bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Distinct genomic organization, mRNA expression and cellular localization of members of two amastin sub-families present in Trypanosoma cruzi
Authors: Kangussu-Marcolino Monica Mendes , de Paiva Rita Márcia Cardoso , Araújo Patrícia Rosa , de Mendonça-Neto Rondon Pessoa , Lemos Laiane , Bartholomeu Daniella Castanheira , Mortara Renato A , daRocha Wanderson Duarte , Teixeira Santuza Maria Ribeiro 
Published: January 2013

Abstract

Background
Amastins are surface glycoproteins (approximately 180 residues long) initially described in Trypanosoma cruzi as particularly abundant during the amastigote stage of this protozoan parasite. Subsequently, they have been found to be encoded by large gene families also present in the genomes of several species of Leishmania and in other Trypanosomatids. Although most amastin genes are organized in clusters associated with tuzin genes and are up-regulated in the intracellular stage of T. cruzi and Leishmania spp, distinct genomic organizations and mRNA expression patterns have also been reported.

Results
Based on the analysis of the complete genome sequences of two T. cruzi strains, we identified a total of 14 copies of amastin genes in T. cruzi and showed that they belong to two of the four previously described amastin subfamilies. Whereas δ-amastin genes are organized in two or more clusters with alternating copies of tuzin genes, the two copies of β-amastins are linked together in a distinct chromosome. Most T. cruzi amastins have similar surface localization as determined by confocal microscopy and western blot analyses. Transcript levels for δ-amastins were found to be up-regulated in amastigotes from several T. cruzi strains, except in the G strain, which is known to have low infection capacity. In contrast, in all strains analysed, β-amastin transcripts are more abundant in epimastigotes, the stage found in the insect vector.

Conclusions
Here we showed that not only the number and diversity of T. cruzi amastin genes is larger than what has been predicted, but also their mode of expression during the parasite life cycle is more complex. Although most T. cruzi amastins have a similar surface localization, only δ-amastin genes have their expression up-regulated in amastigotes. The results showing that a sub-group of this family is up-regulated in epimastigotes, suggest that, in addition of their role in intracellular amastigotes, T. cruzi amastins may also serve important functions during the insect stage of the parasite life cycle. Most importantly, evidence for their role as virulence factors was also unveiled from the data showing that δ-amastin expression is down regulated in a strain presenting low infection capacity.
Specific genes involved in synthesis and editing of heparan sulfate proteoglycans show altered expression patterns in breast cancer
Authors: Fernández-Vega Iván , García Olivia , Crespo Ainara , Castañón Sonia , Menéndez Primitiva , Astudillo Aurora , Quirós Luis M 
Published: January 2013

Abstract

Background
The expression of a specific set of genes controls the different structures of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), which are involved in the growth, invasion and metastatic properties of cancerous cells. The purpose of this study is to increase knowledge of HSPG alterations in breast cancer.

Methods
Twenty-three infiltrating ductal adenocarcinomas (IDCs), both metastatic and non-metastatic were studied. A transcriptomic approach to the structure of heparan sulfate (HS) chains was used, employing qPCR to analyze both the expression of the enzymes involved in their biosynthesis and editing, as well as the proteoglycan core proteins. Since some of these proteoglycans can also carry chondroitin sulfate chains, we extended the study to include the genes involved in the biosynthesis of these glycosaminoglycans. Histochemical techniques were also used to analyze tissular expression of particular genes showing significant expression differences, of potential interest.

Results
No significant change in transcription was detected in approximately 70% of analyzed genes. However, 13 demonstrated changes in both tumor types (40% showing more intense deregulation in the metastatic), while 5 genes showed changes only in non-metastatic tumors. Changes were related to 3 core proteins: overexpression of syndecan-1 and underexpression of glypican-3 and perlecan. HS synthesis was affected by lower levels of some 3-O-sulfotransferase transcripts, the expression of NDST4 and, only in non metastatic tumors, higher levels of extracellular sulfatases. Furthermore, the expression of chondroitin sulfate also was considerably affected, involving both the synthesis of the saccharidic chains and sulfations at all locations. However, the pro-metastatic enzyme heparanase did not exhibit significant changes in mRNA expression, although in metastatic tumors it appeared related to increased levels of the most stable form of mRNA. Finally, the expression of heparanase 2, which displays anti-metastatic features, experienced a strong deregulation in all patients analyzed.

