bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effect of Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide on pregnancy in the rat
Authors: Kunnen A , van Pampus MG , Aarnoudse JG , van der Schans CP , Abbas F , Faas MM 
Published: August 2013

ObjectivePeriodontitis, mostly associated with Porphyromonas gingivalis, has frequently been related to adverse pregnancy outcomes. We therefore investigated whether lipopolysaccharides of P. gingivalis (Pg‐LPS) induced pregnancy complications in the rat.MethodsExperiment 1: pregnant rats (day 14) received increasing Pg‐LPS doses (0.0–50.0 μg kg−1 bw; n = 2/3 p per dose). Maternal intra‐aortic blood pressure, urinary albumin excretion, placental and foetal weight and foetal resorptions were documented. Experiment 2: 10.0 μg kg−1 bw (which induced the highest blood pressure together with decreased foetal weight in experiment 1) or saline was infused in pregnant and non‐pregnant rats (n = 7/9 p per group). Parameters of experiment 1 and numbers of peripheral leucocytes as well as signs of inflammation in the kidney and placenta were evaluated.ResultsPg‐LPS infusion in pregnant rats increased maternal systolic blood pressure, reduced placental weight (dose dependently) and decreased foetal weight and induced foetal resorptions. It, however, did not induce proteinuria or a generalised inflammatory response. No effects of Pg‐LPS were seen in non‐pregnant rats.ConclusionPg‐LPS increased maternal blood pressure, induced placental and foetal growth restriction, and increased foetal resorptions, without inducing proteinuria and inflammation. Pg‐LPS may therefore play a role in pregnancy complications induced by periodontitis.
Medical profile of patients accessing hospital‐based emergency dental care
Authors: Patel N , Broadfield L.J. , Mellor A.C. 
Published: August 2013

AbstractAimThe aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of medical conditions and medications used by patients accessing emergency dental care at Manchester Dental Hospital.Materials and methodsThe records of 400 randomly selected adult patients seeking emergency dental treatment at Manchester Dental Hospital from October 2011 to July 2012 were reviewed.ResultsFrom the 400 patients reviewed, 137 (34%) patients had a medically compromising condition. The most commonly presenting conditions were cardiovascular disorders, respiratory disorders, diabetes/endocrine disorders and psychiatric disorders. Twenty‐nine per cent were taking prescribed medication.ConclusionsOver a third of patients presenting to our emergency dental service had one or more medically compromising conditions. It is vital that dentists have an adequate knowledge about these conditions and how treatment may need to be modified in these patients. A detailed medical history is essential for all patients.
Diversity and palaeoecology of the enigmatic genus Knebelia (Eucrustacea, Decapoda, Eryonidae) from Upper Jurassic plattenkalks in southern Germany
Authors: Audo Denis , Schweigert Günter , Haug Joachim T. , Haug Carolin , Saint Martin Jean‐Paul , Charbonnier Sylvain 
Published: August 2013

AbstractFor a long time, the genus Knebelia Van Straelen, 1922 has comprised two species of eryonid lobster, K. bilobata (Münster, 1839) and K. schuberti (Meyer, 1836), both recorded exclusively from Late Jurassic Lagerstätten in southern Germany. Recently, the latter has been suggested to represent a juvenile individual of Cycleryon propinquus (Schlotheim, 1822). A re‐examination of the type and new material has led to our rejection of that interpretation and confirmation of assignment of this species to Knebelia. Two specimens, both possessing short frontal lobes, from plattenkalks at Nusplingen (late Kimmeridgian) and at Solnhofen (early Tithonian), respectively, are here assigned to a new species, K. totoroi sp. nov. This new species and a review of K. bilobata have furnished new insights into the origin and function of the frontal lobes, which are expansions articulated to the front of the carapace. They probably functioned as rudders facilitating ‘tail‐flip swimming’ as observed in the paddle‐like antennae of extant scyllarids (Eucrustacea, Decapoda, Scyllaridae). The rudder‐like lobes identified in Knebelia may therefore represent a case of convergent evolution.
Decoding tufa and travertine (fresh water carbonates) in the sedimentary record: The state of the art
Authors: Capezzuoli Enrico , Gandin Anna , Pedley Martyn 
Published: August 2013

