bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Candidemia in patients with hematologic malignancies in the era of new antifungal agents (2001‐2007)
Authors: Sipsas Nikolaos V. , Lewis Russell E. , Tarrand Jeffrey , Hachem Ray , Rolston Kenneth V. , Raad Issam I. , Kontoyiannis Dimitrios P. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractBACKGROUND:The incidence, epidemiology, Candida species distribution, resistance patterns, and outcome of candidemia in high‐risk hematologic malignancy and/or stem cell transplantation patients have not been extensively described since the introduction of new antifungal agents.METHODS:In this retrospective study, the authors reviewed the medical records and microbiologic data of hematologic malignancy patients with candidemia at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center from March 2001 to February 2007.RESULTS:The authors analyzed 173 episodes of candidemia (170 patients), 125 (72%) of which were breakthrough cases after prior antifungal agents, mainly fluconazole (28 [22%]), caspofungin (25 [20%]), and voriconazole (18 [14%]). The incidence of candidemia (per 100,000 inpatient days) remained relatively stable, from 13.9 in 2001 to 19.2 in 2006. However, compared with the findings of previous studies at the authors' institution, the frequency of Candida glabrata and C. krusei infection decreased (to 5% and 17%, respectively) and C. parapsilosis (24%) and C. tropicalis (21%) increased. C. parapsilosis fungemia was associated with prior caspofungin use (P < .001). The overall 30‐day crude mortality rate was 38%, and the attributable mortality rate was 19%, similar to previous findings at the authors' institution. The Candida species associated with the highest mortality rate was C. glabrata.CONCLUSIONS:Despite the widespread use of antifungal prophylaxis and the introduction of new antifungal agents, the incidence and associated mortality rates of candidemia remained stable in high‐risk hematologic malignancy patients. However, its epidemiological characteristics have shifted, with C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis becoming more common. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society.
A grid workflow environment for brain imaging analysis on distributed systems
Authors: Pandey Suraj , Voorsluys William , Rahman Mustafizur , Buyya Rajkumar , Dobson James E. , Chiu Kenneth 
Published: July 2009

AbstractScientific applications like neuroscience data analysis are usually compute and data‐intensive. With the use of the additional capacity offered by distributed resources and suitable middlewares, we can achieve much shorter execution time, distribute compute and storage load, and add greater flexibility to the execution of these scientific applications than we could ever achieve in a single compute resource. In this paper, we present the processing of image registration (IR) for functional magnetic resonance imaging studies on Global Grids. We characterize the application, list its requirements and then transform it to a workflow. We use Gridbus Broker and Gridbus Workflow Engine technologies for executing the neuroscience application on the Grid. We developed a complete web‐based portal integrating GUI‐based workflow editor, execution management, monitoring and visualization of tasks and resources. We describe each component of the system in detail. We then execute the application on Grid'5000 platform and present extensive performance results. We show that the IR application can have (1) significantly improved makespan, (2) distribution of compute and storage load among resources used, and (3) flexibility when executing multiple times on Grid resources. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Role of microRNA in anticancer drug resistance
Authors: Zheng Tongsen , Wang Jiabei , Chen Xi , Liu Lianxin 
Published: July 2009

AbstractChemotherapy has been widely used in treatment of cancer, both as systemic therapy and as part of local treatment. Unfortunately, many kinds of cancer are still refractory to chemotherapy. The anticancer drug resistance mechanisms have been extensively explored, yet have not been fully characterized. Recent works have underlined the involvement of noncoding RNAs in cancer development, with several studies regarding their possible involvement in the evolution of drug resistance. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small noncoding RNAs (20–23 nucleotides) that negatively regulate the gene expressions at the post‐transcriptional level by base pairing to the 3′ untranslated region of target messenger RNAs. Evidence is emerging that particular microRNAs (miRNA) alterations are involved in the initiation and progression of human cancer. More recently, accumulating evidence is revealing an important role of miRNAs in anticancer drug resistance and miRNA expression profiling can be correlated with the development of anticancer drug resistance. The micro‐RNA‐mediated form of drug resistance adds yet another mechanism of drug resistance. So, exploiting the emerging knowledge of miRNAs for the development of new human therapeutic applications for overcoming anticancer drug resistance will be important.
Preclinical in vivo evaluation of rapamycin in human malignant peripheral nerve sheath explant xenograft
Authors: Bhola Priya , Banerjee Sutapa , Mukherjee Joydeep , Balasubramanium Anand , Arun Vedant , Karim Zia , Burrell Kelly , Croul Sidney , Gutmann David H. , Guha Abhijit 
Published: July 2009

AbstractNeurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients are prone to the development of malignant tumors, the most common being Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor (MPNST). NF1‐MPNST patients have an overall poor survival due to systemic metastasis. Currently, the management of MPNSTs includes surgery and radiation; however, conventional chemotherapy is not very effective, underscoring the need for effective biologically‐targeted therapies. Recently, the NF1 gene product, neurofibromin, was shown to negatively regulate the phosphoinositide‐3‐kinase (PI3K)/Protein Kinase‐B (Akt)/mammalian Target Of Rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, with loss of neurofibromin expression in established human MPNST cell lines associated with high levels of mTOR activity. We developed and characterized a human NF1‐MPNST explant grown subcutaneously in NOD‐SCID mice, to evaluate the effect of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. We demonstrate that rapamycin significantly inhibited human NF1‐MPNST mTOR pathway activation and explant growth in vivo at doses as low as 1.0 mg/kg/day, without systemic toxicities. While rapamycin was effective at reducing NF1‐MPNST proliferation and angiogenesis, with decreased CyclinD1 and VEGF respectively, there was no increase in tumor apoptosis. Rapamycin effectively decreased activation of S6 downstream of mTOR, but there was accompanied increased Akt activation. This study demonstrates the therapeutic potential and limitations of rapamycin in NF1‐associated, and likely sporadic, MPNSTs.
Evidence for the contribution of insulin resistance to the development of cachexia in tumor‐bearing mice
Authors: Asp Michelle L. , Tian Min , Wendel Angela A. , Belury Martha A. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractCancer cachexia is a syndrome of unintentional weight loss that is characterized by wasting of both skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. Glucose intolerance and insulin resistance have been associated with cancer cachexia. However, it is unknown whether resistance to insulin has a role in the development of cachexia. In the present study, male CD2F1 mice with colon‐26 adenocarcinoma tumors underwent an insulin tolerance test before the onset of weight loss. Compared to mice without tumors, mice with tumors had a profoundly blunted blood glucose response to insulin. Corroborating these findings, mice with tumors had decreased phosphorylation of Akt in quadriceps muscle and epididymal adipose tissue at the end of the study. Expression of Akt‐regulated genes Atrogin‐1, MuRF‐1, and Bnip3 was increased in muscle, suggesting a role for decreased insulin signaling in the induction of both proteasomal proteolysis and autophagy in cachectic muscle. Rosiglitazone treatment increased serum adiponectin, insulin sensitivity, and body weight, and decreased Atrogin‐1 and MuRF‐1 expression in the skeletal muscle of tumor‐bearing mice. In conclusion, insulin resistance is an early event in mice with cachexia induced by colon‐26 tumors. Rosiglitazone improves insulin sensitivity and decreases early markers of cachexia. These data provide evidence that insulin resistance is not only present in cachexia, but also has a role in cachexia pathogenesis. Correction of insulin resistance may be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer cachexia.
Bcl‐XL and MCL‐1 constitute pertinent targets in ovarian carcinoma and their concomitant inhibition is sufficient to induce apoptosis
Authors: Brotin Emilie , Meryet‐Figuière Matthieu , Simonin Karin , Duval Raphaël E. , Villedieu Marie , Leroy‐Dudal Johanne , Saison‐Behmoaras Ester , Gauduchon Pascal , Denoyelle Christophe , Poulain Laurent 
Published: July 2009

