bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Red blood cell transfusion compared with gelatin solution and no infusion after cardiac surgery: effect on microvascular perfusion, vascular density, hemoglobin, and oxygen saturation
Authors: Atasever Bektaş , van der Kuil Marjolein , Boer Christa , Vonk Alexander , Schwarte Lothar , Girbes Armand R.J. , Ince Can , Beishuizen Albertus , Groeneveld A.B. Johan
Published: July 2012

BACKGROUND: After cardiac surgery, red blood cell (RBC) transfusion may improve systemic hemodynamics and thereby microvascular blood flow and O2 delivery (DO2).

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In a nonrandomized prospective observational study on post–cardiac surgery patients, systemic hemodynamics and microvascular blood flow, vascular density (sidestream dark‐field imaging), hemoglobin (Hb) content, and saturation (reflectance spectrophotometry) were measured before and 1 hour after start of transfusion of 1 to 2 units of leukoreduced RBCs (270 ± 203 mL), 500 mL of gelatin solution, or control (no infusion), when patients were considered clinically hypovolemic with (RBC group, n = 12) or without (gelatin group, n = 14) anemia (Hb < 10 g/dL) or not (n = 13), respectively.

RESULTS: Systemic Hb was lower and increased in the RBC transfusion but not in gelatin and control groups. There were no differences in changes in systemic DO2, O2 uptake, and extraction between groups. RBC transfusion, compared with gelatin or control, increased medium‐sized vascular density, Hb content, and saturation in the microcirculation, while blood flow remained unchanged. Changes of microvascular Hb and saturation paralleled changes in systemic Hb.

CONCLUSION: The data argue in favor of efficacy of RBC transfusion after cardiac surgery. RBC transfusion increases systemic Hb and this in turn increases medium‐sized vascular density and DO2 in the sublingual microcirculation, independently of systemic hemodynamics and volume status.
Analysis of donor deferral at three blood centers in Brazil
Authors: Gonçalez Thelma T. , Sabino Ester C. , Schlumpf Karen S. , Wright David J. , Mendrone Alfredo , Lopes Maria , Leão Silvana , Miranda Carolina , Capuani Ligia , Carneiro‐Proietti Anna Barbara F. , Basques Fernando , Ferreira João E. , Busch Michael , Custer Brian ,   NHLBI Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study‐II (REDS‐II), International Component
Published: July 2012

BACKGROUND: The safety of the blood supply is ensured through several procedures from donor selection to testing of donated units. Examination of the donor deferrals at different centers provides insights into the role that deferrals play in transfusion safety.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross‐sectional descriptive study of prospective allogeneic blood donors at three large blood centers located in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Recife, Brazil, from August 2007 to December 2009 was conducted. Deferrals were grouped into similar categories across the centers, and within each center frequencies out of all presentations were determined.

RESULTS: Of 963,519 prospective blood donors at the three centers, 746,653 (77.5%) were accepted and 216,866 (22.5%) were deferred. Belo Horizonte had the highest overall deferral proportion of 27%, followed by Recife (23%) and São Paulo (19%). Females were more likely to be deferred than males (30% vs. 18%, respectively). The three most common deferral reasons were low hematocrit or hemoglobin, medical diagnoses, and higher‐risk behavior.

CONCLUSION: The types and frequencies of deferral vary substantially among the three blood centers. Factors that may explain the differences include demographic characteristics, the order in which health history and vital signs are taken, the staff training, and the way deferrals are coded by the centers among other policies. The results indicate that blood donor deferral in Brazil has regional aspects that should be considered when national policies are developed.
A Mobile Phone Text Message Program to Measure Oral Antibiotic Use and Provide Feedback on Adherence to Patients Discharged From the Emergency Department
Authors: Suffoletto Brian , Calabria Jaclyn , Ross Anthony , Callaway Clifton , Yealy Donald M.
Published: July 2012

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2012; 19:949–958 © 2012 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Objectives:  Nonadherence to prescribed medications impairs therapeutic benefits. The authors measured the ability of an automated text messaging (short message service [SMS]) system to improve adherence to postdischarge antibiotic prescriptions.

Methods:  This was a randomized controlled trial in an urban emergency department (ED) with an annual census of 65,000. A convenience sample of adult patients being discharged with a prescription for oral antibiotics was enrolled. Participants received either a daily SMS query about prescription pickup, and then dosage taken, with educational feedback based on their responses (intervention), or the usual printed discharge instructions (control). A standardized phone follow‐up interview was used on the day after the intended completion date to determine antibiotic adherence: 1) the participant filled prescription within 24 hours of discharge and 2) no antibiotic pills were left on the day after intended completion of prescription.

Results:  Of the 200 patients who agreed to participate, follow‐up was completed in 144 (72%). From the 144, 26% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 19% to 34%) failed to fill their discharge prescriptions during the first 24 hours, and 37% (95% CI = 29% to 45%) had pills left over, resulting in 49% (95% CI = 40% to 57%) nonadherent patients. There were no differences in adherence between intervention participants and controls (57% vs. 45%; p = 0.1). African American race, greater than twice‐daily dosing, and self‐identifying as expecting to have difficulty filling or taking antibiotics at baseline were associated with nonadherence.