AbstractTraditionally, fresh water carbonate research has focused on the sedimentology and palaeontology of ancient lacustrine deposits. Lithofacies in such low‐energy deposits are typically fine‐grained, developed uniformly in a generally concentric distribution (‘bulls‐eye’ pattern) and are predictable even when preserved imperfectly. In contrast, because of their local lithofacies and palaeontological complexities, fluvial carbonates were either delegated to a status of ‘minor geomorphological features’ or barely considered prior to the 1970s. This viewpoint was based on the depositional record of fluvial and spring‐fed fresh water carbonates, which were considered to be restricted generally to localized karstic areas. Such deposits are often preserved as scattered patches of ambient temperature tufa. Occasionally, however, in active tectonic areas, localized travertine deposits are also developed from deeply circulating hydrothermal waters. With a few exceptions (for example, basins with high subsidence rates or in arid climate zones), these fresh water carbonates are prone to erosion from continuing river incision and thus may not be preserved in the geological record. A partial record of fluvial and spring‐deposited carbonates is often preserved in Quaternary deposits, but the record in older deposits is typically fragmentary and often diagenetically modified. Yet once their unique facies architecture (and specialized nomenclature) is understood, these carbonates provide an important record of past sedimentological cycles of great value in palaeoenvironmental landscape modelling. The emphasis of modern research is to acquire information that explains how active systems function. In this respect, tufas reveal much of how carbonate precipitation is a shared product of physico‐chemical and microbiological biomediation processes. Likewise, travertines not only show an intimate interrelation with active tectonism but also hold great potential as monitors of past volcanic carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, both tufas and travertines contain palynological records that can be used as proxy indicators of climate change. Perhaps no other field of sedimentology has witnessed more developments and applications over such a brief period of study.
The ICMJE authorship criteria: a response from the editors
Authors: Cairncross Sandy , van Asten Henri , Jaffar Shabbar , Junghanss Thomas , Meyer Christian G. , Van der Stuyft Patrick 
Published: August 2013

Tout d'abord, nous sommes en désaccord avec le traitement de la recherche opérationnelle différemment de la recherche “académique” et comme nécessitant des normes et une apologie distinctes. Nous pensons que le débat serait plus clair si, au lieu des termes recherche «académique» et «opérationnelle», on parle plutôt de recherche dans des «tours d'ivoires» et dans le «monde réel» respectivement. Deuxièmement, même si nous partageons la préoccupation de Zachariah et al. de faire participer les gestionnaires de programmes, les décideurs et autres intervenants dans le processus de recherche, nous voyons la paternité d'auteur scientifique comme une incitation, mais pas seulement pour encourager les «l'octroi de permission». Nous voyons cela comme motivant un esprit de recherche, la promotion de la recherche et la participation active à la recherche, afin d'informer les prises de décisions dans le domaine de la médecine tropicale et de la santé internationale.
Effects of optional structural elements, including two alternative amino termini and a new splicing cassette IV, on the function of the sodium–bicarbonate cotransporter NBCn1 (SLC4A7)
Authors: Liu Ying , Qin Xue , Wang Deng‐Ke , Guo Yi‐Min , Gill Harindarpal S. , Morris Nathan , Parker Mark D. , Chen Li‐Ming , Boron Walter F. 
Published: August 2013

