bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Are trans‐complementation systems suitable for hepatitis C virus life cycle studies?
Authors: Fournier C. , Duverlie G. , Castelain S. 
Published: February 2013

SummaryComplementation is a naturally occurring genetic mechanism that has been studied for a number of plus‐strand RNA viruses. Although trans‐complementation is well documented for Flaviviridae family viruses, the first such system for hepatitis C virus (HCV) was only described in 2005. Since then, the development of a number of HCV trans‐complementation models has improved our knowledge of HCV protein functions and interactions, genome replication and viral particle assembly. These models have also been used to produce defective viruses and so improvements are necessary for vaccine assays. This review provides an update on HCV trans‐complementation systems, the viral mechanisms studied therewith and the production and characterization of trans‐encapsidated particles.
Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and therapeutics of pradofloxacin in the dog and cat
Authors: Lees P. 
Published: February 2013

Pradofloxacin is a third‐generation fluoroquinolone, licensed in theEUfor use in a range of indications in the dog and cat and authorized more recently in theUSAfor one therapeutic indication (skin infections) in the cat. This review summarizes and appraises current knowledge on the physico‐chemical, pharmacological [pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD)], safety and therapeutic properties of pradofloxacin in the target species. Pradofloxacin contains two centres of asymmetry and is the pureSSenantiomer. After oral dosing of tablets (dog) or tablets and oral suspension (cat), maximum plasma concentrations (Cmax) are achieved in less than 3.0 h, and terminal half‐life is of the order of 5–10 h. Accumulation is slight or absent with once daily oral dosing. Free drug concentrations in plasma are in the range of 63–71% of total concentration. As for other fluoroquinolones, antibacterial activity is attributable to inhibition of bacterial replication at two sites, subunit A of topoisomeraseIIand topoisomeraseIV. The antimicrobial spectrum includes gram‐negative and gram‐positive organisms, anaerobes,Mycoplasmaspp. and some intracellular organisms (Rickettsiaspp. andMycobacteriumspp.). The killing action is of the concentration‐dependent type. Pradofloxacin has high potency (lowMICvalues) in comparison with first‐ and second‐generation fluoroquinolones. Integration ofin vivoPKandin vitroPDdata provides values of Cmax/MICand area under plasma concentration–time curve (AUC24 h)/MICratios predictive of good clinical efficacy against sensitive organisms, when administered at recommended dose rates. Clinical trial evaluation of pradofloxacin, in comparison with other authorized antimicrobial drugs, has demonstrated either noninferiority or superiority of pradofloxacin. Data indicating clinical and, in some instances, bacteriological cure have been reported: (i) in cats, for wound infections, abscesses, upper respiratory tract infections, conjunctivitis, feline infectious anaemia and lower urinary tract infections and (ii) in dogs, for wound infections, superficial and deep pyoderma, acute urinary tract infections and adjunctive treatment of infections of gingival and periodontal tissues. At clinical dose rates pradofloxacin was well tolerated in preclinical studies and in clinical trials. Among the advantages of pradofloxacin are (i) successful treatment of infections caused by strains resistant to some other fluoroquinolones, as predicted byPK/PDdata, but depending on the specificMICof the target strain and (ii) a reduced propensity for resistance development based onMPCmeasurements. The preclinical and clinical data on pradofloxacin suggest that this drug should commonly be the fluoroquinolone of choice when a drug of this class is indicated. However, thePK/PDdata on pradofloxacin, in comparison with other fluoroquinolones, are not a factor that leads automatically to greater clinical efficacy.
Deleuze and narrative investigation: the multiple literacies of Sudanese families in Australia
Authors: Cole David R. 
Published: February 2013

