crassifolia Miyabe and Laminaria japonica Areschoug of the Laminariaceae and Lessonia nigrescens Bory and Postelsia palmaeformis Ruprecht of the Lessoniaceae, The published data of Halosiphon tomentosus (Lyngbye) Jaasund and Saccorhiza poly‐schides (Lightfoot) Batters were included for tree construction. Our SSU rDNA sequences show that the Pseudochordaceae and Chordaceae are clearly separated from the strongly monophyletic group consisting of the Alariaceae, Laminariaceae and Lessoniaceae, The sequence data also show that the Pseudochordaceae is monophyletic and is distant from H. tomentosus and S. polyschides. Considering our molecular data and the reported morphology, life history and sex pheromones of the family, it appears likely that the Pseudochordaceae might have branched off first from the laminarialean lineage that leads, through the Chordaceae, to the advanced Laminariales (i.e. the Alariaceae, Laminariaceae and Lessoniaceae). The limited resolution that results from the close similarities among the SSU rDNA sequences gives a need for more informative molecular markers in order to resolve the circumscription and phylogeny of the Laminariales.
Effects of anti‐emetic drug (tropisetron) on quality of life during chemotherapy: Use of a diary‐type questionnaire and application of summary measures for assessment in a randomized, multicentre study
Authors: Kobayashi Kunihiko , Ishihara Yoko , Nukariya Naotaka , Niitani Hisanobu , Furue Hisashi ,   J OINT R ESEARCH G ROUPFOR T ROPISETRON D OUBLE‐B LIND C OMPARATIVE S TUDY
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe role of tropisetron as an anti‐emetic drug in the prevention of delayed nausea and vomiting remains unclear. Therefore, effectiveness of tropisetron in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy was evaluated by application of summary measures using a quality of life (QOL) questionnaire. The diary‐type QOL self‐rating questionnaire was constituted by seven scales. A double‐blind randomized, multicentre study was performed in 33 hospitals. Quality of life was measured in 98 patients. Patients receiving cisplatin were randomized to group T (administration of tropisetron before and 4 days after cisplatin treatment) and group P (administration of tropisetron before cisplatin treatment and followed by placebo for 4 days). The rate of complete protection from delayed emesis in the groups T and P was 46.3 and 36.5%. All scales, except social wellbeing changed immediately in both groups and reached a nadir on days 2–3, after that returning to the control levels during 2 weeks after cisplatin treatment. Group T was significantly better than group P in physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, functional wellbeing and global QOL scores summarized by area under the curve and Difmax (maximum differences of QOL scales’ score from the best score throughout the entire period). These results indicate that continuous administration of tropisetron could contribute to preventing patient QOL influenced by cisplatin treatment, and the combined use of summary measures may be useful for the evaluation of QOL in cancer clinical trial.
Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) in a case of smouldering adult T‐cell leukaemia
Authors: Matsuo Kiyoshi , Tada Shinya , Kataoka Mikio , Kanehiro Arihiko , Kaneko Saori , Miyake Toshitsugu , Yamadori Ichiro , Harada Mine 
Published: March 2003

Abstract:Although various respiratory diseases have been reported in human T lymphotropic virus type‐1 (HTLV‐1) carriers or patients with adult T‐cell leukaemia (ATL), there appears to be no report of the development of bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) in ATL or HTLV‐1‐related disorders. We describe a 51‐year‐old male with smouldering ATL who developed BOOP during a long‐term follow up. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) were performed in the right lower lobe B 6 with infiltrative shadows. As a result of flow cytometric analysis of peripheral lymphocytes and BAL lymphocytes, histological examination of the biopsied lung specimen, and the clinical course, we excluded the pulmonary infiltration of ATL cells and bacterial infection. Thus, he was diagnosed as having BOOP and successfully treated with corticosteroid therapy. This is probably the first report of BOOP developing in ATL. Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary complications in HTLV‐1 carriers or ATL patients since BOOP can be successfully treated by corticosteroids.
Impact of haze from forest fire to respiratory health: Indonesian experience
Authors: Aditama Tjandra Yoga 
Published: March 2003

Objective:This paper will describe the impact on the human lung of haze from forest fires in Indonesia based on data collected from different provinces. Methodology: Data were collected from personal reports from pulmonologists working in the area as well as from province/district health offices and hospitals. Results: These data show that there was a significant impact of haze to the human lung. There was a significant increase in respiratory conditions, lung function complaints and other related impacts. Conclusion: Further studies, especially cohort studies, should be undertaken so that the long‐term impact of pollution from forest fires can be known.
Intravenous magnesium sulfate in acute severe asthma
Authors: Boonyavorakul Chaichan , Thakkinstian Ammarin , Charoenpan Poonkasem 
Published: March 2003

