bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Influence of Major Antiepileptic Drugs on Attention, Reaction Time, and Speed of Information Processing: Results from a Randomized, Double‐blind, Placebo‐controlled Withdrawal Study of Seizure‐free Epilepsy Patients Receiving Monotherapy
Authors: Hessen Erik , Lossius Morten I. , Reinvang Ivar , Gjerstad Leif 
Published: October 2006

Summary:  Purpose: All major antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have been reported to be associated with cognitive side effects. Uncertainty exists regarding the degree of cognitive effects, primarily because many studies do not adhere to basic standards of methodology and design. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of discontinuation of AEDs in patients receiving monotherapy on measures of attention, reaction time, and speed of information processing. Methods: The 150 subjects who had been seizure free >2 years on drug monotherapy went through a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study. Each patient was included for 12 months or until seizure relapse. Cognitive function was assessed with the California Computerized Assessment Package at baseline and 7 months after discontinuation. Results: The major finding in this study is that discontinuation of major AEDs significantly improved performance on tests that require complex cognitive processing under time pressure. The difference in speed of cognitive processing between the two groups on these tasks was between 24 to 43 ms. Simple tasks of attention and reaction time revealed no significant differences between the discontinuation group and the nondiscontinuation group. Most of the subjects in the study were medicated with carbamazepine (CBZ) and valproate (VPA). The outcome of discontinuation of CBZ was similar to the outcome for the total study population, whereas withdrawal of VPA revealed only a nonsignificant tendency in the same direction. Conclusions: The results suggest that seizure‐free epilepsy patients receiving monotherapy can obtain improvement in cognitive function if they discontinue AED treatment.
Interictal Depression, Anxiety, Personality Traits, and Psychological Dissociation in Patients with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) and Extra‐TLE
Authors: Swinkels Wilhelmina A.M. , Van Emde Boas Walter , Kuyk Jarl , Van Dyck Richard , Spinhoven Philip 
Published: October 2006

Summary:  Purpose: This study was performed to investigate the relation between symptoms of interictal depression, anxiety, personality traits, and psychological dissociation with the localization and lateralization of the epileptogenic zone in patients with partial epilepsy. Methods: All patients were diagnosed according to the localization‐related concept of the 1989 International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Classification of Epilepsies and Epileptic Syndromes, and the localization and lateralization of the epileptogenic zone was established by using the clinical criteria for noninvasive presurgical evaluation. This resulted in 67 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and 64 patients with extra‐TLE. All patients were assessed on the various aspects of psychopathology by using a comprehensive battery of standardized diagnostic instruments. Results: We did not find the hypothesized excess of psychiatric symptoms in patients with (mesial) TLE in comparison with patients with extra‐TLE. We also found no differences between patients with the lateralization of epilepsy in the left versus the right hemisphere. Conclusions: TLE per se cannot be considered a risk factor in developing more or more severe symptoms of psychopathology in patients with partial epilepsy. Concomitant factors, such as the duration of epilepsy, seizure frequency, and frontal lobe dysfunction may play an additional role. Our findings support the hypothesis of a multifactorial explanation for the psychiatric symptoms in patients with epilepsy.
Use of Fluorescein as a Ground Water Tracer in Brackish Water Aquifers
Authors: Chua Lloyd H.C. , Robertson Alexander P. , Yee W.K. , Shuy E.B. , Lo Edmond Y.M. , Lim T.T. , Tan S.K. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractA drift and pumpback experiment was conducted in a brackish water sandfill. The sandfill was reclaimed from the sea in the eastern part of Singapore and contains sands with low organic and clay/silt contents. The high salinity in the ground water precludes the use of chloride and bromide as tracers in such an environment, and a field experiment was conducted to assess the viability of using fluorescein as a tracer in brackish water aquifers. Nitrate was used as a second tracer to serve as a check. Initial laboratory studies showed that fluorescence was unaffected over the range of electrical conductivity and pH of the ground water. Results from the field experiment show that fluorescein appears to behave conservatively.
