Showing papers by "Health Science University published in 2007"
TL;DR: A genome-wide association study for type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Icelandic cases and controls is conducted, and it is found that a previously described variant in the transcription factor 7-like 2 gene (TCF7L2) gene conferred the most significant risk.
Abstract: We conducted a genome-wide association study for type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Icelandic cases and controls, and we found that a previously described variant in the transcription factor 7-like 2 gene (TCF7L2) gene conferred the most significant risk. In addition to confirming two recently identified risk variants, we identified a variant in the CDKAL1 gene that was associated with T2D in individuals of European ancestry (allele-specific odds ratio (OR) = 1.20 (95% confidence interval, 1.13-1.27), P = 7.7 x 10(-9)) and individuals from Hong Kong of Han Chinese ancestry (OR = 1.25 (1.11-1.40), P = 0.00018). The genotype OR of this variant suggested that the effect was substantially stronger in homozygous carriers than in heterozygous carriers. The ORs for homozygotes were 1.50 (1.31-1.72) and 1.55 (1.23-1.95) in the European and Hong Kong groups, respectively. The insulin response for homozygotes was approximately 20% lower than for heterozygotes or noncarriers, suggesting that this variant confers risk of T2D through reduced insulin secretion.
1,046 citations
deCODE genetics1, University of Pennsylvania2, University of Dundee3, Howard University4, The Chinese University of Hong Kong5, Steno Diabetes Center6, Glostrup Hospital7, Health Science University8, University of Copenhagen9, University of Zaragoza10, Radboud University Nijmegen11, Northwestern University12, Washington University in St. Louis13, University of Chicago14, University of Groningen15, Maastricht University16, Utrecht University17
TL;DR: Results from eight case-control groups demonstrate that this variant in TCF2 (HNF1β), a gene known to be mutated in individuals with maturity-onset diabetes of the young type 5, confers protection against type 2 diabetes.
Abstract: We performed a genome-wide association scan to search for sequence variants conferring risk of prostate cancer using 1,501 Icelandic men with prostate cancer and 11,290 controls. Follow-up studies involving three additional case-control groups replicated an association of two variants on chromosome 17 with the disease. These two variants, 33 Mb apart, fall within a region previously implicated by family-based linkage studies on prostate cancer. The risks conferred by these variants are moderate individually (allele odds ratio of about 1.20), but because they are common, their joint population attributable risk is substantial. One of the variants is in TCF2 (HNF1beta), a gene known to be mutated in individuals with maturity-onset diabetes of the young type 5. Results from eight case-control groups, including one West African and one Chinese, demonstrate that this variant confers protection against type 2 diabetes.
733 citations
TL;DR: Investigating the perceptions of second year undergraduate nurses and their academic teachers of their experiences of high-fidelity simulation using the Laerdal Vital Sim Nursing Kelly and Nursing Anne technology indicated that undergraduate nursing students value the opportunity to practice nursing activities in a safe environment prior to clinical placement.
212 citations
TL;DR: Findings suggest that, of several potential grouping variables, only restricted and repetitive behaviors associated with Insistence on Sameness were independent of age, IQ, and autism severity.
179 citations
TL;DR: The reliability of the pain provocation tests employed were moderate to good, and for the palpation test, reliability was poor, and clusters out of three and five pain provocation Tests were found to be reliable.
164 citations
TL;DR: This study indicates that a sclerotic background with myofibroblasts associated with a diffuse and perivascular infiltrate mainly consisting of T and B lymphocytes may be a pathological hallmark of IRF.
161 citations
TL;DR: The 2 anatomically different muscles of the iliopsoas complex were shown to have individual and taskspecific activation patterns depending on the particular demands for stability and movement at the lumbar spine, pelvis and hip.
