bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bi-Level Positive Airway Pressure Ventilation in Pediatric Oncology Patients With Acute Respiratory Failure
Authors: Schiller Ofer , Schonfeld Tommy , Yaniv Isaac , Stein Jerry , Kadmon Gili , Nahum Elhanan
Published: October 2009

The aim of the study was to describe our experience with bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) ventilation in oncology children with acute respiratory failure, hospitalized in a single tertiary pediatric tertiary center. This was a retrospective cohort study of all pediatric oncology patients in our center admitted to the intensive care unit with acute hypoxemic or hypercarbic respiratory failure from January 1999 through May 2006, who required mechanical ventilation with BiPAP. Fourteen patients met the inclusion criteria with a total of 16 events of respiratory failure or impending failure: 12 events were hypoxemic, 1 was combined hypercarbic and hypoxemic, and 3 had severe respiratory distress. Shortly after BiPAP ventilation initiation, there was a statistically significant improvement in the respiratory rate (40.4 ± 9.3 to 32.5 ± 10.1, P < .05] and a trend toward improvement in arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO 2; 71.3 ± 32.7 to 104.6 ± 45.6, P = .055). The improvement in the respiratory status was sustained for at least 12 hours. In 12 (75%) events there was a need for sedation during ventilation; 12 children needed inotropic support during the BiPAP ventilation. Bi-level positive airway pressure ventilation failed in 3 (21%) children who were switched to conventional ventilation. All of them have died during the following days. One child was recategorized to receive palliative care while on BiPAP ventilator and was not intubated. In 12 of 16 BiPAP interventions (75%; 11 patients), the children survived to pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) discharge without invasive ventilation. No major complications were noted during BiPAP ventilation. Bi-level positive airway pressure ventilation is well tolerated in pediatric oncology patients suffering from acute respiratory failure and may offer noninferior outcomes compared with those previously described for conventional invasive ventilation. It appears to be a feasible initial option in children with malignancy experiencing acute respiratory failure.
Ten cases of systemic lupus erythematosus related to hepatitis B vaccine
Authors: Agmon-Levin N. , Zafrir Y. , Paz Z. , Shilton T. , Zandman-Goddard G. , Shoenfeld Y.
Published: October 2009

The objective of this article is to identify common and atypical features of systemic lupus erythematosus diagnosed following hepatitis B vaccination. We analyzed retrospectively the medical records of 10 systemic lupus erythematosus patients from different centers, who developed the disease following hepatitis B vaccination and determined the prevalence of different manifestations and the time association to vaccination. In this case series, 80% of the patients were female, mean age 35 ± 9 years, of which 20% received one inoculation, 20% received two doses and 60% received all three inoculations. The mean latency period from the first hepatitis B virus immunization and onset of autoimmune symptoms was 56.3 days. All patients were diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, according to the American College of Rheumatology revised criteria within 1 year. The prevalence of some systemic lupus erythematosus manifestations was typical and included involvement of the joints (100%), skin (80%), muscles (60%) and photosensitivity (30%). Other symptoms differed in this unique group of systemic lupus erythematosus patients such as low rate of kidney and hematologic involvement, and a relatively high rate of hepatitis (20%). Neurological (80%) and pulmonary (70%) symptoms were also common in this group. Data from this case-series, and previously documented cases in the literature could only show a temporal relation between hepatitis B vaccination and the appearance of systemic lupus erythematosus. Systemic lupus erythematosus related to vaccine may differ from idiopathic systemic lupus erythematosus in its clinical presentation and may resemble drug-induced systemic lupus erythematosus. Thus, physicians should be alerted to this potential association, its possible long latency period and unique presentations, and be encouraged to report and analyze these cases. Lupus (2009) 18, 1192—1197.
Vaccines as a trigger for myopathies
Authors: Orbach H. , Tanay A.
Published: October 2009

Vaccines are considered to be among the greatest medical discoveries, credited with the virtual eradication of some diseases and the consequent improved survival and quality of life of the at-risk population. With that, vaccines are among the environmental factors implicated as triggers for the development of inflammatory myopathies. The sporadic reports on vaccineinduced inflammatory myopathies include cases of hepatitis B virus, bacillus Calmette—Guérin, tetanus, influenza, smallpox, polio, diphtheria, diphtheria—pertussis—tetanus, combination of diphtheria with scarlet fever and diphtheria—pertussis—tetanus with polio vaccines. However, a significant increase in the incidence of dermatomyositis or polymyositis after any massive vaccination campaign has not been reported in the literature. In study patients with inflammatory myopathies, no recent immunization was recorded in any of the patients. Moreover, after the 1976 mass flu vaccination, no increase in the incidence of inflammatory myopathies was observed. Although rare, macrophagic myofasciitis has been reported following vaccination and is attributed to the aluminium hydroxide used as an adjuvant in some vaccines. Prospective multicenter studies are needed to identify potential environmental factors, including vaccines, as potential triggers for inflammatory myopathies. Lupus (2009) 18, 1213—1216.
Common infectious agents prevalence in antiphospholipid syndrome
Authors: Zinger H. , Sherer Y. , Goddard G. , Berkun Y. , Barzilai O. , Agmon-Levin N. , Ram M. , Blank M. , Tincani A. , Rozman B. , Cervera R. , Shoenfeld Y.
Published: October 2009

