bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Surveillance of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae: Tracking Molecular Epidemiology and Outcomes through a Regional Network
Authors: van Duin David , Perez Federico , Rudin Susan D. , Cober Eric , Hanrahan Jennifer , Ziegler Julie , Webber Raymond , Fox Jacqueline , Mason Pamela , Richter Sandra S. , Cline Marianne , Hall Geraldine S. , Kaye Keith S. , Jacobs Michael R. , Kalayjian Robert C. , Salata Robert A. , Segre Julia A. , Conlan Sean , Evans Scott , Fowler Vance G. , Bonomo Robert A. 
Published: May 2014

ABSTRACT

Carbapenem resistance in Gram-negative bacteria is on the rise in the United States. A regional network was established to study microbiological and genetic determinants of clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with carbapenem-resistant (CR)
Klebsiella pneumoniae
in a prospective, multicenter, observational study. To this end, predefined clinical characteristics and outcomes were recorded and
K. pneumoniae
isolates were analyzed for strain typing and resistance mechanism determination. In a 14-month period, 251 patients were included. While most of the patients were admitted from long-term care settings, 28% of them were admitted from home. Hospitalizations were prolonged and complicated. Nonsusceptibility to colistin and tigecycline occurred in isolates from 7 and 45% of the patients, respectively. Most of the CR
K. pneumoniae
isolates belonged to repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR (rep-PCR) types A and B (both sequence type 258) and carried either
bla
KPC-2
(48%) or
bla
KPC-3
(51%). One isolate tested positive for
bla
NDM-1
, a sentinel discovery in this region. Important differences between strain types were noted; rep-PCR type B strains were associated with
bla
KPC-3
(odds ratio [OR], 294; 95% confidence interval [CI], 58 to 2,552;
P
< 0.001), gentamicin nonsusceptibility (OR, 24; 95% CI, 8.39 to 79.38;
P
< 0.001), amikacin susceptibility (OR, 11.0; 95% CI, 3.21 to 42.42;
P
< 0.001), tigecycline nonsusceptibility (OR, 5.34; 95% CI, 1.30 to 36.41;
P
= 0.018), a shorter length of stay (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.95 to 1.00;
P
= 0.043), and admission from a skilled-nursing facility (OR, 3.09; 95% CI, 1.26 to 8.08;
P
= 0.013). Our analysis shows that (i) CR
K. pneumoniae
is seen primarily in the elderly long-term care population and that (ii) regional monitoring of CR
K. pneumoniae
reveals insights into molecular characteristics. This work highlights the crucial role of ongoing surveillance of carbapenem resistance determinants.
Virulence and Immunity Orchestrated by the Global Gene Regulator
sigL
in Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis
Authors: Ghosh Pallab , Steinberg Howard , Talaat Adel M. 
Published: May 2014

ABSTRACT

Mycobacterium avium
subsp.
paratuberculosis
causes Johne's disease in ruminants, a chronic enteric disease responsible for severe economic losses in the dairy industry. Global gene regulators, including sigma factors are important in regulating mycobacterial virulence. However, the biological significance of such regulators in
M. avium
subsp.
paratuberculosis
rremains elusive. To better decipher the role of sigma factors in
M. avium
subsp.
paratuberculosis
pathogenesis, we targeted a key sigma factor gene,
sigL
, activated in mycobacterium-infected macrophages. We interrogated an
M. avium
subsp.
paratuberculosis
Δ
sigL
mutant against a selected list of stressors that mimic the host microenvironments. Our data showed that
sigL
was important in maintaining bacterial survival under such stress conditions. Survival levels further reflected the inability of the Δ
sigL
mutant to persist inside the macrophage microenvironments. Additionally, mouse infection studies suggested a substantial role for
sigL
in
M. avium
subsp.
paratuberculosis
virulence, as indicated by the significant attenuation of the Δ
sigL
-deficient mutant compared to the parental strain. More importantly, when the
sigL
mutant was tested for its vaccine potential, protective immunity was generated in a vaccine/challenge model of murine paratuberculosis. Overall, our study highlights critical role of
sigL
in the pathogenesis and immunity of
M. avium
subsp.
paratuberculosis
infection, a potential role that could be shared by similar proteins in other intracellular pathogens.
Population-Based Placental Weight Ratio Distributions
Authors: Macdonald Erin M. , Koval John J. , Natale Renato , Regnault Timothy , Campbell M. Karen 
Published: May 2014