AbstractSudanese families arriving in Australia bring with them a wealth of language and cultural resources that are currently not recognised by the Australian education system. This paper challenges such a position by investigating the narratives of the Sudanese Australians from a Deleuzian perspective. A Deleuzian perspective in education promotes the multiple literacies of the Sudanese Australians as a means to learn about and articulate important aspects of their changing circumstances. The families are not ‘othered’ or marginalised through this study, or compared to or against the normative cognitive functions that are produced by the current education system in Australia. Rather, an innovative way to look at the narratives of the Sudanese in Australia is explored by applying Deleuzian philosophy to education. Such a process uses the notion of the ‘virtual’ from Deleuze, which is a hybrid concept that engages with psychoanalytic and philosophical ideas from a fresh perspective. Such novel conceptual positioning is deemed necessary when investigating the narratives of the Sudanese Australians in order to think alongside the Sudanese in Australia. The final part of the paper takes the conceptual work from Deleuze and the investigation of the narratives, and makes pragmatic educational recommendations about literacy learning strategies for the Sudanese Australians.
Changes in germ tube formation and cell‐surface hydrophobicity of oral Candida dubliniensis isolates following brief exposure to sub‐cidal concentrations of polyene and azole antifungal agents
Authors: Ellepola Arjuna N. B. , Joseph Bobby K. , Khan Z. U. 
Published: February 2013

SummaryAdherence of Candida has been implicated as the initial process in the pathogenesis of oral candidosis. Candidal germ tubes and its relative cell‐surface hydrophobicity (CSH) are contributory attributes. Candida dubliniensis is currently documented as an opportunistic pathogen allied with recurrent oral candidosis. Oral candidosis can be treated with polyene and azole antifungals such as amphotericin B, ketoconazole and fluconazole. However, the intraoral concentration of these drugs fluctuates and becomes sub‐therapeutic because of the diluent effect of saliva and cleansing effect of the oral musculature. Hence, intraorally, the pathogenic yeast may undergo a brief exposure to antifungal drugs. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of brief exposure to sub‐lethal concentrations of these antifungals on the germ tube formation and CSH of C. dubliniensis. After determining the minimum inhibitory concentration of the drugs, 20 oral isolates of C. dubliniensis were exposed to sub‐lethal concentrations of these antifungals for 1 h. Following this brief exposure, the drugs were removed, and following subsequent incubation in a germ tube inducing medium and exposure to bi‐phasic hydrocarbon assay, the germ tube formation and CSH of these isolates was quantified respectively. Compared with controls, exposure to amphotericin B almost completely suppressed the ability to form germ tubes with a mean percentage reduction of 95.91% (P < 0.0001), whereas ketoconazole and fluconazole also significantly inhibited germ tube formation but to a lesser degree with a mean percentage reduction of 18.73% and 12.01% respectively (P < 0.05). Compared with controls, exposure to amphotericin B and ketoconazole elicited a significant suppression on CSH with a mean percentage reduction of 33.09% and 21.42%, respectively (P < 0.001), whereas exposure to fluconazole did not elicit a significant suppression on CSH (9.21%; P > 0.05). In clinical terms it appears that, even a short exposure to sub‐lethal concentrations of these drugs, a situation all too familiar in the oral environment, would continue to exert an antifungal effect by suppressing the pathogenic potency of C. dubliniensis.
Treatment for agenesis of maxillary lateral incisors: a systematic review
Authors: Andrade D. C. M. , Loureiro C. A. , Araújo V. E. , Riera R. , Atallah A. N. 
Published: February 2013

