bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fast and inexpensive detection of bacterial viability and drug effectiveness through metabolic monitoring
Authors: Ayyash Sondos , Wu Wen-I , Selvaganapathy P.Ravi 
Published: March 2016

AbstractConventional methods for the detection of bacterial infection such as DNA or immunoassays are either expensive, time consuming, or not definitive; thus may not provide all the information sought by the medical professionals. In particular, it is difficult to obtain information about viability or drug effectiveness, which are crucial to formulate a treatment. Bacterial culture test is the “gold standard” because it is inexpensive and does not require extensive sample preparation, and most importantly, provides all the necessary information sought by healthcare professionals, such as bacterial presence, viability and drug effectiveness. These conventional culture methods, however, have a long turnaround time: anywhere between 1 day to 4 weeks. Here, we solve this problem by monitoring the growth of bacteria in thousands of nanowells simultaneously to identify its presence in the sample and its viability, faster. The segmentation of a sample with low bacterial concentration into thousands of nanoliter wells digitizes the samples and increases the effective concentration in those wells that contain bacteria. We monitor the metabolism of aerobic bacteria by using an oxygen sensitive fluorophore, ruthenium tris (2,2’-diprydl) dichloride hexahydrate (RTDP) that allows us to monitor the dissolved oxygen concentration in the nanowells. UsingE.ColiK12 as a model pathogen, we demonstrate that the detection time ofE.colican be as fast as 35-60 minutes with sample concentrations varying from 104(62 minutes for detection), 106(42 minutes) and 108cells/mL (38 minutes). More importantly, we also demonstrate that reducing the well size can reduce the time of detection. Finally we show that drug effectiveness information can be obtained in this format by loading the wells with the drug and monitoring the metabolism of the bacteria. The method that we have developed is low cost, simple, requires minimal sample preparation and can potentially be used with a wide variety of samples in resource poor setting to detect bacterial infections such as Tuberculosis.
Inherited ichthyosis: Non‐syndromic forms
Authors: Takeichi Takuya , Akiyama Masashi 
Published: March 2016

AbstractInherited ichthyoses are a group of genetic disorders characterized by generalized dry skin, scaling and hyperkeratosis, and often associated with erythroderma. These manifestations are due to mutations in genes mostly involved in skin barrier formation. Inherited ichthyoses consist of non‐syndromic ichthyoses and ichthyosis syndromes. Non‐syndromic ichthyoses are characterized by the phenotypic expression of the disorder being seen only in the skin. Non‐syndromic ichthyoses include ichthyosis vulgaris, recessive X‐linked ichthyosis, autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis, keratinopathic ichthyosis and other forms. This review focuses on updates for each type of non‐syndromic ichthyosis, highlighting molecular mechanisms and phenotype/genotype correlations. Included in autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis are three of the major phenotypes (harlequin ichthyosis, lamellar ichthyosis and congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma) and three of the minor subtypes (self‐healing collodion baby, acral self‐healing collodion baby and bathing suit ichthyosis). Keratinopathic ichthyosis is proposed as an umbrella term for ichthyoses caused by mutations in keratin genes. Next‐generation sequencing technologies have become powerful tools for the diagnosis of inherited ichthyoses and the discovery of their genetic causes. This article reviews the current understanding of molecular pathomechanisms for non‐syndromic ichthyoses and explores future perspectives.
Effects of systemic propranolol treatment on physical growth of patients with infantile hemangiomas
Authors: Hu Li , Zhou Bingrui , Huang Huizhen , Chang Lei , Qiu Yajing , Ma Gang , Chen Hui , Jin Yunbo , Xu Xiu , Lin Xiaoxi , Li Wei 
Published: March 2016

