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[Multilocus sequence typing of group A streptococci isolated from invasive diseases in the Czech Republic in 2003].

First results of multilocus sequence typing (MLST) for characterization of 29 invasive Streptococcus pyogenes strains isolated in the Czech Republic in the first half of 2003 are presented. None of 16 emm types detected among the study strains showed sequence type (ST) variability. The MLST results are indicative of differences between the strains causing serious diseases in the Czech Republic and those isolated in other countries. In seven strains, four new STs with known alleles in new combinations, ST134, ST308, ST336, ST340, and one new ST with three as yet undescribed alleles (gki 91, murI 65 and yqiL 60), ST341, were described. These newly described STs were submitted to the web-based reference MLST database for S. pyogenes.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗

[Results of functional endoscopic sinus surgery].

INTRODUCTION: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and polyposis cavi nasi (PCN) are two frequently occurring, disabling diseases. Many international studies have obtained very good results with the functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) technique in cases of resistance to conservative treatment. This is the first study in Denmark that attempts to compare Danish results with international results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 31 patients operated on in the period 1 January-31 December 2002 in the ENT Department, Aarhus University Hospital. After a retrospective journal study, all patients were followed up on by means of a postoperative cross-sectional examination, with a questionnaire and endoscopic inspection of the nasal cavity. RESULTS: We found significant improvement as regarded sense of smell, degree of nasal obstruction, rhinorrhoea and facial pain. The endoscopic inspections showed a significant reduction in nasal polyps. Eighty-six percent of the patients said they would recommend the same kind of surgery to a similar patient. CONCLUSION: The study showed good results using functional endoscopic sinus surgery on Danish patients with CRS and PCN. The Danish population of those suffering from CRS and PCN undergoing surgery was not comparable to those in international studies. The study raised questions concerning the lack of national references and database programme.

Adolescent↗

Environmental determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among adults: a systematic review.

The current ecological approach in health behaviour research recognises that health behaviour needs to be understood in a broad environmental context. This has led to an exponential increase in the number of studies on this topic. It is the aim of this systematic review to summarise the existing empirical evidence pertaining to environmental influences on fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption. The environment was defined as 'all factors external to the individual'. Scientific databases and reference lists of selected papers were systematically searched for observational studies among adults (18-60 years old), published in English between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 2004, with environmental factor(s) as independent factor(s), and fruit intake, vegetable intake or FV intake combined as one outcome measure as dependent factor(s). Findings showed there was a great diversity in the environmental factors studied, but that the number of replicated studies for each determinant was limited. Most evidence was found for household income, as people with lower household incomes consistently had a lower FV consumption. Married people had higher intakes than those who were single, whereas having children showed mixed results. Good local availability (e.g. access to one's own vegetable garden, having low food insecurity) seemed to exert a positive influence on intake. Regarding the development of interventions, improved opportunities for sufficient FV consumption among low-income households are likely to lead to improved intakes. For all other environmental factors, more replicated studies are required to examine their influence on FV intake.

Adolescent↗

Medical reference filing systems.

Low priced shareware packages may be adequate for those whose main need is to index a collection of articles read in journals. Those who search the literature electronically will need a package able to import mass data. Pro-Cite is set up for bibliographic functions only, but Reference File and Notebook II can be used to index any kind of collection, with Reference File having the advantage of being memory-resident. Other reference filing databases being considered for purchase could be measured against those reviewed here.

Abstracting and Indexing↗

Hazardous Substance Center: a poison center's workers right to know program.

Workers Right To Know (WRTK) legislation has been enacted in several states. It is landmark advocacy legislation for employees and communities who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals, but it is also a complex and costly problem for business, industry, and nonprofit organizations. The Hazardous Substance Center (HSC), a division of the Pittsburgh Poison Center, was created to develop and implement programs to enable the business community to comply with the requirements of WRTK legislation. Specifically, the HSC provides the client with a 24-hour toxicology resource which objectively assists employees in the interpretation of the health-related effects information on material safety data sheets (MSDS) and assists them and medical professionals in the management of acute and chronic exposures. A variety of online databases and reference materials are utilized to respond to these inquiries. Each case is documented using the AAPCC Report Form. Data is analyzed to identify trends which can be used to assist the client in complying with the educational component. The HSC also provides a labeling program to the client to identify and classify hazardous substances. The service is provided for an annual contractual fee and creates an additional source of poison center revenue.

