bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and the Risk of Lymphoma: Should We Revise Our Treatment Strategies?
Authors: Cucchiara Salvatore , Escher Johanna C , Hildebrand Hans , Amil‐Dias Jorge , Stronati Laura , Ruemmele Frank M 
Published: May 2009

ABSTRACTInflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are lifelong inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases starting in about one third of patients during childhood. Treatment strategies aim to control this chronic inflammatory process. Owing to recent advances in the understanding of IBD, immunosuppressive agents (mainly against TNFα directed) as well as biological drugs are more and more often used. This therapeutic approach clearly improved the clinical condition of the majority of patients with IBD. However, with this more aggressive treatment strategy, safety concerns clearly arise. Recently, the description of a series of a particularly severe form of T cell lymphoma in pediatric and young adult patients with IBD under immunomodulator and biological combination therapy raised the question of the risks of treatment‐induced side effects or complications. As reviewed in the present article, there is a slightly increased risk of not only lymphoma development in IBD patients, potentially related to the inflammatory process, but also to the use of immunosuppressive therapies. On the basis of the literature data, we reanalyzed current treatment strategies for children with moderate‐to‐severe IBD, who are candidates to receive immunomodulator and/or biological agents potentially accelerating the risk of lymphoma development. Comparative clinical studies in IBD are still missing; however, it is prudent to think about adapting immunosuppressive therapies to the inflammatory process of the underlying disorder and if possible to reduce them to monotherapy. Alternative treatment strategies for heavy immunosuppression exist (eg, enteral nutrition in Crohn disease or colectomy in patients with ulcerative colitis) and should be considered whenever appropriate. There is a major need for comparative studies before evidence‐based guidelines can be established for safest and best treatment strategies of pediatric patients with IBD.
In Vitro Effects of Sera From Children With Acute Liver Failure on Metabolic and Synthetic Activity of Cryopreserved Human Hepatocytes
Authors: Mitry Ragai R , Bansal Sanjay , Hughes Robin D , Mieli‐Vergani Giorgina , Dhawan Anil 
Published: May 2009

ABSTRACTObjective:The aim of the study was to investigate the in vitro effects of sera from children with acute liver failure (ALF) who had received N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) on the metabolic and synthetic activity of cryopreserved human hepatocytes.Materials and Methods:Cryopreserved human hepatocytes were plated on collagen‐coated culture plates and incubated in cell culture medium containing pooled sera at 20% (v/v) obtained from children with ALF (ALF) who received treatment with NAC (ALF + NAC), no treatment with NAC and from normal controls (normal sera [NS]). The effects of the sera on cell metabolic functions were assessed using methylthiazolyldiphenyltetrazolium bromide, [14C]‐leucine incorporation, and cytochrome P‐450 (CYP1A1/2) activity assays.Results:The overall hepatocyte metabolic activity was lower with ALF sera than with NS and ALF + NAC sera. [14C]‐leucine incorporation was higher with both ALF sera (ALF and ALF + NAC) than with NS sera. There was a slightly higher activity of cytochrome P450 (CYP1A1/2 activity) in cultures treated with ALF and ALF + NAC than with normal sera treated hepatocyte cultures.Conclusions:Sera from children with ALF who received NAC did not impair the overall cell metabolic activity of cryopreserved human hepatocyte in vitro, which is encouraging for the use of hepatocytes transplantation in these patients.
Bacterial Mucosa Cross‐talk and Pathophysiology of Inflammation
Authors: Ruemmele Frank M 
Published: May 2009

