bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
High serum lactate dehydrogenase adds prognostic value to the international myeloma staging system even in the era of novel agents
Authors: Terpos Evangelos , Katodritou Eirini , Roussou Maria , Pouli Anastasia , Michalis Eurydiki , Delimpasi Sosana , Parcharidou Agapi , Kartasis Zafiris , Zomas Athanasios , Symeonidis Argiris , Viniou Nora‐Athina , Anagnostopoulos Nikolaos , Economopoulos Theofanis , Zervas Konstantinos , Dimopoulos Meletios A. ,   on behalf of the Greek Myeloma Study Group, Greece
Published: May 2010

AbstractObjectives:  High serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is associated with features of advanced disease and inferior survival in multiple myeloma. It is however unclear whether LDH adds to the prognostic value of International Staging System (ISS) and whether it retains its prognostic significance in patients who are exposed to novel agent‐based therapies.Patients/Methods:  To address these issues we analyzed 996 consecutive symptomatic patients who were included in the database of the Greek Myeloma Study Group and received frontline treatment between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2008.Results:  The median overall survival (OS) of all patients was 40 months with a clear improvement in those who started treatment after January 1, 2000 (49 vs. 31 months; P < 0.01). A multivariate model showed that LDH, ISS, performance status, age and platelet counts had an independent prognostic value for OS (P < 0.001 for all parameters). The median OS of patients with high (11% of patients) and normal LDH was 15 vs. 44 months (P < 0.001). High LDH was associated with inferior OS within all ISS groups: 22 vs. 76 months for high and normal LDH groups, respectively, in ISS‐1 (P < 0.01); 11 vs. 40 months in ISS‐2 (P < 0.001) and 17 vs. 27 months in ISS‐3 (P < 0.01). The median OS of high and normal LDH groups among patients who received novel agents was 21 vs. 51 months, respectively (P < 0.001).Conclusions:  Lactate dehydrogenase is a readily available and inexpensive variable, which has a major impact on the survival of myeloma patients even when they belong to a low or intermediate ISS subgroup and even when they receive novel agent‐based therapies.
Evaluation of faecal calprotectin as a valuable non‐invasive marker in distinguishing gut pathogens in young children with acute gastroenteritis
Authors: Sýkora Josef , Siala Konrad , Huml Michal , Varvařovská Jana , Schwarz Jan , Pomahačová Renáta 
Published: May 2010

AbstractAim:  The aim of the study is to evaluate faecal calprotectin (f‐CP) in children ≤3 years of age with acute gastroenteritis (AG) as an early predictor of bacterial inflammation.Methods:  We prospectively analysed f‐CP levels and diagnostic workup in 107 consecutive children (66 AG, 41 controls).Results:  Children with bacterial AG (BAG) was found to have higher diarrheal frequency (p < 0.01), fever (p < 0.01), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p < 0.001), white blood count (p < 0.01) and C‐reactive protein (CRP) (p < 0.001) compared with viral AG (VAG). Vomiting was frequent in VAG (p < 0.001). f‐CP negatively correlated with age in controls (r = −0.5998). BAG demonstrated significantly higher f‐CP levels [median, 219 μg/g, interquartile range (IQR): 119–350.2] compared with VAG (49.3 μg/g, IQR: 8.8–131.1) as well as controls (26.5 μg/g, IQR: 14.9–55.1) (p < 0.001). VAG and control f‐CP levels were similar. f‐CP was the best‐rated marker of BAG with a diagnostic accuracy of 92%. Receiver–operator characteristic analysis revealed an area under curve of 0.95 for identifying BAG; sensitivity and specificity of f‐CP were 93% and 88%, respectively, at an adjusted cut‐off point of 103.9 μg/g faeces. Combined f‐CP and CRP yield improved diagnostic accuracy of 94% for BAG.Conclusion:  f‐CP facilitates early discrimination between bacterial and viral causes of AG in young children. Combining f‐CP with CRP increases the diagnostic power of diagnosing BAG.
Little Change of Modifiable Risk Factors 1 Year after Stroke: a Pilot Study
Authors: Hornnes Nete , Larsen Klaus , Boysen Gudrun 
Published: May 2010

