bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Smooth muscle cell transient receptor potential polycystin‐2 (TRPP2) channels contribute to the myogenic response in cerebral arteries
Authors: Narayanan Damodaran , Bulley Simon , Leo M. Dennis , Burris Sarah K. , Gabrick Kyle S. , Boop Frederick A. , Jaggar Jonathan H. 
Published: July 2013

Key points
Intravascular pressure is reported to activate several mechanosensitive ion channels, leading to smooth muscle cell (SMC) depolarization, voltage‐dependent Ca2+ channel activation and vasoconstriction; a process known as the ‘myogenic response’.
Polycystin‐1 and ‐2 (TRPP1 and ‐2) have been shown to differentially regulate the mesenteric artery myogenic response, with TRPP2 expression attenuating vasoconstriction.
We show that TRPP2 is the major TRPP isoform expressed and that TRPP2 is located primarily in the plasma membrane in cerebral artery SMCs.
Selective TRPP2 knockdown reduced swelling‐induced non‐selective cation currents (ICat) in SMCs and myogenic tone in cerebral arteries.
These data indicate that TRPP2 activation contributes to the cerebral artery myogenic response and suggest that TRPP2 performs differential functions in different vascular beds.
Abstract  Intravascular pressure‐induced vasoconstriction is a smooth muscle cell‐specific mechanism that controls systemic blood pressure and organ regional blood flow. Smooth muscle cell polycystin‐1 and ‐2 (TRPP1 and ‐2) proteins modulate the myogenic response in mesenteric arteries, but involvement in other vascular beds is unclear. Here, we examined TRPP2 expression, cellular distribution, cation currents (ICat), and physiological functions in smooth muscle cells of rat and human cerebral arteries. We demonstrate that TRPP2 is the major TRPP isoform expressed in cerebral artery smooth muscle cells, with message levels higher than those of TRPP1. Arterial biotinylation and immunofluorescence indicated that TRPP2 is located primarily (∼88%) in the smooth muscle cell plasma membrane. RNA interference reduced TRPP2 expression by ∼55% compared to control, but did not alter levels of TRPP1, TRPC1, TRPC3, TRPC6, TRPM4, ANO1/TMEM16A, or voltage‐dependent Ca2+ (CaV1.2) channels, other ion channel proteins that modulate myogenic tone. Cell swelling induced by hyposmotic (250 osmol (l solution)−1) bath solution stimulated Gd3+‐sensitive ICat in smooth muscle cells that were reduced by selective TRPP2 knockdown. TRPP2 knockdown did not alter myogenic tone at 20 mmHg but reduced tone between ∼28 and 39% over an intravascular pressure range between 40 and 100 mmHg. In contrast, TRPP2 knockdown did not alter depolarization‐induced (60 mmol l K+) vasoconstriction. In summary, we show that TRPP2 is expressed in smooth muscle cells of resistance‐size cerebral arteries, resides primarily in the plasma membrane, and contributes to the myogenic response. Data also suggest that TRPP2 differentially regulates the myogenic response in cerebral and mesenteric arteries.
Effects of Surgical Placement of Components in Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty Evaluated With a Planar Mathematical Model
Authors: Imran Ahmed 
Published: July 2013

The use of modern technology in knee arthroplasty, like minimally invasive surgery and computer assisted systems, can help in standardization of surgical procedures and improve patient recovery. However, such procedures can affect the surgeon’s ability to properly place and orient the prosthetic components on the bones. In the present study, the effects of surgical placement of components on mechanics of the joint are evaluated. A sagittal plane mathematical model of the knee with unicompartmental replacement is developed.
Anatomical data and geometries of the prosthetic components were taken similar to those in literature. Ligaments were represented as bundles of elastic fibers. Net muscle forces were represented along straight lines.
The prosthetic components were placed on the bones such that selected fibers in the cruciate ligaments remained nearly isometric and no ligament stretched during flexion. This defined the passive motion of the joint. The effects of external load, muscle activity and variations in component placement or size were superimposed.
Component mal-placement or in-appropriate size resulted in stretched/slackened ligaments, influenced the relative positions of bones, and affected joint laxity. The model calculations show general agreement with and explain the experimental/clinical observations reported in literature.
Amphotericin B- and Voriconazole-Echinocandin Combinations against Aspergillus spp.: Effect of Serum on Inhibitory and Fungicidal Interactions
Authors: Elefanti Antigoni , Mouton Johan W. , Verweij Paul E. , Tsakris Athanassios , Zerva Loukia , Meletiadis Joseph 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACT

Antifungal combination therapy with voriconazole or amphotericin B and an echinocandin is often employed as primary or salvage therapy for management particularly of refractory aspergillosis. The pharmacodynamic interactions of amphotericin B- and voriconazole-based combinations with the three echinocandins caspofungin, micafungin, and anidulafungin in the presence of serum were tested against 15
Aspergillus fumigatus
complex,
A. flavus
complex, and
A. terreus
complex isolates to assess both their growth-inhibitory and fungicidal activities. The
in vitro
activity of each drug alone and in combination at a 1:1 fixed concentration ratio was tested with a broth microdilution colorimetric method, and interactions were assessed by isobolographic analysis. Synergy was found for all amphotericin B- and voriconazole-based combinations, with amphotericin B-based combinations showing strong inhibitory synergistic interactions (interaction indices of 0.20 to 0.52) and with voriconazole-based combinations demonstrating strong fungicidal synergistic interactions (interaction indices of 0.10 to 0.29) (
P
< 0.001). Drug- and species-specific differences were found, with caspofungin and the
A. fumigatus
complex exhibiting the weakest synergistic interactions. In the presence of serum, the synergistic interactions were reduced in the order (from largest to smallest decrease) micafungin > anidulafungin > caspofungin, and
A. flavus
complex >
A. fumigatus
complex >
A. terreus
complex, resulting in additive interactions, particularly for inhibitory activities of amphotericin B-echinocandin combinations and fungicidal activities of voriconazole-echinocandin combinations. Drug- and species-specific differences were found in the presence of serum for inhibitory activities of antifungal drugs, with the lowest interaction indices being observed for amphotericin B-caspofungin (median, 0.77) and for the
A. terreus
complex (median, 0.56). The present
in vitro
data showed that serum had a major impact on synergistic interactions of amphotericin B-echinocandin and voriconazole-echinocandin combinations, resulting in additive interactions and explaining the indifferent outcomes usually observed
in vivo
.
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Comparing Two Approaches for Empirical Antifungal Therapy in Hematological Patients with Persistent Febrile Neutropenia
Authors: Martín-Peña Almudena , Gil-Navarro M. Victoria , Aguilar-Guisado Manuela , Espigado Ildefonso , de Pipaón Maite Ruiz Pérez , Falantes José , Pachón Jerónimo , Cisneros José M. 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACTNew approaches of empirical antifungal therapy (EAT) in selected hematological patients with persistent febrile neutropenia (PFN) have been proposed in recent years, but their cost-effectiveness has not been studied. The aim of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of two different approaches of EAT in hematological patients with PFN: the diagnosis-driven antifungal therapy (DDAT) approach versus the standard approach of EAT. A decision tree to assess the cost-effectiveness of both approaches was developed. Outcome probabilities and treatment pathways were extrapolated from two studies: a prospective cohort study following the DDAT approach and a randomized clinical trial following the standard approach. Uncertainty was undertaken through sensitivity analyses and Monte Carlo simulation. The average effectiveness and economic advantages in the DDAT approach compared to the standard approach were 2.6% and €5,879 (33%) per PFN episode, respectively. The DDAT was the dominant approach in the 99.5% of the simulations performed with average cost-effectiveness per PFN episode of €32,671 versus €52,479 in the EAT approach. The results were robust over a wide range of variables. The DDAT approach is more cost-effective than the EAT approach in the management of PFN in hematological patients.
Differential Adaptive Responses of Staphylococcus aureus to
In Vitro
Selection with Different Antimicrobial Peptides
Authors: Shireen Tahsina , Singh Madhuri , Das Tiyasa , Mukhopadhyay Kasturi 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACT

We subjected
Staphylococcus aureus
ATCC 29213 to serial passage in the presence of subinhibitory concentrations of magainin 2 and gramicidin D for several hundred generations. We obtained
S. aureus
strains with induced resistance to magainin 2 (strain 55MG) and gramicidin D (strain 55GR) that showed different phenotypic changes in membrane properties. Both exhibited a change in membrane phospholipid content and an increase in membrane rigidity, while an alteration in net charge compared to that of the control occurred only in the case of 55MG.
A Peptide Inhibitor of Cytomegalovirus Infection from Human Hemofiltrate
Authors: Borst Eva Maria , Ständker Ludger , Wagner Karen , Schulz Thomas F. , Forssmann Wolf-Georg , Messerle Martin 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACT
Naturally occurring substances with antimicrobial activity can serve as a starting point for the rational design of new drugs to treat infectious diseases. Here, we screened a library of peptides derived from human hemofiltrate for inhibitory effects on human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. We isolated a previously unknown derivative of the neutrophil-activating peptide 2, which we termed CYVIP, for CMV-inhibiting peptide. The peptide blocked infection with human and mouse CMV as well as with herpes simplex virus type 1 in different cell types. We found that CYVIP interferes with virus attachment to the cell surface, and structure-activity relationship studies revealed that positively charged lysine and arginine residues of CYVIP are essential for its inhibitory activity. The N-terminal 29 amino acids of the peptide were sufficient for inhibition, and substitution with an acidic residue further improved its activity. The target structure of CYVIP on the cell surface seems to be the sulfate residues of heparan sulfate proteoglycans, which are known to serve as herpesvirus attachment receptors. Our data suggest that O-sulfation of heparan sulfate is required for binding of CYVIP, and furthermore, that the initial interaction of CMV particles with cells takes place preferentially via 6-O-linked sulfate groups. These findings about CYVIP's mode of action lay the basis for further development of antivirals interfering with attachment of CMV to cells, a crucial step of the infection cycle.
KPC-Producing, Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Sequence Type 258 as a Typical Opportunistic Pathogen
Authors: Tzouvelekis L. S. , Miriagou V. , Kotsakis S. D. , Spyridopoulou K. , Athanasiou E. , Karagouni E. , Tzelepi E. , Daikos G. L. 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACT

The virulence of a KPC-producing
Klebsiella pneumoniae
sequence type 258 (ST258) strain representing those circulating in Greece was assessed in a mouse septicemia model. The strain was virtually avirulent (50% lethal dose, >10
8
and 5 × 10
7
CFU for immunocompetent and neutropenic animals, respectively). Also, it was highly susceptible to serum killing, rapidly phagocytosed
in vitro
, and classified as K41, which is not among the virulent capsular types. The findings indirectly support the notion that high ST258-associated mortality is largely due to inefficient antimicrobial treatment.
Matrix Metalloproteinases 2 and 9 Are Differentially Expressed in Patients with Indeterminate and Cardiac Clinical Forms of Chagas Disease
Authors: Fares Rafaelle Christine Gomes , Gomes Juliana de Assis Silva , Garzoni Luciana Ribeiro , Waghabi Mariana Caldas , Saraiva Roberto Magalhães , Medeiros Nayara Ingrid , Oliveira-Prado Roberta , Sangenis Luiz Henrique Conde , Chambela Mayara da Costa , de Araújo Fernanda Fortes , Teixeira-Carvalho Andréa , Damásio Marcos Paulo , Valente Vanessa Azevedo , Ferreira Karine Silvestre , Sousa Giovane Rodrigo , Rocha Manoel Otávio da Costa , Correa-Oliveira Rodrigo 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACT

Dilated chronic cardiomyopathy (DCC) from Chagas disease is associated with myocardial remodeling and interstitial fibrosis, resulting in extracellular matrix (ECM) changes. In this study, we characterized for the first time the serum matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 levels, as well as their main cell sources in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients presenting with the indeterminate (IND) or cardiac (CARD) clinical form of Chagas disease. Our results showed that serum levels of MMP-9 are associated with the severity of Chagas disease. The analysis of MMP production by T lymphocytes showed that CD8
+
T cells are the main mononuclear leukocyte source of both MMP-2 and MMP-9 molecules. Using a new 3-dimensional model of fibrosis, we observed that sera from patients with Chagas disease induced an increase in the extracellular matrix components in cardiac spheroids. Furthermore, MMP-2 and MMP-9 showed different correlations with matrix proteins and inflammatory cytokines in patients with Chagas disease. Our results suggest that MMP-2 and MMP-9 show distinct activities in Chagas disease pathogenesis. While MMP-9 seems to be involved in the inflammation and cardiac remodeling of Chagas disease, MMP-2 does not correlate with inflammatory molecules.
Transcriptome Analysis of Mouse Brain Infected with Toxoplasma gondii
Authors: Tanaka Sachi , Nishimura Maki , Ihara Fumiaki , Yamagishi Junya , Suzuki Yutaka , Nishikawa Yoshifumi 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACTToxoplasma gondiiis an obligate intracellular parasite that invades a wide range of vertebrate host cells. Chronic infections withT. gondiibecome established in the tissues of the central nervous system, where the parasites may directly or indirectly modulate neuronal function. However, the mechanisms underlying parasite-induced neuronal disorder in the brain remain unclear. This study evaluated host gene expression in mouse brain following infection withT. gondii. BALB/c mice were infected with the PLK strain, and after 32 days of infection, histopathological lesions in the frontal lobe were found to be more severe than in other areas of the brain. Total RNA extracted from infected and uninfected mouse brain samples was subjected to transcriptome analysis using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). In theT. gondii-infected mice, 935 mouse brain genes were upregulated, whereas 12 genes were downregulated. GOstat analysis predicted that the upregulated genes were primarily involved in host immune responses and cell activation. Positive correlations were found between the numbers of parasites in the infected mouse brains and the expression levels of genes involved in host immune responses. In contrast, genes that had a negative correlation with parasite numbers were predicted to be involved in neurological functions, such as small-GTPase-mediated signal transduction and vesicle-mediated transport. Furthermore, differential gene expression was observed between mice exhibiting the clinical signs of toxoplasmosis and those that did not. Our findings may provide insights into the mechanisms underlying neurological changes duringT. gondiiinfection.
A NEW PARADIGM FOR THE IN VITRO SIMULATION OF SIDEWAYS FALL LOADING OF THE PROXIMAL HUMAN FEMUR
Authors: ZANI LORENZO , CRISTOFOLINI LUCA , JUSZCZYK MATEUSZ MARIA , GRASSI LORENZO , VICECONTI MARCO 
Published: July 2013

Although the direction of loads applied to the proximal human femur is unpredictable during sideways fall, most in vitro and numerical simulations refer to a single loading condition (15° internal rotation; 10° adduction), which has been anecdotally suggested in the 1950s. The aim of the present study was to improve in vitro simulations of sideways falls on the proximal femur. An in vitro setup was developed that allowed exploring a range of loading directions +/-90° internal–external rotation; 0°–50° adduction). To enable accurate control of the loading conditions (direction and magnitude of all load components applied to the femur), the setup included a number of low-friction linear and rotary bearings. The setup was instrumented with an axial and a torsional load cell, three displacement transducers and a rotation transducer to monitor the most significant components of load/displacement during testing. The strain distribution was measured on the bone surface (16 triaxial strain gauges, 2,000 Hz). Fracture was recorded with a high-speed camera. The setup was successfully tested on a cadaveric femur non-destructively (12 loading configurations) and destructively (15° internal rotation; 10° adduction). All measurements were highly repeatable (the displacements of the femoral head varied by < 2% between repetitions; the tilt in the frontal plane by < 0.05°; and strain varied on average 0.34% between repetitions). The displacement of the femoral head varied by over 50% when the same force was applied in different directions. Principal strains at the same location varied by over 70%, depending on the direction of the applied force. The high-speed video enabled the identification of the point of fracture initiation. This study has shown that a new paradigm for testing the proximal femur (including improved testing conditions and a variety of loading configurations) can provide more accurate and more extensive information about the state of strain.
User-assisted image compositing for photographic lighting
Authors: Boyadzhiev Ivaylo , Paris Sylvain , Bala Kavita 
Published: July 2013