The placental weight ratio (PWR) is a health indicator that reflects the balance between fetal and placental growth. The PWR is defined as the placental weight divided by the birth weight, and it changes across gestation. Its ranges are not well established. We aimed to establish PWR distributions by gestational age and to investigate whether the PWR distributions vary by fetal growth adequacy, small, average, and large for gestational age (SGA, AGA, and LGA). The data came from a hospital based retrospective cohort, using all births at two London, Ontario hospitals in the past 10 years. All women who delivered a live singleton infant between 22 and 42 weeks of gestation were included(n=41441). Nonparametric quantile regression was used to fit the curves. The results demonstrate decreasing PWR and dispersion, with increasing gestational age. A higher proportion of SGA infants have extreme PWRs than AGA and LGA, especially at lower gestational ages. On average, SGA infants had higher PWRs than AGA and LGA infants. The overall curves offer population standards for use in research studies. The curves stratified by fetal growth adequacy are the first of their kind, and they demonstrate that PWR differs for SGA and LGA infants.Corrigendum to “Population-Based Placental Weight Ratio Distributions”
A Generalized Robust Minimization Framework for Low‐Rank Matrix Recovery
Authors: Shao Wen-Ze , Ge Qi , Gan Zong-Liang , Deng Hai-Song , Li Hai-Bo 
Published: May 2014

This paper considers the problem of recovering low‐rank matrices which are heavily corrupted by outliers or large errors. To improve the robustness of existing recovery methods, the problem is solved by formulating it as a generalized nonsmooth nonconvex minimization functional via exploiting the Schatten p‐norm (0 < p ≤ 1) and Lq(0 < q ≤ 1) seminorm. Two numerical algorithms are provided based on the augmented Lagrange multiplier (ALM) and accelerated proximal gradient (APG) methods as well as efficient root‐finder strategies. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed generalized approach is more inclusive and effective compared with state‐of‐the‐art methods, either convex or nonconvex.
Extracts from Curcuma zedoaria Inhibit Proliferation of Human Breast Cancer Cell MDA‐MB‐231 In Vitro
Authors: Gao Xiu-fei , Li Qing-lin , Li Hai-long , Zhang Hong-yan , Su Jian-ying , Wang Bei , Liu Pei , Zhang Ai-qin 
Published: May 2014

Objective. To evaluate the effect of petroleum ether extracts of Curcuma zedoaria on the proliferation of human triple negative breast cancer cell line MDA‐MB‐231. Methods. The reagents were isolated from Curcuma zedoaria by petroleum ether fraction. It was assayed by CCK8 for MDA‐MB‐231 cellular viability with various concentrations and days, cell cycle analyses, Western Blot analysis, and Realtime Reverse Transcriptase PCR analyses for chemokines molecules including E‐cadherin, and E‐selectin, and adhesion molecules including CCR7, SLC, SDF‐1, and CXCR4. Epirubicin was used as control in the study. Results. MDA‐MB‐231 cells were inhibited by petroleum ether extracts of Curcuma zedoaria (P < 0.05), and the inhibition rate was dependent on concentrations and time. Petroleum ether extracts of Curcuma zedoaria as well as Epirubicin produce a significant G0/G1 cell cycle arrest. The level of expression of proteins E‐cadherin and E‐cadherin mRNA was significantly increased, while proteins SDF‐1, CCR7, and CXCR4 mRNA were decreased after being incubated with petroleum ether extracts of Curcuma zedoaria at the concentrations of 300 μg/mL than control (P < 0.05). The differences were that the protein CXCR4 mRNA expression level was higher than vehicle. Conclusions. MDA‐MB‐231 cells were inhibited by petroleum ether extracts of Curcuma zedoaria.
Inhibition of SIRT1 Signaling Sensitizes the Antitumor Activity of Silybin against Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells In Vitro and In Vivo
Authors: Liang Zhenxing , Yang Yang , Wang Haibin , Yi Wei , Yan Xiaolong , Yan Juanjuan , Li Yue , Feng Yingtong , Yu Shiqiang , Yang Jian , Jin Zhenxiao , Duan Weixun , Chen Wensheng 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
Although silybin, a natural flavonolignan, has been shown to exhibit potent antitumor activities against various types of cancers, including lung cancer, the molecular mechanisms behind these activities remain unclear. Silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) is a conserved NAD+-dependent deacetylase that has been implicated in the modulation of transcriptional silencing and cell survival. Furthermore, it plays a key role in carcinogenesis through the deacetylation of important regulatory proteins, including p53. In this study, we investigated the antitumor activity of silybin towards human lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo and explored the role of the SIRT1 signaling pathway in this process. Silybin treatment resulted in a dose- and time-dependent decrease in lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell viability. In addition, silybin exhibited strong antitumor activity illustrated by reductions in tumor cell adhesion, migratory capability, and glutathione levels and by increased apoptotic indices and reactive oxygen species levels. Silybin treatment also downregulated SIRT1 and upregulated p53 acetylation. SIRT1 siRNA (in vitro) or cambinol (a known SIRT1 inhibitor used for in vivo studies) further enhanced the antitumor activity of silybin. In summary, silybin is a potent inhibitor of lung adenocarcinoma cell growth that interferes with SIRT1 signaling, and this inhibition is a novel mechanism of silybin action that may be used for therapeutic intervention in lung adenocarcinoma treatment. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(7); 1860–72. ©2014 AACR.
Physical Activity and Heart Rate Variability in Older Adults
Authors: Soares-Miranda Luisa , Sattelmair Jacob , Chaves Paulo , Duncan Glen E. , Siscovick David S. , Stein Phyllis K. , Mozaffarian Dariush 
Published: May 2014