Antiphospholipid syndrome is characterized by thrombosis and pregnancy loss. Infections are generally associated with autoimmune diseases, but in the setting of antiphospholipid syndrome this link has been suggested as having a pathogenic role. In this study, 98 patients with antiphospholipid syndrome were screened for antibodies directed to several infectious agents. The main finding in this study is the significantly higher prevalence of IgM antibodies to toxoplasma and rubella. This novel finding suggests that these infections might be associated with antiphospholipid syndrome. As autoimmune diseases and, in particular, antiphospholipid syndrome are associated with infections, mainly the catastrophic type of the syndrome, this finding implies that a current infection with these agents, i.e. toxoplasma and rubella, might either be related to the pathogenesis of antiphospholipid syndrome or alternatively to its manifestations. Lupus (2009) 18, 1149—1153.
Molecular mimicry in systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Agmon-Levin N. , Blank M. , Paz Z. , Shoenfeld Y.
Published: October 2009

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a multi-systemic autoimmune disease distinguished by the presence of various autoantibodies. Like most autoimmune diseases, systemic lupus erythematosus is believed to be induced by a combination of genetic, immunologic, and environmental factors, mainly infectious agents. Molecular mimicry between an infectious antigen and self-components is implicated as a pivotal mechanism by which autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus are triggered. Here we review the current evidence of molecular mimicry between different infectious agents and systemic lupus erythematosus.
Silicone breast implantation-induced scleroderma: description of four patients and a critical review of the literature
Authors: Levy Y. , Rotman-Pikielny P. , Ehrenfeld M. , Shoenfeld Y.
Published: October 2009

Since the early 1980s, case reports and case series describe an association between silicon breast implants and the appearance of autoimmune diseases, particularly scleroderma. The publication of those cases led to a large number of studies to investigate this association. The conclusion of those studies is that most probably there has not been an increased incidence of autoimmune diseases in women with silicon breast implants. Nevertheless, the US Food and Drug Administration determined that silicone gel breast implants are not completely safe, only that they are ‘reasonably safe.’ The debate continues regarding this association. In this article we present new cases of silicon breast implant-induced scleroderma and review the literature on this subject. Lupus (2009) 18, 1226—1232.
Advances in Preventing Childhood and Adolescent Problem Behavior
Authors: Jenson Jeffrey M.
Published: October 2009

Recent advances in the field of prevention have led to a deeper understanding of the causes of adolescent problem behavior and to the identification of efficacious strategies to prevent delinquency, drug use, and other antisocial conduct. This 2009 Aaron Rosen lecture to members of the Society for Social Work and Research traces the evolution of prevention approaches in the United States. A public health model of intervention based on the principles of risk and protection is introduced as an important development in the field of prevention science. Examples from two longitudinal studies are used to illustrate how advances in prevention have led to positive changes in the lives of vulnerable children and youth. Practice, policy, and research challenges necessary to increase the impact of prevention are discussed.
Introduction: Social Organization of Demographic Responses to Disaster: Studying Population—Environment Interactions in the Case of Hurricane Katrina
Authors: Fussell Elizabeth , Elliott James R.
Published: October 2009

This article introduces a special issue of Organization & Environment that uses the historic case of Hurricane Katrina to investigate the social organization of demographic responses to disaster. It begins by establishing natural disasters as a dramatic form of human interaction with the environment. It then goes on to advance a novel framework for understanding the different population movements triggered by such interaction in the context of broader organizational failures. These population movements include unequal resettlement of the disaster zone by former residents, prolonged displacement in other locales, and arrival of a new recovery labor force perceived as socially different from formerly established populations. Respective articles on the social organization of these different population movements are previewed and connections with allied subfields are discussed.
Impact of a Community-Based Prevention Marketing Intervention to Promote Physical Activity Among Middle-Aged Women
Authors: Sharpe Patricia A. , Burroughs Ericka L. , Granner Michelle L. , Wilcox Sara , Hutto Brent E. , Bryant Carol A. , Peck Lara , Pekuri Linda
Published: October 2009

