bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Validation of a French Version of the 8‐Item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale in Hypertensive Adults
Authors: Korb‐Savoldelli Virginie , Gillaizeau Florence , Pouchot Jacques , Lenain Emilie , Postel‐Vinay Nicolas , Plouin Pierre‐François , Durieux Pierre , Sabatier Brigitte 
Published: April 2012

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2012; 14:429–434. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.The aim of this study was to validate a French translation of the structured self‐report 8‐item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS‐8) and determine its psychometric properties in patients taking antihypertensive medication. An observational cross‐sectional study was conducted in the hypertensive unit of a French university hospital. The MMAS‐8 was translated according to international guidelines. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach α coefficient, construct validity using principal component and confirmatory factor analyses, and the test‐retest reliability at 1‐month interval using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Three levels of adherence were considered (low: scores of 0 to <6; medium: 6 to <8; high: 8) and risk factors were explored in ordinal logistic regression models. A total of 199 patients were included: mean age, 55.7±14.6 years, 57.3% men (114 of 199), and 39.5% (66 of 167) had uncontrolled blood pressure. The French MMAS was moderately reliable (α=0.54), one‐dimensional, and reproducible (ICC=0.68). The mean score was 6.96 (standard deviation 1.25) and 17.6% (35 of 199), 37.7% (75 of 199), and 43.7% (87 of 199) of patients had low, medium, and high adherence, respectively. The only factor significantly associated with adherence was age. The French MMAS has acceptable psychometric effects to measure medication adherence in hypertensive patients and may be useful in detecting nonadherent hypertensive patients.
Invasive Species: to eat or not to eat, that is the question
Authors: Nuñez Martin A. , Kuebbing Sara , Dimarco Romina D. , Simberloff Daniel 
Published: April 2012

AbstractManaging invasive species is a current challenge for biodiversity conservation. A recurring recent suggestion is that by harvesting nonnatives for human consumption, people can control invasive populations. Even though humans may be able to control or eradicate certain populations of nonnative species by harvesting them as food sources, several caveats should be considered before starting these programs. A prominent problem is that creating a market engenders pressure to maintain that problematic species. Also, if the target species becomes an economic resource, people may try to recreate that market in previously uninvaded regions. Using invasive species as an economic resource may trigger the local community to protect these harmful species, to facilitate their incorporation into the local culture, and can generate severe management problems. As with other management programs, managers must know if the harvest actually reduces the target population. Mortality could produce a reduction in the population size or growth, or it could be compensatory, in which case removal of the harvested individuals would not affect population growth. However, in addition to possible control, there may be several benefits of this approach, including an opportunity for public outreach. Projects aiming at controlling invasives through human consumption should be carefully examined, as they may produce results opposite to those proposed.
Acute Stroke Management in Patients Taking Dabigatran
Authors: Brouns Raf , Van Hooff Robbert‐Jan , De Smedt Ann , Moens Maarten , De Raedt Sylvie , Uyttenboogaart Maarten , Luijckx Gert‐Jan , Jochmans Kristin , De Keyser Jacques 
Published: April 2012

SUMMARYDabigatran etexilate is emerging as an alternative for vitamin K antagonists, but evidence‐based guidelines for management of intracerebral hemorrhage and acute ischemic stroke in patients taking this drug are nonexistent. This review summarizes current knowledge on key pharmacological features and the assessment of dabigatran activity. Pragmatic approaches are provided for individualized decision taking with regard to hemostatic therapy and reperfusion strategies in acute stroke patients.
The origin of cyanobacteria in Antarctic sea ice: marine or freshwater?
Authors: Koh Eileen Y. , Cowie Rebecca O. M. , Simpson Aimee M. , O'Toole Ronan , Ryan Ken G. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryCyanobacteria play an important role in the primary productivity of many ecosystems and are dominant in non‐marine polar environments. Apart from detecting low levels of cyanobacteria‐like pigments in the Southern Ocean, little effort has been spent in trying to elucidate Cyanobacteria in Antarctic sea ice. Here, we report the first use of culture, microscope, microarray and molecular techniques to show that marine Cyanobacteria are rare or absent in sea ice. Our infrequent positive signals were most closely related to freshwater Cyanobacteria from neighbouring terrestrial sources, which illustrates our techniques were sensitive enough to find sea‐ice cyanobacteria if they were present. It is still possible that minute quantity of marine cyanobacteria may exist in sea ice and do not contribute significantly to the polar marine ecosystems.
In-vivo pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and anti-tumour effect of hydroxycamptothecin delivered in oil-in-water submicron emulsions
Authors: Zhao Yong-Xing , Liu Dan-Xing , Liang Wen-Quan , Ye Zhi-Wei 
Published: April 2012