Structured AbstractObjectivesTo compare the efficacy and safety of three orthodontic treatment modalities for agenesis of maxillary lateral incisors: 1) closing the space with the reshaped canine substituting the lateral incisor, 2) opening the space with placement of a conventional fixed bridge, and 3) opening the space with placement of a single‐unit implant and an implant‐supported crown.SettingBrazilian Cochrane Center and Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil.Material and MethodsThe following databases were investigated: Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials (Edition 12, 2011), EMBASE (from 1974 to December 2011), MEDLINE (from 1965 to December 2011), LILACS (from 1966 to November 2011), and Odontology Brazilian Bibliography Database (from 1966 to November 2011). Conference abstracts, main Brazilian dissertations and theses databases, and reference lists were handsearched. This systematic review included randomized or quasi‐randomized controlled trials (RCTs) including women aged 15 years or over and men aged 21 years or over who received one of the interventions stated above. Two observers independently evaluated all the studies regarding eligibility criteria and assessed the risk of bias of included studies.ResultsNo studies were included in the review as no RCTs were found. Most of the evidence comes from case reports and narrative reviews on case reports and from three studies with a single post‐intervention evaluation and non‐comparable control groups with high risk of bias.ConclusionsThere is no scientific evidence for any of the three most common types of treatment for agenesis of the maxillary lateral incisors. RCTs into this issue are still necessary.
Genotyping the Mu‐Opioid Receptor A118G Polymorphism Using the Real‐time Amplification Refractory Mutation System: Allele Frequency Distribution Among Brazilians
Authors: Daher Mauricio , Costa Felipe M. M. , Neves Francisco A. R. 
Published: February 2013

AbstractBackgroundThe mu‐opioid receptor (OPRM1) A118G polymorphism has been associated with decreased analgesic effects of opioids and predisposition to addiction. However, its role in specific clinical scenarios and in different ethnicities must be better defined. No studies evaluating the A118G polymorphism in the Brazilian population have yet been published.MethodsGenomic DNA was isolated from peripheral leukocytes of 200 surgical patients of the Center‐West region of Brazil. Our genotyping protocol was developed based on the real‐time amplification refractory mutation system and validated by comparison with cycle sequencing. Functional consequences of the A118G polymorphism were studied by comparing tobacco smoking prevalence and exposure between genotype groups.ResultsWe observed perfect correlation between genotyping and sequencing results. Frequency of the G allele was 16% (IC 95% 12.7–19.9%) in our sample. Genotype distribution revealed 146 (73%) patients 118A homozygous, 44 (22%) heterozygous, and 10 (5%) homozygous for the G variant. After grouping patients according to the presence of the G allele, we did not observe differences in smoking prevalence; however, patients with one or two copies of the 118G allele reported higher tobacco exposure than patients 118A homozygous measured in pack‐years (28.9 ± 12.5 vs. 21.5 ± 10.8, respectively, P = 0.02).ConclusionsWe developed a fast and reliable genotyping method to identify the allele frequency distribution of the OPRM1 A118G polymorphism among patients from Center‐West Brazil. Our preliminary results suggest functional consequences of the polymorphism on smoking behavior among Brazilians.
Cutis Laxa Type II with Mutation in the Pyrroline‐5‐Carboxylate Reductase 1 Gene
Authors: Nouri Nayereh , Aryani Omid , Nouri Narges , Kamalidehghan Behnam , Houshmand Massoud 
Published: February 2013

AbstractA 14‐year‐old Iranian boy with congenital cutis laxa and several other typical autosomal recessive type II features was examined. Mutation analysis of the pyrroline‐5‐carboxylate reductase 1 gene revealed a single‐base deletion (c.345delC) in exon 4 leading to frame shift and premature termination of translation.
Pediatric Hospital Dermatology: Experience with Inpatient and Consult Services at the Mayo Clinic
Authors: Storan Eoin R. , McEvoy Marian T. , Wetter David A. , el‐Azhary Rokea A. , Hand Jennifer L. , Davis Dawn M. R. , Bridges Alina G. , Camilleri Michael J. , Davis Mark D. P. 
Published: February 2013