Background—
Cardiac mortality and electrophysiological dysfunction both increase with age. Heart rate variability (HRV) provides indices of autonomic function and electrophysiology that are associated with cardiac risk. How habitual physical activity among older adults prospectively relates to HRV, including nonlinear indices of erratic sinus patterns, is not established. We hypothesized that increasing the levels of both total leisure-time activity and walking would be prospectively associated with more favorable time-domain, frequency-domain, and nonlinear HRV measures in older adults.

Methods and Results—

We evaluated serial longitudinal measures of both physical activity and 24-hour Holter HRV over 5 years among 985 older US adults in the community-based Cardiovascular Health Study. After multivariable adjustment, greater total leisure-time activity, walking distance, and walking pace were each prospectively associated with specific, more favorable HRV indices, including higher 24-hour standard deviation of all normal-to-normal intervals (
P
trend
=0.009, 0.02, 0.06, respectively) and ultralow-frequency power (
P
trend
=0.02, 0.008, 0.16, respectively). Greater walking pace was also associated with a higher short-term fractal scaling exponent (
P
trend
=0.003) and lower Poincaré ratio (
P
trend
=0.02), markers of less erratic sinus patterns.

Conclusions—
Greater total leisure-time activity, and walking alone, as well, were prospectively associated with more favorable and specific indices of autonomic function in older adults, including several suggestive of more normal circadian fluctuations and less erratic sinoatrial firing. Our results suggest potential mechanisms that might contribute to lower cardiovascular mortality with habitual physical activity later in life.
Metaphorical Sentences Are More Emotionally Engaging than Their Literal Counterparts
Authors: Citron Francesca M. M. , Goldberg Adele E. 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
Why do people so often use metaphorical expressions when literal paraphrases are readily available? This study focuses on a comparison of metaphorical statements involving the source domain of taste (e.g., “She looked at him sweetly”) and their literal paraphrases (e.g., “She looked at him kindly”). Metaphorical and literal sentences differed only in one word and were normed for length, familiarity, imageability, emotional valence, and arousal. Our findings indicate that conventional metaphorical expressions are more emotionally evocative than literal expressions, as the amygdala and the anterior portion of the hippocampus were more active in the metaphorical sentences. They also support the idea that even conventional metaphors can be grounded in sensorimotor and perceptual representations in that primary and secondary gustatory areas (lateral OFC, frontal operculum, anterior insula) were more active as well. A comparison of the individual words that distinguished the metaphorical and literal sentences revealed greater activation in the lateral OFC and the frontal operculum for the taste-related words, supporting the claim that these areas are relevant to taste.
Feature Diagnosticity Affects Representations of Novel and Familiar Objects
Authors: Hsu Nina S. , Schlichting Margaret L. , Thompson-Schill Sharon L. 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
Many features can describe a concept, but only some features define a concept in that they enable discrimination of items that are instances of a concept from (similar) items that are not. We refer to this property of some features as feature diagnosticity. Previous work has described the behavioral effects of feature diagnosticity, but there has been little work on explaining why and how these effects arise. In this study, we aimed to understand the impact of feature diagnosticity on concept representations across two complementary experiments. In Experiment 1, we manipulated the diagnosticity of one feature, color, for a set of novel objects that human participants learned over the course of 1 week. We report behavioral and neural evidence that diagnostic features are likely to be automatically recruited during remembering. Specifically, individuals activated color-selective regions of ventral temporal cortex (specifically, left fusiform gyrus and left inferior temporal gyrus) when thinking about the novel objects, although color information was never explicitly probed during the task. Moreover, multiple behavioral and neural measures of the effects of feature diagnosticity were correlated across participants. In Experiment 2, we examined relative color association in familiar object categories, which varied in feature diagnosticity (fruits and vegetables, household items). Taken together, these results offer novel insights into the neural mechanisms underlying concept representations by demonstrating that automatic recruitment of diagnostic information gives rise to behavioral effects of feature diagnosticity.
Gender, Family Functioning, and Violence across Immigrant Generations
Authors: DiPietro Stephanie M. , Cwick Jaclyn 
Published: May 2014