Abstract: The activation patterns of the psoas and iliacus muscles were investigated in 7 healthy adult subjects (4 men and 3 women) during a variety of motor tasks in standing, sitting and lying. Myoelectric activity was recorded simultaneously from the 2 muscles using thin wire electrodes inserted under guidance of high-resolution ultrasound. In general, both muscles were coactivated, albeit to different relative levels, particularly when hip flexor torque was required. Selective activation of the iliacus could, however, be seen to stabilize the pelvis in contralateral hip extension during standing. Psoas was found to be selectively involved in sitting with a straight back and in contralateral loading situations requiring stabilization of the spine in the frontal plane. During training exercises from a supine position, such as sit-ups, the contribution of the psoas and iliacus muscles could be varied by changing the range of motion as well as the position and support for the legs. Thus, the 2 anatomically different muscles of the iliopsoas complex were shown to have individual and task-specific activation patterns depending on the particular demands for stability and movement at the lumbar spine, pelvis and hip.
154 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that progression of motor scores in PD decreases with advancing disease in PD, however, disability continues to deteriorate with advanced disease and with the development of disease complications that are likely to be related to additional extrastriatal pathology.
Abstract: Few prospective data on the clinical progression of Parkinson's disease (PD) in patient groups outside treatment trials in selected patients are available, and controversy exists on the rate of clinical disease progression with advancing disease. In this study, we investigated the rate of clinical progression of PD in a clinic-based sample of 145 patients over 1 year and in a community-based sample of 124 patients over 4 years. Depending on the sample and clinical scale used, mean deterioration of motor and disability scores ranged from 2.4 to 7.4% of the maximum possible score per year, and standard deviations indicated that there was considerable variability of progression rates between individuals. The progression of motor scores decreased with follow-up over 4 years and significantly decreased in more advanced disease stages. Deterioration of disability scores did not differ between disease stages; this may reflect the increasing rate of disease complications, which contribute to increasing disability in addition to motor impairment alone, in more advanced disease. Thus, motor fluctuations, hallucinations, depression, memory problems, and bladder symptoms were all reported more often at follow-up in the community-based sample (all P < 0.01), and dyskinesias, motor fluctuations, falls, and hallucinations were more common and cognitive and depression scores worse in higher disease stages in the clinic-based sample (all P < 0.001). We conclude that progression of motor scores in PD decreases with advancing disease in PD. However, disability continues to deteriorate with advancing disease and with the development of disease complications that are likely to be related to additional extrastriatal pathology.
148 citations
TL;DR: The findings of this study support research arguing that technologies are not fixed entities moving from invention through diffusion and into routine use, rather, it is the interplay between technical and social factors that produces a particular outcome.
Abstract: There has been an increased interest in the use of telemedical applications in clinical practice in recent years. Considerable effort has been invested in trials and experimental services. Yet, surprisingly few applications have continued beyond the research and development phase. The aim of this study is to explore characteristics of successfully implemented telemedical applications. An extensive search of telemedicine literature was conducted in order to identify relevant articles. Following a defined selection process, a small number of articles were identified that described characteristics of successfully implemented telemedical applications. These articles were analysed qualitatively, drawing on central procedures from Grounded Theory (GT), including condensation and categorisation. The analysis resulted in a description of features found to be of importance for a successful implementation of telemedicine. Subsequently, these features were discussed in light of Science and Technology studies (STS) and the concept of 'social negotiation'. Telemedical applications introduced into routine practice are typically characterised by the following six features: 1) local service delivery problems have been clearly stated, 2) telemedicine has been seen as a benefit, 3) telemedicine has been seen as a solution to political and medical issues, 4) there was collaboration between promoters and users, 5) issues regarding organizational and technological arrangements have been addressed, and 6) the future operation of the service has been considered. Our findings support research arguing that technologies are not fixed entities moving from invention through diffusion and into routine use. Rather, it is the interplay between technical and social factors that produces a particular outcome. The success of a technology depends on how this interplay is managed during the process of implementation.
127 citations
TL;DR: A secondary analysis of in-depth interviews with white and Pakistani and Indian respondents who had type 2 diabetes explored their perceptions and understandings of disease causation, which observed subtle, but important, differences in the ways in which these respondent groups attributed responsibility and blame for developing the disease.
