bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Correlation of TIMI score with severity of coronary artery disease in acute coronary syndrome
Authors: Hasan Ahmad , Iqbal Ahsan , Tawab Shahzad , Hussain Imtiaz 
Published: March 2023

Background: ACS presents as wide range of clinical ailments that requires prompt treatment to avoid unforeseen circumstances. As noninvasive strategy, TIMI risk assessment is a widely accepted tool for risk stratification of ACS patient to initiate timely management. Purpose of the present study is to determine the association of TIMI score in predicting the severity of coronary artery disease in ACS.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in specialized tertiary care cardiac hospital on 255 patients from January 2021 to June 2021. For all patients, TIMI score calculated based on all the seven variables. Confidentiality of the participants was maintained. Ethical approval was obtained from review board of concerned hospital. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 23.0. One way ANOVA was used to compare categorical variables. Chi square test used to reveal difference in proportion to three TIMI groups.
Results: Finding show that ST segment deviation was evident in 51.5% patients. Out of 37 patients in group-III with ST segment changes, 91.8% were found of having significant CAD. Results show that in group-III, 54.1% had significant three vessel CAD compared to 17.6% group-II & 7.5% group-I patients. Also, p-value of <0.001 depict significant association between TIMI score and severity of CAD.
Conclusion: A significant association from this study gives a notion that TIMI score is valuable tool in clinical setting to make urgent decision regarding the management of CAD. Also, it was concluded from current study that patients with higher TIMI score had additional risk of three vessel CAD and left main vessel CAD in patients with ACS.
Stress cardiomyopathy: Same pathology caused by variety of triggers.
Authors: Ullah Abid , Malik Nadim , Fraser D G , Raza A , Ordoubadi F Fath , Omar M El 
Published: March 2023

Stress cardiomyopathy (SCM), also known as Takatsubo cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome has been well documented in literature since its first description. With more awareness of the condition and increasing evidence base, the reported incidence of SCM has steadily increased over years and currently estimated at 1-2 % of the patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome.
There are different criteria proposed for diagnosis of stress cardiomyopathy and this address more or less the same clinical questions while diagnosing this not so uncommon condition.
Despite extensive research , there has been a lack of understanding on the exact mechanism and causative factors leading to SCM. We report a variety of cases where a different trigger appears to have been responsible for causation of SCM. It would seem that irrespective of the original trigger, the final clinical picture and course remains identical. These further strengths the idea that the condition is mediated by a common neurocardiovacular pathway in susceptible individuals. Further exploration of these mechanisms would be crucial to improve our strategies to try to prevent and effectively manage this potentially disabling condition.
Interest of Dermoscopy for the Diagnosis of Onychopathy in an Infant
Authors: Khabba C. Ait , Asermouh M. , Ismaïli N. , Senouci K. 
Published: March 2023

Aim: Onychomycosis is a rare pathology in infants which constitutes 15.5% of onychodystrophies in children, especially those with Down syndrome and the immunocompromised. Dermosocpy is an innocuous examination allowing to guide the clinical diagnosis and to avoid invasive examinations.
Presentation of Case: 5-month-old infant presents with thickening of the thumbnail of the left hand with xanthonychia evolving for 20 days without notion of trauma. On clinical examination, xantho-pachyonychia of the thumbnail of the left hand was noted reaching the latero-distal part with subungual hyperkeratosis and peronyxis. Dermoscopy showed yellowish chromonychia, longitudinal striae, subungual hyperkeratosis with jagged edges. The mycological direct examination and culture was in favor of a Candida albicans infection The patient was put on an antifungal cream with improvement after 3 months.
Discussion: The rarity of onychomycosis in infants can be attributed to several factors such as the difference in the structure of the nail plate, less exposure to trauma and rapidity of nail regrowth. The average age is 8 months, the sex ratio at 0.98 and the preferential location is the fingernails. Clinically the nail involvement is of the disto-lateral type with subungual hyperkeratosis and peronyxis. Dermatoscopy is a quick tool showing chromonychia, longitudinal streaks, subungual hyperkeratosis producing a “ruined appearance”, distal onycholysis with jagged edges and linear hemorrhages. Infant onychomycosis is most often of candidal origin (C. albicans). Topical antifungals (ciclopirox) are preferred.
Conclusion: This case is being reported to highlight the important role of dermoscopy in the diagnosis of onychomycosis and thus prevent unnecessary biopsies.
Infrared Spectroscopic Study of Binding Interaction of Metal Complexes with Mefenamic Acid (MFA)
Authors: Hoque Md. Aminul , Aboni Anan Mahabub , Jasmeen Tasbira , Sanam Sherejad 
Published: March 2023

