bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparison between indocyanine green angiography and fluorescein angiography in normal cats
Authors: Hayashi Miri , Maehara Seiya , Ito Yosuke , Yamashita Kazuto , Kubo Akira , Nakade Tetsuya 
Published: August 2016

AbstractObjectiveTo study a new approach to indocyanine green (ICG) angiography for contrasting the ocular fundus in cats.Animals studiedSix healthy laboratory cats.ProceduresFluorescein (FLUO) and ICG angiography were performed using an infrared‐sensitive charged coupled device‐equipped fundus camera on sedated cats.ResultsAt 12.3 ± 3.4 s after ICG administration, the choroidal arteries could be seen extending radially from the optic disk. The choroidal veins became apparent at 16.2 ± 4.1 s alongside the choroidal arteries. Gradual fading of the choroidal vessels began 5.8 ± 1.5 min postdye administration and diffuse fluorescence of the fundus appeared. Diffuse fluorescence of the optic disk faded at about 18.8 ± 2.9 min. Mean arterial blood pressure at 1 and 3 min after ICG administration showed no significant change when compared to pre‐administration (P > 0.05). However, 5 min (P = 0.054) and 10 min (P < 0.05) postadministration, a significant drop in blood pressure occurred. The time lapse between FLUO administration and its appearance in the ocular fundus was 15.7 ± 3.8 s. Retinal veins became apparent at 22.0 ± 3.6 s alongside retinal arteries. At 31.2 ± 4.1 s, full venous fluorescence was visualized throughout the entire fundus.ConclusionsWhile FLUO angiography shows only the retinal vessels, ICG angiography enabled visualization of the choroidal vasculature. ICG angiography provides clear resolution while remaining reliable and simple; thus, a combination of ICG and FLUO angiography shows promise as a diagnostic aid for clinical evaluation of various chorioretinal diseases in cats.
Extended‐Spectrum β‐lactam Resistance in the Enteric Flora of Patients at a Tertiary Care Medical Centre
Authors: Landers T. F. , Mollenkopf D. F. , Faubel R. L. , Dent A. , Pancholi P. , Daniels J. B. , Wittum T. E. 
Published: August 2016

SummaryThe dissemination of Enterobacteriaceae expressing resistance to extended‐spectrum cephalosporins, which are therapeutically used in both human and veterinary medicine, is of critical concern. The normal commensal flora of food animals may serve as an important reservoir for the zoonotic food‐borne transmission of Enterobacteriaceae harbouring β‐lactam resistance. We hypothesized that the predominant AmpC and ESBL genes reported in US livestock and fresh retail meat products, blaCMY‐2 and blaCTX‐M, would also be predominant in human enteric flora. We recovered enteric flora from a convenience sample of patients included in a large tertiary medical centre's Clostridium difficile surveillance programme to screen for and estimate the frequency of carriage of AmpC and ESBL resistance genes. In‐ and outpatient diarrhoeic submissions (n = 692) received for C. difficile testing at the medical centre's clinical diagnostic laboratory from July to December, 2013, were included. Aliquoted to a transport swab, each submission was inoculated to MacConkey broth with cefotaxime, incubated at 37°C and then inoculated to MacConkey agars supplemented with cefoxitin and cefepime to select for the AmpC and ESBL phenotypes, with blaCMY and blaCTX‐M genotypes confirmed by PCR and sequencing. From the 692 diarrhoeic submissions, our selective culture yielded 184 isolates (26.6%) with reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime. Of these, 46 (6.7%) samples harboured commensal isolates carrying the AmpC blaCMY. Another 21 (3.0%) samples produced isolates harbouring the ESBL blaCTX‐M: 19 carrying CTX‐M‐15 and 2 with CTX‐M‐27. Our results indicate that β‐lactam resistance genes likely acquired through zoonotic food‐borne transmission are present in the enteric flora of this hospital‐associated population at lower levels than reported in livestock and fresh food products.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Clostridium difficile Isolates from Family Dairy Farms
Authors: Bandelj P. , Golob M. , Ocepek M. , Zdovc I. , Vengust M. 
Published: August 2016