Abstract: We undertook a secondary analysis of in-depth interviews with white (n = 32) and Pakistani and Indian (n = 32) respondents who had type 2 diabetes, which explored their perceptions and understandings of disease causation. We observed subtle, but important, differences in the ways in which these respondent groups attributed responsibility and blame for developing the disease. Whereas Pakistani and Indian respondents tended to externalise responsibility, highlighting their life circumstances in general and/or their experiences of migrating to Britain in accounting for their diabetes (or the behaviours they saw as giving rise to it), white respondents, by contrast, tended to emphasise the role of their own lifestyle 'choices' and 'personal failings'. In seeking to understand these differences, we argue for a conceptual and analytical approach which embraces both micro- (i.e. everyday) and macro- (i.e. cultural) contextual factors and experiences. In so doing, we provide a critique of social scientific studies of lay accounts/understandings of health and illness. We suggest that greater attention needs to be paid to the research encounter (that is, to who is looking at whom and in what circumstances) to understand the different kinds of contexts researchers have highlighted in presenting and interpreting their data.
107 citations
TL;DR: Patients experiencing high levels of psychological distress before CABG surgery benefited from a structured informational and psychological HBIP.
TL;DR: Vaccine responses decline significantly by 3 years and conjugate vaccine does not improve the durability of response, and the only factor predictive of response durability was a strong multiserotype initial response.
TL;DR: The framework of a master plan for managing hospital solid wastes is proposed considering different criteria which are usually used for evaluating the pollution of hospital solid waste loads and the results have shown that the hospitals located near the capital city of the province, Ahvaz, produce more than 43% of the total hospital solid Waste pollution load.
TL;DR: The patterns of mutations indicate that the JP2 clone initially emerged as a distinct genotype in the Mediterranean part of Africa approximately 2,400 years ago and subsequently spread to West Africa, from which it was transferred to the American continents during the transatlantic slave trade.
Abstract: The natural history, microevolution, and patterns of interindividual transmission and global dissemination of the JP2 clone of Aggregatibacter (Actinobacillus) actinomycetemcomitans were studied by population genetic analysis. The JP2 clone is strongly associated with aggressive periodontitis in adolescents of African descent and differs from other clones of the species by several genetic peculiarities, including a 530-bp deletion in the promoter region of the leukotoxin gene operon, which results in increased leukotoxic activity. Multilocus sequence analysis of 82 A. actinomycetemcomitans strains, 66 of which were JP2 clone strains collected over a period of more than 20 years, confirmed that there is a clonal population structure with evolutionary lineages corresponding to serotypes. Although genetically highly conserved, as shown by alignment of sequences of eight housekeeping genes, strains belonging to the JP2 clone had a number of point mutations, particularly in the pseudogenes hbpA and tbpA. Characteristic mutations allowed isolates from individuals from the Mediterranean area and from West Africa, including the Cape Verde Islands, to be distinguished. The patterns of mutations indicate that the JP2 clone initially emerged as a distinct genotype in the Mediterranean part of Africa approximately 2,400 years ago and subsequently spread to West Africa, from which it was transferred to the American continents during the transatlantic slave trade. The sustained exclusive colonization of individuals of African descent despite geographical separation for centuries suggests that the JP2 clone has a distinct host tropism. The colonization of family members by JP2 clone strains with unique point mutations provides strong evidence that there is intrafamilial transmission and suggests that dissemination of the JP2 clone is restricted to close contacts.
TL;DR: The increasing role of CPOE systems in health care has invited much more scrutiny about the effectiveness of these systems in actual practice which has the potential to improve their ultimate performance.
TL;DR: Treatment with trastuzumab during midgestation may be associated with anhydramnios, and this case report focuses on a woman who was treated for invasive ductal carcinoma 1 year before pregnancy.
TL;DR: The quality of the home environment, as assessed by the Home Screening Questionnaire, was the strongest predictor of IQ at 4 y, and there was no association between duration of breast-feeding and childhood IQ in this relatively well-nourished cohort from an industrialized society.