Conclusions:  Almost one‐half (49%) of our patients do not adhere to antibiotic prescriptions after ED discharge. Future work should improve the design and deployment of SMS interventions to optimize their effect on improving adherence to medication after ED discharge.
Disagreement Between Emergency Physician and Inpatient Physician Diagnosis of Infection in Older Adults Admitted From the Emergency Department
Authors: Caterino Jeffrey M. , Stevenson Kurt B.
Published: July 2012

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2012; 19:908–915 © 2012 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Objectives:  Older adults with infection are at increased risk of misdiagnosis while they are patients in the emergency department (ED) due to the common presence of nonspecific signs and symptoms. The primary objective was to determine the proportion of admitted older adult patients thought by the emergency physician (EP) to be infected, as compared with the diagnostic impression of inpatient physicians. The secondary objective was to determine the agreement between EP and inpatient physician diagnosis of specific infection types.

Methods:  The authors conducted a prospective, observational, convenience sampling of a cohort of ED patients ≥65 years old admitted to the hospital with diagnoses of acute infection. EPs noted at least one suspected source of infection. Inpatient diagnosis of infection was determined by chart review of the inpatient chart. Outcomes included the presence of any infection and of specific infectious sources diagnosed within 48 hours of admission. EP and inpatient diagnoses were compared using proportions, positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR−), and the phi coefficient.

Results:  The study included 103 patients diagnosed with a suspected infection by the EP. Nineteen patients (18.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 11.5% to 27.3%) were not diagnosed with any infection by the inpatient physician. For specific infection sources, ED diagnosis of bloodstream infection often did not agree with the inpatient diagnosis. Sensitivity was 40.0% and specificity 78.4% with an LR+ of 1.85 and LR− of 0.76. The phi coefficient was 0.15. EPs overdiagnosed pulmonary infection, with 72.1% specificity and an LR+ of 3.24. EP diagnosis had good accuracy for skin and soft tissue infection (sensitivity = 78.6% and specificity = 96.6%), with adequate LRs (LR+ of 23.3 and LR− of 0.22). Urinary tract infection (UTI) was underdiagnosed in the ED (sensitivity = 58.3%), but it is unclear if this is due to true ED underdiagnosis or due to overdiagnosis of UTI in the inpatient setting.

Conclusions:  In older patients admitted from the ED, the provisional ED diagnosis and the inpatient diagnosis of an acute infection often disagree. In this sample, 18% of older ED patients diagnosed with infection during an ED stay were not diagnosed as infected by the inpatient physician. Regarding infection types, EPs were poor at diagnosing bacteremia and overdiagnosed pulmonary infections. EP diagnosis of skin and soft tissue infection generally agreed with the inpatient physician. There was also disagreement regarding presence of UTI, but the true nature of this difference is unclear from the data obtained in this study.
Patients with organic acidaemias have an altered thiol status
Authors: Salmi Heli , Leonard James V. , Lapatto Risto
Published: July 2012

Aim:  To study whether patients with organic acidaemias have altered glutathione (GSH) levels and thiol redox status. Previously, organic acidaemias have been associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, suggesting an increased need for antioxidant protection. Furthermore, dietary protein restriction may impair GSH synthesis in these diseases.

Methods:  In children with organic acidaemias, cysteine (CYSH) and GSH concentrations in plasma and erythrocytes as well as erythrocyte GSH peroxidase, GSH reductase, GSH S‐transferase and glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase activities were studied. In addition, GSH and CYSH concentrations were measured in human fibroblasts exposed to organic acids.

Results:  Patients with organic acidaemias had lower plasma GSH concentration than their controls. A greater fraction of GSH and CYSH in the patients’ plasma was oxidized, suggesting decreased GSH synthesis and increased consumption.

Conclusion:  Patients with organic acidaemias may have a relative GSH deficiency. With further research, these results could also have therapeutic implications.
Preschool children with high adherence to inhaled corticosteroids for asthma do not show behavioural problems
Authors: Quak Wouter , Klok Ted , Kaptein Adrian A , Duiverman Eric J , Brand Paul LP
Published: July 2012

Aim:  To assess prevalence of behavioural problems in preschool children with asthma with electronically verified exposure to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS).

Methods:  Cross‐sectional study of 81 children 2–5 years of age using daily ICS for persistent asthma. During 3 months’ follow‐up, adherence to ICS treatment was recorded by an electronical logging device (Smartinhaler®). Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5–5 years (CBCL 1.5–5) to assess behavioural problems; results were compared to a published reference group of healthy children.

Results:  The median (interquartile range) adherence to ICS was 92 (78–97) %. There was no difference in total CBCL score between children with asthma on ICS (mean, [SD] 32.10 [1.99]) and the reference group (33.30 [1.87], 95% CI for difference −6.62 to 4.22). Children with asthma were more likely to have somatic complaints (95% CI for difference 0.64 to 1.96) and less likely to have anxious/depressive symptoms (95% CI for difference −1.57 to −0.25) than the reference group. CBCL scores were not significantly related to the electronically measured adherence rates.