SummaryA significant risk factor for developing Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in humans and animals is associated with the antimicrobial use. It has often been hypothesized that farm animals could be the source for human infection with Clostridium difficile (CD). In the European Union, family‐run dairy farms are the predominant farming model, which are more interlinked within the community compared to large‐scale intensive dairy or beef farms. Therefore, it is important to investigate antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of CD in such environment. A total of 159 CD isolates from 20 family dairy farms were tested with a customized broth microdilution plate for their antimicrobial resistance. Seventeen antimicrobials were selected (amoxicillin, ceftriaxone, clindamycin, daptomycin, erythromycin, fusidic acid, imipenem, levofloxacin, linezolid, metronidazole, moxifloxacin, oxacillin, rifampicin, tetracycline, tigecycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and vancomycin), which are commonly used for treatment of CDI in veterinary and human medicine, or were previously applied in CD epidemiological studies. Antimicrobials, which are used for treatment of CDI in humans (metronidazole, vancomycin, fusidic acid, tigecycline, linezolid) inhibited CD growth in vitro. Most CD isolates were resistant to erythromycin (93.1%), daptomycin (69.2%) and clindamycin (46.5%). High multiple‐resistance was found in CD ribotype 012 (n = 5, 100%), some CD SLO 060 (n = 4, 25%) and one CD 033 (n = 1, 1.1%). High multiple‐resistance in this study was linked with CD ribotypes and not with the origin of CD. The low prevalence of these ribotypes (6.3%; 10/159) indicates that family‐run dairy farms are an unlikely source of CD with multiple‐resistance to antimicrobials.
DamX Controls Reversible Cell Morphology Switching in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli
Authors: Khandige Surabhi , Asferg Cecilie Antoinette , Rasmussen Karina Juhl , Larsen Martin Jakob , Overgaard Martin , Andersen Thomas Emil , Møller-Jensen Jakob 
Published: August 2016

ABSTRACT

The ability to change cell morphology is an advantageous characteristic adopted by multiple pathogenic bacteria in order to evade host immune detection and assault during infection. Uropathogenic
Escherichia coli
(UPEC) exhibits such cellular dynamics and has been shown to transition through a series of distinct morphological phenotypes during a urinary tract infection. Here, we report the first systematic spatio-temporal gene expression analysis of the UPEC transition through these phenotypes by using a flow chamber-based
in vitro
infection model that simulates conditions in the bladder. This analysis revealed a novel association between the cell division gene
damX
and reversible UPEC filamentation. We demonstrate a lack of reversible bacterial filamentation in a
damX
deletion mutant
in vitro
and absence of a filamentous response by this mutant in a murine model of cystitis. While deletion of
damX
abrogated UPEC filamentation and secondary surface colonization in tissue culture and in mouse infections, transient overexpression of
damX
resulted in reversible UPEC filamentation. In this study, we identify a hitherto-unknown
damX-
mediated mechanism underlying UPEC morphotypical switching. Murine infection studies showed that DamX is essential for establishment of a robust urinary tract infection, thus emphasizing its role as a mediator of virulence. Our study demonstrates the value of an
in vitro
methodology, in which uroepithelium infection is closely simulated, when undertaking targeted investigations that are challenging to perform in animal infection models.

IMPORTANCE
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are most often caused by uropathogenic
Escherichia coli
(UPEC) and account for a considerable health care burden. UPEC exhibits a dynamic lifestyle in the course of infection, in which the bacterium transiently adopts alternative morphologies ranging from rod shaped to coccoid and filamentous, rendering it better at immune evasion and host epithelium adhesion. This penchant for morphotype switching might in large measure account for UPEC’s success as a pathogen. In aiming to uncover genes underlying the phenomenon of UPEC morphotype switching, this study identifies
damX
, a cell division gene, as a mediator of reversible filamentation during UTI. DamX-mediated filamentation represents an additional pathway for bacterial cell shape control, an alternative to SulA-mediated FtsZ sequestration during
E. coli
uropathogenesis, and hence represents a potential target for combating UTI.
Effect of Shear Stress on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from the Cystic Fibrosis Lung
Authors: Dingemans Jozef , Monsieurs Pieter , Yu Sung-Huan , Crabbé Aurélie , Förstner Konrad U. , Malfroot Anne , Cornelis Pierre , Van Houdt Rob 
Published: August 2016