TL;DR: The main SLE symptoms that can be alleviated by exercising, as well as the results of studies seeking to analyse the exercise capacity and physical training possibilities of SLE patients are reviewed.
Abstract: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a rheumatic disease characterized by a variety of symptoms, especially fatigue, pain and reduced quality of life. Physical exercise is a useful tool for improving cardiovascular fitness, reducing metabolic abnormalities and fatigue and improving quality of life. However, very few studies have focused on the relationship between SLE and physical exercise. This paper reviews the main SLE symptoms that can be alleviated by exercising, as well as the results of studies seeking to analyse the exercise capacity and physical training possibilities of SLE patients. Considerations for future research are also discussed.
TL;DR: The results suggest that an external focus of attention is advantageous for the transfer of learning of a postural control task following an ankle injury and indicate that using an externalfocus of attention when training under moderately unstable conditions can significantly improvePostural control under less stable conditions.
Abstract: Study Design Randomized clinical trial. Objective To examine the effect of attentional focus instructions during training on the transfer of a learned balance capability to a more challenging condition among subjects with ankle ligament injury. Background Current evidence suggests that instructions inducing an external focus of attention may be more effective at promoting learning than instructions inducing an internal focus of attention. The effect of attentional direction on transfer has not been tested in populations following a disease or injury, such as lateral ankle sprain, in which postural control is impaired. Methods and Measures Participants were 36 male volunteers (mean age, 209 years; range, 19–33 years) who were referred to physical therapy following a grade 1 or 2 ankle sprain. The patients were randomly allocated to 1 of 2 groups, which were instructed to focus attention either internally or externally during postural control training. Three training sessions were conducted on consecutive d...
TL;DR: Bridging the Gap, a conceptual model of the treatment decision-making process specific to breast cancer care and CAM that will inform future information and decision support strategies, is developed.
Abstract: Goals of work
The purpose of this study was to explore the personal and social processes women with breast cancer engaged in when making decisions about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The overall aim was to develop a conceptual model of the treatment decision-making process specific to breast cancer care and CAM that will inform future information and decision support strategies.
TL;DR: The MIRACL study as mentioned in this paper randomized 3,086 patients to 16 weeks of 80 mg/day of atorvastatin or placebo 24 to 96 hours after acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) and demonstrated significant decreases in the combined primary end point (nonfatal acute myocardial infarction, resuscitated cardiac arrest, recurrent symptomatic myocardical ischemia).
Abstract: After acute coronary syndromes (ACSs), older patients are particularly susceptible to early complications, including death and recurrent ACS. Lipid management guidelines do not differentiate elderly from younger patients, and lack of evidence for statin benefits in older patients has led to underutilization of statins in the elderly. The MIRACL study randomized 3,086 patients to 16 weeks of 80 mg/day of atorvastatin or placebo 24 to 96 hours after ACS and demonstrated significant decreases in the combined primary end point (nonfatal acute myocardial infarction, resuscitated cardiac arrest, recurrent symptomatic myocardial ischemia). This post hoc analysis compared benefits of 80 mg of atorvastatin in older (≥65 years) versus younger (
TL;DR: Treatment with active vitamin D was associated with greater muscle size and strength in this cohort of hemodialysis patients.
TL;DR: It is timely, a decade after the first reports of minimally invasive necrosectomy (MIN), to review the progress of this procedure that now encompasses radiological, endoscopic and percutaneous techniques.