Humans↗

A meta-analysis of the effect of garlic on blood pressure.

OBJECTIVE: To undertake a systematic review, including meta-analysis, of published and unpublished randomized controlled trials of garlic preparations to determine the effect of garlic on blood pressure relative to placebo and other antihypertensive agents. DATA IDENTIFICATION: Studies were identified by a search of Medline and the Alternative Medicine electronic databases, from references listed in primary and review articles, and through direct contact with garlic manufacturers. STUDY SELECTION: Only randomized controlled trials of garlic preparations that were at least 4 weeks in duration were deemed eligible for inclusion in the review. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted from the published reports by the two authors independently, with disagreements resolved by discussion. RESULTS: Eight trials were identified (all using the same dried garlic powder preparation (Kwai) with data from 415 subjects included in the analyses. Only three of the trials were specifically conducted in hypertensive subjects, and many had other methodological shortcomings. Of the seven trials that compared the effect of garlic with that of placebo, three showed a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and four in diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The overall pooled mean difference in the absolute change (from baseline to final measurement) of SBP was greater in the subjects who were treated with garlic then in those treated with placebo. For DBP the corresponding reduction in the garlic-treated subjects was slightly smaller. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that this garlic powder preparation may be of some clinical use in subjects with mild hypertension. However, there is still insufficient evidence to recommend it as a routine clinical therapy for the treatment of hypertensive subjects. More-rigorously designed and analysed trials are needed.

Blood Pressure↗

Garlic as a lipid lowering agent--a meta-analysis.

Garlic supplements may have an important role to play in the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia. To determine the effect of garlic on serum lipids and lipoproteins relative to placebo and other lipid lowering agents, a systematic review, including meta-analysis, was undertaken of published and unpublished randomised controlled trials of garlic preparations of at least four weeks' duration. Studies were identified by a search of MEDLINE and the ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE electronic databases, from references listed in primary and review articles, and through direct contact with garlic manufacturers. Sixteen trials, with data from 952 subjects, were included in the analyses. Many of the trials had methodological shortcomings. The pooled mean difference in the absolute change (from baseline to final measurement in mmol/l) of total serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol was compared between subjects treated with garlic therapy against those treated with placebo or other agents. The mean difference in reduction of total cholesterol between garlic-treated subjects and those receiving placebo (or avoiding garlic in their diet) was -0.77 mmol/l (95% CI: -0.65, -0.89 mmol/l). These changes represent a 12% reduction with garlic therapy beyond the final levels achieved with placebo alone. The reduction was evident after one month of therapy and persisted for at least six months. In the dried garlic powders, in which the allicin content is standardised, there was no significant difference in the size of the reduction across the dose range of 600-900 mg daily. Dried garlic powder preparations also significantly lowered serum triglyceride by 0.31 mmol/l compared to placebo (95% CI: -0.14, -0.49).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cholesterol↗

An analysis of the paper-based health record: information content and its implications for electronic patient records.

