bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Traumatic Vertebral Fractures with Concomitant Fractures of the First Rib
Authors: Wang Hong‐wei , Xiang Qiang , Li Chang‐qing , Zhou Yue 
Published: May 2013

ObjectiveTo investigate the characteristics of patients with traumatic vertebral fractures and concomitant fractures of the first rib and their management.MethodsFrom January 2001 to December 2010, 17/3142 patients (0.5%) with traumatic vertebral fractures who presented to our hospitals had concomitant fractures of the first rib.ResultsThe study included 14 men (82.4%) and 3 women (17.6%) patients of age 32–57 years (mean, 46.6 years). The mechanisms of trauma were falls from heights in seven, motor vehicle accidents in five and direct collisions with blunt objects in five. Thirteen patients (76.5%) presented initially with pulmonary complications after sustaining trauma. Three patients sustained one rib fracture, two three rib fractures, three four rib fractures and 10 > five rib fractures. The injuries were right‐sided in three cases, left‐sided in three and bilateral in eleven. Four patients (23.5%) presented with craniocerebral injuries. According to the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) classification, 10 patients (58.8% of the total study group) had motor and sensory deficits (ASIA A–D). There were no vascular injuries or deaths.ConclusionTraumatic vertebral fractures with concomitant fractures of the first rib are associated with multisystem injuries, but not always with morbidity and mortality. A multidisciplinary approach, early diagnosis, appropriate treatment and observation in the intensive care unit may prevent morbidity and/or mortality.
Physiological mechanisms of seasonal and rapid cold‐hardening in insects
Authors: TEETS NICHOLAS M. , DENLINGER DAVID L. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractInsects have evolved a number of physiological mechanisms for coping with the detrimental effects of low temperature. As autumn progresses, insects use environmental signals such as shortening day lengths and gradually decreasing temperatures to trigger seasonal cold‐hardening adaptations. These mechanisms include dramatic changes in biochemistry, cell function and gene expression that permit improved cell function and viability at low temperature. Insects are also capable of enhancing cold tolerance on a much shorter time scale, in a process called rapid cold‐hardening (RCH). Rapid cold‐hardening allows insects to improve cold tolerance almost instantaneously (i.e. within minutes to hours) to cope with sudden cold snaps and regularly‐occurring diurnal drops in temperature. Initially, it was assumed that RCH would share many of the same basic mechanisms as seasonal cold‐hardening, albeit on a shorter time scale. Although there is some evidence supporting this, recent work has called into question some of the original hypotheses concerning the mechanisms of RCH. Also, some mechanisms important for seasonal cold‐hardening, such as up‐regulation of stress proteins, are unlikely to function at the temperatures and time scales at which RCH occurs. In the present review, the current understanding of the physiological mechanisms governing both seasonal cold‐hardening and RCH are summarized. A synthesis of the current literature suggests that these two forms of cold‐hardening may be more mechanistically distinct than originally anticipated.
Cardiovascular down‐regulation in essential hypotension: Relationships with autonomic control and sleep
Authors: Covassin Naima , de Zambotti Massimiliano , Cellini Nicola , Sarlo Michela , Stegagno Luciano 
Published: May 2013