Conclusions:  Maintenance treatment with ICS, taken daily as prescribed, is not associated with an increased risk of behavioural problems in preschool children.
Unusual nonterrestrial l‐proteinogenic amino acid excesses in the Tagish Lake meteorite
Authors: GLAVIN Daniel P. , ELSILA Jamie E. , BURTON Aaron S. , CALLAHAN Michael P. , DWORKIN Jason P. , HILTS Robert W. , HERD Christopher D. K.
Published: July 2012

Abstract– The distribution and isotopic and enantiomeric compositions of amino acids found in three distinct fragments of the Tagish Lake C2‐type carbonaceous chondrite were investigated via liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection and time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry and gas chromatography isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Large l‐enantiomeric excesses (lee ∼ 43–59%) of the α‐hydrogen aspartic and glutamic amino acids were measured in Tagish Lake, whereas alanine, another α‐hydrogen protein amino acid, was found to be nearly racemic (d ≈ l) using both techniques. Carbon isotope measurements of d‐ and l‐aspartic acid and d‐ and l‐alanine in Tagish Lake fall well outside of the terrestrial range and indicate that the measured aspartic acid enantioenrichment is indigenous to the meteorite. Alternate explanations for the l‐excesses of aspartic acid such as interference from other compounds present in the sample, analytical biases, or terrestrial amino acid contamination were investigated and rejected. These results can be explained by differences in the solid–solution phase behavior of aspartic acid, which can form conglomerate enantiopure solids during crystallization, and alanine, which can only form racemic crystals. Amplification of a small initial l‐enantiomer excess during aqueous alteration on the meteorite parent body could have led to the large l‐enrichments observed for aspartic acid and other conglomerate amino acids in Tagish Lake. The detection of nonterrestrial l‐proteinogenic amino acid excesses in the Tagish Lake meteorite provides support for the hypothesis that significant enantiomeric enrichments for some amino acids could form by abiotic processes prior to the emergence of life.
Physician perspectives on collaborative working relationships with team-based hospital pharmacists in the inpatient medicine setting
Authors: Makowsky Mark J , Madill Helen M , Schindel Theresa J , Tsuyuki Ross T
Published: July 2012

Objective

Collaborative care between physicians and pharmacists has the potential to improve the process of care and patient outcomes. Our objective was to determine whether team-based pharmacist care was associated with higher physician-rated collaborative working relationship scores than usual ward-based pharmacist care at the end of the COLLABORATE study, a 1 year, multicentre, controlled clinical trial, which associated pharmacist intervention with improved medication use and reduced hospital readmission rates.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of all team-based and usual care physicians (attending physicians and medical residents) who worked on the participating clinical teaching unit or primary healthcare teams during the study period. They were invited to complete an online version of the validated Physician-Pharmacist Collaboration Index (PPCI) survey at the end of the study. The main endpoint of interest was the mean total PPCI score.

Key findings

Only three (response rate 2%) of the usual care physicians responded and this prevented us from conducting pre-specified comparisons. A total of 23 team-based physicians completed the survey (36%) and reported a mean total PPCI score of 81.6 ± 8.6 out of a total of 92. Mean domain scores were highest for relationship initiation (14.0 ± 1.4 out of 15), and trustworthiness (38.9 ± 3.7 out of 42), followed by role specification (28.7 ± 4.3 out of 35).

Conclusion

Pharmacists who are pursuing collaborative practice in inpatient settings may find the PPCI to be a meaningful tool to gauge the extent of collaborative working relationships with physician team members.
Cascaded systems analysis of noise and detectability in dual‐energy cone‐beam CT
Authors: Gang Grace J. , Zbijewski Wojciech , Webster Stayman J. , Siewerdsen Jeffrey H.
Published: July 2012

Purpose:

Dual‐energy computed tomography and dual‐energy cone‐beam computed tomography (DE‐CBCT) are promising modalities for applications ranging from vascular to breast, renal, hepatic, and musculoskeletal imaging. Accordingly, the optimization of imaging techniques for such applications would benefit significantly from a general theoretical description of image quality that properly incorporates factors of acquisition, reconstruction, and tissue decomposition in DE tomography. This work reports a cascaded systems analysis model that includes the Poisson statistics of x rays (quantum noise), detector model (flat‐panel detectors), anatomical background, image reconstruction (filtered backprojection), DE decomposition (weighted subtraction), and simple observer models to yield a task‐based framework for DE technique optimization.

Methods:

The theoretical framework extends previous modeling of DE projection radiography and CBCT. Signal and noise transfer characteristics are propagated through physical and mathematical stages of image formation and reconstruction. Dual‐energy decomposition was modeled according to weighted subtraction of low‐ and high‐energy images to yield the 3D DE noise‐power spectrum (NPS) and noise‐equivalent quanta (NEQ), which, in combination with observer models and the imaging task, yields the dual‐energy detectability index (d′). Model calculations were validated with NPS and NEQ measurements from an experimental imaging bench simulating the geometry of a dedicated musculoskeletal extremities scanner. Imaging techniques, including kVp pair and dose allocation, were optimized using d′ as an objective function for three example imaging tasks: (1) kidney stone discrimination; (2) iodine vs bone in a uniform, soft‐tissue background; and (3) soft tissue tumor detection on power‐law anatomical background.

Results:

Theoretical calculations of DE NPS and NEQ demonstrated good agreement with experimental measurements over a broad range of imaging conditions. Optimization results suggest a lower fraction of total dose imparted by the low‐energy acquisition, a finding consistent with previous literature. The selection of optimal kVp pair reveals the combined effect of both quantum noise and contrast in the kidney stone discrimination and soft‐tissue tumor detection tasks, whereas the K‐edge effect of iodine was the dominant factor in determining kVp pairs in the iodine vs bone task. The soft‐tissue tumor task illustrated the benefit of dual‐energy imaging in eliminating anatomical background noise and improving detectability beyond that achievable by single‐energy scans.

