bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of Synthetic Peptides RP-1 and AA-RP-1 against Leishmania Species
In Vitro
and
In Vivo
Authors: Erfe Marie Crisel B. , David Consuelo V. , Huang Cher , Lu Victoria , Maretti-Mira Ana Claudia , Haskell Jacquelyn , Bruhn Kevin W. , Yeaman Michael R. , Craft Noah 
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACT

Host defense peptides are naturally occurring molecules that play essential roles in innate immunity to infection. Based on prior structure-function knowledge, we tested two synthetic peptides (RP-1 and AA-RP-1) modeled on the conserved, microbicidal α-helical domain of mammalian CXCL4 platelet kinocidins. These peptides were evaluated for efficacy against
Leishmania
species, the causative agents of the group of diseases known as leishmaniasis.
In vitro
antileishmanial activity was assessed against three distinct
Leishmania
strains by measuring proliferation, metabolic activity and parasite viability after exposure to various concentrations of peptides. We demonstrate that micromolar concentrations of RP-1 and AA-RP-1 caused dose-dependent growth inhibition of
Leishmania
promastigotes. This antileishmanial activity correlated with rapid membrane disruption, as well as with a loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential. In addition, RP-1 and AA-RP-1 demonstrated distinct and significant
in vivo
antileishmanial activities in a mouse model of experimental visceral leishmaniasis after intravenous administration. These results establish efficacy of RP-1 lineage synthetic peptides against
Leishmania
species
in vitro
and after intravenous administration
in vivo
and provide further validation of proof of concept for the development of these and related systemic anti-infective peptides targeting pathogens that are resistant to conventional antibiotics.
Baseline
In Vitro
Activities of the Antimalarials Pyronaridine and Methylene Blue against Plasmodium falciparum Isolates from Kenya
Authors: Okombo John , Kiara Steven M. , Mwai Leah , Pole Lewa , Ohuma Eric , Ochola Lynette Isabella , Nzila Alexis 
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACT

We have analyzed the
in vitro
activities of pyronaridine and methylene blue against 59
Plasmodium falciparum
isolates from Kenya in association with polymorphisms in
Pfcrt
(codon 76),
Pfmdr1
(codon 86), and
Pfnhe
(full sequence). The median inhibitory concentrations that kill 50% of parasites were 13.5 and 3.3 nM for pyronaridine and methylene blue, respectively. Their activities were not associated with polymorphisms in these genes. The drugs' high
in vitro
activities indicate that they would be efficacious against Kenyan isolates
in vivo
.
Efficacy of Daptomycin versus Vancomycin in an Experimental Model of Foreign-Body and Systemic Infection Caused by Biofilm Producers and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis
Authors: Domínguez-Herrera J. , Docobo-Pérez F. , López-Rojas R. , Pichardo C. , Ruiz-Valderas R. , Lepe J. A. , Pachón J. 
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACT

Staphylococcus epidermidis
is a frequent cause of device-associated infections. In this study, we compared the efficacy of daptomycin versus vancomycin against biofilm-producing methicillin-resistant
S. epidermidis
(MRSE) strains in a murine model of foreign-body and systemic infection. Two bacteremic biofilm-producing MRSE strains were used (SE284 and SE385). The MIC of daptomycin was 1 mg/liter for both strains, and the MICs of vancomycin were 4 and 2 mg/liter for SE284 and for SE385, respectively. The
in vitro
bactericidal activities of daptomycin and vancomycin were evaluated by using time-kill curves. The model of foreign-body and systemic infection of neutropenic female C57BL/6 mice was used to ascertain
in vivo
efficacy. Animals were randomly allocated into three groups (
n
= 15): without treatment (controls) or treated with daptomycin at 50 mg/kg/day or vancomycin at 440 mg/kg/day.
In vitro
, daptomycin showed concentration-dependent bactericidal activity, while vancomycin presented time-dependent activity. In the experimental
in vivo
model, daptomycin and vancomycin decreased liver and catheter bacterial concentrations (
P
< 0.05) and increased the survival and the number of sterile blood cultures (
P
< 0.05) using both strains. Daptomycin produced a reduction in the bacterial liver concentration higher than 2.5 log
10
CFU/g compared to vancomycin using both strains, with this difference being significant (
P
< 0.05) for infection with SE385. For the catheter bacterial concentrations, daptomycin reduced the concentration of SE284 3.0 log
10
CFU/ml more than did vancomycin (
P
< 0.05). Daptomycin is more effective than vancomycin for the treatment of experimental foreign-body and systemic infections by biofilm-producing methicillin-resistant
S. epidermidis
.
The Treatment Response of Chronically Hepatitis C Virus-Infected Patients Depends on Interferon Concentration but Not on Interferon Gene Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells
Authors: François Catherine , Coulouarn Cédric , Descamps Véronique , Castelain Sandrine , Brochot Etienne , Baron Agnès , Duchaussoy Isabelle , Capron Dominique , Nguyen-Khac Eric , Duverlie Gilles 
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACTThe current treatment of chronic hepatitis C is based on pegylated alpha interferon (PEG-IFN-α) and ribavirin. The aim of this study was to identify biological and clinical variables related to IFN therapy that could predict patient outcome. The study enrolled 47 patients treated with PEG-IFN and ribavirin combined therapy. The interferon concentration was measured in serum by a bioassay. The expression of 93 interferon-regulated genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was quantified by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) before and after 1 month of treatment. The interferon concentration in the serum was significantly lower in nonresponders than in sustained virological responders. Moreover, a significant correlation was identified between interferon concentration and interferon exposition as well as body weight. The analysis of interferon-inducible genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells among the genes tested did not permit the prediction of treatment outcome. In conclusion, the better option seems to be to treat patients with weight-adjusted PEG-IFN doses, particularly for patients with high weight who are treated with PEG-IFN-α2a. Although the peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples are the easiest to obtain, the measurement of interferon-inducible genes seems not be the best strategy to predict treatment outcome.
Symptomatic Hyperbilirubinemia Secondary to Dapsone-Induced Hemolysis and Atazanavir Therapy
Authors: East Jeff , Blanton Lucas Scott 
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACT

The antiretroviral agent atazanavir is associated with mild asymptomatic hyperbilirubinemia. We report two cases of symptomatic hyperbilirubinemia attributed to atazanavir in conjunction with the
Pneumocystis jirovecii
pneumonia prophylaxis agent dapsone. Symptoms and laboratory evidence of hemolysis resolved upon discontinuation of dapsone, enabling successful antiretroviral therapy. Symptomatic hyperbilirubinemia due to hemolytic anemia is a potential adverse event when using the combination of atazanavir and dapsone in the treatment of patients with the human immunodeficiency virus.
Improved Antibiotic-Impregnated Catheters with Extended-Spectrum Activity against Resistant Bacteria and Fungi
Authors: Raad Issam , Mohamed Jamal A. , Reitzel Ruth A. , Jiang Ying , Raad Sammy , Al Shuaibi Munirah , Chaftari Anne-Marie , Hachem Ray Y. 
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACT

Minocycline-rifampin-impregnated central venous catheters (M/R CVCs) have been shown to be efficacious in reducing catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) and inhibiting the biofilm adherence of resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens, with the exception of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
and
Candida
spp. To expand the spectrum of antimicrobial activity, a novel second-generation M/R catheter was developed by adding chlorhexidine (CHX-M/R). CVCs and peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) were impregnated with CHX-M/R and compared with first-generation M/R catheters, CHX-silver sulfadiazine-treated CVCs (CHX/SS-CVCs), chlorhexidine-treated PICCs, and uncoated catheters. A biofilm catheter colonization model was used to assess the efficacy of catheters against methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA), vancomycin-resistant
Enterococcus faecium
(VRE),
P. aeruginosa
,
Candida albicans
, and
Candida glabrata
. CHX-M/R-impregnated CVCs were the only antimicrobial catheters that completely inhibited the biofilm colonization of all resistant bacterial and fungal organisms tested at all time intervals, and they were significantly superior to uncoated catheters (all
P
values were ≤0.003). Furthermore, CHX-M/R-coated CVCs had a significantly more effective and prolonged (up to 3 weeks) antimicrobial activity against MRSA and
P. aeruginosa
than M/R, CHX/SS, and uncoated CVCs (
P
< 0.0001). Similarly, CHX-M/R-coated PICCs were also superior to M/R-coated and CHX-coated PICCs in preventing biofilms of MRSA, VRE,
P. aeruginosa
, and
Candida
species (
P
value = 0.003 for all). Our study shows that novel CHX-M/R-coated catheters have unique properties in completely inhibiting biofilm colonization of MRSA, VRE,
P. aeruginosa
, and fungi in a manner superior to that of M/R- and chlorhexidine-treated catheters.
The Campbellton Formation, New Brunswick, Canada: paleoenvironments in an important Early Devonian terrestrial locality
Authors: Kennedy Kirsten , Gibling Martin R. 
Published: November 2011