Aims: The foremost aim of this study was to evaluate the 1:1 formed complex when mefenamic acid interacts with Cu2+, Zn2+, and EDTA4- metal at the physiological condition, which provides a better understanding of the pharmacological studies. This research provided information on the binding affinity of mefenamic acid with selective metals. It helps with preparative, structural, and reactivity studies for multiple drug designs in pharmaceutical fields.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pharmacy, Stamford University Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh & CARS ((Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences), University of Dhaka. The duration of this study is between September to December 2022.
Study Design: The Infrared spectra of Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), and Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid (EDTA) complex of Mefenamic Acid were investigated in the region between 4000 and 400 cm-1. These spectra were compared to standard peaks with specific functional groups. The binding interactions of the selected metal ions were demonstrated by significant variations in the intensities of the amino group of mefenamic acid after metal complexation.
Results: The interactions of the metal ions with the acid product have resulted in the alteration of the functional structure, characterized by a negligible reduction in the structure of mefenamic acid. The change in position of the characteristic bands, or the increase/ decrease in the number of bands and appearance of a new metal-atom bond, helps to confirm the formation of a complex.
Conclusion: It has been recently found that metal-based complexes decrease antiviral, antibacterial, and anticancer action. In order to construct actively functioning medications, it is vital to study the ability of physiologically active metal ions to interact with metalloproteinases like albumin, which transport and distribute these metal ions. The current research set a standard for repeatable mefenamic acid metal ion research.
Asymmetric Ketone Reduction with Immobilized Yeast in Hexane: Biocatalyst Deactivation and Regeneration
Authors: Griffin Daniel R. , Gainer John L. , Carta Giorgio 
Published: July 2002

AbstractThere is a need to develop methods for producing enantiomerically pure pharmaceuticals because the racemic mixtures made today will probably not be allowed in the future. Synthetic chiral catalysts are being developed for this purpose, as well as new product separation techniques. Another possible option is to use biocatalysts, such as purified enzymes or whole microbial cells, since these can result in the production of mostly a single enantiomer. This study emphasizes the use of alginate‐entrapped yeast cells to catalyze the reduction of ketones as a model system. The emphasis is on the factors that might limit the reactivity of such cells, such as equilibrium conditions, substrate or product inhibition, solvent toxicity, loss of cell viability, or the degradation of intracellular levels of enzymes or cofactors.It was found that there was a progressive loss of catalytic activity of the immobilized yeast cells, which appeared to be mainly associated with a loss of cell viability and a decline of intracellular NAD(H) levels during the reaction. The other factors investigated did not have a large effect. A regeneration scheme was developed in order to replenish the intracellular NAD(H) lost during the reaction, which involved removing the biocatalyst from the reaction and supplying the cells with a nutrient source. This resulted in an increase in the NAD(H) to initial levels and also resulted in a maintenance of the ketone reduction rate over time.
Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography without Chelating Ligands: Purification of Soybean Trypsin Inhibitor on Zinc Alginate Beads
Authors: Gupta Munishwar N. , Jain Sulakshana , Roy Ipsita 
Published: July 2002

AbstractImmobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) is a widely used technique for bioseparation of proteins in general and recombinant proteins with polyhistidine fusion tags in particular. An expensive and critical step in this process is coupling of a chelating ligand to the chromatographic matrix. This chelating ligand coordinates metal ions such as Cu2+, Zn2+, and Ni2+, which in turn bind proteins. The toxicity of chemicals required for coupling and their slow release during the separation process are of considerable concern. This is an important issue in the context of purification of proteins/enzymes which are used in food processing or pharmaceutical purposes. In this work, a simpler IMAC design is described which should lead to a paradigm shift in the application of IMAC in separation. It is shown that zinc alginate beads (formed by chelating alginate with Zn2+ directly) can be used for IMAC. As “proof of concept”, soybean trypsin inhibitor was purified 18‐fold from its crude extract with 90% recovery of biological activity. The dynamic binding capacity of the packed bed was 3919 U mL‐1, as determined by frontal analysis. The media could be regenerated with 8 M urea and reused five times without any appreciable loss in its binding capacity.
The impact of the fungicide fenpropimorph (Corbel®) on bacterivorous and fungivorous protozoa in soil
Authors: Ekelund Flemming 
Published: July 2002

1.The ability of indigenous soil protozoa to survive and multiply when exposed to various concentrations of the fungicide fenpropimorph was investigated. The number of protozoan taxa in relation to biocide concentration was examined in enrichment cultures. The population dynamics of bacterivorous and fungivorous protozoa, hyphal forming units, and respiration activity were followed in soil microcosms amended with glucose and various concentrations of fenpropimorph.2.The average number of flagellate taxa detected in 50‐mg portions of air‐dried soil declined from 12 to zero with fenpropimorph concentrations increasing from 0 to 60 mg L–1. Naked amoebae and ciliates were present at all fenpropimorph concentrations. The 50‐mg soil portions initially contained 1·9 × 103heterotrophic flagellates, 1·4 × 103naked amoebae and about 5 ciliates. The presence of the two latter groups even at concentrations of 60 mg L–1therefore suggests that they are more tolerant to fenpropimorph than the soil flagellates.3.The addition of glucose had a strong stimulatory effect on soil respiration, which lasted for about 20 days. Soil respiration in microcosms amended with glucose and pesticide was of the same order as in systems with glucose only; however, soil respiration was significantly impeded in microcosm systems with a low pesticide content and stimulated in systems with a high pesticide content.4.Bacterivorous protozoa (naked amoebae and heterotrophic flagellates) were affected at all tested concentrations (0·74–750 mg L–1) of fenpropimorph. High concentrations, 6·6–750 mg L–1, impeded growth of the total protozoan population directly. Lower concentrations only affected heterotrophic flagellates significantly, possibly through a change in the microbial food web leading to increased competition from and/or predation by ciliates.5.A low concentration of fenpropimorph (20 mg L–1) had only little effect on hyphal forming units and fungivorous protozoa. Hence, the observed harmful effects on the protozoan populations are probably not mediated through an effect on the fungal populations.6.Bacterivorous protozoa were affected by fenpropimorph at concentrations lower than those expected in soil after normal field application. Since protozoa play an important role in nitrogen mineralization, the beneficial effect of the fungicide may be counteracted by detrimental side‐effects on soil N‐mineralization.
Assessment of graduates and diplomates in practice in the UK – are we measuring the same level of competence?
Authors: Girot Elizabeth A. 
Published: July 2002