Conclusions:

This work established a task‐based theoretical framework that is predictive of DE image quality. The model can be utilized in optimizing a broad range of parameters in image acquisition, reconstruction, and decomposition, providing a useful tool for maximizing DE‐CBCT image quality and reducing dose.
The Scaffolding Protein Synapse-Associated Protein 97 Is Required for Enhanced Signaling Through Isotype-Switched IgG Memory B Cell Receptors
Authors: Liu Wanli , Chen Elizabeth , Zhao Xing Wang , Wan Zheng Peng , Gao Yi Ren , Davey Angel , Huang Eric , Zhang Lijia , Crocetti Jillian , Sandoval Gabriel , Joyce M. Gordon , Miceli Carrie , Lukszo Jan , Aravind L. , Swat Wojciech , Brzostowski Joseph , Pierce Susan K.
Published: July 2012

A scaffolding protein clusters B cell receptors to enable the rapid, high-titer antibody responses of memory B cells.
Science Signaling
Podcast: 31 July 2012
Authors: Pierce Susan K. , VanHook Annalisa M.
Published: July 2012

A scaffolding protein enables clustering of IgG B cell receptors to promote antibody secretion by memory B cells.
Tricky Tryps
Authors: Hurtley Stella M.
Published: July 2012

Parasites release cyclic adenosine monophosphate when swallowed up by myeloid cells, thereby turning off a host defense pathway.
Indotecan (LMP400) and AM13-55: Two Novel Indenoisoquinolines Show Potential for Treating Visceral Leishmaniasis
Authors: Balaña-Fouce Rafael , Prada Christopher F. , Requena José María , Cushman Mark , Pommier Yves , Álvarez-Velilla Raquel , Escudero-Martínez José Miguel , Calvo-Álvarez Estefania , Pérez-Pertejo Yolanda , Reguera Rosa M.
Published: July 2012

Visceral leishmaniasis is an emerging neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by the protozoan
Leishmania infantum
in the countries bordering the Mediterranean Basin. Currently there is no effective vaccine against this disease, and the therapeutic approach is based on toxic derivatives of Sb
V
. Therefore, the discovery of new therapeutic targets and the development of drugs designed to inhibit them comprise an extremely important approach to fighting this disease. DNA topoisomerases (Top) have been identified as promising targets for therapy against leishmaniasis. These enzymes are involved in solving topological problems generated during replication, transcription, and recombination of DNA. Being unlike that of the mammalian host, type IB DNA topoisomerase (TopIB) from
Leishmania
spp. is a unique bisubunit protein, which makes it very interesting as a selective drug target. In the present investigation, we studied the effect of two TopIB poisons with indenoisoquinoline structure, indotecan and AM13-55, on a murine BALB/c model of infected splenocytes with
L. infantum
, comparing their effectiveness with that of the clinically tested leishmanicidal drug paromomycin. Both compounds have high selectivity indexes compared with uninfected splenocytes. SDS-KCl-precipitable DNA-protein complexes in
Leishmania
promastigotes and
in vitro
cleaving assays confirmed that these drugs are Top poisons. The inhibitory potency of both indenoisoquinolines on
L. infantum
recombinant TopIB was assessed
in vitro
, with results showing that indotecan was the most active compound, preventing the relaxation of supercoiled DNA. Experimental infections in susceptible BALB/c mice treated with 2.5 mg/kg body weight/day once every other day for a total of 15 days showed that indotecan cleared more than 80% of the parasite burden of the spleen and liver, indicating promising activity against visceral leishmaniasis.
Intracellular Toxicity of Proline-Rich Antimicrobial Peptides Shuttled into Mammalian Cells by the Cell-Penetrating Peptide Penetratin
Authors: Hansen Anne , Schäfer Ingo , Knappe Daniel , Seibel Peter , Hoffmann Ralf
Published: July 2012

The health threat caused by multiresistant bacteria has continuously increased and recently peaked with pathogens resistant to all current drugs. This has triggered intense research efforts to develop novel compounds to overcome the resistance mechanisms. Thus, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been intensively studied, especially the family of proline-rich AMPs (PrAMPs) that was successfully tested very recently in murine infection models. PrAMPs enter bacteria and inhibit chaperone DnaK. Here, we studied the toxicity of intracellular PrAMPs in HeLa and SH-SY5Y cells. As PrAMPs cannot enter most mammalian cells, we coupled the PrAMPs with penetratin (residues 43 to 58 in the antennapedia homeodomain) via a C-terminally added cysteine utilizing a thioether bridge. The resulting construct could transport the covalently linked PrAMP into mammalian cells. Penetratin ligation reduced the MIC for Gram-negative
Escherichia coli
only slightly (1 to 8 μmol/liter) but increased the activity against the Gram-positive
Micrococcus luteus
up to 32-fold (MIC ≈ 1 μmol/liter), most likely due to more effective penetration through the bacterial membrane. In contrast to native PrAMPs, the penetratin-PrAMP constructs entered the mammalian cells, aligned around the nucleus, and associated with the Golgi apparatus. At higher concentrations, the constructs reduced the cell viability (50% inhibitory concentration [IC
50
] ≈ 40 μmol/liter) and changed the morphology of the cells. No toxic effects or morphological changes were observed at concentrations of 10 μmol/liter or below. Thus, the IC
50
values were around 5 to 40 times higher than the MIC values. In conclusion, PrAMPs are in general not toxic to mammalian cells, as they do not pass through the membrane. When shuttled into mammalian cells, however, PrAMPs are only slightly cross-reactive to mammalian chaperones or other intracellular mammalian proteins, providing a second layer of safety for
in vivo
applications, even if they can enter some human cells.
Consequences of Delayed Ciprofloxacin and Doxycycline Treatment Regimens against Francisella tularensis Airway Infection
Authors: Rotem Shahar , Bar-Haim Erez , Cohen Hila , Elia Uri , Ber Raphael , Shafferman Avigdor , Cohen Ofer
Published: July 2012