Strata of the Campbellton Formation, nearly 1 km-thick and known for its diverse fossil assemblage of early plants, arthropods, and fish, can be divided into six facies associations: (1) restricted lacustrine, (2) marginal lacustrine, (3) near-shore lacustrine, (4) coastal-deltaic, (5) sandy to gravelly alluvial plain, and (6) gravelly proximal alluvial environments. Lacustrine deposits with restricted circulation, due to depth or stagnation, are fine-grained with preserved organic material. The marginal lacustrine association consists of massive siltstone and very fine sandstone, interbedded with conglomerate. The latter are interpreted to have shed from older volcanic units forming the basin walls. The near-shore lacustrine association is characterized by rippled sandstone with microbialites. Alluvial strata include interbedded imbricate to nonimbricate conglomerate, trough cross-stratified sandstone, and barren to plant-bearing siltstone. Rare exposures of thickly bedded imbricate to weakly imbricated cobble–boulder conglomerate with sandy plant-bearing lenses are interpreted as products of hyperconcentrated debris flows. In the western belt, a braided-fluvial system had paleocurrents flowing WNW. Coastal-deltaic deposits west of the fluvial outcrops, containing aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates, had paleocurrents flowing ESE, suggesting a confined body of fresh or brackish water. In lower parts of the eastern belt, lacustrine facies are prevalent, representing a large open lake. Alluvial facies dominate upper parts of the formation, representing an eastward-flowing axial braided river system, with proximal alluvium shed transversely from the basin margins. Although most strata have a volcanic provenance, only one outcrop in the lacustrine beds shows evidence of active volcanism during deposition of the Campbellton Formation.
Ecological controls on Devonian stromatoporoid-dominated and coral-dominated reef growth in the Mackenzie Basin, Northwest Territories, Canada
Authors: Corlett Hilary , Jones Brian 
Published: November 2011

The Horn Plateau Formation, composed of isolated reefs, is part of the Devonian strata that formed in the Mackenzie Basin in the Northwest Territories, Canada. The reefs stretch over a ∼350 m northeast–southwest trend and are dominated by tabulate and rugose corals in the northeast, near exposed Canadian Shield rocks, and stromatoporoids further out in the basin. Detailed facies analyses of each reef type shows distinct differences in their biological makeup, energy regimes, and carbonate sedimentation rates. Geochemical analyses (stable isotopes and rare-earth elements) set against established paleogeography in the Mackenzie Basin reveal that the coral-dominated and stromatoporoid-dominated reefs grew under different ecological conditions. Separations in the data imply that the coral-dominated reefs grew in waters that were relatively enriched in nutrients and the stromatoporoid-dominated reefs, further down the ramp, were in oligotrophic conditions. With no current established method to directly measure Paleozoic nutrient levels or to detect where they were sourced from, it is unclear why the coral-dominated reefs experienced higher nutrient levels. The paleogeography of the Mackenzie Basin could have affected the apparent stratification of nutrients on the carbonate ramp. Possible nutrient sources in the area are from coastal upwelling from the open ocean northwest of the ramp, or locally sourced nutrients from runoff on the adjacent exposed Canadian Shield rocks.
The character of rock surfaces formed in Mode I
Authors: Butenuth C. , de Freitas M. H. 
Published: November 2011

Abstract
Samples failed in extension, i.e. in Mode I, are distinguishable from those failed in shear and mixed modes, i.e. in Modes II and III, by the macroscopic and microscopic character of their failure surface, i.e. by the fractography of their surfaces. This paper describes the use of fractography to discover whether the results of a rock test to failure have been influenced by both the properties of the rock tested and the test method used. The test in question (the hoop test) is relatively new and its operation has not yet been fully analysed; however, the use of fractography has confirmed the mode of failure operating in the test is tensile (Mode I). Further, fractography enables the results obtained from these tests on rock to be better interpreted and analysed with greater confidence than was the case before.
C1x6
Authors: Kulik Alexander , Kunert André , Beck Stephan , Reichel Roman , Blach Roland , Zink Armin , Froehlich Bernd 
Published: November 2011

Stereoscopic multi-user systems provide multiple users with individual views of a virtual environment. We developed a new projection-based stereoscopic display for six users, which employs six customized DLP projectors for fast time-sequential image display in combination with polarization. Our intelligent high-speed shutter glasses can be programmed from the application to adapt to the situation. For instance, it does this by staying open if users do not look at the projection screen or switch to a VIP high brightness mode if less than six users use the system. Each user is tracked and can move freely in front of the display while perceiving perspectively correct views of the virtual environment.
Navigating a group of six users through a virtual world leads to situations in which the group will not fit through spatial constrictions. Our augmented group navigation techniques ameliorate this situation by fading out obstacles or by slightly redirecting individual users along a collision-free path. While redirection goes mostly unnoticed, both techniques temporarily give up the notion of a consistent shared space. Our user study confirms that users generally prefer this trade-off over naïve approaches.
Birth Characteristics and Subsequent Risks of Maternal Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Bonamy Anna-Karin Edstedt , Parikh Nisha I. , Cnattingius Sven , Ludvigsson Jonas F. , Ingelsson Erik 
Published: November 2011

Background—
Prior studies showing an inverse relationship between low birth weight in offspring and maternal risks of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are limited by lack of information on gestational age and/or insufficient adjustment for confounders.