• With the recent proliferation in nursing degree programmes over the last 10 years and a suggestion that nursing moves towards an all‐graduate profession, the profession as well as the consumer needs to be sure that they are getting ‘value added’ with this ‘higher level’ practitioner.• This paper revisits the debate on the meaning of competence in relation to fitness for practice.• In particular it examines the expectations of the profession of newly registered practitioners at both diploma and degree levels of practice.• It questions whether there is a difference in their level of competence at point of registration and whether it is possible to measure it.• The paper presents a reflective approach to promoting ideas already emerging from the literature in relation to this measurement.• It suggests a more effective use of students’ portfolios of evidence against stated learning outcomes as well as their specific achievements in a range of transferable skills.• A partnership approach between student, practitioner/assessor and academic could usefully share responsibilities of the assessment of competence and ultimately empower the individual for their life‐long learning.
Segmentation of confocal microscope images of cell nuclei in thick tissue sections
Authors: ORTIZ DE SOLÓRZANO C. , GARCÍA RODRIGUEZ E. , JONES A. , PINKEL D. , GRAY J. W. , SUDAR D. , LOCKETT S. J. 
Published: July 2002

SummarySegmentation of intact cell nuclei from three‐dimensional (3D) images of thick tissue sections is an important basic capability necessary for many biological research studies. However, segmentation is often difficult because of the tight clustering of nuclei in many specimen types. We present a 3D segmentation approach that combines the recognition capabilities of the human visual system with the efficiency of automatic image analysis algorithms. The approach first uses automatic algorithms to separate the 3D image into regions of fluorescence‐stained nuclei and unstained background. This includes a novel step, based on the Hough transform and an automatic focusing algorithm to estimate the size of nuclei. Then, using an interactive display, each nuclear region is shown to the analyst, who classifies it as either an individual nucleus, a cluster of multiple nuclei, partial nucleus or debris. Next, automatic image analysis based on morphological reconstruction and the watershed algorithm divides clusters into smaller objects, which are reclassified by the analyst. Once no more clusters remain, the analyst indicates which partial nuclei should be joined to form complete nuclei. The approach was assessed by calculating the fraction of correctly segmented nuclei for a variety of tissue types:Caenorhabditis elegansembryos (839 correct out of a total of 848), normal human skin (343/362), benign human breast tissue (492/525), a human breast cancer cell line grown as a xenograft in mice (425/479) and invasive human breast carcinoma (260/335). Furthermore, due to the analyst's involvement in the segmentation process, it is always known which nuclei in a population are correctly segmented and which not, assuming that the analyst's visual judgement is correct.
Changes in the uptake of antiretroviral therapy and survival in people with known duration of HIV infection in Europe: results from CASCADE
Authors:   CASCADE Collaboration
Published: July 2002

Objectives To estimate the times from HIV seroconversion to death, and to the initiation of therapy and the mean CD4 cell count at initiation.Design and methods Using Kaplan–Meier methods, allowing for late entry, we analysed CASCADE (Concerted Action on SeroConversion to AIDS and Death in Europe) data from HIV‐infected individuals with known dates of seroconversion. We tested the association of time to initiation of therapy and of survival with: exposure category, age, sex, presentation during acute infection and calendar year at risk (as time‐dependent) in Cox proportional hazards models, stratifying by study. We estimated the mean CD4 cell count at the initiation of therapy using interval regression.Results Of 5893 seroconverters, 1613 (27.4%) died. The risk of death was 65% lower (95% CI = 57–72%) in 1997–99 compared to previous years. Being at risk in earlier calendar years, older age and a short interval between negative and positive test dates were associated with shorter survival. At the same time from seroconversion, people at risk in 1997–99, older individuals and people with a short test interval were more likely to initiate therapy. Injecting drug users (IDUs) were less likely to initiate therapy compared to those exposed through sex between men (RR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.69–0.89). The mean CD4 cell count at therapy initiation was 205 cells/mL, which increased significantly over time. Although the earlier initiation of therapy was consistent with longer survival in the 1997–99 period, we found no evidence of this in other calendar periods.Conclusions We found a significant and substantial reduction in the risk of death and a significant trend of earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the 1997–99 period. Although IDUs were less likely to initiate therapy their overall survival did not appear to differ from others. The increasing tendency to initiate ART closer to seroconversion has unknown long‐term consequences which require monitoring.
Soft x-ray beamline and a double-crystal monochromator of UVSOR (abstract)
Authors: Murata T. , Matsukawa T. , Naoe S. , Matsudo O. 
Published: July 2002