AbstractData describing the management of pediatric patients admitted to a hospital under the care of a dermatologist and dermatology hospital consults for pediatric inpatients are limited. We aim to describe the role of an inpatient hospital service jointly run by dermatology and pediatrics and the activities of a pediatric dermatology hospital consult service. We retrospectively identified pediatric (age < 18 yrs) dermatology inpatients and hospital consult patients from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2010. We examined patient demographics, indications for admission, length of stay, treatment provided, consult‐requesting service, and consult diagnosis. One hundred eight admissions were by a dermatologist. The mean age was 5.8 years; the median length of stay was 3 days. Indications for admission included atopic dermatitis (86.1%), psoriasis (3.7%), and eczema herpeticum (2.8%). The main treatment provided was wet dressings (97.2%). Eighty‐three dermatology hospital consults were requested. The mean age was 7.4 years. The main indications for dermatology consultation included drug rash (12.1%), cutaneous infections (12.1%), contact dermatitis (9.6%), psoriasis (8.4%), atopic dermatitis (6.0%), and hemangiomas (6.0%). This study describes the utility of the hospital pediatric dermatology inpatient and consult services in treating patients with severe skin disease.
Long‐term follow‐up of de novo allergy in pediatric liver transplantation – 10 yr experience of a single center
Authors: Lee Yoon , Lee Yoo Min , Kim Mi Jin , Lee Suk Koo , Choe Yon Ho 
Published: February 2013

AbstractWe conducted a study to clarify the incidence, clinical course, and risk factors of de novo allergies after liver transplantation. Ninety‐three patients who had been followed longer than one yr and who had no previous allergy history were included. Forty‐two patients (45.2%) developed de novo allergy. Of them, food allergy developed in 35 (37.6%). Respiratory allergy was observed in three (3.2%), and a patient (1.1%) had drug allergy. Fifty‐two (55.9%) of the 93 patients developed eosinophilia. The median age of patients with de novo allergy was 15 months (IR 11.3–20 months). De novo allergy developed five months after liver transplantation (IR 2.3–9.5 months) and lasted for 16 months (IR 8–34.5 months). Younger age at liver transplantation displayed statistically significant differences in development of allergy between allergy and non‐allergy groups. Twenty‐nine (69.0%) patients improved from allergy during the follow‐up period. No patient with de novo gastrointestinal allergy progressed to any respiratory allergy such as asthma. Older age at transplantation, EBV non‐risk, and CMV non‐risk had statistical significance in allergy improvement. Younger age at transplant predisposes to the development of allergy, while improvement of allergy is achieved more in older age.
Training and Experience of Nurses in Responding to Alcohol Misuse in Rural Communities
Authors: Kennedy Alison J. , Mellor David , McCabe Marita P. , Ricciardelli Lina A. , Brumby Susan A. , Head Alexandra , Mercer‐Grant Catherine 
Published: February 2013

AbstractObjectiveAlcohol misuse by farmers continues to challenge rural nurses. This article reports on the experiences of Australian nurses participating in the Alcohol Intervention Training Program (AITP).Design and SampleQualitative interviews of 15 rural and remote nurses.MeasuresSemi‐structured phone interviews were utilized to assess the response to and implementation of the AITP—an intervention designed to build nurses' knowledge, confidence and skills when responding to alcohol misuse. It comprises practical and theoretical components and was designed for rural and remote settings where nurses encounter alcohol misuse.ResultsNurses found the training provided new—or built on existing—knowledge of alcohol misuse and offered practical hands‐on “real life” skills. A range of workplace and personal situations where the content of the training was now being utilized were identified, and future use anticipated. Barriers to using the new knowledge and skills included both rural and generic issues. Constructive feedback to increasingly target the training to rural settings was recommended.ConclusionsThe AITP is an effective training program. It can be further tailored to meet common needs of rural and remote nurses working with farmers who misuse alcohol, while recognizing diversity in rural practice.
The Culture of Education in a Large Dialysis Organization: Informing Patient‐Centered Decision Making on Treatment Options for Renal Replacement Therapy
Authors: Mollicone Debra , Pulliam Joseph , Lacson Jr Eduardo 
Published: February 2013