ABSTRACT

Chronic colonization of the lungs by
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. To gain insights into the characteristic biofilm phenotype of
P. aeruginosa
in the CF lungs, mimicking the CF lung environment is critical. We previously showed that growth of the non-CF-adapted
P. aeruginosa
PAO1 strain in a rotating wall vessel, a device that simulates the low fluid shear (LS) conditions present in the CF lung, leads to the formation of in-suspension, self-aggregating biofilms. In the present study, we determined the phenotypic and transcriptomic changes associated with the growth of a highly adapted, transmissible
P. aeruginosa
CF strain in artificial sputum medium under LS conditions. Robust self-aggregating biofilms were observed only under LS conditions. Growth under LS conditions resulted in the upregulation of genes involved in stress response, alginate biosynthesis, denitrification, glycine betaine biosynthesis, glycerol metabolism, and cell shape maintenance, while genes involved in phenazine biosynthesis, type VI secretion, and multidrug efflux were downregulated. In addition, a number of small RNAs appeared to be involved in the response to shear stress. Finally, quorum sensing was found to be slightly but significantly affected by shear stress, resulting in higher production of autoinducer molecules during growth under high fluid shear (HS) conditions. In summary, our study revealed a way to modulate the behavior of a highly adapted
P. aeruginosa
CF strain by means of introducing shear stress, driving it from a biofilm lifestyle to a more planktonic lifestyle.

IMPORTANCE
Biofilm formation by
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
is one of the hallmarks of chronic cystic fibrosis (CF) lung infections. The biofilm matrix protects this bacterium from antibiotics as well as from the immune system. Hence, the prevention or reversion of biofilm formation is believed to have a great impact on treatment of chronic
P. aeruginosa
CF lung infections. In the present study, we showed that it is possible to modulate the behavior of a highly adapted transmissible
P. aeruginosa
CF isolate at both the transcriptomic and phenotypic levels by introducing shear stress in a CF-like environment, driving it from a biofilm to a planktonic lifestyle. Consequently, the results obtained in this study are of great importance with regard to therapeutic applications that introduce shear stress in the lungs of CF patients.
Identification of Multiple Cryptococcal Fungicidal Drug Targets by Combined Gene Dosing and Drug Affinity Responsive Target Stability Screening
Authors: Park Yoon-Dong , Sun Wei , Salas Antonio , Antia Avan , Carvajal Cindy , Wang Amy , Xu Xin , Meng Zhaojin , Zhou Ming , Tawa Gregory J. , Dehdashti Jean , Zheng Wei , Henderson Christina M. , Zelazny Adrian M. , Williamson Peter R. 
Published: August 2016

ABSTRACT

Cryptococcus neoformans
is a pathogenic fungus that is responsible for up to half a million cases of meningitis globally, especially in immunocompromised individuals. Common fungistatic drugs, such as fluconazole, are less toxic for patients but have low efficacy for initial therapy of the disease. Effective therapy against the disease is provided by the fungicidal drug amphotericin B; however, due to its high toxicity and the difficulty in administering its intravenous formulation, it is imperative to find new therapies targeting the fungus. The antiparasitic drug bithionol has been recently identified as having potent fungicidal activity. In this study, we used a combined gene dosing and drug affinity responsive target stability (GD-DARTS) screen as well as protein modeling to identify a common drug binding site of bithionol within multiple NAD-dependent dehydrogenase drug targets. This combination genetic and proteomic method thus provides a powerful method for identifying novel fungicidal drug targets for further development.