Reduced pH and contractility in failing rat cardiomyocytes
Authors: Kemi O. J. , Arbo I. , Høydal M. A. , Loennechen J. P. , Wisløff U. , Smith G. L. , Ellingsen Ø. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractAim:  To determine whether reduced cardiomyocyte contractility in heart failure is associated with reduced intracellular pH (pHi). Involvement of the Na+/H+ exchanger and the H+/K+ ATPase were investigated with specific blockers.Methods:  Myocardial infarction and subsequent heart failure in Sprague–Dawley rats were induced by chronic occlusion of the left coronary artery. 6 weeks post‐ligation, contractility (cell shortening) and pHi (BCECF fluorescence) were recorded in freshly dissociated cardiomyocytes during 2–10 Hz electrical stimulation, with or without either Na+/H+ exchanger or H+/K+ ATPase inhibition.Results:  Elevated end‐diastolic and reduced peak systolic pressures confirmed heart failure. Increased heart weights (20–30%; P ≤ 0.01) and cardiomyocyte lengths and widths (22–25%; P ≤ 0.01) confirmed substantial cardiac hypertrophy. In myocytes isolated from sham operated rats, a positive staircase response occurred with stimulation rates from 2 to 7 Hz; further increases in stimulation rate up to 10 Hz reduced contractility. In contrast, pHi fell progressively over the entire stimulation range. In failing myocytes, pHi was consistently 0.07 pH units lower and contractility 40% lower (P ≤ 0.01) than sham control values; the shape of the contractility staircase remained similar to controls. At all stimulation frequencies, Na+/H+ exchanger inhibition reduced pHi by 0.05 pH units (P ≤ 0.01) and contractility by 22% (P ≤ 0.05) in cardiomyocytes from the heart failure group. A significantly smaller decrease of pHi and reduction in contractility was observed after inhibition of Na+/H+ exchanger (10 μm HOE694) in sham myocytes. H+/K+ ATPase inhibition (100 μm SCH28080) had no effect on pHi.Conclusion:  Reduced pHi is accompanied by reduced cardiomyocyte contractility in isolated myocytes from post‐MI heart failure. The data suggest compensatory Na+/H+ exchanger activation in heart failure, whereas H+/K+ ATPase does not appear to contribute significantly to pHi maintenance.
Different effect of ATP on ANP receptor guanylyl cyclase in spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive rats
Authors: Woodard G. E. , Zhao J. , Rosado J. A. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractAim:  Natriuretic peptide receptor A (NPR‐A) is the main physiological receptor for atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP). Maximal activation of NPR‐A guanylyl cyclase (GC) requires ANP binding and ATP interaction with a putative cytoplasmic site. This study investigates the regulatory effect of ATP on GC‐coupled NPR‐A activity in Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).Methods:  Cyclic GMP production and competitive inhibition of [125I]ANP1−28 binding were performed in solubilized glomerular and papillary renal membranes.Results:  Here, we report that incubation of renal glomerular and papillary membranes with ATP induced a concentration‐dependent increase in basal and ANP1−28‐stimulated GC activity that was significantly greater in SHR than in age‐matched WKY. ATPγS was more effective than ATP and induced a greater stimulation of cGMP production in SHR than in WKY. In contrast, in solubilized membranes ATP exerted an inhibitory role on basal and ANP1−28‐induced GC activity, suggesting that an accessory protein is required for ATP‐induced GC activation. ATP increases NPR‐A affinity for ANP1−28 and decreased Bmax in crude and solubilized membranes. Kinetic analysis of GC‐coupled NPR‐A revealed that ATP reduced the Km and increased the Vmax, an effect that was greater in SHR.Conclusion:  Our observations indicate that ATP exerts a greater net effect on NPR‐A in SHR than in WKY, which might explain the greater rate of cGMP production observed in SHR compared to WKY.