Objective:Intravenous magnesium sulfate (MgSO4), as an adjunctive medication to the standard treatment of acute asthma, improves admission rate or severity score in acute severe asthma patients.Methodology:We conducted a randomized double‐blind placebo controlled trial with subjects from the emergency room, Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. Patients, aged 15–65 years with acute severe asthma attack, whose severity scores were greater than 4 and who were willing to be enrolled in a study during March to November 1997 participated in the study. Randomly allocated patients received either 2 g intravenous MgSO4 or placebo, sterile water, as an adjunctive medication to standard therapy for acute asthma. The medication was diluted in 50 mL of 0.9% normal saline.Measurement:Severity scores were measured by two investigators using Fischl's indices. The times interval of measurements were at the initial (0), 60, 120, 180, and 240 min from receipt of treatment. Patients were hospitalized if the severity scores at 240 min exceeded 1. Risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of RR were applied to estimate the risk of admission. Analysis of variance with repeated measurement on time was used to determine the severity score between two groups.Results:Thirty‐four patients with acute severe asthma were enrolled in the present study. One patient from the placebo group was excluded because he did not consent to undergoing peak expiratory flow rate. Seventeen patients received MgSO4 and 16 patients received placebo. The general characteristics between the two groups were not significantly different, which reflected the quality of randomization. The admission rates of the placebo and MgSO4 group were 25.00% and 17.65%, respectively. Patients who received MgSO4 had preventive risk to be hospitalized 0.71 times relative to patients who received placebo. However, this preventive risk did not reach statistical significance (95% CI of RR = 0.19–2.67). The severity score at any time between the two groups was also not statistically significantly different (P = 0.366).Conclusion:With the present evidence, the hypothesis was not confirmed. Magnesium sulphate as an adjunct to standard therapy did not improve either admission rate or severity score in patients with acute severe asthma.
Effect of Burkholderia cepacia infection in the clinical course of patients with cystic fibrosis: A pilot study in a Sydney clinic
Authors: SONI Rajeev , MARKS Guy , HENRY Deborah A. , ROBINSON Michael , MORIARTY Carmel , PARSONS Stephen , TAYLOR Peter , MAHENTHIRALINGAM Eshwar , SPEERT David P. , BYE Peter T. 
Published: March 2003

Background: Colonisation with Burkholderia cepacia complex in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) has been associated with adverse outcomes. The aim of the present study was to determine the actuarial survival of CF patients colonized with B. cepacia and to evaluate the efficacy of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital segregation policy. A secondary aim was to characterize the specific genomovars and strains of B. cepacia isolated in an Australian clinic.Methods: Retrospective review of spirometric and microbiological data on all patients colonized with B. cepacia. Each B. cepacia‐colonized subject was matched with three case‐control subjects. Phenotype and genomovar typing, random amplified polymorphic DNA strain type and B. cepacia epidemic strain marker analyses were performed. The effect of B. cepacia colonization on transplant‐free survival was estimated by Cox's proportional hazards regression using the entire clinic population.Results:Fifteen patients were colonized with B. cepacia, of whom six (40%) had died from CF‐related disease by August 1998, compared with 30 of 173 (17.3%) of the entire clinic population. Cepacia status had a significant adverse effect on survival, with a hazard ratio of 2.16 (95% confidence interval 1.0–4.69; P = 0.05). The outcome was variable in subgroups of B. cepacia.Discussion: Colonization with B. cepacia had a significant adverse effect on survival within the study population. Genomovar and strain typing contributed usefully in accessing the effectiveness of the hospital's segregation policy in preventing cross‐colonization.
Effects of suplatast tosilate on cytokine profile of bronchoalveolar cells in allergic inflammation of the lung
Authors: MATSUMOTO Kazuhiko , HAYAKAWA Hiroshi , IDE Kyotaro , SUDA Takafumi , CHIDA Kingo , HASHIMOTO Hisakuni , SATO Atsuhiko , Nakamura Hirotoshi 
Published: March 2003

