bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparative Efficacies of Human Simulated Exposures of Telavancin and Vancomycin against Methicillin-Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
with a Range of Vancomycin MICs in a Murine Pneumonia Model
Authors: Crandon Jared L. , Kuti Joseph L. , Nicolau David P. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACT

Telavancin displays potent
in vitro
and
in vivo
activity against methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA), including strains with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin. We compared the efficacies of telavancin and vancomycin against MRSA strains with vancomycin MICs of ≥1 μg/ml in a neutropenic murine lung infection model. Thirteen clinical MRSA isolates (7 vancomycin-susceptible, 2 vancomycin-heteroresistant [hVISA], and 4 vancomycin-intermediate [VISA] isolates) were tested after 24 h, and 7 isolates (1 hVISA and 4 VISA isolates) were tested after 48 h of exposure. Mice were administered subcutaneous doses of telavancin at 40 mg/kg of body weight every 12 h (q12h) or of vancomycin at 110 mg/kg q12h; doses were designed to simulate the area under the concentration-time curve for the free, unbound fraction of drug (
f
AUC) observed for humans given telavancin at 10 mg/kg q24h or vancomycin at 1 g q12h. Efficacy was expressed as the 24- or 48-h change in lung bacterial density from pretreatment counts. At dose initiation, the mean bacterial load was 6.16 ± 0.26 log
10
CFU/ml, which increased by averages of 1.26 ± 0.55 and 1.74 ± 0.68 log in untreated mice after 24 and 48 h, respectively. At both time points, similar CFU reductions were noted for telavancin and vancomycin against MRSA, with vancomycin MICs of ≤2 μg/ml. Both drugs were similarly efficacious after 24 and 48 h of treatment against the hVISA strains tested. Against VISA isolates, telavancin reduced bacterial burdens significantly more than vancomycin for 1 of 4 isolates after 24 h and for 3 of 4 isolates after 48 h. These data support the potential utility of telavancin for the treatment of MRSA pneumonia caused by pathogens with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin.
Nasal Carriage of Methicillin-Resistant and Methicillin-Sensitive Strains ofStaphylococcus sciuriin the Indonesian Population
Authors: Severin J. A. , Lestari E. S. , Kuntaman K. , Pastink M. , Snijders S. V. , Lemmens-den Toom N. , Horst-Kreft D. , Hadi U. , Duerink D. O. , Goessens W. H. , Fluit A. C. , van Wamel W. , van Belkum A. , Verbrugh H. A. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTStaphylococcus sciuristrains were unexpectedly cultured from healthy persons and patients from Indonesia during a population-based survey on nasalStaphylococcus aureuscarriage. Fifty-oneS. sciuriisolates were further characterized. TheS. aureus mecAgene was detected by PCR in 22 isolates (43.1%), whereasS. sciuri mecAwas found in 33 isolates (64.7%). The staphylococcal cassette chromosomemec(SCCmec) regions ofS. aureus mecA-positive isolates contained elements of classicalS. aureusSCCmectypes II and/or III.
Elevated Levels of thePlasmodium yoeliiHomologue of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Attenuate Blood-Stage Malaria
Authors: Thorat Swati , Daly Thomas M. , Bergman Lawrence W. , Burns James M. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTThe excessive production of proinflammatory cytokines plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of severe malaria. Mammalian macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) (mMIF) is an immune mediator that promotes a sustained proinflammatory response by inhibiting the glucocorticoid-mediated downregulation of inflammation. In addition,Plasmodiumparasites also encode a homologue of mammalian MIF that is expressed in asexual-stage parasites. We used thePlasmodium yoeliimurine model to study the potential role of parasite-encoded MIF in the pathogenesis of malaria. Antibodies raised against purified, non-epitope-taggedP. yoeliiMIF (PyMIF) were used to localize expression in trophozoite- and schizont-stage parasites and demonstrate extracellular release.In vitro, recombinantPyMIF was shown to actively induce the chemotaxis of macrophages but did not induce or enhance tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) production from peritoneal macrophages. To examine the role of parasite-derivedPyMIFin vivo, two transgenic parasite lines that constitutively overexpressPyMIF were generated, one in a nonlethalP. yoelii17X background [Py17X-MIF(+)] and the other in a lethalP. yoelii17XL background [Py17XL-MIF(+)]. Challenge studies with transgenic parasites in mice showed that the increased expression ofPyMIF resulted in a reduction in disease severity. Mice infected withPy17X-MIF(+) developed lower peak parasitemia levels than controls, while malaria-associated anemia was unaltered. Infection withPy17XL-MIF(+) resulted in a prolonged course of infection and a reduction in the overall mortality rate. Combined, the data indicate that parasite-derived MIF does not contribute significantly to immunopathology but, through its chemotactic ability toward macrophages, may attenuate disease and prolong infection of highly virulent parasite isolates.
Republished paper: Assuring validity of multisource feedback in a national programme
Authors: Archer Julian , McGraw Mary , Davies Helena 
Published: September 2010