AbstractChallenged by the observation that newly admitted dialysis patients were often unaware of their treatment options, Fresenius Medical Care, North America developed a program to improve information delivered to chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients prior to their need for renal replacement therapy. Six years ago, the Treatment Options Program (TOPs) was established utilizing a standardized approach to educate individuals with CKD Stages 3 and 4. The program education focuses on modality and vascular access options. A key component includes follow‐up at predetermined intervals, offering additional education and patient reminders to continue to work with their physician in selecting a preferred renal replacement modality. Since program inception, over 73,000 individuals have been educated through TOPs. Home therapy utilization as first treatment is higher in the patient population that received TOPs education. Similarly, participants had a higher rate of permanent vascular access with decreased use of hemodialysis catheters upon admission. Avoiding hemodialysis catheter use and expanding home therapy utilization both offer potential benefits to all stakeholders: patients, providers, and payors, particularly as we move toward accountable healthcare systems. The ability to expand the TOPs program relies on seeing patients early enough to allow each patient time to process the information and work with their physician to select the modality and access that best meets their healthcare and lifestyle needs. Educating our patients facilitates empowerment and active participation in their therapy, a much coveted component of patient‐centered health care for the renal provider community as we look to the future.
Acute Start—Chronic Needs: Education and Support for Adults who have had Acute Start Dialysis
Authors: Watson Diane 
Published: February 2013

AbstractFor those patients with CKD followed in a pre‐dialysis environment, it is well appreciated that modality education leads to an informed decision regarding type of dialysis selected. However, for those individuals starting dialysis acutely and requiring chronic renal replacement therapy, modality education may be lacking. Because of the acuity of the dialysis start, and the intercurrent illness or event which precipitated and acute start, these patients require a specialized approach to education, and indeed, require a combination of education and support to learn about and choose a renal replacement therapy. The University Health Network, in Toronto, Canada, has developed a program and approach to education and support of this group of patients. The approach, results, and theoretical underpinnings of this program are reviewed, and a potential new “hybrid” educational framework is proposed.
The feasibility of an inverse geometry CT system with stationary source arrays
Authors: Hsieh Scott S. , Heanue Joseph A. , Funk Tobias , Hinshaw Waldo S. , Wilfley Brian P. , Solomon Edward G. , Pelc Norbert J. 
Published: February 2013

Purpose:Inverse geometry computed tomography (IGCT) has been proposed as a new system architecture that combines a small detector with a large, distributed source. This geometry can suppress cone‐beam artifacts, reduce scatter, and increase dose efficiency. However, the temporal resolution of IGCT is still limited by the gantry rotation time. Large reductions in rotation time are in turn difficult due to the large source array and associated power electronics. We examine the feasibility of using stationary source arrays for IGCT in order to achieve better temporal resolution. We anticipate that multiple source arrays are necessary, with each source array physically separated from adjacent ones.Methods:Key feasibility issues include spatial resolution, artifacts, flux, noise, collimation, and system timing clashes. The separation between the different source arrays leads to missing views, complicating reconstruction. For the special case of three source arrays, a two‐stage reconstruction algorithm is used to estimate the missing views. Collimation is achieved using a rotating collimator with a small number of holes. A set of equally spaced source spots are designated on the source arrays, and a source spot is energized when a collimator hole is aligned with it. System timing clashes occur when multiple source spots are scheduled to be energized simultaneously. We examine flux considerations to evaluate whether sufficient flux is available for clinical applications.Results:The two‐stage reconstruction algorithm suppresses cone‐beam artifacts while maintaining resolution and noise characteristics comparable to standard third generation systems. The residual artifacts are much smaller in magnitude than the cone‐beam artifacts eliminated. A mathematical condition is given relating collimator hole locations and the number of virtual source spots for which system timing clashes are avoided. With optimization, sufficient flux may be achieved for many clinical applications.Conclusions:IGCT with stationary source arrays could be an imaging platform potentially capable of imaging a complete 16‐cm thick volume within a tenth of a second.