Background Recurrent stroke accounts for about 25% of admissions for acute stroke. For the prevention of recurrent cerebro and cardiovascular disease, stroke patients are advised to change modifiable stroke risk factors before discharge from stroke units. Aims To investigate the change in modifiable risk factors 1 year after stroke and to explore the feasibility of a preventive programme aimed at stroke patients discharged from hospital. Methods From April 2004 to February 2005, 173 patients admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of stroke were consecutively included and interviewed about their medical history and modifiable risk factors before stroke. One-year follow-up with measurement of blood pressure was performed in 92% of surviving and able participants. Results One year after discharge, 121 participants were reinterviewed and 118 had their blood pressure measured. We found uncontrolled hypertension in 43 of 65 patients (66% of those receiving antihypertensive medication) and unknown hypertension in 30 of 53 patients (57% of those without antihypertensive medication). There was a reduction in the prevalence of excessive consumption of alcohol from 24 of 121 patients (20%) to 16 of 121 patients (13%) (P<005). The frequency of cigarette intake remained unchanged: 57 of 121 patients (47%) 1 year after stroke. The proportion of patients who were physically inactive increased from 36% (43 of 121 patients) before stroke to 59% (71 of 121) 1 year later ( P < 0·0001). Conclusions The change in modifiable risk factors was inadequate 1 year after stroke. The pilot study indicated that a preventive programme should focus on hypertension, smoking and physical inactivity.
Who’s Who from Kant to Hegel I: In the Kantian Wake
Authors: Thielke Peter Graham 
Published: May 2010

AbstractWhile almost all of Kant’s contemporaries agreed that the Critique of Pure Reason effected a philosophically epochal change, there was far less consensus about what precisely Kant’s new critical philosophy had brought about. In large part, this uncertainty was a result of a methodological crisis that Kant’s work had sparked: the Critique had shown that traditional dogmatic metaphysics was suspect at best, but what new methods needed to be adopted in the wake of Kant’s ‘Copernican Revolution’? The Critique stood as the lighting rod at the center of a complicated and especially lively set of debates and disputes that erupted in Germany in the late 1780s and early 1790s: empiricists and rationalists, threatened by the ‘all‐destroying Kant’, leapt to challenge the new critical system; skeptics attacked Kant’s claims to have secured a sure footing for empirical knowledge; a few ambitious thinkers sought to complete the critical system by revealing a foundational first principle on which Kant’s system could rest. All of these elements conspired to make the early stages in post‐Kantian thought one of the richest, most vibrant – and most fascinating – periods in the history of philosophy. The present essay looks at the various figures of the move from Kant to Fichte, and presents some of the excellent new research on the era that has appeared in the last decade or so. The sequel takes up the period from Fichte to Hegel, with an eye toward understanding how Kantian critical philosophy gave way to Hegelian Absolute Idealism.
Shades of meaning: the pigment‐type switching system as a tool for discovery
Authors: Walker Will P. , Gunn Teresa M. 
Published: May 2010

SummaryThe pigment‐type switching system, which controls whether melanocytes produce black/brown eumelanin or yellow/red pheomelanin, is responsible for many familiar coat coloration patterns in both domestic and wild mammals. In conjunction with the accessory proteins attractin and mahogunin ring finger 1, endogenous agonists and antagonists modulate signaling by the melanocortin 1 receptor to determine pigment type. Mutations in pigment‐type switching genes can cause a variety of pleiotropic phenotypes, and these are often similar between mutants at different loci because the proteins encoded by these genes act together as part of conserved molecular pathways that are deployed in multiple biological contexts. When this is the case, pigment‐type switching provides a powerful model system for elucidating the shared molecular mechanisms underlying the pigmentary and non‐pigmentary phenotypes. This review outlines the current understanding of the pigment‐type switching pathway and discusses the opportunities that exist for exploring the molecular basis of pleiotropic phenotypes using this model system.
Cars before Kids: Automobility and the Illusion of School Traffic Safety
Authors: PARUSEL SYLVIA , McLAREN ARLENE TIGAR 
Published: May 2010