Methods and Results—

In a nationwide Swedish study, we included information on 923 686 women and their first singleton births between 1983 and 2005. Cox proportional hazards models were used to study associations between gestational length, fetal growth, and maternal incident hospitalization or death from CVD (coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular events, and heart failure). Multivariable adjusted models accounted for birth year, income, education, country of birth, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and preeclampsia. The risk of maternal CVD increased with decreasing gestational age whereas the risk increase related to fetal growth appeared to be restricted to very small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants. Compared with mothers of non-SGA infants born at term, the hazard ratio of CVD ranged from 1.39 (95% confidence interval 1.22–1.58) to 2.57 (95% confidence interval 1.97–3.34) among mothers to moderately and very preterm infants, respectively. There was a significant interaction between preterm birth and fetal growth with respect to mothers' risk of CVD (
P
<0.001). Among mothers to very SGA infants, the hazard ratio of CVD ranged from 1.38 (95% confidence interval 1.15–1.65) to 3.40 (95% confidence interval 2.26–5.11) in mothers to term and very preterm infants, respectively.

Conclusions—
Delivery of a preterm or SGA infant is associated with later life maternal hospitalization or death from CVD even after accounting for socioeconomic factors, smoking, and pregnancy-related complications.
Premotor Cortex Is Sensitive to Auditory–Visual Congruence for Biological Motion
Authors: Wuerger Sophie M. , Parkes Laura , Lewis Penelope A. , Crocker-Buque Alex , Rutschmann Roland , Meyer Georg F. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThe auditory and visual perception systems have developed special processing strategies for ecologically valid motion stimuli, utilizing some of the statistical properties of the real world. A well-known example is the perception of biological motion, for example, the perception of a human walker. The aim of the current study was to identify the cortical network involved in the integration of auditory and visual biological motion signals. We first determined the cortical regions of auditory and visual coactivation (Experiment 1); a conjunction analysis based on unimodal brain activations identified four regions: middle temporal area, inferior parietal lobule, ventral premotor cortex, and cerebellum. The brain activations arising from bimodal motion stimuli (Experiment 2) were then analyzed within these regions of coactivation. Auditory footsteps were presented concurrently with either an intact visual point-light walker (biological motion) or a scrambled point-light walker; auditory and visual motion in depth (walking direction) could either be congruent or incongruent. Our main finding is that motion incongruency (across modalities) increases the activity in the ventral premotor cortex, but only if the visual point-light walker is intact. Our results extend our current knowledge by providing new evidence consistent with the idea that the premotor area assimilates information across the auditory and visual modalities by comparing the incoming sensory input with an internal representation.
Accuracies of genomic breeding values in American Angus beef cattle using K-means clustering for cross-validation
Authors: Saatchi Mahdi , McClure Mathew C , McKay Stephanie D , Rolf Megan M , Kim JaeWoo , Decker Jared E , Taxis Tasia M , Chapple Richard H , Ramey Holly R , Northcutt Sally L , Bauck Stewart , Woodward Brent , Dekkers Jack CM , Fernando Rohan L , Schnabel Robert D , Garrick Dorian J , Taylor Jeremy F 
Published: November 2011

AbstractBackgroundGenomic selection is a recently developed technology that is beginning to revolutionize animal breeding. The objective of this study was to estimate marker effects to derive prediction equations for direct genomic values for 16 routinely recorded traits of American Angus beef cattle and quantify corresponding accuracies of prediction.MethodsDeregressed estimated breeding values were used as observations in a weighted analysis to derive direct genomic values for 3570 sires genotyped using the Illumina BovineSNP50 BeadChip. These bulls were clustered into five groups using K-means clustering on pedigree estimates of additive genetic relationships between animals, with the aim of increasing within-group and decreasing between-group relationships. All five combinations of four groups were used for model training, with cross-validation performed in the group not used in training. Bivariate animal models were used for each trait to estimate the genetic correlation between deregressed estimated breeding values and direct genomic values.ResultsAccuracies of direct genomic values ranged from 0.22 to 0.69 for the studied traits, with an average of 0.44. Predictions were more accurate when animals within the validation group were more closely related to animals in the training set. When training and validation sets were formed by random allocation, the accuracies of direct genomic values ranged from 0.38 to 0.85, with an average of 0.65, reflecting the greater relationship between animals in training and validation. The accuracies of direct genomic values obtained from training on older animals and validating in younger animals were intermediate to the accuracies obtained from K-means clustering and random clustering for most traits. The genetic correlation between deregressed estimated breeding values and direct genomic values ranged from 0.15 to 0.80 for the traits studied.ConclusionsThese results suggest that genomic estimates of genetic merit can be produced in beef cattle at a young age but the recurrent inclusion of genotyped sires in retraining analyses will be necessary to routinely produce for the industry the direct genomic values with the highest accuracy.