Conclusions
IDCs show alterations in the expression of HSPG genes; principally the expression and localization of proteoglycans and the sulfation patterns of glycosaminoglycan chains, depending on the metastatic nature of the tumor. In addition, the anti-proliferative molecule heparanase 2 experiences strong deregulation, thus highlighting it as a potentially interesting diagnostic factor.
Fluorescence modulation sensing of positively and negatively charged proteins on lipid bilayers
Authors: Robison Aaron D , Huang Da , Jung Hyunsook , Cremer Paul S 
Published: January 2013

Background
Detecting ligand-receptor binding on cell membrane surfaces is required to understand their function and behavior. Detection platforms can also provide an avenue for the development of medical devices and sensor biotechnology. The use of fluorescence techniques for such purposes is highly desirable as they provide high sensitivity. Herein, we describe a technique that utilizes the sensitivity of fluorescence without directly tagging the analyte of interest to monitor ligand-receptor interactions on supported lipid bilayers. The fluorescence signal is modulated according to the charge state of the target analyte. The binding event elicits protonation or deprotonation of pH-responsive reporter dyes embedded in the lipid bilayer.

Methods
Supported lipid membranes containing ortho-conjugated rhodamine B-POPE (1-hexadecanoyl-2-(9Z-octadecenoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine), which fluoresces in its protonated but not in its deprotonated form, were utilized as sensor platforms for biotin-avidin and biotin-streptavidin binding events. The membranes contained 5 mol% biotin-PE (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-(cap biotinyl) (sodium salt) as a capture ligand. Supported lipid bilayers were formed in the channels of microfluidic devices and the fluorescence intensity of the dye was monitored as protein was introduced.

Results
The binding of avidin, which is positively charged at pH 7.2, made the bilayer surface charge more positive, which in turn deprotonated the ortho-rhodamine B dye, reducing its fluorescence. The binding of streptavidin, which is negatively charged at pH 7.2, had the opposite effect. Reducing the ionic strength of the analyte solution by removing 150 mM NaCl from the 10 mM phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution raised the apparent pKa of the ortho-rhodamine B titration point by about 1 pH unit. This could be exploited in conjunction with bulk solution pH changes to turn the rhodamine B-POPE dye into a sensor for streptavidin involving a decrease, rather than an increase, in the fluorescence response, at pH values below streptavidin’s pI value.

Conclusions
This study demonstrates the ability to monitor ligand-receptor interactions on supported lipid bilayers through the protonation or deprotonation of reporter dyes for both negatively and positively charged analytes over a range of pH and ionic strength conditions. Specifically, the sensitivity and pH-operating range of this technique can be optimized by modulating the sensing conditions which are employed.
Evaluation of the relationship between GPR43 and adiposity in human
Authors: Dewulf Evelyne M , Ge Qian , Bindels Laure B , Sohet Florence M , Cani Patrice D , Brichard Sonia M , Delzenne Nathalie M 
Published: January 2013

Abstract

Background
GPR43 is a G-protein-coupled receptor that participates in adipocyte differentiation in mice and is over-expressed in adipose tissue of obese mice. The aim of this study was to investigate the implication of GPR43 in adipogenesis in humans and to determine the influence of obesity on its expression in human adipose tissue.