An analysis of paper-based charting was carried out at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center as a prelude to developing a strategic plan to implement an electronic patient record. A relational model of the Sunnybrook paper chart was developed, describing each of its forms in terms of specific data fields. Three hundred and forty nine different forms are in current use at Sunnybrook, containing 64 types of data fields such as Patient Demographics, Vital Signs, and Doctor's Orders. The extent of data field duplication at the level of hospital forms was significant. A Patient Demographics field was present on all forms and on all pages of a patient's chart, as would be expected. Twenty seven other fields were duplicated on more than ten different forms, including Working Diagnosis which was present on 110 forms, History of Past Illness on 42 forms, and History of Present Illness on 32 forms. Current Medications were recorded on 32 forms and Allergy fields were present on 29 separate forms. Only five data fields of the total 64 were present on only one form. The duplication of data fields within complete patient charts was then examined to confirm that data field duplication was occurring within the actual healthcare delivery process. Using the relational model of the charting system, 143 acute care in-patient encounters were abstracted into the database. The charts were selected randomly from each of the hospital inpatient services. The numbers and types of forms within each chart were recorded, amounting to 18,654 physical pages and using 165 of the different forms. The average in-patient encounter within the model was 130.4 pages long, with a minimum of 27 pages, a maximum of 559 pages, and containing on average 25.8 different forms. The duplication of data fields within actual charts followed a pattern similar to the duplication found on the forms. Initial diagnosis was present on an average of 20.4 pages within the charts, with a minimum of 2 pages and a maximum of 152 pages containing this data field. Other frequently occurring data fields included History of Past Illness present on an average of 12.2 pages per chart, History of present illness on 10.2 pages per chart, and allergies on an average of 9.1 pages per chart. The results obtained through the examination of Sunnybrook charts should be generalizable to most paper-based systems. This study did not measure the workload associated with duplicating chart data. however, the magnitude of the duplication seen in this study leaves little doubt that significant amounts of time could be saved with appropriate modification of health care delivery processes. Multiple copies of the same data field within a database are referred to as aliases of each other. This study demonstrates that hospital charts contain many copies of the same information, such as medication lists, allergies etc. Due to manual replication of data fields, there is no mechanism to ensure that each copy of a data element within a chart actually contains the same information. This aliasing of data through manual duplication compromises the integrity of data within paper-based charts. Decisions and therapy based upon contradictory or inaccurate data are likely to lead to inefficient or erroneous care delivery; this has significant implications for hospital liability and quality of patient care. A growing recognition of the costs and risks of data replication within paper-based charting systems is driving the healthcare industry toward Electronic Patient Record systems. Better quality patient care data, provided by computerized records, is likely to be necessary but not sufficient to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system. Intelligent application of this information will be essential.

Medical Records↗

Macromolecular structure information and databases. The EU BRIDGE Database Project Consortium.

The current status and future outlook of macromolecular structure databases and information handling, with particular reference to European databases, are reviewed. Issues concerning the efficiency with which data are represented, validated, archived and accessed are discussed in view of the fast growing body of information on structures of biological macromolecules.

Databases, Factual↗

Cardiovascular evaluation of lowland gorillas.

OBJECTIVE: To design a diagnostic protocol that uses appropriate techniques, including ultrasonography, to assess cardiovascular health and detect primary cardiac diseases in gorillas and to establish a database of reference values for cardiac measurements in clinically normal gorillas. DESIGN: Prospective study. ANIMALS: 5 adult male lowland gorillas from 11 to 18 years old. PROCEDURE: A complete cardiac evaluation was performed on anesthetized gorillas, including physical examination, thoracic radiography, electrocardiography, echocardiography, blood pressure determination, CBC, serum biochemical analyses, and serologic assay for viral diseases. Standard cardiac measurements were made from images collected during ultrasonography. RESULTS: Cardiac measurements derived from ultrasonographic images were consistent with those considered normal in human beings. Results of other diagnostic tests were also considered normal. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Cardiac disease is the primary cause of mortality in old captive gorillas. The technique used here provided excellent evaluation of cardiac function. Use of these techniques will allow early detection of cardiac disease, making treatment or medical management possible.