A physical activity intervention applied principles of community-based participatory research, the community-based prevention marketing framework, and social cognitive theory. A nonrandomized design included women ages 35 to 54 in the southeastern United States. Women ( n = 430 preprogram, n = 217 postprogram) enrolled in a 24-week behavioral intervention and were exposed to a media campaign. They were compared to cross-sectional survey samples at pre- ( n = 245) and postprogram ( n = 820) from the media exposed county and a no-intervention county ( n = 234 pre, n = 822 post). Women in the behavioral intervention had statistically significant positive changes on physical activity minutes, walking, park and trail use, knowledge of mapped routes and exercise partner, and negative change on exercise self-efficacy. Media exposed women had statistically significant pre- to postprogram differences on knowledge of mapped routes. No-intervention women had significant pre- to postprogram differences on physical activity minutes, walking, and knowledge of mapped routes.
An exploration of self-awareness among shy adolescents
Authors: Lund Ingrid
Published: October 2009

The aim of this article is to explore the concept of self-awareness related to adolescents with shyness as an emotional and behavioural problem at school. In its extreme form shyness can be seen as an emotional and behavioural problem that interferes with an individual’s potential for growth, learning and overall well-being. Self-awareness is a rather ambiguous term, and psychological, philosophical and neuro-scientific literature discuss the term from different angles that are relevant for this group of adolescents. During interviews and observations in school, 15 adolescents presented their experiences and challenges. Their narratives are the foundation for a discussion related to self-awareness and implications for future practice in the context of school in relation to this group.
A young concept in a new country
Authors: Huq Rupa
Published: October 2009

For a long established nation-state, Britain’s tradition of citizenship is very young. This article takes the form of a debate rather than being based on empirical research to examine developments of the past decade that have resulted in a steady entrenchment of this concept into official British structures. Citizenship is likely to be more engrained in the consciousness of the young than any other age group following the introduction of its teaching in schools in 2002. Britain’s youth have multiple possible affiliations including European identity and often other ethnic origins, be they Irish, French Hugenot or from the countries of the ex-British Empire. Balancing competing demands from different groups (generational, ethnic and otherwise) is a contemporary UK reality that is ever more acute during the current period of economic downturn. Lazy characterizations of British youth as disconnected from politics ignore the multifaceted nature of both young people and the ways in which they are currently active in civic life.
The De/Stabilization of Identity in Online Fan Communities
Authors: Whiteman Natasha
Published: October 2009

This article explores the negotiation of fan identity within two internet-based fan communities (the television fan site City of Angel and videogame fan site Silent Hill Heaven) in responses to two destabilizing events (the ‘Save Angel’ campaign and the release of the Silent Hill film). The article explores three aspects of the posting activity relating to these events: the ways that members, at times, constitute what it is to be a fan through the reification of their own agency; the ways that posters conceptualize external threats to their own interests; and the ways that they respond to internal challenges to the stability of these settings. Developing a relational approach to the study of fan identity, the article examines how these moves are tied into ongoing struggles for legitimacy within these sites.
Popular music against extreme right populism
Authors: De Cleen Benjamin
Published: October 2009

•On 1 October 2006 — one week before the municipal elections — the 0110 concerts ‘for tolerance, against racism, against extremism, against gratuitous violence’ were held in the Belgian cities of Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent and Charleroi. With these concerts the organizers wanted to make a statement against the extreme right Flemish-nationalist party Vlaams Belang (VB). This article looks at the discourse of the artists organizing and participating in the concerts, and at how this was communicated through the concerts, and asks how the VB reacted to 0110. The key to understanding this discursive struggle is populism. After discussing the VB and earlier anti-racist initiatives in Belgium from the perspective of populism, the article presents the results of a discourse analysis of the external communication of the VB and of the 0110 organization, of press coverage of 0110, and of the live coverage of the concerts. It discusses three issues that were central to the struggle between 0110 and the VB: the relationship between 0110 and (institutionalized) politics, the discourse of tolerance, and the participation of popular artists. •
To be a common hero
Authors: Carpentier Nico , Hannot Wim
Published: October 2009

ABSTRACT • This article looks at the articulations of the subject position ‘ordinary people’ by analysing focus group discussions with audience members, and interviews with participants in a north Belgian audience discussion programme called Jan Publiek. In this talk show ordinary people are granted access to a prime-time, live television programme, in order to discuss one specific issue each broadcast. This feature positions Jan Publiek among what have been called ‘audience discussion programmes’ or ‘vox-pop’ programmes (in contrast to elite talk shows). The article focuses on the construction of the ordinary person as a complex and multi-layered subject position. We argue that this identity is relational, and positioned towards an alliance of power-blocs consisting of celebrities, experts, politicians and media professionals. Through this relational positioning, ordinary people become articulated in Jan Publiek as authentic, but also as unorganized, apolitical, powerless, unknown, spontaneous and unknowledgeable. Lefebvre’s distinction between the everyday and everydayness is then used to evaluate the political and emancipatory capacity of Jan Publiek and audience discussion programmes in general, which are sometimes criticized for their commodified and apolitical nature, but on other occasions valued for their democratic potential. •
What counts as original appropriation?
Authors: van der Vossen Bas
Published: October 2009