Findings
Preadipocytes were isolated from human omental adipose tissue and cultured during 13 days. One PPARγ agonist (troglitazone) and three GPR43 agonists (two physiological and one synthetic) were tested for their ability to induce differentiation. After 13 days, the three GPR43 agonists had no impact on aP2 expression, a marker of adipocyte differentiation, whereas troglitazone led to a huge over-expression of aP2 in these cells but tended to decrease GPR43 expression (p=0.06).
GPR43 and inflammatory markers expression was also quantified in omental adipose tissue from lean and obese individuals. GPR43 expression in total adipose tissue was similar between obese patients and lean subjects and did not correlate with aP2 expression. In contrast, GPR43 expression positively correlated with TNFα mRNA.

Conclusions
Our results suggest the absence of relationship between GPR43 and adipocyte differentiation in humans, unlike what was observed in mice. Furthermore, GPR43 expression is not increased in adipose tissue from obese subjects but could be related to TNFα-related inflammatory processes.
Serum amyloid P inhibits granulocyte adhesion
Authors: Maharjan Anu S , Roife David , Brazill Derrick , Gomer Richard H 
Published: January 2013

AbstractBackgroundThe extravasation of granulocytes (such as neutrophils) at a site of inflammation is a key aspect of the innate immune system. Signals from the site of inflammation upregulate granulocyte adhesion to the endothelium to initiate extravasation, and also enhance granulocyte adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins to facilitate granulocyte movement through the inflamed tissue. During the resolution of inflammation, other signals inhibit granulocyte adhesion to slow and ultimately stop granulocyte influx into the tissue. In a variety of inflammatory diseases such as acute respiratory distress syndrome, an excess infiltration of granulocytes into a tissue causes undesired collateral damage, and being able to reduce granulocyte adhesion and influx could reduce this damage.ResultsWe found that serum amyloid P (SAP), a constitutive protein component of the blood, inhibits granulocyte spreading and granulocyte adhesion to extracellular matrix components. This indicates that in addition to granulocyte adhesion inhibitors that are secreted during the resolution of inflammation, a granulocyte adhesion inhibitor is present at all times in the blood. Although SAP affects adhesion, it does not affect the granulocyte adhesion molecules CD11b, CD62L, CD18, or CD44. SAP also has no effect on the production of hydrogen peroxide by resting or stimulated granulocytes, orN-formyl-methionine-leucine-phenylalanine (fMLP)-induced granulocyte migration. In mice treated with intratracheal bleomycin to induce granulocyte accumulation in the lungs, SAP injections reduced the number of granulocytes in the lungs.ConclusionsWe found that SAP, a constitutive component of blood, is a granulocyte adhesion inhibitor. We hypothesize that SAP allows granulocytes to sense whether they are in the blood or in a tissue.
Publishing and discovering context-dependent services
Authors: Ibrahim Naseem , Mohammad Mubarak , Alagar Vangalur 
Published: January 2013

AbstractIn service oriented computing, service providers and service requesters are main interacting entities. A service provider publishes the services it wishes to make public using service registries. A service requester initiates a discovery process to find the service that meets its requirements using the service registries. Current approaches for the publication and discovery do not realize the essential relationship between the service contract and the conditions in which the service can guarantee its contract. Moreover, they do not use any formal methods for specifying services, contracts, and compositions. Without a formal basis it is not possible to justify through a rigorous verification the correctness conditions for service compositions and the satisfaction of contractual obligations in service provisions. In our recent works, we have identified the role of contextual information, trustworthiness information and legal rules in service provision. This paper focuses on the publication and discovery of trustworthy context-dependent services as supported by the novel framework FrSeC. It introduces a novel ranking algorithm that ranks trustworthy context-dependent services according to the degree they match service requesters requirements. Finally, this paper introduces a prototype implementation for the matching and ranking of services as supported by FrSeC.
Combining creatinine and volume kinetics identifies missed cases of acute kidney injury following cardiac arrest
Authors: Pickering John W , Ralib Azrina Md , Endre Zoltán H 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
Introduction
Fluid resuscitation in the critically ill often results in a positive fluid balance, potentially diluting the serum creatinine concentration and delaying diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI).