Experimental Determination of Geometric Parameters for an Annular Injection Type Supersonic Ejector
Authors: Kim Sehoon , Kwon Sejin 
Published: October 2006

Abstract
The effects of four geometric parameters of an annular injection supersonic ejector, namely, the primary nozzle exit-to-throat area ratio, the contraction angle of the mixing chamber, the cross-sectional area and L/D ratio of the second-throat on the performance parameters including the secondary flow pressure, the starting pressure and unstarting pressure were investigated experimentally. The starting pressure exhibits linearly proportional dependence on the throat area ratio when the mixing chamber length is less than a certain critical value. For a longer mixing chamber, the starting pressure is proportional to the mixing chamber length while the unstarting pressure depends on the throat area ratio only. The geometric parameters of the second-throat do not affect the static pressure of the secondary flow. This implies that the secondary flow is aerodynamically choked in the mixing chamber and the static pressure of the secondary flow is determined by the choking condition since the mixing chamber of the annular injection ejector is relatively long. Based on the findings by the experiment, a simplified analytical model was proposed to predict the secondary flow pressure. The predicted secondary flow pressure agrees reasonably well with the measurement for a small contraction angle of the mixing chamber.
A Quasi-Generalized-Coordinate Approach for Numerical Simulation of Complex Flows
Authors: You Donghyun , Wang Meng , Mittal Rajat , Moin Parviz 
Published: October 2006

Abstract
A novel structured grid approach which provides an efficient way of treating a class of complex geometries is proposed. The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are formulated in a two-dimensional, generalized curvilinear coordinate system complemented by a third quasi-curvilinear coordinate. By keeping all two-dimensional planes defined by constant third coordinate values parallel to one another, the proposed approach significantly reduces the memory requirement in fully three-dimensional geometries, and makes the computation more cost effective. The formulation can be easily adapted to an existing flow solver based on a two-dimensional generalized coordinate system coupled with a Cartesian third direction, with only a small increase in computational cost. The feasibility and efficiency of the present method have been assessed in a simulation of flow over a tapered cylinder.
Regulation of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis whiB3
in the Mouse Lung and Macrophages
Authors: Banaiee N. , Jacobs W. R. , Ernst J. D. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT

Mycobacterium tuberculosis
is a highly successful human pathogen, with ∼2 × 10
9
individuals infected globally. To understand the responses of
M. tuberculosis
to the in vivo environment, we studied the in vivo regulation of
M. tuberculosis
genes whose
M. marinum
homologs are induced in chronically infected frog tissues. The expression of 16S rRNA was shown to remain constant in
M. tuberculosis
under in vivo and in vitro conditions and therefore could be used for internal normalization in quantitative reverse transcription-PCR assays. We found
whiB3
, a putative transcriptional regulator implicated in mediating tissue damage, to be maximally induced at 2 weeks postinfection in the lungs of wild-type and immunodeficient (gamma interferon receptor
−/−
, Rag1
−/−
, and tumor necrosis factor alpha
−/−
) mice. At later time points in wild-type mice,
whiB3
induction was decreased and gradually declined over the course of infection. In immunodeficient mice,
whiB3
induction declined rapidly and was completely abolished in moribund animals.
whiB3
was also found to be induced in naïve bone marrow-derived macrophages after 6 h of infection.
whiB3
expression in vivo and in vitro was found to be inversely correlated with bacterial density. These results indicate that
M. tuberculosis
regulates the expression of
whiB3
in response to environmental signals present in vivo and are consistent with a model of regulation by quorum sensing.