I here defend historical entitlement theories of property rights against a popular charge. This is the objection that such theories fail because no convincing account of original appropriation exists. I argue that this argument assumes a certain reading of historical entitlement theory and I spell out an alternative reading against which it misfires. On this reading, the role of acts of original appropriation is not to justify but to individuate people’s holdings. I argue that we can identify which acts count as original appropriation against the background of a general justification for a practice of property rights. On this view, what I will call ‘natural’ acts of original appropriation are acts by which a person begins to satisfy the general conditions for justified ownership. Finally, I offer an interpretation of John Locke's theory of appropriation along these lines and argue that it provides an attractive reading of his view.
Neo-republicanism, freedom as non-domination, and citizen virtue
Authors: Costa M. Victoria
Published: October 2009

This article discusses Philip Pettit’s neo-republicanism in light of the criterion of self-sustenance: the requirement that a political theory be capable of serving as a self-sustaining public philosophy for a pluralist democracy. It argues that this criterion can only be satisfied by developing an adequate politics of virtue. Pettit’s theory is built around the notion of freedom as non-domination, and he does not say much about the virtues of citizens or the policies the state may employ to encourage their development. In order to explain the motivation to comply with republican laws that promote non-domination, Pettit relies on the phenomenon of civility and the mechanism of the intangible hand. But to understand what underlies an adequate level of robust civility one needs to focus on the more basic phenomenon of personal virtue. Policies that aim to promote non-domination should take into account the need to cultivate virtue among citizens, as well as the full range of conditions that favor its exercise.
Can intimacy justify home education?
Authors: Merry Michael S. , Howell Charles
Published: October 2009

Many parents cite intimacy as one of their reasons for deciding to educate at home. It seems intuitively obvious that home education is conducive to intimacy because of the increased time families spend together. Yet what is not clear is whether intimacy can provide justification for one’s decision to home educate. To see whether this is so, we introduce the concept of ‘attentive parenting’, which encompasses a set of family characteristics, and we examine whether and under what conditions attentive parents risk loss of intimacy by sending their children to school; or, alternatively, whether they can avoid this risk by educating children at home. What we will determine is whether families who exhibit the specified characteristics are prima facie justified in educating their children at home under the conditions of interest. We argue that, for attentive parents, home education not only promotes greater intimacy, but also provides insurance against the loss of intimacy that may occur under certain conditions when children attend schools.
Why state sanctions fail to deter home education
Authors: Spiegler Thomas
Published: October 2009

Home education in Germany is a contravention to the school law, and severe sanctions are applied against it. Despite this, a small home education movement has developed within the last 25 years. This article, after a short overview of home education in Germany, examines the reasons why a policy with sanctions fails to deter homeschooling. Then I point out why the legitimate interests of the state and the child, which are usually given to justify the prohibition of home education, might be better served if home education were legal but regulated and controlled.
Matricide: A Critique of the Literature
Authors: Heide Kathleen M. , Frei Autumn
Published: October 2009

Matricide, the killing of mothers by their biological children, is a very rare event, comprising less that 2% of all U.S. homicides in which the victim-offender relationship is known. This manuscript examines more than 20 years of U.S. homicides to determine the age and gender characteristics of matricide offenders. These data reveal that most mothers are killed by their adult sons. Daughters younger than 18 years are the most infrequent killers of mothers. This article examines the incidence of parricide, the involvement of sons and daughters in matricidal incidents, and synthesizes the literature in terms of offender gender. Special attention is given to female matricide offenders, given the lack of research currently available with respect to this population. Implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed.
Between the Wizard and the Deep Blue Sea: Notes on Homeless Youth Advocacy and Community Coalition Building
Authors: Woolworth Stephen
Published: October 2009

This article features a series of short self-reflective narrative vignettes about the experiences that led me to build and ultimately lead a coalition of homeless youth advocates who began the challenging work of calling attention to the plight of homeless teenagers in a mid-size industrial Pacific Northwest city concerned primarily with providing for and controlling its chronic adult homeless population. In the essay I draw from personal memory, social policy history and data from a participatory action research project to shed light on both the institutional politics of homeless youth policy and the varied possibilities of sustained grassroots community advocacy.
Hidden Success: A Case Study of Secretary-General Dirk Stikker’s Leadership at NATO
Authors: Hoogenboezem Jaap A.
Published: October 2009