ABSTRACTThe intestinal mucosa harbors a complexly organized immune system, which accomplishes important, partially contradictory surveillance and protective functions. It has to protect the host from potential external (microbial and nonmicrobial) aggression, whereas at the same time avoiding an inflammatory reaction toward harmless antigenic structures of microbial (commensal microflora) or alimentary origin. Professional sentinels (of the innate immune system) are in close and interactive contact with the intestinal microflora, which plays via this exchange an important role during the postnatal period in the maturation of the intestinal immune system. The innate immune system is a key regulator of local and systemic immune responses, including the adaptive immune system. Distinct signals induce tolerance to specific antigens presented by intestinal dendritic cells, whereas proinflammatory mediators easily switch these tolerogenic responses toward protective or destructive inflammatory reactions. Given the intense exchange between the intestinal microflora and the mucosal immune system, a permanent but actively controlled and downregulated physiological inflammation characterizes the intestinal mucosa. Therefore, it is easily conceivable that perturbation of the intestinal microflora or immune control mechanisms can initiate or contribute to pathological and potentially chronic inflammatory reactions, such as seen in inflammatory bowel diseases.
Intestinal Mucus Barrier in Normal and Inflamed Colon
Authors: Corazziari Enrico Stefano 
Published: May 2009

ABSTRACTIntestinal bacteria are usually regarded as harmless commensals in healthy intestine but are pathogens, if these invade the tissues. The mucus gel separates the luminal bacteria from the epithelial surface throughout the colon in healthy individuals. This viscoelastic mucus gel is protective against adhesion and invasion by microorganisms, bacterial toxins, and antigens. The mucus viscosity increases progressively toward the distal colon, separating bacteria selectively in the proximal colon and completely in the distal colon. Mucus in normal subjects is usually intact and devoid of bacteria, by contrast mucus barrier is broken and penetrated by bacteria and inflammatory cells in patients with colonic inflammation. The immune inclusion hypothesis postulates that the host mucosa maintains an adherent bacterial biofilm that develops immune tolerance with specific immune mechanisms. The bacterial biofilm, growing in the mucus matrix, would prevent contact of pathogenic bacteria with the intestinal mucosal wall. On the contrary, recent evidence indicates that bacteria are absent in mucus from healthy individuals and present in mucus from patients with inflammatory bowel disease. In inflammatory bowel disease alteration in the types of mucins or, alternatively, the altered mucus layer as a response to inflammation contributes to the underlying pathology by affecting the mucus barrier function.
Colon in Acute Intestinal Infection
Authors: Guarino Alfredo , Buccigrossi Vittoria , Armellino Carla 
Published: May 2009

ABSTRACTThe colon is actively implicated in intestinal infections not only as a target of enteric pathogens and their products but also as a target organ for treatment. In the presence of diarrhea, both of osmotic and secretory nature, the colon reacts with homeostatic mechanisms to increase ion absorption. These mechanisms can be effectively exploited to decrease fluid discharge. A model of intestinal infections using rotavirus (RV) in colonic cells was set up and used to define a dual model of secretory and osmotic diarrhea in sequence. Using this model, antidiarrheal drugs were tested, namely zinc and the enkephalinase inhibitor racecadotril. Zinc was able to decrease the enterotoxic activity responsible for secretory diarrhea. It also inhibited the cytotoxic effect of RV. The mechanism of zinc was related at least in part to the activation of MAPK activity, but also a direct antiviral effect was observed. Racecadotril showed a potent and selective inhibition of active secretion, being particularly effective in the first phase of RV diarrhea. The use of drugs active at the colonic level, therefore, offers effective options to treat intestinal infections in childhood. In addition, the colon is the natural site of colonic microflora, a target of probiotic therapy, which is the first line of approach recommended by the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition to treat infectious diarrhea.
Clostridium difficile Infections: Emerging Epidemiology and New Treatments
Authors: Cohen Mitchell B 
Published: May 2009

ABSTRACTClostridium difficile infections (CDIs) are increasingly a cause of morbidity and mortality. Although the pathogenicity of C difficile is based on toxin A and B expression, new hypervirulent strains express novel virulence factors. The etiology of recent increases in prevalence and severity of disease is not clearly explained by known mechanisms. New at‐risk groups include children (without prior antibiotic exposure) and patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Vancomycin has an important role in the treatment of CDIs, but does not prevent recurrence. Other therapies for recurrent disease include antibiotics, probiotics, and immunotherapy. Novel therapies are under investigation for recurrent and resistant CDI.
Congenital Anorectal Malformations: Anything New?
Authors: Rintala Risto J 
Published: May 2009