AbstractIn this work, we aimed to clarify the autonomic involvement in the cardiovascular down‐regulation in essential hypotension. The relationships between cardiovascular response and sleep quality were also examined. Thirteen female hypotensives and 13 female normotensives performed a stress task followed by polysomnography. Measures derived from blood pressure monitoring, impedance cardiography, and heart rate variability were collected. Hypotensives exhibited lower cardiovascular and autonomic activation than controls during the task. While a better sleep quality (i.e., higher sleep efficiency and lower nocturnal wakefulness) correlated with a reduced reactivity in normotensives, the opposite pattern occurred in hypotensives. The results suggest that a blunted response in both autonomic branches underlies the cardiovascular hypoactivation in hypotension. Further, good sleep seems to be associated with optimal levels of physiological reactivity.
Improving the in vivo Persistence, Distribution and Function of Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes by Inhibiting the Tumor Immunosuppressive Microenvironment
Authors: Xu W. , Cai J. , Li S. , Zhang H. , Han J. , Wen M. , Wen J. , Gao F. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAdoptive cell transfer immunotherapy of malignant tumors has the problem of symbiosis between effector cells and tumor cells, a short in vivo residence time, and a poor killing efficiency of effector cells. Thus, releasing effector cells from the cancer immunosuppressive microenvironment and improving their effective time and functional status in vivo would seem to be ideal strategies for facilitating immunotherapy. Low‐dose cyclophosphamide administration can effectively break immunotolerance by inhibiting regulatory T cells. In the present study, in order to verify whether the persistence, distribution and function of effector cells can be improved by inhibiting immunosuppressive microenvironment, low‐dose cyclophosphamide was previously intraperitoneally injected into melanoma‐bearing C57BL/6 mice, thereafter, CFSE‐labeled cytotoxic T lymphocytes were transfused intravenously, and their effective time, distributive pattern, and killing efficiency in different groups were observed by measuring the fluorescence intensity and cell cycle of cytotoxic T lymphocytes distributed in various organs, in comparison with tumor growth. We found down‐regulating Tregs in vivo can simultaneously reduce the levels of interleukin‐10 and transforming growth factor‐β. Migration and distribution of cytotoxic T lymphocytes in vivo was found to vary with time. Inhibition of immunotolerance can significantly improve the persistence, distribution, and function of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Correspondingly, significantly higher secretion of perforin, granzyme B, IL‐2, and IFN‐γ in tumor tissues with decreased tumor growth was seen in the cyclophosphamide injection group than in the control group. Our study may provide useful information on the cyclophosphamide‐mediated mechanism for facilitating tumor immunotherapy by inhibiting the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.
Phylogeny and systematics of the bee genus Osmia (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) with emphasis on North American Melanosmia: subgenera, synonymies and nesting biology revisited
Authors: RIGHTMYER MOLLY G. , GRISWOLD TERRY , BRADY SEÁN G. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractThe predominantly Holarctic bee genus Osmia Panzer is species‐rich and behaviourally diverse. A robust phylogeny of this genus is important for understanding the evolution of the immense variety of morphological and behavioural traits exhibited by this group. We infer a phylogeny of Osmia using DNA sequence data obtained from three nuclear genes (elongation factor 1‐α, LW‐rhodopsin and CAD) and the mitochondrial gene COI. Our taxon sampling places special attention on North American members of the subgenus Melanosmia Schmiedeknecht; we discuss the novel placement of a number of species traditionally assigned to O. (Melanosmia) and examine the relative support for alternative classifications of this species‐rich subgenus. We use this new phylogeny to guide a reassessment of morphological and behavioural characters within Osmia. Our results provide support for the recognition of Osmia (Hapsidosmia), subgen.n., a monotypic subgenus containing Osmia iridis Cockerell & Titus. We synonymize Osmia (Mystacosmia) Snelling under O. (Melanosmia), syn.n. We synonymize Osmia (Acanthosmioides) Ashmead under O. (Melanosmia), syn.n., propose ‘odontogaster species group’ as a replacement for the subgeneric name Acanthosmioides, and refine the morphological characters that serve to diagnose the species group. We additionally propose ‘nigrifrons species group’ for a clade within O. (Melanosmia) containing most species formerly placed in Osmia (Centrosmia) Robertson. We demonstrate more cohesive patterns of nest substrate use in the nigrifrons and odontogaster species groups than was previously believed to occur, reconsider character polarity of aspects of the female mandible, and show that a large number of morphological characters have evolved convergently within the genus. In order to facilitate discussion of relevant taxa, we propose the following 15 new synonymies: O. bakeri Sandhouse under O. melanopleura Cockerell; O. crenulaticornis Michener under O. pinorum Cockerell; O. claremontensis Michener under O. sedula Sandhouse; O. cockerelli Sandhouse under O. dakotensis Michener; O. francisconis White under O. enixa Sandhouse; O. hurdi White under O. austromaritima Michener; O. sladeni Sandhouse under O. nifoata Cockerell; O. titusi Cockerell under O. phenax Cockerell; O. subtrevoris Cockerell, O. physariae Cockerell, and O. erecta Michener under O. giliarum Cockerell; and O. universitatis Cockerell, O. integrella Cockerell, O. amala Cockerell, and O. metitia Cockerell under O. nigrifrons Cresson, syn.n. We remove O. wyomingensis Michener from synonymy with O. nifoata Cockerell, stat.n., and O. pinorum Cockerell from synonymy with O. physariae Cockerell, stat.n.This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A3E7D63B‐5C4C‐4ACF‐BF33‐48E5C5DD1B0D.
Enhanced inhibitory neurotransmission in the cerebellar cortex of Atp1a3‐deficient heterozygous mice
Authors: Ikeda Keiko , Satake Shin’Ichiro , Onaka Tatsushi , Sugimoto Hiroki , Takeda Naoki , Imoto Keiji , Kawakami Kiyoshi 
Published: May 2013