This study of NATO Secretary-General Dirk Stikker analyses his leadership at NATO. Generally Stikker is seen as an unsuccessful leader because he was not able to solve the differences between European alliance members and the Unites States over nuclear strategy. However, this study argues that this would be a wrong measure of success. NATO was hopelessly deadlocked, and keeping the unity was in itself a hidden success. It shows that success and failure are not judgments that are always obvious and clear, but that interpretation is an important part of the study of leadership.
Sowing the seeds of citizenship and social justice
Authors: Ransom Lillie S.
Published: October 2009

Students enrolled in two sections of the public speaking courses at a small liberal arts university were required to do 10 hours of service in a local not for profit agency. Student comments indicate that doing service-learning in these courses affected their self-perceptions and expectations as deaf persons in a local community. This article will also discuss the ways the university is responding to the service-learning pedagogy to encourage citizenship and social justice values for students who tend to be somewhat alienated from the surrounding community.
Hip-hop and the academic canon
Authors: Abe Daudi
Published: October 2009

Over the last 30 years, the hip-hop movement has risen from the margins to become the preeminent force in US popular culture. In more recent times academics have begun to harness the power of hip-hop culture and use it as a means of infusing transformative knowledge into the mainstream academic discourse. On many college campuses, hip-hop’s influence has begun to extend beyond the classroom. Hip-hop think tanks and archives have been established as instructors have recorded and released hip-hop albums. Hip-Hop based cultural groups have begun appearing, and several campuses have hosted hip-hop conferences. As hip-hop increasingly permeates the highest levels of the academy, its effectiveness as curriculum continues to gain credibility. Consequently, it has begun to seep down the educational ladder in the form of curriculum for high school and junior high students. This unique cultural movement continues to carve out a significant space for itself in the transformative academic movement.
A university service-learning assignment
Authors: Zimmerman Toni S. , Krafchick Jennifer L. , Aberle Jennifer T.
Published: October 2009

A wide variety of universities are engaged in service-learning activities that create opportunities for K-12 students to interact with university students. Engaging students in their communities and working toward social justice in a variety of settings provides positive outcomes for communities, university students and the K-12 students involved. At Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, college students have been working in K-12 school settings facilitating FAIR, a social justice and diversity curriculum. The FAIR curriculum is outlined and suggestions for how to utilize the curriculum as a service-learning assignment are provided. As a service-learning assignment, FAIR, is beneficial to the K-12 students and schools while engaging university students in social justice action in an experiential and meaningful way. Outcomes are presented from our use of this service-learning curriculum. Finally, we provide instructions and plans for implementation.
An immunological overview of allergen specific immunotherapy — subcutaneous and sublingual routes
Authors: Ozdemir Cevdet
Published: October 2009

Allergen-specific immunotherapy remains the most likely effective treatment modality for allergic disorders by targeting the underlying immune mechanisms and possibly causing modifications in the disease course, as well as treating the symptoms. Treatment and compliance experiences been gained over nearly a century in injection-type allergen-specific immunotherapy have motivated the development of newer, alternative routes. Adverse events and safety concerns, efficacy and ease of application seem to be the stimulating factors for the development of a sublingual form of this treatment modality, wherein the principal factor is the capture of the antigen (allergen) by dendritic cells, in the location where oral tolerance arises. Due to the presence of high numbers of tolerogenic dendritic cell subsets in this region, programming of the immune system towards a regulatory state with unresponsiveness to specific allergens occurs. Induction of peripheral tolerance through the generation of regulatory T cells is the key event, with several functional modulations in the allergic immune response. With an increase in understanding of the mechanism of regulatory pathways, promising progresses in the field of allergen-specific immunotherapy will ensue and may provide new options for the treatment of allergic disorders.
What is MRSA?
Authors: Pantosti A. , Venditti M.
Published: October 2009

For decades methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) has been considered the prototype of multi-resistant nosocomial pathogens, causing infections in high-risk patients. Changes in the healthcare system, coupled with the evolution of this versatile microorganism, have transformed MRSA into a cause of community-onset infections, in both patients who have contact with the healthcare system and patients without such a risk factor.

New lineages of MRSA, defined as community acquired (CA)-MRSA, have emerged that have a propensity to cause infections in young individuals without risk factors. CA-MRSA primarily causes skin infections and, rarely, necrotising pneumonia. In the USA, these strains belong to a single widespread clone, designated USA300, while in Europe they belong to a variety of clones. Most strains carry genes for the Panton–Valentine leukocidin, whose role in diseases is under debate.