Abstract

Objective
To report the evidence for and challenges to the validity of Sheffield Peer Review Assessment Tool (SPRAT) with paediatric Specialist Registrars (SpRs) across the UK as part of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health workplace based assessment programme.

Design
Quality assurance analysis, including generalisability, of a multisource feedback questionnaire study.

Setting
All UK Deaneries between August 2005 and May 2006.

Participants
577 year 2 and 4 Paediatric SpRs.

Interventions
Trainees were evaluated using SPRAT sent to clinical colleagues of their choosing. Data were analysed reporting totals, means and SD, and year groups were compared using independent t tests. A factor analysis was undertaken. Reliability was estimated using generalisability theory. Trainee and assessor demographic details were explored to try to explain variability in scores.

Main outcome measures
4770 SPRAT assessments were provided about 577 paediatric SpRs. The mean scores between years were significantly different (Year 2 mean=5.08, SD=0.34, Year 4 mean=5.18, SD=0.34). A factor analysis returned a two-factor solution, clinical care and psychosocial skills. The 95% CI showed that trainees scoring ≥4.3 with nine assessors can be seen as achieving satisfactory performance with statistical confidence. Consultants marked trainees significantly lower (t=−4.52) whereas Senior House Officers and Foundation doctors scored their SpRs significantly higher (SHO t=2.06, Foundation t=2.77).

Conclusions
There is increasing evidence that multisource feedback (MSF) assesses two generic traits, clinical care and psychosocial skills. The validity of MSF is threatened by systematic bias, namely leniency bias and the seniority of assessors. Unregulated self-selection of assessors needs to end.
The Black Sea back-arc basin: insights to its origin from geodynamic models of modern analogues
Authors: Stephenson Randell , Schellart Wouter P. 
Published: September 2010

Abstract
The Black Sea is generally thought to be a back-arc basin with active extension (rifting) beginning in late Early Cretaceous times – although some fundamental issues such as the presence or absence of a related magmatic arc and the orientation of the related, driving, subduction zone remain vaguely defined at best. However, as shown here, the regional structure of the Black Sea is consistent with that predicted by geodynamic models of modern back-arc basin formation, in which extension is driven by slab roll-back. This includes an asymmetric distribution of horst and graben structures in the back-arc basin, the distribution and spacing of which is related to the strength of the underlying lithosphere, which forms the hanging wall of the subduction zone. By analogy, the intrabasinal structure of the Black Sea as a whole is explicable as the consequence of a single phase of asymmetric back-arc basin formation, not two separate phases independently responsible for its western and eastern segments, and its underlying lithosphere is rheologically strong, as predicted by recent models of Precambrian Europe and present-day tomography.
Importance of Refractory Pain and Hypertension in Acute Type B Aortic Dissection
Authors: Trimarchi Santi , Eagle Kim A. , Nienaber Christoph A. , Pyeritz Reed E. , Jonker Frederik H.W. , Suzuki Toru , O'Gara Patrick T. , Hutchinson Stuart J. , Rampoldi Vincenzo , Grassi Viviana , Bossone Eduardo , Muhs Bart E. , Evangelista Arturo , Tsai Thomas T. , Froehlich Jim B. , Cooper Jeanna V. , Montgomery Dan , Meinhardt Gabriel , Myrmel Truls , Upchurch Gilbert R. , Sundt Thoralf M. , Isselbacher Eric M. ,   on behalf of the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD) Investigators
Published: September 2010