Animals↗

Can hospital discharge diagnosis be used for surveillance of bacteremia? A data quality study of a Danish hospital discharge registry.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the data quality of septicemia and sepsis registration in a hospital discharge registry in the County of Northern Jutland, Denmark. DESIGN: Comparison of data from the discharge registry of an 880-bed, public, urban hospital in the County of Northern Jutland with data from a computerized bacteremia database at the regional department of clinical microbiology. SETTING: Urban hospital with approximately 45,000 admissions per year. PATIENTS: The study included 406 episodes of bacteremia in the bacteremia database and 83 discharges with the diagnosis of septicemia registered in the hospital discharge registry between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1994. INTERVENTIONS: None. RESULTS: Eighteen episodes were registered in both the hospital discharge registry and the bacteremia database. Using the bacteremia database as reference standard, the sensitivity for the diagnosis of septicemia in the hospital discharge registry was 4.4% (18/406; 95% confidence intervals [CI95, 2.4%-6.4%]). By review of hospital records, we estimated the positive predictive value of septicemia registration in the hospital discharge registry as 21.7% (18/83; CI95, 12.8%-30.5%). No blood culture had been obtained in 44.4% (36/81; CI95, 33.6%-55.3%) of the cases with a discharge diagnosis of septicemia. In 33.3% (27/81; CI95, 23.1%-43.6%), the discharge diagnosis of septicemia was given, although blood cultures were negative. CONCLUSIONS: The hospital discharge registry revealed numerous misclassifications, and the system was found not suited for surveillance of, or research in, bacteremia at present.

Bacteremia↗

Review of Papyrus bibliographic database software.

Papyrus is an inexpensive bibliographic database which provides some features not found in other similar packages. Its flexibility in handling references of many types and formats, its capacity for integration with manuscripts prepared with word processors, its capacity for importing references from national databases and its ability to perform microcosmic literature searches are attractive features. Because Papyrus has tackled a complex task, mastery of the intricacies of the program may present a substantial challenge to novice computer users. Although the manipulation of an existing customized bibliographic database would seem to be attractive for any researcher or author who prepares manuscripts for publication, the optimal use of the program also requires an extensive commitment of time and labor for the initial entry of all pertinent references into the database. While this could be accomplished gradually in conjunction with the preparation of individual manuscripts, the creation of a complete file of references could require hundreds of hours of labor. Individual authors, as well as larger research groups, should be prepared for this type of commitment before acquiring the Papyrus system.

Bibliographies as Topic↗

Survey of 1276 shoeprint impressions and development of an automatic shoeprint pattern matching facility.

1276 shoeprints were collected at a scientific exhibition. Details regarding the age groups of the participants, style, size and manufacturer/brand of their shoes were recorded. The impressions were assigned to pattern groups showing that the most common pattern was present in only 1% of the population studied and most patterns were much less common. The impressions were digitized and a system developed for automatically sorting a database of images of outsole patterns in response to a reference image. The database images are ranked so that those from the same pattern group as the reference shoeprint are likely to be at the start of the list. A database of 486 complete shoeprint images belonging to 142 pattern groups was established with each group containing two or more examples. Tests of the system have shown that the first-ranked database image belongs to the same pattern group as the reference image 60% of the time and that a correct match appears within the first 5% of the ranked images 88% of the time. The system has translational and rotational invariance so that the spatial positioning of the reference shoeprint images does not have to correspond with the spatial positioning of the shoeprint images of the database. The performance of the system for matching partial shoeprints was also determined.

Criminology↗

Evaluation of the ability of seven herbal resources to answer questions about herbal products asked in drug information centers.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ability of seven widely known herbal references and electronic databases to answer questions about herbal products asked at drug information centers. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Five academic and institutional drug information centers. METHODS: Fifty-seven herbal-related questions were obtained from academic and institutional drug information centers. Seven herbal references and electronic databases were evaluated for their ability to answer these 57 questions: The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines, 1st edition; Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) for Herbal Medicines, 2001 edition; Tyler's Honest Herbal: A Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies, 4th edition; The Lawrence Review of Natural Products, 2001; Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (electronically updated, 2001); The Natural Pharmacist (electronically updated, 2001); and AltMedDex (electronically updated, 2001). RESULTS: Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database outperformed all other products evaluated, providing direct answers to 61% of questions. AltMedDex and The Natural Pharmacist performed similarly to one another, answering 49% and 44% of questions, respectively. The Lawrence Review of Natural Products, PDR for Herbal Medicines, The Complete German Commission E Monographs, and Tyler's Honest Herbal were the least helpful in providing direct answers to the questions (24%, 21%, 11%, and 9%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, AltMedDex, and The Natural Pharmacist outperformed all other evaluated herbal references and electronic databases in their ability to answer questions about herbal products posed in clinical practice.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗

Human DNA repair genes, 2005.