Abstract: It is timely, a decade after the first reports of minimally invasive necrosectomy (MIN), to review the progress of this procedure that now encompasses radiological, endoscopic and percutaneous techniques. The main impetus towards MIN has been the recognition that open necrosectomy often makes patients sicker and that outcome may be improved when necrosectomy is delayed 1 . The situation is also influenced by the recent recognition that almost all patients with sterile pancreatic necrosis and some with infected necrosis 2 can be managed without necrosectomy. The development of MIN has led to two contrasting philosophies. The first advocates an orthodox ‘step-down’ approach in which open necrosectomy plays a primary role, with less invasive methods used for residual or subsequent collections. The second, or ‘step-up’, approach relies initially on less invasive techniques, with open necrosectomy used as a last resort. A multicentre randomized controlled trial comparing these two approaches is already under way in the Netherlands 3 . The challenges facing this trial include the variation in expertise with MIN and in the definitions of target lesions. Variations in the target lesions (location, fluid/mixed/solid, early/late, sterile/infected, single/ multiple, wall thickness) and in the patients (co-morbidity, habitus, degree of organ dysfunction) require an individually tailored and flexible approach to the treatment of pancreatic necrosis. MIN can be classified by the type of scope used (flexible endoscope, laparoscope, nephroscope) and the route of access (transperitoneal, transgastric, retroperitoneal). Nine possible combinations exist and, except for the endoscopic transperitoneal approach, all have been attempted. Each of the scopes and access routes has its advantages and disadvantages. The scopes can be compared for field of view, working channel for instruments and irrigation, external diameter, length, and flexibility and angulation. The routes can be compared for ease of access, risk of collateral injury and unnecessary contamination, and the ability to deal with multiple and complex collections. The two approaches that have risen to favour are the endoscopic transgastric and nephroscopic retroperitoneal routes, probably because they are based on conventional operations. The former is an adaptation of an
TL;DR: It is demonstrated for synthetical and patient data that at low DF the RI is far below the optimal value one even for high underlying organization and good signal quality, which might promote the development of powerful realtime signal processing tools for computing DF.
Abstract: Dominant frequency (DF) computed from action potentials is a key parameter for investigating atrial fibrillation in animal studies and computer models. A recent clinical trial reported consistent results computing DF from 30 Hz to 400 Hz bandpass filtered bipolar electrograms in humans. The DF (<15 Hz and, thus, filtered out) was recovered by rectifying the signal, while the theoretical background of this approach was left uncommented. It is the focus of this paper to provide this background by a Fourier analysis. We demonstrate that it is mainly the timing of the narrow deflections (local activation at the catheter tip) which contribute to the DF peak in the frequency spectrum. Due to the typical signal morphology pronounced harmonic peaks occur in the spectrum. This is a disadvantage when computing the regularity index (RI) as a parameter for local organization and signal quality. It is demonstrated for synthetical and patient data that at low DF the RI is far below the optimal value one even for high underlying organization and good signal quality. The insight obtained promotes the development of better measures for organization. The finding that mainly timing of activation contributes to DF might promote the development of powerful realtime signal processing tools for computing DF
TL;DR: This study supports previous findings about the effects of income, immigration and gender on depression and suggests a differential income effect for male and female recent immigrants.
Abstract: Background: Immigrants tend to initially settle in urban centres. It is known that immigrants have lower rates of depression than the Canadian-born population, with the lowest rates among those who have arrived recently in Canada. It is established that women and low-income individuals are more likely to have depression. Given that recent immigration is a protective factor and female gender and low income are risk factors, the aim of this study was to explore a recent immigration-low income interaction by gender. Methods: The study used 2000-01 Canadian Community Health Survey data. The sample consisted of 41,147 adults living in census metropolitan areas. Logistic regression was used to examine the effect of the interaction on depression. Results: The prevalence of depression in urban centres was 9.17% overall, 6.82% for men and 11.44% for women. The depression rate for recent immigrants was 5.24%, 3.87% for men and 6.64% for women. The depression rate among low-income individuals was 14.52%, 10.79% for men and 17.07% for women. The lowest-rate of depression was among low-income recent immigrant males (2.21%), whereas the highest rate was among low-income non-recent immigrant females (11.05%). Conclusions: This study supports previous findings about the effects of income, immigration and gender on depression. The findings are novel in that they suggest a differential income effect for male and female recent immigrants. These findings have implications for public health planning, immigration and settlement services and policy development.