The UVSOR is a 750-MeV dedicated electron storage ring in the Institute for Molecular Science at Okazaki, Japan. The ring was constructed mainly for the use of VUV photons. However, the intensity of the soft x-ray region around 10 Å region is not negligible. The ring is also equipped with a 4 T superconducting three-pole horizontal wiggler. We have constructed a beamline equipped with a monochromator in order to utilize the soft and normal x-ray photons from the ring. In order to separate the vacuum of the ring from that of the monochromator, a light tight Be foil of 10 μm in thickness is placed in the upstream of the monochromator in the beamline. The monochromator constructed is a high vacuum compatible with double crystal which provides constant offset of the output beam. The constant offset during the rotation of crystal plane was realized by a simple linkage of linear motions of the two crystals with two linear guides placed on both input and output beam levels. The mechanical movement was found to be very smooth through a full rotation of 60° (between 15° and 75° of Bragg angle). Monochromator crystals such as beryl (101̄0), quartz (101̄0), InSb(111), Ge(111), and Ge(220) whose 2d value is 15.965, 8.512, 7.481, 6.532, and 4.00 Å, respectively, are being used with a reasonable intensity and signal-to-noise ratio of output signal. The range of photon energy which can be used with this line is from 850 eV to 4 keV in the bending magnet section, and from 850 eV to 6 keV with a wiggler. Because of the comparatively low energy of 750 MeV of the electron, the heat load is not a severe problem, and no radiation damage was observed for the first beryl crystal during an exposure to the beam for several months.
We have measured the Na K-edge XANES spectrum of a thin film of NaCl which was evaporated in situ on a collodion film in the sample chamber at room temperature by using beryl as monochromator crystal. From the doublet separation of the spectrum, we can estimate the resolution better than 1 eV, which is sufficient for this energy range. With Ge(220) as monochromator crystal, K edge of potassium has been measured with a reasonable signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore, the practical limit of the energy attainable in this beamline of bending magnet section is about 4 keV.
High-level ab initio prediction of the structure and infrared spectra of formaldehyde–water radical-cation complexes
Authors: Coitiño Elena L. , Pereira Alberto , Ventura Oscar N. 
Published: July 2002

In a previous work we have identified two possible structures for the radical cation obtained by ionization of hydrogen-bonded formaldehyde–water complexes [Coitiño et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 115, 9121 (1993)], a hydrogen-bonded and an addition-like complexes. We observed that the results were highly dependent on the method of calculation employed. Inclusion of correlation was crucial for obtaining the correct structures of some of the complexes. In this work we used high-level ab initio calculations in order to predict the equilibrium structure of these two complexes, the possibility of its existence in gas phase, and the infrared spectrum to be expected in each case.
A series of progressively more sophisticated basis sets was used to assess the effect of the quality of the calculations on the expected results. Also, full geometry optimization with each basis set was performed at the second-order Mo/ller–Plesset level, and correlation energy was calculated at the fourth-order Mo/ller–Plesset level to assess the contribution of this factor to the global result. Confirming our previous results, we found that correlation affects the hydrogen-bonded radical-cation complex more than the addition one, due to the different bonding patterns in each of them. Both complexes are stable—toward decomposition to the fragments or to CO+H+H3O+—by several kcal/mol at all levels of theory. The hydrogen-bonded complex is more stable than the additional one by a respectable amount (13 kcal/mol at the highest level used here), lending support to our previous analysis of the reactions of the former as the main channels for evolution of the formaldehyde–water radical cation. The H-bonded complex [H3O+...HCO⋅] presents two characteristics, very intense absorptions which should allow identification of this radical cation if present in the experimental setup. These transitions are also present in the HCO⋅ radical but their intensity is enhanced by an order of magnitude due to the coupling with the proton in H3O+. We conclude that the combination of stability and characteristic infrared transitions should make this radical-cation complex a relatively easy target for experimental determination.