Background—
In patients with acute type B aortic dissection, presence of recurrent or refractory pain and/or refractory hypertension on medical therapy is sometimes used as an indication for invasive treatment. The International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD) was used to investigate the impact of refractory pain and/or refractory hypertension on the outcomes of acute type B aortic dissection.

Methods and Results—

Three hundred sixty-five patients affected by uncomplicated acute type B aortic dissection, enrolled in IRAD from 1996 to 2004, were categorized according to risk profile into 2 groups. Patients with recurrent and/or refractory pain or refractory hypertension (group I; n=69) and patients without clinical complications at presentation (group II; n=296) were compared. “High-risk” patients with classic complications were excluded from this analysis. The overall in-hospital mortality was 6.5% and was increased in group I compared with group II (17.4% versus 4.0%;
P
=0.0003). The in-hospital mortality after medical management was significantly increased in group I compared with group II (35.6% versus 1.5%;
P
=0.0003). Mortality rates after surgical (20% versus 28%;
P
=0.74) or endovascular management (3.7% versus 9.1%;
P
=0.50) did not differ significantly between group I and group II, respectively. A multivariable logistic regression model confirmed that recurrent and/or refractory pain or refractory hypertension was a predictor of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 3.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 10.45;
P
=0.041).

Conclusions—
Recurrent pain and refractory hypertension appeared as clinical signs associated with increased in-hospital mortality, particularly when managed medically. These observations suggest that aortic intervention, such as via an endovascular approach, may be indicated in this intermediate-risk group.
Distribution of Landscape Types in the Global Historical Climatology Network
Authors: Montandon Laure M. , Fall Souleymane , Pielke Roger A. , Niyogi Dev 
Published: September 2010

Abstract
The Global Historical Climate Network version 2 (GHCNv.2) surface temperature dataset is widely used for reconstructions such as the global average surface temperature (GAST) anomaly. Because land use and land cover (LULC) affect temperatures, it is important to examine the spatial distribution and the LULC representation of GHCNv.2 stations. Here, nightlight imagery, two LULC datasets, and a population and cropland historical reconstruction are used to estimate the present and historical worldwide occurrence of LULC types and the number of GHCNv.2 stations within each. Results show that the GHCNv.2 station locations are biased toward urban and cropland (&gt;50% stations versus 18.4% of the world’s land) and past century reclaimed cropland areas (35% stations versus 3.4% land). However, widely occurring LULC such as open shrubland, bare, snow/ice, and evergreen broadleaf forests are underrepresented (14% stations versus 48.1% land), as well as nonurban areas that have remained uncultivated in the past century (14.2% stations versus 43.2% land). Results from the temperature trends over the different landscapes confirm that the temperature trends are different for different LULC and that the GHCNv.2 stations network might be missing on long-term larger positive trends. This opens the possibility that the temperature increases of Earth’s land surface in the last century would be higher than what the GHCNv.2-based GAST analyses report.
Analysis of Gravity Waves Generated at the Top of a Drainage Flow
Authors: Viana Samuel , Terradellas Enric , Yagüe Carlos 
Published: September 2010