AbstractIn ovarian carcinomas, recurrence and acquired chemoresistance are the first leading causes of therapeutic failure and are responsible for the poor overall survival rate. Cisplatin exposure of sensitive cells has been previously associated with a down‐regulation of Bcl‐XL expression and apoptosis, whereas recurrence was systematically observed when Bcl‐XL expression was maintained. Bcl‐XL down‐regulation could thus constitute an interesting chemosensitizing strategy. We showed that a Bcl‐XLtargeted RNA interference strategy efficiently sensitized chemoresistant ovarian carcinoma cells to cisplatin, but some of them were still able to re‐proliferate. Considering the possible cooperation between Bcl‐XLand MCL‐1, we investigated the possibility to avoid recurrence in vitro using a multi‐targeted RNAi strategy directed against these two anti‐apoptotic proteins. We showed that their concomitant inhibition lead to massive apoptosis in absence of cisplatin, this multi‐targeted RNAi approach being much more efficient than conventional chemotherapy. We thus demonstrated that Bcl‐XL and MCL‐1 cooperate to constitute together a strong molecular “bolt”, which elimination could be sufficient to allow chemoresistant ovarian carcinoma cells apoptosis. Moreover, we demonstrated that in presence of a low concentration of cisplatin, the concomitant down‐regulation of Bcl‐XL and MCL‐1 allowed a complete annihilation of tumour cells population thus avoiding subsequent recurrence in vitro in cell lines highly refractory to any type of conventional chemotherapy. Therefore, Bcl‐XL and MCL‐1 targeted strategies could constitute an efficient therapeutic tool for the treatment of chemoresistant ovarian carcinoma, in association with conventional chemotherapy.
‘Click labelling’ in PET radiochemistry
Authors: Glaser Matthias , Robins Edward G. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe copper(I)‐catalysed 1,3‐dipolar cylcoaddition of terminal alkynes with substituted azides has seen a rapidly growing popularity in a wide range of applications. This versatile coupling reaction has been also recognised as an invaluable tool to meet the high radiosynthetic demands of tracers for Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Here, we are reviewing publications from 2006 to March 2009. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Postglacial chironomid assemblage succession in northernmost Ungava Peninsula, Canada
Authors: Saulnier‐Talbot Émilie , Pienitz Reinhard 
Published: July 2009

AbstractSediment cores spanning the postglacial period were recovered from two coastal freshwater basins located 300 km apart in northernmost Ungava (Nunavik, Canada). A basal date from the sequence recovered near Wakeham Bay suggests that the region was ice‐free by as early as 9600 cal. a BP. The initial development of both investigated lacustrine ecosystems was characterised by chironomid assemblages strongly dominated by the Subtribe Tanytarsina. These early postglacial assemblages showed greatly reduced diversity but much greater abundance than during subsequent periods of lake evolution. An abrupt and distinct turnover in sedimentary chironomid assemblage composition and productivity, marked by a switch to a dominance of Orthocladiinae, occurred around 6 ka BP. This turnover likely corresponds with a significant disturbance in the regional environment, which could be linked to the final disappearance of the last remnants of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. These findings, based on the first palaeolimnological investigations undertaken in northernmost Ungava, provide new insights into lateglacial and postglacial faunal recolonisation patterns in aquatic ecosystems of the eastern Canadian Arctic. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Strategies in developing promising histone deacetylase inhibitors
Authors: Zhang Lei , Fang Hao , Xu Wenfang 
Published: July 2009

AbstractHistone deacetylases (HDACs) are a family of enzymes that have been of interest in drug discovery for more than 30 years. Inhibitors of HDACs are potential therapeutics for various diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation, viral infection, and especially cancer. Most HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) are designed for cancer therapy. In 2006, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for once‐daily oral treatment of advanced cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma. In the meantime, there have been aggressive efforts to bring HDACi to the market for every major tumor type, either as a single therapy or in combination, and a number of compounds are currently undergoing clinical trials. Multiple strategies have been applied to the rational design of drugs targeting HDACs by taking advantage of the new developments in proteomics, chemogenomics, cheminformatics, and computational chemistry/biology. Herein, we review the current methods successfully used in developing novel HDACi. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 30, No. 4, 585–602, 2010
Post void dribbling: Incidence and risk factors
Authors: Ablove Tova 
Published: July 2009