Key points
The human SLC4A7 gene and the mouse Slc4a7 gene each have alternative promoters that can yield two groups of NBCn1 variants, one in which the extreme N terminus begins with MEAD (representing the first four residues of the N‐terminal domain (Nt)) and the other in which it begins with MERF.
The mouse Slc4a7 gene contains, and the human SLC4A7 gene is predicted to contain, a novel exon that encodes an alternatively spliced cassette IV of 20 aa in the cytoplasmic Nt domain of NBCn1. This new cassette IV is in a position homologous to that of a previously described cassette in the Nt of NBCn2.
From combinations of known optional structural elements (OSEs), SLC4A7 is theoretically able to produce 32 major variants, of which 16 have now been identified, 10 for the first time in the present study.
With heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes, the OSEs have strong effects on surface abundance and intrinsic HCO3− transport activity. Cassettes II, III and the novel cassette IV have stimulatory effects on the intrinsic HCO3− transport activity of NBCn1.
Abstract  The SLC4A7 gene encodes the electroneutral sodium/HCO3 cotransporter NBCn1, which plays important physiological and pathophysiological roles in many cell types. Previous work identified six NBCn1 variants differing in the sequence of the extreme N terminus – MEAD in rat only, MERF in human only – as well as in the optional inclusion of cassettes I, II, and III. Earlier work also left open the question of whether optional structural elements (OSEs) affect surface abundance or intrinsic (per‐molecule) transport activity. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that SLC4A7 from one species can express both MEAD‐ and MERF‐NBCn1. We also identify a novel cassette IV of 20 aa, and extend by 10 the number of full‐length NBCn1 variants. The alternative N termini and four cassettes could theoretically produce 32 major variants. Moreover, we identify a group of cDNAs predicted to encode just the cytosolic N‐terminal domain (Nt) of NBCn1. A combination of electrophysiology and biotinylation shows that the OSEs can affect surface abundance and intrinsic HCO3− transport activity of NBCn1, as expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Specifically, MEAD tends to increase whereas novel cassette IV reduces surface abundance. Cassettes II, III and novel cassette IV all appear to increase the intrinsic activity of NBCn1.
The role of myogenic mechanisms in human cerebrovascular regulation
Authors: Tan Can Ozan , Hamner J. W. , Taylor J. Andrew 
Published: August 2013

Key points
The autoregulatory capacity of the cerebral vasculature allows for maintenance of relatively stable blood flow in the face of fluctuating arterial pressure to protect neural tissue from wide swings in oxygen and nutrient delivery.
We recently found that neurogenic control plays an active role in autoregulation. Although myogenic pathways have also been hypothesized to play a role, previous data have not provided an unequivocal answer.
We examined cerebral blood flow responses to augmented arterial pressure oscillations with and without calcium channel blockade, and characterized autoregulation via a robust non‐linear method.
Blockade significantly altered the non‐linearity between pressure and flow, particularly at the slowest fluctuations, and the same rate of change in pressure elicited a larger change in flow than at baseline.
These results show that myogenic mechanisms also play a significant role in cerebrovascular regulation, and help us better understand physiological mechanisms that underlie cerebral autoregulation in humans.
Abstract  Although myogenic mechanisms have been hypothesized to play a role in cerebrovascular regulation, previous data from both animals and humans have not provided an unequivocal answer. However, cerebral autoregulation is explicitly non‐linear and most prior work relied on simple linear approaches for assessment, potentially missing important changes in autoregulatory characteristics. Therefore, we examined cerebral blood flow responses to augmented arterial pressure oscillations with and without calcium channel blockade (nicardipine) during blood pressure fluctuations (oscillatory lower body negative pressure, OLBNP) across a range of frequencies in 16 healthy subjects. Autoregulation was characterized via a robust non‐linear method (projection pursuit regression, PPR). Blockade resulted in significant tachycardia, a modest but significant elevation in mean arterial pressure, and reductions in mean cerebral blood flow and end‐tidal CO2 during OLBNP. The reductions in flow were directly related to the reductions in CO2 (r= 0.57). While linear cross‐spectral analysis showed that the relationship between pressure–flow fluctuations was preserved after blockade, PPR showed that blockade significantly altered the non‐linearity between pressure and flow, particularly at the slowest fluctuations. At 0.03 Hz, blockade reduced the range of pressure fluctuations that can be buffered (7.5 ± 1.0 vs. 3.7 ± 0.8 mmHg) while increasing the autoregulatory slope (0.10 ± 0.05 vs. 0.24 ± 0.08 cm s−1 mmHg−1). Furthermore, the same rate of change in pressure elicited a change in flow more than twice as large as at baseline. Thus, our results show that myogenic mechanisms play a significant role in cerebrovascular regulation but this may not be appreciated without adequately characterizing the non‐linearities inherent in cerebrovascular regulation.
Osmotic water transport in aquaporins: evidence for a stochastic mechanism
Authors: Zeuthen Thomas , Alsterfjord Magnus , Beitz Eric , MacAulay Nanna 
Published: August 2013