AbstractDrainage or katabatic flows are common mesoscale circulations established as a result of differential radiative cooling of near-surface air masses in sloping terrain. The initial irruption of these flows, with sudden shifts in wind speed and direction, may result in vertical displacements of air parcels from their equilibrium position, which prove to be a common source of internal gravity waves. This paper illustrates this mechanism and describes the main features of the oscillations following the study of observational data gathered throughout one night during the Stable Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment in Spain 2006 (SABLES2006) field campaign. Pressure differences, measured by microbarometers set at different levels of a tower, help to interpret the evolution of other atmospheric variables, provide a detailed picture of the irruption of a drainage current, and reveal the formation of gravity waves at its top. The main parameters of the waves are derived from wavelet cross correlation of pressure time series, recorded by a surface array of microbarometers. The analysis yields, among other parameters, the horizontal component of the phase and group velocities of the gravity waves, which compare well with the velocity of irruption of the drainage current. Wavelet and other multiresolution techniques are also applied to sonic anemometer records to study the interaction between turbulence and larger-scale motions. The analysis shows evidence of heat flux divergence induced by the gravity waves, which may constitute a key factor for the vertical thermal profile in the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) in situations of weak turbulence and important wave activity.
Influence of Modes of Climate Variability on Global Precipitation Extremes
Authors: Kenyon Jesse , Hegerl Gabriele C. 
Published: September 2010

Abstract
The probability of climate extremes is strongly affected by atmospheric circulation. This study quantifies the worldwide influence of three major modes of circulation on station-based indices of intense precipitation: the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, the Pacific interdecadal variability as characterized by the North Pacific index (NPI), and the North Atlantic Oscillation–Northern Annular Mode. The study examines which stations show a statistically significant (5%) difference between the positive and negative phases of a circulation regime. Results show distinct regional patterns of response to all these modes of climate variability; however, precipitation extremes are most substantially affected by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. The effects of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation are seen throughout the world, including in India, Africa, South America, the Pacific Rim, North America, and, weakly, Europe. The North Atlantic Oscillation has a strong, continent-wide effect on Eurasia and affects a small, but not negligible, percentage of stations across the Northern Hemispheric midlatitudes. This percentage increases slightly if the Northern Annular Mode index is used rather than the NAO index. In that case, a region of increase in intense precipitation can also be found in Southeast Asia. The NPI influence on precipitation extremes is similar to the response to El Niño, and strongest in landmasses adjacent to the Pacific. Consistently, indices of more rare precipitation events show a weaker response to circulation than indices of moderate extremes; the results are quite similar, but of opposite sign, for negative anomalies of the circulation indices.
Errors and Uncertainties in Microwave Link Rainfall Estimation Explored Using Drop Size Measurements and High-Resolution Radar Data
Authors: Leijnse Hidde , Uijlenhoet Remko , Berne Alexis 
Published: September 2010

AbstractMicrowave links can be used for the estimation of path-averaged rainfall by using either the path-integrated attenuation or the difference in attenuation of two signals with different frequencies and/or polarizations. Link signals have been simulated using measured time series of raindrop size distributions (DSDs) over a period of nearly 2 yr, in combination with wind velocity data and Taylor’s hypothesis. For this purpose, Taylor’s hypothesis has been tested using more than 1.5 yr of high-resolution radar data. In terms of correlation between spatial and temporal profiles of rainfall intensities, the validity of Taylor’s hypothesis quickly decreases with distance. However, in terms of error statistics, the hypothesis is seen to hold up to distances of at least 10 km. Errors and uncertainties (mean bias error and root-mean-square error, respectively) in microwave link rainfall estimates due to spatial DSD variation are at a minimum at frequencies (and frequency combinations) where the power-law relation for the conversion to rainfall intensity is close to linear. Errors generally increase with link length, whereas uncertainties decrease because of the decrease of scatter about the retrieval relations because of averaging of spatially variable DSDs for longer links. The exponent of power-law rainfall retrieval relations can explain a large part of the variation in both bias and uncertainty, which means that the order of magnitude of these error statistics can be predicted from the value of this exponent, regardless of the link length.
Precipitation Measurement at CESAR, the Netherlands
Authors: Leijnse H. , Uijlenhoet R. , van de Beek C. Z. , Overeem A. , Otto T. , Unal C. M. H. , Dufournet Y. , Russchenberg H. W. J. , Figueras i Ventura J. , Klein Baltink H. , Holleman I. 
Published: September 2010