This study examines the efficacy, bacterial load, and humoral response of extensively delayed ciprofloxacin or doxycycline treatments following airway exposure of mice to
Francisella tularensis
subsp.
holarctica
(strain LVS) or to the highly virulent
F. tularensis
subsp.
tularensis
(strain SchuS4). A delay in onset of both antibiotic treatments allowed the rescue of all LVS-infected animals. However, for animals infected with SchuS4, only ciprofloxacin was efficacious and prolongation of treatment rescued all animals.
Competitive Advantage of Borrelia burgdorferi with Outer Surface Protein BBA03 during Tick-Mediated Infection of the Mammalian Host
Authors: Bestor Aaron , Rego Ryan O. M. , Tilly Kit , Rosa Patricia A.
Published: July 2012

Linear plasmid lp54 is one of the most highly conserved and differentially expressed elements of the segmented genome of the Lyme disease spirochete
Borrelia burgdorferi
. We previously reported that deletion of a 4.1-kb region of lp54 (
bba01
to
bba07
[
bba01-bba07
]) led to a slight attenuation of tick-transmitted infection in mice following challenge with a large number of infected ticks. In the current study, we reduced the number of ticks in the challenge to more closely mimic the natural dose and found a profound defect in tick-transmitted infection of the
bba01-bba07
mutant relative to wild-type
B. burgdorferi
. We next focused on deletion of
bba03
as the most likely cause of this mutant phenotype, as previous studies have shown that expression of
bba03
is increased by culture conditions that simulate tick feeding. Consistent with this hypothesis, we demonstrated increased expression of
bba03
by spirochetes in fed relative to unfed ticks. We also observed that a
bba03
deletion mutant, although fully competent by itself, did not efficiently infect mice when transmitted by ticks that were simultaneously coinfected with wild-type
B. burgdorferi
. These results suggest that BBA03 provides a competitive advantage to spirochetes carrying this protein during tick transmission to a mammalian host in the natural infectious cycle.
Mycobacterium marinum SecA2 Promotes Stable Granulomas and Induces Tumor Necrosis Factor AlphaIn Vivo
Authors: Watkins Brigitte Y. , Joshi Shilpa A. , Ball David A. , Leggett Hadley , Park Summer , Kim Janice , Austin Cary D. , Paler-Martinez Andres , Xu Min , Downing Kenneth H. , Brown Eric J.
Published: July 2012

SecA2 is an ATPase present in some pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria, is required for translocation of a limited set of proteins across the cytosolic membrane, and plays an important role in virulence in several bacteria, including mycobacteria that cause diseases such as tuberculosis and leprosy. However, the mechanisms by which SecA2 affects virulence are incompletely understood. To investigate whether SecA2 modulates host immune responsesin vivo, we studiedMycobacterium marinuminfection in two different hosts: an established zebrafish model and a recently described mouse model. Here we show thatM. marinumΔsecA2was attenuated for virulence in both host species and SecA2 was needed for normal granuloma numbers and for optimal tumor necrosis factor alpha response in both zebrafish and mice.M. marinumΔsecA2was more sensitive to SDS and had unique protrusions from its cell envelope when examined by cryo-electron tomography, suggesting that SecA2 is important for bacterial cell wall integrity. These results provide evidence that SecA2 induces granulomas and is required for bacterial modulation of the host response because it affects the mycobacterial cell envelope.
Physical activity education in the undergraduate curricula of all UK medical schools. Are tomorrow's doctors equipped to follow clinical guidelines?
Authors: Weiler Richard , Chew Stephen , Coombs Ngaire , Hamer Mark , Stamatakis Emmanuel
Published: July 2012

Physical activity (PA) is a cornerstone of disease prevention and treatment. There is, however, a considerable disparity between public health policy, clinical guidelines and the delivery of physical activity promotion within the National Health Service in the UK. If this is to be addressed in the battle against non-communicable diseases, it is vital that tomorrow's doctors understand the basic science and health benefits of physical activity. The aim of this study was to assess the provision of physical activity teaching content in the curricula of all medical schools in the UK. Our results, with responses from all UK medical schools, uncovered some alarming findings, showing that there is widespread omission of basic teaching elements, such as the Chief Medical Officer recommendations and guidance on physical activity. There is an urgent need for physical activity teaching to have dedicated time at medical schools, to equip tomorrow's doctors with the basic knowledge, confidence and skills to promote physical activity and follow numerous clinical guidelines that support physical activity promotion.
ECG SIGNAL GENERATION AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY SIGNAL EXTRACTION: SIGNAL PROCESSING, FEATURES DETECTION, AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH CARDIAC DISEASES
Authors: SWAPNA GOUTHAM , GHISTA DHANJOO N. , MARTIS ROSHAN JOY , ANG ALVIN P. C. , SREE SUBBHURAAM VINITHA
Published: July 2012

The sum total of millions of cardiac cell depolarization potentials can be represented by an electrocardiogram (ECG). Inspection of the P–QRS–T wave allows for the identification of the cardiac bioelectrical health and disorders of a subject. In order to extract the important features of the ECG signal, the detection of the P wave, QRS complex, and ST segment is essential. Therefore, abnormalities of these ECG parameters are associated with cardiac disorders.