AbstractPropranolol has been widely used in the treatment of infantile hemangiomas since 2008. This study aimed to investigate complications of systemic propranolol therapy for infantile hemangiomas, especially its effect on infants' physical growth. In this study, propranolol was given at a dose of 2 mg/kg per day. Abnormal symptoms and growth parameters were recorded in detail during the therapy. Follow‐up visits were arranged to continue at least through the age of 2 years. A total of 76 patients with complete growth parameters were enrolled into the study. Complications of propranolol were minor, and mainly included sleeping disorders, diarrhea, decrease in fasting glucose, bronchial hyperactivity and hyperkalemia. Four (5.26%) patients' growth curve dropped off more than 20 percentiles during therapy and half of them returned to normal after withdrawal of the medications. None of them suffered from underweight, wasting or stunning when medication was stopped. Systemic propranolol was proved to be a safe treatment for problematic infantile hemangiomas and did not affect the physical growth.
Increasing age is not associated with toxicity leading to discontinuation of treatment in patients with urothelial non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer randomised to receive 3 years of maintenance bacille Calmette–Guérin: results from European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Genito‐Urinary Group study 30911
Authors: Oddens Jorg R. , Sylvester Richard J. , Brausi Maurizio A. , Kirkels Wim J. , van de Beek Cees , van Andel George , de Reijke Theo M. , Prescott Stephen , Alfred Witjes J. , Oosterlinck Willem 
Published: March 2016

ObjectiveTo determine the relationship of age to side‐effects leading to discontinuation of treatment in patients with stage Ta–T1 non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treated with maintenance bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG).Patients and MethodsWe evaluated toxicity for 487 eligible patients with intermediate‐ or high‐risk Ta–T1 (without carcinoma in situ) NMIBC randomised to receive 3 years of maintenance BCG therapy (247 BCG alone and 240 BCG + isoniazid) in European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Genito‐Urinary Group trial 30911. The percentage of patients who stopped for toxicity and the number of treatment cycles that they received were compared in four age groups, ≤60, 61–70, 71–75 and >75 years, using the Mantel–Haenszel chi‐square test for trend.ResultsThe percentage of patients stopping BCG for toxicity was 17.9% in patients aged ≤60 years, 21.9% in patients aged 61–70 years, 22.9% in patients aged 71–75 years, and 16.4% in patients aged >75 years (P = 0.90). For both systemic and local side‐effects, there was likewise no significant difference.ConclusionIn patients with intermediate‐ and high‐risk Ta–T1 NMIBC treated with BCG, no differences in toxicity as a reason for stopping treatment were detected based on patient age.
Clostridium difficile infection after restorative proctocolectomy and ileal pouch anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis
Authors: Martinez Ugarte M. L. , Lightner A. L. , Colibaseanu D. , Khanna S. , Pardi D. S. , Dozois E. J. , Mathis K. L. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractAimClostridium difficile infection (CDI) of the ileal pouch following restorative proctocolectomy (RPC) is becoming increasingly recognized. We aimed to understand better (i) the associated risk factors, (ii) treatment practices and (iii) the pouch diversion and failure rate in patients who developed CDI of the pouch after RPC for ulcerative colitis (UC).MethodPatients who tested positive for C. difficile of the pouch between 2007 and 2010 were included in the analysis. Data collected included patient demographics, time from RPC to documented CDI, the treatment of CDI and rate of excision of the pouch.ResultsOf 2785 patients recorded in the hospital CDI database, 15 had had an RPC with ileal pouch anal anastomosis. The median age was 44 years and the median interval from RPC to first documented episode of CDI was 3 years. Thirteen (81%) patients had had multiple episodes of pouchitis before and after CDI infection, and all were symptomatic at the time of testing for CDI. Within 30 days of the diagnosis of CDI, six (40%) patients were taking immunosuppressive medication, seven (47%) were taking a proton pump inhibitor and 12 (80%) had received antibiotics. Five patients required hospitalization for CDI and four had severe infections characterized by a serum creatinine more than 1.5 times baseline (n = 3) and a white cell count above 15 000 (n = 1). Six patients who underwent endoscopy had severe inflammation of the pouch including the presence of a pseudomembrane in one case. Ten patients were treated with metronidazole alone and five with vancomycin. Two patients had recurrent CDI of the pouch during a median follow‐up period of 2.9 years and one had CDI refractory to medical management. This patient required diversion of the pouch with an ileostomy for refractory CDI but no patient required excision of the pouch.ConclusionAll 15 patients developing CDI of the pouch were successfully treated with antibiotics and only one required surgery in the form of an ileostomy.
Few multiyear precipitation–reduction experiments find a shift in the productivity–precipitation relationship
Authors: Estiarte Marc , Vicca Sara , Peñuelas Josep , Bahn Michael , Beier Claus , Emmett Bridget A. , Fay Philip A. , Hanson Paul J. , Hasibeder Roland , Kigel Jaime , Kröel‐Dulay Gyorgy , Larsen Klaus Steenberg , Lellei‐Kovács Eszter , Limousin Jean‐Marc , Ogaya Romà , Ourcival Jean‐Marc , Reinsch Sabine , Sala Osvaldo E. , Schmidt Inger Kappel , Sternberg Marcelo , Tielbörger Katja , Tietema Albert , Janssens Ivan A. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractWell‐defined productivity–precipitation relationships of ecosystems are needed as benchmarks for the validation of land models used for future projections. The productivity–precipitation relationship may be studied in two ways: the spatial approach relates differences in productivity to those in precipitation among sites along a precipitation gradient (the spatial fit, with a steeper slope); the temporal approach relates interannual productivity changes to variation in precipitation within sites (the temporal fits, with flatter slopes). Precipitation–reduction experiments in natural ecosystems represent a complement to the fits, because they can reduce precipitation below the natural range and are thus well suited to study potential effects of climate drying. Here, we analyse the effects of dry treatments in eleven multiyear precipitation–manipulation experiments, focusing on changes in the temporal fit. We expected that structural changes in the dry treatments would occur in some experiments, thereby reducing the intercept of the temporal fit and displacing the productivity–precipitation relationship downward the spatial fit. The majority of experiments (72%) showed that dry treatments did not alter the temporal fit. This implies that current temporal fits are to be preferred over the spatial fit to benchmark land‐model projections of productivity under future climate within the precipitation ranges covered by the experiments. Moreover, in two experiments, the intercept of the temporal fit unexpectedly increased due to mechanisms that reduced either water loss or nutrient loss. The expected decrease of the intercept was observed in only one experiment, and only when distinguishing between the late and the early phases of the experiment. This implies that we currently do not know at which precipitation–reduction level or at which experimental duration structural changes will start to alter ecosystem productivity. Our study highlights the need for experiments with multiple, including more extreme, dry treatments, to identify the precipitation boundaries within which the current temporal fits remain valid.
Comparison of phytochemical profiles, antioxidant and cellular antioxidant activities of seven cultivars of Aloe
Authors: Lai Qinrun , Wang Hong , Guo Xinbo , Abbasi Arshad Mehmood , Wang Taixia , Li Tong , Fu Xiong , Li Jingyuan , Liu Rui Hai 
Published: March 2016