ABSTRACTManagement of anorectal malformations, especially that of proximal and more severe forms have developed significantly in the last 25 years. Echography and magnetic resonance imaging have improved the diagnostic accuracy, especially in terms of associated anomalies that are the main cause of fatalities among patients with anorectal malformations. Animal models, novel molecular biological techniques and knock‐out gene models have widened our knowledge on aetiology and pathogenesis of these anomalies.From early 1980s, the posterior sagittal anorectoplasty originally designed by deVries and Pena has systematized the surgical management of anorectal anomalies leading to improved functional outcomes. Surgical mini‐invasive techniques are increasingly applied to the management of these anomalies, although their role is as yet not clearly established. Long‐term functional follow data are also available today indicating a reasonable favourable faecal and urinary control in the majority of patients with anorectal malformations. For the patients with less favourable functional outcome there are bowel and bladder management options that provide sufficient social continence.
AtBXL1 Encodes a Bifunctional β-d-Xylosidase/α-l-Arabinofuranosidase Required for Pectic Arabinan Modification in Arabidopsis Mucilage Secretory Cells
Authors: Arsovski Andrej A. , Popma Theodore M. , Haughn George W. , Carpita Nicholas C. , McCann Maureen C. , Western Tamara L. 
Published: May 2009

Abstract
Following pollination, the epidermal cells of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) ovule undergo a complex differentiation process that includes the synthesis and polar secretion of pectinaceous mucilage followed by the production of a secondary cell wall. Wetting of mature seeds leads to the rapid bursting of these mucilage secretory cells to release a hydrophilic gel that surrounds the seed and is believed to aid in seed hydration and germination. A novel mutant is identified where mucilage release is both patchy and slow and whose seeds display delayed germination. While developmental analysis of mutant seeds reveals no change in mucilage secretory cell morphology, changes in monosaccharide quantities are detected, suggesting the mucilage release defect results from altered mucilage composition. Plasmid rescue and cloning of the mutant locus revealed a T-DNA insertion in AtBXL1, which encodes a putative bifunctional β-d-xylosidase/α-l-arabinofuranosidase that has been implicated as a β-d-xylosidase acting during vascular development. Chemical and immunological analyses of mucilage extracted from bxl1 mutant seeds and antibody staining of developing seed coats reveal an increase in (1→5)-linked arabinans, suggesting that BXL1 is acting as an α-l-arabinofuranosidase in the seed coat. This implication is supported by the ability to rescue mucilage release through treatment of bxl1 seeds with exogenous α-l-arabinofuranosidases. Together, these results suggest that trimming of rhamnogalacturonan I arabinan side chains is required for correct mucilage release and reveal a new role for BXL1 as an α-l-arabinofuranosidase acting in seed coat development.
β2 Integrin deficiency yields unconventional double‐negative T cells distinct from mature classical natural killer T cells in mice
Authors: Oreshkova Tsvetelina , Wang Honglin , Seier Anne M. , Sindrilaru Anca , Varga Georg , Grabbe Stephan , Scharffetter‐Kochanek Karin , Peters Thorsten 
Published: May 2009