In this work, an introduction to the genesis of the ECG is given, followed by a depiction of some abnormal ECG patterns and rhythms (associated with P–QRS–T wave parameters), which have come to be empirically correlated with cardiac disorders (such as sinus bradycardia, premature ventricular contraction, bundle-branch block, atrial flutter, and atrial fibrillation). We employed algorithms for ECG pattern analysis, for the accurate detection of the P wave, QRS complex, and ST segment of the ECG signal. We then catagorited and tabulated these cardiac disorders in terms of heart rate, PR interval, QRS width, and P wave amplitude.

Finally, we discussed the characteristics and different methods (and their measures) of analyting the heart rate variability (HRV) signal, derived from the ECG waveform. The HRV signals are characterised in terms of these measures, then fed into classifiers for grouping into categories (for normal subjects and for disorders such as cardiac disorders and diabetes) for carrying out diagnosis.
Metallophthalocyanine/carbon nanotube hybrids: extending applications to microbial fuel cells
Authors: Edwards Sean L. , Fogel Ronen , Mtambanengwe Kudzai , Togo Chamunorwa , Laubscher Richard , Limson Janice L.
Published: July 2012

Pioneering work by Nyokong and others have highlighted the potential benefits for improved electron transfer processes and catalysis of hybrid configurations of metallophthalocyanines with carbon nanotubes. Here we examine the practical application of such hybrid configurations in an Enterobacter cloacae microbial fuel cell. Electrochemical investigations at glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) showed that FePc and FePc :multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) hybrid surface modifications display significant oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalytic properties compared to either MWCNT-modified or bare GCE surfaces throughout acidic- to moderately-alkaline pHs. Significant stabilization of the current response at FePc :MWCNT surfaces are notable throughout the pH range, compared to GCE surfaces modified with FePc alone. Corresponding results were obtained for surface modifications of bare carbon paper (BCP) cathodes in a microbial fuel cell where power density increases were observed in the order: Pt > FePc :MWCNT > FePc > MWCNT > BCP. A synergistic combination of simple treatments such as increased ionic strength (300 mM NaCl ), temperature (35 °C), and agitation of the anode chamber in this MFC configuration increased the power density to 2.5 times greater than that achieved at platinised cathode configurations under non-optimised conditions, achieving peak power densities of 212 mW.m-2. The long-term stability of the MFC was assessed over 55 days. Surprisingly, the majority of signal loss over extended MFC operation was attributed, in this study, to fouling of the Nafion® PEM membrane rather than either leaching/fouling of the catalysts from the electrodes or nutrient depletion in the anode over the time periods examined.
Electrocatalytic behavior of cobalt phthalocyanine complexes immobilized on glassy carbon electrode towards the reduction of dicrotophos pesticide
Authors: Vilakazi Sibulelo , Nyokong Tebello , Fukuda Takamitsu , Kobayashi Nagao
Published: July 2012

Electrocatalytic properties of cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc), cobalt tetra-carboxy phthalocyanine (CoTCPc) and cobalt octa-carboxy (CoOCPc), towards the detection of dicrotophos have been studied. Catalytic behavior towards the reduction of dicrotophos was found to be dependent on the pH, as well as the substitution on the phthalocyanine ring. Strong electron withdrawing groups on the phthalocyanine ring yielded best catalysis as evidenced by the enhancement of the reduction peak current, (~5 fold) compared to the bare glassy carbon electrode. The analysis gave a good detection limit of 1.25 × 10-7 M, and good linearity for the studied concentration range. A high Tafel slope value was obtained, indicating a strong interaction between dicrotophos and the cobalt phthalocyanine complex.
Nonlinear photonics properties of porphyrins nanocomposites and self-assembled porphyrins
Authors: Maaza Malik , Mongwaketsi Nametso , Genene Mola , Hailu Girma , Garab Gyozo , Sahraoui Bouchta , Hamidi Dalila
Published: July 2012

Two major reasons limit porphyrins photonic applications: (i) the difficulty of handling them in liquid solutions and (ii) their degradation with long exposure to light. This necessitates the use of appropriate solid matrices to host the porphyrin compounds such as Nafion (117), a stable and inert ion exchange polymer. The first part of this publication confirms such a possibility. In addition to their effective NLO properties, an enhancement of the Soret and Q-bands' absorbance width have been observed by blending three different porphyrin molecules in the Nafion column matrix membrane. This is an important development towards achieving efficient photon-harvesting medium for possible application in photonic devices. The second part of this contribution reports on the self-assembly/molecular recognition of a specific class of porphyrins giving rise to tubular nano-systems with potential THG nonlinear properties.
DIRECTION-DEPENDENT POLARIZED PRIMARY BEAMS IN WIDE-FIELD SYNTHESIS IMAGING
Authors: MITCHELL D. A. , WAYTH R. B. , BERNARDI G. , GREENHILL L. J. , ORD S. M.
Published: July 2012