SummaryA comparative assessment of the phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activities of seven cultivars of Aloe was conducted to evaluate the potential health benefits of Aloe. Aloe arborescens contained the highest levels of phenolic content, total antioxidant capacity by the oxygen radical scavenging capacity assay and cellular antioxidant activity assay. Aloe vera showed the highest levels of flavonoid content and antioxidant capacity by the peroxyl radical scavenging capacity assay. Aloe greenii had the highest CAA value with a PBS wash before adding ABAP. There were no significant differences observed between Aloe arborescens and Aloe greenii. Aloin, aloe‐emodin‐8‐O‐beta‐D‐glucopyranoside, catechin, epicatechin, sinapic acid and chlorogenic acid were identified in Aloe samples by the HPLC analysis. Aloin, aloe‐emodin‐8‐O‐beta‐D‐glucopyranoside and catechin showed strong relationships with antioxidant activity. Significant levels of aloin, aloe‐emodin‐8‐O‐beta‐D‐glucopyranoside and catechin were determined in Aloe greenii, Aloe vera and Aloe saponaria, respectively.
Democracy, Epistemology and the Problem of All‐White Juries
Authors: Lever Annabelle 
Published: March 2016

AbstractDoes it matter that almost all juries in England and Wales are all‐White? Does it matter even if this result is the unintended and undesired result of otherwise acceptable ways of choosing juries? Finally, does it matter that almost all juries are all‐White if this has no adverse effect on the treatment of non‐White defendants and victims of crime? According to Cheryl Thomas, there is no injustice in a system of jury selection which predictably results in juries with no minority members so long as this result is not deliberate, and does not adversely affect the treatment of minority defendants and victims of crime. My view is different. In and of itself, I believe, something is wrong with a system of jury selection that predictably results in all‐White juries in a diverse society, such as our own. Absent reason to believe that we lack a better alternative to current modes of jury selection, a commitment to democratic government and to the equality of citizens – or so I will argue – condemns existing arrangements as unjust, whether or not they have adverse effects on jury decisions, or on the ways in which our society approaches issues of race and crime.
Prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus among inland residents in China (2000–2014): A meta‐analysis
Authors: Yang Lili , Shao Jing , Bian Yaoyao , Wu Huiqun , Shi Lili , Zeng Li , Li Wenlin , Dong Jiancheng 
Published: March 2016