In subjects living in the community who have contact with the healthcare system, MRSA strains of the nosocomial type are a frequent cause of infection and of pneumonia in particular. The detection of a large MRSA reservoir in pigs and the finding that professionally exposed individuals are colonised, has further shown that it is necessary to closely follow the epidemiology of MRSA if we want to combat it effectively.
Biosynthesis of the proteasome inhibitor syringolin A: the ureido group joining two amino acids originates from bicarbonate
Authors: Ramel Christina , Tobler Micha , Meyer Martin , Bigler Laurent , Ebert Marc-Olivier , Schellenberg Barbara , Dudler Robert
Published: October 2009

Background

Syringolin A, an important virulence factor in the interaction of the phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae B728a with its host plant Phaseolus vulgaris (bean), was recently shown to irreversibly inhibit eukaryotic proteasomes by a novel mechanism. Syringolin A is synthesized by a mixed non-ribosomal peptide synthetase/polyketide synthetase and consists of a tripeptide part including a twelve-membered ring with an N-terminal valine that is joined to a second valine via a very unusual ureido group. Analysis of sequence and architecture of the syringolin A synthetase gene cluster with the five open reading frames sylA-sylE allowed to formulate a biosynthesis model that explained all structural features of the tripeptide part of syringolin A but left the biosynthesis of the unusual ureido group unaccounted for.

Results

We have cloned a 22 kb genomic fragment containing the sylA-sylE gene cluster but no other complete gene into the broad host range cosmid pLAFR3. Transfer of the recombinant cosmid into Pseudomonas putida and P. syringae pv. syringae SM was sufficient to direct the biosynthesis of bona fide syringolin A in these heterologous organisms whose genomes do not contain homologous genes. NMR analysis of syringolin A isolated from cultures grown in the presence of NaH13CO3 revealed preferential 13C-labeling at the ureido carbonyl position.

Conclusion

The results show that no additional syringolin A-specific genes were needed for the biosynthesis of the enigmatic ureido group joining two amino acids. They reveal the source of the ureido carbonyl group to be bicarbonate/carbon dioxide, which we hypothesize is incorporated by carbamylation of valine mediated by the sylC gene product(s). A similar mechanism may also play a role in the biosynthesis of other ureido-group-containing NRPS products known largely from cyanobacteria.
ArrayMining: a modular web-application for microarray analysis combining ensemble and consensus methods with cross-study normalization
Authors: Glaab Enrico , Garibaldi Jonathan M , Krasnogor Natalio
Published: October 2009

Background

Statistical analysis of DNA microarray data provides a valuable diagnostic tool for the investigation of genetic components of diseases. To take advantage of the multitude of available data sets and analysis methods, it is desirable to combine both different algorithms and data from different studies. Applying ensemble learning, consensus clustering and cross-study normalization methods for this purpose in an almost fully automated process and linking different analysis modules together under a single interface would simplify many microarray analysis tasks.

Results

We present ArrayMining.net, a web-application for microarray analysis that provides easy access to a wide choice of feature selection, clustering, prediction, gene set analysis and cross-study normalization methods. In contrast to other microarray-related web-tools, multiple algorithms and data sets for an analysis task can be combined using ensemble feature selection, ensemble prediction, consensus clustering and cross-platform data integration. By interlinking different analysis tools in a modular fashion, new exploratory routes become available, e.g. ensemble sample classification using features obtained from a gene set analysis and data from multiple studies. The analysis is further simplified by automatic parameter selection mechanisms and linkage to web tools and databases for functional annotation and literature mining.

Conclusion

ArrayMining.net is a free web-application for microarray analysis combining a broad choice of algorithms based on ensemble and consensus methods, using automatic parameter selection and integration with annotation databases.
Inferring within-patient HIV-1 evolutionary dynamics under anti-HIV therapy using serial virus samples with vSPA
Authors: Hasegawa Naoki , Sugiura Wataru , Shibata Junko , Matsuda Masakazu , Ren Fengrong , Tanaka Hiroshi
Published: October 2009

Background

Analysis of within-patient HIV evolution under anti-HIV therapy is crucial to a better understanding the possible mechanisms of HIV drug-resistance acquisition. The high evolutionary rate of HIV allows us to trace its evolutionary process in real time by analyzing virus samples serially collected from the same patient. However, such studies are still uncommon due to the lack of powerful computational methods designed for serial virus samples. In this study, we develop a computational method, vSPA (viral Sequential Pathway Analysis), which groups viral sequences from the same sampling time into clusters and traces the evolution between clusters over sampling times. The method makes use of information of different sampling times and traces the evolution of important amino acid mutations. Second, a permutation test at the codon level is conducted to determine the threshold of the correlation coefficient for clustering viral quasispecies. We applied vSPA to four large data sets of HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase genes serially collected from two AIDS patients undergoing anti-HIV therapy over several years.

Results

The results show that vSPA can trace within-patient HIV evolution by detecting many amino acid changes, including important drug-resistant mutations, and by classifying different viral quasispecies coexisting during different periods of the therapy.