Key points
Mutations of ATP1A3 cause rapid‐onset dystonia with parkinsonism (RDP) and alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC).
The mRNA of Atp1a3 was highly expressed in molecular‐layer interneurons and Purkinje cells in the developing mouse cerebellar cortex, and the gene product was observed as dots in the molecular layer, on the surface of Purkinje cell soma and the pinceaux.
Here we report that Atp1a3+/− mice showed increased symptoms of dystonia when being administrated kainate into cerebellum. We also found enhanced inhibitory neurotransmission between molecular‐layer interneurons and Purkinje cells in the developing cerebellum of Atp1a3+/− mice.
These findings suggest that ATP1A3 haploinsufficiency in the cerebellum has some effect on the inhibitory, but not the excitatory, circuitry and the interaction among different cell types during development. Disturbances of the cerebellar inhibitory network seem to be the underlying pathophysiological mechanism of dystonia among the increasing spectrum of complex neurological symptoms in RDP and AHC.
Abstract  Dystonia is characterized by excessive involuntary and prolonged simultaneous contractions of both agonist and antagonist muscles. Although the basal ganglia have long been proposed as the primary region, recent studies indicated that the cerebellum also plays a key role in the expression of dystonia. One hereditary form of dystonia, rapid‐onset dystonia with parkinsonism (RDP), is caused by loss of function mutations of the gene for the Na pump α3 subunit (ATP1A3). Little information is available on the affected brain regions and mechanism for dystonia by the mutations in RDP. The Na pump is composed of α and β subunits and maintains ionic gradients of Na+ and K+ across the cell membrane. The gradients are utilized for neurotransmitter reuptake and their alteration modulates neural excitability. To provide insight into the molecular aetiology of RDP, we generated and analysed knockout heterozygous mice (Atp1a3+/−). Atp1a3+/− showed increased symptoms of dystonia that is induced by kainate injection into the cerebellar vermis. Atp1a3 mRNA was highly expressed in Purkinje cells and molecular‐layer interneurons, and its product was concentrated at Purkinje cell soma, the site of abundant vesicular γ‐aminobutyric acid transporter (VGAT) signal, suggesting the presynaptic localization of the α3 subunit in the inhibitory synapse. Electrophysiological studies showed that the inhibitory neurotransmission at molecular‐layer interneuron–Purkinje cell synapses was enhanced in Atp1a3+/− cerebellar cortex, and that the enhancement originated via a presynaptic mechanism. Our results shed light on the role of Atp1a3 in the inhibitory synapse, and potential involvement of inhibitory synaptic dysfunction for the pathophysiology of dystonia.
The role of α‐adrenergic receptors in mediating beat‐by‐beat sympathetic vascular transduction in the forearm of resting man
Authors: Fairfax Seth T. , Holwerda Seth W. , Credeur Daniel P. , Zuidema Mozow Y. , Medley John H. , Dyke II Peter C. , Wray D. Walter , Davis Michael J. , Fadel Paul J. 
Published: May 2013