Methods
Dilution during AKI was quantified by combining creatinine and volume kinetics to account for fluid type, and rates of fluid infusion and urine output. The model was refined using simulated patients receiving crystalloids or colloids under four glomerular filtration rate (GFR) change scenarios and then applied to a cohort of critically ill patients following cardiac arrest.

Results
The creatinine concentration decreased during six hours of fluid infusion at 1 litre-per-hour in simulated patients, irrespective of fluid type or extent of change in GFR (from 0% to 67% reduction). This delayed diagnosis of AKI by 2 to 9 hours. Crystalloids reduced creatinine concentration by 11 to 19% whereas colloids reduced concentration by 36 to 43%. The greatest reduction was at the end of the infusion period. Fluid dilution alone could not explain the rapid reduction of plasma creatinine concentration observed in 39 of 49 patients after cardiac arrest. Additional loss of creatinine production could account for those changes. AKI was suggested in six patients demonstrating little change in creatinine, since a 52 ± 13% reduction in GFR was required after accounting for fluid dilution and reduced creatinine production. Increased injury biomarkers within a few hours of cardiac arrest, including urinary cystatin C and plasma and urinary Neutrophil-Gelatinase-Associated-Lipocalin (biomarker-positive, creatinine-negative patients) also indicated AKI in these patients.

Conclusions
Creatinine and volume kinetics combined to quantify GFR loss, even in the absence of an increase in creatinine. The model improved disease severity estimation, and demonstrated that diagnostic delays due to dilution are minimally affected by fluid type. Creatinine sampling should be delayed at least one hour following a large fluid bolus to avoid dilution. Unchanged plasma creatinine post cardiac arrest signifies renal injury and loss of function.

Trial registration
Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12610001012066.
Successful Clinical Use of Daptomycin-Impregnated Bone Cement in Two-Stage Revision Hip Surgery for Prosthetic Joint Infection
Authors: Cortes Nicholas J , Lloyd John M , Koziol Leszek , O'Hara Lawrence 
Published: January 2013