The process of wide-field synthesis imaging is explored, with the aim of understanding the implications of variable, polarised primary beams for forthcoming Epoch of Reionization experiments. These experiments seek to detect weak signatures from redshifted 21 cm emission in deep residual datasets, after suppression and subtraction of foreground emission. Many subtraction algorithms benefit from low side-lobes and polarization leakage at the outset, and both of these are intimately linked to how the polarized primary beams are handled. Building on previous contributions from a number of authors, in which direction-dependent corrections are incorporated into visibility gridding kernels, we consider the special characteristics of arrays of fixed dipole antennas operating around 100–200 MHz, looking towards instruments such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Arrays (HERA). We show that integrating snapshots in the image domain can help to produce compact gridding kernels, and also reduce the need to make complicated polarized leakage corrections during gridding. We also investigate an alternative form for the gridding kernel that can suppress variations in the direction-dependent weighting of gridded visibilities by 10 s of dB, while maintaining compact support.
Discovering web usage patterns by using an innovative practical approach
Authors: Reddy K. Sudheer , Varma G. Partha Saradhi , Reddy M. Kantha
Published: July 2012

Pattern mining is one of the most pivotal steps in the data mining is pattern mining and it immediately comes after the preprocessing phase of WUM. Pattern discovery deals with the sorted set of data items are presented as part of the sequence. Using this pattern mining, users can recognize the web paths that users commonly follow on a web site easily. This research discovers the most relevant and interesting behavioral patterns by using a Web usage mining process. The server web logs aids as an input to this process. We aim to identify behavioral patterns of the users who typically visit the web sites occasionally. We have employed a method for clustering, based on pattern summaries. We have conducted intense experiments and the results are shown in this paper
Visual and emotional salience influence eye movements
Authors: Niu Yaqing , Todd Rebecca M. , Kyan Matthew , Anderson Adam K.
Published: July 2012

In natural vision both stimulus features and cognitive/affective factors influence an observer's attention. However, the relationship between stimulus-driven (bottom-up) and cognitive/affective (top-down) factors remains controversial: How well does the classic visual salience model account for gaze locations? Can emotional salience counteract strong visual stimulus signals and shift attention allocation irrespective of bottom-up features? Here we compared Itti and Koch's [2000] and Spectral Residual (SR) visual salience model and explored the impact of visual salience and emotional salience on eye movement behavior, to understand the competition between visual salience and emotional salience and how they affect gaze allocation in complex scenes viewing. Our results show the insufficiency of visual salience models in predicting fixation. Emotional salience can override visual salience and can determine attention allocation in complex scenes. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that cognitive/affective factors play a dominant role in active gaze control.
Perception of blending in stereo motion panoramas
Authors: Couture Vincent , Langer Michael S. , Roy Sébastien
Published: July 2012

Most methods for synthesizing panoramas assume that the scene is static. A few methods have been proposed for synthesizing stereo or motion panoramas, but there has been little attempt to synthesize panoramas that have both stereo and motion. One faces several challenges in synthesizing stereo motion panoramas, for example, to ensure temporal synchronization between left and right views in each frame, to avoid spatial distortion of moving objects, and to continuously loop the video in time. We have recently developed a stereo motion panorama method that tries to address some of these challenges. The method blends space-time regions of a video XYT volume, such that the blending regions are distinct and translate over time. This article presents a perception experiment that evaluates certain aspects of the method, namely how well observers can detect such blending regions. We measure detection time thresholds for different blending widths and for different scenes, and for monoscopic versus stereoscopic videos. Our results suggest that blending may be more effective in image regions that do not contain coherent moving objects that can be tracked over time. For example, we found moving water and partly transparent smoke were more effectively blended than swaying branches. We also found that performance in the task was roughly the same for mono versus stereo videos.
Host-Parasite Interactions in Some Fish Species
Authors: Khan R. A.
Published: July 2012

Host-parasite interactions are complex, compounded by factors that are capable of shifting the balance in either direction. The host's age, behaviour, immunological status, and environmental change can affect the association that is beneficial to the host whereas evasion of the host’s immune response favours the parasite. In fish, some infections that induce mortality are age and temperature dependent. Environmental change, especially habitat degradation by anthropogenic pollutants and oceanographic alterations induced by climatic, can influence parasitic-host interaction. The outcome of these associations will hinge on susceptibility and resistance.
Possible Roles of Proinflammatory and Chemoattractive Cytokines Produced by Human Fetal Membrane Cells in the Pathology of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Associated with Influenza Virus Infection
Authors: Uchide Noboru , Ohyama Kunio , Bessho Toshio , Takeichi Makoto , Toyoda Hiroo
Published: July 2012