Objective: Suplatast tosilate is an anti‐allergic agent that inhibits IgE antibody production. It appears to have an inhibitory effect on the production of Th2 cytokines (interleukin (IL)‐4, IL‐5) in vitro. In the present study, we investigated the effects of suplatast on eosinophil infiltration and cytokine mRNA expression in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid in a Brown Norway (BN) rat model of bronchial asthma.Methodology: Suplatast (50 mg/kg per day) was administered intraperitoneally for 15 consecutive days to 8‐week‐old male BN rats that had been actively sensitized to ovalbumin (OA) and alum and rats were challenged with OA aerosol to induce allergic bronchial inflammation. The control group was examined 48 h after antigen inhalation to measure the cell count and cell fraction in BAL fluid. Reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction using primers for IL‐4, IL‐5, interferon (IFN)‐γ and β‐actin was used to semiquantitatively measure mRNA expression in BAL cells 24 h after antigen inhalation.Results: Suplatast was found to decrease the total cell count and the eosinophil count. The mean total cell count in BAL in the suplatast‐treated group was 18.8 × 105 and the mean eosinophil count was 7.8 × 105 compared with 73.0 × 105 and 48.9 × 105, respectively, in the control group. Suplatast also suppressed expression of IL‐4 and IL‐5 mRNA in BAL cells. However, there were no significant changes in IFN‐γ expression.Conclusions: Suplatast was found to have an inhibitory effect on eosinophil infiltration in a rat model of bronchial asthma. It also appeared to inhibit allergic inflammation by altering the cytokine profile.
Bronchial hyperresponsiveness in patients with squamous cell lung cancer
Authors: INOUE RYUJI , NISHIMURA YOSHIHIRO , KADO TETSUJI , YOKOYAMA MITSUHIRO 
Published: March 2003

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between bronchial hyperresponsiveness, both in vivo and in vitro, and the type of lung cancer (squamous cell or adenocarcinoma).Methodology: We measured airway responsiveness by methacholine inhalation test in 33 patients with squamous cell lung cancer and 44 patients with lung adenocarcinoma. In addition, airway smooth muscle reactivity to acetylcholine was measured in vitro in specimens from some patients.Results: Seventeen of 33 patients with squamous cell cancer and three of 44 patients with adenocarcinoma showed bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). Multiple regression analysis as used to assess the log of the minimum cumulative dose to decrease respiratory conductance vs six variables: cancer phenotype, FEV1 (%predicted), FEV1/FVC (%), smoking pack years, gender and the location of tumour. The phenotype (squamous cell cancer) was the only factor associated with BHR. However, there was no significant difference in airway smooth muscle reactivity to acetylcholine in vitro in bronchial muscle samples from squamous cell cancer patients (n = 6) and adenocarcinoma patients (n = 6).Conclusion: The present findings suggest that bronchial hyperresponsiveness in patients with squamous cell lung cancer is not determined solely by bronchial smooth muscle hyperreactivity.
Lower respiratory tract infection in hospitalized children
Authors: YIN Chong Chia , HUAH Lim Woan , LIN Jenny Tang Poh , Goh Anne , LING Ho , MOH Chay Oh 
Published: March 2003

Objective:  The aim of the present study was to investigate the aetiology and antibiotic‐resistance patterns of community‐acquired lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in 1999 and compare it with data from 1995 and 1988.Methodology:  A prospective observational study of LRTI in hospitalized children at KK Women's & Children's Hospital, Singapore, was undertaken.Results:  A positive isolate was found in 58% of patients (671/1158), comprising viruses (n = 477, 41.2%), non‐type B Haemophilus influenzae (n = 101, 8.7%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 66, 5.7%), Mycoplasma pneumoniae (n = 92, 8%), Moraxella catarrhalis (n = 19, 1.6%) and other bacteria (n = 19, 1.6%). Mixed virus‐bacteria (n = 104, 9%) infections were comprised mostly of virus‐H. influenzae combinations. In 1999, S. pneumoniae resistance rates were penicillin 44.6% (17%, 1995), amoxycillin 3% (18%, 1995; MIC 0.5–2 µg/mL reclassified as susceptible in 1999), erythromycin 55% (30%, 1995), trimethoprim‐sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) 60% (23%, 1995). H. influenzae resistance rates were amoxycillin 26.7% (38%, 1995), erythromycin 99% (37%, 1995), TMP/SMX 98% (37%, 1995). There were 15 cases of empyema of which seven were proven S. pneumoniae and there was one pneumococcal death (0.08%).Conclusions:  Pneumococcal pneumonia needs to be treated aggressively due to its high morbidity. Amoxycillin still remains useful for treating pneumococcus despite an increasing resistance to penicillin, erythromycin and TMP/SMX. Judicious use of antibiotics is needed to curb the increasing rate of antibiotic‐resistance.
Influence of the rheological properties of airway mucus on cough sound generation
Authors: HASHIMOTO Yasushi , MURATA Akira , MIKAMI Masashi , NAKAMURA Seiichi , YAMANAKA Eiichi , KUDOH Shoji 
Published: March 2003