Transgenic Cows That Produce Recombinant Human Lactoferrin in Milk Are Not Protected from Experimental
Escherichia coli
Intramammary Infection
Authors: Hyvönen P. , Suojala L. , Orro T. , Haaranen J. , Simola O. , Røntved C. , Pyörälä S. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT

This is the first study describing an experimental mastitis model using transgenic cows expressing recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLf) in their milk. The aim of the study was to investigate the concentrations in milk and protective effects of bovine and recombinant human lactoferrin in experimental
Escherichia coli
mastitis. Experimental intramammary infection was induced in one udder quarter of seven first-lactating rhLf-transgenic cows and six normal cows, using an
E. coli
strain isolated from cows with clinical mastitis and known to be susceptible to Lf in vitro. Clinical signs were recorded during the experimental period, concentrations of human and bovine Lf and indicators of inflammation and bacterial counts were determined for milk, and concentrations of acute-phase proteins and tumor necrosis factor alpha were determined for sera and milk. Serum cortisol and blood hematological and biochemical parameters were also determined. Expression levels of rhLf in the milk of transgenic cows remained constant throughout the experiment (mean, 2.9 mg/ml). The high Lf concentrations in the milk of transgenic cows did not protect them from intramammary infection. All cows became infected and developed clinical mastitis. The rhLf-transgenic cows showed milder systemic signs and lower serum cortisol and haptoglobin concentrations than did controls. This may be explained by lipopolysaccharide-neutralizing and immunomodulatory effects of the high Lf concentrations in their milk. However, Lf does not seem to be a very efficient protein for genetic engineering to enhance the mastitis resistance of dairy cows.
Identification of a Novel Virulence Determinant with Serum Opacification Activity inStreptococcus suis
Authors: Baums Christoph G. , Kaim Ute , Fulde Marcus , Ramachandran Girish , Goethe Ralph , Valentin-Weigand Peter 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTStreptococcus suisserotype 2 is a porcine and human pathogen with adhesive and invasive properties. In other streptococci, large surface-associated proteins (>100 kDa) of the MSCRAMM family (microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules) are key players in interactions with host tissue. In this study, we identified a novel opacity factor ofS. suis(OFS) with structural homology to members of the MSCRAMM family. The N-terminal region of OFS is homologous to the respective regions of fibronectin-binding protein A (FnBA) ofStreptococcus dysgalactiaeand the serum opacity factor (SOF) ofStreptococcus pyogenes. Similar to these two proteins, the N-terminal domain of OFS opacified horse serum. Serum opacification activity was detectable in sodium dodecyl sulfate extracts of wild-typeS. suisbut not in extracts of isogenicofsknockout mutants. Heterologous expression of OFS inLactococcus lactisdemonstrated that a high level of expression of OFS is sufficient to provide surface-associated serum opacification activity. Furthermore, serum opacification could be inhibited by an antiserum against recombinant OFS. The C-terminal repetitive sequence elements of OFS differed significantly from the respective repeat regions of FnBA and SOF as well as from the consensus sequence of the fibronectin-binding repeats of MSCRAMMs. Accordingly, fibronectin binding was not detectable in recombinant OFS. To investigate the putative function of OFS in the pathogenesis of invasiveS. suisdiseases, piglets were experimentally infected with an isogenic mutant strain in which theofsgene had been knocked out by an in-frame deletion. The mutant was severely attenuated in virulence but not in colonization, demonstrating that OFS represents a novel virulence determinant ofS. suis.
Comparison of the Inflammatory Responses of Human Meningeal Cells following Challenge withNeisseria lactamicaand withNeisseria meningitidis
Authors: Fowler Mark I. , Yin Kiave Y. Ho Wang , Humphries Holly E. , Heckels John E. , Christodoulides Myron 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTThe rationale for the present study was to determine how different species of bacteria interact with cells of the human meninges in order to gain information that would have broad relevance to understanding aspects of the innate immune response in the brain.Neisseria lactamicais an occasional cause of meningitis in humans, and in this study we investigated the in vitro interactions betweenN. lactamicaand cells derived from the leptomeninges in comparison with the closely related organismNeisseria meningitidis, a major cause of meningitis worldwide.N. lactamicaadhered specifically to meningioma cells, but the levels of adherence were generally lower than those withN. meningitidis. Meningioma cells challenged withN. lactamicaandN. meningitidissecreted significant amounts of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), the C-X-C chemokine IL-8, and the C-C chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and RANTES, but it secreted very low levels of the cytokine growth factor granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Thus, meningeal cells are involved in the innate host response toNeisseriaspecies that are capable of entering the cerebrospinal fluid. The levels of IL-8 and MCP-1 secretion induced by both bacteria were essentially similar. By contrast,N. lactamicainduced significantly lower levels of IL-6 thanN. meningitidis. Challenge with the highest concentration ofN. lactamica(108CFU) induced a small but significant down-regulation of RANTES secretion, which was not observed with lower concentrations of bacteria.N. meningitidis(106to 108CFU) also down-regulated RANTES secretion, but this effect was significantly greater than that observed withN. lactamica. Although both bacteria were unable to invade meningeal cells directly, host cells remained viable on prolonged challenge withN. lactamica, whereasN. meningitidisinduced death; the mechanism was overwhelming necrosis with no significant apoptosis. It is likely that differential expression of modulins betweenN. lactamicaandN. meningitidiscontributes to these observed differences in pathogenic potential.