Key points
We test a novel model of osmosis in aquaporins.
A solute molecule present at the pore mouth can be reflected or permeate the pore; we propose that only reflected molecules induce osmotic water transport, while permeating molecules give rise to no water transport.
We tested a range of channel geometries using aquaporins AQP1 and AQP9 and mutants thereof; the aquaporins were expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Osmotic gradients were generated by solutes of molecular weights in the range 45–595 Daltons. The reflected fraction of a given solute was estimated optically and compared to the permeability obtained from uptakes of radio‐labelled solutes.
In accordance with our model there was a linear relationship between solute permeability and reflection coefficient: solutes with high permeability had low reflection coefficients and vice versa.
We found no evidence for significant coupling between water and solute fluxes inside the pore.
Abstract  We test a novel, stochastic model of osmotic water transport in aquaporins. A solute molecule present at the pore mouth can either be reflected or permeate the pore. We assume that only reflected solute molecules induce osmotic transport of water through the pore, while permeating solute molecules give rise to no water transport. Accordingly, the rate of water transport is proportional to the reflection coefficient σ, while the solute permeability, PS, is proportional to 1 –σ. The model was tested in aquaporins heterologously expressed in Xenopus oocytes. A variety of aquaporin channel sizes and geometries were obtained with the two aquaporins AQP1 and AQP9 and mutant versions of these. Osmotic water transport was generated by adding 20 mm of a range of different‐sized osmolytes to the outer solution. The osmotic water permeability and the reflection coefficient were measured optically at high resolution and compared to the solute permeability obtained from short‐term uptake of radio‐labelled solute under isotonic conditions. For each type of aquaporin there was a linear relationship between solute permeability and reflection coefficient, in accordance with the model. We found no evidence for coupling between water and solute fluxes in the pore. In confirmation of molecular dynamic simulations, we conclude that the magnitude of the osmotic water permeability and the reflection coefficient are determined by processes at the arginine selectivity filter located at the outward‐facing end of the pore.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern and Epidemiology of Female Urinary Tract Infections in South Korea, 2010-2011
Authors: Lee Dong Sup , Choe Hyun-Sop , Lee Sung Jong , Bae Woong Jin , Cho Hyeong Jun , Yoon Byung Il , Cho Yong-Hyun , Han Chang Hee , Jang Hoon , Park Su Bum , Cho Won Jin , Lee Seung-Ju 
Published: August 2013

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to (i) investigate the antimicrobial susceptibilities of bacteria that cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) in outpatient and inpatient settings and (ii) evaluate the risk factors for emerging antimicrobial drug resistance in UTIs in South Korea. In total, 3,023 samples without duplication were collected from females between 25 and 65 years of age who had been diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. Multicenter patient data were collected using a Web-based electronic system and then evaluated. The isolation rates of
Escherichia coli
,
Klebsiella pneumoniae
, and
Enterococcus faecium
in the outpatient setting were 78.1, 4.7, and 1.3%, respectively; in the inpatient setting, the isolation rates of these microorganisms were 37.8, 9.9, and 14.8%, respectively. The susceptibilities of
E. coli
to amikacin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefotaxime, cefoxitin, ciprofloxacin, piperacillin-tazobactam, and imipenem in the outpatient setting were 99.4, 79.8, 89.4, 92.8, 69.8, 96.9, and 100.0%, respectively; in the inpatient setting, the susceptibilities to these antibiotics were 97.8, 73.9, 73.7, 82.1, 53.6, 93.2, and 100.0%, respectively. The most unique and common risk factor for emerging antimicrobial-resistant
E. coli
,
K. pneumoniae
, and
E. faecium
was previous exposure to antimicrobials. On the basis of these data, the use of fluoroquinolones should be reserved until culture data are available for the treatment of UTIs in South Korea. The present study will serve as a useful reference for Far Eastern Asia.
Improving the Lethal Effect of Cpl-7, a Pneumococcal Phage Lysozyme with Broad Bactericidal Activity, by Inverting the Net Charge of Its Cell Wall-Binding Module
Authors: Díez-Martínez Roberto , de Paz Héctor , Bustamante Noemí , García Ernesto , Menéndez Margarita , García Pedro 
Published: August 2013