Objectives: Despite growing empirical and theoretical interest in the role of the family in immigrant offending, gender remains a traditionally overlooked dimension in the study of generational differences in crime. The present study examines the uniquely gendered pathways linking generational status, family functioning, and violence. Methods: Using ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression and overdispersed Poisson regression, the authors examine predictors of family functioning and violence using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods study. Results: Generational status influences family dynamics for both males and females, although the strength and significance of the effects vary by gender. For boys, generational status is a significant predictor of conflict and harsh parenting, net of other factors; for girls, it is associated with religiosity and conflict. Further, family processes attenuate the relationship between generational status and violence for girls only, implying alternative mechanisms for boys. Conclusions: The associations among immigrant generational status, family functioning, and violence differ for males and females, which has implications for intervention strategies aimed at promoting the well-being of immigrant youth. A noted limitation of this work is the inability to consider how gender interacts with ethnicity to impact these patterns.
Economic Evaluation of a Steroid‐Eluting Sinus Implant following Endoscopic Sinus Surgery for Chronic Rhinosinusitis
Authors: Rudmik Luke , Smith Timothy L. 
Published: May 2014

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the cost‐effectiveness of a mometasone steroid‐eluting sinus implant compared to a nonsteroid‐eluting sinus implant following endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for chronic rhinosinusitis.Study DesignEconomic evaluation using a decision tree model.SettingAcademic and nonacademic otolaryngology practices.SubjectsPatients with refractory chronic rhinosinusitis undergoing ESS.MethodsThe economic perspective was the health care third party payer. Effectiveness and probability data were obtained from a single meta‐analysis of 2 randomized, double‐blind, controlled trials. Costs were obtained from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services database and wholesale pharmaceutical pricing. Multiple sensitivity analyses were performed including a probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Comparative treatment groups were (1) placement of the mometasone steroid‐eluting sinus implant following ESS and (2) placement of a nonsteroid‐eluting implant following ESS. The primary outcome was cost per postoperative intervention avoided within 60 days after ESS.ResultsThe mean cost for the steroid‐eluting and nonsteroid‐eluting sinus implant strategies were $1,572.91 and $365.18, respectively. The steroid‐eluting strategy incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio was $5,489.68. The sensitivity analysis demonstrated a 74.3%, 87.2%, and 90.5% certainty that the steroid‐eluting implant strategy is cost‐effective at willingness‐to‐pay thresholds of $10,000, $25,000, and $50,000, respectively.ConclusionResults from this economic evaluation suggest that placement of a mometasone steroid‐eluting sinus implant into the ethmoid cavity following ESS for refractory chronic rhinosinusitis is a cost‐effective intervention for preventing a postoperative intervention within 60 days after surgery.
Structural Properties of the Meniscal Roots
Authors: Ellman Michael B. , LaPrade Christopher M. , Smith Sean D. , Rasmussen Matthew T. , Engebretsen Lars , Wijdicks Coen A. , LaPrade Robert F. 
Published: May 2014

Background: Current surgical techniques for meniscal root repair reattach the most prominent, dense portion of the meniscal root and fail to incorporate recently identified peripheral, supplemental attachment fibers. The contribution of supplemental fibers to the biomechanical properties of native meniscal roots is unknown. Hypothesis/Purpose: The purpose was to quantify the ultimate failure strengths, stiffness, and attachment areas of the native posterior medial (PM), posterior lateral (PL), anterior medial (AM), and anterior lateral (AL) meniscal roots compared with the most prominent, dense meniscal root attachment after sectioning of supplemental fibers. It was hypothesized that the ultimate failure strength, stiffness, and attachment area of each native root would be significantly higher than those of the respective sectioned root. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Twelve matched pairs of male human cadaveric knees were used. The 4 native meniscal roots were left intact in the native group, whereas the roots in the contralateral knee (sectioned group) were dissected free of all supplemental fibers. A coordinate measuring device quantified the amount of tissue resected in the sectioned group compared with the native group. A dynamic tensile testing machine pulled each root in line with its circumferential fibers. All root attachments were preconditioned from 10 to 50 N at a rate of 0.1 Hz for 10 cycles and subsequently pulled to failure at a rate of 0.5 mm/s. Results: Supplemental fibers composed a significant percentage of the native PM, PL, and AM meniscal root attachment areas. Mean ultimate failure strengths (in newtons) of the native PM, PL, and AM roots were significantly higher than those of the sectioned state, while the ultimate failure strength of the native AL root was indistinguishable from that of the sectioned state. Conclusion: Three of the 4 meniscal root attachments (PM, PL, AM) contained supplemental fibers that accounted for a significant percentage of the native root attachment areas, and these fibers significantly contributed to the failure strengths of the native roots. Clinical Relevance: These supplemental fibers are not routinely reattached during root repair surgery, suggesting that current techniques fail to reattach the biomechanically relevant attachments of native meniscal roots.