An updated inventory of about 150 human DNA repair genes is described. The compilation includes genes encoding DNA repair enzymes, some genes associated with cellular responses to DNA damage, and other genes associated with genetic instability or sensitivity to DNA damaging agents. The updated human DNA repair genes table (http://www.cgal.icnet.uk/DNA_Repair_Genes.htmlhttp://www.cgal.icnet.uk/DNA_Repair_Genes.html) is a research and reference tool that directly links to several databases: Gene Cards, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, the NCBI MapViewer for chromosome position, and the NCBI Entrez database for the reference nucleotide sequence. This article discusses the approximately 25 genes added, since the original version of the table was first produced in 2001, and some other revisions.

Chromatin↗

Phyto-oestrogen levels in foods: the design and construction of the VENUS database.

The objective of the Vegetal Estrogens in Nutrition and the Skeleton (VENUS) project was to evaluate existing data on dietary exposure to compounds with oestrogenic and anti-oestrogenic effects present in plant foods as constituents or contaminants, and to identify and disseminate in vitro and in vivo methodologies to analyse the effects of such compounds on bone. To permit the assessment of exposure to isoflavones in European populations (Italy, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands), the VENUS database of phyto-oestrogen levels in foods was established. Data on the isoflavone (genistein and daidzein) content of 791 foods, including almost 300 foods commonly consumed in Europe, were collected. Levels of coumestrol, formononetin and biochanin A in a limited number of foods were also included. Lignan levels (secoisolariciresinol and matairesinol) in 158 foods were incorporated into the database, which also contains information on the references sourced for the compositional data, on the analytical methods used by each author and on the number of foods analysed in each reference. The VENUS database was constructed in Microsoft Access 2000, which is widely available as part of Microsoft Office Professional. This paper outlines the procedures used for the selection and evaluation of existing literature data for incorporation into the database. In addition, the design of the database is described, along with the data entry and quality control procedures used in its construction. Limitations of the data are discussed and guidelines for its use are provided.

Database Management Systems↗

MIPS: analysis and annotation of proteins from whole genomes in 2005.

The Munich Information Center for Protein Sequences (MIPS at the GSF), Neuherberg, Germany, provides resources related to genome information. Manually curated databases for several reference organisms are maintained. Several of these databases are described elsewhere in this and other recent NAR database issues. In a complementary effort, a comprehensive set of >400 genomes automatically annotated with the PEDANT system are maintained. The main goal of our current work on creating and maintaining genome databases is to extend gene centered information to information on interactions within a generic comprehensive framework. We have concentrated our efforts along three lines (i) the development of suitable comprehensive data structures and database technology, communication and query tools to include a wide range of different types of information enabling the representation of complex information such as functional modules or networks Genome Research Environment System, (ii) the development of databases covering computable information such as the basic evolutionary relations among all genes, namely SIMAP, the sequence similarity matrix and the CABiNet network analysis framework and (iii) the compilation and manual annotation of information related to interactions such as protein-protein interactions or other types of relations (e.g. MPCDB, MPPI, CYGD). All databases described and the detailed descriptions of our projects can be accessed through the MIPS WWW server (http://mips.gsf.de).

Animals↗

UniProt archive.

UniProt Archive (UniParc) is the most comprehensive, non-redundant protein sequence database available. Its protein sequences are retrieved from predominant, publicly accessible resources. All new and updated protein sequences are collected and loaded daily into UniParc for full coverage. To avoid redundancy, each unique sequence is stored only once with a stable protein identifier, which can be used later in UniParc to identify the same protein in all source databases. When proteins are loaded into the database, database cross-references are created to link them to the origins of the sequences. As a result, performing a sequence search against UniParc is equivalent to performing the same search against all databases cross-referenced by UniParc. UniParc contains only protein sequences and database cross-references; all other information must be retrieved from the source databases.

Amino Acid Sequence↗