TL;DR: It is concluded that formulations of pectin with a low degree of esterification have potential application as in situ gelling vehicles for the sustained delivery of drugs following oral administration under conditions of high gastric pH.
01 Nov 2007
TL;DR: In this project, speech recognition system utilizes the hidden Markov model (HMM) technique for evaluating speech problem for children such as stuttering.
Abstract: Malay speech therapy assistance tools (MSTAT) is a system which assists the therapist to diagnose children for language disorder and to train children with stuttering problem. The main engine behind it is the speech technologies; consist of speech recognition system, Malay text-to-speech system and Malay talking head by Tan, T.S. (2003). In this project, speech recognition system utilizes the hidden Markov model (HMM) technique for evaluating speech problem for children such as stuttering. The voice pattern of the normal and speech disorder children are used to train the HMM model for classifying the problem of speech disorder. Thus, the system is localized with local dialect voice database which focus on local Malay dialect that is currently not available in market. Besides that, the system also utilizes Malay text-to-speech system and Talking Head to guide and lead the children or parents to follow the diagnostic process. This feature makes the system more interactive and not only single direction of communication.
TL;DR: It was observed that the positivity rate was highest in cats aged between 6 months–1 year old, and the findings suggest that FCoVs may be present in the blood samples from healthy cats as well as cats with clinical FIP.
Abstract: In this study, 26 blood samples were collected from 25 healthy cats and one cat with clinical signs suggestive of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), namely, fever, weight loss, enlarged abdomen, and ascites. Blood samples were tested for feline coronavirus (FCoV) messenger RNA (mRNA) by an reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay which has previously been described to have a high specificity in the diagnosis of clinical FIP [Simons AF, Vennema H, Rofina JE, Pol JM, Horzinek MC, Rottier PJM, Egberink HF (2005) A mRNA PCR for the diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis. Journal of Virological Methods124, 111-116]. Overall we found 14 (54%) of the cats were positive for FCoV including the cat with clinical disease, but the high rate of positivity among healthy cats suggested a poor specificity for the clinical diagnosis of FIP among these cats. It was observed that the positivity rate was highest in cats aged between 6 months-1 year old. Our findings suggest that FCoVs may be present in the blood samples from healthy cats as well as cats with clinical FIP.
TL;DR: In a relative large-scale study of middle-aged whites, there is no evidence of association between the PPARalpha Leu162Val polymorphism and obesity or type 2 diabetes, and if replicated, the Val162Val variant may, however, confer an increase in fasting levels of serum lipids.
TL;DR: It is concluded that saturation levels and critical pH may not fully reflect when dental erosion is expected to occur in saliva and that calcium addition reduces the erosive potential of acidic candies.
Abstract: Theoretical calculations have shown that acidic candies may be potentially erosive upon consumption. However, little is known about the protective effect of adding calcium to potentially erosive candies and about the protective effects of saliva that cannot be fully accounted for by theoretical calculations. Therefore, the aims of this study were to (1) determine the erosive potential of acidic candies with and without calcium and (2) to determine differences between theoretically calculated erosive potential and actual erosive potential in saliva. Twenty healthy test persons sucked acidic candy with and without calcium while their whole saliva was collected into a closed system at different times: baseline, candy-stimulated, and post-stimulated. The erosive potential of the candy was evaluated from candy-induced changes in saliva degree of saturation with respect to hydroxyapatite (HAp) and directly by dissolution of HAp crystals in candy-stimulated saliva. The results showed that similar salivary stimulation was obtained with both candies. The modified candy released more than 13 mmol/l of calcium into saliva, resulting in a lower critical pH, and considerably lower erosive potential than the control (p < 0.001). Although a significant correlation was obtained between theoretical calculation of DS(HAp) and dissolution of HAp crystals (r(s) = 0.65; p < 0.001), many samples obtained by sucking modified candy showed no signs of HAp dissolution in spite of being undersaturated. We conclude that saturation levels and critical pH may not fully reflect when dental erosion is expected to occur in saliva and that calcium addition reduces the erosive potential of acidic candies.