SummaryExpressed on leucocytes, β2 integrins (CD11/CD18) are specifically involved in leucocyte function. Using a CD18‐deficient (CD18−/−) mouse model, we here report on their physiological role in lymphocyte differentiation and trafficking. CD18−/− mice present with a defect in the distribution of lymphocytes with highly reduced numbers of naïve B and T lymphocytes in inguinal and axillary lymph nodes. In contrast, cervical lymph nodes were fourfold enlarged harbouring unconventional T‐cell receptor‐αβ (TCR‐αβ) and TCR‐γδ CD3+ CD4− CD8− (double‐negative; DN) T cells that expanded in situ. Using adoptive transfer experiments, we found that these cells did not home to peripheral lymph nodes of CD18wt recipients but, like antigen‐experienced T or natural killer (NK) T cells, recirculated through non‐lymphoid organs. Lacking regulatory functions in vitro, CD18−/− TCR‐αβ DN T cells did not suppress the proliferation of polyclonally activated CD4+ or CD8+ (single‐positive; SP) T cells. Most interestingly, CD18−/− TCR‐αβ DN T cells showed intermediate TCR expression levels, an absent activation through allogeneic major histocompatibility complex and a strong proliferative dependence on interleukin‐2, hence, closely resembling NKT cells. However, our data oppose former reports, clearly showing that, because of an absent reactivity with CD1d‐αGalCer dimers, these cells are not mature classical NKT cells. Our data indicate that CD18−/− TCR‐αβ DN T cells, like NKT and TCR‐γδ T cells, share characteristics of both adaptive and innate immune cells, and may accumulate as a compensatory mechanism to the functional defect of adaptive immunity in CD18−/− mice.
Comparison of social networks derived from ecological data: implications for inferring infectious disease dynamics
Authors: Perkins Sarah E. , Cagnacci Francesca , Stradiotto Anna , Arnoldi Daniele , Hudson Peter J. 
Published: May 2009

Summary1. Social network analyses tend to focus on human interactions. However, there is a burgeoning interest in applying graph theory to ecological data from animal populations. Here we show how radio‐tracking and capture–mark–recapture data collated from wild rodent populations can be used to generate contact networks.2. Both radio‐tracking and capture–mark–recapture were undertaken simultaneously. Contact networks were derived and the following statistics estimated: mean‐contact rate, edge distribution, connectance and centrality.3. Capture–mark–recapture networks produced more informative and complete networks when the rodent density was high and radio‐tracking produced more informative networks when the density was low. Different data collection methods provide more data when certain ecological characteristics of the population prevail.4. Both sets of data produced networks with comparable edge (contact) distributions that were best described by a negative binomial distribution. Connectance and closeness were statistically different between the two data sets. Only betweenness was comparable. The differences between the networks have important consequences for the transmission of infectious diseases. Care should be taken when extrapolating social networks to transmission networks for inferring disease dynamics.
Sixteen years on: Has quality of care for rural and non‐compensable traumatic brain injury clients improved?
Authors: O'Callaghan Anna M. , McAllister Lindy , Wilson Linda 
Published: May 2009

Abstract This review focuses on two factors that influence client access to care following head injury. These factors, namely the degree of rurality of a client's home town and the funding model to which they are allocated, are discussed in light of the results of the ‘Head Injury Impact Project’. National and international publications, anecdotal reports and clinical experience illustrating current practices in care provision both nationally and internationally are then described. Finally, future research is proposed investigating perceived variations in access to services according to location, funding and other factors.
Relationships between body fatness, small‐screen sedentary activity and regionality among schoolchildren in Victoria, Australia
Authors: Aucote Helen M. , Cooper Andrew 
Published: May 2009

AbstractObjective:  To examine the difference in body fatness and engagement in small‐screen activities across children living in different degrees of regionality, and to examine the relationship between child body fatness and small‐screen activities. Design:  Cross‐sectional study design. Participants:  Grade 5–6 schoolchildren (n = 393) from central and metropolitan Victoria, and a parent/guardian of each child (n = 393).Main outcome measures:  Parents completed a questionnaire on their child's engagement in television (TV) viewing and video game playing (VGP). Children's weight and height were measured by a researcher. Body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) was calculated and adjusted for age and sex. Regionality (metropolitan, population > 100 000; regional, 100 000 > population < 20 000; and rural, population < 10 000) and socioeconomic status (socioeconomic indexes for areas: index of disadvantage) were assigned according to school attended.Results:  BMI did not differ across regionality or sex. Boys engaged in more VGP than girls, and metropolitan children engaged in more VGP than rural and regional children. TV viewing did not differ across sex or regionality. VGP did not predict BMI, and TV viewing did not predict girls' BMI. Three to four per cent of the variance in boys' BMI was predicted by TV viewing. Conclusions:  Boys and metropolitan children engage in more VGP. Boys', but not girls', BMI is related to TV viewing. Interventions designed to decrease engagement in TV viewing should be targeting boys.
Stress and help‐seeking for drought‐stricken citrus growers in the Riverland of South Australia
Authors: Staniford Alice K. , Dollard Maureen F. , Guerin Bernard 
Published: May 2009