Good lighting is crucial in photography and can make the difference between a great picture and a discarded image. Traditionally, professional photographers work in a studio with many light sources carefully set up, with the goal of getting a near-final image at exposure time, with post-processing mostly focusing on aspects orthogonal to lighting. Recently, a new workflow has emerged for architectural and commercial photography, where photographers capture several photos from a fixed viewpoint with a moving light source. The objective is not to produce the final result immediately, but rather to capture useful data that are later processed, often significantly, in photo editing software to create the final well-lit image.This new workflow is flexible, requires less manual setup, and works well for time-constrained shots. But dealing with several tens of unorganized layers is painstaking, requiring hours to days of manual effort, as well as advanced photo editing skills. Our objective in this paper is to make the compositing step easier. We describe a set of optimizations to assemble the input images to create a fewbasis lightsthat correspond to common goals pursued by photographers, e.g., accentuating edges and curved regions. We also introducemodifiersthat capture standard photographic tasks, e.g., to alter the lights to soften highlights and shadows, akin to umbrellas and soft boxes. Our experiments with novice and professional users show that our approach allows them to quickly create satisfying results, whereas working with unorganized images requires considerably more time. Casual users particularly benefit from our approach since coping with a large number of layers is daunting for them and requires significant experience.
OpenSurfaces
Authors: Bell Sean , Upchurch Paul , Snavely Noah , Bala Kavita 
Published: July 2013

The appearance of surfaces in real-world scenes is determined by the materials, textures, and context in which the surfaces appear. However, the datasets we have for visualizing and modeling rich surface appearance in context, in applications such as home remodeling, are quite limited. To help address this need, we present OpenSurfaces, a rich, labeled database consisting of thousands of examples of surfaces segmented from consumer photographs of interiors, and annotated with material parameters (reflectance, material names), texture information (surface normals, rectified textures), and contextual information (scene category, and object names).
Retrieving usable surface information from uncalibrated Internet photo collections is challenging. We use human annotations and present a new methodology for segmenting and annotating materials in Internet photo collections suitable for crowdsourcing (e.g., through Amazon's Mechanical Turk). Because of the noise and variability inherent in Internet photos and novice annotators, designing this annotation engine was a key challenge; we present a multi-stage set of annotation tasks with quality checks and validation. We demonstrate the use of this database in proof-of-concept applications including surface retexturing and material and image browsing, and discuss future uses. OpenSurfaces is a public resource available at http://opensurfaces.cs.cornell.edu/.
Global illumination with radiance regression functions
Authors: Ren Peiran , Wang Jiaping , Gong Minmin , Lin Stephen , Tong Xin , Guo Baining 
Published: July 2013

We present radiance regression functions for fast rendering of global illumination in scenes with dynamic local light sources. A radiance regression function (RRF) represents a non-linear mapping from local and contextual attributes of surface points, such as position, viewing direction, and lighting condition, to their indirect illumination values. The RRF is obtained from precomputed shading samples through regression analysis, which determines a function that best fits the shading data. For a given scene, the shading samples are precomputed by an offline renderer.
The key idea behind our approach is to exploit the nonlinear coherence of the indirect illumination data to make the RRF both compact and fast to evaluate. We model the RRF as a multilayer acyclic feed-forward neural network, which provides a close functional approximation of the indirect illumination and can be efficiently evaluated at run time. To effectively model scenes with spatially variant material properties, we utilize an augmented set of attributes as input to the neural network RRF to reduce the amount of inference that the network needs to perform. To handle scenes with greater geometric complexity, we partition the input space of the RRF model and represent the subspaces with separate, smaller RRFs that can be evaluated more rapidly. As a result, the RRF model scales well to increasingly complex scene geometry and material variation. Because of its compactness and ease of evaluation, the RRF model enables real-time rendering with full global illumination effects, including changing caustics and multiple-bounce high-frequency glossy interreflections.