Abstract

Objectives
The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and anti-tumour effect of hydroxycamptothecin submicron emulsions (HCPT-SEs).

Methods
HCPT-SEs or HCPT injection (HCPT-I) was administered intravenously into the tail vein of rats or S180 tumour-bearing mice.

Key findings
HCPT-SEs increased the plasma concentration of HCPT compared with HCPT-I at all time points. The AUC0-∞, elimination half-life and mean residence time of anionic submicron emulsions containing HCPT (HCPT-ASEs) and cationic submicron emulsions containing HCPT (HCPT-CSEs) were significantly greater than those of HCPT-I (P &lt; 0.01). Especially, a prolonged elimination half-life was found for HCPT-CSEs. HCPT-CSEs and HCPT-ASEs resulted in a 7.9-fold and 3.1-fold increase in AUC0-6h of tumour compared with HCPT-I, respectively. The targeting efficiency (Te) of HCPT-ASEs and HCPT-CSEs indicated their selectivity to tumour and the Te of HCPT-CSEs was significantly higher than that of HCPT-ASEs (P &lt; 0.01). The anti-tumour effect studies showed that HCPT-SEs improved the therapeutic efficiency of HCPT compared with HCPT-I. The percentage of tumour growth suppression rate of mice treated with HCPT-CSEs (2.0 mg HCPT eq./kg) increased 2.1 fold compared with that of HCPT-I.

Conclusions
Submicron emulsions can alter the pharmacokinetic characteristics and tissue distribution of HCPT, and enhance tumour targeting and anti-tumour activity.
The impact of treatment transitions between dialysis and transplantation on illness cognitions and quality of life – A prospective study
Authors: Griva Konstadina , Davenport Andrew , Harrison Michael , Newman Stanton P. 
Published: April 2012

Objectives. Treatment transitions are frequent in end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) but little is known about cognitive responses pre‐ to post‐transplantation or after transplant failure. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in illness cognitions across treatment transitions between dialysis and transplantation and their impact on quality of life (QOL).Methods. In this longitudinal study, ESRD patients (N= 262) patients were followed up across treatment transitions over a 7‐year observation window using the Illness Perceptions Questionnaire, the Illness Effects Questionnaire, and measures of QOL. Study sample comprised the patients from this cohort who switched treatment modality (N= 60 post‐transplantation; N= 28 transplant failure). Data were collected while on dialysis or transplantation and at 6 months post‐treatment change.Results. Significant changes in QOL and illness perceptions were found in treatment transitions with opposite patterns of either improvement or deterioration following transplantation or transplantation failure. Pre‐ to post‐transplantation, QOL improves and patients report less symptoms, lower consequences, and illness intrusiveness, more acute timeline and stronger control beliefs (ps < .01). QOL is diminished following transplant failure and patients report more symptoms, consequences, illness disruptiveness, more chronic timeline, and lower control. Changes in cognitions are associated with changes in QOL (R2= .469–.789).Conclusions. Treatment transitions marked significant changes in illness perceptions that were associated with changes in QOL. Interventions to prepare patients for treatment transitions and prevent increasingly negative patterns of illness perceptions with transplant failure may serve towards maintaining or improving adjustment outcomes.Statement of contributionWhat is already known on this subject? Illness cognitions have been shown to predict health outcomes and to change in response to changes in health status. Treatment transitions between dialysis and transplantation are frequent in end stage renal disease but their effect on illness representations has not been explored.What does this study add? The paper described results of the first study to prospectively explore changes in illness cognitions across treatment transitions between dialysis and transplantation and their impact on QOL outcomes. The paper documents dynamic changes in illness cognitions when treatment modality is changed in line with the predictions of a dynamic reassessment of illness perceptions and coping behaviour as described in Leventhal's Common Sense Model of Illness Behaviour.
Evaluation of hybrid depth scanning for carbon‐ion radiotherapy
Authors: Inaniwa Taku , Furukawa Takuji , Kanematsu Nobuyuki , Mori Shinichiro , Mizushima Kota , Sato Shinji , Toshito Toshiyuki , Shirai Toshiyuki , Noda Koji 
Published: April 2012