AbstractAimsThe primary aim of this study was to determine the incidence of post void dribbling (PVD) in women being evaluated for pelvic floor dysfunction. The secondary aim was to identify other conditions present in women with symptoms of PVD.Materials and Methods163 consecutive women with complaints of PVD who underwent urodynamic testing were studied. Testing was performed to evaluate women scheduled for surgery for incontinence, irritative bladder, urinary retention and pelvic organ prolapse. Subjects completed a medical history and voiding diary. A complete pelvic exam was performed. Patients were questioned regarding symptoms of PVD, stress incontinence, urge incontinence and insensible urine loss. Menopausal status, hormone replacement therapy status, age, body mass index, residual urine volume, genital hiatus length, and evidence of pelvic organ prolapse were recorded. Maximal urethral closure pressure, urethral length, pressure transmission ratio, and documentation of detrusor overactivity or urodynamic stress incontinence were determined by urodynamic testing.Results42% of patients had symptoms of PVD. The incidence of PVD decreased with age. In pre‐ and peri‐menopausal women, there was an association between PVD and urge incontinence. In post‐menopausal women, there was an association between age, body mass index, and genital hiatus length.ConclusionsThere was a significant correlation between PVD and urge incontinence in pre‐menopausal patients. The overall incidence and causes of PVD relative to age require further study. Body mass index and genital hiatus length may play an important role in PVD, especially in post‐menopausal women. Neurourol. Urodynam. 29:432–436, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Obesity is associated with a more severe overactive bladder disease state that is effectively treated with once‐daily administration of trospium chloride extended release
Authors: Chancellor Michael B. , Oefelein Michael G. , Vasavada Sandip 
Published: July 2009

AbstractAimsObesity is an established risk factor for urinary incontinence, yet no information exists as to the efficacy of antimuscarinic agents in this population. The goal of this study is to examine the efficacy of once daily trospium chloride (Sanctura™) XR in overweight and obese patients with the overactive bladder syndrome.MethodsThe primary and secondary end‐points of the 1,165 study subjects from the integrated trospium chloride XR pivotal trials were stratified by World Health Organization (WHO) obesity levels I and II.ResultsObesity (WHO level I, II criteria) was associated with a more severe baseline OAB disease state (P < 0.01). Trospium chloride XR was more effective than placebo at reducing the primary endpoints (toilet voids, UUI, P < 0.0001) and at improving the secondary end‐points (percent patients continent and urgency severity, P < 0.0001) for WHO obesity levels I and II.ConclusionsObesity is associated with a more severe OAB disease state. Once daily trospium chloride XR is efficacious in the obese patient with the OAB syndrome. Neurourol. Urodynam. 29:551–554, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Lingering environmental pessimism and the role of government in Hong Kong
Authors: Wong Timothy Ka‐Ying , Wan Po‐San 
Published: July 2009

AbstractBased on data from two opinion surveys conducted in 2000 and 2008, this study shows that Hong Kong people have been consistently highly aware of the seriousness of different environmental problems and relatively pessimistic about the future resolution of these problems. Such pessimism is arguably related to their lack of confidence in the government's enforcement of environmental protection. Through an analysis of the environmental policy‐making and enforcement agency and three selected enforcement cases, the study further finds that the people's lack of confidence can be traced to the government's failure to bring about a comprehensive, integrated, far‐sighted environmental strategy with sophisticated institutional support and detailed enforcement mechanisms. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Alchemy of Jargon: Etymologies of urologic neologisms. number 6: The language of the urogenital system
Authors: Shelfer Lochlan 
Published: July 2009