Key points
Sympathetic support of blood pressure demands the efficient control of vascular tone; however, little is known regarding how spontaneously occurring bursts of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) dynamically influence forearm vascular conductance.
This study examined the extent to which spontaneous MSNA bursts evoke changes in forearm vascular conductance and blood pressure with and without local α‐adrenergic blockade in young healthy men during supine rest.
We observed that under resting conditions, forearm vascular conductance increases briefly and then significantly decreases in association with the total amount of the preceding MSNA; however, during α‐adrenergic blockade the decrease in vascular conductance is eliminated.
These results indicate that normal variations in spontaneous MSNA burst activity are systematically followed by transient and robust responses of forearm vasoconstriction and that this influence is mediated via α‐adrenergic receptor mechanisms.
Abstract  Sympathetic vascular transduction is commonly understood to act as a basic relay mechanism, but under basal conditions, competing dilatory signals may interact with and alter the ability of sympathetic activity to decrease vascular conductance. Thus, we determined the extent to which spontaneous bursts of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) mediate decreases in forearm vascular conductance (FVC) and the contribution of local α‐adrenergic receptor‐mediated pathways to the observed FVC responses. In 19 young men, MSNA (microneurography), arterial blood pressure and brachial artery blood flow (duplex Doppler ultrasound) were continuously measured during supine rest. These measures were also recorded in seven men during intra‐arterial infusions of normal saline, phentolamine (PHEN) and PHEN with angiotensin II (PHEN+ANG). The latter was used to control for increases in resting blood flow with α‐adrenergic blockade. Spike‐triggered averaging was used to characterize beat‐by‐beat changes in FVC for 15 cardiac cycles following each MSNA burst and a peak response was calculated. Following MSNA bursts, FVC initially increased by +3.3 ± 0.3% (P= 0.016) and then robustly decreased to a nadir of −5.8 ± 1.6% (P < 0.001). The magnitude of vasoconstriction appeared graded with the number of consecutive MSNA bursts; while individual burst size only had a mild influence. Neither PHEN nor PHEN+ANG infusions affected the initial rise in FVC, but both infusions significantly attenuated the subsequent decrease in FVC (–2.1 ± 0.7% and –0.7 ± 0.8%, respectively; P < 0.001 vs. normal saline). These findings indicate that spontaneous MSNA bursts evoke robust beat‐by‐beat decreases in FVC that are exclusively mediated via α‐adrenergic receptors.
Concentration and High Avidity of Pneumococcal Antibodies Persist at Least 4 Years after Immunization with Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Infancy
Authors: Ekström Nina , Åhman Heidi , Palmu Arto , Grönholm Sinikka , Kilpi Terhi , Käyhty Helena 
Published: May 2013

ABSTRACTTo provide more extensive evidence of long-term effects of vaccination on immunity againstStreptococcus pneumoniae, a follow-up study of the Finnish Otitis Media (FinOM) Vaccine Trial was conducted. One of the objectives was to assess the persistence and avidity of pneumococcal antibodies 4 years after pneumococcal vaccination given in infancy. Children with complete follow-up in the FinOM trial up to 24 months of age were invited to a single visit in their fifth year of life. A blood sample was taken from all children for determination of anticapsular antibody concentrations to vaccine serotypes and avidity of antibodies to three serotypes. Children had been vaccinated at 2, 4, 6, and 12 months of age with 7-valent pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide, CRM197 conjugate vaccine (PCV7), or a control vaccine. Serum IgG antibody concentrations to vaccine serotypes remained significantly higher in children who had received PCV7 than in control children for 4 years after the fourth PCV7 dose. Concentrations of antibodies to frequently carried serotypes (6B and 19F) declined less than those of antibodies to a rarely carried serotype (4), suggesting that natural boosting contributed to antibody persistence. Furthermore, antibody avidity was significantly higher in PCV7 than control vaccine recipients. Four doses of PCV7 given in infancy elicit long-lasting antibody responses with high avidity. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT00378417.)
Use of Luminex MagPlex Magnetic Microspheres for High-Throughput Spoligotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Authors: Ocheretina Oksana , Merveille Yves Mary , Mabou Marie-Marcelle , Escuyer Vincent E. , Dunbar Sherry A. , Johnson Warren D. , Pape Jean W. , Fitzgerald Daniel W. 
Published: May 2013