Pregnant women are at an increased risk of influenza-associated adverse outcomes, such as premature delivery, based on data from the latest pandemic with a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus in 2009-2010. It has been suggested that the transplacental transmission of influenza viruses is rarely detected in humans. A series of our study has demonstrated that influenza virus infection induced apoptosis in primary cultured human fetal membrane chorion cells, from which a factor with monocyte differentiation-inducing (MDI) activity was secreted. Proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interferon (IFN)-β, were identified as a member of the MDI factor. Influenza virus infection induced the mRNA expression of not only the proinflammatory cytokines but also chemoattractive cytokines, such as monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1β, IL-8, growth-regulated oncogene (GRO)-α, GRO-β, epithelial cell-derived neutrophil-activating protein (ENA)-78, and interferon inducible protein (IP)-10 in cultured chorion cells. These cytokines are postulated to associate with human parturition. This paper, therefore, reviews (1) lessons from pandemic H1N1 2009 in pregnancy, (2) production of proinflammatory and chemoattractive cytokines by human fetal membranes and their functions in gestational tissues, and (3) possible roles of cytokines produced by human fetal membranes in the pathology of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with influenza virus infection.
Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy for Esophageal Achalasia by HybridKnife: A Case Report
Authors: Zhou Ping-Hong , Cai Ming-Yan , Yao Li-Qing , Zhong Yun-Shi , Ren Zhong , Xu Mei-Dong , Qin Xin-Yu
Published: July 2012

This paper presented a case of esophageal achalasia treated by peroral endoscopic myotomy with HybridKnife and discuss the feasibility and the possible advantages of using it.
Convergence Theorems for Equilibrium Problems and Fixed‐Point Problems of an Infinite Family of ki‐Strictly Pseudocontractive Mapping in Hilbert Spaces
Authors: Che Haitao , Li Meixia , Pan Xintian
Published: July 2012

We first extend the definition of Wn from an infinite family of nonexpansive mappings to an infinite family of strictly pseudocontractive mappings, and then propose an iterative scheme by the viscosity approximation method for finding a common element of the set of solutions of an equilibrium problem and the set of fixed points of an infinite family of ki‐strictly pseudocontractive mappings in Hilbert spaces. The results obtained in this paper extend and improve the recent ones announced by many others. Furthermore, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Convergence Rates in the Strong Law of Large Numbers for Martingale Difference Sequences
Authors: Wang Xuejun , Hu Shuhe , Yang Wenzhi , Wang Xinghui
Published: July 2012

We study the complete convergence and complete moment convergence for martingale difference sequence. Especially, we get the Baum‐Katz‐type Theorem and Hsu‐Robbins‐type Theorem for martingale difference sequence. As a result, the Marcinkiewicz‐Zygmund strong law of large numbers for martingale difference sequence is obtained. Our results generalize the corresponding ones of Stoica (2007, 2011).
Target Detection Using Nonsingular Approximations for a Singular Covariance Matrix
Authors: Gorelik Nir , Blumberg Dan , Rotman Stanley R. , Borghys Dirk
Published: July 2012

Accurate covariance matrix estimation for high‐dimensional data can be a difficult problem. A good approximation of the covariance matrix needs in most cases a prohibitively large number of pixels, that is, pixels from a stationary section of the image whose number is greater than several times the number of bands. Estimating the covariance matrix with a number of pixels that is on the order of the number of bands or less will cause not only a bad estimation of the covariance matrix but also a singular covariance matrix which cannot be inverted. In this paper we will investigate two methods to give a sufficient approximation for the covariance matrix while only using a small number of neighboring pixels. The first is the quasilocal covariance matrix (QLRX) that uses the variance of the global covariance instead of the variances that are too small and cause a singular covariance. The second method is sparse matrix transform (SMT) that performs a set of K‐givens rotations to estimate the covariance matrix. We will compare results from target acquisition that are based on both of these methods. An improvement for the SMT algorithm is suggested.
Anti-TNF-Alpha-Adalimumab Therapy Is Associated with Persistent Improvement of Endothelial Function without Progression of Carotid Intima-Media Wall Thickness in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Refractory to Conventional Therapy
Authors: Gonzalez-Juanatey Carlos , Vazquez-Rodriguez Tomas R. , Miranda-Filloy Jose A. , Gomez-Acebo Ines , Testa Ana , Garcia-Porrua Carlos , Sanchez-Andrade Amalia , Llorca Javier , González-Gay Miguel A.
Published: July 2012

To determine whether treatment with the anti-TNF-alpha blocker adalimumab yields persistent improvement of endothelial function and prevents from morphological progression of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) refractory to conventional therapy, a series of 34 consecutive RA patients, attending hospital outpatient clinics and who were switched from disease modifying antirheumatic drug therapy to anti-TNF-alpha-adalimumab treatment because of severe disease, were assessed by ultrasonography techniques before the onset of adalimumab therapy (at day 0) and then at day 14 and at month 12. Values of flow-mediated endothelium-dependent vasodilatation at day 14 and at month 12 were significantly higher (mean ± standard deviation (SD):6.1±3.9%; median: 5.7% at day 14, and mean ± SD:7.4±2.8%; median: 6.9% at month 12) than those obtained at day 0 (mean:4.5±4.0%; median: 3.6%;P=0.03andP<0.001, resp.). Endothelium-independent vasodilatation results did not significantly change compared with those obtained at day 0. No significant differences were observed when carotid artery intima-media wall thickness values obtained at month 12 (mean ± SD:0.69±0.21 mm) were compared with those found at day 0 (0.65±0.16 mm) (P=0.3). In conclusion, anti-TNF-alpha-adalimumab therapy has beneficial effects on the development of the subclinical atherosclerosis disease in RA.