Conclusion

Given that many new anti-HIV drugs will be available in the near future, vSPA may be useful for quickly providing information on the acquisition of HIV drug-resistant mutations by monitoring the within-patient HIV evolution under anti-HIV therapy as a computational approach.
Wnt4 is not sufficient to induce lobuloalveolar mammary development
Authors: Kim Young Chul , Clark Rod J , Pelegri Francisco , Alexander Caroline M
Published: October 2009

Background

Brisken et al (2000) showed that Wnt4 null mammary glands were deficient in early lobuloalveolar mammary outgrowth during pregnancy, and implicated Wnt4 as an effector for the progesterone-induced mammary growth program. Though ectopic Wnt1 signaling is known to be mitogenic and oncogenic, no endogenously expressed Wnt ligands have ever been directly implicated in mammary growth and morphogenesis. Therefore, we generated conditional transgenic mice to test whether Wnt4 can stimulate mammary epithelial cell growth.

Results

We found that despite pregnancy-associated expression levels of Wnt4, mammary glands did not display the side-branching typical of early pregnancy. Control experiments designed to test the Wnt4 construct in zebrafish reproduced other studies that demonstrated Wnt4-specific phenotypes distinct from Wnt1-induced phenotypes. Indeed, using qPCR-based array analyses, we found that a specific transcriptional target of Wnt4, namely Wnt16, was induced in Wnt4-expressing transgenic glands, to levels equivalent to that of early pregnant glands.

Conclusion

Taken together, we propose that Wnt4 is necessary, but not sufficient, to induce side-branch development.
Steps toward broad-spectrum therapeutics: discovering virulence-associated genes present in diverse human pathogens
Authors: Stubben Chris J , Duffield Melanie L , Cooper Ian A , Ford Donna C , Gans Jason D , Karlyshev Andrey V , Lingard Bryan , Oyston Petra CF , de Rochefort Anna , Song Jian , Wren Brendan W , Titball Rick W , Wolinsky Murray
Published: October 2009

Background

New and improved antimicrobial countermeasures are urgently needed to counteract increased resistance to existing antimicrobial treatments and to combat currently untreatable or new emerging infectious diseases. We demonstrate that computational comparative genomics, together with experimental screening, can identify potential generic (i.e., conserved across multiple pathogen species) and novel virulence-associated genes that may serve as targets for broad-spectrum countermeasures.

Results

Using phylogenetic profiles of protein clusters from completed microbial genome sequences, we identified seventeen protein candidates that are common to diverse human pathogens and absent or uncommon in non-pathogens. Mutants of 13 of these candidates were successfully generated in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and the potential role of the proteins in virulence was assayed in an animal model. Six candidate proteins are suggested to be involved in the virulence of Y. pseudotuberculosis, none of which have previously been implicated in the virulence of Y. pseudotuberculosis and three have no record of involvement in the virulence of any bacteria.

Conclusion

This work demonstrates a strategy for the identification of potential virulence factors that are conserved across a number of human pathogenic bacterial species, confirming the usefulness of this tool.
Derivation and validation of murine histologic alterations resembling asthma, with two proposed histologic grade parameters
Authors: Wachtel Mitchell S , Shome Goutam , Sutherland Mhairi , McGlone John J
Published: October 2009

Background

The objective was to define murine histologic alterations resembling asthma in a BALB/c OVA model and to suggest grading criteria. Identified were six salient histologic findings in lungs with putative allergic inflammation: 1) bronchoarterial space inflammation; 2) peri-venular inflammation; 3) inflammation about amuscular blood vessels; 4) inter-alveolar space inflammation, not about capillaries; 5) pleural inflammation; and 6) eosinophils within the inflammatory aggregates. An initial study comprised six groups of twelve mice each: 1) stressed, control; 2) stressed, sensitized; 3) stressed, challenged; 4) not physically stressed, control; 5) not physically stressed, sensitized; 6) not physically stressed, challenged. A second study comprised four experimental groups of twenty mice each: 1) stressed, control; 2) stressed, challenged; 3) not physically stressed, control; 4) not physically stressed, challenged. A third study evaluated two grading criteria, 1) the proportion of non-tracheal respiratory passages with inflammatory aggregates and 2) mitoses in the largest two non-tracheal respiratory passages, in five groups of five mice each, evaluated at different times after the last exposure.

Results

The first study suggested the six histological findings might reliably indicate the presence of alterations resembling asthma: whereas 82.4% of mice with a complete response had detectable interleukin (IL)-5, only 3.8% of mice without one did; whereas 77.8% of mice with a complete response were challenged mice, only 6.7% of mice without complete responses were. The second study revealed that the six histological findings provided a definition that was 97.4% sensitive and 100% specific. The third study found that the odds of a bronchial passage's having inflammation declined 1) when mitoses were present (OR = 0.73, 0.60 - 0.90), and 2) with one day increased time (OR = 0.75, 0.65 - 0.86).