OBJECTIVE To describe the safe and successful use of daptomycin-impregnated polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) bone cement in the treatment of a case of recurrent prosthetic joint infection in a patient with multiple antibiotic allergies and past colonization with multiply antibiotic-resistant organisms. CASE SUMMARY A 79-year-old female had a history of chronic recurrent left prosthetic hip infection. The patient had confirmed allergies to multiple antibiotics and a past history of colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. At first-stage revision surgery, the infected prosthesis was removed and samples were sent for microbiologic culture. A spacer device was fashioned, with incorporation of daptomycin and gentamicin into the PMMA bone cement at a concentration of 5% w/w for each antibiotic. Systemic daptomycin and gentamicin were administered postoperatively for 14 days. Propionibacterium acnes was isolated from deep-tissue specimens. The patient made excellent postoperative progress and was discharged after 2 weeks. Second-stage revision surgery was performed at 6 months, with no signs of persistent infection. She remained well, pain free, and mobilizing independently 2 years later. DISCUSSION Daptomycin, a cyclic lipopeptide antibiotic, is approved for systemic treatment of endocarditis and skin and soft tissue infections. In vitro data demonstrate acceptable drug elution from and tensile strength of daptomycin-impregnated PMMA bone cement; however, clinical data are lacking. In our patient's case, the cement formulation was well tolerated, with no adverse effects detected, and demonstrated adequate mechanical strength in vivo. Infection with P. acnes, an unusual pathogen, was successfully treated. Further clinical studies are required to assess the efficacy of daptomycin-impregnated cement in infection with more typical pathogens, such as S. aureus. CONCLUSIONS Daptomycin impregnation of PMMA bone cement may be an option in cases in which patient or pathogen factors preclude use of routinely incorporated agents.
Tissue kallikrein, blood pressure regulation, and hypertension: insight from genetic kallikrein deficiency
Authors: Potier Louis , Waeckel Ludovic , Richer Christine , Roussel Ronan , Bouby Nadine , Alhenc-Gelas Francois 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
Tissue kallikrein has been suggested to be involved in blood pressure regulation and in protection against hypertension. However, this hypothesis remains debated. Recently, murine genetic models of kallikrein deficiency have been engineered and partial genetic deficiency in kallikrein activity has been characterized in humans. Studies in kallikrein-deficient mice indicate that kallikrein indeed influences blood pressure in the setting of mineralocorticoid excess and salt retention but not in normotensive animals and in high renin hypertension. These observations suggest that kallikrein can have antihypertensive function in physiological situations where sodium retention can trigger blood pressure elevation.
Adolescents with diabetes: support from healthcare teams and families
Authors: Singh Emma , Farruggia Susan P. , Peterson Elizabeth R. 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
Adolescents with diabetes must learn to manage their own health plans. Support from family is typically associated with positive self-management outcomes, yet less is known about how healthcare teams can facilitate positive self-management. This study aims to investigate the associations between family and healthcare team support and adolescent emotional, behavioral and physical diabetes management.
Method: A sample of 58 adolescents with type 1 diabetes completed self-report measures of their diabetes self-care management and their emotional distress or burden in relation to their diabetes. Adolescents’ diabetes clinic attendance and glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c) levels were also secured.
Results: Perceived positive support from the healthcare team or family appeared to have little or negative effect on diabetes management. However, the study found that greater healthcare non-support was related to poorer self-care and poorer self-management of diabetes control (less clinic attendance, poorer dietary control, less glucose testing, and higher HBA1c levels), and greater feelings of being distressed or burdened by diabetes.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that healthcare teams supporting adolescents should focus more on communicating and building relationships with adolescents in order to reduce perceived negative feelings of healthcare teams’ support.
OLED degradation described by using a time-dependent local relaxation model
Authors: Racine Benoît , Féry Christophe , Bettinelli Armand , Doyeux Henri , Ciná Salvatore 
Published: January 2013

AbstractThe main mechanisms responsible for the luminance degradation in OLEDs driven under constant current has not yet been identified. In this paper we propose a new approach to describe the intrinsic mechanisms involved in the OLED aging. We will first show that a stretched exponential decay can be used to fit almost all the luminance vs time curves obtained under different driving conditions. In this way we are able to prove that they can all be described by employing a single free parameter model.By using as an approach based on local relaxation events, we will demonstrate that a single mechanism is responsible for the dominant aging process. Furthermore, we will demonstrate that the main relaxation event is the annihilation of one emissive center.We will then use our model to fit all the experimental data measured under different driving condition, and show that by carefully fitting the accelerated luminance lifetime-curves, we can extrapolate the low-luminance lifetime needed for real display applications, with a high degree of accuracy.
Change in School Nutrition–Related Laws From 2003 to 2008: Evidence From the School Nutrition–Environment State Policy Classification System
Authors: Mâsse Louise C. , Perna Frank , Agurs-Collins Tanya , Chriqui Jamie F. 
Published: January 2013

Objectives. We examined state laws affecting the school food environment and changes in these laws between 2003 to 2008. Methods. We used the Westlaw legal database to identify state-codified laws, with scoring derived from the updated School Nutrition–Environment State Policy Classification System, obtained from the Classification of Laws Associated With School Students Web site. Results. States significantly changed their school nutrition laws from 2003 to 2008, and many increased the stringency of the laws targeting competitive foods (snacks and entrées sold in competition with the school meal) and beverages sold in school and for in-school fundraising. Many states enacted laws that mandated the establishment of a coordinating or advisory wellness team or council. Stronger laws were enacted for elementary grades. We found tremendous variability in the strength of the laws and plenty of room for improvement. Conclusions. State law governing school nutrition policies significantly changed from 2003 to 2008, primarily affecting the competitive food environment in schools. The extent to which changes in school nutrition laws will lead to desired health outcomes is an area for additional research.