ABSTRACT

Phage endolysins are murein hydrolases that break the bacterial cell wall to provoke lysis and release of phage progeny. Recently, these enzymes have also been recognized as powerful and specific antibacterial agents when added exogenously. In the pneumococcal system, most cell wall associated murein hydrolases reported so far depend on choline for activity, and Cpl-7 lysozyme constitutes a remarkable exception. Here, we report the improvement of the killing activity of the Cpl-7 endolysin by inversion of the sign of the charge of the cell wall-binding module (from −14.93 to +3.0 at neutral pH). The engineered variant, Cpl-7S, has 15 amino acid substitutions and an improved lytic activity against
Streptococcus pneumoniae
(including multiresistant strains),
Streptococcus pyogenes
, and other pathogens. Moreover, we have demonstrated that a single 25-μg dose of Cpl-7S significantly increased the survival rate of zebrafish embryos infected with
S. pneumoniae
or
S. pyogenes
, confirming the killing effect of Cpl-7S
in vivo
. Interestingly, Cpl-7S, in combination with 0.01% carvacrol (an essential oil), was also found to efficiently kill Gram-negative bacteria such as
Escherichia coli
and
Pseudomonas putida
, an effect not described previously. Our findings provide a strategy to improve the lytic activity of phage endolysins based on facilitating their pass through the negatively charged bacterial envelope, and thereby their interaction with the cell wall target, by modulating the net charge of the cell wall-binding modules.
Adaptation of Enterococcus faecalis to Daptomycin Reveals an Ordered Progression to Resistance
Authors: Miller Corwin , Kong Jiayi , Tran Truc T. , Arias Cesar A. , Saxer Gerda , Shamoo Yousif 
Published: August 2013

ABSTRACT

With increasing numbers of hospital-acquired antibiotic resistant infections each year and staggering health care costs, there is a clear need for new antimicrobial agents, as well as novel strategies to extend their clinical efficacy. While genomic studies have provided a wealth of information about the alleles associated with adaptation to antibiotics, they do not provide essential information about the relative importance of genomic changes, their order of appearance, or potential epistatic relationships between adaptive changes. Here we used quantitative experimental evolution of a single polymorphic population in continuous culture with whole-genome sequencing and allelic frequency measurements to study daptomycin (DAP) resistance in the vancomycin-resistant clinical pathogen
Enterococcus faecalis
S613. Importantly, we sustained both planktonic and nonplanktonic (i.e., biofilm) populations in coculture as the concentration of antibiotic was raised, facilitating the development of more ecological complexity than is typically observed in laboratory evolution. Quantitative experimental evolution revealed a clear order and hierarchy of genetic changes leading to resistance, the signaling and metabolic pathways responsible, and the relative importance of these mutations to the evolution of DAP resistance. Despite the relative simplicity of this
ex vivo
approach compared to the ecological complexity of the human body, we showed that experimental evolution allows for rapid identification of clinically relevant adaptive molecular pathways and new targets for drug design in pathogens.
Role of Yersinia pestis Toxin Complex Family Proteins in Resistance to Phagocytosis by Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes
Authors: Spinner Justin L. , Carmody Aaron B. , Jarrett Clayton O. , Hinnebusch B. Joseph 
Published: August 2013

ABSTRACT

Yersinia pestis
carries homologues of the toxin complex (Tc) family proteins, which were first identified in other Gram-negative bacteria as having potent insecticidal activity. The
Y. pestis
Tc proteins are neither toxic to fleas nor essential for survival of the bacterium in the flea, even though
tc
gene expression is highly upregulated and much more of the Tc proteins YitA and YipA are produced in the flea than when
Y. pestis
is grown
in vitro
. We show that Tc
+
and Tc
−
Y. pestis
strains are transmitted equivalently from coinfected fleas, further demonstrating that the Tc proteins have no discernible role, either positive or negative, in transmission by the flea vector. Tc proteins did, however, confer
Y. pestis
with increased resistance to killing by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). Resistance to killing was not the result of decreased PMN viability or increased intracellular survival but instead correlated with a Tc protein-dependent resistance to phagocytosis that was independent of the type III secretion system (T3SS). Correspondingly, we did not detect T3SS-dependent secretion of the native Tc proteins YitA and YipA or the translocation of YitA– or YipA–β-lactamase fusion proteins into CHO-K1 (CHO) cells or human PMNs. Thus, although highly produced by
Y. pestis
within the flea and related to insecticidal toxins, the Tc proteins do not affect interaction with the flea or transmission. Rather, the
Y. pestis
Tc proteins inhibit phagocytosis by mouse PMNs, independent of the T3SS, and may be important for subverting the mammalian innate immune response immediately following transmission from the flea.