Conclusion

A definition of murine histologic alterations resembling asthma in the BALB/c OVA mouse was developed and validated. The definition will be of use in experiments involving this model to ensure that all mice said to have undergone an asthmatic attack did indeed reveal allergic pulmonary inflammation. Proposed grading criteria should be further evaluated with additional studies using physiologic measures of attack severity and increased airway resistance.
Environmental stresses inhibit splicing in the aquatic fungus Blastocladiella emersonii
Authors: Georg Raphaela Castro , Stefani Rosane MP , Gomes Suely Lopes
Published: October 2009

Background

Exposure of cells to environmental stress conditions can lead to the interruption of several intracellular processes, in particular those performed by macromolecular complexes such as the spliceosome.

Results

During nucleotide sequencing of cDNA libraries constructed using RNA isolated from B. emersonii cells submitted to heat shock and cadmium stress, a large number of ESTs with retained introns was observed. Among the 6,350 ESTs obtained through sequencing of stress cDNA libraries, 181 ESTs presented putative introns (2.9%), while sequencing of cDNA libraries from unstressed B. emersonii cells revealed only 0.2% of ESTs containing introns. These data indicate an enrichment of ESTs with introns in B. emersonii stress cDNA libraries. Among the 85 genes corresponding to the ESTs that retained introns, 19 showed more than one intron and three showed three introns, with intron length ranging from 55 to 333 nucleotides. Canonical splicing junctions were observed in most of these introns, junction sequences being very similar to those found in introns from genes previously characterized in B. emersonii, suggesting that inhibition of splicing during stress is apparently a random process. Confirming our observations, analyses of gpx3 and hsp70 mRNAs by Northern blot and S1 protection assays revealed a strong inhibition of intron splicing in cells submitted to cadmium stress.

Conclusion

In conclusion, data indicate that environmental stresses, particularly cadmium treatment, inhibit intron processing in B. emersonii, revealing a new adaptive response to cellular exposure to this heavy metal.
The mannosylated extracellular domain of Her2/neu produced in P. pastorisinduces protective antitumor immunity
Authors: Dimitriadis Alexios , Gontinou Chrysanthi , Baxevanis Constantin N , Mamalaki Avgi
Published: October 2009

Background

Her2/neu is overexpressed in various human cancers of epithelial origin and is associated with increased metastatic potential and poor prognosis. Several attempts have been made using the extracellular domain of Her2/neu (ECD/Her2) as a prophylactic vaccine in mice with no success in tumor prevention.

Methods

The extracellular domain of Her2/neu (ECD/Her2) was expressed in yeastP. pastoris, in a soluble highly mannosylated form. The immune response of the immunization with this recombinant ECD/Her2 was analyzed using immunoprecipitation and western blot analysis, proliferation and cytotoxicity assays as well as specific tumor growth assays.

Results

Mannosylated ECD/Her2 elicited a humoral response with HER2/neu specific antibodies in vaccinated mice, which were able to reduce the proliferation rate of cancer cellsin vitro. Moreover, it elicited a cellular response with Her2/neu-specific CTL capable of lysing tumor cells,in vitro. When immunized Balb/c and HHD mice were challenged with Her2/neu-overexpressing cells, tumor growth was inhibited.

Conclusion

Here we report on the efficacy of the extracellular domain of human Her2/neu produced in yeastP. pastoris, which confers mannosylation of the protein, to act as a potent anti-tumor vaccine against Her2/neu overexpressing tumors. Specific cellular and humoral responses were observed as well as efficacy.
Weight status and hypertension among adolescent girls in Argentina and Norway: Data from the ENNyS and HUNT studies
Authors: Stray-Pedersen Marit , Helsing Ragnhild M , Gibbons Luz , Cormick Gabriela , Holmen Turid L , Vik Torstein , Belizán José M
Published: October 2009

Background

To provide data on overweight, obesity and hypertension among adolescent girls in Norway and Argentina.

Methods

Data was obtained from two population-based, cross-sectional and descriptive studies containing anthropometric and blood pressure measurements of 15 to 18 year old girls. The study included 2,156 adolescent girls from Norway evaluated between 1995 and 1997, and 669 from Argentina evaluated between 2004 and 2005.

Results

Around 15% of adolescent girls in Norway and 19% in Argentina are overweight or obese. Body mass index (BMI) distribution in these two countries is similar, with a low percentage (< 1%) of girls classified as thin. Norwegian adolescents show a height mean value 8 cm taller than the Argentinean. Obesity is strongly associated with systolic hypertension in both populations, with odds ratios of 11.4 [1.6; 82.0] and 28.3 [11.8; 67.7] in Argentina and Norway, respectively. No direct association between BMI and systolic hypertension was found, and only extreme BMI values (above 80th - 90th percentile) were associated with hypertension.

Conclusion

This study confirms a current world health problem by showing the high prevalence of obesity in adolescents and its association with hypertension in two different countries (one developed and one in transition).