Sensitized CD8+T Cells Fail To Control Organism Burden but Accelerate the Onset of Lung Injury duringPneumocystis cariniiPneumonia
Authors: Gigliotti Francis , Crow Elliott L. , Bhagwat Samir P. , Wright Terry W. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTWhile CD8+cells have been shown to contribute to lung injury duringPneumocystis cariniipneumonia (PCP), there are conflicting reports concerning the ability of CD8+cells to killP. carinii.To address these two issues, we studied the effect of the presence of CD8+cells in two mouse models of PCP. In the reconstituted SCID mouse model, depletion of CD8+cells in addition to CD4+cells after reconstitution did not result in increased numbers ofP. cariniicysts compared to the numbers of cysts in mice with only CD4+cells depleted. This result was observed regardless of whether the mice were reconstituted with naïve orP. carinii-sensitized lymphocytes. In contrast, reconstitution with sensitized lymphocytes resulted in more rapid onset of lung injury that was dependent on the presence of CD8+cells. The course of organism replication over a 6-week period was also examined in the CD4+-T-cell-depleted and CD4+- and CD8+-T-cell-depleted mouse model of PCP. Again, the organism burdens were identical at all times regardless of whether CD8+cells were present. Thus, in the absence of CD4+T cells, CD8+T cells are a key contributor to the inflammatory lung injury associated with PCP. However, we were unable to demonstrate an in vivo effect of these cells on the course ofP. cariniiinfection.
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
Adhesins Regulate Tissue-Specific Colonization and Immune Cell Localization in a Mouse Model of Systemic Infection
Authors: Hudson Krischan J. , Bouton Amy H. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
mutants deficient for the adhesins invasin and/or YadA were injected intravenously into BALB/c mice. Invasin expression inhibited colonization of the liver and spleen. YadA decreased liver colonization but promoted growth within the lung. The persistence of leukocytes within liver microabscesses correlated with enhanced colonization and lack of adhesin expression.
Toxin-Deficient Mutants of
Bacillus anthracis
Are Lethal in a Murine Model for Pulmonary Anthrax
Authors: Heninger Sara , Drysdale Melissa , Lovchik Julie , Hutt Julie , Lipscomb Mary F. , Koehler Theresa M. , Lyons C. Rick 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT

Bacillus anthracis
, the etiologic agent of anthrax, produces at least three primary virulence factors: lethal toxin, edema toxin, and a capsule. The capsule is absolutely required for dissemination and lethality in a murine model of inhalation anthrax, yet the roles for the toxins during infection are ill-defined. We show in a murine model that when spores of specific toxin-null mutants are introduced into the lung, dissemination and lethality are comparable to those of the parent strain. Mutants lacking one or more of the structural genes for the toxin proteins, i.e., protective antigen, lethal factor, and edema factor, disseminated from the lung to the spleen at rates similar to that of the virulent parental strain. The 50% lethal dose (LD
50
) and mean time to death (MTD) of the mutants did not differ significantly from those of the parent. The LD
50
s or MTDs were also unaffected relative to those of the parent strain when mice were inoculated intravenously with vegetative cells. Nonetheless, histopathological examination of tissues revealed subtle but distinct differences in infections by the parent compared to some toxin mutants, suggesting that the host response is affected by toxin proteins synthesized during infection.