La sécurité routière constitue une question d'intérêt public très discutée, et ses pratiques fortement débattues exigent une analyse sociologique et l'attention systématique des politiques publiques. Dans cette étude, les auteurs analysent les programmes de sécurité routière dans les écoles primaires de Vancouver, en Colombie‐Britannique. Ils illustrent comment de tels programmes supposent une politique de la responsabilité visant grandement les enfants et les parents pour en faire des personnes sécuritaires sur la route dans un environnement institutionnel qui ne fournit pourtant aux programmes qu'un soutien et des fonds sporadiques pour administrer les risques de la circulation. Alors que ce contexte de programmes de sécurité routière à l'école aide à maintenir une certaine « illusion de sécurité», elle ne remet pas fondamentalement en question la structure dominante actuelle de la mobilité et les problèmes qui y sont inhérents.Traffic safety is a contested public issue and highly negotiated practice that requires sociological analysis and systematic public policy attention. In our case study, we examine elementary school traffic safety programs in Vancouver, British Columbia. We illustrate how such programs assume a politics of responsibility that largely targets children and parents for traffic safekeeping within an institutional environment that gives programs only sporadic support and funding to manage traffic risks. While this context of school traffic safety programs helps to maintain an “illusion of safety,” it does not challenge the current auto‐dominant mobility structure and its inherent problems.
Obama, Palin, and Weber: Charisma and Social Change in the 2008 U.S. Election
Authors: BOWDEN GARY 
Published: May 2010

Barack Obama et Sarah Palin sont tous les deux souvent étiquetés en tant que charismatique par le public. Pour évaluer si oui ou non, Obama et Palin démontrent une forme de charisme tel que définit par Weber, leurs rhétoriques et leurs actions sont examinées dans le contexte d'élections passées et dans celui où règne une stagnation politique mise en scène par la guerre des cultures. Là où la connexion entre Palin et le public émerge de son rôle de défenderesse dans la guerre des cultures, Obama a articulée une vision d'une communauté partagée, et se faisant, a réorganisé l'électorat en incorporant dans sa coalition la jeunesse désenchantée qui n'avait pas voté durant les dix dernières années.Both Barack Obama and Sarah Palin are commonly labeled “charismatic” by the public. To assess whether or not Obama and Palin exhibit charisma in the Weberian sense, their rhetoric and actions are examined in the context of past elections and the political stagnation brought about by the politics of the culture wars. Where Palin's connection with the public flows from her role as a fighter in the culture wars, Obama articulated a vision of shared community and, in doing so, reorganized the electorate by incorporating disenchanted youth who had not voted over the past decade into his coalition. Thus, in Weberian terms, only Obama manifests charisma.
Disseminated Penicilliosis, Recurrent Bacteremic Nontyphoidal Salmonellosis, and Burkholderiosis Associated with Acquired Immunodeficiency Due to Autoantibody against Gamma Interferon
Authors: Tang Bone Siu-Fai , Chan Jasper Fuk-Woo , Chen Min , Tsang Owen Tak-Yin , Mok M. Y. , Lai Raymond Wai-Man , Lee Rodney , Que Tak-Lun , Tse Herman , Li Iris Wai-Sum , To Kelvin Kai-Wang , Cheng Vincent Chi-Chung , Chan Eric Yuk-Tat , Zheng Bojian , Yuen Kwok-Yung 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACT
Acquired immunodeficiency due to autoantibody against gamma interferon has recently been associated with opportunistic nontuberculous mycobacteriosis, especially among Southeast Asians. We report another 8 cases, all except one apparently immunocompetent hosts who suffered from concomitant or sequential infections by other intracellular pathogens causing penicilliosis, extraintestinal nontyphoidal salmonellosis, and burkholderiosis. The only case with an underlying immunodeficiency syndrome had systemic lupus erythematosus that was quiescent throughout the multiple infective episodes. Eight out of 10 (80.0%) patients with serological evidence of penicilliosis, 5 out of 7 (71.4%) with culture-positive extraintestinal nontyphoidal salmonellosis, 5 out of 28 (17.9%) with serological evidence of melioidosis, and 7 out of 13 (53.8%) with culture-positive nontuberculous mycobacteriosis possessed autoantibody against gamma interferon, whereas only 1 out of 100 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus did. Our study represents the first and largest case series linking this emerging immunodeficiency syndrome with these atypical infections in apparently immunocompetent hosts. Thus, we advocate that any patient with unexplained recurrent or polymicrobial infections due to these intracellular pathogens should be screened for acquired immunodeficiency due to autoantibody against gamma interferon.
Tracking Environmental Norovirus Contamination in a Pediatric Primary Immunodeficiency Unit
Authors: Xerry Jacqueline , Gallimore Chris I. , Cubitt David , Gray Jim J. 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACT
Norovirus strains were detected in two patients and in environmental swabs from a pediatric primary immunodeficiency unit in London, United Kingdom, during an infection control incident in November and December 2007. Detailed analyses of the gene encoding the P2 domain demonstrated that the majority of the strains were not related to the patients and that the environmental contamination was most likely due to secondary transfer by the hands of staff or visitors.
Evaluation of a Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method as a Tool for Diagnosis of Infection by the Zoonotic Simian Malaria ParasitePlasmodium knowlesi
Authors: Iseki Hiroshi , Kawai Satoru , Takahashi Nobuyuki , Hirai Makoto , Tanabe Kazuyuki , Yokoyama Naoaki , Igarashi Ikuo 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACTLoop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a novel method that rapidly amplifies target DNA with high specificity under isothermal conditions. It has been applied as a diagnostic tool for several infectious diseases, including viral, bacterial, and parasitic diseases. In the present study, we developed a LAMP method for the molecular diagnosis ofPlasmodium knowlesiinfection (PkLAMP) and evaluated its sensitivity, specificity, and clinical applicability. We designed three sets ofPkLAMP primers for the species-specific β-tubulin gene. The primer sets forPkLAMP specifically amplified the autologous DNA extracts ofP. knowlesi, and the sensitivity of the test was 100-fold that of single-PCR assay. These results indicate that ourPkLAMP method can be used to efficiently distinguish betweenP. knowlesiand other malaria parasites. To evaluate the feasibility of usingin vivomaterials, comparisons ofPkLAMP and the conventional nested PCR (nPCR) method and microscopic examination were made with blood samples from two experimentally infected monkeys. These studies showed thatP. knowlesiinfection can be identified much earlier withPkLAMP than with nPCR and microscopy. Moreover, the detection performance ofPkLAMP using whole blood as the template was identical to that ofPkLAMP when genomic DNA extracts were used. These results suggest that thePkLAMP method is a promising tool for molecular diagnosis ofP. knowlesiinfection in areas of endemicity.
Multicenter Study To Determine Disk Diffusion and Broth Microdilution Criteria for Prediction of High- and Low-Level Mupirocin Resistance in
Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Swenson Jana M. , Wong Betty , Simor Andrew E. , Thomson Richard B. , Ferraro Mary Jane , Hardy Dwight J. , Hindler Janet , Jorgensen James , Reller L. Barth , Traczewski Maria , McDougal Linda K. , Patel Jean B. 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACT

Mupirocin susceptibility testing of
Staphylococcus aureus
has become more important as mupirocin is used more widely to suppress or eliminate
S. aureus
colonization and prevent subsequent health care- and community-associated infections. The present multicenter study evaluated two susceptibility testing screening methods to detect mupirocin high-level resistance (HLR), broth microdilution (BMD) MICs of ≥512 μg/ml, and a 6-mm zone diameter for a disk diffusion (DD) test with a 200-μg disk. Initial testing indicated that with Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute methods for BMD and DD testing, the optimal conditions for the detection of mupirocin HLR were 24 h of incubation and reading of the DD zone diameters with transmitted light. Using the presence or absence of
mupA
as the “gold standard” for HLR, the sensitivity and specificity of a single-well 256 μg/ml BMD test were 97 and 99%, respectively, and those for the 200-μg disk test were 98 and 99%, respectively. Testing with two disks, 200 μg and 5 μg, was evaluated for its ability to distinguish HLR isolates (MICs ≥ 512 μg/ml), low-level-resistant (LLR) isolates (MICs = 8 to 256 μg/ml), and susceptible isolates (MICs ≤ 4 μg/ml). Using no zone with both disks as an indication of HLR and no zone with the 5-μg disk plus any zone with the 200-μg disk as LLR, only 3 of the 340 isolates were misclassified, with 3 susceptible isolates being classified as LLR. Use of standardized MIC or disk tests could enable the detection of emerging high- and low-level mupirocin resistance in
S. aureus
.
Vif of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus from Domestic Cats Protects against APOBEC3 Restriction Factors from Many Felids
Authors: Zielonka Jörg , Marino Daniela , Hofmann Henning , Yuhki Naoya , Löchelt Martin , Münk Carsten 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACT

To get more insight into the role of APOBEC3 (A3) cytidine deaminases in the species-specific restriction of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) of the domestic cat, we tested the A3 proteins present in big cats (puma, lion, tiger, and lynx). These A3 proteins were analyzed for expression and sensitivity to the Vif protein of FIV. While A3Z3s and A3Z2-Z3s inhibited Δ
vif
FIV, felid A3Z2s did not show any antiviral activity against Δ
vif
FIV or wild-type (wt) FIV. All felid A3Z3s and A3Z2-Z3s were sensitive to Vif of the domestic cat FIV. Vif also induced depletion of felid A3Z2s. Tiger A3s showed a moderate degree of resistance against the Vif-mediated counter defense. These findings may imply that the A3 restriction system does not play a major role to prevent domestic cat FIV transmission to other
Felidae
. In contrast to the sensitive felid A3s, many nonfelid A3s actively restricted wt FIV replication. To test whether Vif
FIV
can protect also the distantly related human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), a chimeric HIV-1.Vif
FIV
was constructed. This HIV-1.Vif
FIV
was replication competent in nonpermissive feline cells expressing human CD4/CCR5 that did not support the replication of wt HIV-1. We conclude that the replication of HIV-1 in some feline cells is inhibited only by feline A3 restriction factors and the absence of the appropriate receptor or coreceptor.
Control of HIV-1 in Elite Suppressors despite Ongoing Replication and Evolution in Plasma Virus
Authors: O'Connell Karen A. , Brennan Timothy P. , Bailey Justin R. , Ray Stuart C. , Siliciano Robert F. , Blankson Joel N. 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACT

A subset of HIV-1-infected patients known as elite controllers or suppressors (ES) control the virus naturally. We have previously demonstrated sequence discordance between proviral and plasma
gag
clones in ES, much of which can be attributed to selective pressure from the host (J. R. Bailey, T. M. Williams, R. F. Siliciano, and J. N. Blankson, J. Exp. Med. 203:1357-1369, 2006). However, it is not clear whether ongoing viral replication continues in ES once the control of viremia has been established or whether selective pressure impacts this evolution. The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response in ES often targets Gag and frequently is superior to that of HIV-1 progressors, partially due to the HLA class I alleles B*57/5801 and B*27, which are overrepresented in ES. We therefore examined longitudinal plasma and proviral
gag
sequences from HLA-B*57/5801 and -B*27 ES. Despite the highly conserved nature of
gag
, we observed clear evidence of evolution in the plasma virus, largely due to synonymous substitutions. In contrast, evolution was rare in proviral clones, suggesting that ongoing replication in ES does not permit the significant reseeding of the latent reservoir. Interestingly, there was little continual evolution in CTL epitopes, and we detected
de novo
CTL responses to autologous viral mutants. Thus, some ES control viremia despite ongoing replication and evolution.
Optimal Replication of Human Cytomegalovirus Correlates with Endocytosis of Glycoprotein gpUL132
Authors: Kropff Barbara , Koedel Yvonne , Britt William , Mach Michael 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACT

Envelopment of a herpesvirus particle is a complex process of which much is still to be learned. We previously identified the glycoprotein gpUL132 of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) as an envelope component of the virion. In its carboxy-terminal portion, gpUL132 contains at least four motifs for sorting of transmembrane proteins to endosomes; among them are one dileucine-based signal and three tyrosine-based signals of the YXXØ and NPXY (where X stands for any amino acid, and Ø stands for any bulky hydrophobic amino acid) types. To investigate the role of each of these trafficking signals in intracellular localization and viral replication, we constructed a panel of expression plasmids and recombinant viruses in which the signals were rendered nonfunctional by mutagenesis. In transfected cells wild-type gpUL132 was mainly associated with the
trans-
Golgi network. Consecutive mutation of the trafficking signals resulted in increasing fractions of the protein localized at the cell surface, with gpUL132 mutated in all four trafficking motifs predominantly associated with the plasma membrane. Concomitant with increased surface expression, endocytosis of mutant gpUL132 was reduced, with a gpUL132 expressing all four motifs in mutated form being almost completely impaired in endocytosis. The replication of recombinant viruses harboring mutations in single trafficking motifs was comparable to replication of wild-type virus. In contrast, viruses containing mutations in three or four of the trafficking signals showed pronounced deficits in replication with a reduction of approximately 100-fold. Moreover, recombinant viruses expressing gpUL132 with three or four trafficking motifs mutated failed to incorporate the mutant protein into the virus particle. These results demonstrate a role of endocytosis of an HCMV envelope glycoprotein for incorporation into the virion and optimal virus replication.