IMPORTANCE
Cryptococcosis is a neglected fungal meningitis that causes approximately half a million deaths annually. The most effective antifungal agent, amphotericin B, was developed in the 1950s, and no effective medicine has been developed for this disease since that time. A key aspect of amphotericin B’s effectiveness is thought to be because of its ability to kill the fungus (fungicidal activity), rather than just stop or slow its growth. The present study utilized a recently identified fungicidal agent, bithionol, to identify potential fungicidal drug targets that can be used in developing modern fungicidal agents. A combined protein and genetic analysis approach was used to identify a class of enzymes, dehydrogenases, that the fungus uses to maintain homeostasis with regard to sugar nutrients. Similarities in the drug target site were found that resulted in simultaneous inhibition and killing of the fungus by bithionol. These studies thus identify a common, multitarget site for antifungal development.
A New Breakpoint in Hybrid Particle Swarm-Neural Network Architecture: Individual Boundary Adjustment
Authors: Ceylan Rahime , Koyuncu Hasan 
Published: August 2016

Neural Network (NN) is an effective classifier, but it generally uses the Backpropagation type algorithms which are insufficient because of trapping to local minimum of error rate. For elimination of this handicap, stochastic optimization algorithms are used to update the parameters of NN. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is one of these providing a robust coherence with NN. In realized studies about Hybrid PSO-NN, position and velocity boundaries of weight and bias are chosen equal or set free in space which leave the performance of PSO-NN in suspense. In this paper, the limitations of weight velocity (wv), weight position (wp), bias velocity (bv) and bias position (bp) are diversely changed and their effects on the output of hybrid structure are examined. Concerning this, the formed structure is called as Bounded PSO-NN on account of adjusting the optimum operating conditions (intervals). On performance evaluation, proposed method is tested on binary and multiclass pattern classification by using six medical datasets: Wisconsin Breast Cancer (WBC), Pima Indian Diabetes (PID), Bupa Liver Disorders (BLD), Heart Statlog (HS), Breast Tissue (BT) and Dermatology Data (DD). Upon analyzing the results, it was revealed that Bounded PSO-NN has a faster processing time than general PSO-NNs in which set-free and wpi[Formula: see text]bpi and wvi[Formula: see text]bvi conditions are settled. The superiority in terms of processing time is about 199[Formula: see text]s (set-free) and 307[Formula: see text]s (wpi[Formula: see text]bpi and wvi[Formula: see text]bvi) for training, about 16[Formula: see text]ms (set-free) and 9[Formula: see text]ms (wpi[Formula: see text]bpi and wvi[Formula: see text]bvi) for test. In terms of classification performance, PSO-NN (set-free condition), PSO-NN (wpi[Formula: see text]bpi & wvi[Formula: see text]bvi) and PSO-NN with individual boundary adjustment (bounded PSO-NN) respectively achieves to accuracy rates as 69.84%, 95.31% and 97.22% on WBC, 47.01%, 76.69% and 77.73% on PID, 55.36%, 67.54% and 73.91% on BLD, 64.82%, 81.48% and 85.56% on HS, 75%, 92.31% and 100% on BT, 27.47%, 92.31% and 100% on DD. In the light of experiments, it is seen that Bounded PSO-NN is better than general PSO-NNs for obtaining the optimum results. Consequently, the importance of limitations is clarified and it is proven that each limitation must be adjusted individually, not be set free or not be chosen equal.
Development and Application of a Novel Model System to Study “Active” and “Passive” Tumor Targeting
Authors: Mukherjee Amarnath , Kumar Binod , Hatano Koji , Russell Luisa M. , Trock Bruce J. , Searson Peter C. , Meeker Alan K. , Pomper Martin G. , Lupold Shawn E. 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Macromolecular reagents can be targeted to tumors through active and passive mechanisms. “Active” targeting involves moieties, such as receptor ligands, to direct tumor cell binding, whereas “passive” targeting relies on long reagent circulating half-life, abnormal tumor vasculature, and poor lymphatic drainage for tumor entrapment. Here, we sought to study the impact of reagent circulating half-life on “active” and “passive” tumor uptake. The humanized prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeting antibody HuJ591 was used as the “active” targeting agent. HuJ591 was labeled with a Near Infrared (NIR) dye and its circulating half-life was modified by conjugation to high-molecular-weight Polyethylene Glycol (PEG). PEGylation did not negatively impact PSMA-binding specificity. “Active” and “passive” tumor targeting of intravenously injected antibody conjugates were then quantified by NIR fluorescent imaging of immunocompromised mice bearing bilateral isogenic PSMA-positive and PSMA-negative human tumor xenografts. Two isogenic tumor pairs were applied, PC3 ± PSMA (PC3-PIP/PC3-Flu) or LMD-MDA-MB-231 ± PSMA (LMD-PSMA/LMD). This study provided a unique model system to simultaneously observe “active” and “passive” tumor targeting within a single animal. “Passive” targeting was observed in all PSMA-negative tumors, and was not enhanced by increased HuJ591 size or extended circulating half-life. Interestingly, “active” targeting was only successful in some situations. Both PSMA-positive tumor models could be actively targeted with J591-IR800 and J591-PEG10K. However, the larger J591-PEG30K enhanced “active” targeting in the PC-3 tumor models, but inhibited “active” targeting the LMD-MDA-MB-231 tumor model. Successful “active” targeting was associated with higher PSMA expression. These results support the potential for “active” targeting to enhance overall macromolecular reagent uptake within tumors. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(10); 2541–50. ©2016 AACR.
Quantifying Drop Size Distribution Variability over Areas: Some Implications for Ground Validation Experiments
Authors: Jameson A. R. 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
In previous work it was found that over a small network of disdrometers, the variability of probability size distributions (PSDs) expressed using the relative dispersion (RD; the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean) increased with the expansion of the network size. The explanation is that the network acts to integrate the Fourier transform of the spatial correlation function from smallest wavelengths to those comparable to the network size . Consequently, as increases, so do the variances at the different drop sizes. Thus, RD and PSD variability grow as increases. The limits to this growth, however, were not determined quantitatively. This finding is given fuller theoretical quantitative meaning over much larger dimensions by explicitly deriving the variance contributions at all the different drop sizes as well as for a variety of moments of the PSD by using spatial radial correlation functions estimated from temporal correlations. This is justifiable when the time for each observation is short. One example is provided. The relative dispersion of the PSD is dominated by fluctuations in the occurrences of the larger drops. The RDs of the raw moments are only a few percent of the PSD. Thus, approaches attempting to estimate radial correlation functions using, say, radar measurements of moments are of limited utility, a usefulness further compromised by the distortion of the correlation function by filtering over the beam dimension. These findings present a challenge for efforts to validate remote sensing measurements by ground truth experiments using networks.
Information Technology Usage: The Indian Experience
Authors: Gupta M P , Sanjay  
Published: August 2016