Purpose:In radiotherapy with a scanned carbon‐ion beam, its Bragg peak is shifted along the depth direction either by inserting the range shifter plates or by changing the beam‐extraction energy of a synchrotron. In the former technique (range shifter scanning: RS), the range shifter plates broaden the beam size and produce secondary fragments through nuclear reactions. In the latter technique (active‐energy scanning: ES), it may take several seconds to change the beam energy depending on the synchrotron operation cycle, leading to a long treatment time. The authors propose a hybrid depth scan technique (hybrid scanning: HS), where several beam energies are used in conjunction with the range shifter plates for finer range shift. In this study, HS is evaluated from the viewpoints of dose distribution and treatment time.Methods:Assuming realistic accelerator and beam‐delivery systems, the authors performed computer simulations usingGEANT4 Monte Carlo code for beam modeling and a treatment planning system to evaluate HS. Three target volumes with the same dimensions of 60 × 60 × 60 mm3 were generated at depths of 45, 85, and 125 mm in water phantom, and uniform clinical dose was planned for these targets. The sizes of lateral dose falloff and the peak to plateau ratio defined as the ratio of the clinical dose averaged over the target to the clinical dose at the entrance as well as the treatment time were compared among the three depth scan techniques.Results:The sizes of lateral dose falloffs at the center of SOBP are 11.4, 8.5, and 5.9 mm for the three targets in RS, while they are 5.7, 4.8, and 4.6 mm in ES and 6.6, 5.7, and 5.0 mm in HS, respectively. The peak to plateau ratios are 1.39, 1.96, and 2.15 in RS, while they are 1.48, 2.04, and 2.19 in ES and 1.47, 2.03, and 2.18 in HS, respectively. The treatment times are 128.7, 128.6, and 128.6 s in ES, while they are 61.2, 54.6, and 47.8 s in RS and 43.2, 44.1, and 44.7 s in HS, respectively. The multiple scattering and the nuclear reaction by range shifter degraded the beam qualities such as lateral dose falloff and peak to plateau ratio, which was especially pronounced for the shallow target in RS. The depth scan timing was limited by accelerator cycle in ES. That increased the treatment time by a few times.Conclusions:This study revealed that HS can provide dose distributions with steeper lateral dose falloffs and higher peak to plateau ratio comparing to RS and comparable to ES. In addition, the treatment time can be considerably reduced in HS compared to ES.
Mutagenesis of the DI/DIII Linker in Dengue Virus Envelope Protein Impairs Viral Particle Assembly
Authors: de Wispelaere Melissanne , Yang Priscilla L. 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACT
The dengue virus (DV) envelope (E) protein is important in mediating viral entry and assembly of progeny virus during cellular infection. Domains I and III (DI and DIII, respectively) of the DV E protein are connected by a highly conserved but poorly ordered region, the DI/DIII linker. Although the flexibility of the DI/DIII linker is thought to be important for accommodating the structural rearrangements undergone by the E protein during viral entry, the function of the linker in the DV infectious cycle is not well understood. In this study, we performed site-directed mutagenesis on conserved residues in the DI/DIII linker of the DV2 E protein and showed that the resulting mutations had little or no effect on the entry process but greatly affected virus assembly. Biochemical fractionation and immunofluorescence microscopy experiments performed on infectious virus as well as in a virus-like particle (VLP) system indicate that the DI/DIII linker mutants express the DV structural proteins at the sites of particle assembly near the ER but fail to form infectious particles. This defect is not due to disruption of E's interaction with prM and pr in immature and mature virions, respectively. Serial passaging of the DV2 mutant E-Y299F led to the identification of a mutation in the membrane-proximal stem region of E that fully compensates for the assembly defect of this DI/DIII linker mutant. Together, our results suggest a critical and previously unidentified role for the E protein DI/DIII linker region during the DV2 assembly process.