AbstractAims/IntroductionBesides the aging population in China, the following have become serious public health problems: increasing urban population, lifestyle changes and diabetes. We assessed the epidemiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus in China between 2000 and 2014, and analyzed time trends to better determine the prevalence status of diabetes in China and to provide a basis for prevention and decision‐making.Materials and MethodsIn our systematic review, we searched China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese VIP Information, Wanfang and PubMed databases for studies on type 2 diabetes mellitus between 2000 and 2014 in China. Two investigators extracted the data and assessed the quality of the included literature independently. We excluded studies that did not use 1999 World Health Organization criteria for diabetes. We also excluded reviews and viewpoints, studies with insufficient data, studies that were not carried out in mainland China and studies on troops, community, schools or physical examination people. We used stata 12.0 to combine the prevalence of all studies, calculated the pooled prevalence and its 95% confidence interval, and analyzed the differences among men/women, urban/rural areas and year of study. We calculated the prevalence of seven geographic areas of China, respectively, and mapped the distribution in the whole country to estimate the pooled prevalence of each area.ResultsOur search returned 4,572 studies, 77 of which satisfied the inclusion criteria. The included studies had a total of 1,287,251 participants, in which 680,574 cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus were recorded. The overall prevalence (9.1%) has been increasing since the 1970s, and it increased rapidly with age. The prevalence of the 65–74 years group was as high as 14.1%. Meanwhile, the prevalence among men/women and urban/rural areas was significantly different. The prevalence was 9.9% for men and 11.6% for women, which were significantly higher than the average at the end of the last century and the beginning of this century. The prevalence rate in urban areas (11.4%) was significantly higher than that in rural areas and in urban‐rural fringe areas, and the prevalence in rural areas (8.2%) was slightly higher than that in urban‐rural fringe areas (7.5%). In addition, the prevalence in each geographic area were estimated and mapped, which showed a large imbalance in the map.ConclusionsOur analysis suggested that type 2 diabetes mellitus is highly prevalent in China. These results underscore the urgent need for the government to vigorously strengthen the management of diabetes prevention and control.
Accumulation of Indole‐3‐Acetic Acid in Rice sl Mutant Leaves Infected with Bipolaris oryzae
Authors: Ishihara Atsushi , Fukami Arisa , Matsuda Yoko , Nakajima Hiromitsu , Miyagawa Hisashi 
Published: March 2016

AbstractRice leaves accumulate serotonin in response to infection by Bipolaris oryzae. The leaves of the sl mutant, which is deficient in the gene encoding tryptamine 5‐hydroxylase, accumulate tryptamine instead of serotonin upon infection by B. oryzae. Because tryptamine is a possible precursor of indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA), we investigated the accumulation of IAA in sl leaves infected with B. oryzae. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry analysis indicated that IAA accumulated at approximately 1.5 μmol/gFW in the leaves of sl mutant. This accumulation was suppressed by 95% by the treatment with the tryptamine decarboxylase inhibitor, (S)‐α‐(fluoromethyl)tryptophan, at 100 μm, indicating that tryptamine served as the precursor of IAA. The accumulation of IAA was not reproduced by treatment with CuCl2 or by exogenous feeding of tryptamine. Furthermore, inoculation of Magnaporthe grisea induced only a lower level of IAA accumulation. On the other hand, B. oryzae produced IAA in culture media containing tryptamine. These findings strongly suggested that the metabolism of tryptamine by B. oryzae was responsible for IAA accumulation in the leaves of the sl mutant. Serotonin added to the culture media was also converted into 5‐hydroxyindole‐3‐acetic acid (5HIAA) at a rate similar to that of tryptamine. Considering that wild‐type rice leaves accumulate serotonin for defensive purposes, reducing the concentration of serotonin by conversion into 5HIAA may be significant as a detoxification process in the interaction between B. oryzae and rice.
A Rapid and Efficient Method for In Vitro Screening of Taro for Leaf Blight Disease Caused by Phytophthora colocasiae
Authors: Nath Vishnu Sukumari , Basheer Shyni , Jeeva Muthulekshmi Lajapathy , Hegde Vinayaka Mahabaleswar , Devi Asha , Misra Raj Shekar , Veena Syamala Swayamvaran , Raj Mithun 
Published: March 2016