Abstract
The Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research (CESAR) observatory hosts a unique collection of instruments related to precipitation measurement. The data collected by these instruments are stored in a database that is freely accessible through a Web interface. The instruments present at the CESAR site include three disdrometers (two on the ground and one at 200 m above ground level), a dense network of rain gauges, three profiling radars (1.3, 3.3, and 35 GHz), and an X-band Doppler polarimetric scanning radar. In addition to these instruments, operational weather radar data from the nearby (∼25 km) De Bilt C-band Doppler radar are also available. The richness of the datasets available is illustrated for a rainfall event, where the synergy of the different instruments provides insight into precipitation at multiple spatial and temporal scales. These datasets, which are freely available to the scientific community, can contribute greatly to our understanding of precipitation-related atmospheric and hydrologic processes.
Wind Stress Curl and Coastal Upwelling in the Area of Monterey Bay Observed during AOSN-II
Authors: Wang Q. , Kalogiros J. A. , Ramp S. R. , Paduan J. D. , Buzorius G. , Jonsson H. 
Published: September 2010

Abstract
Aircraft measurements obtained during the 2003–04 Autonomous Ocean Sampling Network (AOSN-II) project were used to study the effect of small-scale variations of near-surface wind stress on coastal upwelling in the area of Monterey Bay. Using 5-km-long measurement segments at 35 m above the sea surface, wind stress and its curl were calculated with estimated accuracy of 0.02–0.03 N m−2 and 0.1–0.2 N m−2 per 100 kilometers, respectively. The spatial distribution of wind speed, wind stress, stress curl, and sea surface temperature were analyzed for four general wind conditions: northerly or southerly wind along the coastline, onshore flow, and offshore flow. Wind stress and speed maxima frequently were found to be noncollocated as bulk parameterizations imply owing to significant stability and nonhomogeneity effects at cold SST pools. The analyses revealed that complicated processes with different time scales (wind stress field variation, ocean response and upwelling, sea surface currents, and heating by solar radiation) affect the coastal sea surface temperature. It was found that the stress-curl-induced coastal upwelling only dominates in events during which positive curl extended systematically over a significant area (scales larger than 20 km). These events included cases with a northerly wind, which resulted in an expansion fan downstream from Point Año Nuevo (wind speed peaks greater than about 8–10 m s−1), and cases with an offshore/onshore flow, which are characterized by weak background upwelling due to Ekman transport. However, in general, observations show that cold pools of sea surface temperature in the central area of Monterey Bay were advected by ocean surface currents from strong upwelling regions. Aircraft vertical soundings taken in the bay area showed that dominant effects of the lee wave sheltering of coastal mountains resulted in weak atmospheric turbulence and affected the development of the atmospheric boundary layer. This effect causes low wind stress that limits upwelling, especially at the northern part of Monterey Bay. The sea surface temperature is generally warm in this part of the bay because of the shallow oceanic surface layer and solar heating of the upper ocean.
Observations of Vortex Rossby Waves Associated with a Mesoscale Cyclone*
Authors: Chavanne Cédric P. , Flament Pierre , Luther Douglas S. , Gurgel Klaus-Werner 
Published: September 2010

Abstract
Short-wavelength (L ∼ 100 km) Rossby waves with an eastward zonal phase velocity were observed by high-frequency radio Doppler current meters and moored ADCPs west of Oahu, Hawaii, during spring 2003. They had Rossby numbers Ro = |ζ/f| = O(1), periods of 12–15 days, and phase speeds of 8–9 cm s−1, and they were surface trapped with vertical e-folding scales of 30–170 m. They transferred horizontal kinetic energy to the background flow of a mesoscale cyclone lying 160–190 km west of Oahu, revealed by altimetry. The waves approximately satisfied the dispersion relation of vortex Rossby waves propagating through the radial gradient of potential vorticity associated with the cyclone. Vertical shear of the background currents may also affect wave propagation. Theoretical studies have shown that vortex Rossby waves provide a mechanism by which perturbed vortices axisymmetrize and strengthen and may be important to the dynamics of oceanic vortices.