Mutations Conferring Resistance to Viral DNA Polymerase Inhibitors in Camelpox Virus Give Different Drug-Susceptibility Profiles in Vaccinia Virus
Authors: Duraffour Sophie , Andrei Graciela , Topalis Dimitri , Krečmerová Marcela , Crance Jean-Marc , Garin Daniel , Snoeck Robert 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACTCidofovir or (S)-HPMPC is one of the three antiviral drugs that might be used for the treatment of orthopoxvirus infections. (S)-HPMPC and its 2,6-diaminopurine counterpart, (S)-HPMPDAP, have been described to select,in vitro, for drug resistance mutations in the viral DNA polymerase (E9L) gene of vaccinia virus (VACV). Here, to extend our knowledge of drug resistance development among orthopoxviruses, we selected,in vitro, camelpox viruses (CMLV) resistant to (S)-HPMPDAP and identified a single amino acid change, T831I, and a double mutation, A314V+A684V, within E9L. The production of recombinant CMLV and VACV carrying these amino acid substitutions (T831I, A314V, or A314V+A684V) demonstrated clearly their involvement in conferring reduced sensitivity to viral DNA polymerase inhibitors, including (S)-HPMPDAP. Both CMLV and VACV harboring the A314V change showed comparable drug-susceptibility profiles to various antivirals and similar impairments in viral growth. In contrast, the single change T831I and the double change A314V+A684V in VACV were responsible for increased levels of drug resistance and for cross-resistance to viral DNA polymerase antivirals that were not observed with their CMLV counterparts. Each amino acid change accounted for an attenuated phenotype of VACVin vivo. Modeling of E9L suggested that the T→I change at position 831 might abolish hydrogen bonds between E9L and the DNA backbone and have a direct impact on the incorporation of the acyclic nucleoside phosphonates. Our findings demonstrate that drug-resistance development in two related orthopoxvirus species may impact drug-susceptibility profiles and viral fitness differently.
Antiviral Antibodies and T Cells Are Present in the Foreskin of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Rhesus Macaques
Authors: Rothaeusler Kristina , Ma Zhong-Min , Qureshi Huma , Carroll Timothy D. , Rourke Tracy , McChesney Michael B. , Miller Christopher J. 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACTNo information exists regarding immune responses to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the foreskin or glans of the human penis, although this is a key tissue for HIV transmission. To address this gap, we characterized antiviral immune responses in foreskin of male rhesus macaques (RMs) inoculated with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) strain SIVmac251 by penile foreskin exposure. We found a complete population of immune cells in the foreskin and glans of normal RMs, although B cells were less common than CD4+and CD8+T cells. IgG-secreting cells were detected by enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay in cell suspensions made from the foreskin. In the foreskin and glans of SIV-infected RMs, although B cells were less common than CD4+and CD8+T cells, SIV-specific IgG antibody was present in foreskin secretions. In addition, cytokine-secreting SIV-specific CD8+T cells were readily found in cell suspensions made from the foreskin. Although potential HIV target cells were found in and under the epithelium covering all penile surfaces, the presence of antiviral effector B and T cells in the foreskin suggests that vaccines may be able to elicit immunity in this critical site to protect men from acquiring HIV.
Base Pairing between Hepatitis C Virus RNA and MicroRNA 122 3′ of Its Seed Sequence Is Essential for Genome Stabilization and Production of Infectious Virus
Authors: Shimakami Tetsuro , Yamane Daisuke , Welsch Christoph , Hensley Lucinda , Jangra Rohit K. , Lemon Stanley M. 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACT
MicroRNA 122 (miR-122) facilitates hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication by recruiting an RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC)-like complex containing argonaute 2 (Ago2) to the 5′ end of the HCV genome, thereby stabilizing the viral RNA. This requires base pairing between the miR-122 “seed sequence” (nucleotides [nt] 2 to 8) and two sequences near the 5′ end of the HCV RNA: S1 (nt 22 to 28) and S2 (nt 38 to 43). However, recent reports suggest that additional base pair interactions occur between HCV RNA and miR-122. We searched 606 sequences from a public database (genotypes 1 to 6) and identified two conserved, putatively single-stranded RNA segments, upstream of S1 (nt 2 and 3) and S2 (nt 30 to 34), with potential for base pairing to miR-122 (nt 15 and 16 and nt 13 to 16, respectively). Mutagenesis and genetic complementation experiments confirmed that HCV nt 2 and 3 pair with nt 15 and 16 of miR-122 bound to S1, while HCV nt 30 to 33 pair with nt 13 to 16 of miR-122 at S2. In genotype 1 and 6 HCV, nt 4 also base pairs with nt 14 of miR-122. These 3′ supplementary base pair interactions of miR-122 are functionally important and are required for Ago2 recruitment to HCV RNA by miR-122, miR-122-mediated stabilization of HCV RNA, and production of infectious virus. However, while complementary mutations at HCV nt 30 and 31 efficiently rescued the activity of a 15C,16C miR-122 mutant targeting S2, similar mutations at nt 2 and 3 failed to rescue Ago2 recruitment at S1. These data add to the current understanding of miR-122 interactions with HCV RNA but indicate that base pairing between miR-122 and the 5′ 43 nt of the HCV genome is more complex than suggested by existing models.
The Influenza A Virus PB2, PA, NP, and M Segments Play a Pivotal Role during Genome Packaging
Authors: Gao Qinshan , Chou Yi-Ying , Doğanay Sultan , Vafabakhsh Reza , Ha Taekjip , Palese Peter 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACT
The genomes of influenza A viruses consist of eight negative-strand RNA segments. Recent studies suggest that influenza viruses are able to specifically package their segmented genomes into the progeny virions. Segment-specific packaging signals of influenza virus RNAs (vRNAs) are located in the 5′ and 3′ noncoding regions, as well as in the terminal regions, of the open reading frames. How these packaging signals function during genome packaging remains unclear. Previously, we generated a 7-segmented virus in which the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) segments of the influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/34 virus were replaced by a chimeric influenza C virus hemagglutinin/esterase/fusion (HEF) segment carrying the HA packaging sequences. The robust growth of the HEF virus suggested that the NA segment is not required for the packaging of other segments. In this study, in order to determine the roles of the other seven segments during influenza A virus genome assembly, we continued to use this HEF virus as a tool and analyzed the effects of replacing the packaging sequences of other segments with those of the NA segment. Our results showed that deleting the packaging signals of the PB1, HA, or NS segment had no effect on the growth of the HEF virus, while growth was greatly impaired when the packaging sequence of the PB2, PA, nucleoprotein (NP), or matrix (M) segment was removed. These results indicate that the PB2, PA, NP, and M segments play a more important role than the remaining four vRNAs during the genome-packaging process.
Comparison of the Host Immune Response to Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 at Two Different Mucosal Sites
Authors: Zheng Min , Conrady Christopher D. , Ward Julie M. , Bryant-Hudson Katie M. , Carr Daniel J. J. 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACTA study was undertaken to compare the host immune responses to herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 infection by the ocular or genital route in mice. Titers of HSV-2 from tissue samples were elevated regardless of the route of infection. The elevation in titers of HSV-2, including cell infiltration and cytokine/chemokine levels in the central nervous system relative to those found following HSV-1 infection, was correlative with inflammation. These results underscore a dichotomy between the host immune responses to closely related alphaherpesviruses.