AbstractTaro leaf blight caused by Phytophthora colocasiae presents the single biggest constraint for taro cultivation globally. To accelerate breeding and selection for disease resistance to leaf blight, it is important to develop bioassays which could differentiate resistant and susceptible cultivars efficiently. In this study, thirty taro accessions and four released cultivars were evaluated for resistance to leaf blight using a modified floating leaf disc assay. A novel method for mass production of P. colocasiae zoospores was developed and used as inoculum for the assay. There were significant (P < 0.05) differences among accessions in their response to P. colocasiae infection in the detached leaf assay. The accessions could be efficiently classified into various resistance groups based on a 0–4 score. Also, the assay results were consistent with the field evaluation scores of taro accessions. Thus, this study reports the development of a rapid, simple and repeatable assay that can be used to screen large numbers of taro cultivars for resistance to P. colocasiae.
Tropisetron inhibits high glucose-induced calcineurin/NFAT hypertrophic pathway in H9c2 myocardial cells
Authors: Asadi Firouzeh , Razmi Ali , Dehpour Ahmad Reza , Shafiei Massoumeh 
Published: March 2016

Abstract

Objectives
Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy is an important structural feature of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T-cell (NFAT) pathway plays a central role in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of tropisetron, a novel calcineurin inhibitor, on high glucose (HG)-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and its underlying mechanism.

Methods
H9c2 myocardial cells were treated with tropisetron or cyclosporine A 1 h before exposure to HG for 48 h.

Key findings
Exposure to HG resulted in enhanced cell size, protein content and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) protein expression. HG significantly increased Ca2+ level, calcineurin expression and nuclear translocation of NFATc4. Both tropisetron and cyclosporine A markedly prevented the hypertrophic characteristic features, calcineurin overexpression and nuclear localization of NFATc4 while intracellular Ca2+ was not affected.

Conclusion
Our results showed that tropisetron may have protective effects against HG-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. The mechanism responsible for this beneficial effect seems to be, at least in part, blockade of calcineurin/NFAT signalling pathway.
Nocturama gen. nov., Nothocladus s. lat. and other taxonomic novelties resulting from the further resolution of paraphyly in Australasian members of Batrachospermum (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta)
Authors: Entwisle Timothy J. , Johnston Emily T. , Lam Daryl W. , Stewart Sarah A. , Vis Morgan L. 
Published: March 2016

The informal “Australasica Group” was established in 2009 to include several Australasian endemic Batrachospermum species, a few species of the cosmopolitan Batrachospermum section Setacea, and the South American endemic Petrohua bernabei. Although useful for communication purposes, no formal taxonomic designation was proposed due to weakly supported basal nodes. The present research took a two‐pronged approach of adding more taxa (29 additional specimens) as well as more sequence data (LSU, cox1, psaA, and psbA markers added to rbcL data) to provide better resolution. The resulting tree showed improved statistical support values (Bayesian posterior probability and maximum likelihood bootstrap) for most nodes providing a framework for taxonomic revision. Based on our well‐resolved phylogeny, a new genus, Nocturama, is proposed for a clade of Batrachospermum antipodites specimens. The circumscription of Nothocladus is expanded to include Batrachospermum section Setacea and four additional sections composed of at least 10 species, mostly from Australia and New Zealand. One new species added to the data set, N. diatyches, did not form a clade with the other species of section Setaceus, where it was classified previously, rendering that section paraphyletic. To resolve this, N. diatyches and the morphologically similar species N. latericius are included with N. theaquus, in the new section Theaquus within Nothocladus s. lat. A specimen from Australia unaligned to these clades was sister to the Australia–New Zealand genus Psilosiphon and the cosmopolitan B. cayennense, but lacked statistical support. This specimen has the gross morphology of Batrachospermum s. lat. and is here provisionally assigned to that genus, as B. serendipidum sp. nov.