This paper attempts to understand the current state of Information Technology (IT) usage in select Indian organizations based on a questionnaire survey of business executives and IS staff of select IT-savvy organizations. In recent years, rapid changes and developments in the IT domain have created new leaders in the market place. Corporates, the world over, are leveraging on these developments through efficient supply chain, inventory control, and business intelligence applications for gaining an edge over their competitors. The Information System (IS) developed by these organizations is non-replicable thus providing the differentiation. Though Indian companies are aware of concepts such as supply chain, inventory control, etc., the actual implementation of such concepts is not that widespread. Also, the IS function in India is yet to establish itself as a mainstream business function. It is in this context that this paper makes an effort to understand the importance of IT as a key driver for business strategy and recommend to the industry to adopt some of the best practices prevailing in organizations worldwide. The analysis of the responses indicates that there is a discrepancy between the opinions of business executives and IS staff regarding the adequacy of the current IT systems. This situation can be remedied by implementing some of the suggestions which are as follows: The business executives and the IS staff should be located in the same place to integrate IT into the mainstream of business. Business intelligence application needs to be included in the portfolio of applications for business use. The Indian industry needs to be stepped up to the ‘informate’ stage as it is still in the ‘automate’ stage. CIOs have to play an important role by linking IT to business strategy. Information needs of the executives are increasing and necessary steps for imple- menting data warehousing and OLAP solutions need to be taken. Supporting IS should be put in place to facilitate decision-making. Key performance indicators (KPIs) should be clearly identified and incorporated into the IS to monitor the health of the organization. These initiatives are expected to have the following implications: tighter integration of IT with business strategy transformation from the ‘informate mode’ to the ‘transformate’ mode implementation of newer business intelligence tools development of information-based decision-making culture better understanding of organization's KPIs by the IS staff.