AbstractObjective:  To explore the psychological impact of a problematic industrial climate for citrus growers, their help‐seeking behaviour and perspectives on ways to encourage better use of rural mental health services. Design:  Thematic analysis of in‐depth interviews. Setting:  The Riverland of South Australia. Participants:  Sixteen citrus growers (12 male, 4 female) from eight Riverland towns. Main outcome measures:  Citrus growers' perceived factors relating to psychological stress, coping behaviours, impact of stress on well‐being, help‐seeking behaviours, barriers to help‐seeking and ways to encourage better use of rural mental health services. Results:  Work‐related stresses grouped under broad themes, including ‘Uncontrollable events’, ‘Financial hardship’ and ‘Pressure’, had negative effects on participants' well‐being. Furthermore, it was found that significant difficulties arise because many of the stresses which growers endure are not controllable, and that the alleviation of strain with the help of mental health professionals is uncommon because of barriers preventing help‐seeking. Five broad themes of barriers to help‐seeking were extracted from the data: ‘Self‐reliance’, ‘Social image’, ‘Lack of knowledge’, ‘Negative perceptions of health professionals' efficacy’ and ‘Restrictive lifestyle factors’. A specialised model of occupational health for citrus growers was proposed. Conclusions:  These results highlight the practical need to address the identified issues in delivery and promotion of health services when facilitating help‐seeking within this group. The findings also add to our knowledge of occupational health psychology broadly.
Connectivity and patch area in a coastal marine landscape: Disentangling their influence on local species richness and composition
Authors: BORTHAGARAY ANA INÉS , BRAZEIRO ALEJANDRO , GIMÉNEZ LUIS 
Published: May 2009

AbstractLandscape ecology emerged as a terrestrial discipline to evaluate the effect of spatial configuration of natural systems on ecological patterns. The advances in marine systems have been comparatively scarce perhaps as a consequence of a long‐standing view about the greater dispersal potential of marine species and its effect on the spatial homogenization of marine landscapes. Herein we used an intertidal rocky system as a model to analyse the effect of landscape attributes on local species richness and composition. We evaluated the effect of patch area, landscape connectivity and salinity gradient on local species richness of macro‐invertebrates, and the effect of geographic distance on species similarity. We sampled 19 rocky patches along the Uruguayan Atlantic coast one time during the spring of 2003. The relative contribution of the variables assessed on specific richness of sessile, mobile and total macrofauna was analysed with a stepwise multiple linear regression. For the mobile macrofaunal richness, we also incorporated the sessile macrofaunal richness as another independent variable. The effect of geographic distance on biological similarity was assessed by a Mantel test. We showed that landscape connectivity, as a descriptor of the average physical isolation of a biological community in the landscape, is an important factor explaining the community species richness for sessile macrofauna, what indirectly increases the mobile macrofaunal richness. The geographic distance between sites was negatively related to species similarity. We suggest that at the landscape scale, connectivity among sites can be important to understand the local structure of marine communities, particularly in rocky intertidal systems. Also the distance‐decay of similarity in community composition provides a useful descriptor of how biological composition varies along a physical gradient. Our results contribute to reinforce the view that mesoscale connectivity (101–2 km) in coastal marine landscapes plays a more important role in local community structure than previously assumed.