AbstractBACKGROUNDAs the scientific community is increasingly severed from the study of linguistics, the underlying significance of their common technical words is becoming blurred. This article will focus on the genesis of terminology of the urogenital system.METHODSThese notes will give a detailed background of the history of technical terms, including how they came into being, whence they were derived, and how they impacted the scientific community through the ages.RESULTSIn this installment, following terms are analyzed: Penis, Ampulla, Vas Deferens, Epididymis, Gonad, and Bladder.CONCLUSIONSThis analysis of the history and significance of scientific terms common to the urological community works towards a fortification of their power by offering a reminder of their origins. Prostate 69: 1611–1612, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Assessment of domain boundary predictions and the prediction of intramolecular contacts in CASP8
Authors: Ezkurdia Iakes , Graña Osvaldo , Izarzugaza José M. G. , Tress Michael L. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThis article details the assessment process and evaluation results for two categories in the 8th Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction experiment (CASP8). The domain prediction category was evaluated with a range of scores including the Normalized Domain Overlap score and a domain boundary distance measure. Residue‐residue contact predictions were evaluated with standard CASP measures, prediction accuracy, and Xd. In the domain boundary prediction category, prediction methods still make reliable predictions for targets that have structural templates, but continue to struggle to make good predictions for the few ab initio targets in CASP. There was little indication of improvement in the domain prediction category. The contact prediction category demonstrated that there was renewed interest among predictors and despite the small sample size the results suggested that there had been an increase in prediction accuracy. In contrast to CASP7 contact specialists predicted contacts more accurately than the majority of tertiary structure predictors. Despite this small success, the lack of free modeling targets makes it unlikely that either category will be included in their present form in CASP9. Proteins 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Shape and evolution of thermostable protein structure
Authors: Coleman Ryan G. , Sharp Kim A. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractOrganisms evolved at high temperatures must maintain their proteins' structures in the face of increased thermal disorder. This challenge results in differences in residue utilization and overall structure. Focusing on thermostable/mesostable pairs of homologous structures, we have examined these differences using novel geometric measures: specifically burial depth (distance from the molecular surface to each atom) and travel depth (distance from the convex hull to the molecular surface that avoids the protein interior). These along with common metrics like packing and Wadell Sphericity are used to gain insight into the constraints experienced by thermophiles. Mean travel depth of hyperthermostable proteins is significantly less than that of their mesostable counterparts, indicating smaller, less numerous and less deep pockets. The mean burial depth of hyperthermostable proteins is significantly higher than that of mesostable proteins indicating that they bury more atoms further from the surface. The burial depth can also be tracked on the individual residue level, adding a finer level of detail to the standard exposed surface area analysis. Hyperthermostable proteins for the first time are shown to be more spherical than their mesostable homologues, regardless of when and how they adapted to extreme temperature. Additionally, residue specific burial depth examinations reveal that charged residues stay unburied, most other residues are slightly more buried and Alanine is more significantly buried in hyperthermostable proteins. Proteins 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The influence of surfactants on the processing of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes in reinforced cement matrix composites
Authors: Luo Jianlin , Duan Zhongdong , Li Hui 
Published: July 2009

AbstractFive surfactants [sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), sodium deoxycholate (NaDC), Triton X‐100 (TX10), Arabic gum (AG), and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)] were employed separately or jointly as superficial active agents (SAAs), to enhance solubilization/dispersion of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in aqueous solution and cement matrix. The stabilizations of MWNTs in 12 SAAs solutions were estimated through sedimentation time of each suspension with centrifugation or sitting in 60 days. The mechanical and electrical properties as well as microstructures of MWNTs/cement composites (MNT/CCs) using the SAAs of SDBS, NaDC, AG, or the mixture of SDBS and TX10 were investigated. It was found that the capability of SAAs in dispersing MWNTs roughly decreases in the order as SDBS&TX10, SDBS, NaDC&TX10, NaDC, AG, TX10, and CTAB. The SAA of SDBS and TX10 with a mixing ratio of 3:1 by weight exhibits the best solubilization/dispersion capability. The delaminating time of the suspension of the above SAA with or without centrifugation is 80 min and 60 days, respectively. The microscopy observation indicates that the nanotubes form a stable network in the MNT/CC using SDBS&TX10 SAA. In addition, compared to the Plain/C, the corresponding MNT/CC increases in flexural strength, compressive strength, and the electrical conductivity by 29.10%, 20.8%, and two orders of magnitude, respectively. The enhancements are attributed to the uniform and stable distribution of MWNTs with the suitable surfactants and the ultrasonic dispersion method.