Objectives:  There have been several reports regarding the role of airway mucus in cough sound generation, but the properties of the mucus that influence cough sound generation remain unclear. The aim of this study was to elucidate the influence of the rheological properties of airway mucus on cough sound generation.Methodology:  The acoustic properties of voluntary cough sounds from 15 patients with chronic productive cough and nine controls with dry cough were analyzed by dividing the energy envelope of the sounds into three phases and computing the root mean square values and the duration of each phase as a proportion of the total cough duration. The rheological properties of the airway mucus (yield value, ciliary transportability and spinability) were also measured. Differences between productive and dry cough sounds, and correlations between the acoustic properties of cough sounds and the rheological properties of the airway mucus, were analyzed.Results:  The acoustic properties of productive and dry cough sounds differed significantly (P < 0.05). The acoustic properties of second phase cough sounds correlated significantly with the yield value and ciliary transportability of the airway mucus (P < 0.05).Conclusions:  The rheological properties of the airway mucus influenced cough sound generation.
Pollination and evolution in neotropical Annonaceae
Authors: Gottsberger Gerhard 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe most prominent pollination mode in neotropical Annonaceae is pollination by beetles. Flowers are protogynous and have fruity, spicy or unpleasant odors. The floral chambers, formed by the petals closing over the flower center, emit these specific odors which entice the beetles to enter the flowers. There, the beetles are sheltered from daylight and predators and encounter food (tissues and pollen) as well as opportunities for mating. The amount of food offered, the thickness of the petal tissue and the dimension of the flowers increases with size, number and voraciousness of the attracted beetles. Three main groups of beetle‐pollinated Annonaceae can be distinguished. Two of them have relatively small floral chambers, exhibit diurnal and/or nocturnal anthesis and are visited and pollinated by relatively small beetles (Nitidulidae, Curculionidae, Chrysomelidae). Large flowers with a large pollination chamber and very thick petals are associated with nocturnally active, large and voracious dynastid scarab beetles, which are attracted by strong odors promoted principally by thermogenetic processes of the flowers during the time of the beetles’ main activity. The dynastid beetle‐pollinated species appear to have the most adapted and most specialized flower characteristics in the Annonaceae. Some small‐flowered Annonaceae are pollinated by thrips and, for a few species, pollination by flies is suspected. Some genera, such as Guatteria, are uniform with respect to flower biology and seem to have adapted principally to nitidulids as pollinators. In contrast, the genus Annona, basically a group pollinated by dynastid beetles, is diversified with respect to flower morphology and pollination. The neotropical Annonaceae as a whole may have started as a group pollinated by sucking and pollen‐eating Thysanoptera and non‐destructive beetle groups. Species pollinated by such Thysanoptera and/or rove beetles (Staphylinidae) still show the laminar, plesiomorphic stamen type of Annonaceae with a tongue‐shaped connective prolongation. The disc‐like sclerified connective shield of the majority of Annonaceae is apparently a secondary and modified structure, especially prominent in the beetle‐pollinated species. The densely aggregated stamens with their connective shield appear to be a kind of antipredator structure in Annonaceae adapted to pollination by beetles.
Differentiation of the timing of flower abortion in Tilia japonica
Authors: Ito Eriko , Kikuzawa Kihachiro 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe sex expression of Tilia japonica is functional andromonoecy (an andromonoecious system with abortion of perfect flowers). Some of protandrous flowers are aborted after shedding pollen grains and thus are functionally male flowers (FMF). When both male and female organs are retained in a flower, the plants can more flexibly regulate sex allocation, or resource allocation to male and female functions than true andromonoecious plants, which is considered as an adaptive significance of functional andromonoecy. However, the plants have to pay some costs of female organ in FMF. For functional andromonoecious plants, there is a conflict between flexibility and cost in determining the timing of flower abortion, or arrest investing in female functions in a flower. We clarified that (i) differentiation of the timing of flower abortion caused two types of FMF: short‐style (SS) and normal‐style (NS) flowers; (ii) SS can be produced at a lower cost than NS, and (iii) plants having NS can flexibly regulate sex allocation following a sudden change in conditions. Hence, we concluded that differentiation of the timing of flower abortion makes a compromise of the conflict. We also found that NS is more frequent than SS, and we discuss the adaptive significance of keeping potential fertility.