ABSTRACT

Genotyping of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
strains became indispensable for understanding tuberculosis transmission dynamics and designing measures to combat the disease. Unfortunately, typing involves sophisticated laboratory analysis, is expensive, and requires a high level of technical expertise, which limited its use in the resource-poor countries where the majority of tuberculosis cases occur. Spoligotyping is a PCR-based
M. tuberculosis
complex genotyping method with advantages of technical simplicity, numerical output, and high reproducibility. It is based on the presence or absence of 43 distinct “spacers” separating insertion elements in the direct repeat region of the
M. tuberculosis
genome. The spoligotyping assay involves reverse hybridization of PCR products to the capture spacers attached to nitrocellulose membranes or to microspheres. Here we report modification of the classic 43-spacer method using the new generation of Luminex multiplexing technology with magnetic microspheres. The method was successfully established and validated on strains with known spoligotypes in our laboratory in Haiti. The distribution of spoligotypes determined in a collection of 758 recent
M. tuberculosis
isolates was in accordance with previous data for Haitian isolates in the SITWITWEB international database, which were obtained with the traditional membrane-based method. In the present form, spoligotyping may be suitable as a high-throughput, first-line tool for genotyping of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
in countries with limited resources.
A Novel Bivalent Vaccine Based on a PB2-Knockout Influenza Virus Protects Mice from Pandemic H1N1 and Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Virus Challenges
Authors: Uraki Ryuta , Kiso Maki , Iwatsuki-Horimoto Kiyoko , Fukuyama Satoshi , Takashita Emi , Ozawa Makoto , Kawaoka Yoshihiro 
Published: May 2013

ABSTRACTVaccination is an effective means to protect against influenza virus. Although inactivated and live-attenuated vaccines are currently available, each vaccine has disadvantages (e.g., immunogenicity and safety issues). To overcome these problems, we previously developed a replication-incompetent PB2-knockout (PB2-KO) influenza virus that replicates only in PB2 protein-expressing cells. Here, we generated two PB2-KO viruses whose PB2-coding regions were replaced with the HA genes of either A/California/04/2009 (H1N1pdm09) or A/Vietnam/1203/2004 (H5N1). The resultant viruses comparably, or in some cases more efficiently, induced virus-specific antibodies in the serum, nasal wash, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of mice relative to a conventional formalin-inactivated vaccine. Furthermore, mice immunized with these PB2-KO viruses were protected from lethal challenges with not only the backbone virus strain but also strains from which their foreign HAs originated, indicating that PB2-KO viruses with antigenically different HAs could serve as bivalent influenza vaccines.
Lysine Trimethylation of EF-Tu Mimics Platelet-Activating Factor To Initiate Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pneumonia
Authors: Barbier Mariette , Owings Joshua P. , Martínez-Ramos Inmaculada , Damron F. Heath , Gomila Rosa , Blázquez Jesús , Goldberg Joanna B. , Albertí Sebastián 
Published: May 2013

ABSTRACT

Pseudomonas aeruginosa
is a ubiquitous microorganism and the most common Gram-negative bacterium associated with nosocomial pneumonia, which is a leading cause of mortality among critically ill patients. Although many virulence factors have been identified in this pathogen, little is known about the bacterial components required to initiate infection in the host. Here, we identified a unique trimethyl lysine posttranslational modification of elongation factor Tu as a previously unrecognized bacterial ligand involved in early host colonization by
P. aeruginosa
. This modification is carried out by a novel methyltransferase, here named elongation factor Tu-modifying enzyme, resulting in a motif that is a structural mimic of the phosphorylcholine present in platelet-activating factor. This novel motif mediates bacterial attachment to airway respiratory cells through platelet-activating factor receptor and is a major virulence factor, expression of which is a prerequisite to pneumonia in a murine model of respiratory infection.

IMPORTANCE
Phosphorylcholine is an interesting molecule from the microbiological and immunological point of view. It is a crucial epitope for the virulence of many important human pathogens, modulates the host immune response, and is involved in a wide number of processes ranging from allergy to inflammation. Our current work identifies a novel bacterial surface epitope structurally and functionally similar to phosphorylcholine. This novel epitope is crucial for initial colonization of the respiratory tract by
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
and for development of pneumonia. This opens up new targets for the development of novel drugs to prevent
P. aeruginosa
pneumonia, which is particularly important given the frequent emergence of multidrug-resistant strains.